A/N: Alright guys! Here's a new chapter! I wanted to thank you all for the support and for always being there, reading my silly stories! I hope you like this story so far and I hope you're enjoying it! So here's the chapter of the plan...what would they plan? Well, you'll find it out now! So I'll let you read and I'll stop writing boring stuff! Hope you like it!

TEENAGE DREAM

Chapter 6

The plan

You were walking in silence next to Darren and Jen late in the night, going to Darren's home. You still couldn't believe that you were going to his house this late and that you were going to meet his parents in these conditions. You still couldn't believe that you were going to sleep in the same house than him, but you needed to stop thinking about those stupid things; however, you've never slept in the same house with a guy in it; Peter was the only male friend you had, but you never slept in his house and he never slept in yours. So this was really a new experience in your life and you weren't sure if you'd be comfortable with it. Sometimes you wondered why you always had to be so insecure and why you had to tend to overthink everything. It was just one night that you were going to sleep in a guy's house, and you were going to sleep in a separate room, not big deal.

While you were walking in silence, Darren and Jen were talking about something they had to do in the Rock and Roll Club, something that you couldn't understand because they were talking about beats, solfege, decrescendo and crescendo, tempos, chords, countermelody and you didn't know what else. You sucked at music and it seemed they were talking in alien language; yes it was one of the things you could never understand. And not that you never tried to learn, you tried, yes, but you doubtlessly failed; so you just gave up in learning it. Whatever, they were talking about it and considering that you weren't getting anything, you just kept walking in silence. It was getting colder while you were walking and the wet clothes weren't helping at all, you were freezing and now you wanted to arrive at Darren's house as fast as possible. You wrapped your own arms around yourself, so maybe you could warm up that way. Darren said his house was near from where you were, evidently he was lying.

"Are you cold?" Darren asked amused, looking at you. You, who were looking at the ground while walking, looked up to him.

"No." You lied, still wrapping your arms around yourself. But you sneezed and it betrayed you.

"Bless you." Jen said amused and smiling politely.

"Sneaky sneeze!" Darren exclaimed amused and a bit mockingly.

"Yeah, stupid sneeze." You said doing something really disgusting. But you had no tissues, so you just used your sleeve. "You said your house was near here. You cheater."

"It's near here!" Darren laughed out loud. "Hey, after all we're walking and it's cool to walk sometimes. You lazy."

"I'm not lazy!" You said frowning offended. "It's just not cool walking when your clothes are wet."

Second sneeze. Gosh, third sneeze. Fourth sneeze. Oh damn! What now? You couldn't stop sneezing like a fool and your sneezes weren't sneaky, you had that way to sneeze so loudly. It was embarrassing, and more when Darren and Jen burst out laughing. Darren stepped to your side smiling widely and amused, and then he suddenly wrapped an arm around you, rubbing your arm to warm you up.

"You weren't lying when you said you are going to catch pneumonia, were you?" Darren said smirking amused.

He was still rubbing your arm and walking next to you like this, while Jen was just looking at you both. It was an odd situation and you liked it, but at the same time you were feeling a bit uncomfortable. Because you still couldn't get used being near him, it was kind of impossible. Why did he have to be so cute? Everything about him was cute: his attitude, his wet and messed but soft curls, his precious grin, his bright hazel eyes, and his freckles, because yes, he had few freckles and it was cute on a guy. His body was warm and his hands were firm, and his touching was something you couldn't explain, it was just driving you crazy. How were you supposed to stay at his house if you were feeling like this whenever you were near him?

"No, I wasn't." You answered with congested voice because of the sneezing.

Anyway, you tried to sound kind because you were thankful because of his attitude, even if Jen couldn't stop staring at you both. What could she be thinking? Maybe this was normal for her; maybe Darren was just like this with everybody; so you needed to stop overthinking.

"Don't worry! We're here now!" Darren said smiling widely, walking to a big and cozy house.

Oh gosh, he couldn't live there. That house was just so precious. How on earth could he live there? Not that your house wasn't nice, but this one was just so cozy. Darren finally unwrapped his arm around you and he walked to the front door, followed by Jen. You stepped shyly to where they were. Now it was the moment when you started to feel nervous, hopefully his parents were sleeping. And then you wondered if he had any sister or brother. Yes, he mentioned he had a brother called Chuck, but maybe he had more. You really didn't know so much about this Darren Criss guy but anyway there you were, getting into his house. So many questions were popping in your mind when suddenly you saw a huge and beautiful living room in the entrance, everything was clean and tidy and it had a unique brilliance. Darren and Jen were already inside but you stepped in shyly.

"You're not gonna find any dragon here, so don't be scared and shy. The only dragon I have is in my bedroom and it's a cute and nice one." Darren joked mockingly.

"How funny!" You exclaimed lowly with sarcasm, officially entering his house.

"Why are you talking so low? I can barely hear you." Darren said sitting on the couch next to Jen, who was smirking amused while looking at you.

How could he ask you something like that? The answer was obvious. He only wanted to make you feel ashamed, because it was fun for him to see you like that. He enjoyed it. Such a teaser.

"You seem to be a robot, girl. Do I need to command you to sit over here?" Darren joked mockingly. "Robot, come here. Robot, sit down. Robot, Robot?" Darren mocked with robotic voice and pretending to be talking to a machine.

"Oh my god. Really?" You exclaimed in disbelief because of his silliness. How could he be so adorable and dork at the same time? How could he always have something random and funny to say?

"He always does things like that. He's a real dork, you're gonna get used soon." Jen said shrugging and giggling amused.

"Hey! That's rude!" Darren faked a pout. Oh gosh, that was adorable. How could it be so adorable? "I'm a sad panda now, man. You're treating me like a dork, I didn't get a robot and my fave socks are really wet. Man, this sucks; my socks suck..." Darren started saying nonsense things and you were just looking at him with eyes wide open, trying to follow the thread of the conversation but it was impossible.

"Darren, darling, stop talking." Jen mocked amused, playing with one of his curls.

When you saw Jen playing with Darren's curls and when you heard she called him darling, you started thinking about something you never thought before. What if Jen and Darren were more than friends? What if they were friends with benefits or even a couple? You never thought about it, and it would make sense considering they were together all the time and they were really close. They'd make a nice couple, but you didn't want to think about it, because you really liked him. When you realized you were thinking about this, you slapped yourself. This was none of your business, Jen was a good girl so as Darren; and Darren had no romantic intentions with you, he could do whatever he wanted. You made a feint to sit on the couch, but then Darren stood up right in front where you were going to sit.

