Once again, I've been gone too long. Especially with this story. Some real life stuff's been going, but it's starting to die down, so I can get more involved with this website again. Hooraaaay.

Stress with school is at a high point, though, so I can write from experience with this story. Hooraaaay.

Mario had forgotten his fight with Bowser, but it was clear that Bowser hadn't. As soon as he'd seen Mario, he barked, "Today! Four o'clock!" Mario ignored him, but it was in the back of his mind the rest of the day.

Another thing he'd forgotten until he'd gotten on the bus was that he had a girlfriend. Daisy had given him a huge smile paired with a hug and when he sat down next to her, he saw Luigi give him a weird look. Mario thought about telling him, but decided against it. He knew he'd feel like an asshole either way, and he'd rather be an asshole with a brother who wasn't yet mad at him.

"Hey!" Daisy greeted. She had the biggest smile on her face. Mario was a bit taken aback. She was really this happy to see him? He smiled inwardly.

"Hey, Daiz." He stretched his legs out in front of him, sticking his feet under the heater in front of him. "Did we have Calc homework?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." He smiled. "Can I copy off you? I didn't do it."

"Sure." Daisy took the particular piece of homework from her backpack without question. Again, Mario was a little surprised. Daisy had never before let him cheat off her. Then he remembered they were dating. Wow, he thought, this is gonna take some getting used to.

"Wait, why are you letting him copy off you?" Luigi asked from the seat behind them. He was eying Daisy with suspicion.

Daisy shrugged and didn't say any more on the subject.

Peach woke up and, for a few seconds she had forgotten the strange anger she held for Mario. She couldn't figure out why she was mad at him. It was so trivial, but when she saw Daisy kissing Mario, her insides boiled. More than that, though, she felt betrayed.

She dressed herself without putting much thought into it. She skipped makeup and hairspray, as well as breakfast. She just wasn't hungry.

When she checked the clock, she realized she was 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Not wanting to wait for the bus, she decided to take the long way and walk to school.

Hoisting her bag up over her shoulder, she took in the scenery. She had unknowingly gone into a rough neighborhood, the one all the aspiring members of the Koopa Troop lived in. She became uneasy. This was the dumbest place she, future princess of their enemy kingdom, could possibly be. But, she could see a safer street just a few steps away. She smiled at her luck, when all of a sudden a tall, wide koopa blocked her path.

"Bowser." Peach tried not to imply that she was too familiar with him.

He gave her a toothy smile. "Hello, princess." He fell into a pace alongside her. Peach grew more and more annoyed. "Where's all your makeup?"

Peach sighed. "Didn't feel like wearing it. Problem with that?"

"'Course not, toots. You just look a little gray."

"Well, I feel a little gray." She didn't know why she told him this. It's not like she always spilled her emotions to Bowser.

"No, I mean your skin actually looks gray without makeup," Bowser clarified, squinting at her.

"Ex-cuse me?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, sorry!" He raked a claw through his greasy orange hair. "God, you royalty types are so hard to talk to!"

"You're royalty."

"I meant the prissy ones."

Peach crossed her arms, offended. "Don't you have anyone else to annoy?"

"Not really. I just wanted to ask why Mario didn't show up to our little fight yesterday, since you two have a thing going." He said thing like it was an abomination.

Peach shook her head. "Nope, we don't."

Bowser's face lit up. "So you're saying you're available?"

"Piss off." She walked faster, and he made no attempt to catch up.

Mario and Luigi walked, almost ran, to the back of the school to ensure he wouldn't miss the fight again. Luigi fondly called the disagreement Mario's Doom.

"Face it, he's twice as big as you! He'll crush your head like a berry!" Luigi talked animatedly about the various ways Bowser could kill him. Mario paid him no mind. He knew he would win. Bowser all muscle, and too brainless to be on the football team.

When the brothers arrived, there was a small circle formed around the area in which they would fight. Peach and Daisy were both there. Mario wondered if Peach had come just to watch him get beat up.

Luigi clapped him on the back. "Dibs on your Gameboy."

Mario smiled sarcastically. "Thank you."

"Mario!" Bowser was already shouting. Mario figured he should face him quickly before he exploded.

"Hey," Mario greeted casually.

Bowser didn't reply and, without much warning, Mario felt his fist make contact with his face. He slammed into the ground. There were a few cheers from the crowd. Mario jumped up and glared at Bowser.

"That was cheap!" he yelled.

Bowser laughed. "No rules, dude!" He swung at him again, but Mario blocked and countered. Bowser took a few steps back, but recovered quickly. Then, before Mario could react, there were flames all around him. Mario ducked to the ground, hearing shouts from the spectators, wondering how he'd gotten himself into this. Shit, he thought, Bowser can breathe fire!

He stood up when the warmth around him left, and was greeted with another punch to the jaw. Mario rolled with it and kicked him between the ribs. He fell backwards onto the ground.

Mario blinked a few times to clear his head, then laughed when he realized Bowser couldn't get up off his shell. He stood over him and hit him square in the nose. "That'll teach you, Koopa!"

Peach waited until everyone had left. Once she was sure her friends had left, she grabbed Bowser's hand and helped him up. Bowser brushed himself off.

"Which way did he go? I'll kill that cheater!" he yelled, looking around wildly.

"Bowser, shut up. He beat you fair and square, you know it." She fished around in her purse and found a package of band-aids. She offered one to Bowser, who pushed them away forcefully.

He slammed his fist on the wall of the school. A few brick pieces crumbled off and fell in the grass. "I am never going to live this down."

"Probably not." Peach shoved the box of band-aids into his hands. "Your face is bleeding."

He swiped a hand across his face to wipe any blood off. "There. Why did you stay behind anyway?"

"Just wanted to see if you were okay." Peach shrugged. "You seem fine now. I have to go, my dad's gonna wonder where I am." Peach turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!"

Against her better judgment, Peach turned around.

Bowser scratched his head. "I've been kind of an ass to you lately. So, I just wanted to apologize for that."

She nodded. "Okay. I forgive you." She started to leave again.

"You do?"

Peach stopped, but didn't turn around. "Yes." She heard Bowser give a heavy sigh.

"Wow. Thanks. You're really nice."

Peach didn't reply, or even turn around, but as she walked away there was a small smile on her face.