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

A/N: Homecoming...you figure out what Christine and Drake are thinking...oh, yeah. "U Got It Bad" is sung by Usher. Gotta add that to the disclaimer since I don't own that either (oh, and I "censored" the f-word, so I wouldn't have to switch from a "T" to an "M" rating, I just didn't want to deal with it if it happened to come up because I never know what's going to happen...besides, they'd censor it for a high school dance anyway).

Chapter Four: U Got It Bad

Homecoming was a short time away. Drake's relationship with Melissa was going quite well. He even seemed to forget about Christine. The only problem was, David was coming from San Francisco to go to their Homecoming. Drake wasn't exactly jealous, but it still bothered him a bit. He had Melissa to take to Homecoming anyway. Things were working out well.

Since Drake got over his "Mr. Popularity" period at the beginning of the year, he'd cooled down a bit and picked up where he had been with Christine the previous school year, hopefully, without the romantic feelings.

Christine and Mindy were at the mall buying their Homecoming dresses. Mindy soon found Christine to be quite picky. They'd been to several different stores already, and Mindy never thought she'd think it, but she didn't want to go to a mall ever again. Mindy already had her dress. It was a soft, pale yellow, and she wanted to show Josh the material before Homecoming so that he could pick out a tie to match, but if Christine didn't choose a dress soon, Homecoming would be over by the time Mindy showed it to him. Christine still hadn't found the right dress. Mindy didn't know who she was trying to impress. She already had her man.

"Christine, can we please go get some lunch?" Mindy begged. "If you drag me into another store before we eat, I'll faint dead away."

Christine looked at Mindy and sighed.

"Okay," she said. "I'm sorry. I just want to find the right one."

"If it were prom, I could see that happening, but it's Homecoming. What are you doing?"

"I don't know. It just needs to be perfect."

"...Why can't you settle on semi-perfect for Homecoming?" Mindy sighed. "Fine. Let's go eat though. I'm starved."

The two girls made their way to the food court and sat down. Boy, was it good to sit. Mindy didn't know the last time she'd been across the mall that many times. She glanced up at Christine, who was slowly finishing her Mocha Cola and appeared to be deep in thought.

"Is something wrong?" Mindy asked.

"No," replied Christine. "I'm just trying to think."

Mindy sighed. She really couldn't understand Christine. If she already had a boyfriend, why was she trying hard to make an impression with a dress? Maybe it was something about David. Mindy decided to put up with it.

"Okay, let's go," Christine said. They got up and made their way to another store. Mindy was hoping it would be the last one.

Christine busied herself with looking at the dresses, while Mindy let her mind wander. She glanced around the store and saw someone who looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place her. She began to hear the girl's conversation with her friend.

"I told you it would be okay," the dark haired girl said.

"But after everything everyone has heard, I worry," her friend, who was a blonde, replied.

"He's not like everyone says."

"I guess you would know; you're the one dating him."

"Really, he confessed to being that way before but he's changed."

"If you say so. I just thought that with all the rumors, you'd never end up with Drake Parker."

That's why she was familiar. Mindy had seen Drake out with her a few times. She poked Christine in the arm.

"Isn't that Drake's girlfriend?" Mindy asked.

"Hmm?" Christine replied, glancing up. "Oh, yeah. Melissa. I didn't see her. I haven't met her yet, so she'll have no idea who I am. I guess we're both meeting her for Homecoming."

"Oh," Mindy responded. Christine seemed to suddenly hurry up in her search for a dress. Mindy didn't say anything. She was probably just frustrated at this point. Mindy glanced back at Melissa. She was leaving the store now.

"I found it!" Christine yelled. Mindy turned around. Finally. "I'm going to go try it on, I'll be right back."

