So feelings were hard to make out...

That's what he thought when they came. That's what he felt.

Honestly, Tyler didn't know how to feel with this weird situation. The girl he hated, the girl he teased... well, for some reason she was on his mind.

And not just because she was half red panda.

Sorry, sorry – not really half 'panda', but close enough when she transformed into one.

These days Mei Mei was able to keep the beast under control. But that's just because she hadn't felt love yet.

Y'know? The kind where there is mushy lip kissing and holding of greasy hands.

Okay, Tyler was thinking about this all wrong.

See, the thing was... HE had never been in love either. And how could a young teen tell if it was really love love. And not just stupid infatuation.

To put it blankly... he was seeing girls these days in a new light. Because all around him girls were blossoming into women. But no girl took the crowd for most awkward puberty than Chinese Canadian Mei Mei.

"Mei Mei..." He drooled half asleep in Math class. He couldn't pay attention to the board and the equations that had been written on it. He was too much in a sleepy daze – that probably was the reason why his scores often suffered. But he had another reason now too.

That stupid red-headed girl with the most annoying face ever – well, it was planted all over his mind.

"Mr. Tyler."

He jumped open, awake – her image disappearing quickly from his head in replacement with the angry look of the math teacher. He gave a small goofy smile and the man continued.

"Tell me why you think it's alright to sleep in my class?"

"Er...?" He nearly drooled out and sat up properly, paying attention finally to what was happening around him, "I was just daydreaming..."

Some girls who sat away from him only giggled at his words but the teacher glared at him very frustrated.

"And what was it you were daydreaming about?"

"A girl?" Someone howled and Tyler struck up into a more straighter tense position.

"NO." He said immediately and then another boy cooed in.

"No, A BOY!"

"Ooooo!"

"WHAT?!" Tyler yelped, becoming quickly embarrassed. See, he had a secret. And no, it wasn't that he liked boys. It was because... he was a 'shudder' Four Town fan.

He just liked their music! But whenever people found out he was into their beat, they immediately thought he was into their... 'looks'.

"Never not on my mind!" The whole class started to chant and he lay his head on his desk, covering his ears with his hands, "Oh My! Oh My!"

The school bell rang then just that moment and the Math teacher said to the students, his voice grating and annoyed.

"Alright, enough. Get to your next class."

Tyler swept his books quickly into his bag and flung it around his back expertly as he rushed out of the class and into the hall.

It was at around break that he met up with his posse... urgh, again, this is where people got the wrong idea of him.

His posse... they were girls. And he, in fact, was not. And if a bunch of girls have just one guy friend, it is immediately assumed that one guy friend is... well, 'gay'.

Stupid labels for no stupid reason.

As he passed the gang, he quickly bopped butts with Miriam, twinkled his fingers with Priya, and high-fived Abby.

But when he was about to do his secret handshake with Mei Mei, he froze up when he saw her face.

If this was any other day, he wouldn't have noticed anything. He would just have done a back-sided handshake and finished the greeting. But today, she looked different.

She was wearing something all over her pretty face.

MAKEUP.

SHE WAS WEARING MAKEUP?!

And what for? Was she trying to impress him?

Like, it must be for him as he was the only guy she hung out with... did, did she like like him?

"Yo, what's with the look?"

Mei Mei went red in the cheeks instantly, HA! Tyler thought to himself, nearly the same colour as her hair!

Mei only laughed awkwardly and shoved him away teasingly, "No reason... it's not because I'm trying to be noticed by some boy."

"I could notice you a mile away," Tyler smirked in a tease and Mei Mei growled under her breath, her eyebrows lowering. Tyler quickly realized his hurtful words and added on quickly, "In a good way, I mean."

"Hmm..." She murmured and he decided to try again to get in her good books.

"I mean, you always look pretty to... to me,"

Her eyes fell open at his kind honest confession and the trio of girls beside them were watching the scene intensely.

