"Um… a little more to the left… non, non, that's too high. Now you'll have raise the right side more."

Fred sighed and started to climb down from the ladder. He thought about asking why he couldn't just lower the left side, but after three hours of doing this, he knew better. Once he reached the other side of the 12ft long banner, he untied the string and started to raise it higher.

"Don't pull it so taunt!" Joleena said angrily. "You're going to make it rip!"

"You want to come up here and do this yourself!?" Fred snapped.

He turned to look at her, but she gave him such a heated glare that he immediately turned back around again. "Sorry, Jo-Jo."

"And how many times have I told you not to call me Jo-Jo?" Joleena said irritably. "That is the most ridiculous pet name I have ever heard."

"Well maybe I could think of a better one if we were actually dating." Fred mumbled under his breath.

"Excuse-moi?"

"Nothing."

His phone vibrated with an incoming text message and Fred grabbed at it eagerly, almost falling off the ladder in the process. When he finally managed to get it out of his pocket he saw it was a text message from Sam: We're here. Let us in.

"Hey my friends are here. I'm going to let them in." Fred said quickly climbing down from the latter.

Joleena sighed impatiently and dismissed him with a wave of her hand. She glared over at the rest of the school planning committee who were just lounging around the stairwell gossiping, joking, and flirting. Fred left before she could chew them out again and headed to the front of the school. The rain outside had let up a little but it was still freezing out. Joe, Sam, and Fina stood shivering outside waiting for him.

"Thank goodness you guys are here," Fred said opening the door. "Joleena is off her rocker!"

"Let's just get this over with." Sam sighed brushing him aside and walking in.

Fred frowned and turned to Joe. "What's his problem?"

"We were doing homework." Joe shrugged. "You know how Sam is when he doesn't finish his homework."

"Well he doesn't need to be such a jerk." Fred mumbled.

They started walking down the hallway with him leading them to where the others were. Fred glanced back and noticed that Fina had her arms wrapped around herself and she was shifting uncomfortably. Fred drifted back until he was next to her. "Want my jacket? You look cold."

Fina jumped and quickly shook her head.

"You sure?"

Fina nodded. Fred shrugged indifferently and moved away from her again.

"So what are you guys doing here?" Joe asked.

"The faculty is having some dinner and they wanted the student planning committee to organize and decorate it." Fred rolled his eyes. "You know, since the bastards are too lazy to do it themselves."

"And you need us because…"

"Because the student planning committee are also a bunch of lazy bastards."

They reached the foyer where the gym was. A long table filled with decorating supplies, airless balloons, and papers were off to one side while paint and paint brushes sat in a corner. Round tables and chairs were stacked in another corner. A stenciled but colorless banner hung over the gym doors but that was the only thing set up.

"We will be here all night at this rate!" Joleena was chastising the rest of the planning committee who were just lounging in the stairwell.

"A co-ed sleepover sounds good to me baby." One of the guys laughed and everyone laughed with him.

"Relax Jo-Jo, the carvery has arrived." Fred announced.

Joleena turned towards them and her face looked mildly relieved, but the rest of the committee just glared at Joe, Sam, and Fina's arrival.

A cheerleader named Stacy gave them a nasty smile. "Sorry losers, this party is invitation only."

"Oh can it Stacy, they're probably a lot more useful than you." Joleena shot back at her and quickly rushed over to the four of them. "Thank goodness you're here, I need all the help I can get."

"No sweat, we'll be glad to help." Joe smiled. "What do you need?"

Half an around later, Joe sat on the floor with Joleena, helping her fill in the letters in the banner. Fred was finally able to cajole some of his jock friends into setting up the tables inside the gym, claiming that the girls would never be able to do it without them. The rest of the committee were forced to work on table center pieces but so far only Sam and Fina were doing it, sitting off to one side away from them.

Joleena huffed for the tenth time and glared over at the ones not working. "They elected me chairperson of this project but now they don't want to do anything. Then who'll take the blame if this isn't done? Me, that's who."

"Hey, it'll be fine." Joe said softly and patted her hand. "We got half of them working, that's something right?"

Joleena flashed him the briefest smile, making his face feel warm. "Oui, I supposed you're right."

