A/N: Well, to be honest, I don't have much to say here. But I always have an Author's Note at the beginning of my chapters, so let's stay true to the tradition, shall we?

Please R&R!

Thirteen knocks on the door. Thirteen ominous knocks. Kathy groaned and put her face in her hands in horror.

The number of knocks was just a coincidence. The only reason was that it took thirteen taps to knock to the tune of "Put on a Happy Face" from Bye Bye Birdie. But those thirteen knocks on her apartment door were bad luck for Kathy.

"Pizza delivery for apartment 9C!" rang an overly chipper male voice from the hallway.

Kathy sighed and trudged to the door. She knew who it was even before she opened the door and saw the famous 50-watt smile. "I didn't order a pizza, DJ," she grumbled.

DJ laughed. "I know you didn't, Kathy," he responded. "I just saw that your Facebook status said you were having a lousy day, so I decided to give a friendly gesture."

Kathy rolled her eyes. "I think we've gone over how creepy it is when you do this," she said as she reluctantly reached out to take the box. This wasn't the first time this had happened. In fact, it was the second time in that week alone.

DJ and his brother owned their own pizza place. Of course, being the good Samaritan he was, DJ would often exploit his privilege as co-owner to bring free dinners to friends in need. The said friend in need was often Kathy, who was ironically the least grateful for all that he did.

Still, DJ remained unaware of Kathy's blatant animosity towards him. "Don't worry about the bill. It's on me!" he said cheerfully.

"Well, that's just swell," Kathy mumbled. She made a dash to shut the door on him, but she wasn't quick enough. DJ stepped inside her apartment before she was able to close the door. In effect, all Kathy really did was close the door behind him. "Ugh . . . " she whispered to herself in defeat.

DJ looked around the room with a scrutinizing look on his face, all the while nodding his head slightly. "You redecorated?" he asked.

"No," Kathy replied flatly.

"The TV is in a different spot," DJ said, pointing.

"There was a glare," Kathy said. She clumsily reopened the door while trying to balance the pizza box on one arm. "Listen, bud, I've got a busy night tonight. I don't have much time for you to visit."

DJ turned and nodded in understanding. "I see," he said, his smile barely fading. "I don't mean to intrude." He stepped back out the door and gave Kathy a goofy salute. "Enjoy the pizza!" he shouted before dashing down the hallway.

When he was gone from sight, Kathy slammed the door and sighed in relief. "Loser," she whispered breathlessly. "Lover boy can't see that I'm not freaking interested, huh?"

She walked to her kitchen, scraped the entire pizza into the trash, and tossed the empty box into the recycling pile on top of fifteen more.

That Saturday, Kathy was out for a much-needed cup of coffee when she ran into a double-date. Maurecia and her date, a random guy who only seemed to be in his early 20s, walked past her on the sidewalk outside the coffee house, followed by Joy and her boyfriend, who were obviously trying to stay as far away from them as possible.

Joy's boyfriend accidentally kicked the side of Kathy's foot. Kathy stumbled to the side and backed into the wall of the building. "Hey, watch it, buddy!" she shouted.

The man whipped his head around at the sound of her voice. "Oh, uh, sorry, ma'am," he mumbled, embarrassed.

Joy stopped, too, ready to help her boyfriend out, but then she saw who he was apologizing to. "Oh, hi, Kathy," she said with a trace of disdain. "You haven't met Cory, have you?"

Kathy scowled. "No."

"Well, this is Cory. Cory, this is Kathy," Joy said. "She's an old friend from school," she added, hesitating slightly on the word friend.

"Oh," Cory said. "Are you going to DJ's pizza place, too?" Joy grimaced at his faux pas and put up a hand to avoid the awkward situation to come, but she was too late.

Kathy's face twisted in disgust. "No. Why would I be?"

"It's closing. They went bankrupt, probably from him giving away all those free pizzas," Joy said. "Everybody's going there one last time to show support." She paused and looked Kathy in the eye with what might have been pity. "I'm sure DJ will miss you there."

"Oh my god," Kathy scoffed. "He really needs to get over this whole 'in love with me' thing."

"What?" Joy said, confused. "DJ isn't in love with you. He has a girlfriend." She quickly examined Kathy – gaunt, angry, tired-looking Kathy – and added, "Don't flatter yourself," before walking away.

"Nice meeting you, Kathy," Cory said weakly before following after her.

Kathy watched the two of them walk away with venom in her gaze. "Bitch," she mumbled about Joy before walking into the coffee shop, examining the scrapes on her hands from backing into the wall.

However, the encounter had made Kathy a little shocked, to say the least. She didn't even bother ordering a coffee. She just sat at an empty table, chin in hand.

So Dumb Jerk isn't in love with me, she thought. Well, this changes things. She got her purse and dug through it for an item that had been floating around at the bottom for quite a while. I'm gonna have to do the right thing, for once.

Kathy stood up and walked out of the coffee house. Out on the sidewalk, she looked in the direction that the two couples had been walking. Three doors down from the coffee shop, clear as day, was the pizza place. She came to get coffee here all the time, but she had never noticed this restaurant before.

She reluctantly entered the place. It was over-lit and decorated with several bright colors, reflecting the personality of the owner – at least, the owner that Kathy was concerned with at the moment.

The tables were filled with Kathy's old Wayside classmates. Some of them stared at her in surprise when she entered the building. Others averted their eyes when she walked past them. Either way, it was obvious that nobody expected or wanted her to be there.

Ignoring the rejections from the other customers, Kathy approached the counter in the back, where three people were standing. DJ's brother was wiping down the counter. He smiled and nodded slightly when he saw Kathy, but went right back to work.

Next to him was DJ himself. Despite the fact that his business was being closed down, he still looked happy. However, that may have been because of the blonde sitting next to him. She had big eyes and freckles and seemed to be a master of looking sad and cute at the same time. She was running her fingers through DJ's hair and holding his hand while they shared an affectionate look.

It pained Kathy to watch them, but she still forced herself to walk up to the counter and say, "Hi."

DJ saw her and smiled. "Hey, Kathy!" he greeted her cheerfully. "This is Danielle," he added, motioning to the blonde, who must have been his girlfriend.

Danielle waved and grinned. "DJ has told me all about you, Kathy," she chirped. A girlfriend who was seemingly incapable of jealousy. Classic DJ, Kathy thought.

Kathy sighed. She was about to do something that was not in her nature at all. Still, the feeling of guilt was too difficult to bear this time around. She set something on the counter in front of DJ. "I think this is yours. I think it might help." It was the watch he had given to her in fifth grade.

Both DJ and Danielle's eyes widened. Danielle muttered, "Oh my . . . " Even DJ's brother stopped what he was doing in shock. "That's Great-Grandad's watch!" he murmured.

"Wow . . . " DJ said. "Do you know just how much money this watch is worth?"

"What does it matter to you? I thought you hated money," Kathy said. All she had intended was to do a friendly deed. Money had not been on her mind.

"I do," DJ said, picking up the watch and examining it. "But I've kind of learned that you need money to survive, no matter how awful it is."

"This could save the restaurant!" DJ's brother exclaimed.

"How can we possibly thank you, Kathy?" DJ asked enthusiastically.

"Um . . . " said a dumbfounded Kathy. "I guess I'll take a slice of plain pizza."

DJ grinned. "Coming right up!"

Before he went to the kitchen to get Kathy's order, Danielle gave him an excited kiss on the cheek. When he was gone, she leaned towards Kathy. "Thank you," she whispered. "DJ considers you as one of his best friends. I can see why."

Suddenly, Kathy felt herself do something she rarely ever did. She smiled.

A/N: Please review!