Disclaimer: I own nothing. The song "Hello" belongs to one of the greatest
rock bands evah...Evanescence. *bows*
Author's Notes: This chappie is dedicated to xxSpAzZiExx, who dedicated her second chapter to me! *Hugs* Thanks, I'm so touched!! Hope y'all like this one...Sorry it took so long to post. I've been kinda busy...Ehe.xp
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"Hey, Kaye," Freddy greeted Katie as he walked into the classroom the following Monday morning. He dropped his bag onto the floor beside his chair and joined the rest of the band.
"Wow, you're early," Marta noted absentmindedly. The she did a double take the moment she saw his face. "Oh my GOD!" she half-screamed, hand over her mouth. "What happened to you!?"
Hearing this, Katie immediately stopped ignoring him, as did Summer. Katie felt her heart actually stop beating when she saw how awful Freddy looked. Well, he could never look awful to her, but he looked like he survived diving head first into a meat shredder.
"What happened to you!?" Katie, Summer, Marta, Alicia and Eleni cried.
Freddy shrugged. The upside to this was that he would get more attention and sympathy from the other girls in his year. Might as well act like hero. Snigger. "Oh, it was nothing. Zack and I got into a fight at that club we went to last Friday," he replied with a dramatic sigh.
Summer's eyebrows furrowed. "You pulled Zack into another one of your stupid testosterone-fueled fights?" she said incredulously. "You IDIOT!" She slapped the side of Freddy's head in anger.
The 'offending' boy growled in retaliation. "Look, Summer, I didn't start that, OK? And Zack wasn't beaten up as badly as I was!"
Katie rolled her eyes. What a tragic hero he was, really.
"So you guys were too beaten up to meet them," She looked pointedly at Summer and Katie. "last Saturday AND go to Summer's recital?" Marta clarified.
Freddy nodded, all the details slowly coming to him. The truth was, he'd forgotten all about going out and Summer's recital. He'd gotten home late on Saturday because he and Zack spent it at Nicole's house, which was way cool because they even had a recording studio. And, well, he'd pretty much slept through all of Sunday.
"There's something fishy about you today," Alicia noted, her nose wrinkling slightly.
Freddy threw his hands up in defeat. "God, if you don't believe me, ask Zack! He's probably on his way here right now! He just walked Nix to her locker,"
This got Summer's attention. Her amber eyes narrowed as she fixed them on Freddy. "Nix? Who in the hell is Nix?" she said, tone choppy.
"Nic," Freddy deadpanned. Eyebrows rose all around him. "Nicole?" he supplied, looking exasperated. No one spoke. "Oh, for God's sake, the new girl!"
"Oh..." Nods all around.
Then it sunk in. "WHAT!?" Summer shrieked.
Suddenly laughter floated into the room as Zack and Nicole entered. They walked together to their seats at the back of the room and kept talking once they sat down.
"Isn't he going to join us anytime soon?" Alicia said to no one in particular, gazing expectantly at their lead guitarist.
Freddy suddenly stood up and walked towards them.
"Freddy!" Summer called angrily.
The boy just shrugged and sat down beside Nicole, joining their conversation.
Katie and Summer glared at them.
"You have to hand it to her," Tomika said, attempting to break the tension. "She's been here barely two days and she's got the two cutest guys in class under her," She laughed and failed miserably.
Soon the teacher walked in and everyone went back to their seats as class started.
~*~
"Hey, Nicole," Katie greeted as she walked over to the other's girl's seat in the back. Nicole looked up from straightening the papers in her binder.
"Yo, Katie," she returned, looking a bit confused.
"You wanna eat lunch with us?" Katie offered, smiling in a friendly way.
Nicole shut her binder and stood up. "Uhm, yeah, sure. Thanks," She grinned and walked out with her.
Michael Rogers, a popular senior, walked over to them in the lunch hall. Most girls regarded him as a hottie because of his black hair and gorgeous blue eyes, but he was a total asshole. He thought he was better than everyone else because he was the captain of Martin High's 1st-string football team.
"Hey, Mathers," he greeted, sitting down next to Nicole.
Said girl rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Rogers?" she asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
He grinned in that 'I-know-I'm-hot' jock way and put an arm around her shoulders. "I just want to clarify what time we're meeting tonight," he replied, ignorant of the glare she was shooting him.
