Hey, guys! I'm going to start sounding like a broken record, but I can't emphasize enough how great it is to know that a lot of people still read this story. Thanks to everyone for all the support. Hope you guys like the chapter. The next chapter will be up soon.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.

Regalia High

Chapter 8: What Just Happened?

He and Luxa hadn't talked in days. The two of them didn't get along. Since the year before, when they were freshmen, the only conversation that occurred between them was an argument.

Gregor and Luxa were far from friends. She was right. They were nothing. And Gregor had already accepted that.

So why did her words leave a knot in his stomach and a lump in his throat?

-O-

The weekend fixed absolutely nothing.

When he arrived to school on Monday morning, Gregor was hopeful that the second week of school wouldn't be as bad as the first. He realized that if his issues could extend over a weekend with no problems, then they could easily stretch out to bother him throughout the entire school year.

And that didn't sound too exciting.

When the bell rang and it was time to go to class, it became obvious that things were still the same. Luxa had taken her things from her locker early again and was already in her seat when Gregor walked in. She didn't so much as look up as he sat down, and her expression was serious.

Gregor let out a sigh of defeat and turned to the front of the class. His attention didn't last long up there, however, as he quickly realized that someone was watching him. Turning his head slightly, he found Ares giving him the same look he had given him the last few days of the first week.

Again, he couldn't help but realize that the stare wasn't threatening. It wasn't a friendly stare, but Gregor was just happy that Ares didn't look like he wanted to beat him up. Still, whether he wanted to hurt him or not, Gregor wasn't friends with Ares, and this only added to his list of uncertainties. He didn't know what Ares was thinking, and he definitely didn't know what Luxa was thinking.

It was turning out to be the worst start of a school year in the history of forever. And it was all because he couldn't get Luxa out of his thoughts.

Gregor caught himself glancing over at her a few times. He honestly tried not to. He was still a bit hurt by her words. Perhaps the same way she had been hurt by his. Thinking of that made him feel bad. He needed to stay away from her.

But he couldn't. Every time she was called on by the teacher to answer a question, he leaned forward a bit, hoping to hear her voice. It was dumb, really. Gregor stopped himself every time he realized what he was doing. The times he didn't catch himself, he felt his ears get warm with embarrassment. He wondered if anyone might have seen what he was doing. After thinking about it, he decided he didn't care. Hearing Luxa talk was well worth it.

From what he could tell, Luxa was upset like the week before. Deep down, Gregor still hoped that it was because what had happened in detention. She seemed the same, though. Luxa was still upset, but just the same. Gregor thought she might have been more shaken up by what had happened with Gorger, but she didn't show any signs of stress from it. She walked the hallways without fear, and she still disregarded the dent that decorated the outside of her locker.

Gregor wondered how long he would be worried about her. She didn't care about him, whether she was sad they weren't friends or not. It wasn't like she worried about him. But thinking about her was seriously the highlight of his day. Otherwise, he would just be bored at school all day.

Class was never the most interesting thing in the world. He usually learned things he was never going to use as an adult. Gregor had never given much thought to what he would do when he grew up, but he was sure it wasn't going to involve over half of the stuff the teachers were trying to hammer into his brain.

His weekend wasn't the best, either. Friday night wasn't too bad, though. Gregor got permission to go to Larry's house, and the two of them stayed up pretty late playing video games. He stayed the night and woke to the smell of fresh pancakes that Larry's mom was making. But the rest of that Saturday was used to do homework for Ms. Solovet's class. Apparently, one of the kids in class had said something about her at lunch, and she had heard about it. She responded by giving the entire class extra homework.

Sunday was used up for chores and studying. Mr. Vikus was his homeroom teacher and didn't teach too much, but he said he would give them a quiz on the school rules and things like that. So Gregor had to make sure he knew the dress code and rules and that all the forms he had been given were signed by his parents. Just boring start-of-the-year stuff.

Despite the warning of a quiz, Gregor had grown to admire the old man. It wasn't the same kind of respect he had for Ripred. It was different. The older man had stepped in more than once to stop Henry from picking on Gregor or other kids. It was fairly obvious that he didn't like violence, and Gregor was grateful for that. The studying he did for the quiz wasn't so much to get good grades. It was more to stay on good terms with Mr. Vikus. He didn't want to get a bad grade and cause the old man to look down on him with disappointment. The problems he had with other people were more than enough.

Track practice that day went just like it had the week before. Gregor wasn't too happy that he was thinking about Luxa all the time while he ran, but he wasn't so mad about it either. He didn't really care anymore. If he was somehow feeling a certain way, it wasn't like it was his fault. He had tried to stay away, but it didn't make a difference. He was only a sophomore in high school. What did he know about love? He didn't know anything! Unless, it wasn't love. Maybe it was something else. Or was it? He needed to talk to someone about it.

