A/N Well not as much John as I anticipated. Hope you all like this chapter though. So far it's my favorite. Thanks for the reviews everyone. They mean a lot to me.

Lunch. Lunch was the only other time during the day that I would actually see Allison and I was really looking forward to it. I understood though after first period English what she must have felt like everyday. I was used to people staring at me because I was number one, a winner, a champ, but now they were staring at me not with admiration but with curiosity. It made me feel a little self conscious. I could do this right? Could I go out with Allison and still be who I was before?

I thought about that question through homeroom, second period and third as well. The more I thought about it the more I realized that it wasn't so much sitting next to Allison this morning that changed who I was; it was all of them on Saturday. Allison in particular, changed who I was. It wasn't anything drastic; nothing outward. It was something small within me. Before where I was member of a team and had to be of one mind and one voice, I was now starting to sing my own tune.

"Hey Andy." It was Bill. I could feel my stomach clinch. I really didn't want to deal with him anymore. He started ragging on me in calc and it was all I could do not to haul off and hit him. I turned to face him. "What do you want, Bill?" No one else from our group was around which was odd since we were usually the first in the cafeteria. Athletes with big appetites need more time to eat.

"Hey man, I only want to know what has gotten into you. Did the body snatchers stop by your house this weekend? First you say weird shit about Larry Lester being human when last week it was obvious you could have cared less. Hell you are the one who taped his ass. Then you get all cozy with the freaky girl. What's going on?"

"Maybe I realized that Larry has just as many feelings as I do and maybe I like Allison."

"Come on Andy. You can have any chick at Shermer. Shermer or over at Madison for that matter. Not that they have any hot girls there."

I started to walk away from him. "Marsha wants you man and you were there in English holding hands with that basketcase. Marsha Christholm for Christ's sake. You can't ask for anything better than that. I'd kill to go out with that girl. What the hell is going on?" He said grabbing me by my sweatshirt and turning me around. I could have totaled him right there on the spot but he had been a good friend, which was the only thing holding me back.

"I've already told you."

"What has that girl holding over you?" He yelled. People in the hall turned to watch what was going on. I looked at them watching us and then I looked at Bill and realized he was scared. The fact that I could break away and make up my own mind about people was frightening him. "You give her a pity fuck and she's now pregnant?" I was seething.

"Yo, Andrew my man." I turned my head to see John Bender coming my way. "This guy giving you difficulties?"

I had to smile at the look of surprise that crossed Bill's face. He released my shirt pretty quick. "No. Everything's cool Bender." I straightened my clothes and headed in his direction.

"Good then let's get us some lunch."

We stopped at my locker across the hall from the cafeteria. Bill was watching for a bit and then headed into the cafeteria. "Have to get your lunch?" I asked Bender noting that he didn't have anything with him.

"Thought we'd share." Was his only reply. As on Saturday he didn't have anything with him. I didn't have a problem sharing. I usually had enough for 3 with me so it wouldn't hurt. If my dad found out he'd give me hell for not keeping proper diet. "You're a growing boy, and an athlete you need all the nutrition you can get. Not eating will make you sick and then you can compete. We don't want that do we, Andrew?" I could hear his word in my head. Words drilled there from the time I was 12 and starting out wrestling at the Y.

We went in and sat at an empty table. "So I heard rumors," he said. I just looked at him. "I take it that is what you and the guy in the hall were discussing."

"Yeah."

"So are they true?"

"Yeah." I smiled thinking about how soft and cool Allison's hands were. I never noticed things like that about girls before even ones I thought I was serious about.

"Good move Sporto. I was betting that it wouldn't happen for you two. Guess miracles do happen."

"So you thought I'd blow her off?" He didn't answer. Part of me was amazed he could think that but I could still see where he was coming from. It would have been so easy for me to walk into English and pal around with my friends and just ignore her or snicker at her like I had always done with my friends, acting like Saturday never happened. "So what about your and Claire? I've heard some rumors about you too."

"There ain't anything with me and Claire. Ain't a miracle that big."

"Then she didn't look for you once you left gym?" He looked surprised. I guess he either thought I was making it up or he didn't know that she did.

