Chapter 3

Beep beep beep! "Shut up alarm clock!" Lex threw her sleep mask at the clock that read 12:00.

"I should've turned that off." Lex stood up groggily and smashed the off button.

"Time to eat." She raced down the stairs and into the kitchen. Lex looked in the living room and saw her stepmother snoring loudly on the couch. She rolled her eyes and grabbed two pop tarts, putting them in the toaster. Lex ran back upstairs and quickly pulled on a grey tank top that had "meow" written on it in big letters, ripped blue jeans, and green converse. Going back down the stairs, she grabbed her pop tarts. She heard a snort and took it as a sign that her "mom" was awake.

"Morning Veronica." She said, sitting on the couch.

"Sup Alexandria." Veronica yawned, her blond hair all over her face.

"It's just Lex."

"Yeah whatever. How was your first day as fresh meat? Anyone beat you up?"

"No. Almost, but no. A monster destroyed the school, though."

"Yeah that's nice." Lex scoffed. Lex's stepmom never listened to a word she said, even if SHE started the conversation.

"So, where are you headed this morning?"

"I'm going to be hanging out with my friends."

"YOU made friends? Are they blind?"

"No..."

"Are they deaf?"

"No."

"Are they crazy?"

"No!"

"Do they have no social lives? C'mon, what's wrong with them!?"

"Nothing is wrong with them! Is it so unbelievable to you that I have friends?!"

"Yes."

"You're unbelievable."

"And you're a bad excuse for a child."

"Thanks Veronica. It's nice to know that the feeling is mutual."

"Watch how you talk to your mother."

"You. Aren't. My mother." Lex gritted her teeth in anger. Veronica smirked and laughed wickedly.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to do with my life than talk to what's suppose to be a teenage girl."

"Like what? Waste our money?" Lex grumbled when Veronica walked upstairs. Lex went outside and sat on the porch swing.

"Why did dad have to marry that witch?" Lex muttered, looking down at the gold locket dangling from her neck.

"Mom, what would you have done?" She opened it to reveal a picture of a woman with black hair and bright purple eyes. Next to it, a photo of the woman next to Lex's dad and a younger version of Lex between them. Lex sighed and looked at her sketchbook which she'd left on the porch. On the first paper was a nearly completed drawing of the Ninja.

"It's missing something..." Lex put her pencil to her pursed lips in thought.

"That's it!" She quickly erased part of the drawing and added the final touch.

"Perfect!" She held up the drawing in triumph. It showed the Ninja in mid-jump, holding his katana in the air with smoke surrounding him.

"Awesome sauce." She beamed and set down the drawing. "Now, what to do for the next couple minutes..."

*Randy*

"C'mon Howard!" Randy was standing outside with Howard, who was sitting down in boredom.

"I will. In a minute or two." Randy raised an eyebrow at Howard and pulled his arm.

"Why do you want me to come along? I really thought you'd want to hang out with her yourself!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you seemed quite interested in Lex. You gave us a D in Home Economics because of her!" Randy blushed in reply.

"Your point?"

"My point is that you like her!"

"What? No! Of course not! Why would I like her beautiful eyes, fiery persona, silky hair..." Howard gave Randy a knowing look and Randy groaned.

"Okay! Maybe I do. Just a little. Not a lot, just a bit."

"I knew it."

"C'mon Howard! I need my wingman!" Howard seemed a bit reluctant, and Randy was worried he wouldn't come.

"Fine, but this once Cunningham!" Howard sighed.

"Thanks Howard!" They walked down the street and saw Lex sitting on her porch with a gameboy in her hands.

"Hey Lex!" Randy called. Lex looked up from the game and grinned.

"Hey guys!" She jumped up and ran over to them.

"So, what plans do you troublemakers have for today?"

"Well, I thought maybe we could..." Randy became silent. 'I didn't think of anything to do!'

"We have video games." Howard said. Randy gave him a are-you-serious look.

"What games?"

"Assassins Creed Liberation." (Please forgive me, I couldn't think of anything else! Plus, assassins creed rocks!)

"Sweet! Sounds awesome!" Lex grinned widely and followed Howard. Randy stood their stuttering at the two.

"C'mon Cunningham!" Lex called.

"I'm coming!" Randy hurriedly ran after them.

"Wow, nice place Cunningham!" Lex commented as she took a seat on the couch.

"Thanks." Randy murmured, shyly sitting next to her.

"So, let's play!" She grabbed a remote excitedly and turned the Xbox on.

"Hey, the game doesn't seem to be here! I'll go check upstairs if it's okay with you!" Howard said with a sly grin, running up the stairs loudly. 'I'm getting him back for this.' Randy thought irritably. He looked over to Lex who grinned back at him adorably. 'Though not today.'

"What are you staring at?" Lex asked, making Randy blush and turn away.

"N-nothing! There was just..." Randy sat at a lost for words yet again.

"Someone's nervous!" Lex laughed lightly.