"Come with me, Freckles. I'll give you some clothes or you are really gonna get sick." Darren said this time serious. How could he change from being dorky to being serious all of a sudden?

"Okay." You nodded shyly. This was really uncomfortable, you still didn't know if you liked the idea of wearing his clothes.

"Meanwhile I'll make hot chocolate. It's gonna help you both to warm up." Jen said politely.

"Yes, please. I love your hot chocolate." Darren said excited and then he looked at you. "She makes the most delicious hot chocolates, you'll see. It's kind of addictive."

"He's exaggerating." Jen said rolling her eyes amused. "But I think you'll like it anyway."

"I guess so. I love chocolate, any kind of chocolate." You said smiling and shrugging.

"Any kind?" Darren said looking at you mischievously and then he winked. You just frowned because you didn't get why he said so.

"Darren, stop it." Jen scolded Darren in a serious way.

"I'm sorry! I can't help it." Darren giggled amused and then you thought that he surely tried to say a perverted comment or something like that, but you were way too harmless. "Let's go, Freckles."

Darren started walking and you followed him. He was going to take you to his bedroom and you were freaking out because of it; you were going to his bedroom. You wanted to know how it looked like, but at the same time you didn't want to go there. He led you upstairs; apparently all the bedrooms were there. You tried to be as quiet as you could be because you really didn't want to wake up any member of his family. Darren led you to the end of the super tidy hallway, and you stopped in the last door at left. You chuckled inside when you saw a blue boyish door sign with his name spelled on it. He surely had it there since he was a little kid and he was surely used at it because he didn't comment anything about it. He just opened the door and you widened your eyes when you saw his huge bedroom. Unlike the entire tidy and clean house, his bedroom was a complete mess and you wondered how he could sleep in such a messy place. The bed was unmade, the pillow was on the floor, his clothes were on the floor scattered everywhere, there were also papers and candy wrappers on the floor, and he had a lot of posters and pictures hanging on the wall. On a corner you could notice there was a desk with a laptop, his desk was a mess; on the other corner, the cleanest corner in the bedroom, there was a violin, a cello and an acoustic guitar leaning against an aluminum stand; and he also had a bass guitar hanging on the wall. He also had drums, a harmonic and a keyboard, with a music rack in the middle of this corner for musical instruments. For god's sake, this boy really loved music. Despite the mess, his bedroom was so awesome. Darren entered his bedroom, but you stood in the door, just feeling very shy to enter it.

"Sorry about the mess." Darren said grabbing some of his clothes that were on the floor.

"It's okay, I don't mind." You said quietly from the door and then Darren looked up to you from the edge of his bed.

"Are you gonna get in or are you waiting for any ghost to make you get in? Because that's not gonna happen, you know?" He said giggling amused, putting the clothes he grabbed on his bed. He always knew the way to make you blush and to make you feel like a dumb.

"I'm disappointed. At least I was expecting to find the dragon you talked about." You joked quietly, entering the bedroom.

"Good answer. His name's Ted. Well, Ted is sleeping, you know." Darren continued the joke. "Could you please close the door? I don't want to wake up my bro, who comes to sleep next to my bedroom."

"Oh, yes! Sorry." You said apologetically, closing the door quietly and there you stood, not sure of what to do or where to go.

Darren just smiled at you gently and he kept grabbing clothes from the floor to put on his bed, so meanwhile you started looking around more intently. The posters you saw hanging on the wall were all of famous bands and football teams; and the pictures were of himself with his family and friends. You laughed with tenderness inside when you saw a picture of him when he was about five years old with apparently his brother, both of them dressed up as cowboys. Unlike other teenage guys, he didn't have any poster of a sexy half-naked woman or things like that. Then you directed your sight to his nightstand, which had a drawer opened. There were some papers and under those papers you saw something that seemed a condom package. Actually it was indeed a condom package. Damn it, why the hell did you have to be so curious? Why the hell did you have to look there? Now you knew you were blushing hard and you tried to look anywhere else, but you were now feeling very awkward and you didn't know what to do to dissimulate your shame. Fuck, hopefully he wouldn't notice you were blushing and you were kind of uncomfortable.

"Sorry, I just wanted to clean a little this room but I give up. This is a real mess, it's kind of embarrassing. Now I get why my mom tells me all the time to clean my room." Darren suddenly said and he finally looked at you.

You tried to avoid his glance and you pretended to be seeing his acoustic guitar. But he knew that you were nervous and that you weren't looking at his guitar because he looked at you curiously and suspiciously; then he looked at his guitar, he looked at you over again, and then he looked at his nightstand. Damn it, now he definitely knew you were seeing it seconds earlier and he was going to find out that you saw his condom package. You glanced furtively at him and you saw how he ran to his nightstand and closed the drawer, now he was also blushing and feeling embarrassed. He ran his fingers through his curly hair, also trying to avoid your glance. Well, probably this was the most awkward situation you had with him.

"Well, we're wet so let's see what we can do about it." Darren said still avoiding your glance. It sounded bad and he realized it because he got even more nervous. "No, I mean...our clothes are wet so we need to take them off or...wait, no. We need to change our clothes, not that we have to take them off. I mean, yes. We have to take them off but not here, not in front of each other, we just... Damn."

You were looking at Darren with eyes wide open and raising your eyebrows and he was still avoiding your glance. He was blushing like never before and it was kind of cute to see him that nervous. You didn't say anything at all and then he looked up to you. When he looked at you and you saw his awkward face, you started laughing out loud and he looked at you frowning in surprise before laughing along with you. His reaction was funny and this awkward situation was funny.

"Definitely I have to listen to my mom. Next thing to do: Clean my room and make sure everything is presentable for when visitors come to avoid uncomfortable situations like the one we just witnessed." Darren said still laughing along with you.

"That's a good idea, actually. Mothers are always right." You joked trying to stop your laughter.

"I hate it." Darren said smiling amused, now feeling less embarrassed. "Alright, let's see what I can give you, so you can change your clothes in the bathroom that is right in front of my bedroom." Darren said now trying to make sure not to ramble and say embarrassing things which could have double meaning.

"Okay." You said smiling amused and you sat on the edge of his bed while Darren started looking for some clothes in his wardrobe.

"I hope you like pink. It's the smallest tee shirt I could find. And you can wear these shorts." Darren said pulling out from his wardrobe a pink striped tee and a black pair of gym shorts. Pink? Really, Darren?

"Pink is fine." You said shrugging and smiling a bit amused.

"Yeah, I love pink. But it's a secret." He said giggling but kind of serious, now grabbing some clothes for himself.

"My lips are sealed." You answered amused and he laughed softly.

