Here's the next chapter for ya! And it's the one we've all been waiting for...

Needless to say, Summer was extremely confused.

How can he flirt with Katie and then send me a note that sounds so... earnest? she wondered. I've got to get to the bottom of this.

Luckily for her, she spotted him at his locker.

Good, he hasn't left yet. She marched toward him, ready to find out what was going on.

"Is this note true?", she inquired when she reached him.

"Oh, you want to talk to me now?", he asked icily in return.

"Yes, I do! How can you be so cold as to lie about having these strong feelings for me? That's really wretched, Freddy. Even for you."

"To answer your question, yes that note is true. If the note is true, then I must have feelings for you. Since I have feelings for you, I'm not lying. Therefore, I honestly have no clue as to where you would get that insane idea!"

"Oh, no? Then what the heck were you doing hugging Katie earlier, huh? Because the last time I checked hugging someone meant that you cared about them!"

Freddy's jaw dropped open in slight shock. Suddenly, it all made sense.

"Oh, no! Summer, for the millionth time, I'm sorry. I understand why you're so upset now. I promise, though, that hug didn't mean anything. Katie was just excited that I was going to apologize to you. I wanted to show her the gift I got you to make sure you would like it, and she got so thrilled about everything that I guess she got caught up in the moment."

"So you don't have feelings for Katie?" Summer asked.

"None whatsoever. I promise. Summer, I care about you. No one else."

This whole situation had Summer overwhelmed. So overwhelmed, in fact, that she couldn't control the tears that began to stream down her cheeks.

"Summer, please don't cry." Freddy told her softly. "I'm sorry if I did anything to upset you." He sighed in frustration. "I completely understand if you don't believe me or never want to talk to me again."

"No, I believe you." she assured him. "It's just... I don't know. This whole thing is a mess. I don't know what to think."

"I know what you mean." he told her.

Not being able to take seeing her cry a moment longer, he unexpectedly enfolded her into a tender hug.

After her tears subsided, he decided to try one more time.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked.

"Not as much as I was." she replied.

"Good. Then maybe you'll be willing to accept this now."

He opened his locker door and pulled out the plastic bag. As much as she tried not to, Summer couldn't help but smile. She loved presents.

"I guess I could." she stated casually.

She gasped when she pulled the gift out of the bag. Inside was a gorgeous silver jewelry box. Engraved in the shimmering glass at the top of the box was a very familiar fairy. It was Tinkerbell! Perfect for Summer's nickname that Dewey had given her when the band first started. Tink was not all that was engraved in the glass, though. Along with her were the words:

A life without love is like a year without Summer.

For a moment, she was speechless. She wasn't sure exactly what to say. Finally she managed, "Freddy, it's beautiful. I love it. I really do."

"That's not everything. I also got you these to go along with it."

He pulled a pair of Tinkerbell earrings out of his baggy black pockets.

Again, Summer was speechless. Tears began to glisten in her eyes all over again, but this time they weren't sad tears.

"You shouldn't have, Freddy." she told him after a moment. "You've really outdone yourself. How much did all this cost?"

He bit his bottom lip nervously, fearing that she would ask this question. He told her the amount. Summer's jaw fell.

"How on earth did you pay for all this?" she wondered aloud.

"I, uh, kind of used up all the money I was saving to buy a new set of drums." he confessed timidly.

"You WHAT?" Summer bellowed. Then she began shaking her head. "Uh-uh. No way. There's no possible way that I could accept this."

"Ah, ah, ah... I don't want to hear it. I wanted to do this out of the goodness of my heart because I know I've been a total loser recently."

"Really, Freddy. I insist that you take it back. It's all too much. I-".

He put a finger to her lips before she could say another word.

"You're worth it." he whispered, moving his finger from her lips. He then began lightly stroking her cheek. Summer blushed slightly as he resumed talking.

"Please, just take the presents. I want you to have them. It'd mean a lot to me. Besides, I refuse to take no for an answer."

Summer heaved a sigh, giving in. "Alright. I can see that you're not going to give up on this so I'll keep the gifts."

Freddy smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

"No, thank you for the presents. I really love them. You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble."

"It was nothing." he guaranteed her.

For a moment, there was a somewhat awkward silence.

Eventually, Summer said "So... the whole thing wasn't a lie, huh? You really do care about me?"

"Yeah. I really do." he responded, taking both of her hands in his.

