For you avid followers of my fic, here's a chapter dedicated to Bearwin Krugg, one of my characters here in "Chronicles of a Schoolgirl." It explores his infatuation with Leia, and what's on his mind.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the authorship of Star Wars, and Bearwin is my idea.

Chapter 12- Catch Your Wave

"Hey Krugg, how come you aren't hanging out with us anymore?"

Bearwin was walking down the school hallways after classes and was about to go to the open-air amphitheater for another practice of "Juris & Arlette" when he heard somebody call out to him. He recognized the voice and turned around. He saw his friends, Van, Quim, and Sam, who stood by the school balcony; their backs leaned against the railing.

"Oy! Good to see you again guys!" Bearwin exclaimed as he approached them. They gave each other high fives and slaps on the back.

"So, you've been busy practicing for the school play, right?" Quim, his close friend asked. He was the one who called out to him a while ago.

"Yeah," Bearwin replied. "Sorry if I didn't get to hang out with you so often,' he apologized.

"Oh, we kinda understand!" Sam exclaimed knowingly.

"And it's not just because of the play, right?" Van chimed in with a naughty snicker.

Bearwin felt aghast. "What do you mean?" he asked confusingly. He knew what his friends were referring to. Even though he tried so hard not to be obvious around them, he now knew his cherished secret was out.

"Of course I'm busy with the play!" he exclaimed.

"We're not referring to that," Van said.

"Have you forgotten our rules?" Sam asked with a wicked smile and a give-away glare.

"What rules?" Bearwin asked.

"FRIENDS OVER GIRLS!" the three of them exclaimed at the same time.

"I'm not dating anybody!" Bearwin exclaimed in defiance.

"Oh yes you are," Quim said in a singsong voice.

"I heard you're spending more time with this girl in your class," Sam told him accusingly.

"And you even took her home once," Quim added.

"What?"

"You know what we're talking about," Sam told him. "You know, about the petite girl with the brunette hair and with the initials... L.O."

Bearwin laughed. "There are lots of petite brunette girls that I can date here with those name initials."

"But there's only one L.O. who lives in the Palace of Alderaan," Van said.

"And only one girl named..." Quim muttered.

"Leia Organa!" all said in unison with priceless smiles painted on their faces. His friends had realized that Bearwin was crushing on the Princess because it was very obvious with them. Every time he gets to be with his friends, all Bearwin had ever talked about was about Leia. At first, it was about how he hated being with her for the play, and then it progressed to talks of "What do you think of Leia as my leading lady? Do you think she's pretty?" All those lunchtime talks made his friends knew what he hid from them all along.

Bearwin went in the middle of the semi-circle of three and tried to explain. "No," he denied. ""It's not what you've been thinking. I only get with her to be with the play and..."

"I know it's her!" Van shouted out loud.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Quim asked.

"What would I tell you?" Beariwn replied sarcastically. "" I don't really like her. And what are you trying to prove, anyway?"

"If I know, you're crushing on her!" Sam told him right in his face, which made Bearwin turn a shade of crimson.

"It's true, right? You're crushing on her highness-ness," Van exclaimed.

"I'm not!" Bearwin turned his head away.

"Of all girls here in this school, why does it have to be Ice Princess?" Quim asked him, rolling his eyes in aversion. Even back then, Leia was already known for having an aristocratic demeanor, even though she was awkward and shy, which some people misunderstood.

"You should have picked someone who's easy to court and have a relationship with instead of someone unattainable. And a royal blood at that!" Van told him as he pointed at his chest.

"Why, what's wrong with that?" Bearwin asked as he folded his arms, pissed off.

Quim put an arm around his shoulder and said, "Friend, this is a guy-to-guy talk. Let me tell you right now some good advice. If I were you who's crushing on a Princess terribly, I'd back off right now and try to forget my feelings for her, because there's no hope for a Princess and an ordinary guy like you to be together," he said matter-of-factly.

