HAI GUISE I'M BACK. I decided to write, cuz there was a storm and so yuhhh. Hope you like it :D

To Be Noticed

"I swear to you," grumbled Alex, slamming his lunch tray on the table "Mr. Wentz is the devil incarnate. That math test was bogus!"

Just an hour ago, he felt overly confident about acing the math test. He didn't even study. Come on, it's just algebra! What's the worst that could happen?Unfortunately for him, he forgot that Mr. Wentz hated his students and of course, decided to bombard the test with 50 items of despair and suffering. Alex was surprised he even made it out alive.

"That's your own fault," said Cassadee, biting into her apple "You were too confident about it. You didn't even study for it."

"I bet even if I did, I'd still fail," said Alex, angrily jamming a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. "And it doesn't help that he's both my homeroom AND math teacher. Like its not enough that I see him the first thing in the morning."

Jordan was about to say something, when he suddenly frowned. "Do you guys hear that?"

Everyone else cocked their heads to listen to the noise. Something loud and high pitched was approaching their table. It sounded like an excited mouse running towards cheese.

Suddenly, hands slammed on the table. Brian jumped about 10 feet into the air, spilling his lunch all over him. Everyone looked up and saw Sierra, grinning so wide it almost looked like her face was about to split in half.

"You will never guess what I got," she said breathlessly. Her eyes were as wide as plates.

"Money to buy me lunch?" said Brian, dabbing at his pants with a napkin.

"No." She turned to Alex. "Tickets to Devilish Rapture….3."

Alex spat out his milk. "SHUT UP."

Sierra pulled out tickets from her back pocket and wiggled it in Alex's face. He snatched it up and stared at it like it was some lost treasure.

"Please tell me you're taking me," he pleaded. "PLEASE."

Sierra stared at him blankly. "I'm not taking you."

Alex looked like he was about to cry. Sierra burst out laughing and smacked him hard on the arm.

"Of course I'm taking you, stupid," she said "You're my movie buddy!"

Alex flung his arms around her. "I love you. I love you. I love you."

Sierra patted his hand. "I know you do. Thing is, I've got 3 tickets. So…." She turned to Christofer. "Chris?"

"When?"

"This Saturday."

He shook his head. "No can do. I'm busy Saturday."

"Chris, come on, you always blow off Movie Day," said Alex.

"That's cause you always pick the day when I'm busy," said Christofer,

Sierra gave him a look. "Doing what?"

"I've got things…"

Sierra rolled her eyes. "Fine." She turned to Cassadee. "Cass? Wanna come with?"

"Thanks," said Cassadee "But I've got a date with Jordan that day."

Alex cocked a brow. "You do?"

Jordan looked confused. "We do?"

"Yeah, don't you remember?" asked Cassadee "Cause our moms are spending the entire afternoon at the spa, so she told me to take Jordan out so we can have "cousin bonding" time, which is weird because we live in the same house."

"Your sister isn't coming?" asked Alex.

"Nah. She's got some weird History test to study for. If you ask me, she's just bluffing."

Jordan looked a bit nervous. 'So…where are we going?"

Cassadee beamed at him. "Forever 21."

Jordan's eyes widened with horror. He looked at Sierra and Alex. "Take me with you."

"No," said Cassadee "You're spending the afternoon with me. Our moms will kill us."

"But why can't it be some place like, I dunno, a skateboard shop or something," whined Jordan "You like skateboarding, don't you?"

"Yeah," said Cassadee. A mischievous smile crept onto her lips. "But mom said I get to choose where we hang out."

Jordan shut his eyes tightly and slammed his head on the table.

"Well then," said Sierra "That leaves us with….Brian." She turned to Brian. "Would you like to come with us?"

Brian looked uncomfortable. "I don't think that's my type of movie…"

"Come on, Brian," said Alex "I mean its not like you watch chick flicks like Tangled and Crazy, Stupid, Love."

