I'M BACK, WORLD. probably not for good, but at least i'm back! :D


Julie sat alone at her desk at promptly seven am. She liked to be punctual, in her defense. Sure, no one else was in the classroom this early in the morning, but it was an opportunity for her to think. Think about things like...Max...and Jack...and other current predicaments, of course.

She was still pondering the idea of going with Max to a dance. Truth be told, she never thought of Max as more than a friend, she saw her more as "May's little brother" even though he was her age. But, she would go with him anyway, because Jack didn't like her. Julie was definitely over him anyway.

He wasn't even that hot. Pssh.

Come to think of it, she had only known Jack because of Jade. She didn't even know him that well for starters. On the contrary, she knew Max quite well, from them having to spend so much time together because of their older siblings.

Ugh. She was beginning to prove that Max was the obvious better option here. Is that what she even wanted? He had obviously only asked her out of pity, which she didn't like. Julie did not have to be pitied. There were plenty of other guys she could go with if necessary.

While she contemplated these matters, a group of girls peered into the classroom suspiciously.

"Look, there she is!"

"Shh! You're blowing our cover!"

"So are you!"

"All of you be quiet!"

They silenced.

"We have to find out what exactly Drew and that slut's relationship is. If we all go together, she will be suspicious. Make no mistake, Julie is just as clever as her brother is, alright?"

"Alright."

"I'm going in!"

One petite brunette walked in silently, making a beeline for the green-headed girl sitting by herself. She gently tapped her shoulder, and Julie whirled around, pretending to be surprised and also pretending she didn't know a group of girls has been creepily staring at her from outside of the classroom. She was more observant than she looked. Such things were necessary when living with someone like Drew.

"Yes?" Julie inquired innocently. What could these girls possibly want from her? Probably something related to gossip...oh, how she loathed gossip.

"I just wanted to know..." the brunette trailed off, sitting in the desk in front of her. She made herself comfortable before locking gazes with her, obviously trying to make Julie uncomfortable.

"Yes?" Julie repeated.

"Are May and your brother...you know, dating?" she asked, careful not to break eye contact.

Julie gazed back, cool and collected as ever. "No."

"Oh, well, um...do they have anything...going on?" the brunette further questioned, desperate to get something out of her.

"Not that I know of," Julie said. And not that it's any of your business, either, Julie added in her head. She knew what these girls were up to and if she was hostile towards them now, she'd probably end up paying for it later.

She grinned widely and as genuinely as she could, eyes creasing. "Well, if that's it, I'm a bit busy, so I'll see you later." She waved the girl off.

The brunette girl awkwardly retreated from the girl, returning to her group of girls standing outside of the classroom.

"Well?"

"How'd it go?"

"Not well. I underestimated her. If we're going to want information, we'll have to get it in means other than direct confrontation," their leader told them gravely.

"You don't mean...!"

"Oh, I mean."

"Oh, goodness."

&.

"Dawn, give it a rest. Class is about to start in ten minutes."

"Oh, come on! This is really important!"

"Because messaging an unknown person on the internet is very important indeed."

Dawn stopped tapping on her phone to send a quick, knowing glare to May before directing her eyes back to the glowing screen in front of her. May only sighed and put her head down. She had tried to snap the blunette out of it, but she just couldn't. She just seemed determined to find out who this Flameforest guy was.

Misty swung her legs back and forth from the desk she was sitting on, which she only did when she was irritated, in other words, basically all the time. "Of all the guys she could be attracted to, she wants the one who she doesn't even know!?"

I sighed again, nodding in agreement. "It's Dawn. What do you expect? Besides, I thought she was going with Barry!"

"Nah, not after I found out who he likes. I'd rather him go with a girl he likes than me," Dawn called out absentmindedly, eyes still glued to the screen.

"So you're going to go with this Flameforest person?" I asked.

"Well, I mean, if he asks me. He seems kinda sweet underneath all those layers of hardass."

I couldn't help but laugh at her comment, but it brought up memories of Drew's friend, Paul. "If that's the kind of guy you're into, I think I should set you up with Paul," I said.

"Ew, gross! Paul's a jerk, May," Misty said, swinging her leg particularly far and managing a painful nudge in my side. Oh well, another bruise to add to the collection of Misty's Wounds.

"Yeah, I agree. And he could never be sweet. He doesn't ever talk, and when he does, it's an insult," Dawn said, sighing wistfully and stowing away her phone as the one minute bell rang.

"I still think you guys should totally hook up."

"May?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

&.

Drew stared at his plum-haired friend in disbelief. He had nearly three classes with the boy, and had almost never seen him with his phone out. He never bothered to make social contact in real life, let alone his phone.

Ash also stared in disbelief. "It's like a Christmas miracle," he said in a daze.

"Yeah, except it's not Christmas...and it's not much of a miracle either," Drew added, facepalming at his friend's stupidity. Having a class with Ash first thing in the morning was a rather frustrating thing.

