Gary Furlong was not jealous.

Not at all.

Not even a little.

…Well, maybe a little.

But it's not like he planned on admitting it any time soon.

In their defense, Squib had to admit that Cody and Nate had not been exceptionally couple-y around him. Not at all, really. The odd time, he'd see them holding hands on the way to class. Every once and a while, he'd catch a glimpse of a quick hallway kiss, but he knew they wouldn't have done it if they knew he was around. He guessed he had Cody to thank for these cautions.

What really irked him, though, was that they were allowed to date. Whereas he and Cody had been forced to hide it just so he could stay in school. He supposed it was because, them not being players, dating could not serve as a distraction from tennis. Either that, or Bates was just tired of fighting with his son.

"This is getting a little creepy…" Squib whipped his head around at the sound of Tanis' voice, managing to slam his face right into his locker door. "Smooth, Furlong."

"I'm not creepy," he chose to ignore her mocking, "I'm getting my books."

"Yeah, while watching Cody and Nate," she pointed out, nodding her head behind him. Squib didn't need to turn around to know that Cody and Nate were standing at her locker, chatting about something or other. He had, after all, been watching them.

"I wasn't watching them," he insisted, "they just…caught my eye."

"Whatever, Squib," Tanis shrugged. "Look, if this is bothering you so much, maybe you should talk to Cody about it."

"I can't do that," he sighed.

"Because…?" Tanis urged.

"Because it's not fair! I can't ask her to stop hanging out with her boyfriend for my sake."

"Wow, that's extremely…not selfish," Tanis admitted.

"Yeah, well, tell no one."

"Okay, you're done," Gunnerson barked, "good work, hit the showers!" Cameron nodded appreciatively, panting, and headed toward the locked room. After an extra long shower (his reward, he felt, for an extra long practice), he emerged to find Tanis leaning against the wall just outside the door.

"Hey, waiting for me?" He joked, duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"Actually, yeah," she told him. He raised an inquisitive eyebrow and she continued, "Well, Squib's off moping somewhere, Cody and Nate are most likely doing the couple thing, Adena's practicing, and I want someone to eat lunch with."

'Well," Cameron smiled, "I would be glad to."

"Squib?" Cody knocked tentatively on his door, pushing it open.

"Oh, yeah, hey," he said distractedly, looking up from homework that, if he was being truthful, he wasn't really concentrating on.

"I noticed you weren't at lunch, so…" she trailed off, stepping inside and revealing a plate laden with salad and 'pasta' (you could never be too sure).

"Oh, wow, uh, thanks," Squib stuttered out, taking the plate from her and placing it on his dresser. "But…I'm not really hungry…"

"Oh," Cody nodded quickly, "okay…Look, Squib, are you alright?"

"Yeah, why?" He returned his gaze to his homework.

"You've just seemed…distant lately. I wanted to make sure you're okay," she explained.

"Yeah, I'm fine," at her apprehensive look, he tossed her a small, reassuring smile, "I promise."

"Okay," she nodded, "good."

"So…" she spoke again after a pause, "I'll see you at dinner, maybe?"

He nodded slightly, "Sure."

"Okay," she tossed him a small smile, "see ya, Squib."

Squib sighed, watching her walk out the door, "See ya…"

"Hi, guys," Adena approached Tanis and Cameron as they made their way into the school. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Tanis shrugged.

"How was practice, Adena?" Cameron asked her.

Adena rolled her eyes, "Practice." Her friends laughed.

"So," Tanis began, "are we doing something tonight? Cards?"

"Of course!" Adena chirped.

"Hey, I gotta run," Cameron said, "I'll see you girls at cards," he nodded to them and was off.

"What's' with you?" Adena asked, watching a smile creep over Tanis' face.

"Nothing," she said, "it's just that that was…so not awkward."

"Yeah, so?"

Tanis shrugged, grinning, "It's just nice."

"Mmm, wait, stop," Cody pulled herself away from Nate.

"What is it?" Nate asked.

"We shouldn't be doing this here. We're in the hallway," she explained, casting a quick glance around her.

"That's…never stopped us before," he pointed out.

"I know, it's just…come on," she grabbed his hand, "we're gonna be late for class."

Okay, I ALWAYS forget what I want to say in response to reviews, not to mention I was dead when I typed the last chapter, so I'm actually typing this first…

Chelsea- Oh, Chelsea…I suppose I can forgive you just this once…No, I'm guilty, too. I know there's at least one No Glory in the Gun update that I've put off reading in favor of plentiful, yet much less interesting, assignments, usually dealing with Machiavelli at this point…Oh, and whatever fics you added to are now on MB.

Nova-Janna- Okay, I meant to ask you this, like, months ago. In a review you mentioned 'Crimson and Clover'. Is that the song from the A&W commercial? 'Cause if so, I totally love that song. Or, what I've heard of it on the commercial… And fear not, tension shall arise, fights shall take place. As you may have noticed, I am slow. Everything is drawn out. It takes chapters upon chapters for me to get to anything significant. So it took 13 chapters to get them together, now the real fun can begin. And describing a kiss would require a modicum of experience. So for now, you're stuck with 'he kissed her'. It's all you really need to know. And I used to think S/T was evil, but then Candy worked her magic on me…

Now for the hard part, writing the chapter…

(after writing le chapter)

This chapter was gonna be called something totally different, but 'Walk This Way' came on the radio as I was proofing. God, that song rocks…Actually, 'Paint it Black' came on, too, but it seemed too angry for this chap...

Don't ask me why they're so short lately. They just are. And don't bother pointing out all the plot holes. Like, how did Tanis get to the courts so fast? If Adena was practicing, wouldn't Cameron have seen her? If Cody and Nate were both eating lunch, why didn't Tanis just eat with them? She's never minded intruding before…If Cody and Nate makeout in the hall all the time, why has Squib never caught them? Why hasn't a teacher ever caught them?

Now that I've pointed out all the flaws…review?