Everyone else could've sworn Brian's cheeks turned into a deathly shade of red, but he covered it up and said "Ew no. Are you kidding me? What's it about anyway?"

"Uhhh…think Exorcism," said Sierra. Brian paled. The last time he watched an exorcism movie, he had to sleep with a nightlight for a week.

"But don't worry," said Alex "Its about as scary as…Drag Me To Hell."

"But Drag Me To Hell wasn't even scary," said Brian.

"Exactly!" said Alex "It's just so entertaining, you'll forget it's a horror movie!"

Brian shrugged. "Fine. I'm game. Let's do it."

~~/~~

As much as Christofer loved music, he hated music class. Especially since majority of his classmates had no musical talent whatsoever (no offense to them). Listening to them was like listening to a live cow being thrown into a meat chopper. It was almost pitiful.

"Alright class," said Mr. Davis, the music teacher 'We're going to go through that again. This time, use your diaphragm."

Christofer winced. If he had to go through Who Has Touched The Sky one more time, he swore he was going to leap off the school building.

It also didn't help that he shared the class with the Salpeter-Johnsons. They looked like over-groomed poodles in their expensive clothes. Okay, fine, maybe Greta looked kind of pretty in her pink satin dress, but STILL. They just looked so snooty, it almost made him want to punch them.

What's worse was, they could actually sing. It was so frustrating because, even if everyone else's awful voices drowned each other out, he could still hear that their voices were good, so he can't make fun of them for that. Plus, they were making disgusted faces at the people who couldn't sing. I mean, sure Christofer thought that they sucked, but at least he wasn't being rude about it.

At least he had Jordan with him. Fortunately, Jordan was blessed with a more or less good voice, though it would've been better if he made it a tad bit louder. He sounded like he was singing for mice.

His leg brushed the ukulele standing at his feet. He had promised Alex and Sierra that they would have a jam session later with Cassadee, Jordan and Brian to make up for his absence on Saturday. Jam sessions with the two of them were the best. He loved it when they sang and their voices blended so perfectly together. He wasn't sure about Cass, Jordan and Brian, but maybe their voices would make the jam session even better.

Jordan massaged his ears once the two of them left the room. "Oh god. I think my ears are permanently damaged."

"Tell me about it," said Christofer "It was like listening to pigs in a slaughterhouse." They both shivered in disgust.

Christofer reached up to finger the strap of his ukulele case…only to find out that it was not there. He patted his entire body, searching for it. He cursed under his breath.

"What's up?" asked Jordan.

"I left my ukulele in the music room," said Christofer. He turned around to head back, only to stare into the faces of the demon twins themselves.

"You mean, this ukulele?" said Greta gesturing at Martin. With an evil grin, he held up a ukulele, broken at the shaft, its strings dangling limply.

"Sorry about that," said Martin, obviously not sorry about it at all "I kind of, ah, didn't see where I was going." He tossed it to Christofer, who caught it with fumbling hands.

Greta and Martin laughed cruelly and strode past them, pushing people aside as they went by. Christofer held up the broken ukulele and plucked one string. It sounded completely off.

"So sorry about that man," said Jordan sympathetically. To his surprise, Christofer didn't look heartbroken at all.

"Meh," he said "It's okay. It's fake anyway. I have like a dozen back at home. My real one's under my bed."

He and Jordan walked to his locker. He opened it and stuffed his binder and the broken ukulele inside.

"Aren't you going to get Martin back?" asked Jordan.

Christofer smirked. "Of course I'll get him back." He eyed Martin, who was heading towards his locker. He took out a tiny remote from the back of his locker.

"Watch this," he said, and pushed a small button. As Martin placed a hand on the locker door, it locked instantly. Confused, Martin pulled at it, but it didn't budge.

"Whoa," said Jordan, watching as Martin shook the door frantically "How'd you do that?"

"Got my techie friend to wire it up for 10 bucks," said Christofer "Now watch this." He pressed another button and the locker door swung open, slamming into Martin's face.

