author's notes: sorry for the delay in updating, life's been really busy lately. the delay is even worse because this chapter is pretty much supposed to be kind of a direct continuation of the last. so i hope you guys remember the last one:P

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The next afternoon, Chad knocked on the front door of the Lincoln residence.

Abby answered the door. "Oh—hi, Chad."

"Abby, hi. Um, maybe I should have called first."

"Don't worry about it, come in." She stepped aside to let him enter. "But Cree isn't in, she and Maur--. She's out."

"Actually, I came to…. Maybe I should come back another—"

"No, come in."

"Um, okay."

"So did you drop by for a reason?" Abby asked.

"Not really. I just thought I…. I…just wanted to see what was going on," he said unconvincingly.

"Well, as you can see, the answer is not much," she replied, indicating the TV playing an infomercial.

"Oh, this is the one with the ten-in-one kitchen appliance. I've seen it," he commented, walking over to the set.

"Chad Dickson watches infomercials. That's one for the school papers." Abby grinned.

"Hey—infomercials are strangely fascinating. Besides, you're one to talk—what are you doing now?"

"I was just about to turn off the TV and go out."

"Oh…well, then I guess I'll see you later." Chad headed for the door.

"Wait," she stopped him. "I'm going to the library. Wanna come with?"

"The library?" he asked slowly, trying to decide. "Sure, why not?"

---

An hour or so later, the two of them left the library, each weighed down a little more than when they had entered.

"I can't believe that librarian thought I was someone named David Chang. Do I look like a David Chang to you?"

"Maybe she thought you were adopted," Abby speculated amusedly.

"And then she said I owed the library thirty dollars for a book that was four months overdue! I told her, 'My name isn't David Chang, and I've never even heard of that book!' And then she said, 'That's what the computer says.' I'm glad I'm not a little kid anymore, I still get Spankulot nightmares sometimes."

Abby laughed. "So what finally happened?"

"She scanned my card again and my correct info came up. And then she said, 'oh, it must have been a computer error, it happens all the time.' If that's the case, then why did she insist I was David Chang in the first place? She didn't even apologize!"

"I'm sorry, Chad, clearly the world is out to get you."

"I think it is!"

"Anyways, I'm hungry, want to go for a burger?"

"Sure."

---

Chad and Abby looked uncertainly at the façade of the burger place. Pink and red and hearts everywhere you turned. Romantic Burger did have the best burgers in town (with a far less chance of accidentally consuming human quarter-pounders than if you went to Burger Frenzy) but….

"You know what?" ventured Chad, "I think I'm more in the mood for pizza."

"Me too," agreed Abby.

"Abby?" called a very familiar voice.

They both turned to see Cree and Maurice heading towards them and the restaurant.

"Chad?" continued Cree, surprised. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We were thinking about eating here, but then we decided that we were more in the mood for pizza," her sister replied as off-handedly as possible.

"Are you guys…on a date?" Cree queried, her expression growing sly.

Maurice frowned and turned away.

"N—no!" stammered Chad quickly.

"We just went to the library and then decided to get something to eat; it's nothing like that," Abby brushed off the prying question.

"Library…hm, I don't know, that sounds like nerd for 'date' to me!" Cree teased.

Chad turned a miserable shade of red.

"Ugh, we're not on a date, but believe anything you want to, Cree. Catch you later, okay?" Abby started to walk away.

Chad stood rooted in place, unable to decide what to do.

"I'm sorry, Abby, I'm not trying to be nosy! Come on," she dashed forward and grabbed her sister. "We can all eat here! It'll be like a double date!"

"I told you—"

"Then it'll be like four friends eating lunch together. Come on, it'll be fun! We never get to hang out just for fun."

Abby glanced at Chad, who seemed to be in some sort of post-stress shock. "Okay, fine. As friends."

---

The four of them sat at a ridiculously small table. Romantic Burger was not at all a family style restaurant, catering almost exclusively to couples. It didn't help that three out of the four seated at the table were in bad moods.

"So how was the library?" Cree attempted to get something like a conversation going.

There was no reply for a while and Cree wondered if the next meal would be spent in a highly uncomfortable, very long stretch of silence.

"It—" Chad croaked, then cleared his throat and tried again. "It was fine."

Cree looked at him and nodded slowly. So maybe this was a bad idea….

"We found out today that Chad can pass as an Asian guy," Abby joined in the conversation.

"What?" Cree tilted her head, confused.