Joe's hand tightened a little over hers before he quickly removed it again. He glanced over at Fina who was sitting next to Sam, hunched over and focused on her task.

"Thank you for being here," Joleena said softly, "I know that it's mostly because of Fred, but I'm still grateful you're here."

Joe felt his chest tighten looking at her beautiful brown eyes and looked away quickly. "No problem."

They worked in a slightly awkward silence after that for about an hour until there was a resounding crash from the gym, followed by raucous laughter. Joleena swore under her breath and stood up to go investigate. After a minute she began an angry tirade entirely in French. Curious, Joe got up and went inside the gym too. His jaw dropped. The round tables which Fred and the other jocks were supposed to be setting up were in a pile in the middle of the gym floor. The guys including Fred, were banged up but trying to smother their laughter at Joleena's angry tirade. Her face was flushed and furious, but the guys kept laughing making her even angrier.

"Incompetent, intule, debile idiots!" Joleena screeched. "Je ne peux pas croire que je dois travailler avec bourriques comme vous!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Joe quickly came to her side. "What's going on here?"

"These, these- idiots!" Joleena stabbed an accusing finger at them. "Thought that it would be a great idea to make a pyramid out of the tables and see who could reach the top first."

"Hey it was just a joke," Fred, still chuckling, raised his hands defensively. "Besides, it's not like any of them got broken. No need to get so uptight, Jo-Jo."

"I am not uptight and stop calling me Jo-Jo!" Joleena screamed.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," Joe placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her to face him. He gave her a reassuring smile, hoping to calm her down. "I'm sure they fix the tables okay?"

Some of the angry fire faded from Joleena's eyes and she gave a tiny nod. Someone cleared their throat and Joe looked up to see the jocks behind Fred glaring at him while Fred himself stared at them in confusion. Joe was confused why until he realized that Joleena was supposed to still be Fred's fake girlfriend and quickly dropped his hands from her shoulders.

"Uh…"

Before he could even think of an explanation, the gym doors opened and Sam cautiously poked his head inside. He spotted Joe and quickly waved him over. Joe sighed in relief and hurried to him.

"Boy am I glad to see you," Joe shook his head, "You have no idea how awkward-"

"Um, I can't find Fina." Sam said worriedly. "She's been missing for half an hour."

"What!?" Joe said sharply, "What do you mean missing? Did she go home?"

"I don't know, Stacy called her over and said something to her then Fina left down the hall. I haven't seen her since and they won't tell me what they said to her."

"Oh great." Joe mumbled. He knew it would no use to ask Stacy himself. He knew she probably liked him as much as Fina. But maybe there was one person she would listen to.

"Stacy, where is she?" Joleena asked tiredly after Joe explained to her what happened.

While the other girls looked somewhat sheepish as Joleena's stern expression, Stacy stared back at her blandly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh really?" Joleena narrowed her eyes. "So either Sam's lying or you're lying? And which one of you has the better track record for truthfulness?"

"Ugh, get over yourself," Stacy rolled her eyes, but she wavered. "I sent her to get supplies from the basement okay? It's not my fault that Dorothy got lost."

Joe sighed in relief. "She probably did get lost down there. I'll go get her."

"No, I will." Fred mumbled and headed down the hall. "I could use a break from decorating."

Turning a corner down the hall, Fred finally came across the door that lead down to the basement. He could easily see how Fina could get lost. He couldn't even hear the others near the gym anymore. Opening the door, he eyed the old steps leading into gloomy darkness.

"Fina?" He called out cautiously, "Fina you in there?"

No answer. Fred had a sudden idea that even if she heard him, there would be no guarantee that she would speak loud enough for him to hear her.

"Fina?" He called louder. "If you're down there, you better say something or I'm leaving you down there!"

Again no answer. Fred was just about to leave when he heard the sound of something falling from deep inside. He groaned inwardly to himself and headed down the steps, letting the door close behind him with an echoing click. It was now almost completely dark except for the dull glow of the ancient overhead florescent. He finally reached the bottom of the steps and wrinkled his nose in disgust at the damp, moldy smell. Old cardboard boxes and plastic bins filled the storage shelves around him as he walked, making him feel like he was in a maze. A creepy, dark, smelly maze. An uncomfortable shiver ran up his spine making him more irritable.

