The Society: We're back, to a degree. Me: Don't sound so enthusiastic. Sorry about the hiatus, but I'm a busy gal. I have Drama and Marching Band and a class at UMass these days. Charlie: Yeah, so she's neglected her fan fiction. Me: Shut up, I rewrote a lot of it too! So blah.

"What is it with you and Andy?" Sabrina had just come in from her newly acquired Chess Club membership. She collapsed backwards onto her bed and toyed with the corner of her quilt.

"Andy? Since when do we call Anderson Andy?" I asked.

Sabs shrugged. "Anderson is just a mouthful, so I think we should call him Andy, seems easier."

I rolled over and tried to smother myself with my pillow. "There is nothing going on with us-"

"Right." She interjected sharply. "You've been carrying on all "poor me" for the past few weeks and, quite frankly, I can see his point."

"What, are you all talking to him now behind my back about me?" I asked bitterly into my pillow, getting a mouthful of cotton on the process. Sabrina lost her voice, so Danny barged in from his place at the door where he'd been listening. Rob followed en suite.

"No, but we're all saying that you're getting to be a right pain in the ass, Charlotte." Danny said as he settled comfortably onto Sabs' bed, wrapping his arm around her waist to make room for Rob. I glared at them grouchily and sat up.

"You're ganging up on me."

"How observant." Danny rolled his eyes. "But we're not here to talk about us, we're here to talk about you."

"Me?" I was confused. "What have I done?"

"Charlie, don't act like you haven't been acting like you think you're better than us, ignoring us, wishing you were back home again. You know, we left stuff behind too." Danny reprimanded me firmly, his hazel eyes slits. "Welton's a savior for me, you know. My dad's in the military; Welton saves me from having to move all over every few months and having to start over. If I stay here, I get to keep my friends."

Sabrina chimed in, "I had a scholarship to St. Beatrice's this year until I was finished with the twelfth grade. But my dad wanted me to go here. So, my parents are paying for everything instead of my scholarship. And I already had friends there and I was already used to Beatrice's, but I came to Welton anyways."

"I was going to Hedgewood, a private day school in my town. My parents pulled me and put me here when I was in the ninth grade." Rob threw his lot in. "How else would I have had time to meet Katie?"

"And?"

"And, Charlotte, all we're saying is that you're not the only one who's suffered for the sake of school. We've made do, though, you see? And we don't want to leave Welton…" Danny tightened his hold on Sabrina, she didn't notice though. He smiled and continued. "Take a chance already."

Something struck me. "Where's Anderson?"

Rob sighed guiltily and pointed wordlessly to the door. I raised my eyebrows and reached over from my bed to open it.

Anderson, or should I say Andy now, crashed into my room most ungracefully, landing in a dazed heap at my feet. He covered, however, quickly, laying flat on his back and pulling a piece of licorice from his trouser pocket.

"Y'know," he said in a rather nonchalant tone, "I never pegged you as the pink undies type Charlie. I thought it's be something sexier. Maybe a black thong."

That twisted little bastard was looking up my skirt.

Shrieking with rage, I leapt back to the safety of my bed and pulled the covers of myself. Danny was shaking with laughing, but Anderson had something in store for him to.

"If you're going to do something kinky," he quipped, looking unguardedly at the three on the bed, "You might as well sell tickets or tape it or something."

Rob's jaw hit the floor, Sabrina achieved a marvelous shade of maroon and Danny swore quite colorfully. Anderson grinned cheekily and continued to munch on his candy as they rearranged themselves into a less awkward position. I stared at Anderson, his dark brown eyes flickering with mischief. He lay there so casually, as if there was nothing odd about it.

He looked up at me, finally and winked. "Charlie, I do believe I get to add to these tales of misfortune.

"I'm here because, well, my dad would go crazy if I were at home, but that's besides the point. See, I had this older brother, a great guy in all respects, and a very talented actor. But, see, these acting types like fast cars and all. Last year, he crashed and is now a vegetable in some LA hospital." Anderson's face grew drawn. "I have three older brothers you know."

I felt myself growing cold as Anderson shook himself off and smiled again. He was ok with this? Didn't it pain him to know that his brother was like that? Well…

"Charlie." Anderson had gotten up and was brushing himself off. "Don't pity me, for the love of god, I can't stand it when people pity me. I still have a life to live and I'm deadly thankful I'm not a vegetable like Kevin."

I couldn't speak. But, I don't think I could have said anything that would have been right. Anderson chuckled.

"Why, Charlie, I think this is the first time I've seen you speechless."

I nodded, quite blankly I'm afraid.

The corners of Anderson's lips quirked even more into a smile. "I think I rather like this." And with that, he swaggered out of the room, the picture of confidence.

o-o-o

"You know what?" some random girl who had attached herself to me in second semester French.

"What?" I said, irritated by her constant chatter.

"I think that Neil Anderson like you." She said solemnly. I groaned and would have put her in her place had not the French professor swooped down on me for talking at that exact moment.

o-o-o

"That wasn't funny and you know it." I growled at dinner. Anderson, seated at the next table over, grinned like that cat that got the canary.

"So she actually said it to your face? And you didn't bite her head off? Pity, I was so looking forward to the gore."

I could have killed him, really, and I wouldn't have given a damn. When they were strapping me down for murder, I'd let them know it was completely just. Anderson had convinced that girl from French to say that to me, just to see if she would. That alone was as random as a boy could get.

But what worried me was he really hitting on me (that dreadful possibility I wanted to rule out as soon as possible) or was he just playing?

Since they'd ganged up on me, I'd come to realize that maybe I hadn't being a good a friend to them as they had been to me. So, there were no more calls home to Joel and certainly no more moping over anything I'd lost, Anderson had seen to that.

I stuffed a forkful of mashed potatoes down my throat, and the fork went with them. I hacked violently, clutching at my throat. Anderson, being the gentleman he his, got up from his seat and strode over to mine where he smacked me hard as he could on the back. Oh, and the whole room was watching.

"You there!" Harding addressed the boy in question. "Why are you out of your seat?"

"I'm saving a life sir!" Anderson replied cheekily. "Ms. Dalton was having some trouble with her potatoes."

Harding seemed at a loss for words, seeing as Anderson's excuse was valid…sort of.

"Very…well then. Get back in your seat!" He commanded. "And the next time Ms. Dalton needs assistance, please inform a teacher before rushing to her rescue yourself."

Anderson took his seat and looking smugly at me.

I hate you, I mouthed at him as I went back to him.

You love me, he mouthed back. He then proceeded to make his hands into fists and do some thrust thing with his hips that ruined an otherwise corny, slightly romantic moment. Horny bastard.

Charlie: Oh… Anderson: No.