Katie, Marta, Alicia, Eleni and Tomika stared down at their food, acting as if they weren't worthy to look at Michael.
Nicole shrugged off his arm and looked at him as if he were more disgusting than a cockroach. "Did you just get discharged from the mental hospital or something? I don't remember agreeing to go out with you, Rogers, so please stop ruining my day with your unwelcome visits," she snapped and turned back to her rather unappetizing cafeteria lunch.
Michael frowned, which looked rather unattractive on him and stormed off back to the popular kids table.
"Anyway, about ROCKapella," Nicole continued, taking a bite of what she hoped was macaroni and cheese.
"I can't believe you just totally shut down Michael Rogers!" Alicia exclaimed. "Are you aware of how many girls would kill to even talk to him?"
"Why, are you one of them?" Nicole asked, smirking slightly.
Alicia snorted but she looked a bit pink around the cheeks. "No way. I go for more than just looks, Mathers,"
"Call me Nix. Mathers reminds me too much of my father," Nicole said, taking a sip of her Pepsi. "Ahh, been a long time since I've had a soda," she noted absently.
"Are you related to Eminem or something?" Marta suddenly asked. "Coz he's Marshall Mathers, right?" She looked around the table for signs of agreement.
"I wish! My dad's a working stiff and I don't think Eminem would bother having a niece like me," she laughed.
They continued talking about fashion and boys, and then inevitably, music.
"Oh yeah, we have practice tomorrow, don't forget," Eleni reminded them.
"Oh my god, that's so cool. A School of Rock rehearsal! Must be cool," Nicole commented.
Katie's eyebrows went up. "You've heard of us?" she queried.
"I confess," Nicole raised both hands up, looking solemn. "I have the CD, been to 5 concerts and have a poster of you hanging on my bedroom wall. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of yours,"
Everyone beamed at her.
"That's pretty cool, I've never met a fan of ours before," Alicia said. "You want our autograph?" she offered. Eleni jabbed her in the ribs. "What? She's a fan!"
Nicole laughed. "That'd be way cool. Thanks, Alicia,"
"And that hurt, Eleni!" Alicia frowned. Eleni sighed and turned back to nibbling on her piece of toast, muttering, "You're so tactless,"
Katie laughed then her brown eyes noticed the clock hanging on the cafeteria wall. "Oh my god, we're gonna be late for music class!"
~*~
"Good afternoon, students," Ms. Bergkamp greeted cheerfully as she entered the music room.
The class echoed dully, "Good afternoon, Miss Bergkamp,"
"Well, I see you're all perky today," she said sarcastically, peering at them from above her glasses. She checked her clipboard and smiled. "We have a new student! Miss Mathers, is it?"
Nicole raised her hand after Freddy tapped her on the head with his drumstick to bring her attention to the present. She was busy talking to Zack, which seemed to have been a regular occurrence throughout the day. "Call me Nix or Nicole," she said, smiling in a non-threatening way.
Summer made gagging noises behind her back.
"Very well then. Do you happen to play any instruments?" Ms. Bergkamp asked her, green eyes friendly.
Nicole stood up and nervously tugged at the loose thread on the hem of her school blouse. "Umm, I play a little bit of everything, I guess. Guitar, bass, drums, piano, violin, the triangle...." She trailed off as the class roared with laughter.
Ms. Bergkamp smirked slightly, green eyes glittering. "Well, Lawrence is absent today, and he normally plays the piano. Would you like to perform a piece for us?" she offered, pointing towards the seat behind their old school piano.
The fourteen-year-old looked queasy. "Miss, I'm not really good at performing-"
Freddy did the three beat thing they did at comedy clubs after someone said his punch line. Nicole turned around and glared at him.
Sighing, she turned back to her teacher. "What would you like me to play, miss?"
"Whatever song you want to."
"Do I have to sing?"
Zack interrupted. "She's got a great voice,"
Nicole twisted his ear discreetly, smiling innocently at the teacher the whole time. "Don't listen to him, he's insane. Forgot his medication this morning." She chuckled feebly.
