Chapter 4! Sorry it's been so long, for some reason, my teachers all decided to give huge projects at the same time. So that took up a lot of my focus this week.

Anyway, I've actually had this chapter planned for while so it will hopeful play out well.

I love reviews. (Just saying!)

Enjoy!

Danny's POV

"Where are Sam and Cathy?" I asked Chris as I opened my locker. Usually, all four of us met up at our lockers in the morning. But today, it was only Chris and I. Something wasn't right.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them this morning," Chris replied, looking around the hall for them. "I don't see them now either."

"I wonder if an alien captured them," I said in a quieter voice. The MBC is a secret organization, after all. "They could've gotten them last night. Sam did leave early. And who knows what happened at Cathy's house after we left."

"Danny, I don't think an alien captured them," Chris responded. "The scanner would've picked it up."

As if on cue, our v-coms started beeping. There really was an alien somewhere in Single Town.

"Still don't believe me?" I asked, smirking triumphantly.

"Kind of," Chris replied, quickly shutting the door to his locker. "Okay, what are we going to do about the…"

"Hey guys!" Cathy said cheerfully as she walked up to us.

"Hey Cath, we were just wondering where you were when," I began, but stopped before telling her about the alien alert when Max walked up after her. Did he really need to give me another reason to dislike him?

"Hi," Max said.

"Sorry I wasn't here earlier. I was showing Max around the school," Cathy explained, smiling at Max. He smiled back. I continued to hate him. I don't honestly know what Chris was thinking right now. (Sometimes I wish I were a mind reader like Cathy's cousin Elton. Then I could narrate these things better!)

"Well that was nice of you," Chris said. I guess that's what he was thinking. (How unexciting!)

"Yeah, it was really helpful. I would've been completely lost if it weren't for Cathy and her expert tour guide skills," Max said in reply, his smile becoming warmer. I didn't like that smile. That's the same smile I give Wendy every single time I see her. This was not looking good.

"Glad I could help," Cathy responded, her cheeks turning slightly red. She looked away from Max and down at the floor. The warning signs continued to flash in my head. Cathy would usually get all shy and nervous around a guy she liked.

"Well, I have to get to class. Get through all of the new kid stuff with the teacher. See ya around," Max said with a wave and one last smile at Cathy. He disappeared down the hall, but was stopped before leaving completely by a red haired girl and her brunette friend.

"He's amazing," Cathy sighed, watching Max.

"That was nice of you to show him around," Chris said. (Wow, you totally didn't just say that two minutes ago!)

"Oh, it was no trouble," Cathy replied. She looked dreamily back at Max. "No trouble at all."

"That's wonderful, Cath. Now let's go find Sam. Class is going to start in ten minutes and she's never this late," I said quickly, really wanting to end all conversation about Max. I don't like the guy. Enough said.

"Okay. Sounds good," Cathy replied, not sounding fully with it. She was still dreamily watching Max. Grr.

"You're jealous," Chris said in a voice that was so quiet, I wasn't even sure that I heard it. I faced him, and he turned to face me.

"I am not jealous," I whispered back. Chris only nodded in reply. "I am not!"

"You are and you know it as well as I do," Chris replied. I sighed. I didn't want to talk about this right now.

"Whatever. You can believe whatever you want. Let's just go find Sam," I said, giving up on people for the moment. I don't think I've ever been more excited to get to class than I am right now.

"Okay. You don't want to admit it, fine. Let envy eat you up until you can't take it anymore and crack," Chris replied.

"What book did you get that one out of?" I asked.

"Why does that matter?" Chris asked in reply.

"Stop reading," I said humorlessly. Chris just smiled and turned back to the mystified Cathy. What did she see in Max anyway?

"Come on, guys. We need to go find…" I stopped midsentence as I turned back to Cathy as well. Because only a little ways down the hall, I saw Max talking to… Wendy. She seemed to be flirting with him, and he was flirting back. And it was working!

I just stared. How in the world was that boy doing this? He'd captured the hearts of both of the girls I liked. Yes, I was more open about my feelings for Wendy than I was with my feelings for Cathy. But still, how was this guy able to woo both of them? I just didn't understand it.

"Are you going to admit to being jealous now?" Chris asked, actually audible this time.

"Danny's jealous? Of who?" Cathy asked, turning back to face us as she snapped back to reality. (Finally!)

"No, and it doesn't matter because I am not jealous," I snapped, glaring at Chris.

"Okay. Whatever you say. Let's go find Sam," Cathy said, not seeming to sense my defensiveness. I suppose that was a good thing.

The three of us began to walk down the hall together, the opposite way of where Max and Wendy were. We were quiet. It was nice. We met Sam as we turned the corner down the next hall.

"Hey guys," Sam said cheerfully as the four of us nearly ran into each other. "Sorry I'm late. It was just a crazy morning."

"Yeah. Those aren't fun," Cathy agreed. "Are you ready for the Romeo and Juliet Act Three test today?"

"We'll see," Sam replied, running ahead of us to get to her locker. I laughed. That wasn't the usual Sam response to a question involving a test. The Sam response was usually yes. The Chris response was always a yes. The Cathy response was often a yes, sometimes a hopefully. And as for the Danny response? No!

Cathy's POV

No matter what I did, I couldn't stop thinking about Max. I was finding it hard to ask Sam about what had happened to her that morning. That's just how transfixed I was with Max. It almost feels like he put some sort of love spell on me. But I don't care. I love it! I feel like I'm floating on air every time I talk to him, or see him for that matter! I wonder if this is what true love feels like…

Sam's POV

I honestly don't know how I'm going to survive this day. Here I am, pretending like nothing's wrong. EVERYTHING'S WRONG! My friends, the very people and alien I'm talking to, could be killed any second for no reason at all! And as for me, I had to keep my mouth shut about everything that happened last night. If not… I don't even want to think about that. So I'm just going to play happy and not let anyone see that something's wrong.

Chris' POV

Something's wrong with Sam. I can tell. Her words ring happy, she's smiling, but her eyes are troubled. They aren't sparkling like they usually do. Something's bothering her. Her smile isn't truly happy either. But that's even harder to catch than the eyes. I don't even think that Cathy and Danny notice anything wrong with her.

I'm considering not telling Sam about the alien alert. Unless she already knows. I'll let her bring it up. Because for the times being, I'm more concerned about finding out what's bothering Sam.

Sam isn't as imperceptible as she thinks. =)

So, what do you think?

As previously stated, I love reviews. No flames please, (they make me sad!)

Chapter 5 coming soon!

P.S. You get to meet some more new characters in chapter 5! Any guesses on who they might be?

Read on!