"Seriously, jerk, what's up? You're not actually...talking to someone, are you?" Ash asked, looking over Paul's shoulder at his phone.

Paul only grunted and moved the phone away from the raven-haired boy's view, eyes still glued to the screen.

Drew almost gasped. "It's not that tehsky609, is it?"

Silence.

"It is! Oh man, I can't believe it, Paul's actually hitting it off with someone! I've been waiting for this day for years," Drew murmured in a mocking tone, while Ash joined in on the fun and wiped away fake tears.

"I am not. I don't even know her, and...is it that hard to believe I'm messaging someone?"

Drew and Ash exchanged knowing looks, and then settling to direct their gazes at him pointedly. "Yes."

Paul only sighed, sliding the mobile in his pocket as he returned to taking notes, an activity that ninety percent of the class was not taking part of, namely Ash and Drew. Drew made sure to slip in studying time at home, and Ash...well, Ash just ended up barely passing by paying attention in class.

"I'm gonna find out who it is, Paul. And then, you're going to take her to the dance," Drew said, writing out his fate for his friend, which wasn't very appreciated by him.

"When pigs fly and hell freezes over," Paul retorted grumpily, eyes still on the board.

"So what's she like?" Drew asked, ignoring the previous comment.

Paul only sighed, knowing he couldn't defeat the stubborn grass-head.

"Ooh, she sounds kinda peppy actually. And really nice and sweet!" Ash said, finally catching a glimpse of the messages when Paul had his guard down.

It only took Paul a second to push Ash's face back before returning the phone to his pocket once more, putting his head down, preparing for the onslaught of comments which would surely come from this new information.

"You're kidding!" Drew's eyes gleamed as he looked from Ash, to Paul, who's head was lying down.

"And let the torture began," Paul groaned as his friends began badgering him with questions, while his face became increasingly flushed and his humiliation instantly doubled.

"I hate you both."

&.

Finally, there came a class May and Drew shared.

Drew took a seat beside the brunette and stretched out and yawned. "It's been a long day, especially dealing with Pauly-boy."

May glanced at him and only rolled her eyes. "What trouble could Paul possibly be giving you," she drawled ironically.

"It's a different kind of trouble, May. He likes some girl that he doesn't even know yet, and I'm going crazy wanting to know who she is," Drew muttered, reaching his hands up to unleash the frustration. He paused however, wondering if ruining his perfect hair was worth it.

May noticed this and laughed prettily before answering, "Same with Dawn! She was messaging him like crazy all morning!"

Drew froze. "She was...messaging him...this morning?"

"Yeah, first period. Why?" May reached for her water bottle, downing most of the contents before Drew replied.

"Paul was messaging someone first period, too..."

Drew winced slightly as May began coughing on the water, but smirked, seeing her in so much shock. After she finally got over her coughing fit, she glared knives and daggers and guns at him. "Thanks for the help, Drew."

"No prob," he said, patting her back now that she was over it.

She flushed at the contact before realizing a bigger problem at hand. "So you're saying that Paul is the one she's been messaging? But...that's...no way!" But then again, May had described him as a bit...unpleasant.

Drew only shrugged.

"What did Paul say she was like?"

"Peppy, bright and cheerful. There's no doubting it, May. It's definitely those two," Drew calmly said, passing in his perfectly done homework to the teacher.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" May knew Drew. Although he wasn't the type to poke in other's people business, this was Paul. The two were friends and he'd go to great measures to help him out.

"Oh, I've got it all planned out," Drew said triumphantly.

"But you just found out it was them!" May replied, disbelieving.

"And? I'm a genius, May," he said, smiling at her in the way he knew she loathed.

"I hate you."

"I know."

&.

"Dawn, I think you should ask him to meet you up somewhere. Say, a restaurant?"

"Oh, no way. That's...what if he says no?"

"I'm pretty sure he wants to know what you at least look like. I say go for it."

"Fine, but if he says no, you're going to get it, May!"

"Me? Why me? Misty came up with the plan, too!"

"Ow! Okay, it was just me. I came up with the plan. Curse you, Drew."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

-.-

"So, Paul. Are you going to meet her yet?"

"..."

"Come on, I can't keep getting Ash to tell me what's going on! Especially now that you've hidden your phone."

"Well yes, seeing as you idiots have no respect for my private life, Drew, I think it's fair that I've hidden my phone."

"So. When are you guys meeting up?"

"...at a restaurant."

"Fantastic! And uh, y'know...if you want some girl tips, I'd be happy to-"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"BUT-"

"No."

"I hate you."

"The feeling's mutual."


A/N: Agh, I'm done! Sorry I kind of left off that Julie tidbit there, but don't worry, the next chapter will focus on their ordeal. As for Dawn and Paul's date, that will be revealed in the chapter after that. ;) Tell me what you think, suggestions, compliments, critique, harsh critique, anything! I just want to know what you thought, alright? :) Thanks! See you soon!