A/N: Look who is back with the next chapter of "The Reality Check & The Handicapped." :D :D

Before we begin, I would like to apologize for how long it has taken me to update this story. Seriously, I posted the previous chapter a couple of weeks before school started and I'm now in my final nine weeks of my junior year. So, I'm so sorry for how long it has taken me.

I hope I didn't scare any of you into thinking I was abandoning this story. Like I said, I'm not quitting any of my stories here on FanFiction. I've just been so caught up in juggling all of my homework, studying, and projects. Nonetheless, I only have until June 1st before I'm free for the summer! :D I'm almost there!

Also, my birthday is coming up! :D May 25th! :D I can't wait! :D

Let me take a moment to also thank all of the people who have took their time to read, review, favorite, and follow this story so far. Seriously, there are no words that could possibly describe how amazing I think all of you are. :) Thank you all so much for your kind words. All of you rock! :D

Remember, reviews make my day! My goal still stands to get at least four reviews per chapter, so please share your thoughts in the reviews or you can PM them to me! :) I appreciate each and every one of them! :)

Also: I would like to congratulate the amazing director, John Hughes (Lord rest his soul). A few months ago, The Breakfast Club had another fantastic anniversary and we were all able to celebrate another great year with it. :) :) It is and always will be a downright amazing movie with great characters, hilarious humor, and overall, a powerful lesson. Don't worry, John. We'll all make sure that this fantastic movie carries on for many more years. God bless. :) *Pumps fist into the air*

Fun Fact: It took me about two-to-three months to create every little detail about Comrade and Roxy. There's still a lot for all of you to read and learn about them. ;)

Well, I believe I shared everything that I wanted to say. It's time to sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Happy reading, everyone! :D


Allison's POV

I curled my fingers up, positioning them like claws before I dug my chipped nails into the farther edge of my table, stretching. My eyes were still tightly clenched shut, trying to shove aside the remaining drowsiness. The last thing I remember before dozing off was glancing around at the other detention goers with this piercing look plastered on my face. As my mom would say, I was 'studying their auroras.' But according to me and my own terms, I was exploring my mind and pulling out as much information as I could about all of these guys. Unfortunately, aside from Comrade and Roxy Alexandrov, what I recalled about the others wasn't very helpful.

Gingersnap - one of Comrade's words, not mine - was just as I expected she would be. I've seen her standing at her locker plenty of times, always fixing her hair and dressed up in the most polished dresses, skirts, and blouses like she was a Ralph Lauren Barbie doll. It sickened me. In the simplest words, she was a snobby pain in the ass who constantly bashed the 'lower class' people and gave them the stink eye.

The annoying stutterer was Brian Johnson. I only knew his name because he was in my algebra class, but we never talked. Hell, I barely made a squeak to anyone. Like the rest of Shermer's well-known nerds, Brian sat in the front of the whole class and was highly intelligent. He also, of course, had a terribly low self-esteem and allowed others to step all over him, judging by how he kept reacting to Bender's comments. I always figured that Brian was insecure, but I was never able to witness it so closely before until today.

Jockstrap, from what I learned just by observing him so far, was a hostile wrestler with a sharp tongue. Like the Princess, I've also seen him in the halls between classes. He was always walking with his group of athletic friends, laughing obnoxiously as they took turns flexing their muscles and giving each other high fives. It always made me roll my eyes, but every time I laid my eyes on Sporto, the same thought swept across my mind: he was very insecure. It might've not been completely noticeable, but I could detect insecurity from miles away. He constantly felt like he had to include his two cents, refusing most of the time to think his words through before he said them.

John Bender ... everyone - even the freshmen - knew about him. He was known as the toughest badass in all of Shermer High School. Nearly everybody was terrified of him, even the teachers. I sure as hell wasn't, but I guess my lack of fear was a side effect of how often I left my house and stayed on the streets to avoid the constant arguing and neglect of my parents. I didn't just see Bender between classes or smoking pot with some of his buddies behind the school after hours, but I sometimes spotted him wandering through my neighborhood by himself. And judging by the multiple cuts, bruises, and bandages I've seen him with over the past months, it was safe for me to believe that something else was secretly going on in his life. Still, that didn't change how much of an irritating pervert he was.

