Notes: Oo, I updated fast this time! I had this idea in my head and it wouldn't go away. Therefore…TADA!…the next chapter of this story.

This might be my last update for a few more weeks. I'm leaving town on Monday and will be back by the end of the week. I will try to work on this while I'm in Ohio, but it's a family trip. I might not have a lot of time to work on this story. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. This was so much fun to write. I can't believe how fast I wrote this.

I hope you don't mind that I paired Viper with him. I saw the descriptions and really liked the idea of them. If you have a problem with this, let me know.

Oh, and Pie Eater's been claimed! Yeah!

Against the Wall…

Black eyes gazed around the room, narrowing almost in disgust at the people milling about. Long black hair was pushed out of her eyes by a headband of the same color. Tall, lanky and skinny were the most accurate words to describe Chloe Denairo…Viper.

She stood against one of the walls, her mouth looking almost sullen as she switched her stare from group to group. She wasn't trying to avoid anybody. It was rather like she was putting the guys into a secret contest, deciding who could possibly win her attention.

One of them was already out of the question, a boy who went by the name of Spot. Trying his best to impress a girl, he had even attempted to do so to her. However, his "in-your-face, 'look at me', aren't I God's gift to women?" expression made her despise him even more.

He thought that a nice smile and gorgeous eyes could woe any woman, but not Viper. She was a great judge of character, being able to tell in an instant if she would like somebody or not.

Only one guy had come close so far, a boy by the name of Skittery, who was talking to another girl at the moment. Perhaps he had been intimidated by her, maybe her sarcasm and cynicism was too much even for him to handle. He had seemed agreeable at first to nod at her sarcastic comments and scowl in accordance to her.

Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned anything about Spot. She had complained about him a bit, displaying her true loathing of him. Maybe she could have considered that Skittery was his friend, though it seemed quite impossible. Or maybe it was just her rage about the subject that scared him off. Either way, here she was, staring into the crowd and trying to bore a hole in the far wall.

"Men," she growled to herself. Normally, she didn't harbor any ill will towards them, but lately the effects had taken place.

"Women," another voice matched her own. She had not noticed the boy who leaned against the wall beside her until now. Viper glared at him, not liking being interrupted, even when it was just talking to herself, or being mocked for that matter.

"You think you're funny," she asked him, not hiding her displeasure, "I happen to think men are much more disgusting than women."

"Then our views are opposing," the boy shot back. By the smirk on his face, he obviously enjoyed a little verbal quarreling, "At least men have standards."

"At least a woman knows a man when she sees one."

"Diablo," he said. Her eyes narrowed further, "I'm not calling you one. That's what they call me. Diablo."

"It suits you," she told him, sounding a bit more cordial this time.

"And yours," Diablo asked.

"Viper," she hissed out, her only shot at attempting to sound pleasant. His only shot at hearing her at her best.

"Yours suits you as well," he told her, "You have a quick tongue." She glared at him for a second longer before turning her eyes towards the gym floor once again.

"Women need it in order to put men like you in their place," she stated, "We shouldn't have to take crap from anybody." At these words, Diablo's eyes softened a bit in respect. If he hated anything, it was guys who didn't know how to treat a woman with the respect they deserved.

"It's true," he said, his first agreeable word with her the entire conversation. She turned to him slowly, obliviously startled by his change of tone, "Men should treat women with respect."

"What happened to women having no standards," Viper asked him, curiosity making its way through.

"I can appreciate a bit of verbal quarreling now and then," Diablo replied, "Take it in jest, not as a serious conversation."

Viper nodded that she understood. Even if she didn't mean it, she did enjoy getting her frustration out by the activity. It usually made the friends that she had laugh in the end.

"Look at them," Diablo finally picked the conversation back up, "It's like they've never seen the opposite gender before."

It was true. Some of the girls were flirting almost embarrassingly, but the guys truly didn't seem to mind. They were doing the same right back. Some of them looked more shy, but they admired from afar instead of in their faces.

"Women," Viper said with a quiet chuckle.

"Men," Diablo replied back. His black eyes met her own and they simultaneously burst out into laughter.

Noticing this unforeseen action, Diablo studied her face. Without the smile, she looked more like a bad-tempered brat than an attractive woman. When that smile came on her face, she appeared surprisingly cute and attractive, quite the opposite of the first impression he had of her.

Viper stopped laughing abruptly after a few seconds, taking note of his stare. She didn't scowl at him however, but seemed more uncomfortable in his gaze than anything else. She almost appeared shy.

Viper was surprised at herself. She rarely got along with anybody so quickly. Yet this boy, who had almost immediately decided that she wouldn't like, had made her laugh. Humor wasn't exactly her strong suite. Even her sarcastic nature usually lacked the humor that most people found intriguing about sarcasm. She almost turned away from him, but restrained herself.

"Look," she broke the silence after a moment, "I'm guessing that neither of us are too excited about this whole dance thing, getting dressed up and everything." Diablo nodded, eyebrows arching in curiously at what she was getting out, "I don't really want to go, but since I'll be dragged there anyway, I might as well…"

"Are you trying to ask me to go with you," Diablo asked.

"No," Viper assured him, trying not to show her annoyance at being interrupted once again, "but I figure that I should at least be accompanied by somebody who I've actually got along with during this whole day."

"Same here," Diablo agreed, secretly knowing that she would be surprised with him in the next few days, especially if she talked to his roommates. His morning self was much different than his afternoon self. By noontime he had calmed down and sank into his normal sarcastic comments, talking about sports, and hours of video games and poker.

She only gave him her e-mail address, explaining that she wasn't too comfortable with phone conversation at the moment and wasn't much of a talker anyway. He gave her both his e-mail and phone number. It was her choice whether to call him or not. If she wasn't comfortable with it, he'd respect that.