A/N: Hey, guys! I'm sosososo sorry I haven't posted in like a month and a half! I had so much crap to do, it was awful. School's a bitch, you know? I heard from Nikki via phone that you guys were asking her where I was...That's so sweet! Anyway, the vote was totally one-sided, so I want to get them together a little later and put another character in the story. I way apologize for the change of plans, but soon, maybe at homecoming in grade 10, I will start getting people together. You simply must review and vote for whether or not I put in a new character! If I do, she'll come in around July. Please review! I live for it! Also, this chapter is dedicated to Alison, who reviewed my story a bunch of times and asked for a character. I don't know if she reads it anymore, but I gave her a part in the chapter "Catherine's Surprise" and she comes back here. It's only a small part, but I hope you like it, girl! I love you all! Kisses!

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Gil walked into school that morning, June first, the same way he did every morning. Devoid of friends. For once in his life, though, he was slightly glad that he wouldn't have to see anyone until homeroom. Making his way up a few flights of stairs and down a deserted corridor, he found a small sanctuary to sort his thoughts out. It was a few steps and a landing leading to a door out on the roof. After hours and during lunch it was a prime make-out spot, but Gil didn't think any of those people would bother him this early.

It had all started the previous night, in the morgue. He'd been calmly disecting a cat, as he'd been assigned to, when his thoughts drifted. This was commonplace for Gil, but his mind didn't settle on Catherine, but Heather. He had been thinking about her captivating smile for a few moments when he'd realized just what he was doing.

"What are you doing!" He had screamed in his mind while he mentally kicked himself. "You can't be thinking of anyone other than your one true love, Catherine." He'd remained firm on this until he found his thoughts going back to Heather's effortless style. "Maybe, since Catherine's so obviously not interested, it's possible she's not the one?" the weaker side of his mind asked hopefully. "Shut up!" the angry, frustrated version of himself shouted. He focused hard on the corpse on the table and didn't allow his mind to stray to either girl for the rest of the night.

Shaking himself out of his memory, Gil realized the school was steadily filling up. "What am I going to do?" he said softly, wondering for the umpteenth time why they didn't have a class that taught this kind of thing.

"What are you going to do about what?" a voice asked. Heather's head popped up over the railing of the staircase, wearing a characteristic, sly smile. Gil fought every impulse to run.

"About... my end of the year tests! They start today!" Gil said, thinking fast and lying through his teeth. Heather raised her eyebrows, but let the comment drop.

"The bell's about to ring, we should probably get to class," Heather threw over her shoulder. She was already off and running down the hall towards her homeroom, the bell around her neck jangling noisily. The last he saw of her until lunch was her hand flying up to straighten the cat ears she was wearing over her black hair.

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Sara yawned. Mr. De la Cruz was single-handedly boring the entire class to death. Next to her, Greg blinked. Their heads were on the desk facing each other, deliberately avoiding the powerpoint presentation they were being shown.

"Hey, Hojem," Sara whispered, causing Greg to flinch at the use of his middle name.

"What can I do for you?" he asked sarcastically.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see if you would respond." Sara giggled, and a small dimple showing up in her cheek made Greg smile, despite the cruelty she had shown him by using the dreaded middle name. Rolling his eyes and trying hard not to smile, Greg turned his head so he could see the pictures moving sluggishly across the screen. He was glad they didn't have their test in Ancient Cultures for two more days, he needed time to cram an entire year's cirriculum into his mind before the big exam. He'd done well on his social studies test that morning, (they were doing one test per day for the rest of the year) but he feared for his credit in this class.

Sara was thinking along the same lines. She'd gotten Heather to tutor her on Saturdays in French, but it wasn't helping. She felt almost guilty about asking the transfer student for help, but Heather explained that she had once spoken French fluently, which was why she picked it up so quickly.

"I think we should get the gang to skiv off the rest of the day," Greg suggested in a sleepy voice. "It's not like we have exams for anything besides our first classes, right?"

"Sounds like a plan," Sara said with her eyes closed. "Any more of this and I just might vomit." She grinned at the allusion to her eating disorder, which she had almost overcome with the help of Natasha, her eyes still closed.

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"Mia!" Archie called down the hall. She turned, saw him, and hurried over.

"Yeah?" she said, smiling at the look in his eyes.

"Catherine told me you got a love note. Is it true?"

"Did you call me down here to gossip or do you have some kind of information as to who sent it?" Mia asked, her town annoyed but her eyes dancing with laughter.

"I don't know. Just curious, I guess," Archie replied soberly. "I think everyone's planning to skip the rest of the day, whadda ya say?"

"Sure. I could definitely use a break."

At that moment, Nick walked by and waved wildly to them. "We're cutting, everyone's on their way. Wait by the front doors," he said and hurried off. Mia and Archie began a slow walk down towards the double doors at the front of the school.

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"Let me guess," the usual waitress, Alison, said as the group of eleven walked in out of the blazing June sunshine and into their favorite haunt. "You'll take ten iced mochas and a Blue Hawaiian, on Braun's tab?"

Catherine nodded, grinning, as the Alison's lemon-yellow skirt swished while she turned to make the drinks. Her flip-flops smacked the wooden floor in a steady rhythm as she brought over a large tray a few minutes later.

"Thanks, hon," Natasha said, grabbing her coffee and taking a deep pull. Greg was sipping at his Blue Hawaiian, perking up considerably after the long, boring half-day at school.

"You're all skipping the rest of the day, am I right?" Alison asked, pulling a chair up to the end of the table. Business was slow, and she was able to indulge in one of her favorite past-times: chatting with the high schoolers.

Heather nodded, her cat ears threatening to slide down over her face. She fixed them quickly and took a drink of her mocha.

"What's the latest gossip?" Alison asked slyly. She had been there during karaoke night all those months ago, and had quite an idea of who liked who, maybe more than most of the group did.

"Mia got a love note!" Natasha said excitedly, though she knew full well who wrote it. Mia was the only girl who was oblivious to Archie's obvious feelings.

Alison smiled from ear to ear. She, too, knew it must be Archie who'd sent the note, but she feigned surprise for his sake. "Really? I want all the gory details..."

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A/N: All right, as I sat here and listened to Baba O'Reily, I felt the need to put an end note. So here goes. REMEMBER TO REVIEW! That small, purplish button needs your love. So anyway, I'll try to update more frequently.

Je t'aime!

Maddy

P.S. I might not update for a while because I just got my new schedule (classes start on Monday) and I have so many really stressful classes. Luckily I have two classes with Joyce (we call teachers by their first names) and she's nice and understanding. Anyway stop bugging Nikki because she's getting mad at me for it! Abientôt!