"Times up!" called Mr. Trohman. After what seemed like eternity, art class was finally over. Sierra hopped off the stool, massaging her sore and almost flat behind. She creeped up behind Dave to sneak a peek, but he was already ripping the sheet off the pad.

"Hey," she said "Dont I at least get a look?"

Dave thought about it for a while. "Uh...no. Teacher's eyes only. You can have the draft though." He handed her another sheet of paper, which she gaped at in disgust. It was a stick figure version of her with a messy scrawl of hair, two circles on her chest area indicating she was in fact a female, and a caption that read SHERRY.

"What kind of draft is this?" she demanded angrily. Dave shrugged with a cheeky grin on his face.

"I ended early," he said "So I made that. Enjoy." He turned and went to submit the real artwork, leaving Sizerra fuming at his wake.

She caught up with Alex on his way out. "Hey. Where's cassadee?"

"oh she had to help Jordan carry a few things," said Alex "Apparently, he has extremely weak arms for a guy his age."

"Apparently. So." She nudged him playfully. "How was art class?"

There was a sense of uneasiness in his voice. "Um...it was fine, I guess."

"I saw you, you know."

"Saw me what?"

"Staring at Cassadee."

Alex stiffened. "I wasn't staring."

Sierr scoffed. "Please. You looked like a gaping fish." She bulged out her eyes and unhinged her jaw, giving a more or less accurate impression of a gaping fish.

"Okay, one, I did not look like that. And two, I had to stare at her. I was sketching her!"

"Well, you could've done it without looking like God slapped you across the face. What happened over there? Did you-"

"Can we not talk about this anymore? I have to go." Alex walked away hastily, trying as hard as he could to forget whatever happened at that moment. Sierra gazed after him, grinning. She pulled out her phone and began to text Brian.

—•—

Ryan checked his watch. 10 minutes late. He shook his head exasperatedly. This was so unlike Brendon. Usually he'd be 20 minutes early to glee club just to get everything ready for the day's session. That was when he used to care about glee club.

Now, Ryan wasn't sure if he still did.

He checked his watch again. 12 minutes. That was it. Ryan headed for the door, already set on hunting mode, when Brendon burst through the door, talking loudly on his phone.

"So it's a date then?" he was saying with a giant grin on his face "The 16th? Awesome! I'm so excited. See ya!"

Ryan turned him around to face him. "Brendon, where were you? You're 12 minutes-"

"You'll never guess what I just found out," said Brendon, still massively excited.

"Are you even listening? You're-"

"WICKED'S COMING THIS SATURDAY!" said brendon, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

Ryan was thrown off at the mention of his favorite musical. "Wait, what? Really?"

"Yeah, and Hayley's getting us both tickets-"

"Wait." Ryan couldn't believe his ears. His best friend was watching their favorite musical without him? "Just you and Hayley?"

"Yeah. But if you wanna come, I'll just tell her..."

"Forget it. It's fine," he said a bit harshly. Brendon looked slightly taken aback, so he changed his tone. "So...you're going on a date then."

Brendon's goofy grin came back again. "Yeah I guess. You know...I think I kind of like her."

Now that was something Ryan never thought he'd hear. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I mean, she's smart. She's funny. She's really pretty. She likes all the things I like. And...she kind of reminds me of someone." Brendon started fiddling with his coat button, looking slightly embarrassed.

"She reminds you of someone? Who?"

Just then, the door opened and in stepped someone Ryan never thought would set foot in the glee club. Clad in his signature purple hoodie, tight, white-washed jeans, and neon high tops, he walked in, calmly and not in his usual I-own-the-place manner.

"Gabe saporta?" said Brendon incredulously "What the hell are you doing here?"

"if you're planning to bully anyone here, then you can just go ahead and leave. This is a bully free club," stated Ryan, his eyes narrowed.

Gabe raised his hands. "Relax guys. I'm here on my own."

"What do you mean?" asked Brendon.

"Well my friends kind of don't know I'm here," explained Gabe "they also don't know that I've always wanted to be a part of the glee club ever since you guys performed in the gym."

Ryan was still suspicious. " you're not trying to get with any of the girls here, are you?"

"No, not at all" said Gabe "I just...I just wanna sing."

Brendon seemed very interested. He rubbed his chin. "I didn't know you liked singing, Gabe."

