KimmyG15 Thank you! and I'm really trying with the updates :3

Therosiesweetheart I'm glad you had fun reading my story, that's the idea ^^

Guest Does that mean you liked it? :P thank you for reading my story!

Shadowpanda123 Well, I think there is a sadist part in Flippy but I highly doubt that Flaky is a masochist; she'd have to deal with it or get him to change, so I feel bad for her too, let's see what happens with them ;3

ValiantFear Because I'm secretly planning world domination? :3...just kidding o.o and yeah, Filip was a jerk there :P thank you, I like to surprise ^^

To Cartoonychic, Apathetic Sympathy and Meaflicker, thank you for adding my story ^^

Here it is! Chapter 14, hope you like it :3

The project was going pretty well for the three of them. Having Stephen near, even if he was working in group with Neal, was really convenient; as conceited as he may seemed, he was really willing to explain anything they asked, it was part of his character as well, you could tell how much he enjoyed teaching, probably it made him feel superior, however, he did a great job, having the ability to actually made things understandable.

"Well, I think is time for a break" Gili said lively, dropping a pink pen next to her notebook and stretching her arms over her head.

"Oh, yeah, I'm starving, let's prepare some snacks, I'll help you" Petunia spoke as she stood up from her seat "Don't bother to help us, we don't want Gili's kitchen to explode" She joked with Fay, but she was totally focused in a formula from her physics book.

"Okay" She nodded absentmindedly without even looking at her friend.

Petunia looked at Gili with a muffled chuckled as she had just been completely ignored and they headed to the kitchen.

"Can we have some sweets!" Neal shouted from his sit as he scribbled some notes rapidly on his report. As distracted as he appeared to be, Neal was actually pretty good with numbers, formulas and logic, not as good as Stephen, but then again, nobody Fay knew was as intelligent as him.

"We'll see" Gili responded.

"Hmm, I think I have something for this part here, Neal read point three again, I think I have the solution, I'll go look for a book in my bag" Stephen spoke in high speed; he was so excited with homework and solving problems all the time, he even got bossy, but Neal didn't seem to care about it.

"Okay, just let me get a little break" Neal said but Stephen was already out of the room.

Fay finally finished studying the formula, now she could go out of her bubble; it had to be like that, completely absorbed in one task at the time, so her mind didn't ramble to places she didn't want to go at the moment.

She sighed swinging her pen between her index and middle finger, smiling at Neal and looking around to find out it was just the two of them now.

"Oh…" She narrowed her brows confused.

"Gili and Petunia are making snacks and Stephen is looking for a book" Neal smiled brightly as he explained after seeing the red haired girl landing back in planet earth.

"Another book?" She opened her eyes, amaze "Where does he keep so many books?" She whispered at Neal who was sitting across her in Gili's wide desk.

He snickered and took a dramatic deep breath "I sometimes wonder the same Fay, but I concluded is something I don't want to know" He spoke while shaking his head a bit too wildly.

"Yeah, there are some mysteries that are better kept in the dark" She said forcing a hint of mystery in her words.

"I knew there was something between the two of you" He said with half a smile surprising her.

"The…two of…" She asked confused.

"You and Filip?" He said, almost singing the words as if it was an obvious matter.

"Oh…" She blinked and felt ashamed at the sudden turn of the conversation, that was exactly where she didn't want to go.

Placing the tip of the pen on her mouth she started chewing while she tapped the fingers of her other hand on the wooden desk. That compulsive behavior lasted only a few seconds until she removed the pen from her mouth and looked at him again. He just waited patiently.

"Wh-why did you say that?" She asked twisting the end of her braid between her fingers, she really couldn't stay still.

He shrugged "I just saw you together a couple of times, and I mean, the way you look at each other…" He let the phrase in the air, but yeah, she could imagine how it looked from a third person point of view.

"And you didn't tell anybody?"

He shook his head "No, why would I?"

She shrugged, well, there are still discreet people in the world "….don't know, I-I mean, thank you"

"It's okay; we're all friends, right?" He said and he sounded unexpectedly so reassuring. He was really one of those people you would pre judge, that look so simple minded, but there was actually so much about them to know.

Now she knew he was really nice and reliable, all of that, behind brisky bright yellow-green eyes, there was actually one brighter than the other; and a frequent childish and selfish behavior. Giving him a better look, Fay thought he was actually kind of cute, thought his face was a bit pale and his hair was messy, it somehow suited him.

"Aren't you afraid of him?"

That was something she definitely wasn't expecting. He was being too straightforward. It wasn't comfortable. But somehow, it felt like she could trust him. Looking at him again, such a carefree expression, he looked so different from his usual hyper self.