"Good to know." He said now walking towards you with the clothes on his hands.

When Darren was walking towards you, he stumbled with something on his way and he fell on the floor, hitting hard his head with the edge of his bed. He moaned in pain rubbing his head and you quickly kneeled next to him, taking him by his shoulders. Your eyes met his and you stared at each other for a while, Darren with a grimace of pain but not complaining.

"Are you okay?" You asked gently almost in a whisper, still looking into his beautiful eyes.

"I am." He answered just as gently, also almost in a whisper, still rubbing his head and looking into your eyes. "Now do you believe me when I say I'm as clumsy as you are?" He joked still looking fixedly into your eyes and you chuckled softly. "That stupid shoe!" Darren said kicking the shoe with which he stumbled and he stopped rubbing his head so you could see his head bump.

"I'm sure that sneaky shoe did it on purpose." You joked while you softly pulled away one of his curls to see better his head bump. "It doesn't look so well."

But Darren wasn't listening to you, he had no idea what you were talking about; you knew it because after you saw his head bump you looked into his eyes again. He was deeply looking into your eyes and there was a twinkle on his eyes, and then you noticed how his eyes fixed on your mouth with his lips slightly parted. You noticed how he frowned slightly when he looked at your mouth and you didn't understand why he did so; actually at this point you couldn't be aware of anything. The way he was looking at your mouth made you turn on and it drove you crazy, you started making things up in your mind, you were thinking that he maybe wanted to kiss you but it was ridiculous; you just wanted to have the guts to lean over and just do it. But you couldn't because this all was product of your imagination and your desire to kiss this guy you liked way too much since a long time ago. But he was kind of your friend now and you couldn't screw it only for a moment of arousal because of your teenage hormones. You really needed to contain yourself, so you just broke any kind of eye contact with him and you stood up, looking away.

"It looks bad; maybe you should put ice on your injury." You said still looking away and you noticed how Darren came back to reality and how he looked at the floor frowning.

"Yeah." He answered hoarsely. Then, unexpectedly, he quickly stood up and grabbed his clothes, covering a certain part of his body. "I think I'll change in the bathroom and you can change here. See you downstairs, you know the way already." He said slurred and then he kind of ran to the door and left his bedroom, closing the door behind him and leaving you there alone, more bewildered than ever.

"Holy shit. What the hell was that?" You whispered puzzled once you were completely alone.

"Fuck, Darren! Fuck, fuck, fuck! What are you doing, man?"

I scolded myself while looking in the mirror of the bathroom, still covering my bulge with my clothes. I couldn't believe it, how could I be so stupid? The girl was just a friend and I didn't even like her in a romantic way. Why did I have to eye-fuck her like that? Man, she was only touching my hair, she only wanted to see my head bump; but damn her eyes and mouth. Her fucking mouth was so close from mine and I couldn't help it. That mouth, I still couldn't find out where I saw that mouth before, maybe on an actress. Why did I have this need to kiss her again? Why the fuck did I have to look at her in that 'I want to fuck you' way? I didn't even want it. Man, that was so embarrassing, she surely noticed my hard on, she also saw my messy room and she saw that stupid condom package in my nightstand; and to boot, I talked like a real idiot, everything with double meanings even if it wasn't my intention. Shit, what was wrong with me? She'd now think I had an interest in being more than her friend and it wasn't like that.

"Or yes? No, no, man! She's Freckles, she's my friend. Dammit, no! Eww, it'd be like being in a love affair with Jen, Claire or Karen. No, it's morbid."

I couldn't stop scolding myself, I couldn't get why I got a hard on if we weren't doing anything, not that she was provoking or seducing me. She was only worried because I hit my face, and I, like a wanker, got a bulging stiffy. Well done, Darren!

"Stupid hormones, I'm so awkward. Jerk, jerk, jerk."

Well, at least the hard on was disappearing now. I was taking too long in the bathroom and I really need to change my clothes to go downstairs where Jen and Freckles were surely waiting for me to plot our plan. Crap, how was I supposed to focus on the plan now? How was I supposed to look at Freckles now? I only wished she wouldn't think I wanted to go all the way with her, because she was only a friend to me. Or not, I didn't know anymore. I decided to stop thinking about that shit because it wasn't leading me anywhere, so I started changing my wet clothes to wear a pair of gray sweatpants and a blue old tee. Before going downstairs, I looked in the mirror and I told myself to behave and not to be awkward, to pretend that nothing has happened. Indeed, Freckles was already there, sitting on the couch next to Jen and the hot chocolate mugs. I looked at her and I couldn't help smiling amused when I saw the way my clothes fitted on her. Of course my clothes were too big for her and it was really funny. I walked to the couch and I sat next to Jen, of course I wouldn't sit next to Freckles.

"Here you are, Darren! I thought you got lost in your own house considering how long it took you to come downstairs. You're worse than any girl." Jen mocked giving me a hot chocolate mug. I needed to answer this with a joke to make this situation less uncomfortable for Freckles, who was avoiding my gaze.

"I just forgot where I left my organic night face cream. You know I can't miss my facial care moisturizing routine." I answered trying to sound sassy and Jen laughed, shaking her head. Even Freckles giggled faintly. Now the situation wasn't so awkward. "So, we need to make a plan."

"Yes, I don't know what was in your mind when you proposed it. Like, there's not so much we can do about." Freckles said softly looking at the hot chocolate mug she was grabbing with both of her hands. She was sitting adorably on the couch with her legs crossed.

"Well, you're wrong there." I said looking at her and she looked up to me with her huge eyes and with a blankly stare.

"So then, what's on your mind?" Jen asked curious, apparently she was thinking the same than Freckles.

"Nothing at all. I don't know what we can plan, I only know there must be something we can do about." I said honestly, shrugging. I had no idea what we could do. "First off, when has this started and why?" I asked looking at Freckles. Maybe we could plot a plan if we knew exactly why this all was happening.

"Well, I guess it started since the first day of school. Yeah, they never bullied me like this last year. I don't know, I think it started when I punched Brian's face." Freckles answered, looking at her hot chocolate mug again, thoughtful. She seemed to be abstracted. "You guys know that you may be perfectly out of the bullying situation and safe if you stop talking to me, right?"

"We do." I answered looking at her.

Damn, it was sad what she was saying. No matter what she could say, I knew she was feeling down by just looking at her sad eyes looking at the hot chocolate mug. I knew she was feeling that this was impossible to believe, that someone was helping her while they could be safe. I knew she was probably feeling as if no one could really do it for her, that she didn't deserve it because she had to go through a lot of shit and no one ever wanted to help her. When I realized it, I understood why she was acting on the defensive, why she was all the time suspecting that someone, no mattered who, wanted to hurt her. And then I understood why Jen was telling me all the time that I should try to understand Freckles. It was because she realized it before me, because she experienced it with her brother.