"Well, a lot of guys think singing is gay. But my shower head and hairbrush beg to differ," said Gabe, grinning sheepishly. Brendon seemed convinced, but not everyone else in the room was, especially Ryan.

Gabe sighed. "Look. I'm not a bad guy. Sure I hang out with thugs. Sure I look like some douche from Jersey shore or something. Sure I look like a bully. But I'm not. I don't throw people into trash cans. I don't stuff people in lockers. I don't pull wedgies or trip anyone. My friends do that. I don't. I just stand and watch because if I try to stop it, they're going to judge me. I mean, you guys know the feeling of being judged. I feel it too. And here, this is where you can be anything you want to be without being judged for it. That's what I wanna feel too. I want to feel free."

In the midst of the silence that followed, Ryan's skeptical voice broke through. "if you don't want your friends judging you, why don't you just leave them?"

Gabe chuckled. "It's not easy for someone to just jump off the top of the social pyramid. Especially when you're at the peak. Besides...who knows what kind of rumors they're going to spread about me when they find out..."

Brendon clapped his hands together. "alright. I'm sold. What are you going to sing for us today?"

Ryan looked at him in shock. "you can't just let him-"

"Look Ryan. Social status is just a name. This guy is exactly like each and every one of us. All he wants is to express himself without being judged. It would be a crime not to let him audition." Brendon turned back to Gabe. "what will you be singing?"

"Empire state of mind by Alicia keys and Jay-Z."

Brendon was impressed. "Wow. You're gonna rap AND sing?"

Gabe smiled crookedly. "I'll try."

The band began to play his song and, before they knew it, Gabe had entranced the small crowd. He rapped every lyric and transitioned to melody flawlessly. His charismatic charm brought the glee members to their feet before they even knew they were dancing. He caught Williams eye every now and then, and saw he was moving along with the crowd, returning his gaze.

At the end of the number, everyone was begging Brendon to let him join. He was just what the glee club needed.

"Alright, alright, calm down," said Brendon. He looked up at Gabe, beaming. "Well, due to unanimous vote, I'm pleased to welcome you into the glee club, Gabe."

Everyone was screaming, chanting his name. Gabe stood there awkwardly, unfamiliar to this sudden burst of praise. He glanced at William, and he saw him gaze back with that all too familiar wonder in his rich brown eyes.

~~/~~

It had been two weeks since the art class incident, and Alex was convinced that he was over Cassadee. Not a single thought about her, not even her face, entered his mind. Sure, his heart would skip a beat when she called him up in his house. Sure, he'd had several dreams about her walking on a beach facing a gorgeous sunset. But that meant absolutely nothing. What was important is, he was one hundred percent not in love with Cassadee.

And fortunately for him, only Sierra knew what had happened. Or at least thats what he thought.

"Hey lover boy," said Sierra as she and Christofer watched Alex pack his back pack.

Alex winced. "Don't call me that."

"Lover boy?" asked Christofer in confusion. Suddenly, his face lit up in understanding. "Is this about the thing?"

Now it was Alex's turn to be confused. "What thing?"

Sierra smacked Christofer's arm hard. "I told you to shut up!"

"Oww!" howled Christofer, rubbing his sore arm "What's the matter with you?"

"You told him?" said Alex in anger.

"Just him!" said Sierra in defense.

"You told everybody!" said Christofer, earning another loud smack on his already sore arm.

Alex's eyes narrowed. "Define everybody."

"Everybody as in everybody in the Brat Pack. Don't worry," said Sierra, raising her palms.

"But I told you not to talk about it!"

"You didn't specifically say not to talk about it with anyone else." And Sierra had a point there.

"So you really were making googly eyes at Cass?" asked Christofer "I mean, sure she's pretty but-"

"It doesn't mean anything," said Alex defiantly.

"Alex, you can't keep hiding behind the truth forever," said Sierra "One day, it's gonna come out and you're gonna have to man up about it."

"There's nothing to hide behind, okay?" Alex's voice was rising. "The only truth there is is that I'm not in love with Cass-"

"Not in love with who?" asked a voice behind him. A chill ran down his spine. He turned to face the voice and found her staring up curiously at him.

"Hey Cass," said Sierra, just as stunned as Alex was "We were...just talking about...Alex not being in love with Cassandra Clare."

Cassadee was confused. "Cassadra Clare?"

