Valentine's Day and a new character added to my story. She's not OC and you'll definitely recognize her! Enjoy!

Chapter 7-February

"Kevin? Kevin? Helloooo? Keeeevin…"

"DUDE!"

Kevin Ryan nearly fell out of his chair at Javi's shout. He turned to see Castle rubbing his left ear and glaring at Javier, who, in turn, was glaring at Kevin.

"Dude, what are you staring at?" Javi grumbled. "Mr. M excused us for break like five minutes ago!"

Kevin's eyebrows rose in shock. "Really?" he asked.

"Actually," Castle interjected, "it was more like two minutes ago, but-" at Javi's glare, he shut up.

"Whatever," Javi said, "the point is; you've been spacing out all morning! Now what are you staring at?" he repeated his question.

A blush rose on Kevin's cheeks. "N-nothing!" he said, looking pointedly away from the new girl, Jenny O'Malley, who'd just arrived from Oklahoma.

She had blonde hair and bright green eyes and her smile made Kevin blush (he had no idea why!). And, for some reason, he couldn't stop staring at her. He'd never had this problem before…

"Dude!" With a start, Kevin realized that he was staring again. This time, Javi's eyes followed his line of sight, groaning when he saw the reason his best friend kept drifting off. "You're staring at the blonde! Dude!"

Javi's words were practically shouted, resonating off of each corner of the room so that everybody was looking their way. Thankfully, Castle covered for him, grabbing a doll off the nearest shelf with blonde hair.

"It's just a doll, Javi," he said, "and it's pretty…"

Kevin laughed and Javier shook his head, a small grin appearing. "You're such a goof, Castle."

Castle shrugged. "Haters gonna hate."

Javi turned back to Kevin. "But seriously dude; you like the new girl?"

"NO!" Kevin said, defensively, just as loud as Javi's words before. He looked around, seeing people's heads turning towards him and he cleared his throat, lowering his voice. "No!" he whispered. "I just…like her shirt…"

"She's wearing a dress…" Castle pointed out, smirking. Javier snickered and Kevin blushed.

"Well, uh…what I meant was…"

"Dude, save it," Javi said, shaking his head, "you're not fooling anyone; you got the hots for the Okie." He grinned, cockily.

Kevin furrowed his eyebrow. "Don't call her that!"

Javi turned to Castle. "See?" he said; Castle nodded. He turned back to Kevin. "You soooo like her!" he taunted.

"Just like you like Lanie!" Kevin retorted, crossing his arms.

Javi blanched. "Wh-why you say that?" he asked, looking around for the afore-mentioned Lanie.

"Please!" Kevin scoffed. "It's so obvious! You're always blushing when she's around and I saw you looking at her yesterday during our math lessons. Admit it!"

Javi pouted. "Yeah, so maybe I do! At least I'm man enough to admit it!"

Kevin snorted. "Javi, you're six! You're not a man at all!"

"Maybe not on the outside," Javi grumbled, looking away. Kevin rolled his eyes and Castle fought to hold back his own snort of laughter.

"Anyway," Kevin said, "what does it matter? She's never gonna like me back."

"Why do you say that?" Castle asked.

"Look at me!" Kevin exclaimed. "I'm short and chubby and I blush every time I try to talk to a girl!"

"You don't blush when you talk to us," Lanie said, coming up next to Javi. Kate was behind her.

"That's because you're not really girls!" Kevin said, without thinking. Lanie and Kate glared at him.

"You better take that back or I'ma slap you!" Lanie threatened, holding one hand in the air like a promise. Kevin backed away, holding up his hands.

"Okay! Okay! Sorry! Geesh!" Castle and Javi snickered, each receiving twin glares from Lanie and Kate. They pretended to look away and Castle attempted to whistle. He failed.

Kate and Lanie shared a look and shook their heads. "So, what were you boys talking about, anyway?" Kate asked.

"Nothing," the boys said in unison. Kate and Lanie shared another look. Lanie shrugged.

"Whatever," she said, "so what are you guys bringing for Valentine's Day?"

"Valentine's Day?" Javi echoed. "When is that?"

"The same day as every year," Kate said, "February 14; Wednesday…"

"Mr. Montgomery said we were having a party and everybody has to bring something. Weren't you guys listening?" Lanie said.

"Not really. I was flicking paper balls at Javi and he was trying to get Kevin's attention, and Kevin was-"

"Castle, be quiet!" Kevin admonished, glaring at Castle.

Castle shut up and Kevin shook his head.

"What were you doing, Kev?" Kate asked. "And why don't you want Lanie and me to know?"

"Nothing!" Kevin said, blushing furiously. "I was just daydreaming…"

"About Jenny O'Malley," Javi added. Kevin punched him in the arm. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Like you don't know!" Kevin growled.

Lanie squealed. "Awwww! Kevin's got a crush!" she clapped her hands. Kate pulled Kevin into ad hug, crushing him.

"I'm so happy for you, Kevin!" she said. Kevin groaned, glaring at Javi and Castle, over Kate's shoulder, who were both in hysterics, practically pummeling each other to conceal their laughter.

"Why are you happy, exactly?" Kevin asked, extracting himself from Kate's embrace. "It's not like she likes me back!"

