"He did what?!" The girls soon asked Wendy in shock once they heard the whole story.

"Wendy... I'm so sorry..." Jane frowned. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I-I'll be fine..." Wendy sniffled and pouted. "It was just stupid of me to think that he actually cared about me after the third grade incident."

"Third Grade incident?" Mal asked out of confusion.

"It's a very long, complicated story, but Wendy tried to kiss Peter back in third grade," Jane said, giving Mal a short summary. "I shouldn't say too much after that."

Wendy soon hugged Jane, crying into her best friend's shoulder.

"Oh... Wendy, I'm so sorry that this had to happen," Mal frowned. "If I could do anything to make it up to you, I would."

"That's okay, Mal," Wendy frowned. "It was just a little accident. It could've happened to anyone."

"It was no accident and you are my friend, so I'm going to help avenge you," Mal shook her head. "I promise you that I will."

"Oh, Mal, that's so nice of you." Evie approved.

"Yeah... I guess it is..." Mal nodded.

"I guess Ben rubbed off on ya." Tilly smirked.

"Heh..." Mal grinned sheepishly and nervously. "It's funny you should mention Ben..."

"Do you want us to call your parents?" Jane asked Wendy.

"No, that's okay," Wendy replied before they were given their hot chocolates and she blew the top of her cup as much as she could before she would take a sip. "Mm... Hot chocolate cures all after all."

"It sure can." Evie smiled and nodded in agreement.

"So you wanna finish the game?" Jane asked her best friend.

"Yes, I think I will," Wendy replied. "Thank you though, Jane."

"Anything for a best friend." Jane beamed.

"At least things are turning up for you, Wendy," Evie replied. "I'm concerned about Graham sometimes."

"Well, he's a sheriff, so his job's bound to be dangerous sometimes." Tilly shrugged.

"No, it's nothing like that." Evie shook her head.

"Do you wanna talk about it, Evie?" Mal asked.

"Well, just for a little bit, but don't say anything to my mom the next time you come over?" Evie sighed before asking to make them promise.

"We promise." The girls nodded.

"Well... He's going out to bars a lot more than usual and not staying home with Mom most of the time," Evie explained. "I know he's a busy man, but sometimes it feels like he's spent less and less time with her, especially after Henry and I have gone to bed. Henry probably doesn't notice, but I feel like Graham is falling out of love with my mom."

"Does he show any signs?" Lonnie asked.

"Well, sometimes at night, they're arguing in bed and he sometimes refuses to come back to our house," Evie explained. "I know I shouldn't get involved, but I just feel like Graham isn't meant for my mom."

"How long have your mom and Graham been together?" Mal asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Feels like a year or two after Henry was brought home," Evie shrugged. "It just seems like he's been in my life a lot more than my dad and you all know what happened to him."

The others nodded as they knew about Daniel Mills, Evie's father, being out of the picture, but they didn't know why or how. They never asked Regina, but it was probably best that they didn't since it was none of their business.

"The first few years were alright," Evie continued. "As much as I liked Graham, I knew he wasn't my father, so I could never love him as much as I loved my dad. Eventually, when Henry started preschool, they started going out and I was a bit cranky because of it and I felt like my mom was trying to replace my dad, but eventually, he grew on me, but still, he didn't feel as fun or great as my dad was."

"Mm..." Tilly nodded. "My Uncle Jefferson had a situation like that once. He told me that he was going to be the one to marry Ms. Emma Swan before Harry's dad 'napped her~"

"Thanks, Tilly," Evie sighed and rolled her eyes. "But... That's about all I can say. I just feel like the love between Mom and Graham is fading away really quickly. I don't wanna assume anything, but personally? I feel like he's cheating."

"Interesting..." Mal frowned. "I'm so sorry about that, Evie."

"It's okay," Evie smiled sadly before sighing. "I don't feel as bad after I told someone about it though, I haven't even told Ruby or Goldie about it and I tell them everything whenever I'm alone with them."

"Well, I feel flattered that I was one of the people that you told." Mal smiled back a bit.

"Us too." Lonnie, Jane, and Wendy added.

Tilly simply nodded in agreement even if she wasn't all that helpful.

"Thanks, you guys," Evie smiled. "Remember, don't tell my mom we talked about this and don't tell Henry or else I'll be grounded until I'm in my 40's."

The other girls simply nodded again to show that she could trust them.

"Good," Evie beamed. "All right, let's get back to the game then, shall we?"

