Phil and Josh had made it to Biology before the rush of students and made it to their seats, making them the first two students in class. This was something that surprised Rob.

"Wow. In all my days of having had you as a student, Phil, I never would've imagined that you would one day be one of the first students to class," Rob said, laughing.

Shrugging, Phil said "Well, my usual walking buddies didn't show up in first period today, so I decided to come here by myself. I wonder why they didn't show up. Could've sworn I saw them here."

"That's a bit odd," Rob said, confused himself. Turning to the other boy, Rob asked "What about you, Josh? Don't you usually try to come in here with April?"

"I was waiting for her, but she didn't show up to first period at all this morning either. Which is strange for her. Me and my sister walked here with her this morning, but I don't know what could've happened with her," said Josh.

"Hmm. That does sound a bit strange, but I'm sure that April, as well as Alex and Kaitlyn, will show up for second period. So, if I was you two boys, I wouldn't worry too much," Rob said, smiling as he turned to the whiteboard and started to write down the material that would be covered in class.

While Rob was doing this, Phil got up from his seat and walked over to where Josh was sitting. Once he made it to his destination, Phil looked down at the younger boy. Looking up, Josh flinched slightly and said "Oh, Phil. You startled me."

"Sorry for that," Phil said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uhh, I just got hit with a crazy idea, but would you like to come over and sit with me and the others today? I figure you and April could use a break from sitting in the Preppy Triangle," Phil said, referring to the desks that were occupied by some of the preps in the school.

Taken aback by Phil's offer, Josh stammered and said "Uhh, s-sure. Let me get my stuff together."

"Great. After all, it's the least I could do for you," Phil said. "It must be rough being surrounded by the so-called leaders of our graduating class."

Groaning, Josh said "It is. I mean, all they ever want to do is talk about throwing pep rallies as well as a whole lot of other school spirit raising activities. If I wasn't such a gentleman, I would've snapped on them a long time ago."

Laughing, Phil said "Now, that is something that I would've loved to see. It's not easy being surrounded by people that try to make coming to school an enjoyable thing."

Laughing himself, Josh stood from his seat and said "You can say that again. But, what can you do besides tolerating their efforts to raise pep for the school's many sports teams?"

As Josh took his seat in front of Phil, the two boys talked as more students filed into class. The more Phil talked with Josh, the more Phil started to realize that the two boys had more in common than he had once thought. Phil was just about to ask Josh some questions about April when Mary, Kofi, Cody, and Daniel came into the room.

Coming to stand near Phil, Mary looked down at the two boys, grinned, and said "Well, well, well. Aren't you turning into quite the player? First, you put the moves on April and now you're in here chatting up one of her best friends? I must say, I'm a bit jealous of you right now, Philly."

Laughing as his friends sat down, Phil said "I'm not putting the moves on anyone, Maryanne. I just invited Josh here to come sit with us to keep from being in the Preppy Triangle today."

"Good on you for doing that, Phil," Kofi said, patting Phil on the back.

Confused, Josh looked to Cody and asked "I'm confused. Why did that girl say that she was jealous of Phil talking to me and April?"

Laughing softly, Cody said "Well, you might not know this about Mary, but she's bi, meaning she likes boys and girls. She's got a bit of a flirty side, so it isn't too uncommon that she's been seen hitting on some of the girls in our group."

Blinking, Josh said "I had no idea. Does anyone else know?"

Laughing a little louder, Cody said "Only the whole school does, Josh. You see, Mary doesn't exactly hide it that she's bi, so she shows it whenever she pleases."

Understanding a little more, Josh was set to ask Mary herself when he saw April, Alex, and Kaitlyn come into the classroom, just barely beating the bell. Waving his hand, Josh signaled to April that he was sitting somewhere else. Once the girls made their way to where the others were sitting, Josh leapt up from his seat and pulled April in close for a hug.

Caught offguard by the hug from one of her best friends, April blinked and said "Whoa, Josh. What's wrong?"

Blinking himself as he pulled away, Josh said "'What's wrong?' April, I didn't see you in first period this morning and I was worried about you. Did you get lost somewhere?"

"Not exactly," April said, looking off to the side.

"Well, what happened to you?" Josh asked, wanting to know why it was that April wasn't present in class.

Seeing that April was having trouble trying to say that she skipped class, Kaitlyn stepped in and said "It may be a bit dishonest for us to lie here, so I'm just going to come out with the truth. Me, Alex, and April cut first period this morning."

Not knowing what to say, Josh just stared at April until his face broke out into a smile. Finally managing to get his words out, Josh said "April, I'm amazed at you. You actually cut a class today. I think that counts as one of the most rebellious things you've ever done before."

Blushing, April scratched the back of her head and said "It's not all that impressive of a feat, Josh. I was panicking like crazy the whole time until I found out that me, Kaitlyn, and Alex weren't going to get caught. Then, I just relaxed and rolled with it."

"Again, I'm glad that it seemed like you enjoyed your time with Kaitlyn and Alex," Josh said, smiling at his friend. "I think this is one of the few times I've ever seen you glow like this."