"Yeah. You know. The one who writes the mortal instruments books? Yeah, Alex says he doesn't like her, but I know he's in love with all her books."

Cassadee looked back at Alex, who's face was just about the same shade as a tomato. He avoided her gaze.

"I gotta go," he muttered, walking away hastily.

As Cassadee watched Alex walking away in complete bewilderment, Christofer leaned into Sierra's ear and whispered "I think you left that part out when you told me about the art class thing."

"I didn't think he'd be the one to admit it," Sierra whispered back.

~~/~~

Jordan watched Cassadee closely from the top of the cards in his hand. Cassadee was doing the same. It had been 30 minutes since they had been locked in a tense game of Monopoly deal. Cassadee had two complete sets, while Jordan had one. It seemed she had the upper hand, but she had no idea just how sneaky her cousin could be.

Cassadee put down a card, sure that she'd win. "Sly deal. Give me your orange property."

Jordan smirked. He put down a "Just Say No" card. "Not today, cuz."

"YOU JERK!" she screamed, almost throwing her hand. Jordan merely laughed.

"You soaking up my awesomeness yet?" he said tauntingly. Cassadee scowled.

"So," said Jordan, drawing two cards from the deck "I heard Alex was fixated with you during art class two weeks ago."

Cassadee looked up in surprise. "How did you know that?"

"A little birdie told me."

"It was Sierra, isn't it."

Jordan laughed, putting down three money cards. "You're fast."

"She was the only one in our art class, smart ass."

Jordan watched her draw two cards. "You know what that could mean, don't you?"

Cassadee looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I always knew there was a possibility that..."

"That what?"

A smile tugged at the edge of Jordan's mouth. "He likes you."

Cassadee blushed, but kept a straight face. "That's stupid. He doesn't like me. I mean..." She suddenly felt slightly disappointed. "He's been avoiding me lately."

"Really?" asked Jordan "In what way?"

"Like, I try to say hi to him, but he always seems like he's in a hurry," explained Cassadee, feeling more disappointed "And when I call him, he takes too long to pick up the phone. And...he won't look at me straight."

Jordan looked at her for a long time. "Are you worried?"

Cassadee snapped out of her reverie and made three moves. "N-no. I mean...maybe something came up and he's not ready to talk about it."

"Or maybe he likes you."

Cassadee stopped for a moment. What if he did like her? What if there was a possibility that he was...in some way...in love with her? Her heart began to race. That was too awkward for their relationship, and too dangerous.

But what if she was in love with him too?

"It'd be funny though," said Jordan, his voice breaking through her consciousness "If you had feelings for him too."

Cassadee swallowed. "I don't have feelings for him."

Jordan shrugged. "Denial is always the first stage in acceptance." He put down three cards and ended the game by taking one of her full sets. She didn't even notice.

"I dont-"

Jordan gave her a withering look. "Spare me. You call him every day. You check his facebook and twitter constantly. You always make it a point to stay by his side and when you do, you have his ridiculous smile on your face. Sometimes, I hear you say his name more than once in your sleep. And you say you don't have feelings for him."

Cassadee opened her mouth to rebut, but Jordan wasn't done.

"You remember the first day when we saw Alex again? You told me that he looked different."

"But he was different!"

"Really? The only thing I noticed was that his hair got longer and he got taller. You obviously saw something else."

Cassadee's cheeks were deep red now. Sure she'd entertained these thoughts more often than not, but she didn't think it'd be Jordan who'd point it out for her. Every time she thought about these things, she'd shove them away or call them ridiculous.

Somehow, they didn't seem ridiculous anymore.

"Look," said Jordan exhaling "No matter how much you deny it, you are head over heels for this guy. And, it's not a bad thing. It's...something that comes with being best friends, maybe. You know him like the back of your hand, and now, things are different because you're a teenager. You know his good points and, now you're...I don't know...attracted to them, I guess?"

Cassadee hugged her knees, trying to sort out her mind. It was like every thought in her head decided to come out and form a giant mosh pit in it, throwing her thoughts and feelings around like a beach ball. Finally the truth surfaced and she buried her head in her arms.

Jordan patted her head. "I gotta go. I'm meeting Christofer for dinner. Just relax. You'll figure it out." All she heard after were footsteps on the floor and the door creaking open and closing shut.

Cassadee suddenly felt something against her hip. She looked down and saw the phone lying on the ground, screen facing up. She held it in her hand, toying with it for a while, until finally, she decided to call up Alex.

