Hey all, terribly sorry for not updating for about a month. I do have legit reasons though (but they're personal). Anyway, hopefully it won't happen again and thanks for being patient.

Someone noted that I had left out the Bakugan for a while, something that's sure to be fixed in later chapters. There will not be any brawling, but the Bakugan will be included somehow.

Few people have also noted that it has been lacking romance, something I'm also going to try to fix. Though as of right now, I'm focusing mainly on FabiaxRen but I'm going to try to focus on ShunxAlice and DanxRuno as well. I have something planned for JoexChan-Lee later on in the story as well as AcexMira (even though they haven't come into the story yet). As for JuliexBilly, there will just be some hints here and there.

Thanks to the following for reviewing: JazzGirl123, Hungryhippo 1000, SheepRainbow, SilverWolf1499, Alana Fox, Tear Droplet, jazzmonkey, sakurayamayo1, jenny tiges, and Crazy Cool Kid.

Enjoy.

"You were supposed to set a screen!" shouted Dan.

"I happened to be dribbling the ball, thank you very much," snapped Ren.

"Well, you're not the point guard! Weren't you supposed to pass it to Joe?"

"In a perfect world, yeah! But if you didn't notice, he was guarded and if I did that would've been a turnover! And let me guess: you'd STILL have yelled at me no matter what!"

TWEET! "Boys, boys! Enough!" Coach Kuso cried as he walked over to the squabbling couple. "This isn't team work. This is just playing the blame game."

"But he-" started Ren and Dan, both pointing a finger at each other.

TWEET! Coach's whistle blew again. "I'll have none of that on this team. If you've still got some in you I suggest you leave the team for the rest of the season. Now, are there any more problems?"

Ren and Dan shook their heads.

"Good," said Coach as he blew his whistle for the third time. "Grab water!"

"Damn that Gundalian," muttered Dan as he grabbed his bottle from his bag. Fabia looked to her right and saw that Ren had placed his sports bag to the far right of the Brawlers, a somewhat indication of him saying "I may be playing with the team, but I am not part of it".

"No offense Dan, but Ren was correct; it would've been a turnover if he had passed to Joe," said Shun.

He wouldn't have yelled so much if Ren had been someone else, thought Fabia.

TWEET! "All right team, back on the court. And if I hear anymore squabbling nonsense, you'll be benched for the next game."

Sure enough, throughout the rest of practice, Dan and Ren kept their mouths shut though there were definite glares in each of their expressions. Nevertheless, it was enough for Coach Kuso and he dismissed them without a lecture.

As the Brawlers walked back to the locker rooms to change, Fabia noticed Ren speed-walking ahead. His intention was to be the first in the locker room and the quickest to change to avoid the Brawlers.

Fabia glanced at Dan then back at Ren. Dan didn't seem bothered the slightest; he was immersed in a Bakugan conversation with the rest of the team. Ren, on the other hand, had no one. Fabia couldn't help but think how lonely Ren looked, even though his face refused to show it. She knew there was something hiding behind that mask of pride and she was determined to find out.

~Basketball Brawlers~

Tuesday, during lunch…

After paying for her lunch at the cafeteria, Fabia walked right past the usual Brawlers' table, ignoring the looks her friends gave her as she plopped down at Ren's table. Ren raised his eyesbrows but didn't object.

Fabia didn't wait to get straight to the point. "I want to know."

"Know what?" asked Ren, as he unwrapped his sandwich.

"Why you act…the way you've been acting."

"Didn't I tell you before that-"

"That's for you to know and me to find out? Yeah, I didn't forget. You're hiding something, Ren. I know you keep up a determined and strong face, but it's just for show. You're lonely, aren't you? You told me to find out, so here I am."

Fabia didn't mean to sound blunt; it just came out of her mouth, though she didn't regret a single word she said. Ren glared at her for a few minutes, deciding whether or not he should simply leave the table and the conversation altogether, but his mind went over what Fabia just said. Well, she was the only one so far who was able to determine that he was merely putting up a show for his fellow Brawlers, that he could take anything thrown at him. He had to give her props for that one.