Ms. Bergkamp just raised an eyebrow. "That was the lamest excuse ever, Miss Mathers, now play us something or I will have to note you down as absent for today,"
Nicole looked surprised at this. She had thought that the teacher was pretty cool but she was pretty mean. She sighed and sat down behind the piano, her fingers running down the ivory keys as though trying to remember how to use them. For some reason the whole class sat watching her, expecting something...anything.
She started playing and the deliberately slow notes hung in the air around them like memories waiting to be remembered. "Playground school bell rings again.... Rain clouds come to play again. Has no one told you she's not breathing? Hello, I'm your mind, giving you someone to talk to.... Hello,"
She looked up for a second to find everyone staring at her intently, expecting her to fail. She frowned. She hated being self-conscious but once she started a song she meant to finish it.
"If I smile and don't believe, soon I know I'll wake up from this dream. Don't try to fix me I'm not broken. Hello...I am the lie, living for you so you can hide.... Don't cry....
"Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping. Hello, I'm still here.... All that's left of yesterday."
"Whoa," Katie whispered as applause rose around her. Nicole was unbelievable! She made Lawrence look like a 5-year-old pounding on a toy piano, which was saying something because Lawrence was THE best pianist she'd ever heard. And her voice! It was...it was...mind-blowing.
"Very well done, Miss Mathers, you may take your seat," Ms. Bergkamp said, beaming as she scribbled something down on her clipboard.
"Showoff," Summer said in a loud voice as Nicole sat back down between Marizza and Leanne.
Nicole twisted around her seat, looking like she wanted to laugh but was holding it in because it was a serious situation. "Hathaway, why do you hate me so much?" she asked innocently.
In return, the other girl sneered at her. Summer tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder and leaned forward across her desk so that the teacher wouldn't hear her. "Because you're nothing but a poseur, Mathers, and you think you can get anything you want. Let me tell you now that I don't let that happen. I'm not gonna lie around and watch you try to take over,"
"Who said I wanted anything that belonged to you?" Nicole deadpanned.
Summer snorted, rolled her eyes and leaned back into her seat, all the while staring haughtily at the younger girl like she had won the argument.
Nicole turned back to the teacher with a sigh. Marizza raised an eyebrow at Summer but turned back to Ms. Bergkamp as well. Zack was looking at Summer like he was seeing her for the first time but soon the teacher called them all to take their positions at their respective instruments.
Freddy passed the teacher's desk as he made his way to the school drumset, and Ms. Bergkamp stopped him.
"Frederick Jones, what happened to you?" she asked, green eyes wide in shock.
Freddy ran a hand through his hair nervously, considering how much he was allowed to tell her. If he said he'd gotten into a fight he might get into trouble with the principal, but then it wasn't a fight within the school. "Don't worry about it, teach." He grinned. "I just got pulled into a fight when I went to a concert last week. Some skinhead from Lincon prep brought a razor into the mosh pit. No biggie,"
Ms. Bergkamp frowned. "Frederick, you know I've always been lenient with this class' choice of music, but if you end up looking like this I'm afraid I'm going to have to report it to the principal,"
"What!?" Freddy gasped. "Why!? I mean, having a band isn't against school rules or anything.... Is it?" he added nervously.
"No, it isn't, but anything that endangers the students is." she stated, expression apologetic.
"It's not 'endangering' us, teach! Zack and I just went to a gig, that's it!" He lowered his voice and took a step closer to her. "Please don't do this to the band, miss teach. They didn't do anything wrong and we have a major gig to look forward to." He called upon every ounce of cuteness he had and flashed her a pout and puppy dog eyes (A/N: *drool*). "Please?"
Ms. Bergkamp was still looking at him in a disapproving way but then she smiled. "Very well, Frederick. But if I ever see you looking like this it'll be a different story. Now go, we have a lot to practice for today,"
Freddy flashed her his most adorable grin and went to the drumset.
~*~
The rest of the week had passed by without much happening, except for Summer's constant verbal abuse towards Nicole, Lawrence's strange absence and Gordon causing an explosion when they had a sermon about Chem for science class.
Freddy was sitting on a window sill by a staircase facing the front of the school. Surprisingly, he was poring over his books, looking so focused that his eyes were crossed. Katie smiled warmly and went down the stairs to talk to him.
She shifted her books to her other arm and sat down in front of him. "Hey, Fred. Whatcha doing?" she asked brightly.
