I would like to start off by saying I'm realy really really really sorry for not updating sooner! I had the world's most extreme case of writer's block, which I know isn't an excuse, but I hope it'll make you go easier on my anyway! To make up for taking so long, I took two majorly important chapters and mashed them into one big one, just for all my lovely, awesome sauce reviewers! It's gonna be really dramatic, and it took a while to write, so I reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaally hope you like it! Enjoy!

We all meet up in classroom 125 to set up for Matt's party. Right off the bat, we notice quite a few things.

1. It is old, dusty, and reeks of disuse.
2. For a classroom, it is ginormous.
3. The organizer of this little set up committee isn't here.

"Where is Tara?" Casey asked. "If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here. I'd be passing out invitations with DJ." She says her boyfriend's name in such a dreamy voice, it literally triggered my gag reflex. She notices and sticks her tongue out at me. "You're just jealous."

"Why would I be jealous? I got my own man." I point out. SHe shrugs and grins.

"I swear to god, if she isn't here in five minutes, I"m going to put her through pain like nobody knows. I'm going to shave her head while she sleeps. Then I'm gonna go all White Witch on her ass and make a vest out of her hair. Yea, that'll be great. Then I'm gonna grab her foot and twist it around her head and make her into a human pretzel. Then I'll finish her off by covering her in salt, putting her in the microwave and turning her into an actual human pretzel. Oh, man, I ain't come up with a scheme like this since-" I cut Lexi off.

"Never bring that event up again." I say warningly.

"Oh yea, I forgot about that thing with the hamster." She says.

"And the unicycle! Don't forget the unicycle!" Casey adds.

"That's besides the point. She will be pretzelized! Pretzelized I tells ya!" Lexi finishes off her statment with an evil laugh she's been working on perfecting since we were six years old.

"Well aren't you being especially evil today." I say, stepping away, putting an adequate amount of space between the two of us just in case. She gives me a look.

"Well I can't just sit around here waiting for forever! I have a study date later!" She tells us. I raise my eyebrows and elbow her.

"A study date huh? So who's the lucky fella?" I ask. She smiles.

"Oh, you don't know him." She replies in a lofty manner.

"Well tell us about him!" Casey urges.

"Yea, and include a name so we can hunt him down!" I add. Lexi and Casey both look scandalized.

"Mikkie!" Lexi exclaims.

"What? Everyone knows that boyfriends aren't private anymore. Besides, you've done a background check on all of my boyfriends. Hell, you still have Michael's dental records hanging in our room 'in case of emergency'" I remind them. Lexi shrugs.

"What if we needed to put a tracker in a canine or wisdom tooth or something?" She tries to defend herself.

"Plus, you gotta admit, even his teeth are hot." Casey adds. I shake my head at them.

"I worry for you two." I inform them. THey laugh. Suddenly, the door swings open, interrupting our conversation.

"Your queen has arrived! Feel free to bow my loyal subjects!" Tara announces, carrying on the queen thing from when we were thirteen.

"Took you long enough! Where've you been?" Lexi demands to know. "And where'd you get the crap?" She adds, gesturing to the shopping bag in Tara's hand.

"Well, you know that passage way that we used to use to smuggle Mikkie into Roseville to see Johnny Abrams?" She asks, as if anyone could forget.

"Ugh, don't remind me." I groan. We lied before. Dustin isn't my first boyfriend that isn't an assassin, we just prefer to pretend like Johnny never existed, especially since his dad dated my mom which just made things...awkward.

"Okay. Well you know how we forgot how to open the passageway so we kind of gave up on any hope of setting her and Johnny up on a blind date even though they were incredibly cute together?" My friends nod.

"You were planning to WHAT?" My friends decide to act like I never said anything at all.

"Well, I was just walking down the hall on my way here with the stuff Ms. Morgan got for us to set up the party, thinking about how much I wish we could've gotten more stuff, when I saw the passageway just open! Right out of the blue! So, being the resourceful girl I am, I decided to take a little trip to Roseville. You know what they say, when life gives you lemons-" Lexi and I both cut her off.

"You make grape juice, and then sit back and let the world wonder how you did it!" I exclaim, at the same time Lexi says, "You throw the lemons back in life's face and go back to feeling sorry for yourself." We look at each other and start cracking up while Tara and Casey look us like we've gone clinically insane. That makes us laugh even more.