Summer felt herself go weak at the knees. She couldn't believe that he actually felt the same way about her as she did about him. Something about the way he said it had told her he wasn't lying, either.

"Well, that's good. Because I care a lot about you, too. I have for a while now, actually. I wasn't going to say anything though because I figured you'd laugh in my face."

Freddy chuckled softly.

"Like now for instance!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not laughing at what you said and you know it." he informed her. "It's just the way you said it."

There was another brief silence. This time Freddy was the one to break it.

"So you like me, too?" he asked.

"Yes. It's just... with the whole tutoring thing, I saw a new side to you. A more caring you. Not the totally inconsiderate idiot I thought you were."

"Well, thanks a lot!" he stated a bit sarcastically. But then he nodded. "I saw different you as well. You're aren't the kiss-up teachers pet I made you out to be."

"Looks like we need to actually get to know people better in the future before we jump to conclusions." Summer suggested.

"I agree." Freddy answered.

"Well, now that we realize that we both really like each other, does that mean we're going steady?" Summer asked him nervously.

"If you want to, sure."

"I don't know. Do you want to?"

Freddy stepped closer toward her. All of a sudden, Summer felt his arms curl around her waist. He began pulling her nearer to him, and she noticed after a few seconds that their lips were only inches apart. Her heart began beating rapidly. Their lips united and she closed her eyes, savoring the moment as she melted into his arms.

Summer, of course, was not the only one receiving pleasure from the kiss. Freddy was enjoying it just as much as she was, if not more. A single hand let go of her waist and began lightly caressing her silky black hair. It was just as smooth as he had imagined it to be. Her deep pink lips were warm and soft. Freddy could taste just a hint of watermelon chap stick as well, tangy and sweet all at the same time.

There was only one word that they both could use to describe that moment: perfect. Everything about the kiss, everything about being with each other was just perfect.

Their foreheads were still together when they pulled apart.

"Does that answer your question?" Freddy asked huskily.

Summer grinned and nodded while gazing into his sincere brown eyes. "Um, yea... pretty much."

"Good. So I guess that makes us boyfriend and girlfriend." he informed her as he nuzzled her nose in an Eskimo kiss sort of way.

"Yup, it does." she answered.

"And since we're boyfriend and girlfriend" Freddy continued, "I want to do the honor of taking you on our very first date. How about we go downtown to the pizza parlor and grab a slice?"

"I'd love to!" she exclaimed. "Except my mom's on her way to get me."

"Not a problem." he told her, grabbing his cell phone from out of his pocket.

"My gosh, do you keep everything in there?"

He smiled. "Basically."

Summer made a quick phone call to her mother who gave her permission. Then Freddy called his parents to make sure it was okay with them as well. It was. Freddy's father even agreed to let Summer stay for dinner, and he would give her a ride home afterward.

"Great. Let's go." Summer said, gathering her things. She stared at her beautiful jewelry box and gave Freddy a hug. "I really can't thank you enough for the presents, Freddy. They truly mean a lot to me."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that. It wasn't easy. I couldn't seem to find something special enough for you. I thought you'd like that and the earrings, though. I even tried writing a song for you, but it didn't work out to well."

"Oh really?" she stated. "How did it go?"

"Trust me, you don't want to hear it."

"Yes, I do! Please Freddy?"

He frowned, but eventually gave in. "Alright. As long as you promise not to laugh."

"I'll try my hardest." she pledged.

He cleared his throat and began to sing:

Summer, life without you is such a bummer

I'm nothing but a stupid drummer

And someday I will drive a hummer

"That's pretty much all I got." he said. "No other words rhymed."

Summer tried to control it, she really did. But the smirk on her face turned into a smile, and her smile turned into a giggle, and the giggle turned into hysterical laugher.

"You promised you wouldn't laugh!" he exclaimed.

"No, no, no! It's not that." she promised. "It's cute! I liked it. I really did. It's sweet that you would try and do something that that just for me. I really appreciate it."

"I'd do anything for you." he murmered, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.

She beamed and leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Alright, let's go get some pizza." she told him.

The two walked out of the school holding hands and weren't planning on letting go anytime soon.

I know I've been a terrible updater, guys! Hopefully this chapter was worth waiting for. I also cannot take credit for the lyrics to the song. My friend Loren came up with that, and I thought it was adorable so I found a way to work it into the fic. Hope you guys liked this. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.