Surprised, the older boy looked up, blue eyes wide. "Oh, hey Kaye." He smiled slightly, looking grateful for her disturbing him. He stuffed a few sheets of paper into his binder so that she could see that they were covering his bio textbook. "Nothing, it's just some homework I didn't get to do."
Katie looked at them. "Wait, this is due next week," She stared up at him curiously.
Freddy shrugged. "I'm gonna be kinda busy this weekend," he answered simply. He didn't know what it was but Katie looked different since last week. "Are you doing something with your hair?" he asked.
Katie laughed, loving that he finally noticed. "I cut it shorter, Freddy,"
"Oh," he nodded, looking at her more closely now. Her up-to-the-waist raven black hair had been cut to her elbow and she was wearing kohl around her eyes. He had to admit, she looked cool. "I like it," he smiled.
She tried vainly to push down the heat making it's way up to her face. She looked flustered and pleased at the same time. "Thanks,"
Silence fell between them, but it wasn;t the uncomfortable kind. It felt good to just sit with his best friend and watch as people passed by, caught up in their own lives full of school and where to go for the weekend.
"Hey," Freddy was the first to break the silence. His eyes were still fixated on a small freshman who was animatedly talking to her clique, but Katie knew he was talking to her. "You doing anything this weekend?" She shook her head 'no'. "You wanna come with me tomorrow night to Steps?"
Katie grinned. "Yeah, sure." They smiled at each other for a while and then she checked her watch; she was late to meet Marta and the others at the Mystique Café. "Well, I have to go,"
"Yeah, I'll just pick you up tomorrow at around 7, that OK?"
"Perfect!" and she sped down the stairs, full of energy that she just had to burn it off. Freddy Jones had asked her out. Everything really was perfect!
~*~
A/N: Yay! I finished it! Hehehe. I need your advice coz I'm stumped! What should my pairings be? Coz I originally wanted it to be Freddy/Nicole, Katie/OC, Zack/Summer then my friend, Fleurette, wanted it to be Zack/Nicole, Freddy/Katie!!
See that little button down there? Please press it and tell me what you think!ü Thanks so much! The first one to review this chapter gets to have ANYTHING they want happen in the next chapter! Hahaha! Yes, I am bribing you! Now go press it! Please?ü
Author's Notes: This chappie is dedicated to xxSpAzZiExx, who dedicated her second chapter to me! *Hugs* Thanks, I'm so touched!! Hope y'all like this one...Sorry it took so long to post. I've been kinda busy...Ehe.xp
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"Hey, Kaye," Freddy greeted Katie as he walked into the classroom the following Monday morning. He dropped his bag onto the floor beside his chair and joined the rest of the band.
"Wow, you're early," Marta noted absentmindedly. The she did a double take the moment she saw his face. "Oh my GOD!" she half-screamed, hand over her mouth. "What happened to you!?"
Hearing this, Katie immediately stopped ignoring him, as did Summer. Katie felt her heart actually stop beating when she saw how awful Freddy looked. Well, he could never look awful to her, but he looked like he survived diving head first into a meat shredder.
"What happened to you!?" Katie, Summer, Marta, Alicia and Eleni cried.
Freddy shrugged. The upside to this was that he would get more attention and sympathy from the other girls in his year. Might as well act like hero. Snigger. "Oh, it was nothing. Zack and I got into a fight at that club we went to last Friday," he replied with a dramatic sigh.
Summer's eyebrows furrowed. "You pulled Zack into another one of your stupid testosterone-fueled fights?" she said incredulously. "You IDIOT!" She slapped the side of Freddy's head in anger.
The 'offending' boy growled in retaliation. "Look, Summer, I didn't start that, OK? And Zack wasn't beaten up as badly as I was!"
Katie rolled her eyes. What a tragic hero he was, really.
"So you guys were too beaten up to meet them," She looked pointedly at Summer and Katie. "last Saturday AND go to Summer's recital?" Marta clarified.
Freddy nodded, all the details slowly coming to him. The truth was, he'd forgotten all about going out and Summer's recital. He'd gotten home late on Saturday because he and Zack spent it at Nicole's house, which was way cool because they even had a recording studio. And, well, he'd pretty much slept through all of Sunday.
"There's something fishy about you today," Alicia noted, her nose wrinkling slightly.