"Seriously though, chill. It's just me, 'kay?" Lex touched his hand gently, Randy nodding weakly. 'Is she messing with me?'

"Where'd you leave the game? I STILL can't find it!" Howard called down.

"Somewhere! Probably my room!" Randy called back in slight annoyance, making Lex chuckle.

"Calm down, Cunningham. We have a whole day to play video games."

"Lex, how come you call me Cunningham? You do know my name's Randy, right?"

"Of course I know, but for now I like calling you Cunningham. Until I see fit, you are Cunningham to me!" Lex said.

"Hey, Randy! I need your help!" Howard came back down, giving Randy a look that told him he needed to get upstairs. Now.

"Fine, I'm coming. Sorry, but...yeah." Randy said to Lex, following Howard up and into the room.

"What is it? Monsters? Robots? Chickens?" Randy asked.

"No, but the Nomicon started calling." Howard answered, pointing to the glowing red and black book on Randy's bed.

"Now? Really?" Randy sighed and sat on the bed, putting the book in his lap.

"If Lex asks, I'm in the bathroom." Randy opened the book and immediately "fell asleep" in a way.

"Okay Nomicon, what is it? I'm kinda busy right now!" Randy yelled once he was in the Nomicon. He heard a loud sigh and saw a person begin to form in front of him. It was a boy, about his age, with red hair, brownish-red eyes, and a serious expression. He wore an outfit similar to the Ninja's, except it had a cape and little green ninja on it.

"You have training, Randy." He said, giving another sigh.

"What is it today Nomicon and can we make it quick? I have a friend over."

"I'm well aware that Howard is here, though that's not an excuse."

"No, a different friend. She's a new kid and I said I'd hang out with her." Nomicon raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything in response.

"A girl?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, why?" Randy asked in return.

"Pardon what I'm about to say, but I didn't exactly think YOU would be the type to have a woman over."

"What's that suppose to mean?!"

"Randy, I don't think many people would consider you a "ladies man." In fact, I don't think everything went well with Theresa." Randy became silent.

"Okay, let's stop talking about my anti-romantic life! What's today's lesson?" Nomicon sighed again and a puff of smoke appeared, clearing to reveal two katanas. The area around them transformed from a training dojo to a large Japanese style garden. They stood at the top of bridge that overlooked a huge pond and a waterfall. They both grabbed a katana and faced each other, each taking a fighting stance.

"What do you do if the enemy charges first?" Nomicon asked.

"Attack his blind spot!" Randy lunged the sword at Nomicon, who dodged easily and kicked Randy from behind.

"Dodge or block the blow. The best offense is commonly a defense. Now, what if the enemy has you down? What then?" He pointed his katana at Randy's chest.

"Get back up!" Randy grabbed his sword and jumped up, kicking Nomicon's katana out of his hands.

"Good, but anyone can do this." Nomicon kicked Randy's legs, sending him back onto the wooden bridge.

"You're weakened and the enemy is savoring your defeat. What's the appropriate way to respond?"

"Get him while he's distracted." Randy jumped up again and threw a few punches at Nomicon, who dodged again and again. Randy kicked Nomicon's katana out of his hand, making it fall off the bridge.

"Good. You're both unarmed and beaten, how do you take advantage of the situation?"

"Easy, fight one on one." They proceeded to have their fight, punching and kicking and trying to knock the other down.

"You aren't going to win."

"Give up while you can."

"You're weak."

"I will be victorious." Nomicon kept throwing harsh words at Randy, who attempted to ignore them.

"No you won't!" Randy threw another punch.

"Yes," Nomicon grabbed his wrist. "I," he flipped Randy into the air. "Will." Randy fell off the bridge and into the water below with a loud SPLASH.

"What the juice was all that for?!" Randy asked, coughing and sputtering.

"It was your lesson. Never let the enemy get into your mind. As long as you're levelheaded, they'll never control you mentally." Nomicon replied, jumping down and landing on a rock in the center of the pond.

"Relax Nomicon! No one's going to control my mind!" Nomicon raised an eyebrow and gave Randy a small smirk.

"Is that so? That wasn't the case just a mere few seconds ago."

"Shut up." Nomicon chuckled at Randy as he tried to get out of the pond.

"I believe that will be it for today." And just like that, Randy was back in his room, drool dribbling down his chin and the book in his lap.

eff the note down there. I have fixed this entire fanfic because I have been told three times about how my writing is a problem. I've decided to fix everything so it's easier to read and understand the story! Sorry I never did this sooner!

(And cue author's note! Okay, look, I apologize for my poorly written speech in here, but please let me write it the way I write it! Plus, I'm use to writing things this way and haven't really written any differently. I do appreciate some of the constructive criticism and I understand how helpful it can be, but I am going to continue to write the story the same way I have since chapter 1. If you have a problem with it, PM me! :) unless it doesn't bother you and you enjoy the story anyway. (Sorry for the long note!))