Notes:

Ok, can I ask everyone a question that has nothing to do with this story? I'm having guy problems and it's confusing me. Plus, it might help with this story. Is it weird for a girl to tell a guy how she feels? No, I haven't done it yet, but I want to. The point is, I'm too scared to tell him. He was in the play I saw Tuesday and the only reason that I went to it in the first place. I didn't even tell him that I went because I couldn't think of anything to say to him. Also, he's suddenly becoming distant and I don't know if he's nervous around me or he just doesn't want to hang out anymore. I have problems discussing this stuff with my parents and figured that you guys were the ones to ask.

Ok, guys don't usually confuse me this much. I'm really sorry for bugging everyone about it, but I desperately need help on this. Things have been kinda weird between me and him since our 'Christmas incident' as I like to call it, but it's not a bad thing. If you don't know the story, it's all in my one-shot collection, the one with Bumlets. Help! Again, I'm sorry for bugging everyone with this. I'd appreciate the advice though. You guys are the greatest!

Shout-Outs:

Jocelyn Padoga – You're welcome. I love adding in new characters.

Wisecracker88 – It's okay, we all have our crazy moments. Like you, I've been a victim of super glue. It wasn't fun.

Scamley Elliot – Yeah, you mentioned that you live in Alaska. I think that's so cool! I've wanted to go there for a while.

GeometryGal – It's ok, I've never been in choir. I probably needed to hear that…well, Alaska needed to hear it.

Who's Stealin' Your Dreams?

It was getting late by the time we left. A really interesting thing happened as I stood to leave. Mush approached me and said that he couldn't wait to see me again. At this point, I was just about ready to faint. I mean, he was talking to me. There is no one else around. Dreamer, Snow, Jaws, and Swoosh had continued on without me, not noticing that I was no longer with them.

I'm telling you, my knees are threatening to buckle under me. Dreamer and Snow told me all about the guys while we were walking this morning, along with how they got their nicknames. I remember them saying that Mush got his nickname because he turned to mush around girls. Know what? I think they were wrong, because I'm about to turn into a pile of mush right now. They got it completely backwards.

I smiled nervously at Mush, but managed to catch myself before giggling uncontrollably. Sorry, I may be a girl but I don't giggle. It annoys me when other girls do it and I'm not about to start becoming annoyed with myself.

"Alaska, come on," Snow called from the door. I turned to her slowly, only to find her grinning knowingly at me.

"I gotta go," I said, turning back to Mush, "Guess I'll see ya later." I didn't know what else to say to him without making a bigger idiot of myself. He nodded in agreement, giving me a quick smile before rejoining his friends.

Slowly, I headed towards the door. I'm keeping my head down, because I'm almost positive that I'm blushing bright red.

"What was that about," Swoosh asked me. Apparently, everyone had been watching from the door.

"It was nothing," I said, knowing that I was lying. That was one of the best things to ever happen to me. Still, I know that all four of them were giving me weird smiles. Jaws looked kind of sympathetic though, she had been caught in the same position. I just didn't like talking about things like that. I've never really been close to guys before, so to get attention from one is a big deal to me.

Mush climbed onto his bunk. He wasn't quite ready to sleep yet, he just wanted to think. He couldn't believe that he had just walked up to Alaska and told her that. Part of it was because he wanted to hear her reaction, but the other part…just maybe he was beginning to like her. Maybe not in a romantic way, but he wasn't quite sure at this point.

"So, what did she say," Blink asked from the next bunk over. Mush turned to him. Blink had heard that?

"She guesses she'll see me later," Mush replied, shrugging, "That's all she said." He reached over the side of his bunk, searching for the locket. He didn't know why, but he liked to look at the pictures inside. He had never really known what a family was and he guessed that the pictures just intrigued him. When his fingers didn't meet the cold metal, he lifted his head to search for it, "Blink?"

"What," Blink asked.

"Where's the locket," Mush questioned.

"I thought you had it," Blink replied. Mush shook his head.

"No, I left it right here," he told Blink, "I didn't want to lose it during poker." He indicated the space on the dresser, which was now empty, "It's gone."

"Gone," Blink exclaimed. Everyone in the bunkroom stopped as these words.

"What's gone," Ears asked, as everyone started to gather around.

"The locket," Mush replied.

"Well, you can rule out any of us," Sparks said, "We're all just as curious to find out who she is, even though we have a pretty good guess."

"Who was over here," Specs asked, "It might help." Mush mumbled an answer.

"What," Blink asked him.

"Alaska was," Mush said slowly, "She quit playing early and I told her she could watch from my bunk."

"So, she must be the owner," Sparks commented, "Why else would she have taken it?"

"We don't know for sure that it was her," Davey said.

"Who else could it have been," Dutchy asked.

"I don't know," Davey replied, "I got to go guys. I'll see you tomorrow." He was greeted by various farewells of 'goodbye' and 'later'.

"She had every right to take it," Mush said quietly, "I mean, if it is her locket."

"Of course it is," Jack said, "You should have asked her about it." Mush didn't reply. The heavy sound of footsteps came up the stairs.

"Boys," Kloppman yelled, "Lights out!" The boys all got into bed and the girls left for their separate room.

"Do you think we'll ever figure it out," Ears asked Sparks as they walked down the hallway.

"I hope so," Sparks answered, "This is getting confusing."

The next morning consisted of more rehearsing. Medda told us that the act was definitely improving. She also told us that we were about ready for the next week's show. All we really needed to do was practice in our outfits. This was the part that I wasn't looking forward to.

My locket was back in my pocket, right where it belonged. I couldn't help but feel a little guilty about the previous night. Mush had been so nice to me and I wouldn't tell him that the locket belonged to me or that I really liked him. I just hoped that he wouldn't discover it's disappearance or wouldn't consider it a big loss.

"Are you okay," Snow asked me suddenly.

"Yeah," I answered, "Why?"

"You missed your cue," she replied. That's when I realized that my solo part was playing, "You've been kinda distant today."

"Mornings aren't my thing," I replied, which was half-true. I could handle mornings okay, but sometimes they just didn't want to work right, which meant the beginning of a bad day.

"I understand," she agreed, "Why don't we take an early break and go to Tibby's? We can work on this some more later." While I didn't exactly want to go, the idea of a break sounded good. It's not that I didn't like Tibby's, it's just that the guys might be there and that made me a little nervous. I agreed anyway. After getting the rest of the girls, we headed out.