Disclaimer: You know how it goes.

Chapter Two

Well, I had thought that I couldn't do anything about the situation I was in. But, as I found out a couple days later, I was finally going to get a chance to express my feelings for Aisha.

Adam, Aisha, and I, along with our friends Tommy Oliver, his girlfriend Kimberly Hart, and Billy Cranston, were sitting in our favorite hangout, the Youth Center, one day after school. Of course, Aisha and Adam were sitting together, and I sat as far away from them as possible, although I kept sneaking glances over at them. We were talking in hushed voices about our latest battle against Rita and Zedd, our evil enemies, when Ernie, the owner of the Youth Center, came over by us. We stopped chatting and greeted him.

"Have you guys heard about the dance yet?" Ernie asked us.

We all looked at each other and shook our heads. "What dance?" Aisha asked.

"I'm hosting a dance here for all the high school students next Friday," Ernie replied. "Would you guys be interested in coming?"

"Of course we would!" Kim squealed. Seeing as how she was the "girly-girl" of the group, she was easily excited about the dance.

"Great! Well, I'll be posting flyers around the neighborhood, but will you guys help spread the word?"

"Sure, Ernie," Tommy reassured him.

"And I have one more question."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Would you guys be willing to help me decorate?"

We exchanged glances and nodded. "We'd be very delighted to assist you in decorating the Youth Center for the dance," Billy, the genius, spoke up.

Ernie let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, guys. I knew I could count on you. I'll see you guys next Friday then."

"Wait a sec," Adam said as Ernie walked away. He stared into space for a moment. "Next Friday? That ruins everything!"

"What are you talking about, sweetie?" Aisha asked him. I rolled my eyes at her pet name for him.

"My parents and I are going away next weekend. We're leaving Friday after school."

Aisha's shoulders sank. "You can't stay over at Rocky's house or something?"

Okay, the next part is really mean.

But after she said that, I started praying that Adam would say he couldn't.

"Sorry, Ish. We have to go visit my grandparents. My mom won't let me stay here, even if it's with Rocky."

(Somebody up there must really love me!)

Aisha crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. "Then I'm not going to go either."

"No, hunnie, you go. I don't want you moping around all weekend because I won't be here."

(Ugh! More pet names! It almost made me sick.)

Aisha looked at Adam and sighed, but she didn't say anything. It was obvious to the rest of us, though, that she really didn't want to go.

But I was going to change that.

* * * * * * * *

"Hi, Rocky!"

I was standing by my locker before homeroom the next morning, eating a Pop-Tart, when I heard Aisha call my name. I turned toward the direction her voice came from and smiled. "Hey, Ish."

She stepped up beside me and giggled. "Didn't you eat breakfast at home?"

I shrugged. "Of course. But I needed something to fill me up until lunch."

Aisha just shook her head. We stood in silence for a few minutes while I finished eating. "So, what's up?" I asked as I swallowed my last bite.

"Not much. It's been really quiet lately."

"Yeah, I know. We haven't been attacked for almost two weeks now. Not that I'm going to complain. I've finally gotten time to focus on my martial arts. And I get to eat a lot more," I added jokingly.

"Well, I just hope things remain quiet until after the dance. I wouldn't want Rita and Zedd to ruin it for you guys."

Yes! I got her right where I wanted her. (Now I had almost no doubt that someone up in heaven loved me.)

"You guys?" I repeated. "You're not going?"

Aisha shook her head without saying anything.

"But Adam said you could go," I pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. But I'm going to go to the Youth Center after school and tell Ernie that I'm not going."

"Aww, come on, Ish. You have to go!"

She looked up at me. "I told you, I don't want to."

I raised an eyebrow as I casually leaned against my locker. "So you're just going to sit at home all night and do nothing?"

Aisha shrugged. "That's what I planned to do."

"Come on, Aisha. The dance will be fun. Billy, Tommy, Kim and I will be there."

"Oh, because I don't see you guys all the time," she mumbled sarcastically.

I half-smiled at her. "Come on. Please go. I don't want you to sulk around at home all weekend. Adam wouldn't either," I added. I was hoping that if she thought Adam would be upset to know she just laid around at home all weekend, it would help change her mind about going.

Aisha closed her eyes briefly and sighed. "Would it make you happy if I go?"

"Very." She had no idea, though, how serious I really was.

"All right. I'll go. But only," she added quickly as she poked me in the chest, "because you're my best friend, and you begged me to. Not because I want to."

I shrugged. "Whatever."

"Well, I've got to go find Adam. He promised to help me on my creative writing assignment. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you," I repeated as she walked away.

I couldn't help but smile to myself. I was absolutely positive, now, that someone up there loved me. I was going to get another opportunity to tell Aisha how I felt about her. This time, I wasn't going to hang back and keep quiet. I was going to be more like myself and open my mouth.

And maybe, if I'm lucky, Aisha will tell me she loves me more than she ever loved Adam, dump him, and live happily ever after with me.

Yeah, right.

But, hey, a guy can dream.

A/N: I was pretty quick with this update, huh? Luckily, I haven't been getting too much homework so I've had more time to write. Thanks for the reviews-keep them coming!