Besides the hiccup on the bus, Abby admitted to herself that the school day wasn't as bad as she dreamed it would be.
Nobody had seemed to make any connections between her and the grossologist in the newspaper, nor did anyone attempt to pry anything out of her. Abby was absolutely elated and practically skipped all the way to her locker.
"Ugh, watch where you're going, Archer!"
Well, Paige was still Paige. Abby only held her head high as she passed the blonde and placed her books back on her locker's shelf. Grabbing her lunch money, Abby sprinted past a group of students to get a good spot in the lunch line. Who cared if it was mystery meat day? Abby was as free as a bird!
Once the ginger girl arrived in the cafeteria, she stood smiling with her lunch tray as she entered the lunch line, only to notice Naomi behind her, who looked rather panicked as she approached Abby.
"Abby, is Ty absent today? Is he alright?"
Oops. Abby has completely forgotten to tell Naomi about her brother. This wouldn't be good.
"Uhh, well.. he was forced by some teenagers to stick his finger in a pencil sharpener-"
"OH MY GOSH!?" Naomi cried out as tears spilled from her eyes and Abby placed a hand onto the girl's shoulder in an attempt of comfort.
"I know, it shocked me when I first heard it too." At least part of that wasn't a lie.
"Is he ok? Are those teenagers still here? I'll break their necks!" Naomi cracked her knuckles and Abby saw she was VERY serious about her promise. Abby held up a hand.
"No, I don't even think they went here," She started, "Ty's fine. He' s missing part of his finger, but he'll be back in school soon enough."
Naomi's angry expression faltered and she eyed her lunch tray with a sorrowful expression. The concern for her boyfriend was clear on her face, and she sighed as the lunch line moved forward.
"Tell him I'll visit after I finish my homework." Naomi feigned a smile and Abby nodded in return, the two sharing the same pity for Ty. Choosing not to focus on the past, Abby looked forward and frowned as mystery meat was dumped onto her plate. As she was handed a drink, Abby walked towards her usual table- without her brother.
Even though it was only lunch, things just weren't the same without Ty. Now that he wasn't here to crack a joke or say something wildly inappropriate at the table, Abby noticed just how quiet it was. Andy was sitting with his friends and Naomi with hers, making Abby all alone. She looked at her food and thought about what Lab Rat had said last night.
"We know Kid Rot thrives best when he's away from other people, meaning he would probably strike when you're alone"
Would Kid Rot try and attack the school today? Or was he planning on staying away for a while. The whole thing was giving Abby a headache as she ate her food in silence, not to mention she still hadn't figured out the whole deal about Chester. If he was still around, why didn't he show himself during Kid's past attacks? Could he still somehow control Kid?
Abby was snapped out of her thoughts by a smooth voice on her left. Straightening her posture, she turned around, only to lock eyes with Greg.
"Hey Abby!" He bore a relaxed smile and the girl in question hid a small blush on her face. Greg wasn't the type of guy who'd engage in long conversations with other people, so Abby jumped to the conclusion he wanted something from her.
"I was just wondering," Greg started. "You know about the school dance on Monday? I was wondering if you'd like to accompany if no one already asked you yet,"
Abby's brain froze. Someone was asking her to the dance and it was Greg Bradshaw? The day just kept getting better and better.
"Of course- I mean yes- ok!" Abby blushed as she tried to get out her words. She wasn't normally this nervous around Greg, but the thought of a school dance gave her a funny feeling in her stomach.
"That's great!" Greg grinned, "I'll pick you up at 7:30, sound good?"
Abby held up a thumbs up as Greg walked back to his table. Was she dreaming? It seemed as if karma was on her side today, which made her feel giddy. Smiling, she hummed to herself and finished her lunch.
"What do you mean you think he'll come back?!"
Ty's angry voice filled the gag lab as Lab Rat stared at his face on the big screen. The grossologist had called him earlier, wanting to know if there was something up with Abby, to which Lab Rat had confessed to their meeting last night. Now Ty wanted to know all the details about it.
"Well it's only logical, after all, Kid Rot won't stop unless he gets whatever he wants. Even if he managed to somehow snatch Abby again, he still wants to rot the planet down to it's core. The only way to prevent this would be to neutralize Kid once and for all."
"Did you tell Abby this?" Ty asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Not exactly," Lab Rat grimaced, "You know how she feels about that Chester guy, especially now that she claims he isn't dead. Killing Kid Rot would mean killing that boy as well, and Abby would be devastated."
"Isn't there someway to get rid of Kid Rot without harming Chester? We confirmed Kid was a parasite in his brain, couldn't we do surgery or something?" Ty questioned
"That's what I thought, but we'd have to restrain and successfully get Kid Rot on some strong anesthesia first. He could probably rot us all in the time taken to do that." Lab Rat answered, "And there's the possibility of the brain surgery not even working, meaning we would've spent tons of money on nothing."
Ty raised an eyebrow and sighed. The situation had tripled in difficulty all because of the fight between Abby and Kid Rot from yesterday. Getting rid of Kid Rot was one thing, breaking his sister's heart was another.
Lab Rat saw the look on Ty's face and gave Hermes a pet before speaking.
"Don't waste your time worrying about the whole thing today. There's no way Kid Rot would try attacking the day after his defeat, and you need your rest." Lab Rat said, "I'll figure something out- whether it be a way to knock out Kid Rot or break the news to Abby. Later!"
Ty watched as Lab Rat's face left his grossmeter's screen. Today was just getting worse and worse.
