Author's Note: Once again, there's no particular order or time to these little bad boys. They can take place pretty much whenever you want.

And thanks for the reviews, guys! I really love Bridget/Andrew too, so I'm going to hopefully have something for them one of these days.


She tested the knob. Seeing it was unlocked, she felt an innate sense of relief and entered the room which had become her sanctuary during her brief enrollment at Zachary Senior High. Juliet smiled a little to the empty, silent room, glad for the peace and quiet. She headed for her usual seat to finish her lunch—and stopped in her tracks when she saw Carpenter look up from his desk.

"Juliet?"

"Oh—hey. Um… sorry. I didn't think anyone was here, so…" she trailed off, brow knitting. "Don't you teachers usually have a lounge or something?"

Carpenter's lips quirked upward at her watered down 'deer in headlights' expression. "We do. I had some work to get done, though." He eyed her quizzically and, Juliet noticed, a little suspiciously. "Don't you students have a cafeteria or something?"

Juliet bit her lip. "Yeah."

"You weren't dared to sneak in here and hide all my chalk, were you?"

Juliet regarded him somewhat amusedly, suspecting there was a reason he was wary of this. "No," she assured him. "I would actually need friends for that. Your chalk is safe."

His expression softened a little, but not to the point of actual pity. He knew she wouldn't appreciate that. "Right."

Juliet cleared her throat, taking a tentative step forward and shooting him a hopeful look. "Anyways, the cafeteria was annoying me, so… I thought I'd sneak off and eat my turkey club in peace. Plus I have that book to finish that you assigned us."

Carpenter gestured to Juliet's usual desk with a smile. "By all means."

Not needing further encouragement, Juliet was plopped in her seat moments later, digging into her lunch and her reading material.

They sat in comfortable silence for ten minutes or so, each tending to their own tasks and meals. Juliet read while simultaneously taking bites out of her sandwich. Carpenter alternated between grading papers and his coffee.

The Giver wasn't a bad book, Juliet thought. It was a little unconventional—controversial even, maybe. But then, readings for such classes often were. Nevertheless, stereotypes aside, it was holding her interest. Sure, there were things she'd rather be doing than have to learn all the archetypes of fictional characters she wasn't quite attached to yet. But even so… she'd long ago accepted the merits of schooling, no matter how drone or seemingly insignificant. And she didn't really mind the assignments this teacher gave. They were usually engaging and sometimes even exciting to work through.

No, her Lit teacher's class definitely wasn't one of the boring ones, and for that, Juliet was a little grateful too. Anything that made her school day less of a drag merited high marks of approval.

It was then that she heard the strange emanations of music and small heated voices trilling quietly from the head of the room. She was slow to notice it at first, as it was turned down so soft, but it wasn't too long before Juliet was glancing up over her book, curiosity piqued.

She waited, listening.

She was sure it was coming from Carpenter's desk, but could think of no reason for it. Last she'd seen, he'd been periodically flipping through papers and scribbling down notes. Except his gradebook was closed and now sitting off to the side of his desk. And Carpenter was staring down at the wood's surface in front of him, his fingers working away at something out of sight while he still sipped at his coffee. There was a small crease of frustration between his brows as he focused on whatever was holding his attention.

Juliet concentrated, now completely forgetting about her book as she watched him. More sounds carried her way, and Juliet had to lean forward a little, turning her ear ahead, to catch them. There was a tiny crash, then chorus of triumph.

Juliet nearly laughed aloud. "C, are you playing Angry Birds?"

Carpenter's dark eyes darted up almost guiltily at her unexpected question breaking the silence. His fingers now hovered hesitantly over what she now recognized to be his phone.

Juliet made no effort to hide her Cheshire grin.

"It's," Carpenter started to say, and she watched as the highly skilled Lit teacher searched for any intelligible explanation or excuse. "Addictive," he finally settled with, a little defensively.

Juliet snickered, shoulders quaking with more silent laughter as she went back to her book. She hid behind the binding, in an effort to escape Carpenter's pitifully quelling look. He cleared his throat and a moment later, the game's sound effects ceased. Juliet pressed her lips together tightly and waited, not daring to comment.

When she finally got up the courage to brave a peak over the top of her book, she saw Carpenter reclined back in his seat, a book of his own balanced between one hand and his elbow. Instead of the book, though, he was looking at her through narrowed eyes. But there was a bright sheen to them and his lips twitched with obvious effort to repress anything remotely resembling a smile.

Unable to stop herself, Juliet finally gave in to the laughter that bubbled out of her.

Carpenter turned back to his newly acquired book, a ghost of a grin skipping noticeably across his face. "This information is not to leave this room, Miss Martin."

She muffled her humor behind her hand, not looking at him. "Absolutely."

"Or I'll make you wear a cone on your head that reads D-U-N-C-E down the front of it. Don't think I'm above it."

"Not a word," she vowed, though the continued mirth in her voice belied any real sincerity. It wasn't like 'CarpenterPlaysAngryBirds' would be trending tonight on Twitter or anything.

As if he could read her mind, Carpenter shot her a look from the tops of his eyes as he read, a real smile splitting his cheeks. "I'm locking my door tomorrow."

Juliet offered him an eye-crinkling grin, reveling in her own sinister ideas. Carpenter's pastime going viral, she thought evilly. But really, it wouldn't. Because, like she'd said earlier, she actually needed friends to have inside jokes or to laugh over their funny instructors on social sites.

No, some things would stay just between them, like everything else lately. The two of them had their own inside jokes, and Juliet was okay with that.

She smiled and went back to her book, her lunch hour significantly brightened.

They spent the rest of the hour in resumed silence, each reading their own respective texts. When the bell rang, Juliet gathered her things and rose for the door.

"Bye, Julie."

"Later, Mr. C."

Tomorrow, she'd find his door wouldn't be locked after all.