Disclaimer: Connie Bender and her friends belong to me, John Bender and HIS friends belong to John Hughes.

Author's Notes: I've been wodering what to do with this chapter for a while now, and I've decided that this chapter is going to be mostly centred around...Kyle and Daf.

Chapter 22: Stuck With You

Slow down you crazy child

You're so ambitious for a juvenile

But then if you're so smart

Tell me why are you still so afraid?

Connie, Kyle and Daf all held their breath as Mr. Vernon ran past the "locked" door of the classroom, and bolted up the stairs.

...It was actually an impressive speed for a man his age.

Kyle waited a minute before he opened the door and peaked out into the hallway, he then looked back at the girls and motioned for them to follow him out into the hallway.

When they all crept out into the hall, Kyle glanced at Connie and noticed the worried expression on her face.

"He's not gonna kill him, is he...?" she asked.

Kyle smirked.

"Which guy's the one you're worried about...?" he asked.

"Nick...!"

Kyle shook his head.

"In order for Nick to get hurt, he has to get caught, first..." he told her, as he stepped back into the classroom, and shut the door, "...and Nick's never been one for getting caught."

When Vernon reached the office, he could still hear the rock n' roll song blaring from the PA system.

'...We're not gonna take it

No, we ain't gonna take it

We're not gonna take it, anymore...'

Gripping onto the doorknob, Vernon tried to yank the door open...but the door wouldn't budge.

There was a large window in the door, so he could see that the light was on in the office, and that the microphone on the desk, in the far corner, was right next to the stereo's speakers.

...But as far as Vernon could tell, no one was actually in the office.

Just then, the song ended, and Vernon breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God..." he muttered.

But then, another song began...

'...They're gonna clean up your looks

With all the lies in the books

To make a citizen out of you

Because they sleep with a gun, and keep an eye on you son

So they could watch all the things you do...'

"Oh my God..." Vernon muttered "...that little prick..."

'...Because the drugs never work

They're gonna give you a smirk

Cux they got methods of keepin' you clean

They're gonna rip up your head

Your aspirations to shreds

Another cog in the murder machine...'

"...What the hell is this?" Daf asked.

"This, my dear girl...is My Chemical Romance," Kyle answered, smiling.

"Hey...why are we back in the classroom?" Connie asked "...why can't we just leave?"

"Well, unless you wanna be running through the halls with Vernon on your tail, we're gonna wait for Nick," Kyle told her.

"Why do we always have to depend on Nick...?" Daf asked.

"We don't..." Kyle answered "...he's just a lot stealthier than I am."

'...They say, oh

Teenagers scare the livin' shit outta me

They could care less, as long as someone'll bleed

So darken your clothes

Or strike a violent pose

Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me...'

Just then, the door swung open, and Nick popped his head in.

"Hola...!" he greeted, then he grabbed Connie's hand and started to pull her out of the classroom.

"Here we go...!" he exclaimed, and before Connie, or even Kyle and Daf, could say anything, he had closed the door again, and Kyle and Daf were alone in the room.

"He's insane," said Daf.

Kyle shrugged.

"Who isn't, these days...?" he asked, then started to walk over to the chalkboard.

"Well, I'm sure as hell not!" Daf replied.

"Oh no...?" Kyle asked, as he picked up a piece of chalk and turned toward the chalkboard.

"No...!" she replied.

Kyle glanced over at her, and smirked.

"Well, then what the hell are you doin' in here with me?" he asked.

Daf opened her mouth to speak...but for the first time that day, she couldn't think of anything to say.

Kyle noticed this, and smiled.

"My God...she's speechless..." he said "...awesome!"

"Shut up!" Daf snapped, then realizing how loud she was she looked over at the door, fearfully.

"Don't worry about Vernon, he's probably too busy chasing Nick around the school to look in here," Kyle told her, then he put down the chalk and gazed her, curiously.

"...Wait, why are you still in here with me, anyway...?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

Kyle gestured to the door.

"...Vernon's chasing Nick around, so he probably wouldn't notice you..." he told her "...you can go if you want."

"Well...why don't you wanna leave?" Daf asked.

Kyle shrugged.

"I'm OK with being alone," he said.

"Well...I'm not, so I'm staying here," Daf told him.

"Suit yourself..." said Kyle "...but you'd have the same amount of company if you went back to the library, where Sean is."

"Why are you so desperate to get me outta here?" Daf asked.

"Why don't you wanna get outta here?" Kyle asked.

"I told you, I just...don't like being alone..." Daf told him "...and I'd rather get run down by a herd of wild boar than be alone with Sean Dawson ever again."

Kyle smirked.

"Wow..." he said "...wild boar, huh?"

"...We just finished reading The Lord of The Flies in English class," Daf explained.

"I know..." said Kyle "...I'm in your English class."

Stunned, Daf stared at him.

"...You are?" she asked.

Kyle nodded.

"I sit near the front," he said "...and that's only because you and your friends take up most of the back row."

Daf didn't know what to say.

"...Oh," she mumbled.

"...I'm also in your History class, your Biology class, and your Physics class," Kyle told her.

"...I hate Physics," Daf told him.

"...I know, I had to mark one of your quizzes once," he replied.

Daf groaned and sat down on top of one of the desks.

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?" she asked.

"No..." said Kyle "...why would you feel guilty?"

"Because you're in over half of my classes and I never even recognized you when I walked in this morning...?" Daf pointed out.

"Trust me, Daf, I didn't mind," Kyle told her "...I'd rather not be recognized by you and your friends, anyway."

"And what does that mean...?" Daf asked.

"It means that whenever you or Sean or one of your friends recognizes somebody outside of your little...clique - thing, it's usually because that person did something emabarrassing that they'd rather not remember...but you guys always do," Kyle told her.

"That's not true," Daf told him.

"Yes it is," Kyle replied.

"Well, it's not...completely true," said Daf.

"...Yes it is."

Daf sighed, and looked down at her hands.

"...My friends do it more than I do," she told him.

"...But you don't ever try to stop them, do you...?" Kyle pointed out.

Daf glared at him.

"Y'know what...? You have no right to try and make me feel guilty..." she told him "..you're not my judge and jury, here."

"Exactly, because you think you're better than me...!" Kyle pointed out.

"...It's not because I think I'm better than you...! Nobody has the right to judge other people - !" Daf snapped, then realized what she had just said.

"You mean, like you and your friends do...?" Kyle asked.

Daf hopped off the desk and folded her arms across her chest as she stood in front of him, and looked down at her shoes for a moment, before looking back up into Kyle's eyes.

"Just shut up, OK...? You don't know a thing about me," she told him, in a quiet voice.

"I don't...?" Kyle asked.

"No, you don't," Daf replied.

"OK..." he said, walking over to her "...then tell me something about you."

Daf frowned, in confusion.

"What?" she asked.

"Tell me something about you..." Kyle repeated "...I wanna know about you, and I wanna hear it straight from you. No judgments or anything."

At first, Daf was speechless.

...She really hated how he had that effect on her.

"...I'm not sure if you could handle it," she told him.

Kyle shrugged.

"You'll never know until ya try, that's what my dad used to say..." he said "...so c'mon, tell me all about Daf Pearson."

Ooh...a cliffie! Yes, I know, I am very evil, aren't I...?

Anyway, I'll get the next chapter up as fast as I can...to avoid being stoned to death, or have fruit thrown at me (believe me, it's happened before).

And the song stanza at the very beginning was from "Vienna" by Billy Joel.

And the other song featured in this chapter was "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance.

LOVE YA!!!!!!!!!

- Ace's Buddy