I'm revising the February chapter because uh because I'm in a good mood now? Nah. I'm just never satisfied by whatever was written when my mood is at the bottom. But I'm still very protective over my beloved plants in the flowerbed.

The worst part is, I still don't know what happened to that particular plant!

And the moral of the original February chapter is: don't try to piece everything together during work or when you're upset over a missing plant.

Beyond Yesterday

"For one reason or another, the school has been infected by red and pink cloth, candy, chocolate, and flowers, most of them being roses."

I handed the note to Elena, who nodded and giggled, and then pocketed it.

It was third period on Valentine's Day, a damp, cold Monday morning. Our P. E. teacher was clearly in a good mood, because she let us sit around in the main gym and chat.

"Wait until I show Mark this," Elena said. "I mean, the note," she added quickly. "He's not wearing red or pink either, thank God."

"Too bad high school has separate P. E. class for guys and girls," I said.

"Ah well, some things never change, but other do." She watched a bunch of girls cheer as a group of boys on the other side of the gym made a basket. "Isn't it nice that painting is just one semester long? At least now we have one class together."

"Yes but you're still not with your valentine," I pointed out, and she blushed.

"Yeah, we'd be together if I hadn't switched ceramics and P. E., but still" she stared at the ceiling absent-mindedly. "I think it's harder to make a friend, a real good one. You can always pick another guy"

The bell rang at that moment, and we grabbed our books and got up. "What do you have next?" Elena asked as she bent down to pick up a notebook that slipped out from her binder, and then muttered, "I'm sure that I'm the clumsiest person with the worst memory in the family just take a look at Elaine"

"English," I replied to the question that was directed at me, and made a face. "Anna hasn't been sitting anywhere near me, so I had to find another study partner. What do you have?"

"I also have English," she said as we paced up the stairs. "The classroom next to yours. I just realized that last week; it's weird. Anyway, it's not like Anna's been too keen on studying. Bet she let you do all the answering. Who's your new study partner?"

"Estelle Rosenberg. You know her, the blonde girl in our eighth grade science class. And now I know her sister--she told me to take good care of Estelle since we're going to be stuck together as study partners for rest of the year."

"I heard that she's not very good with anything other than math and science."

I shrugged as I spotted Estelle shoving through the crowd. "Well, as least she tries."

Estelle fought her way through the hallway flooded with people in red cloth, and we entered the classroom. She was wearing a blue blouse and black pants, and I made a mental note to myself. Six people I knew were NOT wearing red on Valentine's Day.

"So far, so good." I said loudly. People who were already in the classroom turned to stare at me, and then returned to their conversation. Estelle giggled as we picked two seats close to the door.

"What was that about?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"I'm counting people that are not wearing red today. I've counted six so far."

"Well, that's not bad for a start. Plus, you still have four more periods to count."

Mr. Cooney was tapping his desk gently in front of the room, which signaled the beginning of his lesson, so we stopped talking and took out our copy of The Merchant of Venice. I could tell that no one was interested in Shakespeare today; a few people were groaning and complaining quietly. Someone even said loudly, "Why can't we have it easy on a special day like this?"

Old Cooney clearly ignored this. He was starting to read the description of Act I, scene ii. Clearly, Valentine's Day did not matter to most of the faculty either.

***

The bell rang fifty minutes later, and I gathered up my notes and the packet Cooney called "the journal of famous quote," which he handed out just before class ended. I stuffed them into my binder, and then followed Estelle out of the classroom. She looked at me like I was losing my mind. "Don't you have lunch now? And the cafeteria entrance is located in the opposite direction, you know."

"I forgot to bring my lunch today," I explained. "So I figured that I'd just sit in the library and look over today's notes from English."

"Well in that case," she said, opening her bag and took out a brown paper bag. "I guess you can have mine. I'm on a diet."

I stared at her; she was thin as a stick. Not that she looked unhealthy that way, but taking the lunch of someone that skinny made me feel guilty.

"What?" she exclaimed. "Off to the cafeteria already! Mulder's waiting down there!"

"What?" I asked. A boy bumped into me, muttered "sorry" and moved on. The crowd was beginning to thin out.

Estelle blushed. "Oops not supposed to say that."

"What exactly are you talking about?" I took a step toward her.

"Fine! Alright already! He's got something for you and he's waiting in the cafeteria!" she said, her face flaming. "Just don't let Ellie know that I told you!" and then she ran down the hallway to her physics classroom before I could ask more questions.

"What the hell is going on?" I said to a hallway that was now empty.

My lunch certainly wasn't the only thing I had forgotten today; I seemed to have forgotten my mind too.

***

"What does Estelle eat that make her so skinny?" I asked Mulder as I sat down on the opposite side of the table.

He shrugged. "I don't know; I think it runs in the family."

"Ellie is not that skinny," I said, opening the lunch that originally belonged to Estelle; it contained a sandwich, a small bottle of something that looked like tea, and an apple. "Looks pretty normal to me."