Freddy threw his hands up in defeat. "God, if you don't believe me, ask Zack! He's probably on his way here right now! He just walked Nix to her locker,"
This got Summer's attention. Her amber eyes narrowed as she fixed them on Freddy. "Nix? Who in the hell is Nix?" she said, tone choppy.
"Nic," Freddy deadpanned. Eyebrows rose all around him. "Nicole?" he supplied, looking exasperated. No one spoke. "Oh, for God's sake, the new girl!"
"Oh..." Nods all around.
Then it sunk in. "WHAT!?" Summer shrieked.
Suddenly laughter floated into the room as Zack and Nicole entered. They walked together to their seats at the back of the room and kept talking once they sat down.
"Isn't he going to join us anytime soon?" Alicia said to no one in particular, gazing expectantly at their lead guitarist.
Freddy suddenly stood up and walked towards them.
"Freddy!" Summer called angrily.
The boy just shrugged and sat down beside Nicole, joining their conversation.
Katie and Summer glared at them.
"You have to hand it to her," Tomika said, attempting to break the tension. "She's been here barely two days and she's got the two cutest guys in class under her," She laughed and failed miserably.
Soon the teacher walked in and everyone went back to their seats as class started.
~*~
"Hey, Nicole," Katie greeted as she walked over to the other's girl's seat in the back. Nicole looked up from straightening the papers in her binder.
"Yo, Katie," she returned, looking a bit confused.
"You wanna eat lunch with us?" Katie offered, smiling in a friendly way.
Nicole shut her binder and stood up. "Uhm, yeah, sure. Thanks," She grinned and walked out with her.
Michael Rogers, a popular senior, walked over to them in the lunch hall. Most girls regarded him as a hottie because of his black hair and gorgeous blue eyes, but he was a total asshole. He thought he was better than everyone else because he was the captain of Martin High's 1st-string football team.
"Hey, Mathers," he greeted, sitting down next to Nicole.
Said girl rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Rogers?" she asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
He grinned in that 'I-know-I'm-hot' jock way and put an arm around her shoulders. "I just want to clarify what time we're meeting tonight," he replied, ignorant of the glare she was shooting him.
Katie, Marta, Alicia, Eleni and Tomika stared down at their food, acting as if they weren't worthy to look at Michael.
Nicole shrugged off his arm and looked at him as if he were more disgusting than a cockroach. "Did you just get discharged from the mental hospital or something? I don't remember agreeing to go out with you, Rogers, so please stop ruining my day with your unwelcome visits," she snapped and turned back to her rather unappetizing cafeteria lunch.
Michael frowned, which looked rather unattractive on him and stormed off back to the popular kids table.
"Anyway, about ROCKapella," Nicole continued, taking a bite of what she hoped was macaroni and cheese.
"I can't believe you just totally shut down Michael Rogers!" Alicia exclaimed. "Are you aware of how many girls would kill to even talk to him?"
"Why, are you one of them?" Nicole asked, smirking slightly.
Alicia snorted but she looked a bit pink around the cheeks. "No way. I go for more than just looks, Mathers,"
"Call me Nix. Mathers reminds me too much of my father," Nicole said, taking a sip of her Pepsi. "Ahh, been a long time since I've had a soda," she noted absently.
"Are you related to Eminem or something?" Marta suddenly asked. "Coz he's Marshall Mathers, right?" She looked around the table for signs of agreement.
"I wish! My dad's a working stiff and I don't think Eminem would bother having a niece like me," she laughed.
They continued talking about fashion and boys, and then inevitably, music.
"Oh yeah, we have practice tomorrow, don't forget," Eleni reminded them.
"Oh my god, that's so cool. A School of Rock rehearsal! Must be cool," Nicole commented.
Katie's eyebrows went up. "You've heard of us?" she queried.
"I confess," Nicole raised both hands up, looking solemn. "I have the CD, been to 5 concerts and have a poster of you hanging on my bedroom wall. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of yours,"
Everyone beamed at her.
"That's pretty cool, I've never met a fan of ours before," Alicia said. "You want our autograph?" she offered. Eleni jabbed her in the ribs. "What? She's a fan!"
