a/n: Thanks for all the reviews, everyone!

Chapter 1: SOS

To the outsider, the group gathered inside The Dot on this warm July evening could only be described as "tense".

There was Ellie, with her extremely anxious posture, between Jimmy and Craig. Craig unknowingly stared at her with quiet admiration, while Jimmy couldn't quite look her in the eye, still turning red whenever she addressed him.

Across from Jimmy was Jay, the recipient of glares from everyone seated at the table. Between Dylan's threats and Spinner's refusal to acknowledge his presence, it was a miracle that Hazel and Marco managed to get them all to sit together in relative peace.

But that's what they were – miracle workers.

"I wanted to thank you all for coming," Marco started formally. "I know a lot of you don't want to be here, but we knew you'd all be interested. Hazel and I have brought you here to talk about something we all have in common."

"Paige and Alex. Palex, if you will. We think they should get back together," Hazel continued, dramatically.

"And why am I here?" Jay sniped. "Hazy, if you wanted to spend time with me, you could've asked." He reached over to hold her hand, but she flinched away.

She ignored his interruption (they had worked so hard at their prepared speeches), and started again. "You all care about them and you've all seen how great they are together. I used to hate Alex, but since I've gotten to know her I've seen how much she needed someone to her be better. Craig, you used to hang out with Alex all the time. Ellie, you and Alex used to pretty much be best friends. And Jay, you really messed her up. You three know different Alex is now. Paige fixed Alex. I daresay Paige made Alex cool."

"And I'm 100 percent sure that Paige needs Alex to keep her grounded," Marco continued seamlessly. "We've all seen her at her worst but this year, with Alex, Paige was pretty cool. No drama, no fights. Dylan, you told me yourself that Paige had never been happier. Jimmy, you've known her for forever, you remember how terrible she could be. Spin, you dated her and no offence, even you should know Alex treated her better then you could."

"What do you want us to do?" Dylan asked.

"We want you to help us. Talk to them, smack them around if you have to – but make it happen," Hazel answered.

"And what if we don't care?" Jay snarled, leaning his chair back on its hind legs.

Marco pulled out a binder from his bag. "Incentive – I propose a bet. Throw in twenty, you bet on the day they get back together. All you need to do is convince them to hook up again by the day you want them to. Easy money, the closest one wins. That's $140 for the winner. Only one condition – this has to be done by the end of August, when we leave. If it doesn't work out, I'll give you your money back, no harm done," Marco said.

"You expect us put money on our friends' happiness?" Ellie asked, faking disgust.

"You wouldn't? I'm in," Craig chuckled, pulling his wallet out.

"Wait, how are we going to keep track of this?" Jimmy asked, also reaching into his pocket.

"Already ahead of you, Jim. I've got a calendar," Marco said, opening the binder to reveal a calendar, envelope, and spare paper inside. "Tell me what day you want and I'll mark it down. I'll also keep the money," he said, earning a grunt from Jay. "I can be trusted, unlike some people here."

"Just don't tell them what we're doing. You know them, if they know this is going on, they'll probably stay apart to spite us," Hazel said.

"Is this our business though?" Spinner asked, speaking up for the first time. "I've already lost – they probably won't speak to me. I'm sure they both hate me."

"Aww, widdle Spinner's scared of losing?" Jay mocked.

Spinner defensively crossed his arms. "Hey moron, they're not exactly showering you with love either," he spat.

"Jayson, could you not be petty for like, five minutes?" Jimmy interrupted, as he was about to retort. "And Spin, I mean this as a friend, but the sooner you get over yourself the happier we'll all be."

The two shut up, glowering at each other.

"They don't hate you, Spin," Marco answered gently, to calm him down. "You don't have to help. We just thought you'd want to."

Spinner grabbed the binder and marked down his bet, throwing a twenty on the table. "I've gotta get back to work," he mumbled, giving Jay one last dirty look.

Slowly, the rest of them gave Marco the money and placed their bets.

Project Palex had finally begun.