"Fine," sighed Ren. "Well, I'm obviously not happy here and it's not because it's a new school. It's because I seem like a jerk when it's everyone else who's treating me unfairly but are they called for it? Hell, no. It's always me; I'm always blamed for everything. That's why I don't bother anymore. The first day I came here, I actually tried making friends (except for Dan of course who made it clear that I was not in his range that day). But everyone treated me the same as Dan did. So I gave up. I don't know what made me think that this school would be an exception but I thought there was no harm in trying. But that doesn't make disappointment easier to handle."

"So I acted unfairly to you?"

Ren paused. He had almost forgotten the kindness (sorta) that Fabia and shown him the other day. Sure she may have thrown a few blunt sentences at him towards the end, but she sat with him and treated him like a normal human being.

"No, you didn't," Ren replied, looking down at his uneaten sandwich.

"All of what you described," started Fabia, "this school isn't the only place that that has happened, right?"

Ren almost smiled. This girl was sharp. "Correct. My dad, he…he's lost quite a bit of jobs in his lifetime and my mom leaving him to take care of me isn't helping him to cope. He's got to drag me around everywhere he goes so I've been switching from school to school. We're not poor, mind you. We have enough. But for some reason, something always goes wrong at my new schools and of course, the new kid is always blamed. I had been a shy person before so it wasn't hard to nail me down. And being shy, I wasn't one to fight back so I went along with all the punishments handed out to me."

Ren paused to finally take a bite of his lunch. Fabia stared, wondering how the boy sitting in front of her could've been shy. It just didn't seem to suit his character.

"After I had figured out that my personality had been the root of all my problems," continued Ren, "I started to change that. I developed a strong and prideful face to show off to my new schools that I was not one to mess with. I couldn't help being a jerk after that. I was so concentrated on changing that I didn't realize how much it changed me. But to be honest, I don't exactly regret changing. Yeah, I made friends with the wrong people such as the Gundalians, but I was no longer the kid to put the blame on. That was one change I could live it. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah," answered Fabia. It was obvious why he was a yeller, especially to Dan and to the rest of the school but it also cleared up why he would sometimes argue with his old basketball teammates. "It wasn't fair of those kids at the previous schools to blame you, but why didn't you fight back?"

"I was scared," answered Ren, hating to admit that fact. "I'm not very strong physically and I knew that even if I had told my teachers the truth, I'd get beaten to a pulp. I was scared at my other schools as well, but I was hopeful that my prideful face would do the trick and it did."

"Are you scared now?"

Ren looked away. "Yeah…but either way I lose, don't I? If I show my true personality, I'd probably get beat up. But if I don't, everyone has a low opinion of me and I'd be left alone."

Fabia pondered for a moment before speaking. "Ren, if you could show the world that people shouldn't treat you like that but still be able to attract friends, would you like that?"

"Definitely. But it's too late, isn't it?"

For the first time during their meeting, Fabia smiled. "It's never too late. All you need to do is fight back."

"But I told you before, I'm-"

"Scared, I know. And you know that's the thing that's holding you back but you have to get past it. Getting past it doesn't mean you get rid of it. It means facing it. You have to face your fears if you want to become strong. And when I say fight back, I don't always necessarily mean physically. If you know the truth, tell it and mean it. Sure, there'll be kids who wouldn't hesitate to fight you. You'll need to deal with those, but I'll say this: if you mean it, those kids will know that it won't be an easy fight."

Ren sat silently, taking in every word. Fabia smiled and pointed to herself. "And Ren, you won't be alone, at least not at this school. You can always count on me."

Ren smiled as the bell rang. But before Fabia got up to leave, Ren stopped her. "Wait, why are you helping me?"

"Because I know you're not that jerk everyone thinks you to be. You're something so much more."

And with that, Fabia stood up, tossed her lunch, and went straight to class, again avoiding her friends' looks.