One more class and he will be home free. Neal was bored. So bored that he decided to go bother Teri with affection.

School library, as always, towards the end of the day, was devoid of people. And as expected, there she was, hidden by a mass of books, diligently doing homework.

"Hey, precious. Need assistance?" Neal dropped in without so much as a notice. Pulled up a chair to her table and joined her ever painful endeavor.

"Again?" Teri asked, slightly surprised, but still happy nonetheless. "I thought yesterday was a one time thing. Don't you have your own homework to do?"

Neal nodded, "I do. And I will do it, after we're done with this mountain of hell. So, what's the stitch here?"

And he was sticking by what he said, already flipping through her notes and taking out a pen. Quite persistent, the paper bear thought. She wondered just for how long he can keep this up. At least she will have less work at home. "Math."

The accursed witchcraft of numbers and equations. His least proficient class. "...anything else?" He asked hopefully.

"English. Geography. Chemistry." She answered without lifting her tired eyes from the notebooks.

"Now chemistry, I can help with." Neal knew a ton about chemical stuff. Reactions, components, elements. It's like alchemy, except more numerical and less applicable in real life. "I've actually made a bar of dynamite from heart medicine and pesticide. I still have a scar on my butt."

"That's what happens when you play with explosives. Dummy." Teri replied with a grin. Clearly a made up story, but it's funny nonetheless.

"I think the word you're looking for is 'genius', but I'll let it pass." Neal bantered in a whimsical manner.

And so the last period was spent on doing homework. During which, the kids made some small talk happen. Mainly the human, who was trying to determine Teri's sense of humor. It was, for better or worse, dry as paper.

"Well, you're easily amused." Neal said with a big smile after cracking a terrible pencil pun and making the girl break out into giggles.

"Bad puns are the best." Teri spoke while trying to stifle her laugh.

"Yeah, they 'write' themselves." The boy again made a pun, causing her to snort with giggles. And here he thought she was more on the uptight side. Like Masami or Leslie.

"Stop." Teri whispered quickly through hushed laughing. "We'll get thrown out for making noise."

"Doubt it. If it does happen, we could always go to-" What would be a good place for a date? He paused and thought. "-a restaurant."

Teri looked at him in humorous disbelief. That was smooth. He is really trying to impress her, isn't he? "Mister twelve and still in school can afford something so expensive?"

"Uugh…twelve, yes." A wave of shame washed over Neal. He's a repeating student after all. An entire year older than all his classmates. Best to hide that for now. Things are going good with her, no need to make it awkward. "There's fast food joints all over town, we can try those?"

Teri's fun attitude dropped instantly. "A place teeming with germs and food that causes artery blockage? Try again."

Her delivery was so deadpan that he had to come up with something. That news report from yesterday made him reconsider his whole approach. Perhaps something beneficial and safe would work. "Well then how about a walk home together? You and I, alone."

"Simple is usually better. But why only two of us?" She looked at him suspiciously, slightly shrugging and leaning away, her cheeks tinged with red. "What are you planning, Neal?"

That cutesy look she was giving him. Took everything within the boy not blush and say something super cheesy. "Just...it would be safer that way. N-news said to w-walk in pairs. We're a pair right?"

Damn it! That's not what he wanted to say either. This girl can mess with his mind just by looking at him! And he had no way of resisting it. Women, dangerous. "We could be a pair. A duo I mean. Like, platonic duo. I need to stop talking."

"Mmh, no. Keep going. I'd like to see how far you would go."

When they returned to work, Neal kept making small talk. Which was just him pestering her for information. "Favorite color?"

"Pink."

"Favorite food?"

"Salad."

"Favorite music genre?"

"Don't have enough time for music."

"We'll fix that in the future. Favorite movie?"

"Not enough time for that too."

"We're watching movies in future. All of them. Together. Favorite game?"

"I don't play games. I read books. Lot's of them. My mom said books make you smart which would help me get into medical school easier."

"Ah, pushy parents shoving you into med school. Noted. We'll fix that too, if it's an inconvenience to you."

"It's either that or a janitor. Any job that helps me combat nasty things out there who make people sick is a good enough job for me."