"Alright, ladies! Hurry up and gather around! And don't trip on your skirt on your way here!"

But definitely not Ripred.

"I said hurry up!" snarled the coach.

All of the runners jogged over quickly to stand around Ripred. They were all tired, but not doing exactly what Ripred said when it came to track was the perfect way to get a punishment. One that would include about an hour of time and eight miles of distance.

"Some of you might have seen that a Dodgeball Tournament is coming up. The reason why it's being held so early in the year is to test how popular it can get. In the school's perspective. they want to know if they can make money off of it. With the people that show up to watch, there's snacks and drinks that are sold to them. If they decide they can benefit from it, the school will make a team."

"A team?" Some of the kids were interested in the conversation now, and there were soft murmurs going about the crowd. "Is it even a sport?"

"It's a sport!" growled Ripred. "And if the school likes what happens that day, they'll let me make a team out of it. We can make a league with the rest of the schools from the district."

"That sounds like fun!" said a girl from the sprint team that Gregor didn't recognize.

"It should be," responded Ripred. He looked around at the group once more. "So here's what I want you all to do. I want all of you to go and show the principals that this can be as big as football or basketball. Make as much noise as you can in the stands and buy some snacks to watch the game. It should be exciting. I'll be coaching it."

Gregor knew that he was being forced to go by Ripred, but he had already decided to go. Angelina had made him and Lizzie promise that they would go to see Larry play. He had been so excited, and Gregor wanted to be there for him.

"Will you be coaching the dodgeball team if it becomes an actual team?" asked one of the long jumpers.

"Most likely. But we'll see. Now go run a cool down lap."

-O-

On the day of the tournament, a week later, the school buzzed with excitement. Everyone had giddy expressions, and they were all excited to finally see the dodgeball team play. That day, no one could speak of anything else. Classes felt like they dragged on forever, and the time couldn't go by any faster.

There were rumors that the dodgeball team would definitely be something to fear. No doubt, the rumors were sparked by the fact that Henry and Ares were on the team. Everyone knew them, and they were loved by everyone for their athleticism. They were both the stars of the football and basketball teams, and they had decided to give the dodgeball thing a try.

Gregor wanted to be as excited as Larry and Angelina, but he just couldn't. The past week had been just the same. Luxa still ignored him, and it was slowly making him more miserable. Lizzie had caught him twice staring at her, and he only ignored her when she asked why he was so interested in her. He might have answered, since he tried not to keep anything from his sister, but he didn't say anything. In order to answer Lizzie's question, Gregor had to know the answer himself. And he didn't.

As he entered the gym after school, he found Angelina already sitting in a spot near the half court line. She waved at him, and Gregor slowly made his way through the crowds. Once he was up on the bleachers, Gregor got a good look around.

The gym had been completely re-decorated to show their school colors. There were balloons hanging from the walls, and streamers came waving down from the ceiling. Gregor was the only one not wearing a school shirt, and he felt a little weird. He didn't feel left out. It was more like when he had shown up to one of Angelina's school plays and he was dressed in a t-shirt while everyone else had formal clothing.

Angelina smiled at him when he sat down and she bumped into him playfully. Gregor was afraid that she might do something, and there it was. She seemed to think of them going alone as some kind of date between them.

Lizzie had promised that she would go, but she was at a Chess Club meeting. Gregor was happy with what his sister had chosen to do. She was really smart, and chess was really easy for her. She had a gift for being able to see what the other person was going to do a few moves before it happened. Plus, it was a club where there was no physical contact. Sports might be fun, but Gregor was scared that his tiny sister might get hurt. In chess, there was no danger of that. She had been instantly placed with all the advanced players, which were mostly seniors, and she was doing great.

Gregor tried to do his best to ignore the little bumps Angelina was throwing his way. They were subtle, but they were still noticeable. He was sure that if someone was paying attention, they could tell that Angelina was trying to flirt by the way she batted her eyes at him when she spoke or how she placed her hand on his thigh every once in a while.

His heart skipped a beat when he realized something. Luxa would probably be here with Aurora to see Henry and Ares play on the team. If Luxa saw them, would she misinterpret it like the way Ares had misunderstood what he had seen between Gregor and Aurora? He hoped she wouldn't.

But why was he hoping so much?

Gregor took another look around and saw that Luxa and Aurora were indeed sitting together, but they were a little off the right. As he caught sight of them, both girls instantly turned the other way. He knew that they were staring at him, and their effort to try and hide it was pitiful. It made Gregor smile, though, knowing that Luxa had been looking over at him. Whether she had seen the contact with Angelina or not, at least she had been staring.