The girls smiled and they soon went to sit back down in their seats.

"Wait a minute!" A voice called out.

"Did you need something, Tilly?" Lonnie asked the blonde girl.

"I didn't say nuthin'." Tilly shrugged.

"Over here..." The voice replied.

The girls then turned around, following the source of the voice and saw that it was someone who was hiding under the bleachers who stepped out, showing to be a rather tall boy wearing a dark green and blue hooded sweatshirt with the letters "JB" on them.

"Who are you...?" Jane blinked.

"Waitaminute..." Tilly rambled as she glared at the tall boy who towered over all of them. "JB? You're one of them James Barrie boys! Come on, girls!" she then told Mal, Evie, Lonnie, Jane, and Wendy to attack the boy.

"Tell Peter to stay away from Wendy or else he'll have to deal with me!" Mal glared as her emerald eyes seemed to flash with rage.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... Hold it!" The boy said as he held his hands up high. "I come in peace... Really!"

"Yeah, right!" Lonnie scoffed as she soon grabbed the boy suddenly and judo threw him on the ground and stepped on his chest, leaning over him. "You guys are probably cooking up another prank to mess with all of us. So what is it? Toilet paper? Spraypaint? Kidnapping the school mascot?"

"Please, listen..." The boy begged as his graying blue eyes grew wide. "You can trust me... I just wanted to tell the girl something."

The girls all looked at each other before looking back.

"The smaller girl." The boy then said.

The girls looked around again as Jane, Wendy, and Tilly were left behind.

"The smaller blonde girl." The boy then said.

Wendy and Tilly were then standing together.

"...You." The boy then said, giving up as he pointed to Wendy in question.

"Me...?" Wendy blinked before pouting. "Peter sent you here, didn't he? Haven't I suffered enough from his girls trying to drown me in the school pool and he humiliated me in front of them?"

"I had nothing to do with that, you have to believe me and listen to me," The boy begged. "Please... I won't hurt you girls."

"You're as big, tall, and scary as Mr. Hyde!" Jane shrieked. "Of course you're going to hurt us or worse, scare us and embarrass us, especially since you're one of those James Barrie pirate boys!"

The boy frowned as he looked like he was about to cry.

Wendy noticed that and frowned too as she felt her heart aching. "...Let him go." she soon told the other girls.

"What?" The other girls asked in shock.

"Lonnie, get off of him," Wendy decided before thinking of something. "...We'll tie him up first though."

"You wanna talk to him?" Jane asked her best friend.

"I think we should at least listen to what he has to say," Wendy suggested. "After all, everybody deserves a chance, even if he's one of those rotten James Barrie boys."

The girls all looked at each other and shrugged. Mal then found a random jump-rope before picking it up and they took the boy far away from the field and bleachers, tying him up to a far away tree. The boy grunted and yelped a bit as the rope was very tight on him.

"All right, ya wanker, ya better talk if ya know what's good for ya," Tilly glared at the boy. "State your name and business."

"F-Felix... My name is Felix..." The boy began as he looked down at the slightly smaller girls. "And I mean you girls no harm, especially you, Wendy Darling."

"Hmph... I bet!" Wendy pouted and crossed her arms.

"So what do you want anyway?" Evie demanded. "I should report you to my mother, she's the mayor."

"Ah, yes, I understand," Felix nodded, trying to stay calm. "Wendy, I'm so sorry that Peter did what he did. I can't change that, but I just wanted to apologize to you for him."

"Why would you wanna apologize for him for?" Wendy glared a bit.

"Because... I feel sorry for you," Felix explained. "I knew Peter was going to do this, but I tried to come find you and warn you, but I couldn't find you in time. I didn't want him to know what I was up to though."

"And why not?" Mal then asked firmly.

"Because... Peter and I are best friends," Felix explained lowly. "Or at least we used to be... He treats me more like a sidekick most of the time. I don't know what happened to Peter, but he just plays by his own rules and he never fails. He can smell fear... He's a menace to society and should be sent away to a boarding school in Switzerland or something."

"Yes, Peter was always a bit of a handful when he still lived around here..." Wendy nodded in memory. "We used to have so much fun together when we were little."

"You used to be friends with Peter?" Mal asked Wendy.

"Third Grade incident." Wendy replied.