The rapid fire questions halted from Neal. He looked at her, his eyebrow raised, "Nasty things...germs, microbes, bacteria. Janitorial jobs like cleansing, or doctors who test water for bacteria, those tasks are filthy and pose a risk of getting sick. I thought you fear stuff like this. Like, super fear."

"Yes. But some parent out there with a child sick from infection is a lot more scared than I am." She answered simply.

Neal had little to say. He could only stare at her with admiration and longing for her love. "Man, you're like a real life superhero." He muttered quietly. A part of the boy realized then and there that she's too good for him. And it stung.

What is a second year repeater, to a person with real virtue and set in stone goals of making other peoples lives better?

"Sometimes heroes need saving too, you know." She whispered back with a smile while rubbing her sore eyes. Reading hurt a lot. "Even if it's from something like too much homework, or an overbearing family whom you can't say no to."

Neal picked up on that like a hawk hunting a rabbit. He made a strong mental note to ask about that specific issue later on.

Later in the day, when the final bell rang, the class finally concluded. Thursday classes, done.

"So, take me up on the offer to go home together?" Neal asked, hoisting his violet school bag over the shoulder.

"Sure." The paper girl replied.

All was well and fine, but a certain blue cat stood in front of the doorway, not letting anyone pass after Simian left. "Attention everyone! You all got my message yesterday, right?" Some said yes, others no, the ones who ignored him or were left out.

Darwin stopped everyone from going outside of the classroom too. He even stopped Teri. "Can you wait just a second? You too, Neal."

"Ah great. Now what?" The human grumbled. The day was going fine, then those two appeared to make it sour.

"This is in regards to Franklin School." Gumball began, addressing everyone in class. "I'm sure some of you don't want anything to do with them after yesterday. Some of you were even left out. To fill you in quickly, Franklin high is going way overboard in regards to humiliating us."

"There's a plethora of other bad things they have been doing." Masami cut in impatiently. "And I don't want to be a part of whatever this is, so move."

Gumball stepped aside to let her out. The could girl wasted no time in leaving. "Anyone else?"

Jamie and Tina exited too. Molly, still frightened after yesterday, left as well. Penny, apologizing to Gumball, saying she had a lot of chores at home, didn't join them either. He overlooked the kids who remained. Good, they weren't moving.

"We're down four players. Too bad, their loss. Anyways, as I was saying, they have been bullying us for too much. Yesterday we tried shoving them up, but failed. But! After some thinking, I devised a plan. One that won't fail this time."

"Ahem!" Neal cleared his throat. "Can you move?"

"Not you too." Darwin sighed sadly. Of course, he almost forgot, the human outright refused to join them. "Can you just hear him out? Please?"

Neal rolled his eyes. How many times does he have to spell it out to them? "You want me why exactly? Surely the lot of you can do whatever it is that you want to do."

Even Tobias joined in trying to get Neal to stay. Mainly because he wasn't as scary or quick to violence as Jamie or Tina. Besides, Tobias was sure he could take him. "We saw you fight, Neal! In the playground. It was like straight out of an action movie! Besides, the more the merrier!"

That one slap he delivered? Wow. These kids have amazing imaginations, comparing that to an action movie.

"Oh! So now you remember my name?" The human quipped back and Tobias slinked back into the crowd shamefully. "Let me be clear. I'm through with helping people. I tried once, look where that got me. You can go on this childish escapade without me."

"Alan." Neal addressed his roommate amongst the classmates. The balloon perked up with a smile. "I suggest you back up too. All these idiots care about is using you and your naivety."

Gumball let out a frustrated groan, "Okay, I made no such claims. Why are you so cynical?"

"The term you're looking for is realistic. Then again, I'm not sure you know what that is, considering you're goading all of them to try and squabble with another school."

"I know what you are like. Your lack of common sense is dwarfed only by your ego which an idiot like you somehow still maintains." If all his classmates are going to follow the blue cat along with his plan, the social standards are really low in this school. "Even a blind person could see that this entire operation is doomed to fail because of one person, you."

"..."

"If one link in the team is broken, the rest will collapse soon after."

When Neal spoke again, he looked straight at Teri as if his words were meant for her alone. "You wanna get hurt because of some silly trophy and a kid who constantly messes up? Fine by me, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"I'll wait outside." Neal added as he squeezed past Gumball and left the classroom.

