Let's Leave It At That

Part Two of 'Something I Believe In – Miracle Romance'

Like Dee-Dee thought, Nora was invited to sit with Carter Richardson (who really didn't like it when Dee-Dee called him C.J., or so he told Nora), but Nora was also sitting with Billy Harrington, Natalie Faye, Ellen Rourke, Heather Wiltshire, and Edward Blake. They were very inviting of Nora, and they seemed intelligent and appreciated Nora for who she was.

"So," Ellen asked as she applied lipstick, "are you going to try out for the cheer squad?"

"Cheer squad?" Nora repeated. "Sorry, I'm very bad at dancing."

"Oh, come on, Nora," Edward sighed. He had brown hair and green eyes as piercing as a hawk's beak. "You're gorgeous. You could make the cheer squad easily."

Natalie had a scowl on her face. She was very pretty, with tan skin and nut-brown cropped hair. "You guys should stop pressuring her to join the squad."

I think I like Natalie better than the rest of these guys, Nora thought.

Natalie and Nora exchanged phone numbers, and, after lunch, Nora headed to English with her.

Natalie had told Nora that she became part of the popular crowd in very much the same way Nora was becoming the It Girl.

"Except that Lara Garrett, who was my best friend until she moved to Michigan in eighth grade, was your Dee-Dee. Lara's in ninth grade now. I met her in fourth. She was in sixth grade," Natalie explained.

"I still don't understand why I'm the 'It Girl,'" Nora said.

"You're beautiful, Nora," Natalie explained. "And you're almost as smart as Dexter. You're probably equal with Mandark."

"Really?" Nora asked. She tried not to make it too obvious that she liked this statement very much.

"Yeah, of course, sister," Natalie smiled. The pair of them took their seats in English and took out their respective silent reading books. Natalie's was 'Define "Normal",' Nora's was 'Angels and Demons' by Dan Brown.

Nora looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Mandark reading 'The DaVinci Code' by Dan Brown.

Nora only wished that Mandark knew how she felt. If just for a third of a second, she wished she could be held in his arms, with that warm touch that had flooded her mind ever since her backpack burst.

It was math again. Dexter and Nora were going over division of fractions, which both of them were aces at.

So they finished their respective homework and had ten minutes left of class.

"Should we just keep going?" Nora asked Dexter.

"We cannot just progress forward," Dexter sighed. "I got into trouble the last time I did that."

"So what do we do for ten minutes?" Nora asked.

"I'm not quite sure," Dexter admitted.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Dexter was looking around, but Nora was staring at Mandark. Mandark looked up, and Nora turned away, slightly pink.

"Why are you blushing?" Dexter asked. He wasn't saying it suggestively; rather, he was concerned.

"Oh, no reason," Nora replied.

Wow, that sounded stupid, Nora thought.

"You were staring at something across the room," Dexter noted.

"It's nothing, Dexter," Nora insisted.

"Are you sure you don't have a fever?" Dexter inquired.

Well, I feel a feverish passion towards your worst enemy, Nora thought.

"Yes, I don't feel nauseous or sick or anything," Nora persisted.

The bell rang. Nora packed up all of her stuff, and was about to leave when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Nora turned around to see Mandark standing there, with her 8 Mile CD.

"You left this yesterday," Mandark explained. "I tried to tell you, but you walked out before I could get to you."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Nora apologized. Nora did nothing to hide her pink face.

"You look like you have a fever," Mandark noted.

Dude, I have the hots for you. Of course I look feverish.

"No, I'm fine," Nora shrugged. "See you tomorrow."

Nora left the classroom. Her heart was beating a million miles an hour again.

Why do I always see him after math? Nora thought. Does he want to tell me something?

Nora was still holding the 8 Mile CD. For no reason, she opened it up and saw a note inside of it.

I liked it.

That was all the little yellow Post-It said.

Natalie scowled.

"So a guy gives you back your CD and there's a note saying, "I liked it." What's the point?" Natalie sneered.

"You don't understand. I really like this guy," Nora sighed.

"Wow. You got a Post-It," Dee-Dee snarled from her phone. It was a three-way call.

"But he wrote it!" Nora twirled around, tangling herself in her phone's cord.

"Wow, you must really like this guy," Natalie grinned. "It's only been two days since you transferred here. Who could you fall in love with that fast?"

"Oh my God. You don't like C.J., do you?" Dee-Dee giggled, and so did Natalie.