"But we won't stop talking to you. So those assholes need to stay the fuck out and deal with this." I answered with a kind and mischievous smirk and she smiled back at me, faintly. "So, if this started when you punched Brian's face, which was awesome just so you know; it only means that Brian is involved, maybe he is W."

"Well yeah, I think it's obvious that Brian is W. But the problem is that W is not only one person. There's no way that only one person can do everything that is happening to me. I think a girl is also involved and I do think Jim is also involved. And I also think that someone else must be involved, someone who knows me from before because they know private things I've never told almost anyone; and there must be involved someone who knows you both, because they said things that only you know." Freckles started saying and both Jen and I tried to follow the thread of what she was saying.

She was talking really fast and I could barely get all she was saying. But what she was saying had logic and it was very important. I was admiring her by the way she could guess everything that was happening, whether it was in fact like that or not. She was surely all the time thinking and trying to find out who W was.

"Point is, I think W is only one person who's getting help from others. I don't know if it makes any sense." Freckles said frowning, still looking at her hot chocolate mug, thoughtful. Well, she was confusing me because she was contradicting herself; minutes before she was saying that W couldn't be only one person and now she was saying the opposite. "What I'm trying to say is that this bullying thing was planned by only one person who is surely trying to revenge for something I've done, something that I have no fucking idea of what it could be. But this person can't do it alone, this person needs help, so this person surely managed to find those people who also can't stand me for different reasons I don't know. It explains why this W person knows everything about me: my past, what I'm doing all the time, what I feel, who I was and who I am; and with what this person can mess to make me feel helpless. And it explains why this person also knows things about you guys. Because it makes no sense this person can know my private things and at the same time private things about you, because we weren't friends or anything weeks ago. There are people helping this person, and people who are helping W can't stand either me or you." Freckles said with an outstanding power of logic.

"So...what you're trying to say is...?" I asked still amazed by her reasoning ability.

"What I'm trying to say is that this is like a vicious circle in which even the entire school could be involved. We're dealing with only one person who had managed to brainwash other people to be against us and get what this person wants to get, a thing I still don't know. We're dealing with a brilliant and ghoulish mind that is the master of this kind of clan of people who are now willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the goal of this W person. I don't know what this person could have promised them to do what this person wanted, but it must be something really good, otherwise people who truly know us wouldn't have told W our secrets." Freckles said and then she looked up to me and Jen, now with frightened eyes; but then she looked at her hot chocolate mug again, wide-eyed. "I do think Jim and Brian are part of the clan, but neither of them is the leader. This W person wouldn't be so obvious, and Jim and Brian make it clear that they don't stand me. I'm sure this W person is someone who I'd never imagine it could be." Freckles said again looking up to us with the same frightened eyes. "But I'm not sure. I don't know anything. It could be like this or not. I just have no idea. Fact is, it's gonna be really hard to find out who W is, this is well planned. Can you understand why I think that beating W is almost impossible?"

"Whoa!" I exclaimed stunned and puzzled. "Yes. This sucks."

She totally convinced me with her explanation and conclusions. Everything made sense to me and now I realized on what I was getting. I needed to admit that this was like a horror movie where no mattered what you could do, they will always know what to do to beat you down. But every horror movie can have a good ending, and that was what we had to do: to turn this horror movie into a good one with a happy ending.

"I'm scared. A person like that can do everything it takes to accomplish the goal. This is not a simple bullying thing, this is worse and it's going out of control. We need to tell this to an adult who would be able to control this. I don't know, I'm scared. This is really ominous." Jen said with trembling voice and terrified.

"No, we can't do that." I said also frightened, even if I was trying to hide it. "If we tell this to an adult, it's gonna get worse because they're gonna lose their mind in anger. We're in school, in school is where this is happening and no adult can be in school to protect us, so then they're not gonna be there when shitty and more terrible things come to happen."

"I don't know what we can do, then." Jen said anguished and in despair.

"Guys, you can choose to stay out of this situation. Nothing bad would happen to you if you don't talk to me anymore. I think it's the best." Freckles said sadly and surely feeling guilty, still looking at her hot chocolate mug.

"I'm not gonna stay out of this. Not this time." Jen assured firmly, looking at Freckles. Of course I knew why Jen was doing it.

"I'm a man of words. I said those assholes would have to deal with us together, then that is it all." I assured firmly like Jen. "You must tell us absolutely everything: how it begun, all the ways they harassed you and what they said to you. Then, we'll be able to make this plan. But they're not gonna beat us."

"Okay. Everything started when..."

Freckles started telling us everything that happened to her since the beginning. She had to explain us things of her past so then we would understand the whole situation. She told us the entire crappy situation she was going through and how she felt about it, she told us how her family situation was, she told us how she lost her only friends, she told us it all. I've never seen such honesty in her eyes before; she was telling us all of that with all her soul, fears, doubts and concern. I felt really bad for her, I couldn't get why something like this could be happening to someone. I just wanted to hug her and tell her everything was going to be alright, that she had true friends now; but truth was I didn't know if actually everything was going to be alright. Jen, next to me, was already shedding tears unlike me. I couldn't cry for it, because more than sad I was worried about her, I just wanted to take care of her and I had no idea why I had that feeling. I was feeling as though she was like my little sister. Why?

"So, I guess that's it all." Freckles said looking at her lap, really distressed, with teary eyes, but without shedding a single tear. Jen couldn't talk because this was obviously very intense for her.

"I still don't have a plan. To be honest, I think all of our plans are gonna fail." I finally said frankly and Jen and Freckles looked at me bewildered, scared and kind of disappointed. "But I do think we have something they don't have, our most powerful weapon."

"What is it?" Freckles asked both curious and jaundiced.

"It's our desire to be stuck together by a strong bond that is friendship, a real friendship. They don't know what it is and they devalue it, so then they have no chances." I said looking at Jen and Freckles with a kind smile. "They don't know how powerful the good and nice intentions are because they're surrounded by wickedness and mean intentions. If there's something I've learned throughout my seventeen years of life, it's that wickedness will lead you nowhere, because it's not as strong as goodness is. And I've learned that everything you do in life will come back to you someday and it will be enhanced. They're gonna sink in their own meanness." I said shrugging while Jen and Freckles were looking at me intently and bemused.

"That's beautiful, but I don't get how that is gonna help us in this moment." Jen finally asked.