"Not yet, you mean," Kate said, smiling. "You just gotta show her what she's missing!"

"Yeah, Kev!" Lanie said, grinning. "Show her what a sweet guy you are and she'll be all over you!"

"Pfft!" Javi scoffed. "Girls don't want sweet guys! They want bad boys!" He grinned cockily at Lanie, who rolled her eyes.

"How would you know?" Lanie retorted. "You ain't a girl! Or are you?"

Castle and Kevin snickered and Kate laughed out loud. Javi glared at Lanie.

"Do I look like a girl to you?" he hissed.

"Oh, you don't wanna know what I think you look like, Javier Esposito," Lanie said, sticking her nose up.

Kate chuckled and Castle and Kevin shared a knowing look at Javier's annoyance.

"Whatever," he grumbled, "let's just go to lunch." He stomped out of the room with Castle trailing him, Lanie and Kate still gushing over Kevin and his new crush as they walked to the cafeteria.

Caskett-Caskett-Caskett-Caskett

Wednesday Morning…

Kevin held the little pink construction paper cut-out heart in his trembling hands, staring at Jenny's desk, which was already littered with Valentines. Kate and Lanie had said the way to her heart was to make her a special Valentine, so instead of filling out one of the many Peanuts Valentine cards for her, he had crafted his own, adding frills from a doily around the edges and filling it out with a personal message. He'd been too scared to sign his own name, though, so he'd written, 'From your secret Valentine,' instead, since he had no idea how to spell admirer or anonymous.

Jenny was away from her desk but that didn't make Kevin any less nervous about leaving the Valentine on her desk and maybe getting caught doing it.

"Dude, what are you waiting for?" Javi said coming up next to him, his own hands filled with his Valentines for the class. "Just drop it on her desk already!"

"Wh-what if she sees me?" Kevin says, nervously.

"So what? Isn't the whole point of the Valentine to let her know you like her?" Kevin looked away. "You did put your name on it, didn't you?" Kevin shook his head, slowly. "Kevin!"

"What?" Kevin said, hunching his shoulders. "I'm afraid she won't like it. What if she thinks it's dumb?"

Javi gave him an incredulous look. "We're talking about the same girl who draws unicorns and rainbows on the chalkboard every morning, right?"

Kevin shrugged. "What if she doesn't like me back?"

Javi shrugged. "Then you'll get over it."

"Maybe…but I'm not taking any chances. I'll only tell her that I wrote it if she likes it."

Javi rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude; do what you want, but you're being ridiculous."

"What about you?" Kevin asked, suddenly. "You gonna tell Lanie that you like her?"

Javi smiled and held up his own, sloppy red heart. He'd written his own personal message to Lanie and had drawn them holding hands on the card. He's also signed his initials; J.E. There were no other J.E's in the class.

"Why did you draw a seven-legged spider?" Kevin asked, squinting at the card.

Javi frowned. "That's me and Lanie!" he said, offended.

"Oh," Kevin said, trying not to laugh, "sorry."

"Whatever. Just go give your girlfriend her gift already. I'm gonna go put mine on Lanie's desk." He turned and walked away, grumbling about Kevin's comment on his Valentine.

Kevin just shook his head and took a deep breath, heading over to Jenny's desk, the Valentine firmly grasped in his hand. He'd only just gotten it on the table when a voice spoke out behind him.

"Hi, Kevin!" the high, girly voice said and Kevin jumped, turning around, coming face to face with…

"Castle!" he hissed. "What'd you do that for? You scared me to death!"

Castle laughed. "You should see your face!" he snorted, bent over in hysterics.

Kevin pushed Castle, knocking him over onto the ground. "Not funny!" he said, walking away.

Castle watched him leave, still on the ground, still laughing, before getting up and walking over to Kate's desk, looking left and right, before pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and leaving it atop her growing pile of Valentines and strolling casually away.

Soon, there were no more Valentines to be handed out and Montgomery called everybody back to their seats to look through their cards while he handed out treats.

Kevin watched as Jenny read each card in turn, smiling at each one, then as she picked up his little pink heart. He smile dimmed a bit as she read, but then came back full force and she began looking around for the anonymous Valentine, but Kevin looked down at his own cards before she could catch him staring at her, a blush and a smile gracing his features.

Javier watched as Lanie read his card and giggled at the drawing on the front. She looked over at him and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. She blew a kiss at him, causing Javi to blush and look down at his desk.

Kate picked up the little note on top of her pile of Valentines and read the sloppy handwriting (which she recognized as Castle's, immediately):

"It's really hard to rhyme;

Anyway, who's got the time?

But I just want you to see

How much you mean to me.

So I wrote you this poem in the hopes

That you would be my Valentine

(See, I told you it was hard to rhyme)."

Kate smiled at the poem and looked over at Castle, who was engrossed in his own cards, chuckling at a moving puppy in one of them.

Kate shook her head. The card was meant to be anonymous but Castle had obviously forgotten that she sat next to him every day and was now able to recognize his writing from a mile away.

Maybe she'd keep that little piece of information to herself for right now, though; let Castle think he'd fooled her.

Even if that poem was the sweetest thing she'd ever read.

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