Martin cried out and held his eye. He staggered to the bathroom, trying to escape the laughter of his schoolmates. Christofer was doubling over with laughter.

"Oh god, oh god," he gasped "Did you see that? His eye is going to be so messed up."

One of the students suddenly approached him. "Way to go man!" He high-fived Christofer.

"Yeah, you showed him up real good!" said another student, giving him another high five.

'Totally awesome man!" said a third student, patting him on the back.

"Wait a minute," said Jordan, confused "How did you know he did it?"

"Dude, everyone knows that any prank done in this school, especially done to teachers and Salpeter-Johnsons, is done by Christofer," said the first guy.

"Yeah, only the best ones come from him," said the second guy.

"Aw come on guys, I ain't that great," said Christofer, trying to be modest, but it was obvious that he was enjoying the praise. "Come on, Jordan. Let's go."

Jordan followed him down the hall, listening to the cheers and praise being given to Christofer. Christofer looked like a celebrity, with fans clapping him on the back, patting him on the shoulder, telling him that he was awesome.

Jordan couldn't help but wish that that was him. That was all he ever wanted before, to be noticed and appreciated. Back in his old school, he was a wallflower, completely invisible to the student body. And when they did notice him, they'd call him things like "Rabbit boy" or "Hamster face" or even, the most cruel of all, "That Bastard Kid".

He watched Christofer, thinking that maybe someday, people would go up to him and tell him that he was awesome. Maybe.

Though he wouldn't count that it would come soon.

~~/~~

Jordan rested his head against a mirror. The sight of dresses and accessories was blinding him. Sure, he'd seen a cute girl or two, but if he stayed here any minute longer, he might just have a panic attack.

"Cass! Can we leave now?" he called into the dressing room stall "I'm dying here."

"Yeah, just a sec!" Cassadee called back from behind the door. "2 more outfits to try on."

Jordan sighed. This was going to take forever. Finally, Cassadee stepped out, clad in a pale pink summer dress. She spun around, making the skirt fly.

"Whaddya think?" she asked, batting her eyes.

Jordan stared at her blankly. "What am I supposed to think?"

"I dunno. Does it look good on me?"

"How should I know? I'm a dude."

Cassadee rolled her eyes impatiently. "Just say if it looks nice or not."

"Fine," said Jordan "Get it."

Cassadee turned toward the mirror and frowned. "I dunno…it's not really my style."

Jordan spread his hands. "Why did you even ask?"

Cassadee closed the dressing room door in response. Jordan shook his head. "For the love of…" he muttered.

"Did you enjoy the jam session yesterday?" asked Cassadee as she changed. Jordan smiled to himself. He wasn't expecting much from the jam session, but it was pretty awesome. They sang all his favorite songs, but he was too shy to sing along. He was glad that Brian was just as awkward as he was. But eventually, they got both of them to sing. And they didn't sound that bad either.

"Yeah," said Jordan "It was cool."

"I know right? I can't believe how amazing we sound together." She opened the door, coming out in a salmon pink blouse with soft folds cascading down the sleeves and a pair of slim jeans. "How about this one?"

"That one looks a lot better," said Jordan without thinking "It really brings out your form and makes your eyes pop."

Cassadee raised an eyebrow. "Makes my eyes pop?"

Jordan paused. "Did I just say that?"

"Yeah you kinda did."

Jordan grabbed at his hair in horror. "What is HAPPENING to me?"

Cassadee turned and looked at herself in the mirror. "Whaddya know? You're right! It does! I'm bringing out the fashion expert in you, Jordy."

Jordan waited till she disappeared back into the stall before getting back at her. "I caught you ogling at Alex while he was singing I'll Be."

He heard Cassadee pause. He smirked. He caught her off guard, and now he was sure she was blushing madly.

"I was not!" she retorted, but her voice sounded shaky "I was just…admiring his singing! He has a good voice!"

"You looked at him as if he had a choir of angels in his throat."

"Well he di—I mean, of course not!" She stepped out, hurriedly bring the clothes to the counter.