Chad chuckled nervously. "Yeah, apparently the library thinks I'm someone named David Chang."

Cree laughed. "How did that happen?"

"It was some computer glitch. I was having mad visions of that movie—what was it? With Sandra Bullock?"

"The Net," Abby filled in, "yeah, I wonder what would have happened if she continued to insist you were David Chang?"

"Who knows? I'm glad I didn't find out. And did you see that woman's hair? What was it, purple?"

"I think it was a dark periwinkle, actually."

Cree looked back and forth at them, one to the other. She tried to catch Maurice's eye and give him a surreptitious wink, but he wasn't looking at her. He was staring off into space with an annoyed expression. If Cree were the narcissistic type, she might think it was because he was upset that their date was interrupted. But by now she knew not to believe such things. She glanced at Abby and Chad again; they were talking animatedly. Cree didn't bother to make sense of their conversation. She was happy to see the two of them in good spirits for a change, and she was not a little triumphant that her plan to get the two of them together finally seemed to be working. Never mind the fact that she had technically given up on it weeks ago.

But there was something else…a strange feeling, almost like pain. She felt it whenever Chad smiled at her sister. Chad used to smile at me like that…. He did, she remembered that smile, from before she started pushing him away. She missed being able to talk to him about everything, anything, in a way she never talked to her boyfriend. Maurice never seemed to take that much interest in her. Sometimes it was like he didn't enjoy spending time with her….

She tried to shake those thoughts from her mind. She didn't know why she kept having them. She was happy with Maurice—she really was. And he was really a very caring and attentive boyfriend. Whenever one of their missions failed (as they invariably did) he always came by the next day with flowers or candy and spent the day with her. Not any guy would do that. Sure, he wasn't perfect; he sometimes got weird moods and needed a lot of alone time, and sometimes when she was with him, he didn't seem to actually be there, and there were times when she kissed him—

No. I won't think about this.

Fortunately the food arrived and distracted Cree from her cycle of dismal musings. Chad and Abby continued to talk and smile at one another, and Cree found herself increasingly unable to watch. She turned to her boyfriend, who was also staring at the happy couple. Something about his expression of loathing was very familiar.

---

"That was a lot of fun," Cree smiled at Chad and Abby, "but I'm sure we all could use a little alone time, right?" She winked at the other two with absolutely no subtlety. Then she latched onto Maurice's arm and pulled him away. His feet dragged and he glared sullenly at the other two as he was hauled off.

Abby and Chad were left standing outside the entrance of Romantic Burger.

Chad sighed loudly.

"Don't think about it too much," said Abby, "that's just Cree being Cree."

He shook his head. "I just don't see where this all came from all of a sudden—her thinking we're dating…."

Abby turned to stare at him in disbelief. "You mean to say that you didn't notice the way she's been—" She stopped when she saw Chad's puzzled expression. "Never mind. Like I said, it's just Cree being Cree."

Chad frowned thoughtfully.

"Anyways, I'm headed home. See ya."

"Wait—Abby?"

She turned and looked at him.

"Um, actually, the reason I dropped by earlier was to thank you."

"For what?"

"For being there yesterday…for the talk…for…not being stupid like me."

She smiled. "I should really be thanking you. I was really depressed before you showed up. Cree was right, you are good to talk to."

"Cree said that?" he asked, hearing the pathetic wistfulness in his own voice.

Abby laughed in a way that was somehow both mocking and good-natured at the same time. "Yeah, something like that."

Chad smiled at the thought, but soon the glow of gladness faded. "Why…do you think she's been avoiding me lately?"

Abby's expression changed abruptly at that question, and Chad wondered if he shouldn't have asked it. But before he could change the subject, she said, "I don't know…she's just…she…. I guess in a way it's my fault."

He studied her, confused, not knowing what to say.

"It's just…she's stubborn, and…I didn't know how she—" She stopped and brooded for a while.

Chad regretted asking the question in the first place.

"You know what you should do?" She looked him directly in the eye. "You should talk to her. You should find a moment when the two of you are alone, and you should just tell her everything. How you feel about her, everything." She nodded in a confident manner, as if she had just come up with the perfect solution.

"I…what?" He chuckled in a half-hearted manner to hide his embarrassment. "I…no, I couldn't do that. What if…what if she looks at me with this horrified expression and goes, 'but I'm dating Maurice'." He put a hand to his head, imagining the disaster. "Ugh, I can just see it, she'd look at me with this expression of—of supportive pity and say something like, 'I really like you; I hope we can still be friends.' And then I'd have to blow my brains out right there."

