"Woah."

Kristen stared at the scene in front of her, with a growing look of confusion spreading across her face.

"Déjà vu," Kristen scratched her head, "will it ever be thus? Am I like, destined to barge in on you guys before you almost do each other?"

Dana's head emerged from underneath the duvet.

"What happened to your hair?"

Kristen's shoulders were dusted with tiny little charred black hairs from the tips of her hair. It looked a bit like a bad dye job.

"Freak straightening accident," Kristen explained, "is Zoey in here?" She looked around the room.

"What do you think?" Logan asked angrily, sitting up in the bed to reveal his shirt had obviously been torn off in some mad frenzy.

"I need to find her," Kristen turned on her heel, "and I hope you don't mind her without a head, by the way."

Dana and Logan watched the door close.

"She's really weird," Dana mused.

Wait a minute!

What are you doing under the duvets with this guy? Did you get caught up in the moment or something?

Kristen may be weird, but she's your savior at the moment, waking you from that reverie that he actually cared about anything else rather than getting some.

"Come lie back down," Logan rolled over onto his back, "we can resume where we were before she interrupted."

Dana scowled at him, throwing back the covers and leaping out of the bed.

"What!" Logan cried angrily, "What's the hell is it now?"

"Logan, every time I get near you it's like I'm under a spell and I hate it cause it just gets me hurt, eventually," she glared at him, "so stay away from me."

"Aw…come on!"

"Don't pretend you didn't come here hoping to get laid!"

"Well…"

"You're unbelievable!" She growled, "If you can answer me this question honestly, then I'll consider it."

Logan prepared himself.

"Would you do Rebecca?"

Logan averted his gaze. Dana smirked.

"I knew it."

"I wouldn't."

"Bullcock!" She exclaimed, "You had to think about it! The point is, you would. So Exnay, Ixnay, whatever, the point is you don't love me."

Logan stood up, his shirt in his hand.

"You know what you're problem is?" He shouted, "You're such a commitmentphobic! You're an angry bitch Dana, and it'll be your downfall."

"And what are you? A complete man-whore who'd do my best friends within a second!" Dana snarled, "And probably my mom too, which is just mega-gross."

"There are other girls in this world Dana," Logan yelled, "other girls who would jump at the chance to be in the bed with me!"

"Then you go do them!" Dana screamed, "And don't come near me again!"

Logan glared at her. He couldn't believe this was happening.

Again.

He turned on his heel and threw the door open, swinging it behind him with a loud bang.

Dana collapsed onto the bedspread.

It's done.

For the first time, she felt something trickle down her cheek.

A tear.

Kristen had to try and not flare her nostrils in fury. She knew it made her look like a raging bull but her insides were boiling up inside.

"What is this?" She managed to hiss accusingly, staring daggers at Zoey. Of course, Zoey would be under the impression that Kristen wanted to rip her to pieces because she was in the company of her guy. Of course, yes, that counted, but Kristen hadn't quite forgotten about the hair incident. The little black hairs that kept falling off her shoulders didn't let her.

"Zoey was just round for…" Chase looked around, "a chat."

"Yeah, before she burnt my hair off!" Kristen shrieked, "Look at me, I look like Shrek. Like…like…someone notoriously ugly. Yes, because my hair's gone I can't even think of a valid example. I'm too distressed."

"I don't know what you're talking abo –"

"THE PLUG!" She screeched, interrupting, "You're stupid plug that you broke and couldn't be bothered to get fixed caused my straighteners to explode and singe off my gorgeous hair!"

"Kristen…" Chase said warningly.

"What? It is gorgeous."

"No, what I mean is that that's a bit of a loaded accusation," Chase looked over at Zoey, "it was just an accident."

"Just an acc – just an…" she let out a laugh, "Oh ha ha ha ho ho ho that's what people do, laugh at accidents. I hardly see anything to laugh about here," she pointed furiously to her hair, "she's such a style wrecker. Look, she hasn't even apologized for it!"

Truth was, Zoey hadn't asked to get the plug fixed because secretly she did want someone like Kristen to misuse it. Or Rebecca. Or even Nicole. She was getting tired of suddenly being fourth best out of them all.

"Kristen, calm down," Chase said soothingly, getting up to stroke her on the shoulder. She was flexing her fingers threateningly at Zoey, but it seemed even her pure, undiluted fury couldn't resist Chase's good-guy charm. She sunk her head onto Chase's shoulder and it sounded like she was crying.

"She burnt off my hair…" she said, her tears beginning to soak his shoulder, "she burnt off my hair…"

"It's okay…shh…tomorrow we'll get it nice and styled," he was rubbing her back now, something Zoey couldn't stand to watch.

"Honey, have you shaved?"

The guy she loved, soothing another girl who looked like she needed him.

What was the love called Rebecca always went on about? 'Unrequited Love,' the love that hurts, and is often teamed with 'Platonic Love.'

That's what she was feeling.

Maybe those loves should just be burnt. Like Kristen's hair.

Art's feet were aching, but he knew he had to keep going, or risk getting jumped on by Lisa-Something, who was still, amazingly, tearing after him. She had impressive endurance.

He turned the corner, the Ice Bean café coming into view. The people sitting outside were beginning to stare.

He checked over his shoulder. She was gaining on him, waving her arms wildly in the air. She seemed to be tailing right, so he tailed left.

He turned to look straight forwards again. He felt something hit his shins, and before he could find out what it was, he found himself head-down in a garbage can.

"Nicole!"

