Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Here's the second chapter of your present, Ada! :) And again, a special thanks to camirae for reading through it and giving me feedback. You guys are the best!

Hope you guys like it!


"You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes." –Winnie the Pooh

Two years later found the two best friends at a playground. Nothing much had changed since the first day of kindergarten. Caitlyn was still the shy wallflower while Shane was the center of attention. Only now, they were two peas in a pod. Only now, a few problems common to little second-graders would surface.

"Shane, Shane, wait up!" Caitlyn called as she ran to her friend. She, like many other girls her age, was always so excited about little things that were so simple to those older than her.

Shane turned briefly to glance at her before a blush lit up his cheeks, and he turned again to face the front. The two boys around him snickered softly before nudging him to keep walking.

Caitlyn frowned. What was wrong? Why was he ignoring her? She knew he had heard her shouting—Shane had looked at her for a bit. But where was he going with his other friends? Fear flooded Caitlyn's mind. Why was he leaving her? So many questions were swirling around her mind, and the only answers she would receive were if Shane answered them. So she decided to ask. Only, those two boys next to them were people she didn't know, therefore she was slightly scared of them. She'd ask later.

As he was walking away, Shane felt an immense bout of guilt wrenching at his heart. He had just ignored his best friend as she ran after him. Shane wasn't blind, either. He had seen that heartbroken and confused look on Caitlyn's face as he merely walked away, leaving her alone and confused. Fear gripped at his mind. Would Caitlyn hate him after that little show?

He couldn't go back to her now, though. The two boys at his side, Nate and Jason, wouldn't let him. They had said he was a sissy for hanging out with a girl and that she was icky. Shane, being very protective of his best friend, had countered that Caitlyn was not, in fact, icky but was very nice. They laughed in his face and said that only girls hung out with girls. If boys hung out with girls, it was because they liked them. Boys hung out with boys, so Shane should hang out with them. Shane didn't want to be called a sissy or accused that he and Caitlyn liked each other, so he took their invitation, leaving his best friend behind.

Only, he couldn't leave her behind.

Turning to the two boys beside him, Shane asked, "Why do you guys think girls are so gross?"

Jason scoffed. "Because girls have cooties," he stated matter-of-factly.

The boy beside him nodded vehemently. "I heard that you can die from cooties," said Nate fearfully, wringing his hands together. "At least, that's what Baron told me." Baron was an older boy who Nate frequently searched for advice from. Though he was a mere few months older than Nate, the curly-haired boy idolized him.

"But I hang out with Caitlyn a lot, and I don't think she has cooties," Shane objected, a slight frown pulling at his lips. He didn't want to die from spending time with Caitlyn. He liked her too much.

Jason gaped at the shorter kid. "Dude! That means you have cooties too!"

"What?!" Shane squeaked fretfully, a new fear biting at his mind. He was dying?! Dying wasn't an option for him! He was only seven!

Jason nodded fervently, his hazel eyes wide with a mix of curiosity and fear. "I think you do! All you do is spend time with her."

"Ooh!" Nate piped up. "Let's ask Baron!" A pudgy finger pointed at a coffee-skinned boy relaxing under the shade of an old oak tree in the playground. The two other boys nodded and decided to do as Nate suggested. They walked over to Baron as Nate dashed to his god.

"Hey," greeted Baron, waving his hand lazily and gazing up at them with half-lidded eyes.

"Baron, Baron," Nate exclaimed eagerly, "we think Shane has cooties!"

"Who?" When Shane waved shyly at him, Baron let out a sound of acknowledgement. "Oh, you. You were in last year's class, right?"

Shane shrugged and told him he wasn't sure. "But will you please help me? I think I have cooties because my best friend is a girl!"

Baron nodded as wisely as a boy of eight could. "Okay. To get rid of the cooties, you have to hug her, and that'll get rid of your cooties and her cooties," he admonished, nodding his head confidently.

Shane's face flushed a brilliant red. "H-Hug her?" His face was on fire, and his stomach felt funny (though, not in an unpleasant way) at the thought of hugging Caitlyn. "B-but won't I still be called a sissy for being her friend, though?" anxiously wondered Shane, turning to Jason and Nate with wide eyes.

Nate shrugged. "As long as girls don't have cooties, they're nice," he responded wisely.

A grin nearly split Shane's face in half, reaching ear to ear. "Then if I hug her, I can be friends with her again, and I won't die from cooties?"

"I guess so," Jason relented, nodding. He grimaced slightly at the thought of having to spend time with an icky girl.

Shane smiled brightly and bolted off to find his best friend to rid of her of her cooties. A good ten minutes were spent by Shane sprinting around the playground, looking for Caitlyn. Since she wasn't anywhere to be found, he decided to look for her inside—Caitlyn might've been in the library or something. He walked to their classroom, only to hear sniffles coming from a corner of the room.

Caitlyn's corner.

Walking inside, Shane's eyes landed on Caitlyn's shaking form. Concerned brown eyes widened and grew worried. "Caitlyn?" he ventured tentatively, making his way to sit next to Caitlyn. "Caitlyn, what's wrong?"

Teary gray eyes looked up at Shane. "Why did you run away?" Caitlyn whispered. "You don't like me anymore?"

Shane immediately felt guilty. An urge to cry and hug Caitlyn pulled at his conscience. "No…" He hesitated, unsure whether or not to tell her the truth. But he couldn't lie to her, not after seeing her cry. "I ran away because Nate and Jason told me that you had cooties and you could die from them!" Shane said all the words quickly, hoping Caitlyn wouldn't hate him.

"C-cooties?" she repeated breathily, eyes wide with fear. "I have cooties, and I can die from them?" She, though she already knew what cooties were, was completely terrified at learning this new fact.

"But there is a way that I can get rid of cooties. It's only if I"—Shane's face took on a shade similar to Elmo's fur—"hug you," he finished lamely, nearly whispering the last two words.

Caitlyn blushed as well. "O-okay," she agreed shyly. "If it'll get rid of my cooties."

An awkward silence overtook them, neither of the two children wanting to make the first move. Shane conceded and opened his arms. Caitlyn shyly made her way to him, walking into the embrace and reciprocating it tentatively.

Pulling away, Shane smiled brightly, a blush equally bright on his chubby cheeks. "See? We don't have cooties anymore!" Both of the children were ecstatic, happy that they would go on to live long, cootie-free lives while still being the best of friends.

Laughs came from outside the door and trailed in as Jason and Nate sauntered into the classroom. Jason eyed the loosely embracing couple teasingly. "Caity and Shaney sitting in a tree…"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Nate joined in. "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!" The teasing duo burst out laughing before Shane and Caitlyn's faces flushed a deep crimson.

"S-stop it!" Caitlyn pleaded, scandalized at the teasing. Shane agreed and nodded vigorously. His blush receded slightly, but the girl still resembled a tomato.

Jason chuckled merrily and looked over to Caitlyn. Walking over, he gave the shorter girl a noogie. "I guess you're okay. For an icky girl, that is."

Shane beamed up at Jason, knowing this was an initiation to their group. Nate, on the other hand was still staring at the still-blushing Caitlyn, a slight smile on his lips. She's kinda pretty…

And so a crush was formed.

Heh, there we go. I figured the cooties thing was the best way to go with 7-year-olds, though they are horribly articulate. x)

Feedback is appreciated!