"Afraid? Neal, most of the time I'm with him, my heart thumps so loudly into my ears, that I can barely hear my own thoughts" She took a labored breath, unbelieving that she said it out loud, the words were actually coming out of her mouth before she realized it "And yet, I can't keep myself away from him" she spoke in a whisper as her voice cracked at the end of the phrase.

She inhaled, placing her elbows on the table and covering her eyes with her hands.

"Am I going crazy?" Her voice was a desperate plea for help, but why was she talking to Neal about that. Of course, they were friends, but not that close, and it was supposed to be a girls talk. That thought made her smile bitterly, because she couldn't be sincere with her friends.

"You're not going crazy, you're in love" He said, casual.

Her eyes snapped back at him with a quick move, in shock. But his laugh at her reaction only made her smile back.

"Hmm, I-" She clasped her hands together trying to set up a response, but…was she? Really?

He shook his head "Don't work it up, just be careful, okay?"

She nodded feeling pleased. He was easy to talk to. It was simple and direct.

"What do you mean, Fay?"

"I-I think you know wh-what I mean" She stuttered at the phone.

"So first time you use my number, and it's to tell me you're mad" He sighed at the other side of the line, obviously annoyed.

"D-don't get angry" Her voice much weaker now that she started to lose the small amount of courage she collected to call Filip.

"I'm not" His tone was serious, not angry, but serious, which was still bad.

They kept silence, should she try it again? She was really nervous.

"I mean…it-it wasn't nice, you know? It was…embarrassing"

"I know" His voice sounded now impassive, and she could almost see his smirk at the other side of the phone.

"I'm serious!" She whined, trying to sound hurt and failing miserably, not being able to hold the laughing.

"Yeah, Fay…I know, I'm sorry, okay?" There was a trace of humor in his voice "I'll make it up to you. I can't do it tomorrow, but what about Thursday? I'll do whatever you want"

"Whatever I want?" Her voice suddenly hopeful.

"Yes" A hint of doubt in his voice now that she was so excited about the matter.

"We-well…" She toyed with a pen, spinning it with her fingers on the wooden surface of her desk, feeling shy about her request "I'd love it if you cook something for me"

"Cook?" He asked with a mix of confusion and relief in his tone.

"Yeah…you're a great cook" She responded matter-of-factly.

He smiled at her statement "Okay, if you are free that day, we can come over and I'll cook something for you, what do you say?"

"Okay" She nodded joyfully, though nobody could see her nodding.

"That's better, still mad?"

"Not so much now, let's see after Thursday" She said with a chuckle.

He was much relaxed, what was he expecting? A pile of questions again?

'Oh…maybe that is'

"Ca-can I have another thing?"

"What is it?" He asked, apprehensive.

"You said it could be anything"

"Yeah…"

"I have one question"

He sighed. That was what he was expecting and was happy to avoid. Not anymore.

"Okay"

"Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just do it"

'Calm down, I'm not gonna punch you or something' She thought, but it seemed like he would rather being punched than questioned.

"O-okay" She breathed before continuing "Remember you were hurt….the other day"

"Of course I remember Fay, and I'm sure I told you not to talk about it"

"Yeah…b-but I really want to know"

He remained silent, the only thing she could hear was his steady breathing at the other side of the line.

Well, at least she tried, but it was okay if he really didn't want to tell her, she didn't want to push him any further.

"Is-"

"The chess park" He interrupted before she could set him free.

"The chess park…" She repeated with a softer voice.

"Yeah, remember it?"

"Y-yes"

"Well, the chess park isn't such a quiet place at night…"

"Right" She said confused, where was he going with that?

"There are a bunch of people who gather there at night"

"N-night, every night?"

"No, not every night"

"O-okay" What was that? A horror story? Was he trying to distract her? He wasn't going to get away with it.

"It's just a group of guys and girls fooling around, drinking and listening to music"

She didn't reply this time, so he continued.

"You know, the kind of troublesome people who others avoid…"

"Did they pick a fight with you?" She hurried to ask, that made sense; that would explain it.

"No…I sometimes hang around with them"

'Oh…'

"They aren't nice, I only like some of them, but they're basically a bunch of stupid people who don't do much for their lives; I'm one of the youngest, most of them dropped school to occupy themselves with shitty jobs"

There was a pause again, she didn't have anything to say, he really was going to tell her? That was nice. Would she be able to handle it? She had to.