"Well…that could've gone better." Darwin said after a moment of awkward silence.

The human paced back and forth outside the classroom. Muttering angrily to himself how everyone is so stupid. What the heck are they thinking? Was last time not enough for these idiots? They got off scratch free when they were caught by Franklin goons. Now they're going to head right back in for seconds.

And Teri! Of all people, Teri seemed to be following along with them! He was upset. Really disappointed too. It's like they-

"So, you don't care at all?"

Alan's voice startled him out of his thought process. "Jesus! Don't scare me like that!" Right, no feet, no noise. Alan could do a lot with such an advantage.

"Sorry." The balloon apologized and asked, "So, do you?"

Of course Neal cared. He cared more than anyone could see. If he didn't, he wouldn't have even gone through all that tirade. He only hoped that whatever he said, will make them drop the entire trophy deal all together. But, Neal didn't bet on it. The entire class was one big trouble maker after all. "I think by speaking out like that, I might have strengthened their resolve."

"That's...plausible. You could've just left." Alan pointed out the painfully obvious.

"I could've. I should've. But she was there and from the looks of, she'll go with them."

"Ooooh, who's this mystery girl? Sarah?

Neal didn't answer. Although he didn't want to do this, these idiots will definitely get themselves hurt. Knowing how horrible the Franklin students are, a fight cannot be avoided. "Listen, when the manure hits the fan, I'll be there."

"Fantastic! But…why not just come along from the start and help prevent something bad from happening?"

"You assume that I can, trust me, I can't. Controlling the whole lot of them doesn't seem possible. Besides, they have to learn somehow."

Although Alan didn't agree with Neal's choice, he understood all too well. He was teaching them a life lesson.

"If you can, get in there and find out what they're planning. I bet that Gum-gum will split you guys up. I'll need to know which one's will need my...support." Of course, Neal lied. He will only go for the group that Teri gets put into. Yes, that was selfish of him, but he is only one guy. He can't protect them all.

It was now time to put everyone into teams.

"Tobias, Banana Joe, Carrie, Clayton, Ocho, you guys will be the distraction and strike the school upfront." Gumball put the most mischievous kids with trouble making potential in the front. And they will be perfect for this kind of job. Clayton can turn into anything, Joe is simply weird, Ocho has anger problems, Carrie is a teleporting ghost and Tobias…deserves to be put in some danger.

"Teri, Bobert, Leslie, Juke, you will be the search party number one, and if the situation requires it, secondary distraction. You will strike later on if you have to. If distraction team is getting plowed, pull a fire alarm or something."

"And obviously, the most important job, getting back the trophy, falls on our shoulders, correct?" Darwin asked.

"Yeah. It's too bad." Gumball replied with a dramatic gush. "Such is the plague of a leader, braving the dangerous zones for others. But someone has to do it! Listen, we will be the secondary search unit, also heading for the third floor, with two groups split up and searching while the others cause a ruckus, we can find the trophy easily!"

Now, he decided to address the leftover kids whom he didn't include in his master plan. "Idaho, Anton, Sarah, Carmen, Sussie, William, Colin, Felix and that floating ball of perfection will have to sit this one out." The kids looked at him with varying degrees of curiosity. Anton and Idaho were especially saddened to be left out. "Sorry guys, there wasn't enough space for you."

"Yeah, after what Molly told me, I'm not sure I'm angry about not being included. Franklin's principal sounds scary." The ice-cream girl said aloud.

"Oh. Pffft! Hah!" Gumball laughed. As if they have something to fear from some old, withered up man. "Now, if you all have some time, we need to talk about some details."

It was much later on that Gumball and the rest of the class finished their discussion. Most, if not all, were pretty happy and even confident in their plan. To those kids who didn't go to the Franklin school yesterday, this seemed more like a fun game. A class activity that was actually entertaining and exciting.

Those that came with Gumball yesterday, weren't as confident. Tobias especially, protested against being put in the 'distraction' unit.

All the kids stayed after school for so long that they missed the bus. Everyone had to walk back home. Some, sneak back home because of Franklin students lurking around Elmore.

