"Hey there, big boy!" Tracy exclaimed, picking Romeo up from the floor and sitting him in her lap. He had gotten a lot bigger recently and she was starting to struggle when picking him up.

"Alright," Link said, eyes scanning over a piece of paper, "who was the twenty second president?"

Tracy narrowed her eyes "Uh, Cleveland, right?" She tilted her head and Romeo took the opportunity to lick her fingers.

Link closed one eyes and looked back to the paper, "First name?" He said, pushing.

She sighed and chewed on her cheek for a second. "It sounds like gopher, I think."

"Kinda,"

"Grover?" Tracy asked, wincing.

He smiled and nodded, "Grover Cleveland. Now use your brain powers to remember that." He said pressing his pointer fingers to her temples.

She closed her eyes and pretended to have it locked into her mind.

"You've got the 'over' part right, now you just need to remember the 'grow'," Link hummed, and his eyes lit up, "okay when you get a question about the twenty second president, I want you to imagine me standing in a feild with a rake, growing twenty two carrots while singing a song about Cleveland."

"I can do that." Tracy giggled and he slid his hand back and forth over the top of her head quickly, messing it up a little.

"There's my girl!" he said as if she was a puppy. "Kay, now who was the fifteenth president?"

"James Buchanan." She answered automatically.

"Woah!" Link exclaimed and shook his hand like he'd just touched something hot. "There ya go!"

"His name reminds me of bananas," Tracy shrugged, with a smile, "that's why I remembered."

"We should find something that they remind you of for all of these!" Link said, excited, "it'll be much easier that way."

After a week of collage, Tracy decided that she really did want to take her school seriously. She started studying and Link helped her gladly. He was learning things too. At at night, when he closed his eyes, he would ask Tracy to read her monologue to him, and she would, voice quiet and gentle. That's how he'd fall asleep, holding her as she whispered reassuring words on a page to him.

"We can take it easy now, if you want." he said, "You don't have school tomorrow and I don't have studio. Besides, our families and friends are coming over."

"Okay," she stretched her arms out in front of her, "What do you wanna do then?"

His eyebrows flew up high on his head and he gave her his best big blue puppy eyes, "Couch cuddles?" He asked with a pouting lip.

Tracy blushed and her mouth slowly stretched into a smile as she looked at him lovingly. "How could I say no to that face?"

Liz sat up straight at her makeup stand, applying a soft layer of lip gloss. She moved the small stick slowly over her mouth and popped her lips when she was finished, putting the cap back on the tiny canister. The girl stopped and studied herself, a bit horrified. What was she thinking? Almost twenty years old and chasing after a boy that probably had no interest in her whatsoever. It was crazy.

"He's not just any boy," her mind told her, "He's Link Larkin."

She had put contacts in and curled her hair into soft ringlets, just like how that girl he was with the other day had hers. Liz swore that she'd get Link to like her better than that other girl, she just had to get close enough to Link to make him realize that that friend of his was nothing compared to her. She was going to win.

Standing at his steps that night, she knocked on the door, and after a while, heard footsteps coming to let her in.

Link stuck his torso through the door seeming confused, but then saw her and rubbed his eyes at her new appearance, "Elizabeth?" He asked tiredly, "Its so late, what are you doing here?"

Liz felt a stab at her heart. She frowned at him, and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"A little," he murmured, "How did you know where I live?"

The girl's eyes blinked quickly and she looked down to her feet, shuffling a bit in her spot, "There's a paper in the studio that says where everyone's place is," she explained, watching him nod, "I brought these for you. They're chocolates."

Link's eyes widened as she handed him a silver box.

"Thanks for taking to me the other day, it really lifted my spirits," She went on, feeling a bit like an idiot.

He took it from her hands and gave her one of his hundred watt smiles, eyes still a bit tired "Thanks!" Link chirped, "It really wasn't that big of a deal,"

The two went silent and Elizabeth secretly hoped it was because he was admiring her new style. Really though, he just wanted to get back to cuddling with Tracy.

"Well," Liz said, "I guess I'll let you go to sleep then." She smiled.

Link's eyes flickered blue for a second and he nodded "'Kay. Night." He started to close the door, but right before he was completely back in his apartment, she called out to him.

"Wait!" She stopped him, maybe a little too urgently, "Can you um, can you call me Liz?"

Link shrugged and licked his lips, eyes half open, "Uhm, sure."

"Okay, goodnight."

"Night." He closed the door and took a few steps back into the hallway.

Tracy showed up behind her boyfriend, scratching her neck while Romeo came from behind her, tongue hanging out. "What was that about?" She asked, stretching to be tall enough to put her chin on his shoulder.

"Norman's girlfriend," he said, a bit confused, "She gave me these in thanks for saying hi to her at the drink station."

"That's random," Tracy commented as he nuzzled his nose into her hair.

"Yeah," he murmured, and shook the box in front of her, "want some?"

"You know I do!" She beamed up at Link and he laughed with a grin. Little did they know, Liz was trying her hardest to win Link over, and that was only stage one.