And lastly, there was none other than Comrade and Roxy. They were the only friends I had in my life, considering I was very much against socializing. Not like I had a choice; everyone in this shit hole thought that I was insane. Before they moved here from Russia, the only person - or rather thing - I had to count on was my black cat, Eclipse. Their grandparents and them were my home away from home, not including the many dark alleyways I've spent hours sitting around in. I could spend this whole detention talking about them, but saying it like this was much easier: they were complete opposites.

Comrade, despite his camouflaged depression, was a walking and breathing reality check that didn't two shits about the consequences of his brutal honesty. He was willing to do anything - and I mean anything - to drill his points through the thick skulls of others. Roxy, on the other hand, might've possessed her own sassy attitude and cursed some people out in Russian, but she still used her heart to think more than her head on a daily basis. She gave herself a limit and refused to cross it, which is why she - unlike Comrade - never landed herself in detention. That is, until today.

Needless to say, the two of them were my best friends ... and nothing pissed me off more than listening to how Vernon talked to them. Especially Comrade.

I kept my head hanging, scrunching my chin up into my neck as I rose my shoulders up to my ears and rolled them in a couple of circular motions.

Crack, crack, crack.

After that, with my nose crinkled and the right corner of my mouth curled back to expose some of my teeth, I pulled myself forward and arched my back like a feline. Almost instantly, I felt - and also heard - a mild pop come from the lower half of my back, just around my spine. A smirk smeared molded its way across my mouth. As painful as the noises sounded, the feeling I got when I cracked my bones was always amazing.

I drew myself back so my shoulder blades were perfectly lined up against the back of my seat. Then, while keeping my arms relaxed, I twisted my double-jointed wrists around a few times.

Crackle, crackle.

And finally, to get rid of the small - but extremely annoying - kink in my neck, I slowly turned my head to the right and waited about four seconds before yanking the muscle back.

Pop.

The relaxing sensation electrocuted through my body again, making my smirk broaden a bit more. I finally opened my eyes back up, but when I did, it immediately came to my realization that all of my fellow detainees - as well as Dick - were staring at me, no longer sleepy. Once again, amused grins were spread widely across Comrade and Roxy's faces. The Diva, on the other hand, had her sludgy mud eyes sharply narrowed in a mixture of scorn and disgust, piercing right through me. Sporto's eyebrows were uneasily raised, as if he of all people never heard a bone crack before. And lastly, Bender and Brian looked like they were about to have their eyes fall out of their sockets from shock.

It was deja vu - an exact replay of what had happened with my nail-biting earlier. The only difference was Vernon's demented glare; and I could tell from the look in his bitter eyes that he believed that I should've been spending my Saturday in an insane asylum instead of detention.

My sneaky smile vanished from my face, only to be replaced by a small scowl. It took less than a second for my eyes to grow hard, jumping around and taking in all of the different faces that were around me. Turns out, I was being nailed with so much attention that half of me started to feel like I was shrinking in my seat right then and there; but the other half - my stronger half - didn't give a shit about it.

Eventually, I reacted by dropping my jaw and slowly running the tip of my tongue across my bottom lip, as if I was saying, 'What in the hell are you all staring at?'

In return, the Delinquent, the Dweeb, and the two preppies turned themselves carefully back around in their seats. It was like they thought that if any of them moved too fast, I would lunge out of my seat and try to strangle someone from the movement. Damn it, I'm not that weird. Comrade and Roxy, on the other hand, continued to stare at me for a few extra seconds with their entertained smiles still covering their faces. By the time they decided to glance away, Roxy had her lips sunk into her mouth to prevent chuckling. At least that made my scowl soften a little.

"All right," Dick announced as he glanced around the library. With that stern glimpse still in his eyes, he scanned me and the other detention goers. "It'll escort the seven of you down to the lavatory. When we get there, you all will go in, do your business, and then come back out." The sharpness enhanced in his voice as he jumped his attention back over to Bender and Comrade, double-taking them. "There will be absolutely no lollygagging of any kind. I will not tolerate any of it. What do you want, Mr. Alexandrov?" While Bender had rolled his eyes at the warning to not pull any shenanigans in the bathroom, Comrade had raised his arm up into the air. His fingers were spread widely apart, making it look like he was about to give someone a high-five; and by the careless look on his face, it was difficult to believe that he had actually been smiling just a moment before.

"I want a one-way ticket out of this shit hole, but I guess I'll settle for asking an actual question. Why in the hell do you have to escort us to the bathroom?" Comrade asked. His intensely blue eyes - I've drawn those eyes dozens of times - were narrowed in mock confusion. "If you haven't noticed, Dick, we aren't damn preschoolers anymore." He gave a quick gesture around the room at the word 'we,' right before he crossed his arms over his chest.