"It'll take a long for us to win and we're gonna have to go through real shit and we're gonna have to stand everything. We're gonna have to be ready to be destroyed, because that's what they're gonna do; they're gonna destroy us and they won't stop until they get it. They'll attack us in the worst ways and we're going to end up broken-down. We gotta admit that fact." I said honestly and I was scaring them even more. But they needed to admit it would be like that, we needed to understand they wouldn't be nice to us.

"Darren, that's not helping at all." Jen said with trembling voice. "We need to know that we can do this, that nothing bad is going to happen to us."

"Well, sorry, but I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna say what you want to hear. Because I know that a lot of bad things are going to happen to us. We need to admit it if we really want to find the way to beat them." I said looking at Jen who was still looking at me frightened.

"Are you saying we don't have chances?" Freckles asked also frightened and helpless.

"No, I'm not saying that." I answered now looking at her deeply into her eyes.

"Then explain yourself, Darren!" Jen exclaimed exasperated.

"They're gonna destroy us, but we're gonna disconcert them. How? Because what they expect is us to feel helpless and hopeless when we get to be in our lowest point. But they're not gonna get that because we're gonna stick together no matter what. We're gonna show them that yes, they destroyed us, they destroyed all of our dreams, things and hopes; but they couldn't destroy our friendship. They won't understand why they couldn't do it, they'll be really puzzled and that is when their plan is gonna fail, when they will come to realize that they can't do anything else, that we won. As I said, our friendship is our most powerful weapon, something they don't have." I said looking at Jen and Freckles who were still trying to get my point. "Thing is, we don't have a plan because we really don't need it as long as we keep in mind that it don't matter what'll come to be, cause our friendship is all we need to make it through."

"So, is that our plan? Not having a plan?" Jen asked frowning, still thoughtful. "Our plan is to be destroyed to win?"

"Exactly." I said shrugging.

"Yes. The best plan is not to have a plan. I think we need to be ready to be destroyed, I personally think this is the only way we can beat a person who has this macabre mind. It's like we're gonna play his or her game the way this person wants, and when this person less expects, she or he is going to realize that the game is over and that we won." Freckles said thoughtful, totally getting what I tried to say. "You're brilliant." She said almost in a whisper and I felt totally flattered.

"So this is what we're gonna do: tomorrow we're going to school all together and we'll stay together just as long as we can; and we won't let that any kind of threatening message make us change our mind. They're gonna play dirty and they're gonna send us really mean and rough threatening messages which would scare us and we'd want to stop being together. But we won't let them win, no matter what kind of threatening message it is." I said emphatically looking at Freckles because I knew she'd want to step back on this plan as soon as they threat her on hurting people she cared about; so she got it and nodded. "And when we get time to be alone, we're gonna tell everything that happened to us during all day long. Absolutely everything, without exceptions. Did you get it?"

"Yes." Jen answered nodding.

"Yes." Freckles answered a bit unsure, looking at her lap.

"Freckles?" I said looking at her intently and she looked up to me.

"Yes, I got it." Now she answered firmly.

"Good." I answered smiling and then I stood up. "Now we really should get some sleep. Come with me, Freckles. I'll show you your bedroom."

"Okay." She answered shyly, standing up. Why was she always so shy? Anyway, it was cute.

"I guess I'll say goodnight now. I'll sleep in your bedroom, Dar." Jen said standing up and then she smiled kindly before going upstairs.

I looked at Freckles and she nodded, so I led her to our spare room where Jen used to sleep. We walked in silence until we got into the kitchen, right next where the spare room was. I opened the door for her and I gestured her to enter it.

"So, this is the bedroom. I hope you can feel comfortable; it's cozy, even if not so many people use it. There are already clean blankets and quilts, and well, you have a bathroom over there. I think there's an unused toothbrush in the bathroom vanity, feel free to use it. And yeah, that's it all." I said smiling kindly at her while she was looking around. "If you need anything, you know where my bedroom is. Don't hesitate to go there if you need anything at all."

"Okay, thank you, Darren." She smiled sweetly and kindly. Wow, she was a really nice girl, how was it possible that someone could hate her?

"You're welcome." I smiled back at her. "Goodnight, Freckles."

"Goodnight, Darren." She said sweetly and then, impulsively, I leaned over to kiss her cheek and...Damn hell, she hugged me. "I'm sorry; I just wanted to thank you for what you and Jen are doing." She said feeling embarrassed after breaking the hug.

Instead of answering her, I hugged her again, stroking smoothly her long hair. I didn't know why I did it, I just felt it was the right thing and it felt good. After all, it was only a hug and she was my friend now. And besides, I really needed to let her know with this hug that I was going to be there for her because what she told us earlier touched me. Then I moved her away softly to kiss her forehead.

"Don't feel ashamed and never apologize for hug me. I'm your friend, remember?" I said smiling kindly and she nodded, smiling back. "Have a good sleep."

I closed the door behind me, leaving her alone in the bedroom and I walked to my own bedroom with this weird feeling. I liked that hug, maybe way too much; and I couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing. When I arrived to my bedroom, I tried not to make any noise because Jen was already there sleeping. Fortunately, my bed was big enough, so two people could sleep there and I had no shame to sleep in the same bed than Jen because she was my best friend since years and we both knew that anything else was going to happen because it wouldn't work. More than my best friend, Jen was like the sister I've never had. Indeed, Jen was already sleeping and she made room for me to sleep, so I just lay in bed and I closed my eyes. But I couldn't fall asleep as fast as usual. No, I was very thoughtful.

"Dar, are you asleep?" I suddenly heard Jen's voice whispering and it made me startle because I really thought she was sleeping.

"No, I can't sleep." I whispered, still with closed eyes.

"Me either." Jen whispered. "Dar, may I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you doing this? I mean, my reasons are obvious, because she reminds me of my brother. But, why you?" Jen asked curious and I was speechless. Truth was I didn't even know why I was doing it.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because at some point she reminds me of myself when I was a kid." I answered as honest as possible. Maybe that was the reason but, deep down, I knew that wasn't the complete answer. I knew there was something else but I just couldn't tell what it was.

"I get it." Jen answered in a whisper and I thought she fell asleep because she was silent for a long time, but no. "Darren, what was happening between you and Freckles when I found you in that place?"

"Nothing was happening, Jen." I answered kind of nervous. Why did she have to mention it again?

"Darren, I'm not a fool and I'm your friend since years, I know you." Jen insisted serious.

"Well, I was just tickling her. She was feeling bad and I wanted to make her laugh." I whispered and it was the truth, but again it wasn't the complete answer.

