Notes: 1. The bad grammar is supposed to be there, as you probably already knew. It'll go away soon. 2. Yes, Maureen is supposed to be obnoxious. 3. Jed Resnick rocks! 4. I don't own Rent.

"Boys and girls," Mrs. Hanson, the third grade teacher, called the class to order. "Does anyone know what Friday is?"

The annoying girl with curly brown hair that Roger absolutely could not stand began waving her hand wildly in the air.

"Yes, Maureen?"

"It's Valentine's Day!" She smiled excitedly. "Cupid comes and shoots you with an arrow and then you fall in love with your Prince Charming. That's what my mommy told me." She glanced over at Roger, winking her left eye.

Roger stuck his tongue out at her, and leaned over to Mark. "She looks she just got poked in the eye."

Mark giggled to himself and nodded. It did look like someone had jabbed their finger in her dark green eye.

"On Friday, you can bring in cards to hand out to your classmates. Maybe your crush will admit to liking you." She curved her wrinkled lips into a surprised face, smiling as the little third graders giggled madly.

--

This past year, Mrs. Cohen and Roger's mom, who Mark was to call Miss Anne, had allowed the boys to walk home since they only lived a block away from each other and six blocks away from school. Mark lived a little further, so his older sister Cindy would wait for him at Roger's corner.

On the way home that day, all Roger could do was complain. "That Maureen girl is so annoying."

Mark shrugged. "I don't really mind her. She traded her gummy worms for my chips one day at lunch last year. I thought that was really nice of her."

"Did you see the way she was looking at me? She looked so dumb." Roger shuddered a little. At nine, he wasn't really looking for a girlfriend anytime soon. "Girls are so gross."

"Yeah," Mark agreed. "I saw Cindy playing with her Barbies once and she was shoving their faces together. It was disgusting."

"I heard that girls have cooties," Roger mentioned.

"I don't doubt it."

--

Friday arrived and both boys were dropped off at school with brown paper bags filled with Valentines. Mrs. Cohen had attached little, red heart lollipops to Mark's cards, which were signed with a 'Sincerely, Mark Cohen'.

Roger's were racecar cards. His first name was written very large on all of them, barely legible.

"I can't believe my mom made me write these stupid cards," Roger dropped the bag on his desk. "They're so stupid."

"At least yours don't have Winnie the Pooh on them," Mark placed his bag neatly in the corner of his desk as he took his homework books out of his backpack and stacked them nicely inside his desk.

Roger haphazardly shoved his books and papers into his desk as well. "Yours have candy though. Candy's good."

"I don't really like lollipops," Mark said. "It was my mommy's idea."

"Hiiiiiii boooooooys."

Roger cringed as he heard 'the annoyingest voice ever' loudly in his ear. He said nothing."

"Hi, Maureen," Mark said with a smile. He didn't see what Roger hated so much about her. Sure, she was a little bit annoying, but she was really nice. "Here," he reached into his bag and handed Maureen a card.

"Oh my gosh!" she gushed. "Thank you so much Mark!" She pulled him into a tight squeeze. Mark choked a little and gasped for air when she finally let him go. "Wow I really wasn't expecting to get any Valentines. That was soooo nice of you. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Here," Roger begrudgingly shoved a racecar card in her face.

"Oh my gooooshhhh!" She grabbed the card and hugged it. "Thank you soooo much."

"Uh huh."

"I made a card 'specially for you, Roger." She winked her eye again and thrust a card in his direction. Roger took it with a muttered thank you. He put his arms up to block her attempt at a hug.

"Ew, I don't want your gross cooties."

She pulled back, a hurt look on her face. "Fine," she said quietly so only Roger could hear her. She turned around quickly and scurried over towards that 'annoyinger redhaired chick' that Roger also hated, her shoulder length curls bouncing as she moved.

"That was real mean."

"I don't like her."

"Doesn't mean you gotta be mean to her."

"Yes it does." He looked at the card she had given him, feeling a little guilty about what he had said. Reading over the card, he looked up at Mark. "What's yours say?"

"She didn't give me one."

"How come?"

"'Cause she likes you and not me. Why, what's it say?"

"I'm not telling."

"Ooooh, is it real romantic?" Mark's eyes widened and his smile brightened. His face got giddy as he peered at Roger through his glasses. "Tell me."

Roger sighed and succumbed, handing the card to Mark. "Don't read it out loud, kay?"

Mark nodded and examined it. It was a blank piece of paper, not an actual card. It was light pink with darker red hearts outlining the page. Mark carefully read over the words. Eight words.

Dear Roger,

I like you.

From, Maureen Johnson

Mark smiled as he handed the paper back. "Aw," he said quietly.

"Shut up," Roger narrowed his eyes. "Girls are gross."

"You should 'pologize to her, even if you don't like her back."

"I don't wanna."

Mark smiled deviously.

Roger didn't like that look. The look that said he knew something he shouldn't. "I don't like the way you're looking at me."

"You like her."

"Nuh-uh!" Roger cried defensively. "That's gross. Ew, didn't you hear me when I said that girls got cooties?"

"You liiiike her," Mark taunted.

"No I don't!" he yelled back, attracting a few stares. He collapsed into his seat, speaking no more. Mark thought it was best to drop the subject.

--

On Monday, Roger was in a strange mood.

"At recess, I gotta talk to someone, so I can't play with you the whole time," Roger explained to Mark before school started.

"Okay," Mark replied. He could probably play with the little boy who sat behind him. Roger didn't say what he was doing at recess, but Mark had a good idea of what he might be doing.

At the beginning of recess, Roger got up and walked to the other side of the room, the side of the room where Maureen sat. Mark smiled when he saw Roger go over, but let him be and just went to play with the other boy until Roger came back.

"Didja 'pologize?" Mark asked when Roger came back.

He sat down and nodded. "Yep."

"What she say?"

"I said I was sorry for being mean to her and that I didn't really mean it when I said she had cooties. I told her that her card was real nice too. She said she didn't like me no more because she said I was a butthead. I said that was okay because I really don't like her either but I would be her friend if she wanted. She said she'd think about it because she doesn't wanna be friends with a butthead."

"Oh."

Roger shrugged. "At least she doesn't like me no more."

"Yeah."

"Do you think she'll be my friend though?"

"I dunno," Mark replied. "You were kinda a butthead to her. She's right."

"I know."

"I'll always be your friend though, even if you are a butthead sometimes."

Roger smiled. "Good because I'd rather be your friend than her boyfriend any day."