Disclaimer: The new guys are mine, the original franchise belongs to Lord Hughes.

Chapter 24: Saying It Out Loud

And I could tell you

His favorite color's green

He loves to argue

Born on the seventeenth

His sister's beautiful

He has his father's eyes

And if you ask me if I love him

I'd lie

"...Why do you get to know everything about me, and I don't get to hear anything about you?" Daf asked.

Kyle stared at her, practically dumbfounded.

"...Because you've already heard a bunch of stuff about me," he reminded her "...my family history, my dog's name,even the last time I cried, for God's sake!"

"...Still," she said "I think that whatever question you ask me is also one that you should answer, yourself."

Kyle rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he said "...favorite color."

"...Purple."

"...Green. Parent you're the spitting image of...?"

"My mother."

"...My father. Favorite action movie...?"

"...Die Hard."

Kyle's eyes widened.

"...What, seriously?" he asked.

Daf shrugged. "I confess, now it's your turn."

Kyle rolled his eyes.

"...Terminator.Worst phtotograhic memory...?"

Daf let out a sigh.

"...Uh, my grandmother's open casket at her funeral, when I was only six."

"...Lie."

Daf frowned.

"What?" she asked.

"You're lying," Kyle told her.

"What makes you think that?" she asked.

"Because, you kinda purse your lips when you lie, like you did just now...which reminds me, you also lied to Sean about the last time you had sex."

Daf glared at him.

"What, so you're trying to read me now?" she asked.

Kyle shrugged.

"I don't need to try, you're easier than a pop - up book," he said.

Daf continued to glare at him.

"...Screw you," she muttered, then hopped off the desk and walked over to the large globe in the corner.

"Hey, it's not my fault you're a bad liar," he told her.

She wheeled around to face him again, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Actually, most people would say that I'm a pretty good liar," she told him.

Kyle shrugged, then hopped off the desk he had been perched on and walked towards her.

"You probably are," he said "...I've just always been good at reading people."

"You get that from your father, too...?" Daf asked, sarcastically.

"No, actually, that one came from Mom," Kyle told her."Now c'mon, what's your worst photographic memory?"

Daf looked down at her shoes, not saying a word.

"...Either that, or you have to tell me about the last real time you had sex," he added.

Daf glanced up at him for a moment, then looked away.

"My worst photographic memory is...is seeing Sean and Mackenzie Luddman making out, through the rear window of her Camaro," she told him, her voie sounding weak.

Kyle frowned.

"Wait, so, on Thursday night, when he had sex with her - "

" - No," Daf cut him off, "no, it wasn't on Thursday night."

"...Huh, well that's weird, cuz he didn't seem like he was lying - "

"...He wasn't," she told him "...as well as you can read me, I can read Sean better. He wasn't lying."

Kyle didn't know what to say...which freaked him out, because he always knew what to say.

...So Daf just kept talking.

"...He had sex with her on Thursday, because we broke up on Tuesday...because he also had sex with her last Saturday," she explained.

Kyle was still at a loss for words, so he just walked up to her, put his arms around her...gently, and pulled her close.

"...What're you doing?" Daf asked.

"It's called a hug, just go with it, because this'll probably never happen between us again," he told her.

Back in the computer lab, Nick was still standing extremely close to Connie.

She didn't like it...but she didn't hate it, either.

"...Do you like your parents?" she suddenly asked.

Nick gave her a puzzled look.

"...Do I what?" he asked.

"...Do you like your parents?" Connie repeated, as Nick moved away and began to walk to the other end of the room "...cuz, you haven't really talked about 'em much, except about the stuff your dad used to do with my dad, when they were in high school...but you haven't talked about what he's like, now."

"Bender, just cuz you babble on and on about your parents doesn't automatically mean that I have to do the same," he told her, leaning up against a table.

Connie frowned, surprised at his change in attitude.

"...I don't babble about my parents," she said "...as I recall, you were the one who brought up the whole subject of my father, in the first place!"

Nick stayed silent.

"'You don't know who your dad was, do you?'...you said that, remember? Not me," she reminded him.

"Wow, so I guess the secret's out...Connie Bender really does despise her parents," Nick retorted.

"...I never said that!" said Connie, "and I don't despise my parents, but I get the feeling that you don't like yours, much."

"...And what makes you think that?" Nick asked.

"...The fact that you totally avoided my question and instead chose to pick a fight with me," she told him.

Nick just stared at her for a moment, then...

"...Talking about my parents would be a good waste of my breath," he told her, moving away from the table and heading towards the teacher's desk at the front of the room.

"...Why?" Connie asked, as Nick sat down in the teachers cushioned chair.

"BECAUSE...!" Nick yelled, then looked toward the door.

Connie, did, too.

...But Vernon couldn't be seen or heard on the other side of the door, so they both relaxed a bit.

"Because, why...?" Connie asked, her voice softer than it was before.

"Because my mom's dead and my dad's in jail for possession," Nick told her,in a low voice, as he perched his elbow on the desk, and leaned his knuckle against his forehead.

"...Really?" Connie asked.

"...I haven't lied to you yet, have I?" Nick pointed out.

Connie didn't say anything.

"I live with my big sister," Nick continued "...have been, for a few years now."

Connie nodded, but still remained silent.

"...Yeah, we've never baked my Dad a cake with a file in it, but we do send him a card for his birthday, every year," Nick told her.

Connie remained still and quiet.

Nick smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Well...?" he asked "...aren't you gonna say something?"

But Connie didn't say a word, she just walked over to Nick, sat down in his lap...and hugged him.

"...I don't need any sympathy hugs, Bender," he told her "...I've already had enough of those."

"...So maybe this is for me," Connie told him, still not letting go.

Nick sighed.

"...You're lucky you're cute," he told her.

"...I've been thinking the same thing about you all day," she replied.

Nick smirked, and wrapped his arms around her.

Song stanza is from the song "I'd Lie" by Taylor Swift.

Reviews are love, and love is meant to be shared...:P

- Ace's Buddy