"Yes, sure. But why were you with her in the first place?"

"Because I asked her if she could go there. I wanted to know what was going on with you and her. And I thought it was a good place to find it out. That's why." I admitted frankly.

"It makes sense." Jen whispered and I noticed she was shrugging. Damn, I only wished she could fall asleep soon because I didn't want to talk about this any longer. "Darren, what was happening between you and her when I found you?"

"Are you kidding me, Jen? I already answered it." I answered in disbelief.

"Yes, you did. But you didn't tell me everything. As I said, I know you, Dar."

"I don't wanna talk about this, Jen." I said a bit annoyed because I really didn't want to tell her everything. Yes, I always told her everything but this time I couldn't because first I needed to find out what was happening to me.

"But there's something else, right?"

"Yes, there's something else." I admitted because I couldn't lie to her. "But I don't wanna talk about it."

"Why not?" She asked curiously and I noticed she was now looking at me.

"Because I still don't know what actually happened. That's it, Jen, stop talking about this." I whispered again, annoyed.

"What are your feelings for her?" Jen asked and I finally opened my eyes to look at her bewildered. Why was she asking me that?

"I don't know. She's my friend." I answered after thinking what my answer could be.

"Yes, I think she's my friend too." Jen answered in a whisper and I thought that hopefully she'd change the subject now. "What do you like about her?"

"I don't know, Jen." I sighed, really trying to change the subject, but Jen was still looking at me as though she was waiting for the answer. So I just answered. "I don't know, she seems to be a sweet and kind girl, she's always smiling, despite all the crap she had to go through. I kind of admire her because she keeps going and she's always trying to change things, she's not giving up as I'd do if I were in her shoes. I like her eyes, there's something in her eyes that can let you know how she really feels. I like the fact that she seems to be a warm-hearted girl and I like how grateful she is about everything, she is very grateful even for the smallest things. And she's smart and she doesn't flaunt her intelligence. I like the way she thinks about life, people and world itself. I like the fact that she's eerie and I want to know her more, she's intriguing. And I like her laugh because it sounds so genuine and candid. She's kind of awesome."

"That was beautiful." Jen whispered gently and I got nervous because I totally forgot I was telling her all of that, that was something I only thought in my mind and there were things that only popped in my mind in that moment, things that I didn't even know I was feeling for her. "Dar... Are you falling for her?"

"What? Oh my god, Jen! That's the most ridiculous and nonsense thing you've ever asked." I exclaimed in disbelief but feeling nervous. Why was I feeling nervous? Because it was a stupid question.

"You aren't answering, though."

"I can't believe this. No Jen, of course I'm not falling for her. You know I like that cheerleader." I answered in disbelief and disgruntled.

"Fine, fine. I just wanted to make sure of that. I wouldn't like to see her hurt because you're not sure if you're falling for her or not; because I still think she's kind in love with you. Not that you're a bad person and I don't want you to be with her, actually I think that you two would make a nice couple; but she doesn't deserve to suffer for love too." Jen whispered with complete honesty.

"Oh my god. Jen, stop it, okay? Just stop it." I answered even more disgruntled. "I'm not falling for her, that's ridiculous. And it's also absurd that you think she's in love with me, that's insane. And more insane is the fact that you think that we would make a nice couple. No. Just no. And I won't make her suffer, that's not on my list of things to do."

"No need to get angry, Dar. I wanted to make sure. That's it all, geez!" Jen exclaimed surprised by my over-demonstrative answer. "I still think you would make a nice couple, though."

"For god's sake, Jen! Stop it, okay? Goodnight. I don't wanna talk to you anymore." I said bad-tempered and I heard how Jen giggled softly. She was mocking me, how funny!

"Goodnight, Dar. Sweet dreams with that genuine and candid laugh of Freckles." Jen mocked and I hit her with one of my cushions while she was still laughing.

Even if I denied it, Jen left me thinking. Could I be falling for Freckles? That was impossible, I could only see her like my friend and I never thought of having a love affair with her. Nonetheless, I couldn't explain why I liked and felt good inside when Jen said Freckles and I would make a nice couple. No, I couldn't be falling for her, it just made no sense. However, I fell asleep thinking about Freckles.

Next day, you woke up in a cozy bed, smelling the scent of Darren Criss, what made you smile warmly. Then you realized where you were sleeping and what you were wearing. You were in Darren's house and you were wearing his clothes and it explained why you smelled his delicious scent. It was 7 am and within an hour you had to go to school. You didn't know how you managed to wake up since you've slept only 3 hours. Oh, you didn't want to leave this place, you wanted to sleep a little more, just smelling Darren's scent. You closed your eyes again with a smile on your face and you drowsed a little until you heard some voices coming from the kitchen.

"Mom, please. What if she doesn't like this stupid healthy breakfast?" Darren complained and you giggled softly.

"Darren, manners. How many times do I have to tell you not to curse?" A woman's voice answered. It had to be his mother. "And she's going to like it. You're the only one who complains about this breakfast."

"Hey, that's not true. I don't like this breakfast either." You heard a young man's voice complaining.

"Thanks, Chuck." Darren said. So that was Chuck's voice, Darren's brother. "Mom, really! This is the first time she's here and I don't want her to eat this shit."

"I think someone is keen to make her feel pampered." Chuck laughed mockingly and you couldn't help giggling softly.

"I told him the same thing last night." You heard Jen's voice laughing.

What? So Jen and Darren had been talking about you last night when you were sleeping. You wondered what they could have talked about. You were now really intrigued.

"Shut up, you idiots!" Darren yelled kind of annoyed.

"Darren Everett Criss! Don't play with the food! Go now over there and grab the grape you've just threw." You heard an old man's voice scolding Darren. His father, you thought.

"Yes, dad. Sorry." Darren said apologetically.

"Everett! Stop throwing the grapes! I saw you." His dad scolded him again. It was funny to imagine Darren throwing grapes to his brother or Jen.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry!" Darren apologized again.

"Dad!" You heard Chuck's voice complaining.

"Enough, Everett! Don't hit your brother's head." His father scolded him and you laughed. It seemed that his parents called him Everett every time they were scolding him.

"But dad!"

"No buts."

"Ugh! I hate you, Charles." Darren grumbled.

"Okay, breakfast is done. Darren, tell your friend that it's ready." Her mom's voice said kindly.

"Jen, can you wake Freckles up?" Darren asked.

"After you threw me a grape? I don't think so." Jen answered roudly.

"Oh, come on, Jen! I'm sorry, okay? I just can't go there and wake her up. You're a girl." Darren said trying to convince Jen.