"Anyways, I took advantage of the situation and went to town to get a few extra things for the party."

"And left us waiting here! Seriously, couldn't you have at least called or something! I could've used that time for something important, like sleeping!" I half-say half-yell.

"Or beating people up!"

"Or studying!" We all shake our heads at Casey.

"No Casey. Just no." Lexi says.

"You didn't happen to get an intervention banner did you? Because it appears that we need one." I ask Tara jokingly. Casey sticks her tongue out again.

"I know it was rude to keep you guys waiting, but I got you all something!" Tara squeals. She tosses each of us a pack of Bubblicious bubble gum, Green Apple for me, Watermelon for Casey, and Blue Rasberry for Lexi, while snapping her own Original bubble gum flavored Bubblicious. Boy do we love our Bubblicious. Speaking of interventions...

"Sweet," I remark, popping a piece of gum into my mouth.

"Well, let's get down to business then shall we?" Cue the groaning.


"Mikkie!" Matt groans. "I don't wanna go anywhere!"

"Too bad sucka!" I tell him, giving his arm one good tug and pulling him off his couch.

"It's my birthday dude! A man has a right to nap on his birthday." He reasons.

"Too bad I don't see any men around here." I quip. He sticks his tongue out at me, grabs my head and puts it under his armpit. ''Aw nasty man! What's that smell?"

"Just got back from extra P&E practice little sis. Don't mess with me." He laughs. "And I am too a man!"

"Nope," I say breaking my head free of his pits. "You're not 18 until 11:59 pm. Don't deny it, I asked mom."

"Stalking me are ya Mikster?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"You are coming with me whether you like it or not Birthday Boy!" I manage to pick him up and carry him over my shoulder, staggering a bit as I make my way towards room 125.

"Need a little help there Mikkie?" I hear a voice call. Michael jogs over to catch up with me.

"Never!" I gasp, refusing, as always, to admit that I am not invincible. Michael takes my poor brother off my shoulders anyways, but grabs his shoulder so he can't escape.

"Thanks man, it's never fun being bro-napped. Now if you don't mind, I have a lot of important snoozing to do." He tries to walk away, but Michael's grip on his shoulder won't let him leave. My brother groans. "You're in on this too?"

"Big time Goode." Michael replies, patting him on the back. "You're coming with us." Matt reluctantly walks with us down the hall.

"Please tell me you're taking me to a bar." He pleads.

"Matt, you aren't old enough to drink yet." I remind him.

"Very true, but I really want one of those sweet shirts Mike's been telling me about." He says, grinning. Michael smirks.

"Aw, not you too!" I whine.

"Shun the nonbeliever." Michael says. My brother nods.

"Shun." I shake my head and slug them both in the arm, playfully for Matt (it's his birthday, I'll cut him some slack), hard for Michael. Michael pouts at me and rubs his shoulder where a bruise is undoubtedly forming as we speak.

"Are we there yet?" Matt asks for the fiftieth time about five minutes later.

"No." Michael says, verging on impatient.

"Now put a sock in it Matt, or I'll do it for you." He sticks his tongue out at me. We stop in front of our destination.

"This is where you're taking me? There's nothing special about this, it's an empty classroom you turds!" Michael smirks.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." We open the door and flick on the lights.

"SURPRISE!" Everybody shouts. Matt's face breaks into a ginormous grin. When I pictured this, I thought he'd say, 'Thanks," or 'This is awesome!' Instead, the words my brother chooses are, "DR. PEPPER!" He charges at the snack table and we all laugh. Lexi turns on the music and the party begins. I go to dance with Dustin, leaving Michael alone with his hords of screaming fangirls. OH the joys of life.


The party's been going on for about two hours now, and doesn't show any signs of stopping any time soon. THen, the music shuts off for a second and Lexi picks up a microphone and stands on the make-shift stage the boys constructed earlier.