Henry and Ares came out of the door that led to the locker rooms, leading the rest of the team out. Their arrival caused a loud cheer to go through the crowd on the bleachers. Whistles and yells were heard, and for a moment, Gregor couldn't even hear his own voice as he asked Angelina where Larry was at.

They finally saw him, smiling when they recognized their friend make it out to the gym. The entire team was wearing athletic clothes, very similar to what they wore for sports practice or gym class. Ripred had said something about not being able to buy uniforms until they were officially made a team by the school district. The coach was now on the gym floor with the players, barking out orders while the kids jogged around.

As they were stretching, Gregor heard a few low shouts and turned to see what was causing the displeasure among the bleachers. He made a face when he realized why. The other team had just shown up.

Gregor hadn't given much thought to who they were going to play, but now, he asked himself how he didn't see this coming. Of course Ripred would do something like this to them. Either win or be punished greatly for losing against your bitter rivals and sworn enemies.

The Fount.

The two high schools had been rivals since they were built. It wasn't a secret that they didn't like each other. Gregor had raced them a few times during track the year before, and he found them to be a bit snobbish and stuck up. He didn't really like them, and if they could beat them in dodgeball, then he would be more excited to see the game than he thought.

The Fount kids walked over to the other side of the gym and began getting ready. They stretched and warmed up quickly, keeping their faces blank to show that they were there for business. A large crowd had followed the Fount players off the buses and sat on the bleachers on the other side. They were all dressed in their own school colors, and a guy with paint all over his face jumped up and down on the bleachers, shirtless.

That guy had a lot a school spirit, but Gregor almost smiled when he realized that he was the best they could get to having a mascot. The Fount didn't have a costume for someone to wear and represent their school. Their school mascot, or symbol, he should say, were the Waterfalls.

What kind of a mascot was a Waterfall?

He knew that they weren't always supposed to be animals or people, but really? It made Gregor think of huge cascades that might need to be climbed in order to get to the Fount. It was true, the school was located up high, but they were up a ways out on a hill, not on a waterfall.

He looked over to his own side and saw his school's mascot running around, waving and putting his hand up to his ear, begging the crowd to cheer louder. He might not have a lot of school spirit, but he was definitely proud of his mascot.

They were the Regalia High Warriors.

The battle between rivals was no doubt the reason why everyone was there, and he began to smile. They really needed to beat them. Gregor didn't understand why he felt so ready to see the Fount lose.

The scoreboard that was used for the basketball games was being used to show time. In dodgeball, it wasn't really based on score, but time still played a part in the game. At the moment, however, it showed how much longer both teams had to warm up before the game started.

They only had a few more minutes before it began, and all of the players slowly walked over to their coaches for the last instructions. Ripred was probably giving them a pep talk, the same one he gave Gregor and the rest of the track team before a race.

The rules for the dodgeball game weren't too complicated. Each team had ten players, but only five would be out on the court at a time. The other five would be standing in a line on the outside of the line. As soon as one player was out, another one would replace him from the line. If a player caught a ball, one of the players who was already out could jump back into the line with the replacements, and the guy from the other team who had thrown it would be out.

When the buzzer rang to get ready for the game, Ripred ordered the players to sprint back and forth a couple of times on their half of the court to get their blood pumping. It was meant to get the players loosened out and get their oxygen running through their bodies. It was not meant to injure anyone right before the game started.

But that's exactly what happened.

On one of the sprints, Larry tried to turn at a high speed and twisted his ankle. Gregor saw it from the distance and winced while Angelina let out a gasp and covered her mouth with both hands. She put a hand on Gregor's shoulder and urged him to go see if Larry was alright. Gregor didn't need to be told twice. His friend was in trouble.

Gregor could hear Larry's yelps of pain before he got there. One of the other players was helping Larry off the court, letting Larry lean on him while Larry kept his arm around his neck. His ankle was sprained, and the swelling was kicking in fast. It was clear he wasn't going to play. Not today, at least.

"What are we going to do?" asked the kid after he had set Larry down on one of the bottom bleachers.

Ripred ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. I barely convinced ten kids to join. And we need ten. Otherwise, we have to forfeit. There's no one else that signed up."

Gregor looked over at Ripred and saw that the coach was truly upset. Out of everyone, Ripred did not like the idea of losing to the Fount. He was a coach, but everyone knew the stories of Ripred as a student at Regalia High.

He was a very gifted athlete, and he succeeded at every sport he played. He was known as the guy who single handedly beat the Fount in the Basketball Championship Finals all four years he went to high school. They said that back then, it wasn't Regalia versus the Fount. It was Ripred versus the Fount.

Larry turned his pain stricken face to the coach and said, "No. We don't have to forfeit. Gregor will go in for me."