"And what if I'm a girl? You can do it by yourself." Jen replied.

"Because you're a girl, Jen. I can't go there. What if she's doing those weird things that girls do? What if she doesn't sleep with clothes? I just can't go there; it'd be awkward both for me and her." Darren said kind of exasperated and it made you chuckle.

"Oh my God, Darren. How old are you? Five?" Chuck mocked amused.

"Stay the fuck out of this, Charles." Darren answered grumpy. "Please, Jen! Please!"

"Sorry, Darren. I'm trying to finish this homework." Jen answered.

"Screw you, Jen! Now dare to ask me to do a favor for you!" Darren said grouchy.

"As far as I remember, you're the one who's always asking me to do favors." Jen answered with a giggle.

"Whatever, whatever, Jen! I'm not listening to you!" Darren yelled as a kid.

You heard how everyone in the kitchen laughed out loud and then you heard some steps coming closer to the room where you were sleeping. You pretended to be asleep because it could be funnier that way. You heard how he opened the door but he stood there.

"Freckles?" You heard Darren's shy voice. "Freckles, are you asleep?" Of course you didn't answer. "Freckles, breakfast is ready. We soon have to go to school."

You didn't answer and you didn't make any kind of movement, so you heard how Darren walked to your bed. Why were you doing this? Were you doing this because you thought it could be funny or because you wanted Darren to touch you to wake you up? Anyway, Darren was now standing next to your bed.

"Freckles, wake up." Darren said again but you didn't open your eyes, you were still pretending to be asleep.

So then, after a while you didn't do any kind of movement, Darren knelt next to your bed and he leaned closer to you. You felt how he placed his soft and firm hand on your shoulder. Oh, it felt so good.

"Freckles, wake up. Breakfast is ready." Darren whispered gently in your ear, but you kept your eyes closed because you wanted to know what else he could do.

He didn't talk anymore and you wondered why, yet he kept his hand placed on your shoulder. Then you felt how he softly brushed away the strand of hair that was covering your face and after he did it, he fondled your cheek with his thumb. Holy shit, you weren't expecting that and it was just feeling very nice that you didn't want to open your eyes. You wanted this moment to last forever, he caressing your cheek was something that was making you feel really good and you couldn't understand why your body didn't start to tremble with excitement. Then you felt how he leaned over closer to you and you could feel his breathing against your face. You knew he was very close and that was making your heart leap and beat fast. You felt how he brushed his lips at the corner of your mouth, very slightly. Holy crap, what was he doing? Oh damn, you were going to have a heart attack; you couldn't keep your eyes closed any longer. So you opened your eyes and you found Darren looking into your eyes, still brushing his lips at the corner of your mouth. When he noticed you opened your eyes, he quickly stood up with a terrified face and moved away from you awkwardly, so awkward that he stumbled with his own legs.

"Oh shit! I...I just...breakfast is ready." Darren said nervously and he turned around to leave your bedroom as fast as possible without preamble, leaving you there alone.

Oh no, no, no. What was that? Why has Darren done it? He surely thought you were sleeping, but you weren't and you had no idea what he wanted to do or why he was doing it. It was just too odd. First it was in Marin Headlands, then in his bedroom, and now this. What did he want? It was obvious that he didn't want to have a love affair with you; because it was impossible for different and several reasons. In the first place, you weren't the kind of girl someone would fall in love with; you were just that unnoticeable nerd girl, who didn't have anything attractive, and you weren't his type, you knew it. Secondly, Darren could certainly have any girl he wanted because he was attractive, nice and gracious; why would he want to be with you, then? Thirdly, you knew he liked another girl, considering the threatening message he received; a message that mentioned that he surely wouldn't like everybody to find out he wanted to fuck a girl, and that girl couldn't be you because he never showed you any romantic interest before you were in Marin Headlands, and in any case you were sure it wasn't a romantic one. So then, what was going on? He was surely confused, because, after all, you were a girl and you and him were so close all of a sudden; maybe it was an instinctive reaction what he had but it didn't mean he wanted to be more than you friend. However, the way Darren fondled your cheek, the way he brushed his lips at the corner of your mouth and the way he was looking at you when you opened your eyes, made you feel really good; because after all, anyone has ever done something like that with you. This was a new thing what you recently experienced. Anyway, you had to change your clothes because everybody was waiting for you to have breakfast; and that was when you realized that your clothes weren't there, you left them in the laundry room. Damn it. It was embarrassing the fact that his parents and brother would meet you like this, wearing Darren's clothes. Why nothing could go well? You didn't even know what you would say or do, they never met you but there you were, sleeping in one of their rooms. Shyly, you walked to the door but you stood there for several minutes before opening it and walking out. All eyes turned to you and you felt as though you were a kind of novel object. All of them were already sitting on the table, waiting for you. This was very uncomfortable and you didn't know what to say.

"Good morning." You greeted shyly but politely, smiling.

"Good morning, sweetie." A woman of Filipino traits with dark hair and eyes, greeted gently, smiling to you. She had to be his mother. She walked towards you and took your arm softly. "I'm Cerina, Darren's mother."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Criss." You said smiling politely.

"It's my pleasure. Darren has told us a lot about you, so it's really nice to finally meet you." Mrs. Criss said kindly and you looked at her in surprise but still smiling.

"Mom..." Darren warned from the table.

"What? Nervous that your secrets will be revealed, Dazzer?" A young man, but older than Darren, mocked from the table.

"Shut up." Darren said grouchy.

"I'm Charles, Darren's older bro. But call me Chuck." Chuck said smiling both amused and kind.

"Nice to meet you, Chuck." You said smiling kindly.

"Let me introduce myself." An old man of Irish traits, with blue eyes and white hair, who was wearing a khaki beret, said politely, walking towards you. "Everybody calls me Bill, I'm Darren's father." He said stretching out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Criss." You said smiling gently. You surely seemed a stupid because all you could say was 'nice to meet you' and smile like a fool.

"I saw a black beret in the laundry room. Darren told me it's yours. I guess you and I will have a lot to talk about." Mr. Criss said laughing cheerfully and so did everybody in the room.

"I told you that Bill would like you, Freckles." Jen said smiling amused. "I'm Jen, by the way, but we already know each other." Jen joked, obviously because she noticed how uncomfortable you were.

"And I'm Darren." Darren joked as well.

"The guy who is trying to pamper you." Chuck coughed and giggled mockingly and Darren threw him a grape. You couldn't help giggling softly.

"Shut up, Charles! I'm gonna punch your face, you know? You know?" Darren threatened Chuck, grouchy.