"How's everyone doing tonight?" This question is met with a wave of cheers, hoots, and hollers. She laughs. "I'd like to start out with a shout out to the old man pigging out at the snack table over there, happy birthday to Matty Goode!" More cheers. "Now, before we get back to the partying, let's get serious." Questioning looks. "Now, I think we all here can agree that Gallagher Girls top Blackthorne Boys any day, am I right?" The girls all cheer in agreement, the boys respond by booing. "But for the sake of the birthday boy, I say we humor Matt with a little competition. You guys in?" Everyone cheers.

"All right. We have up here on this beautifully crafted stage," she gestures to the cardboard excuse for a stage she's standing on, "A karaoke machine and two bowls filled with names; one has boys, one has girls." I'm briefly reminded of the Hunger Games novels. "We're going to pick one from each, and tehn our two lucky contestants are gonna have a sing-off. Winner's school gets bragging rights for the rest of the semester." Everyone cheers as she picks up the first bowl and pulls out a name. "Michael Roberts!" The boys all cheer as Michael's friends jostle him and push him up to the stage. "And for the girls... Oh here's a fun one. Birthday boy's little sis, Mikkie Goode!" I walk up to the stage getting cheered for by the girls, and a few boys are daring enough to boo me. I pormptly give them the finger, and earn even more cheers.

"You guys ready?" Lexi asks. We nod and she hands us both microphones. "Let's roll!"

"Kick her ass Mikey!" Matt calls out from the crowd.

"You can count on it!" I stick my tongue out at Michael and turn back around.

"Thanks for the support!"

"No prob little sis! It's all about the brotherly love!" I stick my tongue out at him too as Michael begins to sing.

"I'm desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you

"I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you."
A few girls forget that he's the enemy and scream and reach for him. Even I feel the urge to cheer him on; God, it's not fair for one boy to contain so much hotness and such amazing talent. What advantage do the rest of us have over that?

"Forgetting all I'm lacking
Completely incomplete
I'll take your invitation
You take all of me now

"I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you

"I'm living for the only thing I know
Running and not quite sure where to go
I don't know what I'm diving in to
Just hanging by a moment here with you

"There's nothing else to lose
There's nothing else to find
There's nothing in the world
That could change my mind

"There is nothing else
There is nothing else
There is nothing else

"I'm desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you

"I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
Just hanging by a moment here with you

"I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
I don't know what I'm diving in to
Just hanging by a moment here with you.

"Just hanging by a moment
Hanging by a moment
Hanging by a moment
Hanging by a moment here with you."
Michael finishes, leaving me slightly awestruck. Leave it to him to sing a song by Lifehouse. Way to go Mike, way to go. For a moment, I feel like I should drop down to my knees and worship him as I'd worship the god of music.

"Good luck following that Goode." And then that moment ends.

"Oh you're so on." I think of a song that's been stuck in my head for weeks and begin to sing.

"Hey, what's your name?
I think I like you. Come a little closer now
Wait, what'd you say? Is that your girlfriend
Think I'll be turning that around.
Don't you wanna
Don't you wanna
Don't you wanna know, what it would feel like?

"Let's be friends so we can make out
You're so hot let me show you around.
I see what I want, and I wanna play
Everyone knows I'm getting my way
It doesn't matter what you say
I'm knocking you down, down, down
I'm knocking you down, down, down
I'm knocking you down.

"Hey, let me flip through the pages to something outrageous
Potentially maybe it could be more
But don't get your hopes up, first let's just hook up
Maybe you'll be what I'm looking for
Don't you wanna
Don't you wanna
Don't you wanna know, what it would feel like?"
A bunch of guys cheer, trading sides like the girls earlier. I see Matt glaring at a few of them, sending them warning looks not for being traitors, but more to say 'Hey, that's my little sister you're oggling at dick head. I smirk at Michael.

"Let's be friends so we can make out
You're so hot let me show you around
I see what I want, and I wanna play
Everyone knows I'm getting my way
It doesn't matter what you say
I'm knocking you down, down, down
I'm knocking you down, down, down
I'm knocking you down.

