A/N: Yay chapter four, which means we're closer to chapter five! I'm so excited!

I really like this chapter, because not only does it provide the last bit of imporant information before the main plot starts, but it shows the interactions between Kimberly and her friends, which is so much fun to write, especially Jacob. You'll see as you read on. I based him off one of my friends, so it's really fun.

Thanks to everyone for their support and patience!

Chapter Four
The Photograph

Kimberly and her accomplices in crime sat under their tree for hours, waiting for Lancer to leave his room so they could open the drawer and finally discover what it was that Lancer looked at after he talked with Kimberly.

"Does this guy ever leave the school?" Jacob asked as he added another leaf to the already large pile of sticks and leaves in front of him.

"I'm starting to think that he doesn't. What time is it?" Noelle asked, doodling in the dirt with a stick as she lay on her stomach in the grass.

"Quarter to five," Kimberly answered with a sigh. They'd been out there for almost two hours.

"I rest my case. He's the teacher that clarifies the theory that teachers live in the school. Tomorrow I'm going to examine the classroom and see if I can find a spot where a bed is hidden behind a wall or under the floor."

"Jacob, don't be stupid. He's got to leave at some point," Noelle reasoned.

"Well hopefully that 'some point' comes soon," Kimberly remarked as she continued to stare at the windows to Lancer's classroom, waiting for the light to turn off.

"Maybe he doesn't turn the light of his room off. What if he really left a long time ago but never turned the light off?" Noelle asked.

"Wishful thinking. People don't pack up their stuff and lock the door without turning out the light."

Finally they ceased seeing the yellow light through the window as the light was shut off.

"Thank the Lord," Kimberly remarked as she stood up. White rings of light formed around her waist, transforming her clothes into a black and white jumpsuit, her black hair to a white ponytail, and her blue eyes to glowing green. She grabbed her two friends and turned all three of them invisible and intangible and flew up through the window and into the deserted classroom. She headed towards the desk drawer while Noelle flipped on the lights.

"Man, he even has the desk drawer locked," Kimberly remarked as she looked at the drawer. "Must be something important. What do you…Jacob, what are you doing?" she asked as she looked up and saw him walking slowly around the room, his hand on his chin.

"Looking for the hidden bed, and maybe a fridge and a couch."

"You can't be serious," Kimberly remarked in disbelief.

"Hey Kimberly, do you think you could fly through the gap in between the walls and see if you can see a bed or something?"

"Oh God, he is serious," Noelle stated as she continued to stare at him.

"Jacob, can we please focus on what we came up here for?" Kimberly asked.

"I'm listening. You may have come up here for the puzzling object, but I came up here to solve the mystery."

Noelle sighed. "We've already had proof that your theory's wrong. Lancer left, which means he can't live here."

"He could have just left to get some food. I have yet to find a fridge or a microwave."

"Yeah, and you have yet to find a bed either."

"Which is why I'm still looking for it."

"I give up. Just see what's in the drawer."

Kimberly nodded and stuck her hand through the drawer, feeling around for something interesting, something out of the ordinary.

"You'd think he'd keep it right on top since he looks at it so often," Kimberly muttered as she continued to sift through the contents of the drawer. "Oh screw this." She placed both hands into the drawer and pulled out the entire contents of the drawer.

"You know, this probably isn't the best thing to be doing," Noelle commented as she saw that the paper on the top was a graded essay.

"Got any better ideas? I can't find it and if, by some miracle, Jacob's theory is right, Lancer might be coming back soon. Plus, it's not like I'm doing anything with them."

"With what?" Jacob asked as he turned his attention away from the wall. "Hey, are those essays?" he asked excitedly as he ran over to the desk, his theory forgotten.

"No," Noelle reprimanded as she grabbed the stack of papers and held them to her chest.

"Oh come on. Why won't you let me look at my grade?"

"Because I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later. We shouldn't even have these out anyways."

"It's not like I'm going to change it or anything," Jacob begged as he stretched his hands out towards the stack of papers.

"I said no!" Noelle fought as she jerked the papers away from him. As she did, something fell out of the papers. Kimberly saw it and dove for it, catching it before it hit the floor.

"Now look what you did!" Noelle yelled at Jacob.

"What I did? Hey, you're the one who had to jerk them out of the way in the first place."

"Only because you wouldn't listen!"

As they bickered, Kimberly looked at the object she had caught. It was a wooden picture frame with a nice oak finish. She flipped it over and looked at the picture. It was a black and white photo with Lancer standing next to a boy in a graduation cap and gown. The boy was smiling wide and Lancer had his hand proudly on the boy's shoulder.

"Guys, I think this is it," she interrupted as she stood up. They immediately stopped their banter and looked at the picture.

"So this is what Lancer pulls out after class all the time?" Noelle asked.

"But it's just a photograph of some guy," Jacob added, his voice colored with depression. "I was hoping it was something more interesting."

"There must be something important about this boy. Does Lancer have a son?" Kimberly asked.

"I don't think Lancer even has a wife," Noelle added sadly.

"That's because no one wants to live at the school with him."

Noelle and Kimberly groaned as they looked back at the picture.

"It's strange, but there's something familiar about this boy," Kimberly stated as she continued to look at the boy in the picture.

"What do you mean?" Noelle asked.

"It just seems like I've seen him before, somewhere. I can't put a finger on it, but I know I've seen him before."

"Maybe it would help if the picture was in color," Jacob suggested. "And who makes a photo in black and white any more? I mean, it can't be that old, since Lancer doesn't look too young."