"Estelle gave you her lunch? She must really be on a diet now."

"She gave it to me because I forgot mine," I explained as I took out the sandwich. "And it's not the only thing I forgot today."

"Let me guess: homework?"

"And my mind." I nodded, and took another bite of the sandwich. "And a box of chocolate."

"So you've found someone good enough for you, and you still couldn't find your own lunch table?" he joked, although there was something different about his voice.

I blushed, remembering the conversation Ellie and I had on Christmas Day; it was nearly two months ago. And I had always wondered if she was right then, and if she was still right, as of now. "Yeah. Well, I just hope that he doesn't have many admirers. Competition is a bad thing in that case."

He was silent as he finished the rest of his lunch. And then something landed in front of me. I raised my head and saw a wrapped box placed next to my--well, Estelle's--lunch bag.

"What's inside?" I asked curiously.

Mulder did not answer my question. Instead, he got to his feet and swung his bag over his shoulder, his face a deep shade of puce. "I'd better go," he said, and then added, "Psychology quiz next period."

And before I could say anything, he stormed out the cafeteria, leaving me staring at his retreating back, stunned.

"What the heck was that about?"

I picked up the package, took a long glance at it, and then proceeded to open it. And then I stopped.

I had received a box of chocolate for Valentine's Day when I was in sixth grade, but this one was nothing like the previous one. It wasn't like the plain squares of milk chocolate that you'd just pop into your mouth any day; delicate icings decorated the chocolates inside the paper box, and although chocolate was definitely on top of my list of favorite foods, I had no urge of opening this box. It was too lovely and well, perfect.

Someone sat down next to me; I turned my head and saw it was Ellie. "What's up?"

"Teacher got nice--let us out early as soon as lab is done," she replied, eyeing the package. "Who gave you that?"

"Mulder," I said, holding it up for her to inspect.

Ellie grinned. "Told you! Told you that he likes you!"

"Okay, okay," I said, holding out my hands as if they would be able to calm her down. "Now what?"

She stared at me in disbelief. "Now what?! Now it's time for you to make your move! Well," she added hastily, "It's not like I'm in any place to tell you what to do with boys. Guess you'll be on your own this time."

"I do have something for him," I said as my cheeks started to get warm, "But I left it at home along with my lunch and my mind."

She tapped the table with an index finger as she stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Hmm yeah, you sure forgot your mind well"

"Well?" I inquired. She looked at me like I really lost my mind.

"Bring it to him after school, of course."

"What?!" I nearly jumped out of my seat. "His parents might be home!"

"Well, it's better than the marching army of happy couples wearing red, is it not?"

***

Once again, I found myself at the front steps of the Mulder residence, while swearing quietly at myself for being so forgetful.

I knocked on the door, and shivered. Turning my head to the left, I saw Estelle peering out from the window of her house. I made a shoving gesture at her, but she took it as a wave and waved at me, and then gave me a thumb-up. I could also see Ellie joining her sister as they both stared at the door, waiting for it to open.

I sighed, and my breath turned into small clouds of vapor. I waited for the door to open.

At last it opened, and I held my breath, hoping that it wasn't either one of Mulder's parents that was standing behind the door.

But it was Mulder himself. He smiled at me shyly, and then stepped outside and glanced at the house next door. Estelle and Ellie ducked out of sight, but not fast enough. Mulder sighed. "Those two come on in. My parents are out for a romantic dinner, although I don't think there's anything romantic between them anymore"

I stepped in, and he shut the door, blocking the cold winter air out.

"Thanks for the chocolate," I said, trying to maintain my casual tone. He blushed, but not in a deep shade.

"It's nothing," he said, glancing at me for a moment and then looked away. "Really."

"Well, I've got something for you too," I said, and held up the package. "I told you I left it at home, and so here I am and here you go."

He took the box, although there was something in the air that I did not understand; it had become very hard for me to understand Mulder these days, it seemed. "I thought it's for someone you like."

"Ah uh, well" I cleared my throat loudly. Suddenly I wished that someone, even one of his parents, was here. I was never in this kind of situation before, and naturally I didn't know how to get out of it.

Mulder's gaze shifted from my face to somewhere else. I looked up and saw him stare at the doorframe, where the mistletoe had hung nearly two months ago.

'I threw it out because they didn't seem to remember about it," he said softly, "but now I wish I didn't do that."

Silence followed, but the awkwardness was gone; I knew what he was thinking and he knew what was inside my mind.

And then we did the only thing that made sense, in this new situation.

The distance between us dwindled, as he leaned down, to touch my lips with his.

***

There. My proud army of fluffiness had come marching into my brain and the protein samples had to spend thirty minutes in the incubator and here's the result: the revised version of the February chapter, a very happy, sappy Valentine's Day!

To Ellie: you're right, it's easier to write things that I DO know. Thanks for the help just stop mentioning how wonderful London is! ;)