Chapter Five

|Piles of Problems|

It was ten when Arthur moved into his darkened house. A blue glow was coming from the den, so he knew that Naomi was there waiting. She looked frazzled, but the house seemed to be in order. Arthur tried to simply brush past her, but she'd been waiting for him, listening for every sound. She called out to him from behind, so he stopped mid-step. But he refused to turn around.

"Your parents called to see how things were going and they told me you could've spent the night with Buster if it was alright with Mrs. Baxter," Naomi whispered. She leaned against the wall as Arthur turned to see her. "I decided not to tell you because I felt you should've been home in your own bed. Do you forgive me?"

Arthur nodded, looking her over. She'd changed into some fairly skimpy night clothes, a stringy, white tank top and some very short shorts. Her feet were tucked into some pink, fuzzy slippers, and despite how tired Arthur felt, his nose detected something new and flowery, probably perfume.

"I need to get to my new home, but I hope you respect my rules over your parents. You're too young to be out on your own, even at a friend's house," Naomi smiled, puffing out her lip to look defeated. Arthur realized what she was trying to do; the skimpy clothes proved it. "Good night, Artie," Naomi grinned, returning to den to gather her things before slipping out the door.

Arthur was stunned. He locked the door before moving into his room and sitting on the foot of the bed. He found his cell phone under his pillow and he looked it over. Sure enough, his parents had texted him to tell him it was okay for him to spend the night, but Naomi had sent a "Please be home by ten" with a cute smiley face. She wanted him to see her tonight. She just didn't realize he didn't have his phone.

But he had it now, and he quickly shot Buster a text, knowing he always stayed up with Bitzi to watch late night television. Buster called him a moment later, eager for every detail. When Arthur was done telling him everything, Buster was stunned into silence.

"What should I do, Buster?" Arthur asked. Buster chuckled nervously, "I…I don't really know, Arthur. Did she really call you Artie or are you joking with me?" he asked. Arthur sighed, "Would I really joke about something like this? Please, I need to know what I should do to put an end to this."

"Well, it gets worse," Buster muttered. Arthur felt a pang run through him. They'd spent hours together, but Buster never even let on that he knew some other sort of secret. "Arthur, I found some notes in our locker at the end of school. I know you have gym so you don't stop by, so…I decided to hide them. Three different girls sent a note. Fern's was in code, but the other two were anonymous. The girls are going crazy for you!"

Arthur sighed, laying back on his bed with a thump, "I don't want any of this."

"Well, you're in this mess. I wish you the best, but Leno is about to come on. Sorry…Artie," Buster snorted, ending the call before Arthur could yell at him for such a cruel joke.

Arthur stared at his ceiling, his good hand still gripping his cell phone despite the sweat building in his palm. He was so confused about life, so unsure what to do. And despite his problems with Naomi, he seemed to have even more problems at school, girl problems at that. He was dumbfounded, yet he somehow fell asleep.

|Love Notes and More Mysteries|

Arthur managed to get the twins settled with Naomi very quickly. She was dressed more appropriately in a t-shirt with a kitten on it, but Arthur couldn't get the image of her previous outfit out of his head. He left the house quickly, joining Buster at the bus stop. Once seated near the rear of the bus, Buster pulled the anonymous notes out of his backpack.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You look really frazzled this morning," Buster whispered. Arthur shrugged, "I'm not sure they'll make me feel much worse. Just show me and get it over with."

Buster passed him Fern's note first. Fern was simply asking for another meeting so they could talk, but she forgot to sign it so Buster thought it was a love letter like the others. Next was a note with familiar handwriting to both the boys. Arthur recognized it as Muffy's because the I's were dotted with hearts filled in with a completely different color. She wanted a date with Arthur if he was willing to call her, but Arthur's blushing showed Buster he just wasn't up for such a thing.

The last note made Arthur turn blank-faced again. The handwriting wasn't recognizable, and unlike Muffy's business-only note, this one was purely a sign of love. It was written poetically with some sort of rhyme scheme and meter. Arthur wasn't really sure, but he didn't exactly care. He wanted to know who would write such a thing, but he had no idea whose handwriting it was.

"Hey, Buster, can I…?" Brain said, turning around and stopping mid-sentence. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you were so busy. I'll ask someone else from English."

"It's the two stories, not just one," Buster muttered. "Arthur, are you okay?"

"Girl troubles?" Brain asked. Buster nodded, looking back to his friend, who was still staring down at the notes. "Well, if you need my help, I don't mind. I don't know much about girls though. I prefer to stick to my education."

"I try to do that, but this thing is a chick magnet," Arthur sighed, holding up his cast and knocking the notes to the floor. Both boys let them stay there; it's not like Arthur even wanted them in the first place. Brain smiled weakly, "Well, if you'd like my help, I can figure out who wrote those notes. Could you pass them here?" he requested. Buster nodded, grabbing the mystery note first.

"This is the only one he doesn't recognize. How long should it take you?" Buster asked. Brain took the note and thought for a moment, "I don't really know how long it'll take, but I plan to be thorough. I'll use some of the latest handwriting recognition programs, but if there isn't a sample to compare to, I might be out of luck. I recently read a book on this sort of thing, and judging by the handwriting, this person seems older. Many of the popular girls or flirty girls make their s's and a's like in that note," Brain pointed to the note on the floor. He pushed the mystery note closer, "This was more popular about five years ago."

"Five years ago? Did a teacher write that?" Buster gasped. Brain shook his head, "I doubt that, and I could be wrong, but I'd say this person is nearly twenty, maybe two or three years younger to be safe. Do you know anyone like that?"

Buster was about to tell him 'yes', but Arthur immediately protested, "No, I don't know anyone older. Thanks for your help, Brain. You're a real pal," Arthur smiled nervously, standing as the bus reached the departure area at Elwood City High. Once far away from Brain, Buster caught up to Arthur and asked why he'd lie about such a thing.

Arthur sighed heavily, "He just confirmed what I feared. Naomi wrote that note and got it into my locker somehow. I wonder if she and Muffy are working together or something, whether Muffy realizes it or not. She may've told Naomi to do this thinking it would turn me off or whatever. I am turned off by all of this. I'm like Brain; I just want to study and focus on my work. Why do all these girls insist on falling in love with me?"

"I don't know, but maybe you should keep your head down for a while. Maybe all this will go away," Buster offered, but Arthur could hear how skeptical he sounded. "Hey, you can outrun Muffy any day of the week, but Naomi is at your house, right next door too. You can't escape her. Just try to keep positive, and maybe you're wrong," Buster laughed nervously. Arthur shook his head, brushing past him and heading towards the library. "Are you going to talk to Fern?"

"I'm going to hide," Arthur replied firmly. Buster sighed heavily, watching his friend disappear into the crowd. He felt for him, but he also didn't understand the attention either. He wished his friend could be free, but he knew it was probably just beginning. As long as that cast was on his arm and he was an injured man, the girls would keep flocking, and Buster silently wished his friend the best.

|Sickness|

Arthur was eating lunch alone when he heard Muffy's distinct laugh behind him. He knew she had Buster's lunch period, yet here she was with Sue Ellen, a bright smile on her face. They took the extra seats at Arthur's table without asking, slinking down as a few sets of female eyes darted in their direction. Arthur swallowed, feeling sick again. He was the center of all female attention and he hated it.

"Oh, Arthur, I'm so glad I was able to see you today. My class changed lunches so we could work longer on an experiment. Isn't that exciting?" Muffy smiled, popping a small, cherry tomato into her mouth as she leaned towards Arthur. "I'll be here tomorrow."

Arthur felt really sick now, and he turned away hoping to find a trashcan nearby. He saw none, but luckily the feeling passed when he couldn't see a drooling female taking up his vision.

"You know, we were thinking of stopping by today, seeing that you and Sue Ellen really need to work on that project," Muffy smirked. Sue Ellen elbowed her, "No, we're fine. Please, don't—"

"Stop it, Sue Ellen. You know I just want to get to know this Naomi character, for his family's sake. I mean, we don't even know if that's her real name, do we?" Muffy gasped, popping a baby carrot in her mouth as Sue Ellen exhaled gently with defeat. "Arthur, have you done any research about her? I know some wonderful private detectives who wouldn't mind doing a favor for the friend of a Crosswire, especially a favor like this."

"It's fine," Arthur murmured, that sick feeling returning as Muffy stared deep at him. He looked around but still saw no way out, so he did something he didn't expect: He stood and ran towards the boys' restroom at the back of the cafeteria.

"How rude!" Muffy cried as he ran off, but Sue Ellen defended him, remaining seated as she saw him duck into the bathroom as a teacher ran after him. A few minutes later, the teacher escorted a very pale Arthur towards the nurse's office, and Sue Ellen found herself feeling terrible.

"You shouldn't talk to him tomorrow. I won't either," Sue Ellen said. Muffy scoffed, "Nonsense, Suey. I'm this close and you're telling me to back off? What's wrong with you?" Muffy asked darkly. Sue Ellen gasped, "What's wrong with me?! You're the one making him sick! I've never seen him look so terrible before. You're scaring him!"

Muffy laughed derisively, looking to her friend with a devious expression, "Arthur Read won't be scared of me. He'll be in love with me. He'll want to date me and treat me like a real lady. That is…unless you want him instead," Muffy said, leaning forward as Sue Ellen shook her head and backed away. "I want him, and that's why I have Naomi's number. That's also why you need to get your priorities straight. You and I cannot be friends if you're going to try to take what's rightfully mine."

"Arthur isn't property!" Sue Ellen hissed, gathering her things. "Ever since you started treating Fern like trash, I've stopped liking you. We're done, Muffy, and if you ever call me again, I'll tell the whole school your dirtiest secrets," Sue Ellen said darkly, huffing off to the tray return. She stood by the doors waiting for the lunch period to end while a very shocked Muffy stared into space, wondering if her plans had gone wrong.

|Swaying Sides?|

Arthur entered the house as quietly as he could, settling in his room with a bottle of water and a container of leftovers. The nurse let him go home early, thinking he was in pain from his bad break. The way she sounded, Arthur was the talk of the school even before he darted out during lunch. At least he didn't get sick in the middle of the cafeteria, he thought, sinking into his bed.

"Arthur, are you in there?" Jane called, gently knocking on the door. Arthur rose up as it opened and his mother smiled to him. "Hey, son, I got a call from the nurse that you'd be home early. How are things with you? This isn't something that normally happens to you," she said, referencing how DW managed to come home early due to sickness at least once every few weeks.

"I'm having trouble at school, girl trouble," Arthur sighed, sitting up on his bed. "How could breaking my arm make all the girls see me differently? I'm waiting on them to act like lions and start attacking each other. It's disgusting."

"Girls are sympathetic, Arthur, and they probably just want to make sure you're being taken care of," Jane smiled, sitting beside him and rubbing his hair. "I want you to be honest with me some more while we're on the subject. How is Naomi acting towards you?"

"Just as strange as the others," Arthur shuddered, blushing as his mind toyed with the idea of telling his mother about her seductive outfit the night before. Before he could say another word, Jane sighed and stood up, "I suspected as much. The neighbors saw her come over last night not long before you got home wearing some pretty slinky clothes. Did she try anything?"

"No, just talking," Arthur said, gulping slightly. Was Naomi getting in trouble for the outfit?

"So she puts on that outfit and comes over just because? I thought I told her to pass on that you could stay longer," Jane sighed, leaning against the wall. Arthur shook his head, holding up his cell phone, "I didn't have my phone on me, but…she didn't try to tell me to stay the night. In fact, she told me to be home by ten."

Jane sighed again, standing straight again, "I'm asking questions about her because I got a call from someone claiming to know Millicent Crosswire. They want to do a free background check and investigation on our behalf, a favor to the children. They mentioned she might be sending you notes at school and other strange goings-on. The outfit thing was just a coincidence, but I want your father to consider taking the offer. Right now he's skeptical because of how the Crosswire's can act sometimes, but…you need to talk to him. He was supposed to see Thora tonight, but he should come straight home. I'll go call him right now."

Arthur lay back on his bed, his mind swimming. His parents were finally behind him, it seemed, but he wondered if his father would be swayed by her good looks and amazing personality. Either way, all this girl trouble was making Arthur feel ill again, and he wondered if he could just go to sleep and forget it all.