Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this.

Author's Note: I'm assuming you all understood the dream to awake transition in the last chapter. No one said anything about it anyway. Remember, if you didn't get it, tell me. I only got two reviews on the last chapter too, which was a bit disappointing. I didn'tupdate yesterday because I wanted to make sure there weren't any questions with the storysofar. In this chapter you will see how the other girls of Belleview are taking Christine arriving. Drake does something...Mindy interprets it...and you'll see.

Chapter Five: One Word

Drake brought Christine to the Premiere, where he introduced her to Michelle, an ex of his. While they'd had a short-lived relationship, Michelle was really nice and really smart, which was one of the things that Drake thought was attractive. He figured that if anyone could be a good friend to Christine, Michelle could. He did not want to pair her off with Mindy Crenshaw. They'd talk about that later. He knew Christine would make friends on her own, but she seemed to need a bit of a push.

Michelle and Christine hit it off well, which Drake was glad to see. He spent the afternoon talking to his friend Michael while the girls bonded. Josh was watching what Drake was doing. He was glad to see his brother helping Christine out with friends. Perhaps she'd gain more confidence this way. Even though she appeared shy to people she didn't know, Drake told him that she could be fun and spontaneous if she knew you.

After Michelle left, Christine sat talking to Drake. By now it was four o'clock. Drake glanced up to see the very last person he wanted to see.

"Drake?" asked Candice.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"So, you cancel your date with me to go out with the new girl? Interesting. I never thought she was that pretty in the first place, so I wasn't worried. Evidently, I should have been. I don't get what you see in her, she's just another girl." Candice looked down at Christine. She knew how shy she was and was able to use it against her. "Just another mistake for you to make, like the Cambrie twins, right Drake?"

Drake felt his face go red. No one talked about his best friend that way. Why were girls cruel to each other? Not all girls. Christine would have kept that to herself. He glanced at her. She looked ashamed. And what had Candice meant by mistake? Now he was angry. Christine didn't have the courage to stand up to someone she didn't know. He had the courage to stand up to Candice though.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, standing up with his teeth clenched.

"What are you talking about?" Candice asked, looking shocked that Drake Parker would respond to a girl that way.

"How dare you talk about Christine that way."

"Drake, please, don't," Christine whispered.

He glanced at her. He knew she was hurt by everything Candice said. She didn't want confrontation either. Drake knew that, but he wasn't going to let Candice get away with what she said.

"She's the sweetest girl I've ever known. And I'm sorry to disappoint you, but she is pretty. And to disappoint you even more, we're best friends. This is far from a date. Even if it was, it'd be anything but a mistake."

"You expect me to believe that?" asked Candice.

"I don't care if you do or not, but nobody talks about my best friend like that. Come on Christine, we're leaving." Drake wanted to leave before he said or did something he'd end up regretting.

Candice stood there with a confused look on her face. Drake Parker had just told a girl off? What was the matter with him? She watched him leave with Christine. Drake wasn't the same Drake Parker everyone in high school knew. He was different and becoming more different each day. He was hanging out with the new girl, and it wasn't like she was all that attractive. The guys weren't exactly fawning over her. Guys fawned over Candice; they didn't snap at her for putting someone in his or her place. What book of school popularity had Drake been reading?

There was silence in the car as Drake drove Christine back to her house. He was still fuming over what Candice said. He wasn't quite sure why he felt the extreme need to stand up for Christine. It was odd. No guy ever bit back at Candice. What really got to Drake was that she'd made Christine feel ashamed of herself. As if she wasn't going through enough right now. He didn't even know the half of it, he realized. Something her father had done had made her want to drop communication with him. There was enough eating away at her. He pulled up in front of Christine's house. Her mother wasn't home yet. She'd be there in about an hour. He followed Christine inside.

"I'm sorry about what Candice said," Drake said.

"It's not your fault," Christine replied.

"Yes it is. If I didn't date different girls daily, this wouldn't have happened. I hate that she said those things about you."

Christine stared at Drake. He blamed himself for this? He was as sweet as he once was when he was younger.

"Thank you for standing up for me," she said.

"I'll always stand up for you," Drake responded.

"You don't..."

"Then I'm going to have to help you learn to stand up for yourself if you don't want me to do it," Drake said, giving her a smile.

"Thank you," she said again.

"You're welcome."

Christine glanced at the floor. Things were really hard lately.

"Christine, everything she said, none of that was true."

"Drake, I know what I am, but I also know I'm not as pretty as she is."

Drake grabbed her into a hug.

"You're beautiful. Don't let anyone ever tell you differently."

Christine was at the mall with Mindy the next day. She was becoming more comfortable with her, which was a good thing. Josh had seen the commotion at the Premiere, as he'd been watching Drake and Christine. He'd told Mindy about what happened. Mindy was a little surprised at the fact that Drake stood up for her, but she was his best friend. She wanted to make sure Christine was okay after the previous day, so she asked her about it.

"So, Josh said you and Drake had a run in with Candice yesterday," Mindy said, as they sat down at the food court with sodas and pretzels.

"Yeah," Christine replied. "She wasn't exactly happy to see me, and I had no idea that Drake had canceled his date with her in the first place."