~~/~~

"I can't believe she told you about this!" said Alex in exasperation. Brian shrugged in the skype window. Even through the video quality was horrible, Alex couldn't mistake the smirk on his face.

"Face it man, you're in looooove," pointed out Brian, pulling the last word into a slur.

"It doesn't mean that! She just looked different in the light!"

"Oh really? What did she look like then?" Brian cocked a brow.

"She...well, she looked like..." Alex tried desperately to form words, but he couldn't find any that were the total opposite of what he was thinking.

"Go on?" prompted Brian.

Finally, Alex gave up. "A goddess."

Brian burst out laughing. He laughed for a solid minute, complete with stomping his feet, slamming his hand on the table, and the occasional gasp for air. Alex was not amused.

"It's not funny, okay?" he said indignantly.

"Oh contrare, mi amigo," said Brian, wiping his eyes "It's hilarious. This is living proof."

"Whatever," said Alex, folding his arms "It's never gonna happen anyway."

"Aw," said Brian, pouting sympathetically "Don't be such a-"

A loud blaring noise startled the both of them. Alex's phone was vibrating and blinking madly. He picked it up and looked at the caller ID.

"Who is it?" asked Brian.

Alex swallowed. His heart sped up a bit faster. "It's Cassadee."

"Well, don't keep her waiting! Answer it!"

Alex took a deep breath and, after a few more rings, answered the phone. "Hello?"

Cassadee's voice made his skin prickle. "Hey Alex."

"Hey Cass. What's up?"

"What'cha doin?"

"Nothing. Just talking to Brian." He looked back at his computer screen and saw Brian giving him a thumbs up.

"You free this evening?"

"Um...sure. Why?"

"Wanna come over? Jordan's out and both our moms are having dinner with their friends. And I'm really bored."

"Uh...hold on." He put a hand over the speaker and faced Brian. "She wants me to come over."

"And? Are you asking me for permission? JUST GO."

Alex lifted the phone to his ear again. "Sure. What's your address?"

"Actually, I live right behind you. You can come in through the back door."

Alex walked to the back window and peeked through. Sure enough, in the distance, he saw the silhouette of a girl waving back at him. They were that near each other all this time?

"Wow. Okay I'll be right there." He hung up the phone and went back to Brian.

"She lives right behind me," Alex said, a bit too excited.

Brian whistled. "Wow. How convenient. Well, have fun!" He put on a stern face. "Don't do anything stupid there. I don't want to find out-"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Ah, shut up." He closed Skype and shut his laptop. And, feeling suddenly energized, he made his way to Cassadee's back door.

~~/~~

It took a few knocks before Cassadee heard him. When she opened the door, the moonlight fell on her face and suddenly, she transformed into the goddess he saw during art class. It took a lot of effort for him not to stare.

"I can't believe you live right behind my house," said Alex, flushing away his thoughts.

"I know right? Isn't it crazy?" said Cassadee letting him in.

It was a cozy house, big enough to fit a family of four. It kind of felt like his own home. They crossed to the living room. The TV was on. A bowl of popcorn stood untouched on the coffee table.

"Hmm, lemme guess," said Alex "We watching a movie?"

Cassadee shrugged. The gesture made her seem ten times cuter. "If you'd like."

"I don't mind," said Alex, stretching out on the sofa. He watched Cassadee walk over to the stack of DVDs to search for a good movie. At once, the thoughts crawled back into his mind again and he tried, once again, to push them away. Then it hit him. He was with Cassadee. Alone. He heard his heartbeat in his ears.

He needed to distract himself, and he did so with a photo album he found under the coffee table. He flipped it open, and the first thing he saw was a 6 year old Cassadee, smiling a gap-toothed smile. He chuckled.

Cassadee turned back to him. "What are you-" Her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh my god."

"Aw, Cass. Look at you." He showed her the picture. "I don't remember you being this cute."

"Oh yeah?" she said. She sat down beside him and flipped the page. She pointed at a 6 year old Alex, also with a gap toothed smile and wearing a cowboy costume. "I beg to differ."

"Oh my god," said Alex laughing "I remember that costume! I wore it to your house every day."

"Yeah," said Cassadee "And then we'd play cowboys and indians, and I'd be the indian princess."