Nora scowled. She looked at her reflection in a mirror and saw her face was bright red.

"Not really," Nora answered. "No, this guy is so much better. He wrote me a Post-It!"

"We get that," Dee-Dee snapped. "What we don't get is who it is. So tell us."

"I'm sorry. I refuse," Nora narrowed her eyes. Nora became all smiles again after putting the note on her mirror, which was full-length with a golden frame.

"That's no fun," Natalie pouted. "Is it because you like someone we know?"

"Not necessarily," Nora lied.

"Do you like Dexter?" Dee-Dee asked.

"No way," Nora replied quickly. "He's just a friend."

"I saw Mandark helping you pick up your things the other day," Natalie offered.

"Ooh-la-la," Dee-Dee chuckled.

"I told him that he didn't have to do it, but he helped anyway," Nora countered, irritated. Well, she hoped she came off as irritated. She was very red and her heart was threatening to come out of her chest.

A noise came from the phone. Natalie sighed.

"Sorry, I have to get off the phone," Natalie mumbled.

"Okay, see ya Natalie," Dee-Dee grinned.

"Bye," Nora said.

"Later," Natalie added before hanging up.

A few seconds of silence passed.

"Hey, Dee-Dee, can I talk to Dexter?" Nora asked impulsively.

"Err… sure," Dee-Dee shrugged. "Why do you wanna talk to him?"

"Just give him the phone, please," Nora ordered.

Dee-Dee yelled at Dexter to get the phone, and soon Dexter was on the other line.

"Hello, this is Dexter," Dexter greeted.

"Hello, Dexter. It's Nora," Nora greeted back.

"Why did you want to speak to me?" Dexter asked.

"Dexter, can you keep a secret?" Nora inquired.

"Keep a secret?" Dexter repeated. "Is it something important?"

"It is to me."

"All right then," Dexter said. "What is it?"

Nora was very red, like her face had gotten burned, and her eyes had completely glassed over.

"Well… I like Mandark."

"Oh well, your loss," Dexter shrugged. "Don't worry. If you want me to keep that a secret, I will."

"Thank you, Dexter," Nora smiled. It felt so good to get that out of her system.

"I'm sorry, I really must be going," Dexter said after looking at a clock.

"Oh, okay. Bye."

"Good-bye."

Dexter put down the phone.

Wow. She likes Mandark. They're friends. Why does she want me to keep that a secret? Dexter asked.

Dee-Dee, Lee-Lee, and Mee-Mee knew there was something up with Nora. They were swimming in Dee-Dee's pool when Lee-Lee brought it up.

"Nora acts so weird sometimes," Lee-Lee noted.

"It almost seems like she doesn't like Carter," Mee-Mee sighed.

"I know," Dee-Dee replied. "She's so strange. Any girl with half a brain likes Carter. I know she has a brain. She's so smart."

Lee-Lee and Mee-Mee looked at each other.

"So if Nora doesn't like Carter," Lee-Lee inquired, "who does she like?"

"I don't really know," Dee-Dee answered.

"I bet we could force it out of her," Mee-Mee mused.

Dee-Dee nodded, but she really didn't want to force the answers out of Nora. No matter how much Nora lied, she couldn't hide the fact that she was very shy indeed.

"Maybe that's not the best way," Lee-Lee shrugged. "Maybe we should just wait."

Weeks passed. Summer faded into fall, and the autumn breeze filtered through windows in Nora's math class. Their partners were still the same, but Nora didn't care about the partners.

Nora still liked Mandark a lot. The Post-It was still on her mirror, and she still felt the warm touch of Mandark's hand on hers occasionally.

Nora and Dexter were working together on surface area when Dexter suddenly said something.

"My sister thinks you're outlandish for not dating Carter," Dexter randomly burst out. Nora continued to work on her problem, sucking on her eraser.

"I don't have a crush on him," Nora responded flatly. Dexter nodded.

"Well, she presumed that to be true," Dexter shrugged. "Honestly, I don't really care."

Nora smiled, still sucking on her eraser. "I'm glad someone doesn't."

"Being popular seems callous," Dexter mused.

"Sometimes, it is," Nora replied, "but I think of myself as… lucky, I guess."

Dexter smiled. "Well, I guess that's a levelheaded way to think of it."

Nora put her head down on the table and watched the hypnotizing blue lines on her college ruled paper.

The bell rang. Dexter picked up his belongings, which there were very few of, dumped them in his backpack, and walked out the door.