Darwin, in a display of chivalry, was walking Carrie home. A truly sweet gesture. She opted out from telling him she could simply teleport back home.

"Tomorrow is going to be so much fun." She said with clear excitement and an unnerving grin. She finally has an excuse to use all those nasty prank spells.

"Fun. Yeah. Totally." Darwin replied absent-mindedly. Yesterday was far from fun. It was actually very scary. He considered himself lucky to get out without a scratch.

Carrie's grin turned humorously evil, "I'll bring Grakath and throw him at those meat heads. It will be interesting to see what happens."

"The screaming pedant you keep in a box?"

"Yep, him."

"Amazing." The orange fish then asked, "Hey, did you find out what was the little creature that attacked us in your room?"

"No, not really. Who cares, it was probably a rat or something."

"A green rat on two legs. Sure."

When they reached an intersection, Carrie said, "Well, this is as far as you go. I can make it by myself from here."

"What? Didn't you see the news? It is advised to walk in pairs now." Darwin argued. In truth, he just wanted to spend time with her as tommorow, he certainly won't be able to.

"Don't you worry about me, my hero." Carrie floated to his eye level and planted a kiss on the corner of his lip. "I will be fine."

"Ehehe…if you say so." He said, cheeks red with a small blush.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Darwin." With a wave of goodbye, Carrie blinked out with the usual sound of her teleportation left behind in an echo.

Then realization dawned on the little fish. He was all alone. He better hurry home, before trouble finds him.

Neal and Teri were making their way down the street with the paper girl in the lead.

Neal was first to open his mouth. "Sorry about the…thing."

"No, it's okay. I kinda understand." Teri replied quickly.

"You do?"

"Yeah, you don't want them to get hurt. Neither do I. That's why I'm coming."

Neal let out a sigh of relief. So she didn't misinterpret his words. Good. "But won't you get in trouble for sneaking out late at night to on such an escapade?"

"I'm a perfect student. Getting into trouble once wouldn't be much of a pain."

"Ah, of course."

Neal noticed how for multiple turn of streets now, several people were going in the same direction. They were following them. Franklin students. "Oh come on." He groaned silently.

"What?" The paper bear asked.

Neal shook his head and put on a lax grin, "Nothing. How far till your place?"

"Three more blocks. Why? You're getting tired?"

"No not at all. Actually I will depart here." The two of them stopped at the street corner. He noticed that the people too, stopped and pretended to chat with each other. "Such a big girl can make it back home on her own. And don't stay up, you got a big day tomorrow."

"You don't have to patronize me, you know." She replied playfully. "I'm only going to make sure they don't get hurt."

"Naturally. And who knows, maybe I'll join you too."

Now that's a twist. Not a while ago, he was going on rant how stupid their undertaking was. Not that she blamed him, it did seem silly in a way. "Why?" She asked, interested in his change of mind.

"Because of you. Duh." Neal answered as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Wow. I'm not sure what I did to deserve so much affection." She responded jokingly.

"Don't think about it. Anyways, I'm off. See you around." He bid her farewell and took off to the opposite side of the street.

When he saw that Teri was heading home, Neal discreetly flipped off the Franklin students, and he made sure they saw it. All for the purpose of directing their attention on to him to prevent them from going after Teri. They definitely don't need to know where she lives.

And it worked like a charm.

Now, to find a good place to lose them. There were eight of them in that group. Way outside of Neal's capability to deal with that many at once. Best to lose their pursuit in some alleyway.

Ever since their base got occupied by Franklin goons in the downtown part of Elmore, Julius and his friends were forced to do two things: hang out at home, or sneak around Elmore to the nearest arcade, and hope that they won't get jumped by the rivaling school.

Their group of friends couldn't even walk the streets without paranoia kicking in. Each time, look over the shoulder, and hope there isn't a random group of jerks trying to assert street dominance. Walking in a group was actually more dangerous than alone. It's like you're giving out a sign that you're looking for trouble if there's more than one person at a time.

However, Julius, Scythe, Mowdown and Reaper were too stubborn and too. Besides, it will take more than some big numbers to keep the friends from getting together and do stupid things. Like lifting a bunch of snacks from a convenience store without paying.