Mr. Vernon narrowed his eyes. "Watch it, Mr. Alexandrov! I'm warning you, you are already on extremely thin ice," he scolded, pointing a finger at Comrade like he really was a preschooler. "You better get a hold of your damn tongue, or else I'll-"

"What?" Comrade exclaimed, cutting Dick off and making Brian jump like a terrified bunny in his chair. Comrade rolled his eyes, but it was easy to detect the note of amusement that was now implanted in his accent. "Tell me, Richard, what will happen? What else could there possibly be for you to do? You already sentenced my ass here for another seven weeks."

Dick opened his mouth, no doubt ready to throw another threat in Comrade's face, but before he could get a word out, somebody else beat him to it.

"Uh, I'm sorry if it's not my business..." It was Brian, who's voice was drenched in nervousness. In less than a second, Comrade's eyes darted over to him, now narrowed and swarming with darkness. "But Mr. Vernon here originally gave you six more weeks of detention, but it changed to eight weeks after you spit that - uh - apple seed at him." As if it was proof, the Nerd held up eight fingers - just like he had earlier when he held up seven to correct Vernon on how many new detentions Bender was assigned.

Comrade clicked his tongue in his mouth and tilted his head, as if he was taking the time to think Brian's statement through. "You know what? You're right, dork ... this isn't any of your business." Comrade sneered. He leaned forward in his chair until his chest was resting directly against the edge of his table. "Now how about you do the rest of us a favor and shut your mousy ass the hell up?"

In less than a second, Roxy flung her arm out and smacked Comrade in his arm. It - from my few personal experiences - wasn't enough force to cause any pain, but the slap of her palm against the leather of his jacket was enough to make a smack sound echo through the library.

"Comrade, shush!" Roxy quietly ordered. Her voice was both fierce and anxious, but in the silence, she might as well have been yelling at the top of her lungs.

Comrade, nonetheless, was left unfazed by the slap. His glare remained perfectly straight on his face, watching as Brian hung his head in embarrassment and twisted himself back around in his chair, twirling his thumbs around. I also noticed the redhead staring in the direction of his table with utter disbelief covering her dollish face. Her eyes were huge and her jaw looked like it was about to fall all the way down to the floor. Damn, even the Princess couldn't believe how Comrade was treating one of her 'subjects.' But like I said before, he's brutally honest.

"That's enough, Mr. Alexandrov!" Mr. Vernon snapped. "If you keep that shitty attitude of yours up, I'll be sure to arrange a home visit to have a little chat with your grandparents!"

At the mention of a home visit, Comrade's eyes widened a bit in surprise, almost resembling the glass eyes of a porcelain doll. Though, his silence didn't last long. "Good! At least that way, they can hear my side of the story and call the police on your ass right then and there for being a pedophile! I mean, seriously," he shot a quick glance in my direction and sarcastically shrugged, "what kind of principal stands outside the restrooms and listens to some of their students relieving themselves?"

I had to bite down on my bottom lip to keep myself from laughing. It was much easier said than done, considering my cheeks started to hurt from my amused smirk and a couple of very quiet snickers managed to leak out of my system.

Roxy, despite how she had just smacked Comrade and commanded him to be quiet, was now wrestling with a smile. Not only that, but I happened to notice that she was locking her jaw in place and pinching herself just a few inches above the knee to also prevent cracking up.

The Jock and Beauty Queen glanced at each other, exchanging their impatient glares.

Bender, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and silently mouthed a long string of curse words to himself. I was a master at reading lips, and let's just say, the Delinquent wasn't planning on becoming a companion or an ass-kisser to the Reality Check at all.

"Damn it, Mr. Alexandrov! That's it!" Vernon bellowed, looking like he was on the verge of having hot steam pour out of his nostrils and ears. "I swear, if you don't shut your mouth right now, I'm sure as hell going to-"

Suddenly, Roxy shot her hand into the air, holding it up as high as she could. Whether Dick had silenced himself because he was caught off guard or because he didn't know how else to shake some sense into Comrade, I didn't know. I was just glad that he had stopped yelling at Comrade and making him look like a worthless shithead in front of me, his own sister, and the other detention goers.