"Ah..." Mal nodded even if she didn't fully understand that story right now.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to you, Wendy, and if I could change the past, believe me, I would," Felix frowned as he looked ready to cry. "It's just the kind of person Peter is though, he'll never change. He's like a sponge... He just takes and takes and takes and drains others of their love and emotions. He'll just rip your heart out of your chest and crush it to dust."

"Well, he definitely did that to me." Wendy nodded firmly through tear-stained eyes.

"But I would never do that to you, your friends, or anybody," Felix continued before he turned red in the face. "I was kinda hoping we'd be alone when I would explain everything and confess my feelings."

"F-Feelings...?" Wendy grew wide-eyed and blushed. "...What kind of feelings?"

"Erm... I-I-I said too much..." Felix gulped nervously. "Say, I think the game is starting back up. Perhaps you should untie me so we could watch it?" he then suggested.

"Ah, ah, ah, you've already spilled some beans, now you must speak!" Mal tutted with a small smirk.

"Dish us your juicy gossip, Felix," Evie smirked as well. "You clearly wanted more than just to apologize to Wendy."

"Care to share?" Lonnie added slyly.

"Well... Wendy..." Felix blushed a bit more. "...I wanted to tell you how I felt."

Wendy tilted her head as she began to blush too.

"Wendy, you weren't the only one involved in a crush between a high-class young lady and a boy who'll probably never grow up." Felix began to say.

"Oh?" Jane's eyes widened. "Felix... What're you-"

"Shh~" Mal, Evie, and Lonnie shushed Jane.

"Wendy... Peter is no good for you and I want to show you that I can at least try to be better," Felix soon explained as he blushed and suddenly got sweaty. "You don't have to say anything back, but... I like you, Wendy. I really like you like you." he then confessed.

"Oh... O-Oh, Felix..." Wendy blushed. "I had no idea... How long?"

"A very long time," Felix admitted. "I was just scared you wouldn't like me back or find me attractive."

"Oh... Felix... You're very sincere..." Wendy said softly. "I'm sorry we had to tie you up-"

"It's okay, I completely understand," Felix reassured. "A lot of us in school are just a bunch of lost boys and Peter is our ring leader and we always follow the leader wherever he will go."

"So your school's like a political election? I getcha." Mal smirked.

"I'm really, really sorry about what happened, Wendy." Felix said softly as Wendy approached him.

"It's okay, Felix, and you know what?" Wendy replied.

"What?" Felix asked.

Wendy suddenly gave him a kiss on the lips, making his eyes widen as the other girls went "Ooooohhh!~". "I think you're real sweet." she then said.

"Gosh... Thank you, Wendy..." Felix beamed, turning red in the face all over.

"You're very welcome, Felix." Wendy smiled.

A horn was soon sounded from the football field and Wendy began to untie Felix.

"We better hurry back to the game." Jane suggested.

"Right." Mal, Evie, and Lonnie nodded in agreement.

"Come on, Felix," Wendy smiled as she freed the boy. "Let's go cheer our teams on."

"Pirates are better than Knights." Felix smirked playfully.

"Yeah, well, I never saw a pirate brave enough to face a fire-breathing dragon." Wendy smirked back.

"Pirates face dragons!" Felix retorted.

"Yeah... Crocodiles don't count, big boy~" Wendy giggled before she walked off with the girls.

And so, they came back to finish watching the game and some time passed and it was time for the final hour of the game. It was getting really intense now for both teams.

"This is a nail-biter, folks. There's 47 seconds left on the clock. We're all tied up," An announcer announced as the boys were all looking quite aggressive on the Pirates' side while the Knights began to look nervous and squeamish, except for maybe Jay, who always looked tough and brutal when necessary. "The James Barrie Pirates: 45 and The Walter Elias Fighting Knights: 45. What a game between these two fierce rivals!"

Coach Jenkins and Coach Malcolm soon called for their respective team members. Peter grinned darkly and nearly fiendishly as he eyed the opposite team across from him. A lot of the Walter Elias boys looked a bit nervous and startled by Peter as if he could stare right into their souls.

"Man, that Peter Banning boy is just inhuman." Mal commented.

"Yeah... Rumor has it that he ran away from home when he was a little kid because his parents couldn't deal with him anymore, then when he came back home, they had another baby and he decided to just leave because he thought that they had replaced him." Evie nodded.

"I heard he's actually like a 5,000 year old vampire and sucks the blood from young victims in order to stay young forever so he'll never die or fail." Lonnie added.

"I heard he's the spawn of Satan sent to Earth in human form so he can torment peers and adults for eternity." Tilly smirked.