Unfortunately for Mindy, Christine's discovery was not the perfect Homecoming dress. Fortunately, she found one in the next store they searched. Mindy made a joke that they should start searching for her prom dress now. Christine hadn't liked that much.
Homecoming eventually arrived. Everyone was meeting at Mindy's house, where they were promptly told to remove their shoes. Drake glanced over at Christine and David. Christine looked gorgeous, and David looked great. Drake sighed. Perhaps the better man had won. Of course, Drake hadn't really tried, but he still felt like he lost. Christine glanced over at Drake and Melissa. She thought Drake looked handsome, and Melissa was very pretty. Christine turned her gaze toward the floor. Meanwhile, Mindy was watching the eye movements of Drake and Christine. Sizing up dates? The best friend once over? Or were Drake's feelings for Christine still there and Christine was giving Melissa the once over? Confusion. After what happened last year, though, there was no way Mindy was getting involved this time.

After being poked at by Mr. and Mrs. Crenshaw for half an hour, the limo finally arrived, making them all happy. Drake let Melissa in first. Then David let Christine in, so they ended up sitting in a row with Drake and Christine next to each other. Melissa was staring out the window, and David was busy making sure his tie was right. Drake looked over at Christine.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"You look pretty handsome yourself," Christine replied, smiling up at him.

Drake gave her a grin and turned back toward Melissa.

Neither Drake or Christine had noticed Mindy studying them again.

When they arrived at the dance, there was a rap song playing. Christine rolled her eyes and grabbed Mindy by the arm, so they could head to the bathroom. Mindy snatched Melissa by the arm as well, and the three girls left their dates.

"They just abducted your girlfriend, Drake," Josh laughed.

"I don't get why they left," said David. "Normally don't you go in when you get to a dance? I mean, you know, to dance."

"Christine doesn't like rap music," Drake said. How did David not know that? "She'll be on the dance floor when they play a pop song."

"Oh," David replied.

"How long do you think they'll be?" Josh asked.

"I have no idea," Drake replied. "Five, ten minutes. An hour. A week to ten days. They're girls."

"Yeah," Josh chuckled.

"So, how did you meet Drake?" Mindy asked Melissa.

"At the Premiere," Melissa replied. "I couldn't decide which movie to see, and he said it would be more worthwhile if I let him get me a soda."

"That sounds like Drake," Mindy replied. She checked to make sure her lip gloss hadn't worn off yet. She glanced over at Christine. "Are you ready?"

"I think so," Christine replied. The three girls left the bathroom and headed back to their dates. Christine kissed David, and Drake felt a pang of jealousy. He felt awful for it. He was with Melissa after all. He was supposed to be over Christine. They all headed into the gym where everything was decorated and the music was loud.

About two hours later, Christine sat down in a chair at the side of the gym. Drake slid into the seat next to her.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"Good," she replied.

"Hey, what do you think of Melissa?" Drake asked.

"She seems nice," Christine replied. Melissa hadn't really said much to Christine, so she wasn't quite sure about her. A slow song began to play. It was Usher's "U Got It Bad."

"Would your boyfriend get upset if I asked you to dance?" Drake asked.

"Would your girlfriend get upset?" Christine asked.

"Well, they should know we're just friends, right?" Drake responded. Christine smiled. They stood up and danced together. Drake was happy. It would only be for one song though. He couldn't have her. She was with someone else, and he was with someone else. That was the way it was now. Who said she ever had any feelings for him anyway? This was the way it was going to be.

When you feel it in your body
You found somebody who makes you change your ways
Like hanging with your crew
Said you act like you're ready
But you don't really know
And everything in your past
You wanna let it go

I've been there, done it, f---ed around
After all that this is what I found
Nobody wants to be alone
If you're touched by the words in this song
Then Baby

U got it, u got it bad
When you're on the phone
Hang up then you call right back
U got it, u got it bad
If you miss a day without your friend
Your whole life's off track
U know u got it bad
When you're stuck in the house
You don't wanna have fun
That´s all you think about
U got it bad
When you're out with someone
But you keep on thinkin'
'Bout somebody else
U got it bad

Drake sighed. Why'd he have to ask her to dance to this song?

A/N: Someone or something unwanted appears next chapter. Keep a look out for that.