"Sure," said Jordan, as she was paying for the clothes "You just happened to be spacing out in his direction with an awestruck face, right?"

Cassadee's cheeks colored. "Well for your information, he wasn't the only one with a good voice, you know. Sierra and Christofer's and even Brian's voice was like his too."

Jordan suddenly had a thought. "Speaking of Christofer, what do you think he does on Saturdays?"

Cassadee took the bag of clothes and thanked the saleslady. "Beats me. He sounded really mysterious about it though."

They exited the store and headed towards Starbucks. Jordan already knew what he wanted: a grande non-fat iced chai tea latte. It was like a spa in his mouth. He was just savoring the memory of its taste in his mind when something caught his ear. The sound of a guitar.

"You hear that too?" asked Cassadee "The guitar?" Jordan nodded.

Slowly, they turned around and saw someone sitting at a bench beside the fountain, hunched over a guitar. A small crowd gathered around him, dropping bills and coins into his open guitar case.

They approached him as he finished his song. The audience clapped and cheered for him. As they began to disperse, they saw that it was….none other than Christofer himself.

"Chris?" said Cassadee incredulously.

Christofer looked up and beamed at them. "Hey guys! What brings you here?"

"This is what you've been keeping from us?" said Jordan, gesturing at the guitar in his hands "That you have mini acoustic concerts every Saturday afternoon?"

Christofer shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Why keep it a secret?" asked Cassadee "I mean look at your guitar case! It's half full!"

"I don't want a lot of people to know about it, you know? I'm not a fan of really big crowds…"

Jordan was about to retort with the fact that most of the school acknowledges him as the Prankster of Westbridge High, when he heard familiar voices talking excitedly behind him. He turned and saw Alex, Sierra and Brian walking towards them. Alex and Sierra looked ecstatic beyond belief. Brian? Not so much.

"Oh man, that was AMAZING," said Alex excitedly "That totally kicked Devilish Rapture 1&2's ass."

"Oh and when the possessed girl ripped that guy's heart out," said Sierra animatedly, pretending to rip a heart out "That was SO EPIC."

Alex smacked Brian, who was as stiff as a board of wood, playfully. "See? I told you it wasn't that bad!"

"I don't think I can sleep tonight," said Brian, his voice quavering "I'm never going to get rid of those god awful images."

Sierra was about to respond when she saw Jordan, Cassadee and Christofer. She smiled and waved at them. "Hey guys!"

She ran towards them, Alex and Brian following closely behind. She looked at the guitar in Christofers hands and her eyes widened. "So this is what you do every Saturday?"

Alex eyed the pile of cash in Christofers guitar case in awe. "So THAT'S where you get your extra cash!"

"Oh my god, he has his own solo jam sessions without us!" said Sierra mournfully "AND he gets paid!"

"You're breaking my heart Chris!" said Alex in mock sorrow. "See? This is my heart." He formed a heart with his hands, then broke it in half. "And now look, you broke it!"

Brian looked at them weirdly. "Guys…quit overreacting. Seriously. It's not that big a deal."

"No, it's okay," said Christofer "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner. I just didn't want a lot of people to know about it. What can I do make it up to you?"

Sierra tapped her chin in thought. "Give us a part of your earnings."

Christofer looked horrified. "NO!"

Alex laughed and smacked him. "We're just kidding bro. It's okay if you didn't tell us. And hey, I'm not surprised you earned that much with your voice."

Christofer smiled. "Thanks bro." He fist bumped Alex.

"So, how was the movie?" asked Cassadee. Brian gave her a oh-god-why-did-you-ask look, but Alex and Sierra immediately gathered around her and told her the entire story.

Jordan looked back down at Christofer and watched him pack his guitar and pocket his earnings. That was it. Christofer was everything he wanted to be. Well-known and properly appreciated for his talent. All his life, he wanted to be someone like Christofer. Maybe now he had a chance.

Maybe that chance did come sooner than he thought it would.