Nora had too much stuff in her backpack, so it took her a while to pack up.

Mandark noticed Nora packing her things and walked over to her.

"You have a lot of effects," Mandark noted.

Nora looked at him. She and Mandark were friendly, but Nora got the feeling that Mandark didn't return her ardor.

"I need to clean out my backpack," Nora shrugged. "What can I say?"

Mandark touched her cheek. "You don't have to say anything."

Nora felt her heart beating a thousand times a minute. Before she knew it, his lips were against hers…

And someone was whacking her with a ruler.

"Nora, I can't believe you!" Natalie cried. It was, indeed, after class, and Dexter and Natalie had been trying to rouse her.

A dream, Nora thought. Just a dream. Dang it.

The ruler thwacked her head again. Nora winced.

"Natalie… that hurt," Nora moaned.

"Well, if you need a siesta, you should do it earlier than that," Natalie scowled.

"You fell asleep with fifteen seconds left of class," Dexter explained.

Nora saw Mandark staring at the scene out of the corner of her eye, and then focused back to Dexter and Natalie.

"Sorry… but you still didn't need to whack me with a ruler," Nora grumbled. Natalie crossed her arms.

"Hurry up," Natalie ordered, and walked outside to wait for her. Dexter left, too.

Mandark watched Nora pack up her stuff. Nora was definitely grumbling about something.

Mandark wanted to ask Nora so many things. Like why her face always went a bit pink when he talked to her, why she wasn't with Carter, why it seemed like her life was a ploy, a curtain hiding her true self.

Mandark didn't have the guts to ask her any of these things. Nora had already left, anyway.

Nora was Instant Messaging Dee-Dee. She was kind of bored. Dee-Dee seemed ready to interrogate Nora, though.

FlowerChild45 (Dee-Dee's screen name) wrote, "Carter really loves you."

Eminem4Ever&Ever (Nora's screen name) replied, "How many times must I tell you I don't like Carter?"

FlowerChild45: "Then tell me WHO you like."

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "No way."

FlowerChild45: "Aw, come on."

Nora felt ready to crack. For two months, she'd withheld the truth. Nora could just picture Dee-Dee leaning backwards in her chair in anticipation.

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "OK, fine. As long as you promise not to tell."

FlowerChild45: "Sounds good. So… who is it?"

Nora inhaled deeply. She could see her beet-red reflection in her computer monitor. She looked a bit ugly. Nora could barely see her hands as she typed.

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "Okay, fine! I love Mandark Astronominov! Now stop bugging the crap outta me because of it! Don't tell a living soul, or I'll throw you in a bag and throw the bag into a wood chipper. Got it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A few minutes later, Dee-Dee answered.

FlowerChild45: "Oh my gawd. No way. You LOVE that freak?"

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "You seem eager to meet the wood chipper."

FlowerChild45: "Wow, you seem really touchy."

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "I've only told one person before. Of course I'm touchy, snot head."

FlowerChild45: "Who'd ya tell?"

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "THAT is something you'll never know."

Nora pushed her interlocked hands upward. She stretched out her arms and waited patiently for Dee-Dee to respond.

FlowerChild45: "His screen name is BrokenBackpack678."

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "BROKEN BACKPACK?????????????????"

FlowerChild45: "Yeah, BrokenBackpack678. What's the deal?"

That was I, Nora thought. I had the broken backpack. It's kismet.

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "Sorry. I thought that I had that on my Buddy List already."

Nora secretly IMed Mandark, when she was waiting for Dee-Dee to respond.

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "Hello, Mandark. It's Nora."

BrokenBackpack678: "Hello. How'd you get my screen name?"

FlowerChild45: (in the other screen) "NOW what are you doing?"

Nora hastily typed, "Sorry, my mom needs to check her email."

FlowerChild45: "Oh, okay. See ya."

Nora canceled Dee-Dee's box and focused on Mandark's.

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "I have my ways."

BrokenBackpack678: "You're a hacker?"

Nora shuddered nervously.

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "No. I just picked it up from Dee-Dee."

BrokenBackpack678: "Oh. Why'd you pick that as your screen name?"

Nora blushed. She could see Mandark's head cock in interest. She didn't mean "me and Eminem forever", she meant "long live Eminem and let's hope he doesn't kill himself, like Kurt Cobain, and rob the world of another musical genius."

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "It means long live Eminem, and let's hope he doesn't commit suicide."

