A/N: Here's chappie three, folks.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bakugan, people other than me do. I don't like those people…They could have done a better job, with animation and dubbing and all…And they practically killed off my Maskerado-kun…T.T
"Oh," Runo said, slightly resentfully. She didn't want Masquerade to see just how much he had helped her in one day. "I get it."
"Uh huh." Masquerade mumbled, bored and tired. "Need help with the rest of that section?"
"Um…no. I should be okay here."
"Gotcha."
Runo glance at him sideways, and surprised herself. She hadn't realized it, but even as caught up in her work as she was, she ought to have realized it.
Masquerade was now sitting right beside her on the bed; he must have moved from his original spot when he was helping her. Now that she thought about it, she did remember him moving, but she was too frustated with one particular problem and didn't think that much of it.
He noticed her look. Raising his hands as though to defend himself, he went back to his seat on the bedside table. "Out of your bed, right?"
"Right," she said, looking back at the work in her lap, bothered by the fact that, for some reason…
She banished that thought before it could be fully completed. She was just too focused on her work, that's why she hadn't been that bothered by him…
It was silent for a few minutes; the only sound being the scratching of Runo's pencil and her muffled mutterings as she worked out the problems. She felt Masquerade's gaze on her, but she pretended not to notice.
"You know…"
Runo started. She glared at Masquerade for breaking the silence. "What?!"
"You haven't asked me any questions yet. Given up on that idea?"
Runo saw her chance. "Well, yeah, it's obviously point…"
"Or," Masquerade interrupted, smirking, "Are you just trying to lure in me into a false sense of security, and then casually worm the information out of me?"
Runo's heart plummeted.
"What did I say?" Tigrerra muttered into Runo's ear. "Crafty."
Runo decided to change the subject. "What time is it?"
Masquerade continued to smirk. "How am I supposed to know?"
"Because my clock is right beside you, jerk!"
"Well, wouldn't you be able to see?"
"No!" Not true. She could easily see it beside Masquerade; that was the problem. "You look!"
"Fine." He picked it up, and glanced at the glowing numbers. "Uh, 5:28. Happy?"
"Yep." Runo bent her head back over her work…and jerked up again. "Dan!"
"What about him?" Masquerade asked, almost…sourly?
"He's coming over at 5:30! You have to go!"
"Already?" he pouted. "What's he coming over for?"
"He's a friend! Friends visit their friends houses all the time!"
"Really…" Masquerade looked thoughtful. "Hmm…What else do friends do?"
"I don't know, talk about stuff and…help each other out! Now you have to leave!" Runo started to panic; why wasn't Masquerade leaving? He was the one who wanted to keep this a secret… "Dan and the others will be here any minute!"
"Okay then." Masquerade sighed regretfully. "I'll see you tomorrow." He vanished, just as someone pounded up the stairs and threw open the door.
"Hey Runo!" Dan waved enthusiastically. Her heart skipped a beat. "Done your math homework yet?"
"Uh…yeah, almost…"
"Really?" Alice entered the room, with the rest of the Brawlers. "It's only been a couple of hours…normally it takes you much longer."
"Thanks, Alice," Runo muttered as Dan snickered. "So, whatcha guys wanna do?"
"I thought we'd go down to the park for a bit, brawl for a bit…"
"Sounds great." Runo stood up; she only had about ten questions left to do anyways, she could finish them off when she got back. "Let's go."
"Yay!" Julie cheered as they hurried downstairs. "This'll be fun, right, Danny?"
"Uh, sure…"
* * * * * * * * * * *
She hadn't expected there to be so many brawlers, including them, at the park. Definitely not enough to keep her battling till nearly bedtime.
"Hurry!" she called to Alice. She didn't need to; the red head was right beside her.
"I know, Runo!"
What was she going to do about the rest of her questions? There was no way she get away with staying up late to do them, her parents were sticklers when it came to proper sleep. She wouldn't have enough time to rush through them in the morning. She could probably work on them at school before class started…
She and Alice barged through through the restaurant door.
"Runo, Alice." grinned at the panting girls. "We were just closing up. You two better hurry upstairs and get to bed, 'kay?"
"Yes, dad," Runo said miserably as she and Alice trudged up the stairs.
"Runo," Alice said slowly, with a glance at the abandoned work on Runo's bed. "You finished your homework, right?"
Runo turned red, turning away from the red-head to hurriedly pack the papers up. She glanced despairingly at the work, then blinked. "Uh…I did."
All the questions she had left were done, in her writing.
"But, Runo," Tigrerra whispered, low enough that Alice couldn't hear. "You didn't have them finished. I remember that very clearly."
"Well, I'm not complaining," Runo muttered back, setting Tigrerra in her dollhouse. "Night, Tig. Night, Alice," she added.
"Good night, Runo," Alice yawned, climbing into bed. "Good job on doing your homework so fast."
"Yeah…"