A/N: Haaaaay y'all! Don't hate me, I know it took forever. I've had an extreeeeemely stressful past couple of weeks/months, and honestly its not quite over yet. I finally was hit with inspiration, however, and was able to crank out another chapter. I know I'm getting kinda scattered when it comes to plot, but I think I have found a direction and I'm just gonna keep going with it. Even though it takes me a while to update, don't give up on me! I'll be here with another chapter when you least expect it! I'll be done with finals in a few weeks so hopefully I'll have another chapter for you guys by then :) Thank you so so soooo much for reading really I love you all so much. Your reviews make my day every single time, and it means a lot to know that my story has a few fans out there. Anyway, enough of the rant! Enjoy the chapter!

No, no, no. Its not a date. I blame Kenny for getting me so freaked out about this. Adam would understand, right? He wasn't going to freak out. Right? He definitely was not the jealous type… was he?

Oh jeez. I need to stop doing this to myself. This was Adam we were talking about. We've been going out long enough that I should be able to tell him anything and know that he would understand. I took a deep breath and smiled at myself in the mirror. This was going to be perfectly fine.

I tilted my head and looked at myself a little more closely. Loooong, wavy, light brown hair, which reached all the way to the small of my back. Green eyes that have always felt too big for my face, framed by dark eyebrows. A bit below average height, but in a way that usually worked to my advantage. My body was toned from hockey, but I have always felt too skinny. When I look at myself, I see an average looking girl. I will never understand why Will or even Adam bother with me, when there are millions of other (probably less emotionally complicated) girls out there. Adam always tells me that I'm so much more beautiful then I can see, but he's my boyfriend so he's supposed to say that.

"Why is it that I always find you like this?"

I turned around to see Charlie staring at me with an amused look on his face and I laughed. "I'm deep in thought. Don't bug me."

He rolled his eyes. "Seriously though, are you alright? You were awfully quiet today, you know, for you."

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Who knew senior year was going to be so stressful though! Why is no one else freaking out as much as I am?" I asked, actually curious. I mean, was there something wrong with me? Most of the other Ducks have just as much to deal with as I do, and I'm the only one acting like a big baby.

Charlie came over and sat down on the bench in front of my locker, and motioned for me to sit next to him. I came over and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"Everyone else will go through this, too, don't worry. We have a lot to deal with this year, you're just realizing it a little sooner then everyone else. You know the Ducks. They leave every confrontation until the last possible second. This is no different."

A let out a deep breath and looked at Charlie. "You're right. Why is it that you are always so right?"

"Years and years of practice," he said with a faux-cocky wink. "Now whats this I hear about you going on a date with Will Frank?"

I groaned. "It is not a date! Who told you that? Don't answer, I'm going to kill Kenny. Did he tell anyone else?"

Charlie laughed. "I was kidding! Kenny told me, and only me, what went down because he figured you could use some advice."

I groaned again and buried my face in my arms. "I have to tell him, right?" I asked, although my words were muffled.

"Tell who what?" a new voice to the conversation asked.

My head shot up. "Adam. Nothing! No one."

Charlie, who was still seated next to me, stood up shaking his head. "I'll talk to you later, Darce. See ya later, Banksie," he said giving Adam a nod and exiting the locker room. Over Adam's shoulder Charlie turned around and mouthed "TELL HIM."

Adam had a confused look on his face. "Okay, I missed something."

"It's nothing," I said, shooting Charlie a glare as he walked away. "Ready to go? Lets go for a walk."

"Umm okay," Adam said, obviously suspicious that something was going on. He always knew when I was lying, which was seriously not coming in handy at this point. Nevertheless, he grabbed my hand and linked our fingers together.

"Lets take the long way back," I said as we exited the locker room. As soon as we stepped outside we were immediately hit with a crisp gust of fall wind.

"I guess summer is already over, huh?" I asked Adam after a few moments of walking in silence, trying to avoid the subject.

Adam pulled me to a stop. "Okay, whats going on? You only take the long way when you have something big to say and you only talk about the weather when you're trying to stall. I know you're not telling me something."

