Emil sighed. Well, he'd better get Google Translate open if he wanted to read what the note said. Hastily written, the note was now further unreadable from sitting in his palm. His foreign language experience was little nothing- Lukas knew Norwegian. Because of this, Emil understood a few words, but nowhere near enough to actually hold conversation. Besides, this wasn't Norwegian. Possibly. Actually, he hadn't a clue. Liberty High prized their variety of foreign language classes, with a range from Chinese to German. Twelve year old Emil had decided to take French. French! As far as he could tell, it wasn't that terrible language either. He methodically looked for the convoluted characters, typing them in lethargically. It wasn't that he wasn't interested, per se. Just tired of drama, and tired in general. The ice cream fight was beginning to catch up to him!

The letters and numbers on screen still sadly looked like a jumbled mess. Emil selected the little blue globe that denoted the 'detect language' option.

A tiny red flag striped with a right cross appeared, next to the word 'Danish'. Who the hell was this person to send a note to his brother in Danish? On seeing what the note held, Emil was filled with a surge of disappointment.

Jordbær og fersken

(Strawberries and peach.)

Only the recipe. So much for his super-sleuthing.

On the flip side of the note were the words Hvis du har glemt: (In case you forgot:) followed by a string of numbers. Ten numbers to be exact. So, if Emil was correct, this mysterious and frantic exchange through the note was Matthias's cell phone number?!

Emil groaned. Matthias was obviously a former friend or admirer, who had now resorted to stalking his brother. Lukas had every right to be distressed! Well, his reaction was a perhaps little over the top, but still. Emil still felt a little idiotic for hiding the note from Lukas, and made his way to the elder's room, note in hand.

Emil gently pushed open the dark wood door, the floorboards and hinges squeaking. Lukas lounged in a puffy dark blue arm chair, legs crossed, and book in hand. He looked at Emil questioningly.

"Hey... So, that guy at the bakery-"

Lukas's face visibly darkened.

"Uh, he told me to give you this." Emil hastily held out the note.

Frown deepening on Lukas's countenance, he turned back to his book, playing with a stray knot of string on his chair.

"Burn it."

Wow. Lukas really didn't like this guy.

"Whatever. You should probably read it, though." Emil tossed the note at his brother, the little white paper drifting to the ground. Lukas slid it towards his chair with his foot, looking disgruntled as he scanned the paper.

"Get ready for dinner, I have things to do." Lukas said in the same clipped, cold tone as always.

"Yeah, sure." Emil muttered.

Lukas stared at him with an analyzing glare, eyebrows furrowed. "Thank you for showing me this."

Although his expression contradicted his words, Emil acknowledged them with a nod, and backed out of the room.

•oOo•

Lukas ordered a pizza, to Emil's surprise. While the brothers weren't the most healthy eaters, Lukas always cooked. Weird. After Lukas paid the delivery man, the two sat awkwardly at the table, Emil stuffing his face with pizza, Lukas picking at his slice uncertainly before turning away.

"Do you recognize him?" The elder brother sighed.

"No, I've never seen him before."

Though you obviously have. Emil fought the urge to say.

Lukas laughed dryly. "Yes, you have. Though, I suppose you wouldn't remember. If you see him, stay away. Promise me that."

"Yeah, I will." Emil said through a mouthful of food.

Lukas stood from the table, and began to clean up. "Good." He murmured softly.

•oOo•

Because of the bakery fiasco, and not getting the pastry he wanted, Lukas decided the best option was to make the dessert himself. For a work party, apparently. So, of course, Emil had to tag along with him. Emil was instructed to pick up whatever he wanted as a snack, and Lukas went off to grab the other necessities.

Emil wandered into the cereal isle, noncommittally gazing at the brightly colored boxes geared to children, and the dull healthy cereals for adults. Lucky Charms sounded good, he supposed. Better than cornflakes, of course. A chipper voice snapped him out of his cereal themed daydreams. To his left, Lili grinned at him, waving. He waved back, awkwardly avoiding conversation. He pulled the family sized cereal box off the shelf, and snuck a glance at Lili. She stood on the tip of her battered grey tennis shoes, reaching for a bright yellow box of off brand oatmeal balancing precariously on a few more boxes. Emil tucked his cereal box under one arm, and strode over with the intention to reach it for her. Not that he had much of an advantage height wise, but it was the right thing to do.

He yanked the box out, and held it out to her. She took it, casting her eyes upwards nervously, and as she began to speak her words were smothered in a crash of boxes. A shower of surprisingly painful cardboard and oatmeal smashed down on the two of them, several boxes splitting open, sending flaky oats spewing across the tiled floors.

Lili burst out laughing, clutching the box Emil had handed her to her chest. "That-That's exactly what I was trying not to do!" She snickered, stumbling over the words in her mirth. Emil turned away, flushing.

"It's not that funny."