"Fina!" Fred called impatiently, "Now is not the time to develop a sense of humor. Quit playing around and get out here!"

"I'm not playing." A ghostly voice answered.

An unmanly shriek escaped from Fred's lips and he spun around, his fist swinging with him and almost punched Fina in the face. The wind from his fist blew her hair back but she barely flinched.

"Fina?" Fred panted breathlessly. He took a closer look confirming that it was her and dramatically clutched his chest. "Geez, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

The tiniest smile played on her lips but she said nothing. Her arms were folded just under her chest making her oversized sweat shirt bunch up. Fred snapped his back up to her face, feeling his earlier irritation come back.

"Didn't you hear me calling for you?" He asked folding his arms. "I almost left you down here."

"Sorry," Fina whispered, lowering her eyes, "Marshal Lee ran away and I had to catch him again."

Fred's brow furrowed in confusion. "Who?"

The front of Fina's sweatshirt shifted making him jump and a kitten head popped out of the top and mewled at him.

"I couldn't leave him at Sam's house." Fina explained pushing the kitten back down. "And when Stacy sent me down here for supplies he jumped out of my shirt and-"

"Yeah yeah, I get it," Fred interrupted. "Let's just get out of here."

Fina nodded obediently and followed him as he headed back the way he came. And just like the time a few months ago when he had accidentally knocked her down, Fina trailed behind him silently like a ghost. Added with the creepy feeling the dimly lit basement was already giving him, Fred was more than uncomfortable. So, also like before, Fred reached behind him, grabbed Fina's arm, and pulled her up to walk beside him. Fina let out an irritated huff of air but didn't say anything.

"Finally," Fred sighed in relief when they reached the stairs at last. He raced up the steps and looked behind him in confusion when he noticed that Fina was still at the bottom. "What?"

"The door is closed." Fina said quietly.

"Yeah, so?"

"It's broken so it locks from the inside."

Fred's eyes widened and he snatched at the door knob, silently praying that she was wrong. It wouldn't turn. Panic started to grip him as Fred clenched the knob harder and tried turning frantically. It still wouldn't budge and when he checked his phone to see if he could call anyone, he saw that his phone had no bars. That's when Fred started yelling.

"Help!" He screamed. "Help! We're trapped! Heeeeeelp!"

"Fred," Somehow Fina's quiet yet weirdly firm voice managed to make it through his yelling. He glanced at her and saw her stroking Marshal Lee soothingly. "You're scaring Marshal Lee."

Fred gave her an incredulous look. "We're trapped in the school's creepy basement and you're worried about that stupid cat?"

Marshal Lee hissed at him but Fina merely shrugged. "Someone will find us. They're bound to come looking for you."

She sat down on one of the bins sitting on the floor and continued stroking the top of Marshal Lee's head. Fred groaned and grudgingly sat down next to her, the bin lid sinking a little under his weight.

"Don't you mean come looking for us?" He muttered, resting his chin in his hand.

"No, I meant you. They wouldn't bother looking for me."

Fred lifted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Sam was worried about you, Joleena forced Stacy to tell us where you were, Joe wanted to come looking for you, but I was the one who volunteered. So maybe you should stop playing the victim so much and realize that you do actually have friends."

Fina's eyes went wide and for a strong moment, Fred was terrified that she was going to cry. But instead she lowered her head again and he could have sworn he saw a small smile on her lips. Fred started to smile until her hair shifted and something caught his eye. There, just below her right temple was a faded, purple bruise, jarring compared to the peach hue of her skin. Fred thought back to earlier and wondered vaguely if he did accidently punch her after all.

"Hold still for a minute," Fina froze as he gently cupped her face and moved some of her hair aside to get a closer look. His eyes widened in alarm when he realized that it was definitely a bruise. "Holy crap, did I hit you for real!?"

Fina quickly snatched her face away and shook her head vigorously. "N-no. I must fallen when I was looking for Marshal Lee."

"You must have fallen?"

"I fell." Fina met his confused frown with a steady and steely gaze.

