Author's Note: I don't own any of this.

Here's chapter 5! Short chapter. I'm sorry if it sounds too cheesy. . . but remember, Clover fell for Blaine pretty hard in Season 5. No, Arnold isn't using any kind of drugs or enhancing his personality to attract Clover; she genuinely loves him. :) Call it out of character, but this is a fanfic. :P Also, I know the quality may be dropping, and for that, I'm sorry. . . I'm trying to wrap this story up as quick as possible, because I won't have much time on my hands soon.

Once again, I put a good amount of thought, work, and time into this, so I would really appreciate any comments you have to offer. Please, if you read, utilize that nifty little box down there and send me a review! Thanks for reading this; enjoy!

EDIT: I went back and added to the ending of Chapter 3. There is a gap of several months between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. So sorry for not clarifying this earlier! Also, I have slightly expanded the ending of this chapter.

~Chapter 5~

Bright sunlight seeped through the window curtains in Sam's room the next morning. She stretched, yawned, and slowly climbed out of bed. The teenage girl paused when she inhaled captivating smells omitting from the kitchen. She slipped into her house shoes and shuffled into the kitchen half-awake.

When she got there, she was shocked to find a strawberry-blonde boy wearing an apron and oven mitts standing behind their kitchen island, spatula in hand, flipping pancakes. She rubbed her eyes to see if she was dreaming. When she removed her hands, her schoolmate was still there, humming to himself while tending to his food. Slowly the memories of the past few hours flooded back to her. So, it hadn't been a nightmare. She quietly groaned to herself, causing Arnold to look up from his griddle.

"Hello, Samantha; pleasant day today, isn't it?" he asked cheerfully.

"Sure," she answered, though completely unsure. She folded her arms and leaned against the doorpost in an attempt to act casual. "Uh, Arnold, what is this?"

"Breakfast for my three favorite girls," he swooned, then continued his cheerful humming.

"Oh," came the unsteady reply.

A few pancake flips later, Alex walked in, also rubbing her weary eyes. Catching sight of Arnold, she flashed a glance at Sam, whose face shared the same resentful emotion. The short-haired brunette sighed softly and walked over the refrigerator and proceeded to pour herself a glass of milk. After that was accomplished, she, too, crossed her arms and used the appliance to support her weight. The two spies stared off in space as the silence continued, broken only by the crackling breakfast and the occasional quiet sipping of milk. Noting the reticence, Arnold looked up briefly, cleared his throat, and then resumed his griddling. Alex's gaze moved to the skillet.

"Wait a minute. . . Arnold, what are those brown specks in the pancakes?" she inquired.

"Chocolate chips," he stated. "They were in the pantry. I thought I might spruce up these plain old pancakes with a hint of chocolaty flavor. Nothing but the best for my ladies." He smiled.

"Um! Oh!" Alex grunted in surprise, shock, and a bit of anger. Those were her chocolate chips that she had planned on using to bake chocolate chip cookies with tonight. She gazed at Arnold with a look of contempt, as if her staring would burn a hole through their visitor. Sam shifted her eyes between the two.

The incessant lull continued. However, when Clover sauntered in, the three snapped to life, straightening themselves.

"Chocolate chip pancakes? My favorite!" She gave Arnold a quick "good morning" peck on the cheek and put her elbows on the island countertop, leaning into the food and breathing in its potent scent. Her visage displaying delight, the girl looked like she was on cloud nine.

"But Clover, those aren't on your diet," Sam remarked, confused.

"Oh Sammy, come on; they look wonderful," retorted Clover. "And even better, Arnold made them for us." The young man brimmed with pride as he divided the flapjacks onto four plates.

"You never say anything about my pancakes," the youngest spy uttered as they picked up their plates. But Clover didn't hear this and proceeded to eat the breakfast prepared by her admirer, even though it wasn't on her diet.

After the quartet ate, the Clover and Arnold announced that they were going out.

"Oh? Where to?" Sam inquired.

"We thought we might go skating at the park," answered Arnold.

"Skating?" Alex said brightly. "That sounds fun! Hang on, let Sam and me go change and then we can all—"

"Actually, Alex," Clover interrupted, "we were planning on going alone. Y'know, just the two of us?" She and Arnold did a side-hug and smiled at the girls.

"But. . . " the youngest spy stammered.

"It's okay," Sam told the couple. She compassionately wrapped her arm around her Hispanic friend's neck. "Alex and I can do something together while you two go skate. Maybe we'll go buy some more chocolate chips so Alex can make cookies tonight. What if we meet for lunch somewhere?"

"After these delicious pancakes, I don't think I'll be hungry enough," the blonde stated.

"Dinner?"

"Arnold made a reservation for dinner at that new restaurant in town."

"Let me guess, for you two?"

"Yup. Bye, girls!" The pair waved goodbye and headed out the door, leaving Sam and Alex alone and frustrated.

After being lost in deep thought for several minutes, Sam left and returned with her car keys. "Come on, Alex, I'll buy you some more chocolate chips." The two dejectedly disembarked.

"I wonder if Clover's back yet," commented Alex as Sam turned her car onto their street late that night. She and Sam had spent their Saturday at the grocery store, the Groove, their old mall, a local craft fair, and the movie theater. After a long day, both spies were anxious to go home and relax—and see their long-lost friend Clover. As they pulled into their beach home's driveway, both sighed when they saw Arnold's car parked there also.

When Sam and Alex walked in, the house was dark and seemingly desolate. They knocked softly on Clover's door, but the couple was already sound asleep after their busy day. Disgusted with their best friend's recent attitude, the girls turned around and stalked away.