Gregor turned his head to look at his friend in the eyes. "What?!"

"Please, Gregor? It'll only be for this one game. After that, I'll be better, and you wouldn't have to play anymore. Don't make us forfeit."

Shaking his head, he looked at the coach. Why did he have to make such a big decision? He wasn't even part of the team!

"Come on, boy. Only this game. Larry's right. When he gets better, you won't have to do this anymore. I just don't want to give them such an easy win," he said as he pointed at the Fount players.

Gregor looked at his friend, then at the coach, then back to his friend. He sighed.

"Okay, fine. I'll do it."

What was he getting himself into?

"Thanks, man," said Larry, reaching his arm out to give him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Well then, hurry up!" ordered Ripred, not bothering to thank him. "The game is about to start. You need to get changed out!"

As Ripred changed his and Larry's names on the player sheet, Gregor ran to the locker room to get changed out. He only had his track stuff, but Ripred had said that it was fine. He hoped he could get there in time to be first. He knew Ares and Henry wanted to be last, and so did Ripred, since they were the star players. But just as he was putting his shirt on, the buzzer went off to start the game. Well, so much for that idea.

When Gregor made it back out to the gym, some of the guys were already out. Ripred yelled at him for being late, but in the end, all he could do was motion for him to get behind Henry on the line. As he approached the line, he could have sworn he heard Ripred yell something about how hits to the face were legal. When he got into position, Henry looked back at him but didn't say anything. It was obvious he didn't like not being the last one.

The team from the Fount was good. They took out almost everyone on Regalia's team within a short time. Before long, Ares and Henry ran into the action, and they started delivering bullets. The Fount instantly saw the change in game and began focusing their attention on the two new players.

On one play, Ares was taken out from a fast ball that came at Henry. Henry wasn't paying attention, and Ares took the hit for him. Gregor admired that kind of loyalty. It was obvious Ares respected Henry a lot to do that. But Henry never even looked at Ares or thanked him in any way. Gregor saw Ares drop his gaze a bit and walk to the line where all the guys who were out were standing.

Now it was Gregor's turn to go in.

He had secretly been hoping that Ares and Henry would take care of the rest of the Fount's team. It had been kind of exciting to watch to others drop like flies at the hands of Regalia's best players. From watching, he had seen that some of the players were protecting themselves from the dodgeballs that were flying at them with the ones that were rolling around on the ground. If something came his way, he would be able to deflect it with one of those. That's what he was going to do.

On his way to the back of his team's territory for a ball, the Fount's kids bombarded his team with throws, and when Gregor turned around with a ball in his hand, ready to protect himself, he realized that he was the only one left on his team.

"Do not throw anything! Protect yourself and try to catch them if they come close! If you catch them, more of us can go in!" he heard Henry shout at him.

Well, it seemed like a simple enough plan. All he had to do was make sure he didn't get hit. And if a ball came at a slow enough speed, he had to try and catch it to get more people on his team. Simple enough.

But something else happened.

Gregor was alone against four players from the Fount. As they pulled their arms back and aimed at him, something strange happened. His vision became fuzzy, almost as if it were blurring, but the players from the other team were clearly defined. These were his targets. Before he knew what was happening, he saw his arms and legs move in a combination of swift movements that he couldn't control. He felt himself jump, duck, and even felt a slight breeze as a dodgeball shot past his ear, missing him by a few centimeters.

When his vision came back, he was standing in the middle of his side's half court, panting softly. Gregor saw that everyone on the Fount's team was out, except for two. The two that were still standing had huge red marks on their faces, probably from getting hit with a ball there. But who had hit them? And why weren't they holding their hands to their faces?

They had shocked looks, which seemed to be the reason they cared for nothing else. But it still had to be painful, getting hit in the face. What was keeping them from doing it? They seemed to be too busy looking at…him?

After realizing that the players were indeed looking at him, Gregor noticed that it was strangely quiet. In fact, it was completely silent. Wasn't he in a gym packed with people?

He looked around and saw that everyone was staring at him. Everyone from Regalia and the Fount. Angelina, Larry, Ripred, Henry, Ares, Aurora, and Luxa.

Everyone in the gym was looking at him with their eyes wide and their mouths open.

Ok, so how many of you have had that happen? I mean, when everybody just stares at you? I certainly have. I find this very funny, because I LOVE dodgeball. Thing is, I'm only good at half of it. I can dance around the whole time and never get hit, and I can catch 99% of the balls thrown at me, but I suck at throwing, and will always have my ball get caught. So, please follow, favorite, and review!

Question: How will others (especially Luxa *wink wink*) respond to what Gregor did?

Until next time,

-Tytonic