"You didn't?"

"He didn't mention it."

"Oh. Well, I don't value Candice's opinion. She walks around like the queen bee and puts down the people she finds threatening. Actually, you could be flattered that she tried to do that to you. She's a little afraid of you."

"Why would she be afraid of me? How could I possibly be a threat to her? I've even admitted I'm not as pretty as she is."

"She's covered by makeup and her popularity only makes her seem appealing. She's all talk That's all it is. You shouldn't let her get to you like that. You are pretty."

"That's what Drake said. Well, not exactly in those words, but it's basically what he said."

"Oh, how did he put it?"

"He told me I was beautiful and then, yeah, pretty much that I shouldn't let it bother me."

Mindy stared at Christine. Drake had told her she was beautiful? Throughout all the time Mindy knew Drake he had never called a girl beautiful. Sure, they got the, she's pretty, she's cute, she's hot, she's a ten but never beautiful. That was something she didn't expect to ever hear come out of his mouth. It was more of a sensitive word. Even though she'd never known Drake to use the word, she could imagine why a guy like him would use it if hell ever froze over and he did say it, and he apparently had.

"He's right," Mindy replied, trying to hide her surprise. "For once. Really, don't let her bother you. Anyway, Josh said it looked like you were making friends with Michelle."

"Oh, yeah," Christine said. "We got along pretty well."

"It's good to know you're getting to know the nice people too."

"Hey, when I sat down to lunch with Drake's friends the other day, there was a girl giving me an 'I-wish-you-would-drop-dead-right-now' type look."

"You're a threat to these girls," said Mindy shaking her head and smiling. "They know you and Drake were, er, are best friends, and that concerns them. I'm guessing you knew a few of them before you left."

"I guess she did look familiar. She might have been in fourth grade with us."

"Yeah, you see? They're threatened by you. You've come to take their precious Drake away," Mindy laughed.

Christine smiled. Things would be okay. She decided to listen to Mindy and Drake and forget about what everyone else thought of her. She had other things to deal with and her energy didn't need to be wasted on people like Candice.

Mindy rang the doorbell to the Parker-Nichols house. Josh answered the door.

"Hey, Mindy," he said. "I wasn't expecting to see you today, but..."

"I'm actually here to talk to Drake," Mindy responded.

Josh looked puzzled.

"You want to talk to Drake?" Josh asked. "About what?"

"Something really important that has to do with his friendship. I don't know if I should tell you. I mean, I know we tell each other everything, but I don't know if I should or not."

"Relax, you don't have to...wait...you want to talk to Drake about something important? Is Ashton Kutcher supposed to show up soon? Because if he does, I'm not going to be surprised."

"Josh, I'm serious. Is he home?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. He's upstairs. I'll walk up there with you. See if he wants to talk to you since you're not exactly his favorite person."

"Right. Okay, let's go."

Josh and Mindy headed upstairs. Josh had no idea what Mindy wanted to talk to Drake about. From the tone of her voice, he could tell it was important.

"Hey, Drake," Josh said, opening their bedroom door.

"Yeah?" Drake asked, not turning away from the television.

"Uh, Mindy says she wants to talk to you."

Drake slowly turned toward Josh.

"She wants to talk to me? Why?"

"I don't know she says it's really important."

"Drake," said Mindy. "This has to do with Christine." If her conclusion was correct, he wouldn't say no.

"Fine," Drake sighed and stood. "Make it quick."

Mindy smiled. He had just proved her right, but he was trying to act like it was a bother.

"I'll be downstairs," Josh said and left the room.

"Okay," said Mindy. "I'll get straight to the point. Did you or did you not in fact tell Christine she was beautiful yesterday?"

"Yes, I did," Drake replied, staring at Mindy. What kind of a question was that? "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Uh huh. And you stood up for her in front of Candice?"

"Yes." He had no idea where she was going with this.

"So have you told her you have feelings for her?"

"What are you talking about?" Drake asked, backing away. "She's my best friend. I do not have feelings for her, okay?"

"Oh, please. You broke your date with Candice when you were worried about how Christine felt. On top of that, you told off Candice when she insulted her, and you didn't tell Christine she was hot or cute. You told her she was beautiful."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You've never called another girl beautiful. In fact, I don't think there's many guys who do use it. It's something more sensitive, especially for you. It's obvious, Drake."

"Look, horrible girl, I think you've been up studying too late. I do not have feelings for her like that."

"Drake, the only thing you've ever called beautiful was a guitar. I've seen enough proof..."

"She's my best friend. Now, knock it off with your crazy theories and leave me alone."

Mindy shook her head She knew it was true, and it was because of one word. Beautiful. She turned to leave the room. He was being ridiculous. Why not just admit it?

After Mindy left the room, Drake stood there thinking about what she said. It was because they were best friends. That was all. She shouldn't date him anyway. She deserved someone who wasn't running around dating other girls all the time. She deserved much more than him.

A/N: ...and there's your romance Alison. It worked its way in there. Now, is Mindy right about it? That's the only way it's going to continue. Like I said before though, it's not the main part to this story. There's something else that is important that will happen. For now, please review. Really. If you don't, I have no idea whether the story is good or bad or okay.