Meanwhile at Ringworm High, Abby was in a state of unusually childish joy and she sat in science class. Andy seemed to notice her behavior as he helped set up their lab table, and could only wonder what had happened between this morning and now.
Abby placed on her lab goggles with a smile and straightened her hair as the teacher began explaining instructions for the expierment. Andy tapped his lab partner's shoulder and whispered.
"Abby, are you ok? You seem super- happy?"
"I'm fine! Just got asked to the dance by Greg Bradshaw!" Abby whispered back and Andy deflated. Well, there went one person he could ask to the dance. Maybe Jasmine would just go with him as friends.
Across the room, the other students set up their experiments with eagerness, expect Naomi, who was still sad about the Ty situation. Roger, who decided to be her lab partner while Ty was gone instead of working alone, frowned at Naomi's emotional drain.
"Are you going to help me or not?" He whispered and Naomi jumped, before nodding and pouring some liquids into their beaker. The two of them together was a strange sight, but Roger figured he could perhaps use this to his advantage.
"I'm guessing you're worried about Ty, correct?" Roger started, "Isn't it strange how he lost a finger due to a pencil sharpener? There's no way the blade would be sharp enough to slice through bone!"
Naomi's eye twitched, but she didn't engage. Every student at Ringworm knew about Roger's conspiracy theory and everyone knew denying it wouldn't help anything.
"I mean- what if he lost his finger some other way? Say to.. a criminal? But that wouldn't make sense, unless.."
Trying to drown out Roger's voice, Naomi zoned in on the beaker like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Just forty minutes left and class would be over-
"I propose that Ty might ACTUALLY be a part of a crime-fighting team, say, the grossologists?"
"Be quiet, Roger." Naomi lost her composure and hissed at her lab partner, who only grinned and leaned towards her.
"Huh, you seem like you KNOW something about this. It would make sense if Ty told you about his job, after all, you're his girlfriend. Or maybe, you're just now realizing how he might be a gro-"
Roger yelped in pain as Naomi stepped on his foot. Hard. She wasn't one to fight with other people, but living with three brothers had dimmed her patience towards her enemies. Nobody talked about her Ty, especially when he was at home and missing half of his finger.
Abby turned her head towards Naomi and Roger, catching the angry look in Naomi's eyes and the way Roger almost fell over clutching his foot. Deducing the situation, Abby held back a giggle and reminded herself just why she loved the idea of Ty and Naomi dating.
As the final bell rung, Abby power walked through the hallways and grabbed her backpack. Getting back on the bus wasn't particularly pleasant, but she trusted it to be a joyride compared to that morning.
Andy walked a bit behind her, ready at the moment to ask Jasmine if they could go to the dance together as friends. Even though the relationship between them was completely platonic, Andy couldn't help but feel a bit nervous at the thought of asking a girl to the dance.
Opening the door to the robotics club, Andy smiled at waved at Pat and Jasmine, who waved back in return.
"Hey Andy!" Jasmine smiled and placed down her wrench, while Pat noticed an oil leakage from their latest project and rushed to stop it.
"Uh- hey Jasmine!" Andy responded with a bit of nervousness in his tone and stared Jasmine in the eyes. Over the years she had lost her braces and now sported a perfect smile.
"Is there something you need?" The burnette girl asked as she walked towards Andy, who placed down his backpack.
"I was wondering- uh- doyoumaybewannagotothedanceasfriends?" Andy rushed his words, but Jasmine got the memo and clapped her hands together.
"Of course! It'll be so much fun!" She laughed and Andy breathed a sigh of relief. Pat gave a silent thumbs up and Andy blushed as the inventor had clearly precited the situation as a love confession.
"That's good, I'd be kind of embarrassed if I had to go alone." Andy spoke as approached the front of the classroom. "Do you two need any help with uh- whatever it is you're working on?"
"Actually, yes we do!" Pat waved Andy over towards the invention, which looked somewhat like a toaster. Andy had no idea what it was for, but wanted to help in whatever way he could.
"It's a vote counter to determine the dance's king and queen fair and square!" Jasmine rushed over to the machine and presented it like a piece of furniture on a gameshow, to which Andy nodded and looked at the back where the duo had been working.
"So the oil spill, I think I know how to fix that and keep the gears turning smoother." Andy said as he grabbed the wrench and a few screws from a box before fixing them into the machine. After a bit of oil had sputtered out, it began to work smoothly, separating the practice sheets of paper inserted in the top.
"Nice Job!" Pat nodded and grabbed a clipboard from a desk, "I'm going to be working at the dance behind the voting counter, so I'll see you two there!"
Andy smiled as he turned the machine around to examine the other parts. Monday couldn't come soon enough.
A/N: And there we have chapter nine! I'd been working on this for the good part of today, and I'm proud to finally have it out!
This chapter is another filler with a bit of angst sprinkled in. While Abby is super excited for the dance, poor Ty doesn't know how to break the news to her that Chester might not be savable. Lab Rat's just stuck in the middle between showing now mercy towards Kid Rot, or taking the time to try and help Chester. Overall, the two guys aren't having a very pleasant time.
On the other hand, Andy gets the justice he deserves! Him asking Jasmine to the dance can be interrupted as a friend thing or a ship thing, it doesn't really matter. On the other hand, Pat's been pushing the two together ever since he first transferred to Ringworm Junior High. If only he knew Andy also had heart eyes for Paige..
Naomi makes and return and she absolutely demolishes Roger! I headcanon that even though Naomi is squeamish towards gross things, she isn't a damsel in distress and will do whatever it takes to back up her boyfriend. After all, she has three jock brothers and I guarantee they definitely taught their sister some tips for when she needs them.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading!