Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't sue. Did I mention that I don't own?

One hour later, it was lunchtime. Tootie and Taylor were sitting at the table by themselves. Timmy, Chester, and A.J. were probably on their way to the cafeteria, but first, they had to change their clothes. After all, they had gym right before lunch. Tootie decided to give Taylor a little quiz.

"So," Tootie began, taking a bite of her sandwich. She swallowed it before continuing, "You now know all of this stuff about me. But what about you? Tell me some stuff about you."

"Well," he said slowly, "I'm from a big family. I have a lot of uncles, aunts, and cousins. But I'm an only child."

"So you were safe from evil older brothers, huh?"

"I think even the evilest of older brothers would be peanuts compared to your sister." he laughed. "Or, they would've been, except now your sister is nice. So, I guess an evil older brother would be kind of a big deal."

Tootie laughed. Taylor slowly chewed his own sandwich as he thought of other things to say. But Tootie asked another question.

"So, I hear that Crocker's your History teacher. How do you like him?"

"Yeah...uh, is he always that crazy?"

"I should think so. Ever since he escaped that institution --"

"Wha--he was in an institution? For what?"

"He was always out to get Timmy. Whenever Timmy succeeded or did something right, Crocker would always claim it was because he had fairy godparents. I personally think he just didn't like Timmy and wanted him to fail in life."

Taylor laughed, "Fairies? Geez. Now, what he does is just mumble about everything, twitch a lot, and talk about a giant green needle that gave him a shot in the backside and went, "Sweet dreams, Crocker." I mean, the man is crazy."

Tootie grinned, "If you got a penny for every time somebody else said that, you'd be a rich man. Super rich!" Tootie could've sworn that when she said that, Taylor went a little bit pale, and his smile faded a bit. But before she got a chance to say anything, Timmy, Chester, and A.J. all sat down at the table.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" A.J. went.

"Not much." Tootie said. She glanced back over at Taylor. He looked as if nothing had happened. Maybe she had imagined it. She looked at Timmy and her heart skipped a beat.

There's something about a guy when he gets out of the shower... she couldn't help but think when she saw him. There was no doubt that he dried off when he got out of the shower in the locker room, but even still, his hair was damp and clung to his face, and his face, neck and arms were shimmering slightly, as if they were still just a bit damp. It reminded her of those models in cologne ads, covered in a light sheen of sweat. She smiled at him. "Hey, Turner."

"Hey, Williams." he gave an innocent smile. Tootie chuckled.

It didn't take long until all of the guys were deep in conversation over who they thought would win the upcoming football game between Arizona State and California State. Tootie took advantage of this time. She tuned them out and thought about Timmy. He was so nice and sweet, and smart. She was so glad that he was giving her a chance at friendship. It was working out rather well. She smiled.

Her thoughts were cut short by the sound of Taylor laughing. She smiled as she watched and returned to her thoughts. Taylor has such a nice laugh. And he's really sweet. Wait a minute, why am I thinking of Taylor? It's supposed to be Timmy I like! I mean...do I--no! It can't be...I can't really like both of them...can I?

After what seemed like hours, the final bell of the day rang, and the students of Dimmsdale High School were free to go home. Chester had to stay after school for a detention. (who knew that asking the cafeteria ladies if the food came from a lab would get you in so much trouble?) A.J. had a science club meeting, and Timmy was going to basketball practice. So it was just her and Taylor.

"So..." he said for the eighth time, as they rode down the street.

"So..." Tootie echoed.

The whole car ride had been full of awkward silence. Tootie kept thinking about how when she had mentioned wealth, Taylor had seemed a bit uncomfortable. Maybe he lives in not-so-nice conditions, like Chester. That has to be it. Then how was his family able to afford moving all the way across the country? Th--

"Oh, this is my street." Taylor said, cutting off her thoughts.

"Oh." Tootie said. She felt ridiculous. Even if Taylor lived in the worst - or best - of conditions, it wasn't her business. She was starting to remind herself of her busybody neighbor, Mrs. Dinkleburg. She used to always stick her large nose in Tootie's business, especially where Timmy was concerned. She noticed that whenever she used to stalk Timmy, or even try to talk to him, Mrs. Dinkleburg would find a way to watch, and raise a curious eyebrow. Tootie shuddered. She certainly didn't want to be like her, so she pushed her thoughts of Taylor aside, and unlocked the car door.

"So, um...I'll see you tomorrow, Taylor..."

"Yeah, I'll see you. Thanks for the ride." he smiled. He kissed his finger and then touched her cheek. Tootie's eyes widened in surprise, and a blush crept onto her face for what seemed like the millionth time that day. She could feel a smile tugging at her lips.

Taylor blushed when he realized what he had done. He quickly snatched up his bag. "Uh...I'll see ya tomorrow, ok?" he said, and quickly leapt out of the car. Tootie watched him walk down the street. He was really cute. And sweet. And kind...What's this? She picked up the small piece of paper that was in the seat where Taylor had been moments ago. She picked it up and read it.

142 Pinaland Drive

It's probably Taylor's address. I mean, he's only been here for two days. He probably doesn't know his address yet. She stuck it in her pocket, making a mental note to give it to him tommorrow. She really didn't want him to walk into someone elses house, thinking it was his own. All the houses in Dimmsdale had a little issue of looking very similar. All of a sudden, she had a thought that surprised her.

Actually, it was more of an idea that was hard to ignore. She really wanted to do it, but something told her it might not be the best idea. Before her unsensible side could tell her otherwise, she drove off. This is for your own good, Tootie. You can't seriously try and attempt that. It's insane! And now, you can take a minute and think about it in a reasonable state. See how ridicuous of an idea it was?

With these reassuring thoughts, she made it home. Just as she got out of the car, her cell phone rang. She answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Tootie. It's Taylor."

"Oh!" Tootie smiled in surprise, "Hi."

"Hi."

There was an awkward pause before either of them spoke again. Part of Tootie wanted to see what he wanted, but at the same time, her mind wandered back to Timmy. She wasn't sure who she liked more. But Taylore distracted her from that the next moment that he spoke.

"Well, I just called to say thanks for the ride. And I wanted to know if you wanted me to chip in for gas money. I mean, I am mooching a car ride from you twice a day. So it'd only be fair, right?"

"It's ok, Taylor. Don't even worry about it. I mean, I have a job, so I can handle it. But that's so sweet of you!" it was all she could do not to giggle.

"Well, are you sure? I mean, it's really not a problem." he insisted. Tootie managed to sound normal as she spoke, "No, really. It's fine. Even though I'm sure that you're rich and all--"

"What?" Taylor suddenly cut in. Tootie's smile faded. Why did he sound like that? "I was joking. Remember, from earlier? When I said that if you got paid every time someone said Crocker was crazy, you'd be rich?"

"Oh." Taylor said.

"Are you ok?" Tootie raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Taylor said quickly."Um, well, that's all I called for. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok..." Tootie said, " Bye."

"Bye."

Tootie closed her phone, confused. What the heck had that been about? She shook her head and sighed. Once again, her idea came to mind. A part of her was telling her that it would be wrong, and to respect Taylor's privacy. But another part of her had a strangely persuasive way of telling her that she needed to do it. With another heavy sigh, she mumbled to herself, "I just know I'll hate myself for this in the morning."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tootie turned of the brights on her car as she approached the street. There were only a few streetlights, and the darkness gave Tootie a chill. Never in her life had she been out this late, with the exception of new years day with her family. And even then, she'd gotten home relatively early. But tonight, she was up long enough to see what the car clock looked like when it flashed 1:32 A.M. Finally, she found the street she was looking for. Pinaland Drive. She didn't pull onto that street, however; she stopped the car and got out, preparing to walk down the other road. She knew she had a long walk ahead of her when she saw the address on the first house: 243 Pinaland. Great. He lives on the other end of the stret.

After a few minutes of walking, what had seemed like an easy deal was turning into a treacherous task. The street was starting on an upward slope. And Taylor would rather walk up this hill every day than be driven? She shook the thought and focused on her surroundings. She noticed that each house she passed seemed to be a bit bigger than the last. The houses akready looked...Like mansions...Tootie gasped as she remembered how he reacted whenever she talked about wealth: as if he was trying to hide something. She started running up the street, and finally, came to an abrupt stop. She'd found 142 Pinaland.

Before her stood a large mansion.