AUTHOR'S NOTE: Lovely readers, I'm so sorry for my long hiatus from this story. This is a short chapter, just wanted to show you guys I'm still working on the story, I've just been busy but I would like to get another, longer chapter done tomorrow. Thanks guys! J

Adjusting herself back in Gary's warm bed, Amelie took a sip of hot coffee and immediately felt her tongue burn. It was way too hot, bold and bitter. Kind of like Gary, she thought to herself. Feeling giddy from the morning's events, she laughed out loud at herself and the absurdity of the situation.

"I can't believe it," she whispered to herself. "How did this even happen?" Talking out loud always helped Amelie sort her thoughts. God help her if anyone else were to hear her, she would die of embarrassment. But she was all alone in a boy's dorm, still nearly naked except for her underwear.

She shouldn't have been there. It was too risky to get in trouble with prefects in the first week of school. She was an academic and supposed to be better than getting in trouble. But who was Amelie really? The kind of girl who goes around sleeping in boy's dorms and saying sleazy things like "I'll be waiting" to a guy? Amelie shuddered, cringing at herself. There was never a point to arguing with herself and overthinking. It was time to get out of the dorms.

But how? Gary couldn't protect her now. Petey was probably long gone. There had to be at least one boy lurking the halls of the Boy's Dorm that would rat her out, or worse, harass her like the bullies did on moving day.

Okay. Step one, put back on clothes. Amelie hopped out of bed as her brown hair bounced around her. She hastily stepped into her dress and put her shoes on. Next, an escape plan. Jumping out of the window? No, too dangerous. Walking right in the hallway? Too risky. Amelie pondered, taking small nibbles on the sugary donut Gary left her. "If I army-crawl down the hallway, maybe I'll be lucky and there'll be no one in the lounge. Then I can get out the door and-" Just then, Amelie heard the sound of feet becoming clearer and nearer with every step. Thinking quickly, she lay herself flat on the floor on her stomach next to Gary's bed. That's when she fatally realized: the door was creaked open. And someone was pushing it open further. Amelie held her breath and tried to make herself invisible.

A stout, red haired boy with rosy cheeks strode into the room and slowly shut the door behind him. Shit.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The boy asked, narrowing his eyes at Amelie. I should have picked a better hiding place than this. She lay still, not moving or saying a word. This made the boy angry. "Hello? I know you can hear me. I can see you! Answer me." Now Amelie definitely couldn't hide from him. Wearily, she got to her feet and hunched her shoulders in defeat. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know… I lost my book here, I was looking for it…"

"Bullshit, you're that girl with Gary right? That girl from Florida?"

Amelie gasped. "How do you know.. yes, I'm the new girl."

The boy made a mean smile. "And you're already fucking Gary Smith? You must be a crazy chick," The boy laughed. Then it hit Amelie like a sudden impact. This boy was familiar. He was the one who almost got in a fight with Gary at the carnival. Joey? Jerry? "Umm.. Jack? Is that your name?" She started politely.

"It's Jimmy," He answered abruptly. "And I'm glad I found you. If you want to survive at this school, you need to stay away from Gary."

"You were looking for me?" Amelie bit her lip and looked at the ground. Why was Jimmy so interested in helping her?

Jimmy walked further into the room and crossed his arms across his chest, hugging them close to his sides. "No. If you must know, I came in here looking for Pete. But it's even better that you're here."

"I don't understand…"

"That's because you're not listening. I just told you Gary was a psychopath. He's going to leave this school once and for all. And it seems like you're the only one Gary will talk to like a semi-normal human being, so you can get to him is all I'm saying…" Jimmy tapped his foot impatiently. "So are you going to help me or not?"

"Look, I'm not interested in bullying people. I know how that feels," Amelie started timidly. Jimmy barked with laughter. "You think YOU know what bullying is? Story of my life…" Jimmy cackled. "This guy is a master manipulator, he's no victim. Don't let him get to you. If you want to have a good school year, and I'm sure you do, you're supposed to be smart, right?" Jimmy questioned. Amelie looked at him and furrowed her brows. "What does being smart have o do with anything?" Her voice began rising and Amelie could feel the adrenaline rushing to her veins. "We like each other. Look, I don't know why there's this whole conspiracy-thing against Gary like he's some kind of super villain, and frankly it's a little ridiculous." Was Amelie really standing up for herself? "So why don't you leave Gary alone? He's already hurt. And you shouldn't even be in his room."

"Neither should you," he countered. They both eyed each other, then Jimmy sighed. "Look, I'll buy you a soda if you come to the cafeteria with me and just talk about this with me. If you don't want to, it's fine, you'll find out eventually how wrong you were." Just as Jimmy turned on his heel to exit, Amelie cried out "Wait! Just.. let me put my shoes on."

Jimmy smiled. "Now you're on the right side of Bullworth."