"Oh, please, those are all just rumors," Jane scoffed before she looked wide-eyed and anxious at the morbid possibility of those being true. "Uh... Aren't they?"

"Here comes Jay!" The announcer soon called out as Lonnie watched him closely, claiming that she was studying the plays, though she seemed to be watching Jay for a different reason. "Jay, hurdling maneuver at mid-field."

"I'm open!" Ben called out.

Jay then tossed the ball over to Ben before he was suddenly tackled by one of the Pirates.

"Jay makes a nice pass to Benny the Beast through the kill zone!" The announcer continued as Ben soon went to run with the ball before he was suddenly tackled. "Ooh! Only to get tackled by The Pirates': Cubby Barrington!"

"Come on, guys!" Coach Jenkins called out to his team as the cheerleaders continued to dance on the sidelines. "Come on, hustle, hustle!"

"23 seconds left. You could cut the tension with a knife," The announcer continued as everyone was in high suspense. "Chad has the ball and soon tosses it over to Ben! Ben has the ball next and soon runs all the way to the end! The 20! The 30! The 40! And it's... It's a touchdown! He scores! Ben French has won it! What an unselfish play by Jay! What a team! Incredible!"

The Walter Elias audience soon cheered as time ran out and their school had won the game.

"DAMMIT!" Peter snarled as he grabbed his helmet off of his head and slammed it down to the ground and crossed his arms in mild frustration.

Chad was soon shown to be laughing and pointing at him, looking more mature in comparison.

"An absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever with a score of 50 to 45!" The announcer cheered along with them as Coach Malcolm looked like he was throwing a childish temper tantrum. "Here they come, folks. The winners of the second to last football game of the semes-"

"Excuse me. Excuse me. Can I have your attention, please?" Ben called as he rushed by, taking the microphone. "There's something I'd like to say. I'm gonna let you finish, sir." he then told the announcer.

Soon, the crowd stopped cheering temporarily.

"What is he doing?" Evie wondered.

"Hopefully something that'll calm down Audrey for a while." Tilly rolled her eyes a bit.

"Gimme an 'M'!" Ben soon called out through the microphone.

"M!" The crowd called back.

"Gimme an 'A'!"

"A!"

"Gimme an 'L'!"

"What does that spell?!"

"MAL!"

Mal soon sunk in her seat as everyone else in the stands cheered her name. This had to be the most embarrassing moment in her entire life.

"Come on, I can't hear you!" Ben smiled.

"MAL!" The crowd cheered again.

"I love you, Mal! Did I mention that?" Ben smiled as he looked into the crowd to find the girl of his dreams.

The crowd beamed and gushed for Mal as she covered her face awkwardly.

"Oh, for Pity's sake..." Peter scoffed and shook his head. "I don't see what the big fuss is... Pfft... She's just a big ugly girl with purple hair..."

Audrey whimpered from the cheerleading squad and soon ran away as she felt humiliated, but in a different way. Even though Ben was her ex right now, she felt deeply crushed.

"Gimme a beat!" Ben soon told the marching band.

"Uno, dos, tres, quatro!" Doug soon counted in Spanish and strummed up the band.

"Oh, Mal..." Evie frowned as her friend looked very humiliated and sickly.

Ben soon began to sing a song from his heart for Mal, but for her sake, I'm going to spare you the details of the song and any more about it.

Eventually, Shang drove by and picked up the girls. They didn't say anything more about what Ben did around Mal as she looked deathly embarrassed about it as she stared out the window. Evie frowned softly, but also felt confused, especially since Mal was supposed to be Ben's girlfriend and she was sure her new friend would've found the song and dance to be sweet even if it was a bit cheesy and mortifying. Wendy seemed to be in a much better and happier mood as she was playing on her phone. Overall, it was a very interesting night and it was going to get even more interesting, not to mention when they would head back to school.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Hau Li!" Evie called out as she was dropped off in front of the mansion and brought out her house key and unlocked the door before coming on inside.

Evie did her very best to be quiet and tiptoed a bit before looking into the dining room to hear a very sad, crying sound. Even though her mother rarely cried if ever, Evie could tell that her mother was deeply upset about something and decided to go and check on her. Regina wore a thinly strapped black dress with a white pearl necklace and wore her darker lipstick and had on short-heeled black shoes. In front of her was a fused out candelabra and two servings of a roast beef dinner with potatoes, green beans, and two glasses of sparkling cider.