"They are pretty violent and stupid, mostly because they're too drunk, too high or simply because they are full of anger and don't know other ways to overcome it. They usually don't fight me, not because they're afraid of me, they're not like the guys at school, but because of this guy…his name is DB, I mean, that's how everybody call him; he's kind of the leader there, even if he's just 19, and I don't know why, but he kind of likes me, and everybody respect him…but sometimes things just get out of control, you know? It's a pretty volatile environment"

'Too much information, too much…'

"Are-so, ar-are you into that kind of stuff?"

"No Fay, I know what you're thinking, but I don't do drugs, I drink once in a while, but I don't let it get out of control, I'm not that stupid, they are"

"Then why do you keep going to them?" She said, worried. It wasn't good, it was dangerous.

"I told you, I have friends there, is somehow…relaxing, and some of them don't like me, as I don't like them, but that's how things are, everywhere"

'Sure, great friends'

"But you keep saying that they're stupid"

"Because they are Fay, and so I am, it's just…there are people I don't want to let down…like Ed"

"Ed?"

"Yeah, Lumpkin, I suppose you already know we're related"

"Y-yes, I just didn't know his first name"

'Edmun Lumpkin' Yeah, she barely remembered it from his office the first day of school.

"Well, he's the only person in my family who wanted to take care of me…after all the things that happened…the only one who still believes in me"

'Wh-what happened?'

"I-I believe in you"

"Thank you" It took him a moment to process a proper answer, it was something he didn't expect, probably he didn't know what to say either "but you don't know me that well"

She wasn't going to argue that.

"So…you had a fight then" She said, to make him proceed.

"Yeah"

"But you told me you have self-control" She said coldly, remembering his words.

"Yes, like most people, but once I lose it, things get pretty ugly" His voice fading with the last words.

"Wh-what you're saying is… y-you got into a fight deliberately?"

"Yeah"

"Why?" She raised her voice in alarm, she didn't understand why would he jeopardize his life like that "Why do you do that? It-It's dangerous"

"Fay, you said only one question, and I told you every detail of what you wanted to know"

"I…" No, she didn't want just one question, she wanted to know everything about him, but that wouldn't happen, at least not at the first try; maybe she could try asking more later, another day, when he felt like talking again, she didn't want to annoy him either, it was obvious he didn't like to talk about that kind of stuff, yet he made the effort, because she wanted to know "I know"

"Okay, let's leave it at that"

"Ye-yeah"

They kept silence again, neither of them knowing what to say.

"Do you still want to do the Thursday thing?" His voice was harsh, probably irritated with all her questioning.

"Can I have that too?" Her tone nothing but eager.

"Sure" He said smiling at her enthusiasm "Only if you want to"

"Of course I want to" She replied joyful. Was he nervous she would run away after hearing that? No way "I wouldn't miss it" She said with a playful tone.

She heard his laugh on the phone and it was a sweet and heartwarming sound.

"So…let's go for an ice-cream?" The typical overly excited Gili was dancing around with even more joy than usual, if that was possible. It was Wednesday afternoon and luckily they'd already finished the physics project; it had to be handed on Friday, so they had plenty of free time the rest of the week.

"Is that a question Gili?" Petunia asked, teasing her pink haired friend.

"Well, take it like a formal invitation" Gili responded arching a brown in mischief.

"Doesn't sound too formal to me" Fay joked with a snicker.

"Oh, c'mon Fay, you can't say no"

"I wasn't going to say no" She rolled her eyes at her friend with a cheerful smile on her lips.

Gili responded with that girly smile of hers.

"Wait, guys, I'll tell Harrie to come with us, it won't take me long" Petunia said hurriedly, running away and after 5 minutes she was back, alone.

"He'll catch up with us there" She informed with a triumphal wide smile.

They got to the place; it was decorated with pastel colors and drawings of giant ice creams and desserts all over the walls. The seats were as colorful as the rest of the decoration. It was cloying but still a nice place to go. The space was wide and clean, and the most important, the food there was excellent.

They got a seat in the back, where the widest tables were located, since the group that Gili invited was slightly larger than expected.

They were with the twins, Cody, Russell, and waiting for Harrie.

"Can we order now?" They had just being waiting for two minutes, but Gili was so impatient; having free time really altered her composure. There were Liam, Shinji, Russell, Cody and Gili at one side of the oval table and Petunia with Fay in front of them.

"Gili, just wait, he said it wouldn't take him long" Petunia said to her, tired of her excessive impatience and excitement.

"But why do we have to wait too?" Gili protested, pouting "We can wait while eating" She suggested faking innocence and looking at her irritated friend under her lashes.