"Excuse me, Mr. Vernon? Sir?" Roxy spoke up. She kept her voice soft and calm, almost like she was overflowing with sudden shyness as she lowered her arm. That, I knew without a freckle of doubt, was an act. Roxy, along with Comrade, both possessed the talent to sound and look innocent whenever they wanted.

Reluctantly, the Principal flicked his scowl away from Comrade and locked it on Roxy. "What is it, Miss Alexandrov?" His gruff voice was still seething in anger, giving it away that he was fully prepared to threaten her with more Saturday detentions if she tried mouthing off. By the new look in his eyes, it was like he was thinking to himself, 'I loathe that there's two of them. One is horrible enough.'

Comrade viciously narrowed his eyes. "You better watch that tone of yours, Dick," he snarled, clearly unbothered by Vernon's previous warnings. "Show some respect. That's my sister you're talkin' to." He gave a small gesture towards Roxy at the mention of her, but the Principal didn't care to acknowledge him that time.

"Whether you escort us down to the lavatory or not, can we please go now?" Roxy asked, still maintaining that perfect inoffensive tone. Plus, to make the act even more believable, she now had her hands folded on top of the table. "The seven of us really do need to use the bathroom, sir."

Jockstrap, despite how the Principal wasn't looking at him, nodded his head a little to back Roxy up. At the same time, the redhead straightened herself up in her chair, as though she was getting ready to stand.

Mr. Vernon remained silent, warily eyeing Roxy for a couple of more seconds. After that, he slowly slid his attention back over to Comrade and shot him a dangerous scowl that said, 'I dare you to say something else, you hear me? This isn't over, Alexandrov!' In return, I could tell that Comrade must've received the message. As soon as I opened my mouth and started to nibble on the end of my pen again, I witnessed him carelessly roll his eyes. By the solid glare that he was shooting back at the Principal, it was like he was saying, 'Tell it to my middle fingers, bitch.'

"All right," Vernon announced, sounding just as stern as always. "I'm going to go get the key from my office. Until I get back, I expect all of you to stay in your seats and not make a damn sound." He glanced all around, his eyebrows now raised in dead serious as he studied me and the other detention goers. "I'll only be out for a minute. If I come back in here and see the tiniest thing out of place, I'll be sure to make this Saturday a living hell for the seven of you!"

Cherry, Wrestle Mania, and Brian seemed to tense up in their chairs almost immediately, just as Comrade released a quiet groan. I, on the other hand, slowly narrowed my eyes and continued to chew on my pen, unfazed by the threat. Roxy looked just as unbothered as I was, remaining in her calm and innocent pose with her attention drawn in the direction of Mr. Vernon's voice; but knowing her, I could tell that she was choking down her temper. And Bender...

"Congratulations, Dick," he sneered sarcastically, "you're off to a great start."

With no hesitation, Vernon shot vicious daggers in Bender's direction. Though, instead of saying anything back, all Vernon did was raise his index and pinky fingers again, reminding the Criminal that he already had two more months to spend in this shit hole. That was all it took to make the small, triumph smirk disappear from Bender's face.

"I'll be right back. Stay in your seats!" Finally, after saying those last words, Dick turned away and headed towards the main entrance. Everyone's eyes followed him, seeming to pay no attention to how Bender had raised his middle finger and was in the middle of flicking Vernon off.

When the Principal pushed the door open, it loudly screeched, causing me to bite down on my pen a little harder. Then, as soon as it slammed shut behind him, announcing his exit, Roxy didn't think twice before dropping her calm and sensitive act. She unfolded her hands and seeped back into her chair, mumbling some words in Russian under her breath. Now, I wasn't fluent in Russian - yet - but I could still make out some of the stuff that she was saying. And let's just say, she was beyond irritated.

"Finally," Roxy groaned, eventually switching back over to English. "I was beginning to think that he was never going to leave. Damn, what an ass."

Bender swiveled around in his chair, and as soon as he locked his attention on Roxy, a flirtatious smirk twisted across his lips. "Well what do you know? The Russian Beauty isn't afraid to cuss more after all. And here I was beginning to believe that..." The Criminal paused, his mouth remaining open in a staged manner as he eyed the silver crucifix that was hanging around Comrade's neck. "...That you were too good to use indecent language; especially towards Rich. Didn't your mother ever teach you and Russian Massacre to respect your elders?"