"Mom...?" Evie called lightly.

Regina let out a startled gasp and shot up in her seat before looking over. "Oh! Evie... You scared me..." she then said, putting her hand to her heart and wiped her eyes with her other hand. "Did you just get home?"

"Yes, ma'am," Evie nodded. "...You okay?"

"Oh... I'm fine..." Regina sighed sharply, though she sounded the exact opposite.

"Henry asleep?" Evie guessed.

"He's spending the night at Mr. Nolan's from the animal shelter," Regina said as she wiped her eyes. "Graham called as soon as you left with Mr. Hua Li and offered that we have some dinner together."

"And let me guess, he never showed up?" Evie guessed as she crossed her arms.

"Well... Y-Yes... I'm afraid so," Regina sighed. "I've been waiting for four hours."

Evie sucked her teeth and pouted. "Oh, Mom... Why didn't you call him?" she then asked.

"I didn't want to seem desperate," Regina replied. "Well... I guess I'll just put this food in the fridge now and get some sleep and I highly suggest that you do the same. I'll probably call Graham tomorrow if he isn't too busy at the sheriff's station."

"Mom... I wanna tell you something, but I don't want you to take it the wrong way." Evie frowned a bit.

"Evie, you know you can tell me anything," Regina said as she stood up and went to put the cold dinner plates in the fridge. "Whatever's on your mind, you can just say it. I won't be mad or upset about it."

"I-It's about Graham..." Evie said, trying to find the bravery to say what she wanted to say.

Regina glanced back at Evie then. "...Yes?" she then asked. "Did you see him at the game?"

"No, Mom... Nothing like that..." Evie shook her head before she sat down in the seat across from her mother.

Regina then decided to sit back down across from Evie after putting the food away in the fridge. "Well, go on," she then said. "Tell me what's on your mind."

Evie heaved a sharp sigh. "...I don't really like him."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Mom, but I don't think he's right for you," Evie tried to explain. "I know you think he's great and he takes good care of us, especially looking out for me and Henry, but-"

"But what?" Regina asked. "You hate him?"

"I don't hate him! Really!" Evie insisted, trying to stay strong and bold. "...I just don't think he's the right guy for you. Think about it, he doesn't spend much time with you anymore. Ruby even said that when he had a late call at the office that she saw him at the local bar playing darts."

"I'd like to know what your underaged friend was doing around the bar late into the evening, Evie..." Regina replied coldly as she crossed her arms.

"Oh, Mom, don't be like that..." Evie sighed sharply. "You know what? Never mind."

"What?" Regina sounded firm now. "Why do I have to never mind it?"

"Just forget I even said anything," Evie said as she stood up and went to go up to her room. "I'm tired anyway."

"...Okay, bye." Regina replied, sounding a bit sharp.

"Fine..." Evie pouted.

"You know, I don't find that tone cute and I don't find it funny either," Regina warned her daughter. "That sort of behavior isn't like you, Evie."

"Mom, I'm sorry, I tried to talk down to you and to have you listen to me, but you're just making it hard," Evie frowned. "I'm just not sure if Graham is the right guy for you and I wish you would see my side of this."

"Evie, you're too young to understand," Regina sighed. "I do think going to bed right now is a good idea though."

"...Okay," Evie replied with narrowed eyes. "We're probably just over tired anyway."

Regina nodded as she then went to go to her bedroom.

"...Good night." Evie said softly.

"Bye." Regina replied sharply.

"Mom... Why won't you listen to me?" Evie sighed to herself as she went to get some sleep, heading off to her bedroom as she changed out of her school clothes and right into her pajamas. "Maybe she'll be in a better mood tomorrow..." she then sighed, deciding to not let her theory about Graham rest, but kept it to herself for right now. Hopefully the weekend was going to be better.

A/N: I did my best for the football commentary and unfortunately couldn't get a hold of my older brother and father who are sports enthusiasts to help me out with this chapter, but anyway, this story isn't all about football, so I hope you understand my dilemma and forgive me for that. My goal to end this story is hopefully by December 31st, 2020 (RIP Adobe Flash games btw, I am not looking forward to that... My childhood is going further away from me and I won't be able to even use Flashpoint with the Wayback Machine. Hopefully though 2021 is at least a somewhat better year than 2020 was... Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the story so far despite the hiccups of teen angst and parental drama which will come to an end very soon. Remember to Read & Review though!