Gretchen didn't know when she started to feel this way about T.J. She wasn't even sure if she really felt that way. All she knew was that she was thinking about him. A lot. That little smirked that played on his lips, sometimes at the most inappropriate times. His perfect brown hair that stuck up in every direction every time a teacher made him take off his hat. It was messy and looked completely untamed, but god, it was sexy. Gretchen looked down at her desk in attempt to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks.

She glanced back up to sneak another peek at the boy sitting at the table in front of her, who was happily chatting with his best friend, Vince, about some sports game that aired the night prior. When had he gotten so perfect? He had lost all of his baby fat before high school and since joining the football team it had been perfect jock physic. How could anyone resist the perfect body, smile, hair, eyes and of course, charm that was T.J. Detweiler?

"Hey, are you okay Gretch?" Vince asked turning towards the girl. "You look kind of hot."

"Uh… Yeah. I am kind of hot. I think I'll go get some water." Proud of herself for coming up with such a quick excuse, Gretchen got up from her desk and rushed out of the classroom.

"What's gotten into her?" Vince looked to his friend.

"I don't know." He replied. "She's been acting weird lately. That's the third time this week that I've caught her staring at me. Maybe she's getting sick." T.J. took his phone from his jacket pocket, being cautious that the teacher wasn't looking, typed a quick message before quickly putting it away again.

"So what's going on with you and Spinelli?" Vince asked, grinning as he leaned towards T.J.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He replied, not bothering to keep a grin his own from coming to his face.

Vince chuckled. "Oh come on. Even Mikey's noticed that the two of you have been spending a lot of time together."

"Mikey sees romance in everything. Last week he was writing a poem about how his beans couldn't live without the love of a hotdog." T.J. laughed. "Our schedules match up for the most part so we see each other a lot and you all have class when we have a spare period so we spend it together. You guys are reading too much into things."

Vince looked seriously at his desk partner. "T.J. We've been friends since before I can even remember. You know you don't need to hide anything from me."

"Vince, my man, there's nothing to hide. Spinelli and I have only ever shared one kiss." He grinned at Vince's shocked expression before going on. "You remember in the fourth grade."

Vince laughed out loud. "That doesn't even count."

T.J. rapped his arm around the basketball MVP's shoulder. "Then it's settled. Nothing's going on."

Gretchen's pocket gave a short buzz. She reached in and pulled out her phone to check the new message. Good old reliable T.J. He had sent a text offering to bring her things to her after class if she wanted to skip the rest of the period. Releasing a sigh, she leant over the sink of the girl's washroom.

"What's wrong with me?" She said aloud to no one in particular. In the ten years that she and T.J. had been friends she had never once thought of him in a romantic kind of way. Sure she had gotten a few butterflies here and there when he made an appearance but she assumed that it would have happened if any member of the opposite sex had shown her any small sliver of attention. So why had her stomach dropped at the thought of Spinelli and T.J. together? She didn't know how long she stood staring at her own reflection before the bell run finalizing classes for the week.

She made her way through the rushing river of students, careful not to bump anyone. Although she hadn't texted T.J. back she knew that when she reached the front door, where she usually met the gang to make their way home, he would be standing with everything roughly shoved in her bag. Hey, he was reliable, not organized. And surely enough, there he was waving at her as soon as she rounded to corner and the doors came into view. As she drew closer she could see Mikey and Vince on either side of him. Mikey smiled and Vince was too caught up in his phone to notice her approach.

"You feeling better now, Gretch?" T.J. asked as he handed over her messenger bag. Vince finally looked up from his device upon hearing her name.

"Yeah, you looked like you were on fire." He shoved the phone into his pocket, giving her his full attention.

"Oh. Yes. I'm fine. Just needed some fresh air." She gave out a fake chuckled to try and kill her own awkwardness just as a thin arm came to wrap around her shoulder.

"Burning up again Gretch?" Spinelli asked.

"Oh dear. What do you mean by 'again'?" Asked Mikey worriedly, brushing his long blond hair over his shoulder. That was about all that had changed about Mikey. He had growing his hair long and dressing more like a hippy but he was still a massive gentle giant.

"Gus said she was turning red yesterday afternoon." She replied. She turned back to Gretchen. "Don't get too sick before the party tonight. I need you to keep me sane around all of the drunken jocks and cheerleaders."

"About that…" Gretchen looked down at her feet. "I'm not really sure if I fit in well enough with that crowed to go to something like that."

"Hey. Since when did you start caring what they thought?"

Gretchen smiled. "I've always cared about what people thought. It's you who doesn't."

"Oh." Spinelli looked thoughtful. "Well you should be a little more like me. They're all stupid anyways." Gretchen smiled at her friend before T.J. cut in.

"That settles that then. The gang's partying tonight!" He cheered. Gus finally appeared and they all agreed to start their walk home