Disclaimer: I do not own...'cept Natalie

A/N: I won't bore you with a long authors note this time. Enjoy! ...but review!

CHAPTER NINE: MAN ON A MISSION

I awoke super excited Monday morning. Like, bursting out of my skin, excited. I got out of bed, grabbed the days' clothes (along with my secret weapon) and headed to the bathroom early, keen to get there before Drew did so he couldn't hog it by doing his hair all morning.

I was on a mission.

After showering, I sipped into my clothes, including my new binder, happy to see that at least the bruises on my arms had healed to the point where they were barely noticeable anymore. I was just buttoning up a blue flannel shirt when a knock came on the bathroom door.

"Come on, Adam! Open up. I need to do my hair!"

"I'm almost done," I said, fixing my hair.

Drew had just begun saying, "You took less time to get ready when you were a—" when I swung the door open.

"Don't even bother…" I told him, smiling. Referring to the phrase Drew always says when he wants to get me to open the door. Nothing could bring down my mood today.

"Here," said Drew, throwing something black at my head upon entering the bathroom. I pulled it off my face and held it up. It was the t-shirt I bought at the Dead Hand reunion concert I went to with Eli and Sav. I still looked brand new because I'd never worn in before. "You should show it off today," Drew told me.

"I don't wear short-sleeve shirts," I reminded him. "You can see my…" I trailed off, as something occurred to me. It must have shown in the expression on my face because Drew was grinning at me broadly and he wiggled his eyebrows.

You couldn't see my…anymore. Could you? No, my binder was just too tight.

"BOO-YAH!" I yelled, raising my hands in victory. Drew cracked up.

"Dude? Booy-yah?" he asked me. I just shrugged, unable to stop smiling. I was finally going to wear my Dead Hands shirt, I thought. I threw off my flannel shirt as quick as I could and pulled the black Dead Hand shirt over my head.

When it was all the way on, I readjusted my beanie and examined myself in the mirror, turning from side to side—Ecstatic when it finally hit me that you couldn't see a thing.

"I'll leave you two alone," joked Drew, grabbing his toothbrush and headed out of the bathroom, chuckling.

Still looking at myself in the mirror, I brought my hands up and held them in front of my like guns, pretending to shoot. I holstered my guns and ran my fingers over my beanie.

Finally, I winked at my reflection. I look good.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^later^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I spotted Eli and Clare on a bench outside the front of the school when my mom dropped me off this morning.

"Knock 'em dead," Drew told me, slapping me on the back. Then he winked and went off in the opposite direction, probably to find Alli. "Thanks!" I called after him.

"Hey guys," I said, coming up behind Eli and Clare. "Great day, isn't it?"

"Someone's chipper today," said Eli, grinning crookedly. "Nice shirt," he noted.

"Just got up on the right side of the bed, I guess," I said coyly, shrugging and smiling widely.

"You look nice," Clare declared. "Did you get a haircut?"

"Nope," I said, taking a seat next to them. Oh brother, could my grin get any wider? I looked around, searching the sea of people for signs of the familiar, dark red hair but it was nowhere in sight. "Have you seen Natalie?" I asked my friends.

Before either of them could answer, the bell rang and we had to head off to class.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^later^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Have you guys seen Natalie?" I asked again at lunch. The three of us were seated outside at our usual table but Natalie hadn't joined us yet.

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere," said Clare in an odd tone. "She was in my math class this morning".

"I haven't seen her at all today," I said. …and believe you me, I was on the look-out. The only class I had with Natalie was English and that was only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"She's around," said Clare, her tone was odd again which made me suspicious that perhaps she wasn't divulging all the information she was privy to.

"Okay…" I said slowly, watching her face. She just smiled sweetly. I decided not to think to much of it, for all I know it had nothing to do with Natalie.

"So how was remedial gym?" asked Eli.

"We're starting our mini-golf unit," I said, dispassionately. "How do you think it was?" I did smile, however, as I recalled that even Bianca, who always whispered mean things at me under her breath when I walked by, couldn't think of anything rude to say to me today—I guess I was in too good a mood, she knew it was no use wasting her breath.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^later^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

By the time the last bell rang, I had completely given up on seeing Natalie and, slightly depressed about not having the chance to redeem myself, I made my way over to the Dot to have a milkshake because Drew had football practice and we didn't get picked up until after it was over.

The little bell on the door tinkled as I made my way inside. Like it always was after school, the Dot was packed and no tables were free. I spotted one seat at the counter between a redheaded girl with thick glasses doing homework and a sandy-haired chess-club guy chatting with his neighbor.

"'Sup, Baby Torres," said Peter, handing me a menu. I rolled my eyes. He insisted on calling me 'Baby Torres' despite my only being one grade below Drew—Talk about emasculating. I ordered my chocolate shake with a side of fries and tapped my fingers absent-mindedly on the counter, waiting patiently. Eventually, I got to looking around the Dot.

A small cluster of girls from the Spirit Squad were sitting a table to my right, still in their uniforms, talking about some cheer or another they had yet to perfect.

I recognized Holly J and Declan's sister, Fiona, on the other side, whispering in hushed tones—Holly J looked worried, Fiona looked a little out of it.

Out of the large window, I could see K.C. and Jenna Middleton having a heated argument at a table outside.

A couple of guys from my grade, Dave, Connor and Wesley were sitting at a table to my other side. Connor was saying something that Dave and Wesley seemed to find funny. I was too far away to hear what it was. As he was laughing, Wesley glanced my way—Spotting me, his eyes widened with fear, and he quickly turned back to his friends…I laughed out loud—guess he still wasn't over what happened yesterday.

"Here you go, Baby Torres," said Peter. I turned back around to see him sliding a milkshake and hot fries towards me. I picked up a fry and, as I was put it in my mouth, I looked distractedly towards the girl with the glasses to my right. Recognizing her, I bit into the French fry hard, not realizing it was still burning hot.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, jumping. But my shock at recognizing the identity of the girl overpowered the burning sensation that singed my tongue.

"Natalie?" I asked, louder than I meant to. Oh, and I'm sure my tongue was semi-hanging out like an idiot. She didn't look up, which is when I noticed she had earphones on.

I reached over and tapped her gently on the shoulder…effectively startling her, like a moron.

She jumped about a foot off her stool at the contact—Her books, papers, pens and Ipod, went flying along with some of my French fries. Pretty much, the only thing that remained in place where the thick, brown glasses on her face.

"Adam?" she exclaimed, one hand clutching the space on her chest just under her throat. "Jesus F—!"

"Don't let Clare hear you finish that sentence," I joked. I felt relieved when she smiled at me, like the weight that I'd been carrying around all day was lifted from my shoulders. She laughed at what I said, pushing some hair from her face and readjusting the glasses on her face.

Then just like that, it was gone. Her eyes suddenly widened in panic and she ripped the glasses off her face as lightening speed. Her cheeks tinged pink.

"I should pick this stuff up," she muttered, getting off her stool and starting to collect the fallen items.

"Here let me help you," I said, getting up quickly from my own stool.

A/N: Ta-da! Review! Review! Review! I'll update as soon as I can.