A/N: YAY! Thanks for the reviews! Just a quick little note here...a lot of you folks seem to be flipping out about the whole Joanne/Collins thing. Remember, the kiddies are only in fifth grade. Most people find out they're gay a little later in life. So don't expect Tom to come running to Angel when he's 10 years old. And don't diss poor Joanne because she could potentially 'steal' Tom from Angel. Just clarifying that. Thanks! R&R please!

I OWN NOTHING.

--------------------

MARK'S POV:

Mark stared down at the crumpled piece of paper in Tom's hand.

I like you. More than as a friend.

Both he and Roger had been called over to the other side of the playground during recess break, while the girls—and Angel, who already knew about Joanne's note—were on the opposite side. The excuse had been that they needed to talk about 'guy stuff'. Maureen, Joanne, and Mimi had been suspicious of course, but in the end, had let the guys go off in their own little corner. Angel had just nodded understandingly.

"Guys, what am I gonna do?" Tom asked, handing the note to Roger and fidgeting with his hands nervously.

Roger looked down at the note and bit his lower lip. "Dude. She totally likes you."

"Wouldn't that be painfully obvious by now?" Mark asked, adjusting his glasses. "It says it right on the paper!"

"Well, I'm stating the obvious facts first, dummy. That's how you solve a problem," retorted Roger.

Mark shook his head. "Not necessarily."

"Shut up, Mark."

"Guys! Focus, here! I need your advice," Tom interrupted. Mark sighed. He didn't know what advice he could possibly give to Tom. He wasn't good with girl stuff...sure, he liked Maureen (a lot) but when he was put into situations like that, it was quite difficult to be able to decide what to do.

"Dude, do you like her?" Roger asked, looking at his friend with a serious expression on his face.

Tom looked down at the ground. "I...I don't know! I mean...I'm not much into girls."

"Oh yeah, that's right, you're the only crazy one in our class who hasn't checked out Cassandra McKelly in the sixth grade yet," muttered Roger.

"What? I really don't think she's that good-looking!"

"Like I said, dude, you're crazy. Mark, isn't Cassandra hot?"

Mark blinked. "Yeah. Yeah, she is."

"SEE! You're just crazy, Tom. You haven't been obsessed with one girl, ever! You know who you're obsessed with? Angel. A-n-g-e-l."

"Yay for you, Rog, you spelled his name right. Didn't think you could do that," Tom snapped.

Mark just watched as the two bickered, not sure exactly what to say or do.

"And you know what?" Roger continued, "Angel is a boy. A boy. Not a girl."

"Who ever said I was obsessed with him? That's creepy!"

Roger glanced at Mark, "Mark, isn't Tom obsessed with Angel?"

"I...no...I mean...STOP ASKING ME THESE QUESTIONS!" Mark sighed and watched some more as the two fought.

"Listen to me, Rog. 'Obsessed' isn't the right word. Angel's going through a lot of crap and I just wanna look out for him. That's what friends do, Roger! But you wouldn't know, 'cause all you care about is yourself, and girls...and personally, I don't think you treat Mimi the way you should. Calling her 'dude' all the time. If I were her, I wouldn't be too happy 'bout that!"

"Guys, stop..." Mark muttered. He didn't like where this was going.

"Stop acting like you know everything, Tom. You don't. You don't know about Mimi and me, you don't know anythin'..." Roger's voice was rising. "So just shut up."

Mark looked at both of them. "You guys need to stop..."

Tom shook his head, "I'm not gonna shut up. I need your advice, not a fight with you, okay!"

There was a long moment of silence.

"I'm sorry," Roger finally said, "I didn't mean to say that stuff...about you..."

"It's okay...I guess I shouldn't have said the stuff I said, too."

Another moment of silence.

"Dude, what the heck are you gonna do about Joanne?" Roger finally asked.

"Need I remind you again that the only reason I called you guys over here was to figure that out?" Tom asked.

"You talk funny, dude."

"Maybe you should just tell her...how you're not into girls...and stuff," Mark suggested.

Tom thought for a moment. "But I don't wanna hurt her feelings! She's my friend, for cryin' out loud...I don't know what to say..."

"Wait, back up here, dude. If you're not into girls, what are you into? Frogs?" Roger held up his hands.

Tom rolled his eyes. "That's right, Rog, I think frogs are hot," he said sarcastically. Mark burst out laughing, clutching his sides. Then came a little chuckle from Tom and a big laugh from Roger.

"Dude, I guess you're right...but whenever you get into girls, let me know, 'cause you need to check out Cassandra McKelly."

--------------------

JOANNE'S POV:

A couple of weeks flew by, and now it was already the last day before Christmas vacation. Tom hadn't said anything to Joanne about her note yet, and it was getting her very nervous.

She had told the girls (and Angel) about the note a while ago. Angel had already figured it out...Joanne knew by now that Angel pretty much knew everything.

It was so obvious now. He didn't like her back. Joanne wasn't sure how she should feel about that at the moment...but she had a feeling that if he wasn't saying anything by now, it couldn't mean anything promising.

Of course, the group of friends being as close as they were, they had exchanged gifts that previous weekend. Everyone had gotten each other some kind of kinky and small gift for Christmas. When Joanne and Tom had exchanged gifts it had been extremely awkward for both of them.

Now, school was letting out in a good ten minutes, and the feeling of excitement was quite present amongst the fifth grade classroom.

"God, I can't wait to get outta school!" Roger cried.

"I can't, either," Mimi squealed jumping up and down excitedly.

Maureen flipped her hair back and smiled at Mark, who blushed violently. "I'm gonna call you over Christmas Break, Marky, so you'd better pick up!"

"I...I will..." Mark was in a daze. Roger and Tom glanced at each other and smirked.

Angel casually walked over to Joanne and whispered, "If he doesn't come talk to you in the next few minutes, make your move."

Joanne nodded and looked down at her hands sheepishly. The bell rang and she looked up. Kids were running all around, grabbing their backpacks, saying their goodbyes and running out the door.

"Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, and all that crap!" Roger cried, swinging his backpack around and running out the door.

"And that was Roger's big finale exit," Mimi giggled. She hugged everyone, wished them all a happy holiday, and left as well.

Maureen refused to leave until Mark did, so she could talk to him all the way outside.

Angel walked around and squeezed Joanne's shoulder and waved goodbye to Tom, saying, "Feliz Navidad!" before disappearing out the door.

Now it was just the two of them and a bunch of other kids announcing their departures.

"Um...Joanne?" Tom said.

Joanne took a couple of steps towards him. "Yeah?"

"I...I'm...I can't..." Tom found himself stuttering. He took a deep breath, and then started over again. "I really like you, Joanne..."

Joanne felt like she was walking on air.

"...But not...y'know...more than friends."

Ker-plop. No more walking on air for her. She'd fallen face-down on the muddy, disgusting ground known as rejection.

"I'm...really sorry," Tom continued.

Joanne looked up. "No, really, it's okay."

"But I---"

"Just forget it, Tom...Gotta go. Merry Christmas!"

She waved goodbye to him and to Mrs. Wright and ran out the door before anyone could see her crying.