At the mention of Mrs. Alexandrov, I tensed up. My eyes widened a bit. Neither Roxy or Comrade ever took the time to talk about their parents to anyone. Even I didn't know the tiniest piece of information about their dad; as for their mom, the only thing that Comrade told me about her was that she was dead. Not only that, but they never brought up the reason behind why they left Russia and moved in with their grandparents in the first place. And despite my curiosity, I wasn't going to force it out of them ... at least not yet.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to keep your mouth shut unless you were being talked directly to?" Roxy asked, staring boldly in Bender's direction. Her cheeks perfectly resembled two smoldering pools of lava. "And what exactly would you of all people know about respect?"

"You'd be surprised." Mischievous sparks soared through Bender's eyes as he rested his arm across the back of his seat. "I've shown plenty of girls respect and made them all feel like they were on top of the world ... if you get what I mean." He finished with a suggestive wink.

Almost instantly, the Diva cringed in disgust. A light shade of green - barely noticeable - slipped across her cheeks, mixing in with her pale pink blush as she quietly gagged.

Unsatisfied, I wrinkled my nose and continued to chew the end of my pen, as if I was a rabbit nibbling at a carrot.

At the same time, Roxy couldn't help but release a disturbed huff. Though, her silence didn't last long. Her lips curled back, and despite how she was still wearing her dark glasses, I could tell that her eyes were now bitterly narrowed.

"You are absolutely repulsive," Roxy growled through almost entirely clenched teeth. "I wouldn't be caught dead with you anywhere outside of this damn place."

At the sound of that, Bender's prideful grin vanished and was immediately replaced by a suspicious glare. "Why not?" he asked, now sounding like he was in the middle of challenging Mr. Vernon. Venom invaded his voice, sharpening each of his words. "Are you afraid? Is that it, are you scared to hang out with me? You're terrified of the possibility that I'll be the one to show you how to make your life worth living?"

For a moment, I ripped the pen out of my mouth and tightened my jaw. My shaggy bangs chopped down across my forehead, hiding my eyes as I shot daggers at my latest drawing of an old-fashioned bridge in the wintertime. Eventually, as I drew in one deep breath after another to help maintain my impatience, I peeked over in Bender's direction and silently mouthed "Shut up..." If only he had been looking at me to see it.

Roxy slowly readjusted herself in her chair, straightening her back and pinching the hem of her denim skirt. Right now, I didn't fully know if she was doing that to prevent it from riding up or doing it just to distract herself. Either way, by the look on her face, she was at a definite loss of words from being caught off guard. Comrade, on the other hand, looked like he was on the verge of exploding. A murderous glare was plastered on his face and smothered in an intimidating shade of scarlet. His left eye was also twitching a little. Damn, even while he was mad, I had to admit that he still looked pretty good.

Then, as if he had sensed me looking at him, Comrade turned his head in my direction and locked his eyes on me. I placed the pen back between my teeth and continued to gnaw on it as I ran my fingers through my bangs, pushing them aside so my face could be seen better. And as soon as our eyes met, the redness drained from Comrade's face and his scowl started to fade away. I didn't know why, but I had that effect on him, just like he had that effect on me. I didn't get as angry as him, but we still kept each other in line; and I honestly loved that.

"If that's what you need to tell yourself in order to feed your precious ego, then fine," the Handicapped scorned, "but it won't change the fact I'm not planning on spending my life around any pricks like you."

Bender tilted his head a little to the right, as though he was mentally undressing Roxy. The naughty glint returned to his eyes, just as his mouth morphed into another smug smile. He actually liked seeing Roxy get all riled up; whether it was because this was most likely his first time actually trying to convince a girl to sleep with him and he was finding it amusing or because he just liked pushing her buttons for fun, I couldn't think of a positive answer. The only thing that I was actually sure of was that he thought she was attractive.

"Well, I don't see how in the hell that's going to work, Russian Queen." Bender informed. The concern that was in his voice was noticeably staged, and he flipped his dark hair out of his face as he flicked his attention over to Comrade. Though, he kept his words directed at Roxy as he added, "After all, you have no choice but to spend your whole life related to one."

Comrade let out a quick and dry laugh. "Bender, I think you should focus less on coming up with these pathetic insults and more on making an appointment to get neutered as soon as possible." The Reality Check then stood up from his chair and stretched, unfazed by Vernon's orders to stay seated. "Who knows, maybe if we're lucky, the doctor will also throw in a free operation to remove your tongue."