"Er, thanks, Tyler," Mei Mei responded nervously with a forced smile as she rubbed her upper arm with her opposite hand, "But no, I'm not made up this way for you... it's the new boy, Travis."

Travis? Tyler thought to himself, half surprised and half repulsed. Travis had only been going to this school for two weeks. Plus, he was short.

Well, short as in... not much taller than Tyler himself, WHO definitely would get a big growth spurt any day now. Any minute.

"Oh," Is all Tyler responded with and Mei smiled nervously at him, "If he's your type, I mean, I guess..."

"My heart cries OUT for him!" Abby shouted as she, Miriam, and Priya was the scene with intense stares – like they were watching a soap opera unfold right before their prying eyes. Tyler took notice of their stares and a nervous blush went over his dark cheeks. Why did he hang out with them again?

Oh yeah, cos' they were the only true friends he had. He looked back over to Mei Mei who was sweating just the slightest and he pulled out a handkerchief, handing it to her and saying with a small smile.

"Here, you don't want your makeup to smudge."

"AWW!" The girls only gushed and Mei looked back into Tyler's dark eyes, a small smile returning shyly back on her own lips.

"T-thanks."

"Any time," He said with a wink and went over to a lunch table, sitting down, pulling out his tuna sandwich and calling from away, "Anyone else gonna eat, or is it just gonna be me?"

"It's gonna be me!" The girls sang in unionism and hurried to the blue table, placing their lunches down and preparing to gobble them up.

Tyler looked around the table for Mei Mei but quickly saw her spot was empty. He turned his head around, still munching on the stinky tuna sandwich, and saw her looking away shyly into the distance.

Her eyes were lidded and set straight in the direction of his new enemy.

Travis.

He didn't know why, but he did not like this boy one bit. Hmm, I wonder why?

"Hey, Tyler."

He just glared at Travis, trying to light him on fire with his mind.

"TYLER."

"WHAT!?" He snapped, suddenly twisting around and seeing an annoyed look on Miriam's face.

"You gonna eat that tuna? Or wait for it to be reincarnated?"

His chilled-out posture suddenly became high-strung and he just tossed the second half of his smelly sandwich to her.

As he turned around to see what Mei Mei was doing again, he heard Miriam's voice say quietly to him.

"She'll realize one day."

"One day... what?" He asked coldly, for he couldn't see her anywhere and he only sighed, turning back to his sandwich in hand and finishing it off in some hard forced gulps.

"That you love her."

"Ooh!" Priya and Abby cooed and Tyler went red in the face as he declared.

"I do not."

He saw their teasing faces and nudged his head down, looking now to his hands and biting his lip in sad nervousness.

"Besides... she'll never like me that way."

"And why not?"

The three girls leered at him, waiting to know his deep dark secret. He only laughed feebly before admitting.

"Because she can have any guy with her sweet Panda moves... and I'm not any guy to her..."

"No," Miriam continued and touched him on his upper arm. He looked up at her in pain and she said with a soft smile.

"But you could be THE guy."

"Plus, everyone thinks I'm gay now because I hang with girls. What if Mei thinks the same?"

"Well, there is one way to solve that." Priya said in her calm stoic voice, "But it requires an action."

"Yeah, and what is that?" Tyler rolled out in a dull patronizing voice.

"You kiss her."

"You kiss her GOOD!" Abby yelled as back up. Tyler went even redder in the face and the three girls looked at him lost.

"That's a great idea and all," He whispered out nervously and the girls watched him slowly, "But I've never kissed someone before."

"Well, maybe that someone could be Mei Mei...?" Miriam put out and Tyler imagined the scene in his head, a goofy smile sliding up his mouth as he giggled love-struck at the thought.

"But you better do it soon," Miriam added on fast and snapped Tyler out of his daydream.

"And why?" He asked annoyed.

The girls all pointed in Mei Mei's direction and Tyler turned towards her too, only seeing her drooling gaze of Travis.

And HE did not LIKE TRAVIS.

For some reason... though he couldn't put his finger on it.