Shorter chapter, and a boring one at that. Cheesy and kinda cute, but boring. Sorry to say I'm still on my cliffhanger kick. Sorry!

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah -insert disclaimer here-

"It always kills me when I find myself back in this dump again," I grumble, dumping my backpack behind my seat.

"You and the rest of us," Wally adds. "But apart from the girls leaving early, I think the vacation went pretty well, don't you think?"

I gave a small shrug as the teacher droned on in the background. "I'm not sure. I think Rich is still a little pissed at me for making his girlfriend go."

Wally waves a hand to dismiss it. "He'll get over it. He can see her today, can't he?"

In the back of the classroom, no one, save for the students around them, heard their conversations. "I never would've seen Rich pining after someone like her. You know with, like…Kathryn or something."

Wally chuckled. "Open your eyes; he can't stand her. And I don't blame him with Kori—she's way hot."

"Is that all you see?"

"Pretty much," he winked, but I knew he was joking. "Although, she does talk pretty weird," He adds.

"No kidding! Last week I was talking to her, and I saw a fly. So I waved at it and say 'shoo'. And you know what she said?"

Wally raised his eyebrows. "She said: What about it?"

"Kinda ditzy, that one," he agreed.

I shake my head. "Not ditzy…I'd say foreign."

Wally gave a snort and looked away, falling into his own little world where he ran around faster than usual in a jumpsuit because…well, Wally had always been a little off his rocker.

---

I hate school.

And more than usual, too. I had been fine with my schedule, but once again, someone up there had other plans. Fate is like the really creepy old Japanese men who could kick your ass in a millisecond, and use metaphors to explain everything. They like to dance around the subject, just hand you some information and let you choose what you do with it. I feel sorry for the next old Asian guy I see.

Out of the blue, my three of my classes got rescheduled. The first was math, the second was French, and the third was P.E. I didn't really mind, but change is sometimes hard for me to accept. I'd probably just end up in math class when I should be in French, or something.

I handed the note to the teacher, tugging on the cotton uniform. Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone…waving at me?

Gar jogs over, practically glowing, and gives me a small squeeze on the shoulders. "Hey," He murmurs. Well…that was most un-Gar like. It was almost…seductive?

No, no, that couldn't be it. He was just being friendly.

Yeah, that's it.

"What are you doing in this class?" He asks as we join the rest of our class on the field. I spot Vic and Rich among them, along with a few other girls I'd like to see walk off the face of the earth: Kathryn Moth and Kori's sister, Amanda.

"My schedule got messed with…they didn't offer me much insight why."

"Well, I'm glad—"

He was cut off abruptly by the coach blowing his whistle. "Thanks to a great idea from Mr. Logan, we'll be playing soccer today. Pair into groups of four and grab a spot on the field and a few cones."

I could see Kathryn eyeing Rich and was only seconds away from motioning him over when Vic beat her to it, "Rachel? You want to play with me, Rich, and Gar?"

I mumble a "Sure" and follow, still dazed. Since when was Vic this nice to me?

"Rachel can be on my team," Gar grinned, lazily pulling me into him with his arm draped around my waist. Don't blush, don't blush…

"You want to be goalie?"

Ha! That's a good one. No, I don't want to be goalie. "Okay."

Vic groaned. "Come on man, now that's not fair. I don't want to be against you."

"And neither do I when we play football. Get over it, you big baby," Gar winked at me as Rich gave a small whistle, signaling they could begin.

Gar wasted no time; he dodged around Vic two seconds flat and was already aiming the ball. His shot didn't go straight in; Rich managed to catch it. He kicked it to Vic, who immediately gave it a strong boot at me, the goalie. I closed my eyes and held out my hands, bracing for impact.

"Go Rachel!" I hear Gar yell. Go Rachel? What was he talking about? I opened one eye to see the ball in my cupped hands. I kick it now, right?

I shut my eyes again and kicked the ball straight in Gar's direction. They snapped open after hearing a shrill cry and a thud. Gar was rolling around on the ground, hands clasped below his stomach, moaning as the soccer ball rolled away from him, almost sheepishly.

---

Golly gee whiz, that sure did a number!

I think every curse I knew at that moment flew out of my mouth. I open an eye to see Rachel with wide eyes, hands clapped over her mouth and Vic and Rich slapping their knees with laughter. There're never going to let me live this one down.

I sit up, doing my best to act casual. I bite my lip, my voice squeaking and higher than usual, "Uh…nice kick."

Eventually, Rich and Vic pull themselves together and resume positions. I narrow my eyes, gleaming with fierceness, and for a split second, I see Rich almost look afraid. Vic takes the kick off and I pull back, letting him reach Rachel.

My legs start to move, kicking and pounding the ground with force. Unfortunately for my friend, he doesn't see me running beside him effortlessly. I stick out my left leg, tripping him. He lands face first into the grass, getting a real taste of the dirt. I hesitate, surmising my work, and then set course for the goal.

With Vic currently digesting his grassy meal, I had time on my side. I propped a leg onto the ball, smugly winking at Rich. Then I pull my leg back, aiming for the right side of the goal. As I bring my foot down, it heads straight for the high corner of the goal.

Rich dives impulsively, realizing a moment to late that I never actually kicked it. As he's in mid-dive, I send it hurling straight at Rich. It hits dead on in the butt, throwing his landing off. The ball bounces a few times and rolls into the goal with ease.