Immediately, the Hooligan's satisfaction drained away from his face. He sent Comrade a deadly scowl and raised his gloved hands up to his chest, positioning his fingers to make it look like he was strangling someone before snapping their neck. In return, Comrade raised an eyebrow, as if that was his way of saying, 'Bitch, is that really the best threat you can pull off?'

"All right, that's enough!" Sporto sneered, sounding a lot like Mr. Vernon. He curled one of his hands into a fist and tapped his knuckles against the table, refusing to spare a second to glance at Comrade or Bender. "How about we all just keep our mouths shut? Vernon's going to come back at any minute and he's pissed enough. You boneheads better keep it in mind that I'm not planning to miss my meet next Saturday due to any of you."

Comrade rolled his eyes. "Sporto, in case you haven't noticed, I couldn't possibly care less about what's on your agenda. Save it for someone who actually gives a shit."

Roxy pinched the bridge of her nose, grumbling some more unpleasant words under her breath in Russian. But aside from that, the whole library surprisingly managed to fall silent. The Jock, clearly lost in thinking about what the Reality Check just said to him, sent a bitter scowl down at his and the Snob's table. Bender hesitantly shifted himself back around in his chair, but not without sending the Handicapped a solid look that gave it away that he wasn't anywhere near finished with her yet.

Just then, as Brian started to bob his head from side to side and Roxy let out an exasperated sigh, I noticed Comrade approaching my table from the corner of my eye. He was staring directly at me, not even bothering to hide his smug smirk as he jammed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. His bangs fell in front of one of his eyes, hiding it from view. Til' this day, a piece of me still finds it hard to believe that he doesn't have a girlfriend.

I turned my head to return his stare, and as soon as I did, a subtle grin twisted up on one of the corners of my mouth.

"Wow, Reynolds, you definitely are full of surprises." Comrade chuckled by the time he reached my table. He took a seat on the edge, instantly folding his legs like an Indian underneath him and refusing to break his hypnotic eyes away from mine. "I didn't expect to have you of all people in my presence today."

I shrugged, keeping my smile on as I continued to chew on my pen. In return, Comrade playfully narrowed his eyes and smacked his lips.

"Damn, that sure does look appetizing. Mind if I have a bite?" He leaned over, finally shoving his bangs out of the way. There was still a fair distance between us, but I could still smell his cologne and the freshness of mint gum laced around his accent.

I raised my eyebrows and staged a small cough to choke back on a laugh. Pulling the pen out from between my teeth, I clicked it shut, wiped it off against my oversized sweater, and handed it over to him.

Comrade smiled, positioning the pen between his middle and index fingers before he brought the tip up to his mouth. Then, without waiting, he started to gnaw on it like he was a dog viciously that was attacking a bone. The whole time, he refused to break his attention away from me; and this time, I had to bite down on my bottom lip to prevent myself from bursting out into a fit of laughter. In return, Comrade started to flirtatiously growl while he chewed on the pen's tip. Eventually, after about fifteen seconds, he took it out of his mouth and gave it back to me, quietly snickering.

"Thanks, Basket Case."

Grinning, I let out a small squeak that sounded like it belonged to a raccoon and traced the end of the pen across my lips. It didn't take long for me to notice that it looked like Comrade was staring at my mouth. The two of us started to melt into the library's silence, but I couldn't resist continuing to stare into Comrade's eyes. No matter how many times I tried looking away, I kept hearing the sound of my own voice echoing in my brain, telling me, 'He makes you feel secure. Face it, you don't want to look away from him.' By this point, I decided to forget about the pen, dropping it down to the table. For the first time in God knows how long, I could've sworn there was innocence glistening in my eyes - actual innocence, not fake.

And suddenly, the Reality Check started to slowly lean towards me. To me, it seemed like his attention was still on my lips, as if he was in some type of trance. For a moment, I managed to drag my eyes away from his, tracing my gaze down until it landed on his lips. My mouth watered a little. At the same time, my heart felt like it was beginning to pick up the pace, skipping a couple of beats every few seconds. Then ... Comrade froze and made eye contact with me again, raising an eyebrow.

I pursed my lips and arched an eyebrow back, mimicking him. Our noses were inches away from touching.

A few seconds of silence went by before Comrade sent me another one of his typical, rebellious grins. After that, he shifted his head a little to the side and muttered close to my ear, "I need to borrow your bag." Immediately, I raised my arched eyebrow a little more, making it clear that I was asking, 'How come?' My sling bag might as well have been my most valuable possession. It was like my artwork didn't even compare to it. I could always redraw pictures and find ways to make them better. But my bag was a different story. No matter where I went, I always made sure that I had it with me ... after all, you never know when something might happen.