In a tone that told me to drop it he said, "I didn't see the princess chasing the after the frog."

"Hey guys."

"Big Bri!" Bender greeted him as Brian sat with us opening his lunch box. When Brian saw us staring at the Gremlins lunch box he blushed a bright shade of red.

"Babyish I know but my mom insists." He pulled out a lunch very similar to what he had eaten on Saturday. "So I heard you and Allison are a couple? Is it true?"

I couldn't help but be surprised that it had gotten around school so quickly. Had it been Marsha the news wouldn't be a headline. It would have been universally accepted and no one would have thought to question it. "I guess it is."

"That is so cool. I told Claire that 2nd period."

"Second period Claire has PE."

"Well she might but she went looking for you and got caught by Mr. Vernon. Luckily I thought fast and gave her a hall pass so she didn't get in trouble. After that we hung out the library." Brian was pretty impressed with himself for coming to her rescue. He was beaming with a goofy grin on his face. I think he had a small crush on Claire himself.

I looked at John. "So," he began asking Brian, "How do you know she was looking for me? Did she tell you that herself?"

"Yeah. She felt bad about you having a hard time and went looking for you."

"I'll be damned."

Brian was saying something else about Claire and the library when I noticed Allison come in with her food tray from the hot lunch line. She was scanning the tables looking for a place to sit. I stood slightly and waved catching her attention. Smiling she started on her way over to us. I couldn't believe how pretty she was with her hair pulled back and her makeup the way Claire showed her. It amazed me that she hid it before. Just then everything moved in slow motion. I saw the foot go out as she passed by the cheerleader table catching her right between her ankles. I could hear Brian gasp as he also saw what was going down. And then her food slid off her tray and onto the floor. She followed right behind it landing in her bowl of meatless chili.

Laughter rang up all around her. People stood and pointed. I tried to get over to help her, climbing over the tables that were blocking my path. Vernon was there telling everyone to go back and continue their lunch. Reaching her was impossible. It didn't seem as though anyone was listening to him which wasn't unusual. Once I got in close enough to see her again through the crowd she wasn't there. "What happened?" asked Vernon looking at the table of cheerleaders. He knew damn good and well what happened and I knew he could have cared less. He just needed to cause the impression that he did.

"She just tripped, sir," said one of the younger cheerleaders. I didn't recognize her so assumed she was a freshman.

Then Patti Maloney jumped in. "Yeah some people are naturally clumsy. Not our fault if she hasn't learned to walk." That just led to lots of giggles from the others.

I felt a hand on my shoulder as the crowd finally began to break up and turned to see Brian who simply said, "She's with Claire," and left. I supposed he went looking for them. Bender stood a little ways behind me looking quite pissed off and glaring at the cheerleaders' clique.

"She is just so clumsy, trippin over her own two feet like that." Giggles arose from her clique. "Klutzy and nutty. Andy you could do better than that," said Marsha who was the one who did the tripping.

"Like with you?" I asked her.

Marsha flipped her hair and gave me what she thought was a sexy smile and licked her lips. "Well, I could give you what she can't." Marsha was traditionally pretty. Okay she was gorgeous but she lacked substance. Substance was something that wouldn't have mattered to guys like Bill. What mattered to him was that she put out and it was well known that she put out.

"If he wants a case of the clap he knows where to turn, thanks for letting him know," said Bender. Obviously it was well known to Bender too. I couldn't help it. I had to laugh. The indignant look on her face and the way she sputtered lost for words.

"W-w-who the hell asked you? You...you...Criminal."

"Oooooh," said Bender faking being scared.

"And you?" She gave me the evil eye which was less scary than her "sexy smile". "Why are you hanging with the freaks Andy? Save charity for Sundays don't bring it here and try to make the rest of us look bad. Once you get over your need to shop the bargain basement for friends," She made finger quotation marks when she said friends. "You know where you can find me." With that they all stood in sync and left.

"What a bunch of bitches!" said Bender. "You actually date chicks like that?"

"Dated. Past tense. Let's find Allison." I hoped she was okay. Physically she probably was. Mentally? I was pretty nervous to find out how she was doing, but she was with Claire.