"You're wrong!" She gripped the shelf, using it to pull herself up. Unfortunately, now with the loss of multiple boxes, the shelf was much lighter. Lili's light push to stand herself upright again was all it took to tip it over. In another bout of bad luck, the things on the other side of the shelf were jars of salsa and chips. Lili and Emil stood openmouthed at the sound of shattering glass and chips smashing, accompanied by the angry muttering of people on the other isle.

Lili bit her lip. "It's not funny anymore."

In a flash of courage, Emil grabbed her hand and took off down the isle, leaving a gaggle of shocked customers, and a confused and enraged manager. The manager took off behind them, Emil sprinting as quickly as he could. Lili made a noise somewhere in-between horrified and delighted, running as well. If only he could run this quickly in gym class. Oh well. You can't have everything.

Lili suddenly took control, dragging the two of the down another isle. The isle was majorly pink, filled with Barbie Dolls, princess dresses, and fake makeup kits. He hadn't the slightest idea why Lili had chosen this section, but there wasn't any time to turn back. Lili stopped, and in his adrenaline rush Emil almost shouted at her to move, until he saw what she was doing. There was a small magenta tent on display, emblazoned with doe eyed Disney princesses and flowers. Lili was fumbling with the (also pink) zipper, and as the manager called out, she dove inside, Emil following suit. Emil yanked the zipper up, and the two sat huddled against the back, panting heavily. Lili glanced silently at her partner in crime, and Emil noticed the uncontrollable grin on both of their faces. Silvery white hair laid across his right eye, and as he went to push it back, he realized he was still holding Lili's hand. He quickly let go, pretending not to be embarrassed, as they both listened for any movement.

Footsteps smacked along the floor quickly, a warped shadow passing over their tent, and turning the corner to the next row. Emil didn't bother to repress a relieved sigh, and Lili giggled.

"So, I guess I better go find my brother and get out of here." Emil said uncertainly.

Lili slowly unzipped the tent, peering out between the folds. "I'll see you later, then!" Her voice was still hushed with caution.

"Are you here with your parents?"

Something flashed in Lili's green eyes. "Oh, no, I'm here by myself today."

"Nice. My brother would kill me if I went shopping by myself."

Lili's smile brightened. "I know the feeling."

"Bye."

"Bye!"

The two stepped out of the tent, tripping over each other's feet, and made their way to their respective places.

•oOo•

Emil's routine took a sudden turn on Monday morning. He'd convinced Lukas to allow him to ride with Emma, and whomever she had accompanying her on that choice day. Sometimes it was Michelle, and their group of beautiful friends. Occasionally a serious, smug looking girl named Nikol, and once a terrifying blonde named Natalya. Despite the frequently changing riders, Lili was always there. After arriving at school, Lili and Emil would walk to class together. A tentative friendship had formed because of a series of unfortunate events, and for the first time, Emil felt motivated to keep it going.

•oOo•

Lunch wasn't Emil's favorite class, unlike most of his fellow students. Sure, it was fine sitting by himself. He didn't particularly mind sitting with the loner kids either. It was a lot better to have something to do, though, and Emil didn't have a ton of friends. However, for the last few days, Lili and Emma had made it pretty obvious that he was welcome with them. Was that a good idea? Emil wasn't really sure.

Emil was snapped out of his thoughts by a piece of paper dropped onto his lap. Mr. Kirkland, his literature teacher, had his bushy eyebrows furrowed.

"I'd appreciate if you didn't doze off in my class." Mr. Kirkland lectured.

"Sorry." Emil muttered.

Mr. Kirkland clapped his hands. "Class is dismissed, you're all free to go to lunch. Out!"

Emil unfurled the note to see words written in thick bold sharpie strokes.

"Can you meet me in my office for lunch? We should talk."

It was signed in brusque letters, "-Sadiq"

Well, the letter was phrased like a request, but Emil knew well enough it was an order. He could always feign innocence, though...

Whatever. He considered Mr. Adnan to be his favorite teacher, and a person he was comfortable speaking with. The man was sort of a surrogate uncle, (like he needed more of those) and Emil enjoyed talking with him. On the other hand, he had the opportunity to sit with Lili, and from the gossip he'd heard, Emma and her friends were the most popular girls out there.

MAKE A DECISION: Sit with Lili & co OR meet Mr. Adnan?

A/N: This one was really close! Thanks for all the reviews, I really love to hear what you all have to say. Sorry about the late update, I'm having huuuuuuuge writers' block. If you have any chapter ideas, pm me! I also don't own any of the brands I mention here! Duh. As always, please favorite & follow, and I'll see you guys next chapter!

Nikol: Czech Republic

Natalya: Belarus

I think everyone else is pretty obvious! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Just like Emil, I use Google Translate often. If you know Danish, please feel free to fix my grammar!

Note: For all of you Hong Kong lovers, we have two chapters before he arrives. Trust me, it'll be with a bang, too.