Rebecca jogged up to where Nicole was standing in the hallway.

"Oh, you're awake?"

"Please tell me you heard the screaming…" she pleaded, leaning against the wall, "please tell me I'm not going insane."

"No, it was Kristen," Nicole said, "she went mental, because Zoey set her hair alight."

Rebecca blinked blankly a few times before shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, did you just say Zoey set Kristen's hair alight?"

Nicole nodded.

"With what?" Rebecca seemed to be looking down the corridor nervously, as though ready to run from a pyromaniotic Zoey with a giant flame thrower in her hands, cackling with mad laughter as she set shouts of burning fire out of the nozzle.

"Straighteners," Nicole shrugged, "remember how Zoey was going to get that plug fixed, well she didn't, and Kristen thinks it's because Zoey knew she was going to be using it."

"Oookay…" She stole a glance down the corridor again, "and where did this happen?"

"Oh, in your room."

"What?"

"You slept through it," Nicole began fiddling with the sweep-over fringe she'd made herself that afternoon.

"I slept through…a hair fire?" Rebecca frowned, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, totally, go ask her yourself," Nicole slid the fringe behind her ear, "anyway, do you think I look alright?"

"For?" she asked promptly.

"My date! With Nate!" Nicole smiled to herself, "Hey, rhymes."

"Good for you," Rebecca said distractedly, "do you know what you're going to talk about?"

Nicole pulled a familiar blank.

"Talk about things he likes," Rebecca suggested, "like um…girls and short skirts. Girls in short skirts is even better."

Nicole frowned at Rebecca.

"Okay, okay," she chewed her lip, "video games. Like Halo 2."

"Is that about angels?"

Rebecca eyed Nicole oddly.

"Oh God," she said finally, "you're not joking, are you?"

Nicole shook her head.

"Okay, Pimp my Ride? You watch that right?"

"Occasionally. I mean, if it's on then fine it's not like I go out of my way to watch it and like, you know be a total fana –"

"Yes! We're getting somewhere!" she shimmied in excitement, "So what do you know about it?"

"Well…the guy that presents it is kinda hot in a adulty way."

Rebecca sunk her head into her hands.

"No Nicole, you're not thinking about this."

She began to wish she hadn't offered to help Nicole. Topics of conversation for her and Nate were dropping fast, like flies and a can of insect repellent.

Think. What one topic doesn't involve a guy that Nicole knows about and Nate likes?

If a light bulb was above her head, it would've lit up.

"Hair!"

Nicole looked over her shoulder curiously.

"You what?"

"You can talk about hair! Products, stylists, up-do's…I can't believe I never thought of this before," she bit her lip before she continued, "glass factor, hair straighteners, steel-hold gels. I'm sure you could think of more."

"Like how annoying split ended layers are when you're trying to plait?"

Rebecca blinked, the smile fading from her face.

"Okay, no, not that."

"Do I look hot?"

Harry looked Nate head to toe with a look of sheer disgust.

"Dude, if I answer that," he paused to shudder to himself, before retreating to his PS2. He was so bored, he tried to cajole Michael into coming over and playing some Tekken or Dead or Alive but he was too busy playing Doom Y or whatever. If Michael didn't finish that game soon, it was going to have to be smashed.

Nate gave himself a once over in the mirror. Yeah, he did look good. His jeans were sitting nicely and his shirt hugged in all the right places. And of course, his hair was set to perfection.

'I Like the Way You Move' by the Bodyrockers began booming for Rebecca's skirt pocket. She slid out her phone and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

Nicole slicked on a lair of Lancôme Juicy Tubes in Miracle and pouted for herself in the mirror, imagining it was Nate.

"Hey Daddy!"

Rebecca's voice had gone extremely sweet and cute, just like Nicole's did when she spoke to her father. Obviously, Rebecca was a 'Daddy's Girl' too.

"Well, go ahead."

She tied her hair into a side pony, debating over which shoulder to rest it on. Her face was pretty much symmetrical anyway, so it wasn't like it'd make a big difference, but every detail counted when it came to getting ready for an Alpha Male. Especially Nate.

"But…how…"

Rebecca's voice wasn't sweet and cute anymore. It sounded like it was filled with upset and panic. Her face said the same thing.

Nicole figured it was probably best to give Rebecca privacy when it came to family crisises. She slipped out the front door silently, (just in time to hear Rebecca screech "her too?") and close to ran down the hall, waiting to meet Nate in the foyer of Butler Hall.

Kristen had left soon after, claiming the need of a bobble, some Kirby grips and a Von Dutch cap that could be found in her room.

Chase turned to Zoey.

"I think it's best you leave," he said quietly, "I don't mean to say that in a nasty way, but it's the truth."

Zoey stood up silently, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"Is this it?"

Chase opened the door for her.

"I…I think so…it'd just be awkward, if you understand," Chase dropped his head, "when maybe, I can deal with this, we can be friends again. But for now…yeah, I guess this is it."

Art shook of a banana peel from his shoulder. He was lucky the bin was empty, well, except the banana peel. Slowly, Bradford Hall came into sight.

Yes! Sanctuary!

He felt little splatters of rain on his shirt.

Just in time!

SingMeAnything – thank you so much for the review! It's so kind and thoughtful and so so so nice, thank you times a million, I'll relember that one forever. And yes, I do mean relember, not remember (if you listen carefully to 'Like I Love You' by Justin T he says that at one point). And yes, Rebecca does get with Logan, but then she doesn't…in the short space of like, ten minutes. Confused? Read on…