"Everett!" Mr. Criss said firmly.

"Sorry, dad! But he's taunting me! Ugh!" Darren exclaimed frustrated, shooting a withering look at his brother.

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" Chuck replied, laughing amused.

"Boys, behave." Mrs. Criss requested, looking at her sons and then she looked at you kindly. "I'm sorry, sweetie, this always happens. If you keep visiting us, what I'd love, you're gonna get used. Now I know you might be feeling nervous and uncomfortable, the first time you meet your friends' family is like that. So, we're gonna try to make you feel like home."

"Yes, there's no need to feel nervous. We're glad to have you here." Mr. Criss added, smiling kindly.

"Thank you very much." You answered, grinning shyly.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's have breakfast. I hope you like healthy breakfasts." Mrs. Criss said politely, leading you to the table.

"Yes, I always have healthy breakfasts." You lied, but that breakfast didn't look so bad.

"I told you, Darren, that she was going to like it." Mrs. Criss pointed out, looking at Darren.

"Oh please, mom. She's lying. Of course she wouldn't tell you this breakfast sucks, because she still doesn't have the confidence to say so." Darren said frowning and looking at the breakfast in disgust.

"It's not like that. I really like healthy breakfasts." You said again trying to sound convincing, sitting between Darren and Jen.

"Yeah, whatever." Darren said rolling his eyes before eating a strawberry. "Anyway, I'm starving so I'm just gonna eat this shit." He said with his mouth full of food.

"Everett, don't talk with your mouth full." Mrs. Criss said severely as any other mother.

"Whatever." Darren answered still with his mouth full.

"Hey, Darren. Your clothes fit better on your girl than on you." Chuck said looking at you and Darren amused. He surely loved mocking his little brother. Anyway, you felt kind of embarrassed because of the way you were dressed.

"Fuck you, Chuck." Darren answered with his mouth full, now putting in his mouth a spoonful of cereal with milk. Gosh, this boy was eating like a caveman or something.

"You're gonna be punished, Everett." Mr. Criss said severely looking at his son.

"What? Chuck started! Why do you always scold me instead of him? So fucking unfair, man." Darren exclaimed in disbelief, spitting some of the cereals he was eating.

"Don't worry, Freckles. You are really gonna get used at this." Jen whispered in your ear amused and you chuckled softly.

Darren's family was very different from yours. They were like the family you always wanted to have. Not that you didn't love your family, but your relationship with your sister was terrible and your parents were really strict and cold, always busy and thinking about work. So you barely had a breakfast with your family, and the times you could have breakfast with them, it was always everything really serious. You were amazed by the way everything seemed natural and cheerful in Darren's family. They talked a lot, they laughed and they asked each other how they were or what they would do. You barely spoke, because you were just contemplating and admiring the adorable Criss family. Somehow, they made you feel really comfortable on their presence, and you weren't expecting this when you crossed the door of the room where you were sleeping earlier. When breakfast was finished and after you helped them to clear the table, Mrs. Criss gave you your now dry clothes and you went to the room where you slept to change, while Jen and Darren were getting ready to go to school. Once you were ready, and feeling like a stupid for having to go to school dressed like this, you joined Darren and Jen in the living room.

"Okay, I'm ready." You told them and they looked up to you smiling. You had no idea how you were going to go to school.

"Cool. We're waiting for a friend to pick us up." Darren replied smiling and trying to finish some maths homework, apparently he was frustrated. You walked closer to see what kind of exercise Darren had to do.

"A metal statue was divided into 5 parts, and packed in crates for shipping. That means that we have 5 crates. Each full crate weighs 520lbs, and 20lbs empty. That means that the crate itself weight 20lbs, so the statue part inside of it weight 500. We have 5 crates with the same condition. So, 5x crates it's 5 parts of statue that weight 500 each without the crate. 500 times 5 is equal to 2500 lb. That's the weight of the statue. I hope I helped you." You answered looking at Darren's notebook and then you looked up to find Darren and Jen looking at you amazed and puzzled.

"Oh my fucking god. How the hell did you do it?" Darren asked stunned.

"I guess I'm good at math." You said smiling and shrugging.

"Oh geez! You saved me Freckles, you have no idea how much I love you right now. Tell me the answer again but slower, please!" Darren exclaimed excited and still stunned as you giggled softly.

You told him the answer again while Darren was taking down notes, writing the answer and less frustrated now. After he finished it, he thanked you again, he told you again that you saved him and he told you that he couldn't believe that a Junior girl could have got the answer of a mathematical problem of Senior year. Jen also flattered you until someone knocked the door. Darren stood up to open the door and he hugged a girl that you saw once in the first day of school, it was one of Darren's friends.

"I thought you forgot to pick us up!" Darren exclaimed cheerfully.

"Never, Dar." The girl answered, smiling kindly and then she looked right where Jen and you were frowning and curious. "Seems that today we're gonna arrive to school in droves." The girl laughed cheerfully. "Hi, Jen."

"Hi, how are you doing?" Jen answered politely.

"Fine." The girl shrugged and then she looked at you. "Hi...Umm?"

"Oh, right! You don't know each other." Darren said. "Karen, this is Freckles. Freckles, this is Karen." Darren said gently and you smiled at Karen.

"Freckles?" Karen asked in disbelief, laughing.

"Yeah, it's a long story." Darren answered also laughing softly.

"Well, nice to meet you...Freckles." Karen said both kindly and a bit mockingly.

"Nice to meet you too." You answered smiling faintly. You noticed how Jen rolled her eyes and huffed.

"We should go to school or we're gonna be late." Jen said serious.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? The car it's outside." Karen said turning around.

"Yeah...Karen?" Darren asked looking at her. "We're gonna be there in a minute. There's something I want to talk to them first."

"Yes, sure. I'll wait for you." Karen said frowning but smiling gently before she walked to the red car that was parked in front of Darren's house.

"Girls. Are you ready for our first day of school according to our plan?" Darren asked in a whisper looking intently at you and Jen.

"Yes." Jen and you answered at the same time.

"Good. Remember, W and his or her allies are gonna try to bring us down all the time, they're gonna try to scare us and we don't know how far they can go. But remember, we need to stick together no matter what. Deal?" Darren asked still looking intently at you and Jen.

"Deal." Jen and you responded in unison.

"We got this shit. Let's kick some ass." Darren said encouragingly before you all walked to the red car to go to school and face those bullies and their worst threats, this time all together. But deep down, you were freaking out and more when you received your first threatening message from W.

"You are not following the rules, big ass. You want to play dirty? Dirty is what you're gonna get. Be ready to be fucked up. -W-"