Abby frowned as if contemplating his scenario. "It wouldn't necessarily happen like that."

"I'm willing to put money on it."

"But why? She likes you a lot—"

"As a friend."

"As more than a friend," she insisted. "I think you're the only person she ever really talks to."

"Not lately."

"Forget lately. Wait, no, don't," she said, changing gears. "Have you noticed she's been depressed lately?"

Of course I have, I notice everything about her. Aloud he simply said, "yes."

"It started right around the time she stopped talking to you. To anyone, really. She needs someone to talk to. That someone should be you."

"What about Maurice?" He said the name with contempt.

"She doesn't talk to him."

"How do you know—"

"She doesn't; I know. It has to be you; she won't talk to me, either. And she's been really down, even today when she was smiling and laughing, I could tell she wasn't really happy, couldn't you? You need to talk to her. And you need to tell her how you feel."

Chad frowned broodingly at the ground. I know I should, I know, I've been meaning to this whole time, but… these days whenever I so much as look at her she gets all weird, like she wants to get away.

Abby watched him for a long moment. "I could tell her for you."

"No!" he said sharply. "I mean—no. If anyone, it should come from me. Don't say anything to her. Please?"

She sighed. "Okay. But you've got to tell her sooner or later."

"I will. I just…need to find the right time. But I will."

---

Abby approached her house to find Maurice lurking in her yard. She nodded and even smiled a little as she said, "Hey, Mo. What are you doing out here?"

He looked up at her with a far less friendly countenance. "I'm surprised you didn't show up with Chad."

Her expression immediately hardened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He only glared at her and didn't respond.

For a long moment she waited for him to explain his behavior. When he didn't she said, "You don't mean to say that Cree actually brainwashed you into thinking that Chad and I are dating?"

"Cree didn't have to say anything. I saw how you two were acting at Romantic Burger."

"We were just talking."

"Yeah, you two seemed real friendly."

"Exactly. We're friends, that's all."

Maurice sneered and focused on the empty street, which didn't provide much distraction.

Abby strode forward to stand in his line of vision. "What is your problem? Do I suddenly need your permission to be friends with other people?"

"Not just any person," he countered, "Chad. He's a traitor and the biggest jerk on the planet, and if you had any loyalty to the Kids Next Door at all, you wouldn't talk to him, much less act all chummy with him."

"Is that what this is about? You're questioning my loyalty?"

"And where have you been? It's been over an hour since we left Romantic Burger. Were you spending time with your new friend?"

She glowered at him. "Spell it out for me, Maurice. Are you angry because you doubt my alliances, or because you think I'm dating Chad?"

"I just think— If you— If you were only pretending to date him to get information, then that would be acceptable, but it looks to me—"

"Oh? So if I did what you're doing to Cree? You would like that? If I draped myself all over Chad but then kept secretly hinting that I'd rather be with you? Is that what you want?"

"It would be better than what you're doing now."

"I don't know what you think I'm doing, but I can tell you right now that I'm not. I haven't betrayed the Kids Next Door and I'm not dating Chad. I don't see why you don't believe me, but you know what? I don't care." She swept past him towards her house.

"Maybe I don't believe you because you wouldn't react nearly this much if you were telling the truth."

Abby turned and gaped at him with the expression of one insulted. But she recovered quickly and retorted, "Maybe I'm reacting this much because I can't believe we're having this conversation in the first place. You used to be someone I admired. You used to be someone I thought I could depend on. You've changed."

"I've changed!" Maurice erupted. "What about you? You used to be someone I could talk to; you used to be the person I could trust all my secrets with. What happened to you?"

She stared at him, looking less angry and more wounded. "I don't know," she said in a much softer voice. "Maybe it's true, maybe we all do become completely different people when we become teenagers."

Maurice seemed to deflate as he listened to her words. "That's right, I almost forgot," he murmured. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package, which he deposited into her hands. It was a bag of blurpleberry jellybeans; they were Abby's favorite back when they were both in Sector V together. "I wanted to give them to you yesterday, but you refused to see me. Happy birthday."

Abby gazed at the present in her hands. They had been her favorite, but sometime over the years she had grown tired of them and moved on to other favorite candies. Stifling a sigh, she said, "Thank you."

He nodded, stepped away from her, and left.

She stared at the present. Everything changes. Maybe I just need to accept that. She looked up to watch Maurice's departing form. Maybe that's what growing up is all about.