Nicole laughed. "That'd be way cool. Thanks, Alicia,"
"And that hurt, Eleni!" Alicia frowned. Eleni sighed and turned back to nibbling on her piece of toast, muttering, "You're so tactless,"
Katie laughed then her brown eyes noticed the clock hanging on the cafeteria wall. "Oh my god, we're gonna be late for music class!"
~*~
"Good afternoon, students," Ms. Bergkamp greeted cheerfully as she entered the music room.
The class echoed dully, "Good afternoon, Miss Bergkamp,"
"Well, I see you're all perky today," she said sarcastically, peering at them from above her glasses. She checked her clipboard and smiled. "We have a new student! Miss Mathers, is it?"
Nicole raised her hand after Freddy tapped her on the head with his drumstick to bring her attention to the present. She was busy talking to Zack, which seemed to have been a regular occurrence throughout the day. "Call me Nix or Nicole," she said, smiling in a non-threatening way.
Summer made gagging noises behind her back.
"Very well then. Do you happen to play any instruments?" Ms. Bergkamp asked her, green eyes friendly.
Nicole stood up and nervously tugged at the loose thread on the hem of her school blouse. "Umm, I play a little bit of everything, I guess. Guitar, bass, drums, piano, violin, the triangle...." She trailed off as the class roared with laughter.
Ms. Bergkamp smirked slightly, green eyes glittering. "Well, Lawrence is absent today, and he normally plays the piano. Would you like to perform a piece for us?" she offered, pointing towards the seat behind their old school piano.
The fourteen-year-old looked queasy. "Miss, I'm not really good at performing-"
Freddy did the three beat thing they did at comedy clubs after someone said his punch line. Nicole turned around and glared at him.
Sighing, she turned back to her teacher. "What would you like me to play, miss?"
"Whatever song you want to."
"Do I have to sing?"
Zack interrupted. "She's got a great voice,"
Nicole twisted his ear discreetly, smiling innocently at the teacher the whole time. "Don't listen to him, he's insane. Forgot his medication this morning." She chuckled feebly.
Ms. Bergkamp just raised an eyebrow. "That was the lamest excuse ever, Miss Mathers, now play us something or I will have to note you down as absent for today,"
Nicole looked surprised at this. She had thought that the teacher was pretty cool but she was pretty mean. She sighed and sat down behind the piano, her fingers running down the ivory keys as though trying to remember how to use them. For some reason the whole class sat watching her, expecting something...anything.
She started playing and the deliberately slow notes hung in the air around them like memories waiting to be remembered. "Playground school bell rings again.... Rain clouds come to play again. Has no one told you she's not breathing? Hello, I'm your mind, giving you someone to talk to.... Hello,"
She looked up for a second to find everyone staring at her intently, expecting her to fail. She frowned. She hated being self-conscious but once she started a song she meant to finish it.
"If I smile and don't believe, soon I know I'll wake up from this dream. Don't try to fix me I'm not broken. Hello...I am the lie, living for you so you can hide.... Don't cry....
"Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping. Hello, I'm still here.... All that's left of yesterday."
"Whoa," Katie whispered as applause rose around her. Nicole was unbelievable! She made Lawrence look like a 5-year-old pounding on a toy piano, which was saying something because Lawrence was THE best pianist she'd ever heard. And her voice! It was...it was...mind-blowing.
"Very well done, Miss Mathers, you may take your seat," Ms. Bergkamp said, beaming as she scribbled something down on her clipboard.
"Showoff," Summer said in a loud voice as Nicole sat back down between Marizza and Leanne.
Nicole twisted around her seat, looking like she wanted to laugh but was holding it in because it was a serious situation. "Hathaway, why do you hate me so much?" she asked innocently.
In return, the other girl sneered at her. Summer tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder and leaned forward across her desk so that the teacher wouldn't hear her. "Because you're nothing but a poseur, Mathers, and you think you can get anything you want. Let me tell you now that I don't let that happen. I'm not gonna lie around and watch you try to take over,"
"Who said I wanted anything that belonged to you?" Nicole deadpanned.
Summer snorted, rolled her eyes and leaned back into her seat, all the while staring haughtily at the younger girl like she had won the argument.
Nicole turned back to the teacher with a sigh. Marizza raised an eyebrow at Summer but turned back to Ms. Bergkamp as well. Zack was looking at Summer like he was seeing her for the first time but soon the teacher called them all to take their positions at their respective instruments.