Bearwin blushed even harder, and brushed away Quim's arm wrapped tightly around his neck. "I can't help it," he stammered. "I...I... I never felt this way before for any other girl. Except with her."

"At last you finally admitted it," Van said as he took a deep, exasperated breath.

"Yeah right, I've been crushing on her," Bearwin revealed, annoyed. Somehow, it felt good for him to finally admit the truth he hid from them for so long, and to be able to release his feelings. But still, it embarrassed him, knowing that he'll be on the receiving end of their jokes and taunts. He felt himself reddened and thought; all these blushes of mine are giving me away.

He thought about how he had a long-time crush on her since they were in Grade One. He thought about his seven-year old self, meeting her for the first time, and how he wanted to be friends with her, even though she barely knew of his existence. When he rebelled against his authoritative father when he started to become a bully in first year high school, he felt regretful of the fact that even Leia was terrified of his existence.

Oh no, why does she have to find me here! He thought fearfully as he saw Leia Organa approaching them. From behind, he could hear his friends snicker at each other, while they gave each other knowing glances.

"Bearwin, I've been looking for you everywhere," Leia told him the moment she went up to him. "Let's go now. Ms. Zena's looking for you."

Bearwin looked at the hall clock and said, "Okay. I'll be coming with you."

Leia noticed Bearwin's friends snickering from behind him. "Oh, you must be his friends," she said as he approached them. Bearwin did not hesitated to introduce them to her.

"Your highness, I would like you to meet my friends, Quim, Sam and Van," Bearwin told her as she shook the hands of each one of them.

"Hi! Nice to see you!" Leia exclaimed with a smile.

"Good afternoon, your highness," the three said politely.

"Just call me Leia," she said good-naturedly.

"Okay... Leia," Sam said.

"Don't you know that..." Van was about to blurt out Bearwin's secret to her, but Bearwin stepped on his foot to stop him from doing so. "Ow!" Van exclaimed in pain.

"Huh?" she asked, frowning at them.

"Oh, that's nothing!" Bearwin said laughingly. Without thinking of it, he took hold of her hand and said, "Goodbye friends! See you around!" and ran off hand-in-hand with her to the amphitheater.

Bearwin's friends saw what he did, and was amused with it. "Did you saw that?" Quim asked with a mischievous grin.

"He held her hand for the first time!" Van said mockingly.

"That's got to be for the record," Sam quipped.

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When they finally arrived outside, Bearwin realized that he was still holding her hand. He looked down to see Leia's white hand cushioned in his.

"Err..." he mumbled shyly as he let go of her hand. He blushed.

Leia saw him blush and she looked into his eyes. "It's okay," she said, smiling at him. "We get to hold hands for the play, right?" Leia was already developing her Force-sensitiveness and she only said that to make him feel at ease with her. She knew what he was feeling all along.

"Yeah. We hold hands for the play," Bearwin said.

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I can't believe Bearwin is crushing on me, Leia wrote in her diary that night. It's the first time I learned of someone felt this way about me. What did he see in me, anyway? I'm short and have big eyes. How can someone find me pretty? I always wanted to be tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes. But still, it flatters me. And I have a feeling I can't explain...

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Hey girl, I wanna catch your wave. Hey girl, I wanna spend some time with you...

Bearwin wrote on the back of his notebook lazily as he sat in his desk. He found it hard to fall asleep that night. He wrote:

Today is the first day I got to hold her hand. It feels soft and warm. And I can't believe I finally have the courage to do that. Is it because of the play that I'm acting this way towards her? Or because I've been feeling this way for her since first grade? Even though I call her ugly, I think she's beautiful. Damn, I'm turning mushy again. And I can't sleep!

He turned on the music player beside his bed. The song playing was...

Hey girl, I wanna catch your wave, Hey girl I wanna spend some time with you...

It's all because of her. Leia.

Lines from the song "Catch Your Wave" by Click Five, my current favorite song! You can download the video of the song at singingfool(dot)com. It rocks!

Please RR!