Taking the seat between Phil and Daniel as she lightly shoved Josh, April laughed as the bell rang and Rob began to teach the class about the stages of cell division. As Rob lectured on, April took notes all while looking up every now and then, noticing Josh and Kaitlyn talking with each other. Smiling, April focused her attention back on the notes she was taking until she saw Phil put a piece of folded paper on her desk. Unfolding the paper, April read the question Phil had written: So have you made up your mind about entering the contest with me yet? Check one of the following: Yes, No, Maybe. Giggling at the cuteness of the note, April made a move to hide it by putting it in her binder and checked her answer. Refolding the paper, April placed it back on Phil's desk.

Phil opened the paper and saw that April had checked the box beside Yes. Trying his best not to do a victory dance, Phil refolded the paper and stuffed it down into his backpack. Focusing most of his attention back on Rob's lecture, Phil took some of the notes about cell division but couldn't help but think about the fact that April Mendez actually said yes to entering into the comic book contest with him. Before he and the others knew it, the bell rang signaling the end of second period and the start of lunch. Rising from his seat, Phil and the others left Rob's room and headed for the cafeteria.

Stretching, Mary asked "Oh man, did anyone notice that I fell asleep in there?"

"No one but me and Cody," Alex said, smirking. "I mean, it's not every day that you happen to see one of your friends do a faceplant onto a desk in the middle of class."

"Can it, Alexis," Mary said, shoving the younger girl. "I was up all night helping Billy with his homework and I didn't get to sleep until some time after one this morning."

"Maybe next time you should tell Billy to do his own work," Alex said. "Was he putting it off again?"

Groaning, Mary said "Sadly, yes. He said he was just going to play a few games of Street Fighter IV, but somehow, he ended up neglecting his homework until just about 10:00. Then, next thing I know, he's banging on my door while I'm video messaging Ria, Ash, Mel, and Mickie about an upcoming thing we have to do in Drama, practically begging me to help him out. So I, being the good older sister that I am, decided to help him out. And somehow, we ended up spending the better part of three hours doing Math and Social Studies homework."

Sympathetically rubbing Mary's shoulder, Alex said "You poor thing. Well, if you need to, you could just take a nap during lunch. Just put your earbuds in, listen to some Nickelback, and you'll sleep like a rock for a good two hours. And if that doesn't work, you and Ted could always go sit outside with each other."

Brightening at the younger girl's ideas, Mary said "Actually, the second one doesn't sound like too bad of an idea. It's such a nice day out and I could always use Ted's shouders or his lap as a pillow."

Laughing from Alex's right side, Kaitlyn said "Figures getting to use Ted as a pillow in some way would be enough to convince Mary to take a nap during lunch."

"Oh hush, Kait," Mary said, sticking her tongue out at the two-toned teen. Turning to look at Phil, April, and Josh, Mary said "So, I take it that this is where you two part ways with us for lunch?"

Blushing, Josh said "Actually, we were wondering if we could join you guys again today. Usually, we have to play musical chairs with finding places to sit in the cafeteria, so luck never tends to be on our side."

Walking back towards Josh and April, Mary threw both of her arms the pair and, smiling, said "Just stick with us, Josh, and you'll never have to worry about that or any other problems you two may have to face ever again."

Laughing at the gesture, Josh said "That sounds great. Doesn't it, April?"

All April could manage to do was bring herself to nod. She suddenly started to feel the same way she did when she and Josh first took the leap to ask the freaks to sit with them at lunch the other day. Walking to catch up with the others, April headed into the cafeteria and went through the line, getting her food. Moving to keep step with Josh, April listened as he talked with Kaitlyn and Alex. April was starting to feel less nervous the more she got used to the group. Arriving at the table that the freaks usually sat at, April took the seat that was between Phil and Alex. As conversations carried on between the teens that were there, April was starting to feel slightly bad that she had nothing to contribute to any of the chatter. More teens started to file into the cafeteria and took seats all around the room in the same clique-oriented groups that April's noticed ever since she started high school.

Looking to his right, Phil noticed that April hadn't said a word the few minutes that they had been in the cafeteria. "Something on your mind, April?" Phil asked.

Looking up to meet Phil's eyes, April blushed and said "I guess I'm just feeling nervous about being here. Don't get me wrong; I think it was totally awesome that you and your friends decided to include me and Josh with you guys, but social situations aren't exactly my strong suit."

Laughing a little, Phil said "Is that all? Just not the social type? Don't worry about it, April."

"But, I feel bad that I don't have anything to really say in conversations with you guys," April said.

"Just be yourself and the stuff will come easily. After all, it's not like we're demanding that you get in front of the school and give a speech," Phil said, sympathetically rubbing April's shoulder. "Besides, if you cut first period with Troublemaker 1 and Troublemaker 2, then you can do something as simple as talking with me and the others."

Taking in what Phil just told her, April sighed and said "You're right. So, is it always a common thing for Alex and Kaitlyn to just up and decide to cut a class?"

"That's more like it," Phil said, smiling. "Well, I wouldn't exactly say that it's a common thing, per se. It's just a habit that they may have, more or less, picked up from me. You see, there have been either teachers or classes that we don't want to deal with. So, if we ever have an off day, we just turn it into a skip day. Might not be the most upstanding thing for teens to do, but it beats sitting through a class with a bad attitude."