I sighed. How did he always know? Was I really that transparent with my emotions? "It's really not a big deal, Adam. I just don't want you to freak out over nothing."

"The fact that you think I would freak out at all is what's making me nervous. Darce, we've been going out for a long time. You know you can tell me anything, right?" He had a look of such sincerity on his face that I was hit with an almost crippling wave of love for him. Why did he have to be so perfect and I have to be so… not perfect? It really isn't fair.

I took a deep breath and decided to dive right in. "You remember Will Frank?"

In .5 seconds Adam's facial expression went from love to hatred. "What about Will Frank? What did he do?"

Perhaps thats not how I should have opened the subject. "Its not what you're thinking."

"Really? Because I'm thinking about how he's been trying to steal my girlfriend for three years. So please, prove me wrong and tell me: what about Will Frank?" Adam asked angrily.

Shit. I hadn't even told him yet and he was already mad. At least I know he isn't actually mad at me, per say…. Yet. Gulp.

"Well, he asked me to meet him for coffee later, and I said I would." I said, biting my lip.

"Jesus, Darcy. You know that guy only wants one thing from you. Why would you agree to go out with him?" He was glaring at me. I hated that look from him.

"I'm not 'going out' with him. He said he needed to talk to me about Student Council," I replied defensively.

"Of course he would say that to get you to go out with him! Before we were going out I would say anything just to have five minutes alone with you. You're being stupid about this, Darcy." He turned away and was running his hands through his hair angrily.

The part of me that knew Adam would get over this was swooning inside at his little love confession that was hidden within his anger. But the other part, and at this point much larger part, was getting angry at Adam for getting angry at me.

"Hey, I'm not stupid, Adam," I said angrily, pulling his arm so he had to look at me. His eyes softened the tiniest bit because I knew he felt bad about calling me that, but he wouldn't apologize until this was over. "I am in a relationship with you. You know this, I know this, Will knows this. I would not ever go on a date with anyone else, ever. You know that!"

Adam gave me a grudging nod, and I continued.

"He said this was about student council. I, as a member of student council, am curious to see what he has to say. If he tries anything, I will set him straight once and for all! And never trust him again. I am capable of taking care of myself, you know. Don't you trust me?"

I was standing with my arms crossed, looking directly into Adam's eyes. He stared back for a second, before groaning and putting his face in his hands. He looked back up at me, and the anger was replaced with remorse. "You're right. I'm sorry. I do trust you. I do. It's him I don't trust." He took a step closer to me and put his arms around me. "I just really can't lose you. I don't know what I'd do."

I gave in and put my arms around him too, and put my head against his shoulder. "You aren't going to lose you. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm sorry, too. I should've made sure it was okay with you first."

"No, you shouldn't have to ask me if you can meet up with someone from a class. I trust you, I really do," he said, and he had that sincere look back in his eyes. "If he tries to pull anything, though, I'll kick his ass."

I laughed. "And I wouldn't expect anything less," I said with a smile, leaning in and kissing him. I tried to pull away after a sec, I mean we were still standing in the middle of the quad, but Adam tightened his grip on me and deepened the kiss. I was surprised, but I wasn't complaining so I kissed him back until I was light headed. When we finally broke for air, he leaned his forehead against mine.

"I love you," he said. "Thats why I act like a jerk sometimes."

"I know you do," I replied, giving him another quick peck. "And you aren't a jerk. I would've been worried if you had accepted this without any questions." I said the last part teasingly, but it was true. "Can we just never fight again, please?"

Adam laughed and gave me another drawn out kiss on the lips. "I guess so," he said with one last kiss on the lips.

"Good," I said. I grabbed his arm and linked mine through it, and started to pull us along the path back to the dorms. "Now can we please go back to my room? I'm dying to see what Jack has done with the place."

As we walked along the windy path I told Adam about my day, and honestly just hearing it aloud and knowing that I wouldn't be going through this year alone made me feel a million times better. By the time we got to my dorm, our fight was practically forgotten and everything was feeling back to normal.

When I opened the door, I saw a scene I definitely wasn't expecting.

