Heyyyyyyy everybody... So I'm back! Excuses for the lack of an update can be found at the end of the chapter. But for now...

Reviews!

WriterNicole: Everything you said is very true. But I might be needing that debate stuff soon. I hope you're done... ;-P

jayjrat: I'm super sorry that this took soooo long (and is super boring) but here's the next chapter!

Etolrah: Yes, that chapter was super fun. I actually used the JJ and Will parts for a homework assignment a week later. =-D Thank you so much for all the kind words. They mean a lot since I wasn't too sure about the romance aspect.

Now then, enjoy!

Date: Monday, 9/7/2015

Mateo Cruz sighed as he entered Quantico High that Monday morning. He slept little last night. He had barely a month of Senior year under his belt and the stress was already getting to him. People always said Senior year was supposed to be the easiest, but as far as Mateo was concerned they were dead wrong. Between classes, the student council, his part-time job, his schedule was packed.

Not to mention all the college pressure.

Mateo knew exactly what he want to major in and what he wanted to go into, so he didn't have it as bad as some. But the pressure was still hanging above his head.

Someone bumped into him from behind, knocking him out of his thoughts. Before Mateo could even glance at the person, they rushed off without so much as a muttered apology.

He shrugged it off without another thought. It was a normal occurrence in the crowded hallways. The person was probably just late to class and rushing to get there before the bell.

Mateo blinked. That was right. He had a class to go to. What did he have first?

He shook his head. Civics. With Principal Strauss.

Cruz sighed again. He must really be out of it if he was forgetting what his classes were.

When the last bell rung, Mateo sighed in relief. He was so glad the school day was over even though he couldn't go home just quite yet. He still had a student council meeting to get to and soccer practice after that. Nevertheless, he was thankful that the school part of school was over and done with. At least for today, that is.

It wasn't like Mateo hated or even strongly disliked school. He knew it was necessary evil so he could get the job he wanted. For the most part, the work wasn't all that hard, his classmates weren't the worst people to walk the face of the planet, and the teachers he had this year were some of the best he had ever had. Mateo's only complaint about Quantico High, and school in general, was that it was too repetitive. Nothing ever changed. Every day it was the same classes with the same students with the same teachers. He knew that a repetition was simply a part of life but that didn't make it any less boring.

But right now, he needed to get to the council meeting.

Cruz grabbed his laptop from his locker and made his way to the meeting room. He waved to his friends as they passed by, but he couldn't afford to be late. It wouldn't look very good for the president to be tardy to his own meeting.

If he was late, Cochran would try to use it as an excuse to replace him. Again. Mateo scowled. Brian Cochran was quite possibly the bane of his existence. Mateo could usually find the good in people, but not Cochran. They were both seniors and Mateo was glad that the only subject they shared was Civics. He honestly didn't think he'd be able to take much more of the other senior's presence than that.

Cruz reached the Council room and was surprised to find both Kate and Will already there. The two sophomores were avidly discussing something that Mateo could only assume to be plans for the Homecoming dance. Now that he thought about it, he should probably check up on their progress.

"How the dance coming along?" he asked. Will jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice, but Kate simply nodded absentmindedly.

Kate scribbled something in her notebook before replying, "Pretty good. Will asked his girlfriend for some ideas, and I have to admit they're pretty good."

Will flushed at the word girlfriend. Mateo smirked. Based on the sophomore's reaction, he would wager that Will had probably never had a girlfriend before.

"I see. So the plans are finished? We have to get them to the school board by Wednesday, you know," he reminded them. "The dance is only three weeks away."

Will finally caught a hold of his voice. "Just about. We gotta go over the budget one more time and then we'll be done."

"Perfect," announced a voice from behind them - scaring Will once again. Mateo turned to the voice's owner, Clyde Easter. Easter was another senior. Mateo wouldn't really consider them friends, but Easter was definitely more tolerable than either Cochran or Askari - the other senior on the council.

Mateo shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to get it together. He took his laptop to the head of the table and began to set up what he'd need for the meeting. The rest of the council members arrived quickly. Cochran turned up with his usual air of snooty superiority about him. Askari came in moments later, followed, as always, by his Junior lackey, Michael Hastings.

Once everyone was seated, Mateo began the meeting.

Unsubs & Characters:

Brian Cochran - 11:9 (Is not related to William Cochran in any way. CM just likes to reuse last names)

Clyde Easter - 6:16

Tivon Askari - 9:14

Michael Hastings - 9:14

Now then, the part you've all been waiting for! Why I've been gone for three months.

1. Dealing with the emotional turmoil Derek Morgan caused by leaving the show and trying to figure out how to write this without him in it. In the end, I decided that it would be easier all around to simply keep everything how it is and see how things in the show progress.

2. Expansion of interest. Over the summer, I wrote quite a few stories for the Hetalia fandom. (Gotta share the love around, ya know?) I'm a huge anime fan and while taking a peek at the lovely scenery over there, I got lost in a forest of 118,000 fanfics. As you can see, it took a while to find my way out.

3. It was summer. This is probably the least impressive answer, but who wants to think (much less write) about school during summer vacation!?

So, sorry for the absence but now that school has started up again, I hope to have more ideas and inspiration for this. I'm definitely not giving it up, so please don't give up on me.

Next time: Now Hiring - David Rossi