Summary: Another day in the life of a teenager. Joan tries to juggle a "suggestion" from God, her friends, and attempts at accepting Iris in Adam's life.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from Joan of Arcadia or any songs that appear in this fic. I wouldn't mind having Christopher Marquette, though. .

Ratings: PG – just in case of swearing

AN: I can't believe how complex my story has gotten. At first, it was going to be one key storyline, but I've since branched out. Hahahaha, hope you guys don't mind. . Thanks for all the reviews… Keep them coming.

Lischak stood before the class, explaining some type of molecular structure. Joan had missed the first part of the lecture due to her distracted thoughts of Adam and Iris, that she really had no idea what she was supposed to be learning. Her father's words penetrated her disjointed musings, forcing her to pay better attention. 'Why couldn't they make this more interesting?' Joan sighed inwardly, shoving a lock of hair out of her face. She looked at Adam out of the corner of her eyes, watching him doodle a woman with angel wings. She was tempted to lean closer for a better look, but decided against it.

After last night, she wasn't sure she could trust herself around him. Her emotions were running rampant and she was liable to do anything, probably something that could get them in trouble. With a more audible sigh, she turned to look at Grace, surprised at what she saw. Grace had her chin resting in the palm of her left hand, listening to some angry, chick music. What surprised Joan was the fact that she was staring at Luke and Glynis in front of them, annoyance brewing in the depths of her eyes.

Joan looked from her friend over to Luke and saw him reach over to grab Glynis' hand. She smiled as she saw Grace's eyes narrowed. This was an interesting development; Grace jealous of the two nerds. Joan wondered what was holding Grace back from making a move. 'Was she scared? And if so, what was she afraid of?'

Joan blinked, raising her eyes slowly up to meet Lischak's irritated glance. She gave a nervous smile, blushing at being caught zoning out.

"Thank you for joining the class, Miss Girardi. Please inform the class and I the chemical formula for formaldehyde."

Joan opened and then closed her mouth, shrugging in resignation. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lischak. I'm not sure."

"Indeed. Maybe from now on, you'll save the napping until after school… We'll discuss this further after school today." Mrs. Lischak turned and walked away, calling on a student who was frantically waving his arm with eagerness. "Yes, Jerome?"

"The molecular structure for formaldehyde is H2CO."

"Thank you. I'm sure most of you heard the common use of formaldehyde, especially with biology in preserving the dead bodies for later dissection. What most don't know is formaldehyde has many other uses. And that's what our next lab is going to be about. Learning about the other uses of formaldehyde, and their molecular structure."

Joan began jotting down notes in her notebook, not looking at either of her friends. She just wanted this torture to be over with. She breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang, for once glad to go to gym class.

Grace and Joan entered the girl's locker room early – for once – to find Iris already there pulling out her gym clothes. She glanced up to see who entered then quickly went back to staring straight ahead. She offered no greeting as she sat down on the bench to take off her shoes.

Joan looked over to Grace, shrugging at her curious expression. She had no idea what was going on with Adam and Iris, but she was dying to find out. "Hey, Sq- I mean, Iris." Joan gave a nervous laugh at her slip in using one of Grace's nicknames. She didn't want to antagonize the other girl.. just get information.

"Hey? I don't get you, Joan. I know you aren't a genius like your brother, but I didn't think you were that dense."

"Back off, Minnie. Or you'll be road kill."

"Save it, Grace. This is between Joan and I. Joan, you claim that you aren't ready to be with A; said you were okay with me going to the concert with him. You two weren't together… So why now?"

"Listen, Iris- "

"No, you listen. I'm tired of the way you are always around Adam. You had your chance and you blew it. But instead of letting someone else be happy, you have to stick your nose in. Everywhere him and I are, you're always there."

"How can I help that? We go to the same school and we have a lot of the same classes together."

"It's not just that… He makes art for you, he talks about you, he breaks dates to be with you…"

"Is this about this afternoon? I had no intention of failing the first lab, it just happened. Instead of failing us, the teacher gave us another chance. That's all it is."

"Really? Then what about last night? If it was all that was going on, why did you two look guilty? Why did I have the feeling that I was interrupting something? And this wasn't the first time, either. I'm tired of living in your shadow. Today was important to me to have Adam with me, but you ruined it. You have to have everything your way."

Joan's jaw dropped open in surprise over Iris' outburst, then snapped shut as the shorter girl shoved her clothes back in the locker, slammed the door then stormed out of the locker room. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Iris was blaming all of her problems on Joan.

'Don't you deserve it? You've made it quite clear your feelings for Adam.' Joan argued with herself until Grace's voice interrupted.

"What the hell got into Miss Priss?"

"I'm not sure… Maybe Adam knows why today was important… But then why would he break the date? Even for a school project?"

"Are you really as dense as the helium queen said? He's head over heels for you, and he's probably realized it."

"I feel bad. I never wanted to break them up. Okay, maybe deep down, I did… But I feel really horrible. What should I do?"

"I say go with the flow. It would have happened sooner or later. Better to get rid of the leech before it got too attached." Grace began getting dressed indicating the conversation was over. Joan changed in silence, her thoughts and expression troubled. 'Is this why God wants me to go to the meeting? So that Adam wouldn't have broken his date with Iris.' She nibbled on her bottom lip, following Grace out to the gymnasium. She began searching for Adam and Iris, spotting him by the bleachers, sitting all alone. His eyes were scanning the door to the girl's locker room. He frowned when he didn't see Iris, meeting Joan's eyes. He knew something was up from her expression.

'Where was Iris?'