BrokenBackpack678: "Oh, so you aren't in love with him, like every other girl on this continent."

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "So what does your screen name mean?"

Nora already knew the answer, but she didn't want to act too smug.

BrokenBackpack678: "Remember the first day of school?"

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "How could I forget something as good as"

Nora completely freaked out. She tried to erase the message, but she ended up sending it.

"No! Stupid –" Nora pounded the screen. " – idiotic –" BANG " – kyaa!"

Mandark, anyways, wrote back.

BrokenBackpack678: "Uh…" Nora was seething at herself. She had to lie. Again. She was tired of lying to everyone.

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "My brother wrote that. He loves to ruin my life."

Nora didn't mention that her brother was twenty-three and in an Air Force base in Florida. Mandark didn't need to know.

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "But I do remember. So why's it your screen name?"

BrokenBackpack678: "… Actually… well… I just found the situation… amusing."

He's lying, Nora mused. Look at all the pauses. Does he think I don't read manga? Everyone reads manga.

Eminem4Ever&Ever: "Whoops. I gotta go."

BrokenBackpack678: "Oh well. See ya."

Nora logged off. She looked into the monitor. She was a woman transformed. Her eyes looked rounder and more confident, her face was red, but it looked cute, and her skin was a bit darker.

That didn't just happen. I just haven't taken a good look in the mirror in a while. Nora dismissed the transformation. But she wasn't quite sure.

"So I'll help you get together with him," Dee-Dee offered during Art. Nora was making a pot on the pottery wheel, but she stopped moving the wheel. Her foot wasn't pushing the pump anymore.

"Oh no," Nora stuttered. "I doubt he likes me. I can't just have you say, 'Oh, by the way, Nora loves you.' I'll do it myself."

"Today?" Dee-Dee asked.

"Oh God no!" Nora nearly screamed. "I meant if I tell him at all!"

Dee-Dee pouted. "Well, that won't get you a boyfriend."

Carter was in Beginning Art as well. He had somehow managed to slip a note into Nora's pot when she wasn't working. Nora peered into her vase and saw it. She pulled it out and read it to herself.

Nora, Meet me at the wall that separates the junior high buildings from the outside world during Lunch. –Carter

Nora gritted her teeth.

"What?" Dee-Dee inquired.

"I won't be eating with you at lunch today."

"Okay, Carter, what is it?" Nora asked impatiently.

Carter was pink. "Well, Nora, you probably know that… well… I love you."

Maybe I should buy a shirt that says, "Sorry, I'm Not In Love With Carter Richardson", Nora thought spitefully.

"What?" Nora responded.

"Nora." Carter grabbed her hands. There was no warm feeling. His hands were actually cold. "Will you go out with me?"

Nora didn't want to sound heartless.

"I'm… so sorry, Carter," Nora sighed. "I don't like you in that way… please forgive me."

Carter let go of Nora's hands. Nora would have breathed a sigh of relief, but she really didn't want to hurt Carter too much.

"What'll it take?" Carter asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Nora replied intelligently.

"I'll do anything you want!" Carter cried.

Ugh.

Nora looked at him in disgust. "You know, I did respect you. But I told you the truth. I was trying to let you down easy…"

Nora flashed the evil eye to Carter. "I don't love you. Let's leave it at that."

Nora stomped off haughtily, breathing heavily and rubbing her hands to make them warm again.

"Did you hear?"

"Nora rejected Carter!"

"No way. NO girl has ever done that."

"They say she didn't like him, then Carter said he'd do anything."

"Anything? No wonder she didn't agree!"

"I still think it was stupid of her to not go out with him…"

Nora felt everyone's eyes on her as she entered math and took her seat.

"Congratulations," Dexter grinned wickedly, "you are now authoritatively the 'It Girl' at school."

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Dexter's Lab, 'Define "Normal"', "Angels and Demons", "The DaVinci Code", Eminem, Post-Its, or AOL Instant Messenger. Well, the list is shorter this chapter…

Ren: Idiot. Eminem's not a trademark.

Satine89: Shut up baby. (Kisses Ren on the cheek)

(Mandark starts to cry)

Kaiba: … I'm out of here.

A/N: Lil Riter owns Blue Eyes and partially owns the Adventures of M&M. Hah, I own part of M&M! Take that!

Ren: You are so frickin strange.

Mandark: (sniffle) I don't like you, Ren.

A/N: I worked hard to make this readable... so read it!