SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Pharies: Thanks. Here you go.

Princetongirl: thanks, here you go.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Canadian Television, Disney, and Amy Sherman-Palladino. I only own the plot.

The next morning, Tristan was at his locker sorting out his books when Chrissy walked up to him.

"So, I was thinking about it, and I decided to forgive you for little lapse of judgment yesterday," she said, cuddling up to him.

"The only person around here with a lapse in judgment is you," he told her as he ignored her advances.

"Okay, so I guess I was a bit forward yesterday," Chrissy allowed.

"'A bit forward'?" Tristan repeated with a small laugh.

"Well, it's not like you're actually into Casey. I mean, she's such a geek. It was completely obvious you were just humoring her yesterday," Chrissy commented, putting a hand on his shoulder and leaning into him.

"I'm going to be late for class," Tristan said, grabbing the books he needed and heading in the direction of his first class. Chrissy pouted slightly, but also went to her class. Tristan walked in and took a seat next to Emily. He unzipped his backpack and took a small box out.

"What is that?" Emily wondered.

"Present for Casey," Tristan answered as Derek walked in.

"A present for Casey? Are you really that lame?" he asked.

"I'm gonna let that go since I don't expect a public school boy to understand private school courting rituals," came the comment.

"By the way, where is Casey anyway?" Emily asked.

"I have no clue. One minute she's right behind, the next minute she makes like the invisible woman…which isn't necessarily a bad thing," Derek replied. There was a mocking laugh.

"Oh, you're so funny, Derek…not," she told him and took a seat next to Tristan, her backpack touching his.

"Got somethin' for you, Mare," he stated, handing her the box, which she immediately opened. She and Emily gasped.

"Oh, Tristan. It's beautiful," Casey said, holding up the necklace. Tristan took the jewelry from her and clasped it around her neck. "Thanks, Tris," she said. Then, "Oh! Before I forget, I have something for you too." With that, she dug into her backpack and pulled out a walkman with headphones and handed it to him.

"You made me a mix," Tristan realized.

"It's all of the songs that make me think of you," Casey told him. He put the headphones on and pressed play. Then, he chuckled.

"What? What'd she pick?" Emily wondered.

"Probably something lame and cheesy," Derek jeered. Tristan put one of the headphones to Emily's ear so she could hear as well.

Well I fought so hard

You had fought for my life

But you threw it away (Yeah, you did)

You know, just like that.

So now I'm a prisoner

Prisoner of your heart

You are my conqueror

Conqueror of my heart

"What's that from?" Emily wondered.

"It's Prisoner by Dokken. They're not as punk as I normally like, but they got a good beat," Tristan replied.

"Yeah, he's more of a Nofx fan," Casey added.

"Who?" Emily asked. Then, Tristan let out another laugh as Emily's face became shocked.

"I've got pockets full of Kleenex and lint and holes. Where everything important to me seems to fall right down my leg and on the floor, my closest friend linoleum," Tristan sang.

"Dude, that song doesn't even make sense," Derek commented. Then, they heard the door open and Tristan quickly shut off the walkman and put it in his backpack.

"Love my gift, Mare," he said hurriedly, and then turned to face the front of the room. Casey laughed and also turned her attention to the teacher. Derek rolled his eyes. He had no idea what those two were doing and he really didn't care. Let them be dorky and weird. After the class, they all went their separate ways. To Tristan's chagrin, he found himself in the same class as Chrissy.

"Hi, Tristan," she cooed, putting a hand on his arm. He just looked at her with a raised brow.

"Hi, Chrissy," he said, and made himself busy. Kendra just shook her head.

"Chrissy, give it up. He's not into you," she advised as the teacher came in and immediately started the class.

"Hey Tristan, I heard on the radio that the White Stripes are playing nearby this week. Do you want me see if I can get us tickets?" the other girl questioned in his ear.

"No," Tristan said, leaning forward.

"What?" Chrissy asked in confusion. "Come on. It'll be fun and we can party afterwards," she enticed, running her fingers up his back. With a growl of irritation, he turned around.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm not into you, I'm into Casey. Okay?" Tristan questioned. Chrissy pulled back in confusion.

"What? That geek?" she asked. "Whatever," she said as the teacher walked over to them.

"Do you two want to take this outside?" she demanded.

"No. But may I have a different seat please?" Tristan requested.

"I'll switch with him," a boy offered. The teacher allowed them to do so. Man, public school girls, Tristan thought to himself with a shake of his head. Things sure were different in this setting. In private school, other people would realize that by this stage that they had no chance of coming between the two who were courting each other. The whole rest of the morning was like this. Tristan couldn't go anywhere without Chrissy seemingly just popping up and making a move on him. Tristan let out a groan and walked away from Chrissy and headed for the cafeteria.

"Hey, man," Sam greeted, falling into step with him.

"Oh. Hey. You're a friend of Casey's stepbrother, right?" Tristan recalled.

"Yeah, my name's Sam," Sam confirmed.

"Listen, I've seen you around and you seem like a cool guy and all, but I'm into Casey, and---" Tristan began.

"No, it's cool, man. Casey and I are friends," Sam interrupted.

"Oh. Okay," Tristan said.

"We actually used to date," Sam continued.

"Okay, now this is just awkward," Tristan commented.

"Oh, no! We broke up a long time ago. We're just friends now," Sam assured.

"Oh, good. I mean---that this won't be awkward for you," Tristan stated.

"So, what's the deal with Chrissy?" Sam wondered.

"Oh, she's just a Magdalene that has the hots for me," Tristan responded with a roll of his eyes. "I'm not into her," he continued as they headed into the cafeteria. They had just sat down at a table when Chrissy came over, sat in Tristan's lap and kissed passionately on the lips.

"Whoa," Sam said. From her spot in the cafeteria entrance, Casey watched the display with flashing eyes.

"Case, are you okay?" Emily questioned.

"Oh, this is so game on," Casey declared.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I used Prisoner by Dokken and Linoleum by Nofx. I don't know the length of either song, so I apologize for any inaccuracies.