"You got my permission
You don't need admission
Cause I'm on a mission

"You got my attention
There's no need to mentiong
The way..
The way you make me feel

"THere's no need to question
My every intention
Cause this is...
Cause this is real

"Let's be friends so we can make out
You're so hot let me show you around
I see what I want and I wanna play
Everyone knows I'm getting my way
It doesn't matter what you say
I'm knocking you down, down, down (Cause we're young)
I'm knocking you down, down, down (Let's have fun, let's have fun)
I'm knocking you down, down, down (Cause we're young)
I'm knocking you down, down, down (Let's have fun, let's have fun)

"Let's be friends so we can make out
You're so hot let me show you around
I see what I want and I wanna play
Everyone knows I'm getting my way
It doesn't matter what you say
I'm knocking you down, down, down
I'm knocking you down, down down
I'm knocking you down."
I get a whole bunch of cheers at the end, but about the same amount as Michael, so I'm not sure who's winning. Michael and I switch off songs until we reach the very last two songs. He sings "Better than me" by Hinder.

"I think you can do much better than me
After all the lies that I made you believe
Guilt kicks in and I start to see
THe edge of the bed where your nightgown used to be
I told myself I won't miss you
But I remember
What it feels like beside you

"I really miss your hair in my face
And the way your innocence tastes
And I think you should know this
You deserve much better than me.

"While looking through your old box of notes
Found those pictures I took
that you were looking for
If there's one memory I don't wanna lose
That time at the mall
You and me in the dressing room
I told myself I won't miss you
But I remember
What it feels like beside you

"I really miss your hair in my face
And the way your innocence tastes
And I think you should know this
You deserve much better than me

"The bed I'm laying in is getting colder
Wish I never would've said it's over
And I can't pretend... I won't think about you when I'm older
Cause we never really had our closure
This can't be the end

"I really miss your hair in my face
And the way your innocence tastes
And I think you should know this
You deserve much better than me
I really miss your hair in my face
And the way your innocence tastes
And I think you should know this
You deserve much better than me
(And I think you should know this)
(You deserve much better than me.)"
Michael finishes and gets deafening applause. Even I have to admit, he was awesome. It's almost as if he actually felt what he was singing about. Not that he could, I mean, he hasn't had a girlfriend since we broke up four years ago. Man this kid's a good actor! Next I sing 'Untouched' by the Veronicas, but there's not much point. It's no surprise when Michael wins, and no one even seems disappointed that I couldn't beat him. It was a bit of a long shot anyways; my singing's not terrible, but it's got nothing on MIke's.

After the contest, I wander around looking for something to do. Matt has abandoned his post at the snack table and is now making out with some girl in the corner.

"Huh." I mutter. "Good for him." I continue walking around. Lexi is no where to be found, DJ and Casey are making out as well. Austin and Tara are drunkenly (just drunk on soda. Happens to hyper people like them all the time) flirting with each other and anyone with a face. Oh brother. I'm about to go ask Dustin if he wants to dance, but I see he's with his friends. I will not be that girlfriend. So I just hang around, talking to kids here and there about the air the sky, the hole in Marcus' pants that no one's nice enough to tell him about. You know, just shootin' the breeze. Then I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn and see Michael. Seeing him makes me more aware of the slow song being played on the iPod. "You and Me" by Lifehouse. My best friend holds his hand out to me in an all too familiar fashion.

"Can I have this dance?" I smile and walk out to the dance floor with him. We begin dancing, his moves not varying much from what I remember from seventh grade. "If I'm remembering correctly, this is our song."

"That it is good sir." I say giddily.

"Oh, going formal on me are you? All right then my dear lady." I laugh.

"Hmm. You know, it feels like this song is missing something." He takes the bait, smirking.

"It's you and me and all other people with nothing to do, nothing to prove!" He sings quietly. I laugh again.

"You sound like a cat trapped in a lawn mower." I tease.

"Well this poor kitten beat you in a singing contest, so I wouldn't be talking little missy." He says, smiling.

"How come you don't have a girlfriend Mike?" I ask out of the blue. He falters for a second.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"WHy don't you have a girlfriend? You're nice enough, sorta funny, fairly decent looking." He smirks.

"Aw, well doesn't that just touch my heart. You still think I'm purdy don't ya Mikster?" I smack him on the arm.

"I'm just saying. I know for a fact that any girl in this school would give their left arm for a date with you. So why haven't you got a girl?" Michael shrugs.

"Nobody's really caught my eye." He replies simply.