There was Jack, standing on her bed, securing a pretty strand of Christmas lights above our window. That wasn't the surprising part, though. Charlie was standing on my bed, hanging up the other side. The two were laughing about something that obviously occurred right before we walked in. The two of them didn't seem to notice Adam and I at first.

"Charlie?" I said. "What are you doing here?"

I guess it was my turn to take them by surprise. Charlie spun around quickly and jumped off the bed, although I'm pretty sure that that was an accident because his cheeks turned a little pink. Jack was slightly more calm, she turned around and then gracefully sat down and smiled.

"Jesus, DJ, you scared me," Charlie said.

I laughed. "Sorry," I said, walking into the room with Adam trailing behind me. "Not that I'm not stoked to see you, but you didn't answer my question."

"I came over to see how your little chat went," he said, eyeing Adam and I suggestively. "Looks like all is well?"

I smiled and sat down on my bed, pulling Adam down next to me. I looked at him, then at Charlie before saying, "Yeah, I guess so." Adam laughed and kissed me on the head. "Anyway, Jack! The room looks amazing." In addition to the lights around the window, she had also put some more around the mirror on the back of the door. She had hung up a few posters and the rest of her wall was completely covered in photos. It all looked so hip and perfect and I couldn't have planned it better myself.

"Thanks!" Jack said, smiling and looking around the room. "I'm glad you like it! I can definitely see myself getting used to this place."

I let my eyes wander over to Jack's pictures hung up on the wall. There were a lot of pictures from skiing trips, school dances, parties, some family portraits… all the usual stuff. I noticed the same four boys and three girls in a lot of the pictures, and the majority of the wall seemed to be random combinations of the eight of them. There was one boy who seemed to pop up more often then the others, a boyfriend perhaps? I definitely needed to get the scoop on this later when Jack and I were alone.

Jack and Adam were chatting about their homework from Econ, so I glanced over at Charlie who was sitting on the chair at my desk. He was also looking at the pictures on Jack's wall, except his "casual observation" was looking a little less casual due to the scowl on his face. He shifted his eyes towards me, and when he saw me looking his cheeks turned bright red. Oh, dear brother, how easy you are to read. He really liked her! I looked back at him with a smug smile on my face.

Charlie stood up quickly and cleared his throat. "I, um, have to go. I have some homework I should really get done," he said.

"Okay," Jack said, smiling at him. "Thanks for all your help today, by the way."

Charlie smiled back, his cheeks still a little pink from all that embarrassment. "Anytime," he replied. "I'll see ya later Darce, Banksie."

Adam and I chorused our goodbyes and I made a mental note to have a serious convo with my silly little brother extremely soon.

"Well, I guess we should start doing our homework, too…" I said reluctantly.

A few hours and a few stupid worksheets later, I was done with my homework for the night. I had completely lost track of time and when I looked at the clock, I was shocked to see that it was 5:45.

"Ah, shit," I said, turning to Adam, who was sitting at my desk finishing up his Calculus homework. "I said I would meet Will at six."

"Okay," Adam said a little stiffly. "I guess I should go then? Call me when you're done, if you want."

I got up from my lounging position on the bed and walked over to him. Jack, who was sitting criss-cross applesauce on her own bed, looked over at us curiously.

"Of course I'll call you," I said to Adam, maneuvering myself so I was standing between his legs facing him. He was so much taller then me that this had us almost eye-to-eye. "I don't want to do this. But you know why I have to."

Adam sighed. "I know. Its just not as easy as I thought it would be to watch you go."

I was then struck with an idea.

"Come with me!" I exclaimed.

"Go with you?" Adam repeated, taken aback by my enthusiasm.

"Yes, come with me! Will never said this was a private meeting, who says you can't come?" How come I didn't think of this sooner? "At the very least go to the Duck Blind with me. You can give us a few minutes of privacy, but this way we'll all feel better, right?"

Adam smiled. "Yeah, that would make me feel a lot better, actually."

I turned to Jack. "Would you like to join us?" I mean, why not? Then Adam would have someone to wait with.

Jack looked up at me, and her cheeks were a little pink. It was obvious she had been trying to act like she wasn't listening… oh well, who can blame her? I talk loud.