Now they were looking for the next source of fun while carefully roaming the streets.

"Man, I'm bored." Scythe, the rat with a white face and gray hoodie whined and slurped on his milkshake.

"We could go try find that 'Awesome Store' van. I heard the dude sells all kinds of funky stuff." Mowdown suggested while wolfing down a hamburger.

"You actually got money for that nonsense?" Scar asked curiously.

"Hell no! I say we jack all the good stuff." The plush bear elaborated colorfully.

"And when he calls the copper?" Reaper, the disembodied hand, asked. The tattoo on his forearm, a skull, moved as he talked.

"Like som' cops could catch us. That nasty baboon couldn't, and she a jungle clown." Mowdown added and Reaper laughed. "Whatchu say, J?" He asked the stick figure in the front.

"Meh." He wasn't in the mood at all. All three teens noticed just how moody Julius was being today.

He didn't even lift any of the snacks from the store.

"Man, why you such a stick in the toilet today?" Scythe asked.

"Parents asked where my console went." Julius said, his brooding look changing to one of anger, "Guess where it's currently at."

"Oh, back the base." Reaper stated. Indeed, they left many personal things back there. Neither one of which could be reclaimed now.

"Yeah, exactly. My phone too! It had Debbie's number on it. And she's overseas for the next month! I can't even call her because I don't remember her digits!" Julius ranted on angrily. "She might break up with me because I haven't called her in four weeks now!"

"Don't worry about it, baby. I left my TV back there too. You don't see me cryin' about it." The bear said while finishing his snack.

"Yeah, a TV is the same as a girlfriend. Screw you, Mowdown."

"I'm just saying."

"Oy! Where did Scythe go?" Reaper suddenly brought their attention to him. Looking around, they couldn't spot their shortstick of a friend anywhere.

"Hey, guys! Check it! Pudding's getting jumped!" They heard the rat's voice behind a street corner.

Upon coming to check it out, the remainder of their group found that much further away, in an alleyway between two buildings, a brawl was taking place.

Neal was trading fists with eight people. All had some type of red clothing on them.

The human wasn't really trading blows, but rather, getting absolutely trashed.

"You'd think with the way he whooped your ass last time, he would be putting up a better fight." The disembodied hand, Reaper, growled.

He wasn't present during that day. But his rat buddy Scythe had recorded the whole ordeal when Pudding laid out Julius. Then, Mowdown and Scythe at the same time. It was hilarious and infuriating at the same time.

"It's because it's eight on one." Julius said, quickly dissecting the human's predicament. Not to mention, all of them had distinct body types. One's a spider, the other is a floating octopus, dancing doll, etc. Too many and too random to be dealt with alone.

"Man, they're really giving it to him." Mowdown said upon crossing his plush arms. "Kinda feel bad for the little bastard."

"We're all in this together." Neal's words echoed. Like a damn virus, the idea stuck with him ever since that day. "Grab a trash can." Julius ordered, already striding towards the alleyway.

"What?" Did all three of them just misheard their friend?

"Grab a trash can!" Julius repeated more firmly this time.

Neal was punched in the mouth. Then kicked in the chest. He was sent on the ground by a good spartan kick.

One versus two, heck, even five, he can handle. One versus eight or more? No chance. And each one was way too distinct.

Octupus, a doll, bipedal spider girl, a polar bear, a darn minotaur, angler fish monster, cat-lizard hybrid, and some form of jello with five cubical eyes.

Too many, at the same time. At the very least, their focus was on him and not his crush.

The polar bear towered over him when Neal was getting on his feet. "You're surprisingly hard to break. Man do I love surprises." He cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"Then you're gonna love this." A deep voice spoke behind him.

A metallic bang, and the polar bear collapsed with a lack of consciousness. Above him, stood Mowdown, with a bent trash can his paws.

Everything devolved into chaos a moment later.

"What the fu-" The spider girl didn't get to finish. Reaper tackled her. Since he clenched himself, it was like getting punched in a stomach by a large fist.

The five eyed jello was getting shredded by Scythe, the rat going fully feral with his sharp nails and teeth. All the while, provoking the cat-lizard to attack him.

Julius was exchanging blows with the minotaur, and keeping the angler fish demon at bay.

"Get your butt off the ground, Pudding! We need yo' Kung fu magic!" Mowdown shouted, pulling Neal on his feet. The octopus and the doll jumped on the bear's back.

Neal stared in disbelief at the scene of brawl in front of him. To say he was taken aback would be an understatement. But he wasn't about to sit back and do nothing. These guys just jumped in out of the blue and he wasn't about to abandon them, even if they bullied him. Strength in unity.

Neal cracked his knuckles. Time to dish out damage.

"We kicked their ass!" Scythe threw his fist in the air victoriously. He had a blue eye, and his hoodie was torn at the shoulder. But he was happy. And now he had to cool story to tell his girlfriend, Rotten Cupcake.

"Man, shut up. That damn fish bit me in the ass." Mowdown complained, rubbing his backside and forcing back a laugh.

"I think I broke a nail." Reaper while, completely sprawled out on the ground. What a workout this was. "But screw it. It was worth it."

"To see those idiots run with their tails between their legs? Hell yeah it is!" Mowdown agreed. "Even Scythe put in work. And he never works." He added with sheer amazement.

A much required confidence boost was claimed. While the three were running high on adrenaline and exchanging banter out of excitement, Julius and Neal were in the far back, hands on knees and gasping for air.

"Why?" Neal asked while checking his hands and still panting. His knuckles didn't get scraped this time. Good. However, his blue school jacket was a mess, as were his gray jeans.

"Because. Reasons." Julius replied and stretched his back with a loud pop. He didn't say anything else and went back to his friends. "You three, I'm going to take the bus. Don't get jumped like that one over there." He pointed his thumb at Neal. The others assured him that they'll be careful.

Neal watched him go, but he wasn't about to leave him be. When making his way past the three guys, he stopped for a moment. "Hey, thanks."

The three students made noises of acknowledgement. Good enough for him.

Julius sat on a bench of the lonesome bus stop. His ride should be in a few minutes. At least he hoped so. Then he noticed he wasn't alone.

"Where's your balloon friend?" Julius asked the short blonde.

Neal took off his glasses and brushed them of any dirt that got on during the brawl, "I'm on foot today. No car driving balloons." Neal put his glasses back on and said, "Thanks for having my back."

"Pfft! I wasn't even remotely trying to help. I just wanted to rage. It's not always always that me and the guys get to cut loose like that." Julius replied in a satisfied tone.

"So you do care." Neal pressed further while checking his jacket. Washing machine was in order.

"Don't flatter yourself, you don't know anything."

"Hm, so it would seem." After a short pause, Neal spoke again. "Friends?" He offered Julius a handshake.

Julius looked at his hand for a second. He however his hand besides Neal's, but at the last second, siked him by moving it away. Yet at the same time, so did Neal. Both of the guys shared a laugh. After a moment, Neal decided to take his leave. Turning on his heel, he waved Julius farewell, who returned the wave.

Only much later in the evening, when in the bathroom back at Alan's, while washing his prized jacket, did Neal realize something. He might have just made a friend, perhaps four, if he acts accordingly.

"Dear, did something good happened?" The yellow balloon, Jessica asked him at the dinner table. Dexter and Alan too, looked at him with interest. "You've been smiling for all the evening now."

Neal replied, "No. Nothing too major. At least, I don't think."

After dinner, the blonde went upstairs to take care of his homework. Of course it wouldn't be a problem if a certain green balloon didn't pester him.

"I saw you leaving school with Teri." Alan said, floating circles around Neal while the human was busy.

"Yeah? What of it?" He asked dryly.

"You two became quite the friends." He noted, trying to act as if he had little interest. In truth, he wanted to know everything.

"We have." Neal answered suspiciously.

They fell silent. Alan couldn't take it anymore and simply asked, "Do you have a crush on her?"

"Before we proceed any further, will anything I say end up on Elmore Plus, or spread through word of mouth to…let's say your parents, Carmen or that one guy behind a trash can?" Was the blonde's simple question.

"What? No! Of course not!" Alan was taken back that his friend would even think like that.

"Promise?" Neal lifted his hand with an outstretched pinky finger.

"Promise." Alan coiled his string around Neal's finger in a pinky swear.

Neal set his pencil down, turned on his chair to face Alan and said, "Okay. It's not a crush. More like a burning storm of love. I can barely stop smiling around her. And as you can see, I'm not the smiling type of person. Every time I think of her, my blood pressure spikes. Every time I hear her angelic voice, or even see her from afar…" Neal fell silent and rubbed his eyes out of frustration. He could feel himself turning red. "Well, it's hard to contain myself. But I'm keeping it together, for now."

There was a lengthy pause between the two of them. It seemed that Alan was processing the information. "So…does she know?"

"We had our moments so to say. I think she knows. Or at least is suspicious of what I feel for her." Neal explained and returned his attention to the pages at hand.

"Teri and Neal. You and her. Wow. That is adorable!" Alan couldn't believe it. It will be hard to keep his mouth shut, but he won't say anything to anyone.

"I know what you're going to say, Alan-"

"You two are going to have some very interesting children."

Neal did a double take, working a response to that, "...okay, I didn't think you will say that."

"Well, worry not, my friend! My mouth is zipped tight!" The balloon assured him and Neal nodded in thanks. "Perhaps you need help with your homework-?"

Alan looked at the human's notes and found them to be not what he expected. For one, those were mostly pictures of people performing some acrobatic moves.

"This isn't math." He said upon closer inspection.

"No, it's not." Neal then explained, "This is Taekwondo. Or rather, stand alone, advanced forms of striking. Pulled these individual moves off the internet. I'm currently trying to incorporate them in my repertoire."

Alan looked concerned. He knew that his roommate had some unsavory tendencies like the medication he used to consume. But this seemed to be going a little overboard. "You're not going to use it, right? I mean, this stuff looks dangerous."

"If the situation requires it." He answered truthfully.

"Neal, you could hurt someone with this or even hurt yourself."

"I'm aware."

"Have you ever even practiced any these?" Most of those moves on the notes seemed to be very hard to pull off.

"Taekwondo? Never." Neal answered him truthfully. "Know what? Don't worry about it. I actually want to know more about what Gumball has told you guys."

And so, Alan told him everything. Afterwards, Neal suggested that they hang back, see who goes where, and observe from the best vantage point. Naturally, he's going to for the group that Teri is in. And maybe, if there's enough time, the others. That is of course, if they'll even need his help.

"I think we should prepare for tomorrow. I have this bad feeling that things will get dicey." Neal said upon going for his bed. Truly, bunch of kids, unarmed, heading for a school full of roided up teenagers with violence issues. It will end in trouble.

"What do you have in mind? I mean, there's not much we can do." Alan asked.

"On the contrary, my friend. There's plenty we can do." From under the bed, he pulled out his wooden box. From inside the container, he took out his book. Notes and all, about alchemy. It's been quite some time since he opened it.

After he quit consuming the vile mind numbing substance that is.

"Tell me, how do you feel about tear gas?" Neal asked while flipping through his notes.

Alan looked at him, horrified he would suggest something so scary. "That's too extreme."

Neal turned the other page. "Nerve gas?"

Alan shook again. Once more, he flipped the page.

"Paralysing powder?"

"God no!"

Another page flip, "Flashbang?"

"No way!"

"Hmmm…" Neal hummed, going through several more pages. He stopped short on one of the pages. This seemed safe. "Smoke bomb?"

"Now that…seems fine I guess." Alan agreed. Out all the suggestions, this seemed to be the most humane. "But, how are we going to make it?"

"We're going to make several. As for how, easy. Baking soda, powdered sugar, newspaper, and hot water." There was one more ingredient, but Alan did not need to know it. "Come on, we got two hours before bed and we got to make at least four of these." And the human needed to make a quick trip to the nearest gas station.

Hopefully, tomorrow the two of them won't even have to interfere in whatever nonsense will take place in the Franklin school. But it's better to be safe than sorry.

Authors message:

Hey boys and girls, been a long time, hasn't it? I'm not going to apologize for lack of updates. Like I told you previously, working on a hype original story that's real solid. No link yet, so hold on for now.

As for this...well, next chapter will be interesting to say the least. So stay tuned and remember, withhold your expectations and hype. It might not suit your tastes. I will see you all on the next update!