I press the end of my tongue to my finger and push the finger against my bare arm, making a hissing sound. "Score one for Gar."

---

"Hey guys—er, girls," Gar chuckled, sliding in across from me and Kori. I saw around three hundred pairs of eyes turn and face our table, and my face began to heat up.

"Why are you sitting here?" I asked without thinking. I wanted to hit myself as soon as the words left my lips, for how rude they sounded. "I mean, we aren't exactly A-crowd."

He smiled with his eyes and mouth. "Ah, but we're all good students here, aren't we?"

What was he getting at?

"And three's a crowd…so therefore, we're our own A-crowd."

Kori giggled as I just blinked on. That had to be the corniest line I had ever heard. "You didn't actually just say that, did you?"

He shrugged, dumping out the contents of a brown paper bag onto the tray.

"That was so sweet, I just might puke," a voice said from behind us. "In fact, I got a bucket if anyone wants it."

"Hi Jen," I murmur, knowing automatically who it was.

Gar grabbed a few of the items in his bag and shoved a few at us, "And…viola!"

Kori takes one and examines it closely. "What is it?"

"It's a fortune cookie. Made 'em myself for home Ec. These are the leftovers."

He hands one out to me. "Take it," He coaxes. I do so, and for a moment, our hands brush. He just winks as my face turns another shade of cherry.

Kori opened hers and blinked as she tried to decipher the fortune. I heard a crackling sound, signaling Jen had also opened hers. The sound was immediately followed by her laughter. "Gar, these are great! Where'd you get the fortunes?"

"Found them on some website."

"Listen to mine… 'You will meet the love of your life tomorrow…with their gay lover.'"

I had to admit, that was pretty funny. I cracked mine open and watch out of the corner of my eye as Gar began to blush slightly. I peer down at the scrawled handwriting and feel the heat rising quickly to my face again.

'There's so much I could put in this fortune…I could pick a million cheesy and cliché things to write, things to (hopefully) make you laugh, to make you smile, but instead, I just want to let you know that you mean more to me than you think. Meet me outside drama after school today?'

Before I could do or say anything, Kori let out a sound from her throat that she only made when deep in thought. "I do not understand…my grandmother will see me on cops? My grandmother does not live on this country, and why would she see me on…this armed police man?"

Gar blushed again and grabbed the fortune from her, stuffing it into his pocket.

"Eh heh…never mind…" He ran a hand through his hair as he chuckled. Desperately wanting to change the subject, he fiddled with his bedraggled hair. "How do you think I'd look with green hair?"

He was ignored, Jen reaching for the fortune I still held in my hands. "What's your say, Rachel?"

I stared at it for a moment before crumpling it into a wad. "Confucius says it's none of your business."

Gar looked to me expectantly, a little downtrodden looking already from me crumpling up the paper. I nod, giving a faint smile.

---

I am such a dork.

Hmm…I wonder how many seconds it would take to suffocate myself?

She didn't reject the fortune immediately, though, so that's a good sign. I can't think of a more cheesy way to talk to her…I don't really know what I was thinking when I made that fortune, but then again, wasn't the saying that you do strange things when you're in love?

Am I in love? I mean, love can only be a word. Love is what you want it to be, where you decide the meaning. I thought I loved Tara for a while, and I never learned if she loved me back, and look how that turned out. And this could be even worse, with our family history…

What would my father think? What would my mother think?

What would Rachel's father think?

I don't know what it is, but I really can't help myself when it comes to her, lately. At first, I thought it was mere infatuation. But recently…it's like a new type of feeling. When I'm around her, I'm all smiles, like she completes me. I'm the Yang, and she's the Yin.

Ugh, I really need to go find another hangout spot other than at the Chinese restaurant.

And here I am, twiddling my thumbs as I wait for her to come out of the drama room. She, as Juliet, had to stay behind to practice some scenes I didn't particularly want to stick around for.

The door opens and she steps out, the sun immediately hitting her in the face. She squints and looks around. Spotting me, she comes over hesitantly. Hesitantly, I think. As in she doesn't want to.

"Hi…Gar."

My eyes instantly light up. "Yeah…I mean, hi. Er, no, wait…just, hi."

She blinks at me, confusion written all over her face. …Smooth one, Gar.

"Listen…I know it's kind of a bad idea, but Wicked Scary II just came out and—"

---

My heart is racing. He couldn't be…he wouldn't…

I mean all the damage it would cause. Us, being together…

No, no, that isn't it. I'm just being full of my self. If he did, though, what would I say? Would I say yes, or no? I can't deny the feelings I have for him, but…

"Rachel?"

We both turn to see a tall boy with pale blond hair and blue eyes striding towards us, eyes almost possessive.

Every thought in my mind disappears and is replaced with two words:

Oh and crap.

Sorry 'bout the cliffie, dearies. But omg, 245+ reviews!

And Sarah goes wild, along with the invisible crowd inside her head! Woooot!

Since I'm so evil this week, I still won't explain about the Michael thing. A lot of you got it right--and where pretty mad. Someone, I forget who (Sorry, my memory is a bitch!), thought it might be Jericho, whose father is like a buisness worker for Trigon or something...Which is a really good idea. I just wish I had thought of it; it would probably be way less cliche. Oh well!

Review, or I will "forget" to update soon!