"How about we set you up with someone? Lexi, Casey, Tara and I know some really nice girls who'd gladly go on a date with you. How's that sound?" I ask. He shakes his head.

"I'll find myself a girlfriend as soon as I want one. I'm a big boy Mikkie, I can take care of myself."

"I know." I sigh. "It's just that you're a really sweet guy when you want to be and I just don't want you to have to be alone." He smiles.

"Don't worry about me." I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn and see Dustin.

"Oh hey Dusty!" I say brightly.

"Do you wanna go hang out by the snack table?" He asks. I grin.

"Sure, we'd love to." Dustin's smile falters.

"Yea. We. RIght." He doesn't sound very excited that Michael's joining us. The first chance I get, I whisper in his ear, "Play. Nice." We go and talk for a bit, and I can tell that the boys are dying to be at each other's throats as usual. I'm glad that they're trying to be nice for my sake, but I'm pretty sure one of them will have an anurism if they don't scream at each other soon.

"I'm going to go get some more pretzels. Be right back!" I say, walking away. As soon as they think I'm out of earshot, they begin bickering. I roll my eyes. So predictable.

I grab the pretzels. And some Doritos. And a twizzler or two (what? I'm a growing girl!) And last of all, the king of all soft drinks, a Dr. Pepper, and head back to where the boys are most likely throttling eachother. Unlike I expected, the boys don't stop arguing when I get there. From what I can tell, this is their most heated argument yet.

"I don't know why everyone's always fawning over you!" Dustin yells in Michael's face. "You're such a goddamn idiot!"

"Oh an idiot am I?" Michael yells back.

"Yea! A loser too. I mean come on! Anyone can see your friends don't actually like you. You can't even get over the one girl who pitied you enough to date you! You're just a pathetic little loser!" Michael glares daggars like I've never seen before.

"You know what? Screw you!" Then my best friend grabs my shoulders and kisses me. On the lips. For about five seconds. THen he lets me go and smirks at Dustin.

"Why you little bastard! I'm gonna fucking kill-" Before Dustin can finish his sentence, Michael lands a mean right hook to his jaw. Dustin stumbles backwards into a table. "Oh, you're really in for it now Roberts!" Dustin regains his balnce, wipes some blood off his lip and launches himself at Michael. The two boys fall to the ground. Michael grabs Dustin's collar and punches him in the face again and again all while Dustin lands punch after punch to his gut. It' painful just to watch. I finally regain some sense and start trying to pry them off each other.

"Guys stop it! Please, just stop!" I don't know if it's from exhaustion, or stress, or the sight of my best friend and my boyfriend trying to kill each other, but tears begin to stream down my face. Michael glances up, his eyes meeting mine for just a second, and he stops fighting. I finally manage to pull Dustin off of him.

"This isn't over Roberts." He says, spitting. Then he storms out of the room.

"Dustin wait!" I call after him. I start to run after him. But before I can make it out the door, Michael calls after me, "He doesn't deserver you Mikkie!"

See? What'd I tell you? If that's not long and dramatic, I don't know what is!
Mikkie: Michael... and he... and then... and I...HUH?
Lexi: I am so lost right now
Matt: Ditto. But whatever's going on, I don't like it.
Dustin: You're telling me! That asshat kissed my girlfriend!
Michael: Who you calling an asshat, asshat? (Boys launch themselves at each other and proceed to brutally murder one another.)
Austin: Oh, Michael's totally winning this fight. ASSASSINS FOREVA!
Tara: You're a dweeb
Austin: You're a dweebier dweeb! Dweeb!
Matt: Mikkie, I forbid you to date either of those boys (Dustin and MIchael pause in their fight.)
Both boys: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Mikkie: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Matt: !
Hammsters: If you crud-monkeys don't put a sock in it I'm deleting you all from the story!
Mikkie, Matt, Michael, and Dustin: !
Hammsters: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS! And Matt, I'll reveal who your mystery girl is
Matt and mystery girl: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Hammsters: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Mystery Girl (who's been in the story before, but I won't tell you who because I'm mean like that): I think she's gone clinically insane
All characters: Agreed
Zach Goode (because he's awesome): Review, to find a cure for Hammsters-phrenia. It's a worthy cause
Austin: help this poor girl not be a menace to society!
Society: Too late