"Really, Phil? You came up with the idea to just skip class whenever?" April asked.

"Well, when asked about it that way, I guess you could say that I at least came up with the idea for my group of friends to do it whenever they like," Phil said. "After all, why do you think I've been held back for two years?"

Not really knowing how to answer Phil's question, April almost asked Phil if what he said was true until she started to notice more of the freaks joining them at the table. Looking up, April noticed that Jeff, the boy she had met at Chrono Comics the other day when she went with Phil, sat right across from her.

Seeing the brunette, Jeff smiled and said "Well, hey there April. Did you like what you bought the other day when you came to the shop?"

Shyly, April said "Yes, I did. I've actually got one of the books I bought with me right now."

"Really? Which one?" Jeff asked.

Reaching around into her backpack, April pulled out her copy of 'Final Fantasy Origins: Yuna' and handed it across to Jeff. Looking at the book, Jeff handed it back to April and said "That's a pretty good read right there. The character that the book is based on is one badass chick."

Blushing, April laughed and said "You know, I think you're the second person to tell me that about this book."

"Well, good reads are good reads. So, changing the subject here, what you brings you to sitting here with us today?" Jeff asked, as he started to eat his food.

"Uhh, well, I'm not sure if me and my friend Josh, who's sitting down there talking to Kaitlyn and Mary, are OK sitting here, but Mary offered to let us sit with you guys," April said, picking at her own food. "I hope we're not intruding by sitting here."

"Of course you and your friend aren't intruding here," Jeff said, chuckling. "After all, we've got more than enough space to seat more people over here. So, just know that you and Josh are more than welcome to come sit with us whenever you please."

Smiling, April said "Thanks for the gesture. I'll be sure to let Josh know that after lunch."

The rest of the lunch period passed a bit too quickly for April's liking. Aside from seeing Mary leave out of the cafeteria with a brunette boy who introduced himself as Ted Dibiase, nothing else really happened besides the freaks all having lively chats and April actually joining in all while sharing some laughs at what they were talking about. When the bell finally rang to signal the end of lunch, April left out of the cafeteria with the other freaks. Walking to meet up with Josh, April saw that he was still carrying on his chat with Kaitlyn.

Coming up behind April, Phil said "I don't think it'd exactly be the best thing to break up this adorkable picture in front of us."

"Well, I've got to tell him that I'm headed for my Creative Writing class now with Melina and Mickie," April said.

"I'm sure he'll figure that out on his own," Phil said. "Besides, I was thinking that maybe I could walk you to your third period class today."

Looking up to the taller teen, April said "Are you OK with doing that, Phil? I wouldn't want you to be late for your third period."

Waving it off, Phil said "Oh, pssshhh. Mr. Bradshaw won't care if I'm late. In fact, the class I have next is Basics of Debating. I think he likes it when I show up late just so that he can have me 'defend' why it is that I'm late in the first place. Besides, I want to talk to you about your decision to enter the contest with me."

"OK," April said, watching Josh as he left with Kaitlyn and turning to walk off with Phil herself. As April walked on with Phil, she couldn't help but wonder what it is that he would want to talk about with her. "So, what did you want to talk about exactly? Was it a bit of a shock for you when I said yes to entering with you?"

"Needless to say, yeah, it was actually. What made you change your mind?" Phil asked.

"Let's just say that I think that entering this contest will help me out," April said. "You might find this a bit hard to believe, but I've never done anything of this nature before, so I don't really know what to do as far as writing an actual comic book goes."

"That's why I feel taking you to Chrono will help you get inspiration with how to write a story for one. After all, there's no better teacher than the work of masters in whatever it is that you're trying to produce," Phil said.

"Wait, why'd you say it like that?" April said.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Phil said "Well, I was thinking that maybe you'd want to come with me on another run today. I could tell from the looks on your face the last time we went that you were really enjoying yourself there. So, what do you say? Do you want to go to Chrono with me again?"

Blushing, April said "I-I'd love to. Maybe I could ask Josh and Bayley if they want to come too. Would that be fine?"

"Sure. I've got no problem with it if Josh and Bayley decide to come along with us this time," Phil said.

"Great. Well, I guess this is where I leave," April said, noticing that they were standing outside of Mr. Cornette's classroom.

"OK. Well, have a great class," Phil said; however, before he turned and left, Phil gave April a quick hug before taking off for his Debating class.

Watching as Phil weaved his way through the sea of students, April fought to keep the blush that was threatening to light up her face from spreading. She shouldn't be feeling this way about somebody that she's only known for a few days. After all, there was no possible way that she could be developing a crush on Phillip Brooks. Was there?

I mostly wanted this chapter to focus on April giving Phil her decision and her attempts at trying to open up more. Also, could there be possible romance blooming between the two? R&R to find out. =)

(Also, on my profile, I have a poll up for a fic that I plan on writing in the near future. My problem = I can't decided on a pairing to use for it. So, feel free to vote on it...because I'd really like to see who you guys would want to see as the main pairing in this fic.)