"Maybe that's Lancer's dad and the boy is Lancer," Noelle suggested.

"No, this is definitely Lancer. No one looks that much like their father."

"Well I don't know, but I doubt continuing to stare at the photo will help us any. It's time for dinner and I'm hungry, so let's go."

"Yeah, Lancer could be coming back any minute now."

"Alright," Kimberly agreed, though she didn't want to pull herself away from the mesmerizing picture. There was just something about that boy…

She grabbed her two friends and turned them invisible and intangible.

"Hey, why don't we just wait here for Lancer?" Jacob asked as Kimberly was about to fly them out the window.

"What?" Kimberly and Noelle both asked, though Kimberly had a feeling she didn't want to know.

"We can sit in here, invisible, and watch him. Then we can know for sure whether or not he lives in the classroom or not."

Kimberly groaned and lifted them up into the air, flying them out of the classroom, to Jacob's protests.

After dropping her friends off, Kimberly arrived at her house, entering through the front door. She headed to her father's study and knocked on the door.

"Enter," her father permitted and she opened the door to his study. She always loved this room and swore that one day she'd get her own study just like it. The walls were lined with bookshelves, including the back of the door. There were busts of famous philosophers intermingled with the books on the shelves. The room was usually dim, since the only light was a Victorian lamp on her father's desk that lit up the desk and the immediate area around it.

"Ah Kimberly. Back from Jacob's I see?"

"Yup. Just came in to let you know I'm back."

"Excellent. Have a lot of homework?"

"Of course. But I'll finish it in time."

"I assume you had dinner there?"

"Oh, yup," she answered, hoping that her starving stomach wouldn't give her away. Only after changing to her normal form did she realize that she was absolutely starving.

"Good, because we ate without you."

"That's all right."

Her father smiled. "Well, I suppose you should get to your homework."

"Alright." She started heading out the door when she turned around. "Father, does Mr. Lancer have a son?"

"Mr. Lancer? I don't think so. If he does he's never mentioned one. No actually, I'm quite sure he doesn't. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I just saw a picture of him with some boy and I thought it might be his son, but I guess not. He just looked so familiar."

Her father looked at her, his eyes meeting hers. "Well, I wouldn't give it too much thought. It could just be a cousin or nephew or something."

Kimberly nodded her head and wished her father a goodnight as she headed out the door. As she shut the door, she heard her father pick up the phone.

As she walked up the stairs, she knew that something was up. There was more to that picture, which was why it was hidden so well. Her father knew more than what he was telling her. It was probably something she wasn't supposed to have seen, judging by how her father's usually jovial mood changed after she mentioned the picture. But what could possibly be so important about that specific picture? Was it something about the boy? Was she not supposed to know anything about that boy, whoever he was?

Once she got to her room she went onto her computer and talked to her friends via video instant messaging. They talked about the possible significance of the photograph well into the night while they worked on their homework, not coming to a single conclusion by the time they decided they needed to get a few precious hours of sleep.

Again, Kimberly was visited by the flying boy in her dreams and like all the other times, she spent the night flying with him, feeling comfort in his presence, until the bright rays of the sun peeked into her room and the alarm clock sounded, waking her from her slumber.

The next day at school passed by normally. Kimberly hung out with her friends, went to her classes, the usual, but she was only partially aware of what she was doing. Her mind was elsewhere, on the photograph they had found in Lancer's drawer. It still puzzled her and try as she might, she just couldn't get it out of her head, and she could tell Noelle and Jacob couldn't either. All three of them liked to know stuff, didn't like being left in the dark. It bothered them, like a piece of dust bothered an obsessive compulsive cleaner.

Finally they entered Lancer's class. He passed back the essays they had seen in the drawer, which restarted Noelle and Jacob's fight in notes they'd pass back and forth to each other. Normally Kimberly would have found their written argument amusing since she knew the real reasons for why they argued, but she found it extremely hard to focus. She barely looked at the grade she received on her essay. She just continuously found herself staring at the drawer, knowing that the picture was in there, the picture that occupied all her thoughts.

Finally class was over and with one final look at the drawer Kimberly started heading out the door. She looked up and saw Lancer looking curiously at her and she quickly turned her head and hurried out the door.

The three of them headed to Kimberly's house, having their bi-weekly sleepover. They had had one the week before, but they figured that they needed one this week. They needed to get their minds off that photograph, and the best way to do that was with a movie marathon.

They grabbed sustenance and locked themselves in Kimberly's room where they took their usual seats in front of the wall-sized television and popped in the first Lord of the Rings movie, starting what they dubbed "Ringfest."

About halfway through the third one they decided to call it quits, not being able to stay awake any longer. Jacob headed to the guest bedroom, or what Kimberly liked to refer to as "Jacob's room" while she and Noelle shared her bed. She wrapped herself under the covers and drifted into dreamless sleep.

A/N: Like I've been saying, some action and the main plot will be coming next chapter. These chapters were just a really long exposition and to introduce Kimberly and her friends since they will be central to the plot.

Now, I know that any normal person would have been able to notice the similarities between the boy in her dreams and the boy in the photograph, but I figured that if Danny's own parents couldn't even notice the similarities, then a stranger wouldn't be able to either, as unbelievable as it may seem.

And Ringfest was a nod to a marathon my friends and I actually had. Fourteen hours of LOTR straight…what a thing of beauty.

Chapter five next! And just as a fun little spoiler, the next chapter's called "Meeting Danny"