"Umm," Jack began. "Sounds fun, but whats the Duck Blind?"

"It's our favorite coffee shop on campus! Its open late every day. Its where we usually have impromptu Duck meetings, but its also where we all just go to chill." I replied excitedly. "I forgot you've never been there! You definitely have to come."

She smiled. "Yeah, sure why not. I could go for some coffee right now."

"Well then, lets go!" I said, grabbing my purse and leaving the room, followed by Adam and Jack.

On the walk to the Duck Blind Adam and I gave Jack an impromptu tour of the campus, pointing out landmark spots that we passed by. It was almost dusk, and the entire campus was flooded in a golden orange glow that made everything look magical. It was absolutely beautiful.

The Duck Blind was crowded with students when we got there, most of them probably trying to prolong the summer by not doing their assignments. Oddly, there didn't seem to be any Ducks there...except for Kenny who was sitting doing homework with his girlfriend Michelle at a table in the corner. I rolled my eyes. He so did that on purpose, he knew I was coming to meet Will and he obviously was keen to watch. He looked up and caught my eye, gave me a little wave, and quickly looked back down when I gave him the evil eye.

I saw Will about five seconds after that, just as he was looking up to glance around the room… presumably to look for me. Jeez. This guy was impatient. I was only five minutes late! When our eyes locked, he smiled, but his smile was quickly turned into a frown when he noticed Adam and Jack standing behind me. Well, I mean I guess it wasn't Jack he was angry about. I shrug-smiled back, and held up my index finger. "One sec," I mouthed to him. I turned to Adam, who was glowering at Will.

"He is way too excited to see you," Adam said, huffing and crossing his arms.

"Oh, please," I said, rolling my eyes at him. "Don't be childish."

Adam grumbled something under his breath, and I took that as an affirmation. I pulled us over to where Will was sitting.

"Hey Will," I said, when we were standing right in front of him.

He stood up as soon as we got there. "Hi," he replied, looking only at me. "I didn't realize you'd be bringing company."

"Frank," Adam said, with the most reluctant nod of his head.

"Banks," Will replied cooly, neither one of them being the first to look away.

"And, um, this is my roommate, Jack," I clumsily interjected into their staring contest. "She's new this year."

"Lovely to meet you, Jack," Will said, turning off the ice he was giving Adam and being his normal charming self, shaking her hand politely.

"They just came to get some coffee," I said. I looked at Adam, and inclined my head toward the line. "Right?"

Adam looked at me for an extra beat, a silent warning that basically meant to get him if anyone's ass needed kicking. "Right," Adam said, smiling at me.

"Can you get me a-?" I began.

"Passion tea with peach?" Adam interrupted.

I giggled and nodded, and Adam leaned in and gave me kiss on the lips, which was obviously just for show. He wanted to give Will a little reminder, and as infantile as it was I let it slide because I wanted to remind Will, too.

"Right, well, we'll be back in a few!" Jack said awkwardly, pulling Adam's arm toward the coffee line and shooting me a look. She probably thought she was just going for a relaxing coffee, the poor girl… I'd have to make that up to her later.

Will, who was still standing at his seat, gestured to the chair opposite his. "Care to sit?" he asked, not a trace of the vehemence that had been present when he was talking to Adam.

"Sure," I said, sitting down. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, the thing is…" he began, but then stopped. "I don't expect an answer right away. You can think about this before you decide."

I cocked my head to the side, confused. "Decide what?" I asked. "You haven't even told me anything yet."

"Right, well, I just wanted you to know that before, so you didn't feel pressured…" I shot him a 'get on with it' look, and he continued. "Would you run with me for Senior social co-chairs?"

I paused, caught completely off guard. That sure wasn't what I was expecting.

At Eden Hall, instead of having one student council president that oversaw all of the schools activities, there were two Senior co-chairs, a boy and a girl. Those who were elected would share the burden of planning all school dances and activities on campus, as well as organize them, publicize them, and make sure that everything is carried out according to plan. They were in charge of decorating the school for pep rallies and getting the students to actually attend those pep rallies. They also ran every student council meeting and made sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing. They also represented Eden Hall at a nation-wide Student Council conference in Washington, D.C. every year. The two that one almost always run as a pair, although that isn't a requirement, and they tend to be the top male and female on campus when it comes to academics, extracurriculars, and popularity.