Freddy passed the teacher's desk as he made his way to the school drumset, and Ms. Bergkamp stopped him.
"Frederick Jones, what happened to you?" she asked, green eyes wide in shock.
Freddy ran a hand through his hair nervously, considering how much he was allowed to tell her. If he said he'd gotten into a fight he might get into trouble with the principal, but then it wasn't a fight within the school. "Don't worry about it, teach." He grinned. "I just got pulled into a fight when I went to a concert last week. Some skinhead from Lincon prep brought a razor into the mosh pit. No biggie,"
Ms. Bergkamp frowned. "Frederick, you know I've always been lenient with this class' choice of music, but if you end up looking like this I'm afraid I'm going to have to report it to the principal,"
"What!?" Freddy gasped. "Why!? I mean, having a band isn't against school rules or anything.... Is it?" he added nervously.
"No, it isn't, but anything that endangers the students is." she stated, expression apologetic.
"It's not 'endangering' us, teach! Zack and I just went to a gig, that's it!" He lowered his voice and took a step closer to her. "Please don't do this to the band, miss teach. They didn't do anything wrong and we have a major gig to look forward to." He called upon every ounce of cuteness he had and flashed her a pout and puppy dog eyes (A/N: *drool*). "Please?"
Ms. Bergkamp was still looking at him in a disapproving way but then she smiled. "Very well, Frederick. But if I ever see you looking like this it'll be a different story. Now go, we have a lot to practice for today,"
Freddy flashed her his most adorable grin and went to the drumset.
~*~
The rest of the week had passed by without much happening, except for Summer's constant verbal abuse towards Nicole, Lawrence's strange absence and Gordon causing an explosion when they had a sermon about Chem for science class.
Freddy was sitting on a window sill by a staircase facing the front of the school. Surprisingly, he was poring over his books, looking so focused that his eyes were crossed. Katie smiled warmly and went down the stairs to talk to him.
She shifted her books to her other arm and sat down in front of him. "Hey, Fred. Whatcha doing?" she asked brightly.
Surprised, the older boy looked up, blue eyes wide. "Oh, hey Kaye." He smiled slightly, looking grateful for her disturbing him. He stuffed a few sheets of paper into his binder so that she could see that they were covering his bio textbook. "Nothing, it's just some homework I didn't get to do."
Katie looked at them. "Wait, this is due next week," She stared up at him curiously.
Freddy shrugged. "I'm gonna be kinda busy this weekend," he answered simply. He didn't know what it was but Katie looked different since last week. "Are you doing something with your hair?" he asked.
Katie laughed, loving that he finally noticed. "I cut it shorter, Freddy,"
"Oh," he nodded, looking at her more closely now. Her up-to-the-waist raven black hair had been cut to her elbow and she was wearing kohl around her eyes. He had to admit, she looked cool. "I like it," he smiled.
She tried vainly to push down the heat making it's way up to her face. She looked flustered and pleased at the same time. "Thanks,"
Silence fell between them, but it wasn;t the uncomfortable kind. It felt good to just sit with his best friend and watch as people passed by, caught up in their own lives full of school and where to go for the weekend.
"Hey," Freddy was the first to break the silence. His eyes were still fixated on a small freshman who was animatedly talking to her clique, but Katie knew he was talking to her. "You doing anything this weekend?" She shook her head 'no'. "You wanna come with me tomorrow night to Steps?"
Katie grinned. "Yeah, sure." They smiled at each other for a while and then she checked her watch; she was late to meet Marta and the others at the Mystique Café. "Well, I have to go,"
"Yeah, I'll just pick you up tomorrow at around 7, that OK?"
"Perfect!" and she sped down the stairs, full of energy that she just had to burn it off. Freddy Jones had asked her out. Everything really was perfect!
~*~
A/N: Yay! I finished it! Hehehe. I need your advice coz I'm stumped! What should my pairings be? Coz I originally wanted it to be Freddy/Nicole, Katie/OC, Zack/Summer then my friend, Fleurette, wanted it to be Zack/Nicole, Freddy/Katie!!
See that little button down there? Please press it and tell me what you think!ü Thanks so much! The first one to review this chapter gets to have ANYTHING they want happen in the next chapter! Hahaha! Yes, I am bribing you! Now go press it! Please?ü