They flipped around the book for a while, reminiscing the past as they looked at each photograph. Life seemed better back then, when they were younger and didn't have to worry about falling in love.

As they flipped pages, something fell out. Cassadee picked it up. It was a cd, and on it the words "Home Videos" was scrawled in a black sharpie.

"Hey," she said "Let's watch this." She got up and put the cd into the player.

"Oh great," said Alex laughing "I'm afraid of what I'm going to see."

It turned out he didn't. The pictures came to life on screen, and they saw their 6 year old selves, playing and running around like they used to. They saw several clips of them playing cowboys and indians, baking cookies, making sandcastles, even watching Alex's dad play live at one of his coffee shop concerts. Alex stole a glance at Cassadee. He couldn't believe after 10 years, this was his best friend. All grown up and...something different altogether.

"I can't believe it's been 10 years," said Cassadee echoing his thoughts "Look at us now. We're so..."

"Different," finished Alex, smiling. Cassadee smiled back at him. How'd he never notice that she had a really nice smile?

"Happy birthday Cassadee!" said the younger Alex on the tv screen. He was presenting her with a messily wrapped gift.

"Oh no," said Alex "I remember trying to wrap that gift. Hardest thing in my life."

The younger Cassadee ripped open the paper and found a macaroni bead necklace with a picture of her on one of the shells. She squealed with excitement. "Thank you Alex!" she said, hugging him tightly "You give the nicest gifts."

"Yeah," said the younger Alex "Cause you're my bestest friend in the whole entire world."

Cassadee nudged him. "You still think so?"

Alex couldn't help but smile. "Always."

The younger Cassadee gave the younger Alex a kiss. "I love you Alex!"

The younger Alex kissed her back. "I love you too Cassadee!"

And now, upon seeing this, both of them suddenly felt awkward. They'd forgotten they said that to each other 10 years ago. They hadn't known the gravity of their words back then. They were too innocent to know what they really meant.

Alex glanced at Cassadee, who sat still, her hands folded tightly on her lap, her cheeks flaming red. He wondered...could he really be in love with her? Of course, not the kind of love he thought of when he was younger. But something more...permanent. And, would she ever love him back? He knew that it might not even be possible. But...the way she reacted to the video...

"Oh my god," she suddenly said. She picked up a photograph and burst out laughing.

"What is it?" said Alex, happy to be relieved of the tension. He looked over and his eyes widened. It was his 6 year old self, only butt naked and about to jump into a pool.

"Why do you have that picture?" asked Alex, his voice tight with embarrassment.

"I dont know," said Cassadee. She gave him a sly smile. "But I think I might show this to the rest of the Brat Pack."

"You wouldn't."

Cassadee waved the photograph in his face. "Come and get it, then."

Alex made a grab for it, but Cassadee pulled it out of reach. Alex reached over to grab it, not noticing he was directly above Cassadee. She extended her arm over the couch, making it difficult for Alex to get a hand on it.

Suddenly, Alex's arm gave way and he fell on top of her. He struggled to get up, groaning and muttering apologies, but when he glanced at her, he was suddenly captivated. From far away, her eyes were already shining. Up close, they were like jewels, glittering in the light of the television. He could actually trace the constellations the freckles on her face made. He felt her breath, warm and sweet against his cheek. He felt her heart beat against his chest. And her lips...

He had no idea what had happened. He had no idea why it happened. But, just as the fact that their bodies were not even an inch apart was sinking in, he leaned down and kissed her.

What mysterious force led him to do that, he did not know. But he knew that if he didn't do it, he'd regret it for the rest of his life. Simultaneously, he knew that if he did do it, he might regret that too. Plus the fact that Cassadee might hate him forever.

But he didn't pull away. Her lips were the best thing he'd ever tasted since he discovered belgian chocolate. And he worshipped belgian chocolate.

Just as he was having second thoughts, he felt her hand travel up to his face and her lips press against his. He kissed deeper, and she responded to it, running her fingers through his long brown locks.

They stayed entwined together, exchanging lips, stealing breaths, hanging on to every bit of ecstasy, until they had to come for air. Alex gazed down at her, and she smiled back up at him. And suddenly, the truth hit him like a cement truck.

"I...I have to go," he sputtered. He got up off her and dashed to the front door. He ran all the way until he stopped at a street light. He touched his lips, not knowing that, back where he came from, she was also touching hers.

"Oh my god," they said. They seemed a million miles away.