Never in a million years had I thought about running for it. Me?

"I know its a lot to think about. And I know its a lot of responsibility. But honestly, I think together we can win, and really do a lot of good for the school," Will said warily, trying to talk me into it. I still hadn't said a word since his initial proposal.

I really didn't know what to say. I had never even been in a position of power before, was I really ready to take on one this big? And what if I win? Do I have enough time to take on something like this? My schedule was completely booked as it is.

And on the flip side, what if I were to lose? Talk about soul-crushing.

"Darcy? Do you have anything to say whatsoever?" Will asked, looking at me a little impatiently this time. "I'm not saying decide. I just want to hear your initial reaction…?"

I sighed heavily. "I don't know, Will… this is just so much to think about!"

"Well, why don't you think of the positives? This would look amazing on college applications. With all your other extracurriculars, you'd be exactly the well-rounded candidate that every school is looking for," Will added, sounding straight from the pages of an ivy-league pamphlet.

Which got me thinking… Ivy League. Maybe this was what I needed… That extra boost that would set me apart from other applicants. I mean, not that I necessarily wanted to go to an Ivy but it wouldn't hurt to have my options open!

And then my mind flip-flopped. Adam. How would he react to all of this? As soon as the year gets into full swing, would I have any time left to spend with him?

And then I thought of something else… "Why me?" I asked suddenly. "You could win running with anyone, you know that. So why me?"

Will had the decency to look a little embarrassed, before clearing his throat and answering, "Who says I'm sure I would win? With you, I think we pretty much have the entire population of Eden Hall locked down as voters. Theres a lot of demographic that you cover that I wouldn't get running with anyone else. And regardless of all that, I think you'd do a really great job. You obviously love Eden Hall, and I know you have a lot of great ideas. You're passionate about making not only the school but the world a better place. Not to mention you are a natural born leader, anyone can see that."

I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Did Will really think all those things about me? Could they actually be true? I had never had to think about my own life so objectively before, and it was a bit disconcerting. "Well, no matter what I can't give you an answer right now."

"That's totally fine. I respect that," he said, nodding. "I didn't expect you to be able to answer right away."

"When do you need to know by?" I asked. This was going to be a hard one. Whatever I decide to do, its going to effect the rest of the year.

"As soon as possible? How about by Student Council on Friday?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

Will gave me one of his classic Will-Frank-million-bucks smiles. "Thanks, Darce. Just so you know, no hard feelings no matter what you decide."

I smiled back, and stood to leave. He stood up, too. "I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow," he said glancing at something over my shoulder, then out of nowhere he pulled me in for a hug. I reluctantly gave him a pat on the back before pulling away quickly.

"Bye, Will," I said, and hurriedly turned around. I saw Adam and Jack standing right behind me a little ways away and I hurried towards them. Adam was straight glaring at Will, probably for the sneak-attack hug. I gave him an apologetic shrug as I approached.

"Ugh, I hate that guy," Adam said, handing me my drink and putting his arm over my shoulder. "Can we get out of here now?"

"Stop being so cranky," I said, leaning up to give him a kiss. "Thanks, babe," I added, referring to the drink.

He didn't even acknowledge my thanks, he was so caught up in his crankiness. "I'm just glad that little meeting is over. I hated watching you with him from so far away. He needs to learn his place."

Aww crap. I hadn't even considered the fact that if I did take Will up on this offer, it would involve a lot of one-on-one time, just Will and I. A lot of quality time. Quality time, with a boy who wasn't my boyfriend.

These thoughts came crashing down around me as Adam asked that fateful question: "So, what did Frank want, anyway?"

A/N: And Chapter 5 comes to a conclusion! What did you guys think? Review and let me know! You got some cute Adam-Darcy moments in there, a little bro-sis luuuv, Adam's sexy jealous side… Anyways, please tell me how you feel :) I love you all and thank you for reading 3 xxxx