Petunia looked at her wide eyed, holding a smile "You're all Neal today" She scowled "Because, it is rude to order while not everybody is present yet, look, not even Liam is complaining" She explained.

"Why Petunia" The boy's attention was dragged to them from the weird conspiracy that was going on between him and his brother "I have better manners that the little pink head here" Liam replied with a wide grin on his lips.

"Oww, don't mess with me" Gili whined.

"What, are you going to attack me?" They started a little fight, trying to offend each other as Petunia centered herself in another conversation.

"I…kind of invited someone else" Petunia talked, addressing Fay and catching her attention. She frowned, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"What I said. Don't get mad, okay?"

Fay gave her a puzzled expression, why was she being so mysterious. Petunia's and Gili's eyes shifted to the door behind Fay at the same time, and she heard him before she saw him.

"Hey!" It was the usual joyful voice, and it made her turn around to see Harrie coming over with Spencer at his side, he looked at her with a wide smile and she turned to her friends.

"What? Spencer?" She scoffed at the girl next to her "Why would I get mad?" She smiled widely, surprising her and Gili, who caught the flow of the situation despite her verbal fight with Liam.

"Fay!" He was next to her, and for everyone, even her own surprise, she stood up and hugged him tightly wrapping her arms around his waist, he hugged her back moving her a step to the side of the table along with him, making space for Harrie who crawled on the seat next to Petunia, greeting everyone and giving her girlfriend a swift kiss on her lips.

"Hi" Fay said looking up at her friend with a childish smile on her lips.

"You sure missed me" Spencer said arching a brow.

"Wh-what do you say? I'm just kind of happy…I-I mean, it's been while" She said while letting go of him, feeling ashamed. What was happening with her impulses lately? She went back to her seat, feeling the shade of pink crawling up her cheeks.

"So, you totally missed me" He teased sitting next to her.

"Shut up!" She pushed him softly as everyone in the table laughed at their uncommon interaction.

For Gili contentment, all of them finally ordered and started to chat randomly while eating their respective desserts. Fay was entertained catching up with Spencer, though it was more a pointless conversation about random and stupid topics. He surely made her relax.

"It was fun! I mean, everyone in class laughed at my prank, I saved the day!" He complained at Fay scowl, after telling her of his last victim during a 'boring to death class', according to him.

"But is mean Spencer! Poor guy" She shook her head in disapproval, but not being able to hide her smile, it was actually a funny prank.

Suddenly, he stared at her in silence; she cocked her head, why was he doing that? His face slowly falling serious, he wasn't like that.

"Can I assume things now?"

She frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"About you and…"

'Filip' He didn't have to say it.

She pursed her lips and shook her head. 'Don't do it' She begged mentally, looking down at her hands.

He placed his elbow on the table, leaning his head on his hand while his other hand tapped the glass cup of his ice cream "Fay" He looked outside the window and back at her "I just wanna know what's going on, between you two. I mean, everybody know it now, I just hope…you're safe" He said softly, so only she could hear him, but everyone in the table were into their own business, so there wasn't much risk of being overheard.

She closed her eyes and nodded, being fully aware that she was biting her lip, but sometimes it was necessary.

"Say something"

"Ye-yeah, I get you, I'm fine"

He sighed.

"Just be careful, okay?"

She turned to look at him annoyed, how was it that he made those words sound so condescending? Like if he knew it was something she wasn't able to handle. She was no kid.

His face was serious but calm, he really was trying to give her space. She couldn't be mad at him. But he had to stop behaving like he was her older brother, because he wasn't, they were just friends, there are limits in friendship, and he was too overprotecting when it came to Filip, and she understood why, that was part of the reason she couldn't get mad at him. Damn Lannie, meddling with her business again.

She took a deep breath and nodded smiling at him. He didn't force any response out of her, so it was okay. He was a good friend, just like Petunia, they both were just worried because they cared about her. She repeated it in her mind. He was a dear friend, she didn't want to lose him.

"Fine" He let out a chuckle of defeat, not wanting to make her uncomfortable either "Now, eat some more ice cream" He said smearing a full spoon of his ice cream over her lips.

"Spencer!" She whined licking her lips and using a napkin to wipe the excess of the mess he did in her face.

He responded with a snicker while she tried to make the same to him, being only able to spread a bit of the white cream on the tip of his nose, which he wiped easily with the back of his hand.

"Omg, you're like kids!" Petunia complained and everyone else laughed, Fay blushed slightly realizing that all of them were observing their little game, but it was still funny, embarrassing and immature, but funny.

Did you get it? DB...as in Disco Bear :P

Please leave a review and tell me what you think :3

Already working in next chapter ;) wait for it!