Fred felt something nagging in the back of his mind, but like any time his brain tried to tell him something, he ignored it and let his hand fall. "Okay, yeah sure."

An awkward and uncomfortable silence fell between them. Fred shuffled his feet and shifted restlessly. He hated being around quiet people. He liked noise, laughing, and action, not long silences. Fina just sat there, playing with her hair and staring off into space. Even Marshal Lee seemed to have fallen asleep. Fred let out a long bored sigh hoping to rouse Fina's attention, but she didn't even look at him. He sighed louder this time and her gaze flickered toward him and away again. Fred frowned and slouched on the bin. He was desperate for some conversation, any conversation that he suddenly decided to speak first.

"I don't like my cool friends."

Fina's eyes widened in surprise and so did his. Had he meant to say that?

"I… don't like them," He continued surprising himself. "They're… so shallow. And all they do is gossip or rag on other people." His mind flashed to Stacy who sent Fina down here by herself. "And they're mean too."

Fina was quiet for a minute, still playing absently with her hair, before finally whispering, "Then why do you hang out with them?"

Fred shrugged. "Because they're cool. And they're nice to me."

"But they're mean to you friends." Fina pointed out.

Fred shrugged again. What else could he do? "I know, I try to stop them but…"

He trailed off. There was no good excuse really. Fred didn't talk bad about other people and he at least stopped some of the other guys from bullying Sam, but that wasn't much. Fina's hand moved toward him hesitantly, before briefly touching him arm in a way he supposed was meant to be comforting. When he looked up at her, he was shocked to see her smiling.

"You're not like them," She said softly. "Well, you're not mean and shallow like them."

"Thanks," Fred smiled back. "You not half bad yourself. I can see why Joe likes you so much."

At once, Fina's expression became slanted as she tilted her head, letting her hair fall like a curtain over her eyes. Her gaze was sharp and clear though between the strands of her hair

"He doesn't really like me the way you think he does," She whispered almost mysteriously. "I'm more like a pet to him. He likes someone else even though he tries to hide it."

Fred stuttered in surprise, intrigued despite himself. "W-who?"

A tiny smile twitched up the corners of her lips and the gleam in her eyes intensified. "It's a secret."

Fred stared at her a long moment, mesmerized at the sharp intensity of her blue eyes almost completely hidden by stands of curly blond hair.

Suddenly, bright light flooded the basement as the door was flung open. Fina squinted at the bright light since she was the one facing the door, and Fred could see that the glint in her eyes were tears. Before Fred could say anything, Fina had already turned away and rubbing her eyes. Fred looked back up and saw Joe in the doorway.

"There you guys are," Joe breathed a sigh of relief. "We were looking-"

"Don't close the door!" Fred said quickly jumping up. "It locks from the inside. That's how we got stuck down here in the first place."

Joe nodded and opened the door wider, careful to hold it open. Fred went up the steps and this time he could definitely feel Fina following close behind him even though she was as silent as ever.

Back in the gym hallway, everyone else had made little progress with the decorations, but at least the tables were set up inside. While they dispersed and went back to work, Fred found himself watching Fina and Joe's interaction, confused by Fina's earlier confession. And he did notice that there was a strange detachedness in the way Joe absentmindedly patted Fina on the shoulder before moving away and doing something else. His brain was still processing when he felt a soft hand on his arm and Stacy settled beside him.

"You know Fred, we were all worried when you didn't come back right away." She smiled sweetly. "We thought you got lost down there."

Fred frowned as he regarded her. Stacy was really pretty, even prettier than Joleena, funny, kinda smart, and was also the top scorer for the girls volley ball team. If Fred hadn't already been fake dating Joleena, he could have easily gone out with her. And then broken up with her when he realized how shallow and vapid she was.

"Hey, Stacy, you mind doing me a favor?" He asked.

Stacy's smile grew eager, "Sure! Anything you want, Fred."

Fred smiled back. "Quit being such a bitch to Fina or I'll tell Joleena that you keep flirting with me behind her back."

Stacy's smile dropped like a rock and Fred walked away with a small chuckle. He might catch hell from the other kids tomorrow, but for now he felt good about himself.