"I have some stuff in my knapsack that I need to give to you ... and I sure as hell want to get it all out of my possession." Comrade whispered. He even used his fingers to add air quotes when he said the word 'stuff,' and his smirk broadened. "Don't get me wrong though. I'm sure that I would look pretty damn irresistible in see-through lace and silk undergarments; but I'm afraid that you and I don't share the same size."

That time, I failed to hold my laughter back, throwing my hand up to my mouth and feeling the amusement race through my body. Turns out, it didn't take long for me to draw the attention of the Prom Queen, the Rebel, and the Dweeb. At the sight of them staring at me and Comrade - the Snob having her eyes narrowed in disapproval, Bender looking like he was trying to figure out what was going on, and Brian battering his eyes in confusion - I curled my hand into a fist and pretended that I'd really been coughing. Of course, it was obvious that they weren't going to fall for it, but at least it was enough to get them to turn away and go back to minding their own business.

"The next time Roxanne goes shopping for you," Comrade said after I glanced back at him, "would it kill you to make a request for granny panties and baggy T-shirts instead of lace boy shorts and lingerie?"

In less than a second, my eyes gleamed with mischievousness and my lips peeled back, forming a huge smirk. It spread practically ear-to-ear across my face, exposing my dimples and a lot of my teeth as a few remaining snickers escaped from my system. I flung my hands down to my lap, straightening my back against the back of my seat as I folded them together against my ankle-length skirt. My hair framed the sides of my face, and a few strands of my scruffy bangs were already sticking against my forehead again as I lip synced the words, 'Don't act like you have a problem with it, Reality Check.' I then tilted my head a little over to the side, sending Comrade a wink.

He opened his mouth to say something back, but before he could get a word out, Roxy spoke up with her accent was drenched in seriousness.

"Comrade, you need to sit back down in your chair right now. Mr. Vermin will be walking back through those doors at any minute."

"All right, all right. I'm coming." Comrade assured. He untangled his legs from underneath him, shifting out of his Indian position and hopping off from my table. After that, he turned back around, staring down at me with his shoulder-length hair dangling perfectly in his face. "Well, Al? Am I going to have to keep carrying around your special items, or am I allowed to borrow your bag?"

Still smirking at the thought of him wearing silk boxers, I nodded and retrieved my gray bag from where it was slumped on the floor, handing it over.

A sly grin spread across Comrade's face. He slipped the strap over his head and flipped his hair back. "Well, Basket Case..." Comrade then bent over and planted a gentle kiss against my forehead, right before he sent me a playful wink. "Pleasure doing business with you."

I could've sworn I felt a wave of heat tingle across my cheeks, and my smirk broadened a little.

Suddenly, the sound of another door creaking open in the hallway erupted through the air. With no hesitation, my grin vanished from my face; the Princess and Roxy straightened themselves up in their chairs, just as Brian, Bender, and the Athlete shot their attention in the direction of the library's main door. Comrade's eyes widened a little, and he mumbled a quick word in Russian - which I'm pretty sure meant 'shit' - under his breath before he sprinted back over to his chair. As soon as he plopped down beside Roxy, there was literally a split second left to spare before the door flew open and Dick came strolling back in. Damn, took him long enough to find the bathroom key.

That same cold glare was still printed on his face, showing no signs of vanishing. For a moment, the Principal remained silent, cuffing his arms behind his back as he glanced around at me and the other detainees to make sure that nothing had been moved out of place since he left. His bitter eyes continued to jump back and forth from Comrade to Bender, targeting them with his scowl before he glanced around at the rest of us.

"All right, we're going to make this fast." Vernon growled. "All of you, up on your feet. Right now. Come on, let's get this over with."


A/N: And another chapter is finished! :D :D

I hope you all enjoyed it! :) :) Keep in mind, I'm wrapping up my final nine weeks of my junior year and I get out of school on June 1st. I'm not quitting any of my stories no matter what, so don't worry about that. I've just been busy these past few months. Nonetheless, I'll never abandon my writing. :)

Stay tuned for the next chapter, everyone! :D Until then, happy reading and writing to you all! :D

God bless! :) :) :D :D

THE BREAKFAST CLUB FOREVER!