We'll see what happens. Well, you will. Thanks for reviewing, Sideshow Cellophane 26.

Lisa was tense on the whole way home. Bart noticed it, too. The minute we were out of sight of any other students, he asked "What's up, Lise?"

"Stephanie's only invited the fourth-grade psychopath over!" she said, shooting a glare at me.

"You've invited Pataki over?" Bart said – obviously Lisa had never mentioned Curly to him.

"Please, Bart, give me some credit." I laughed. "Pataki? Honestly? That's stupid. No, our sis is just scared of some kid with glasses. I sarcastically suggested that he hang out with me, and he took it seriously, so I said he could come over tonight, if he wanted. According to what I've heard, his name's Curly, like that Three Stooges guy, and he's a little weird."

Lisa shook her head at me. "You don't get it, Stephanie. You're not taking it seriously because you haven't seen it happen."

"I saw him chasing Rhonda." I said in defense. "Besides, since when did you see him locking himself in the principal's office, or chasing kids around, or freeing all the animals from the zoo? You only have the other kids' words to go by."

As it happened, Curly hadn't appeared by dinnertime, and watching TV seemed to calm Lisa down a bit. "He's probably not coming at all." she reassured herself. "He probably got sidetracked."

I was disappointed and relieved at the same time. As it happened, I did not expect to find my window wide open when I went up to my room at eight o'clock, planning to check my emails and see if Azure had replied to my last one. I'd left it a little bit open, but now it was open enough to fit someone small. Like a fourth-grader.

But just as I shut the window, that's when I sensed movement behind me. But before I could react, I heard a voice exclaim "Heeeere's Curly!" and a small form barrelled into me, now laughing hysterically.

I was knocked down, stomach first. "Get off me!" I choked out, managing to tip the kid to the side and stand up. Yep, it was Curly all right. "I thought you weren't coming." I admitted.

"You said 'come over whenever.'" Curly pointed out with a smirk.

"Yes." I admitted. "What I didn't say is 'sneak into my room through the window and then scare the crap out of me when I come in'. Seriously, why did you do that?"

"You should've been more specific, then." Curly simply replied. "So, you're Lisa's sister."

"Better known as Stephanie Simpson, but sure, Lisa's my sister." I said. "So, is Curly your real name?"

Curly's expression didn't change, but he sounded more serious as he said "Promise you won't laugh?"

I nodded.

"It's Thaddeus. That's my real name. Thaddeus 'Curly' Gammelthorpe."

I nodded again, trying not to giggle. "Oh..right...I...I can see why you don't want to be called that. But why Curly, of all names? Is it a Three Stooges reference, cause I can't see any other reason. Why Curly?"

"Why not?" Curly replied with a grin. He looked around for a moment before he spoke again. "By the way, nice room."

"Made all the better due to the fact that I don't have to share with Lisa." I smiled. "But brought down by the fact that my window is opposite the Pink Tsundere's room."(I'd started calling Helga that, since her poetry was all mushy and sweet while on the outside, I couldn't see a single kind emotion).

"Speaking of Lisa," I added, "I should tell you, she didn't want me to invite you over. She somehow got the idea that you were dangerous."

"Oh, many people think that." Curly said casually. "That's nothing new. She's probably heard about a few of my escapades around school."

"Well, I thought they sounded awesome!" I grinned. "Is it really true that one time you took all the kickballs and locked yourself in the principal's office?"

Curly nodded with a smile. "And it worked! I got what I wanted."

"And Lisa said one time you freed all the animals at the zoo?"

"Yep! That was fun, I'm planning on doing that again soon. One of my best plans!"

I grinned. The kid was just as nuts as Lisa had said, but I liked him all the more for it. He seemed like fun.

"How did you pull it off?" I asked in interest.

We talked quite a bit, for just under an hour, and as we did, I managed to get a read on Curly's character. He didn't seem like he was frightening, just a complete nutcase and unpredictable. He also enjoyed acting and even played Mercutio when the school performed Romeo and Juliet (which, I later discovered, had Arnold playing Romeo because no one else would play a part where they had to be kissed by a girl, and Helga playing Juliet – although I suspected that was because she got to kiss Arnold).

Curly was also very enthusiastic, very excitable, very abstract in logic, and pretty intelligent. Not booksmart like Lisa or wise, but bright and creative, like me. I liked him, and hoped we could be out-of-school friends. He wasn't a normal kid, at all.

"So," I said later on, "You already know Lisa. Wanna meet my other siblings and my Mom and Dad? Maggie's probably asleep by now, but Bart's usually up until nine thirty and Mom and Dad will, of course, be awake."

"Sure, why not?"

I stuck my head out of my room and yelled "Hey, Bart! Get in here!" I didn't usually let Bart into my room, but I figured it would be OK for once.

"No way!" Bart yelled back from the other end of the landing. "I'm not going to go in there so I can suffocate from your Black Star fumes!"

"Bart Simpson, you are coming into my room whether you like it or not, and besides, I don't wear Black Star perfume any more!"

"Shut up, both of you!" Dad yelled from the den.

"Bart, come in here before my friend and I drag you in." I hissed.

Bart's eyes lit up with realization. "So he turned up?"

"Are you gonna say hi or not?" I demanded. Bart groaned and came in. I turned around to go wait on my bed...

"AAAIII!"

Curly was standing way too close behind me with the most creepy smile yet. He started laughing as I stumbled a few inches away.

"What the hell?" I exclaimed.

"The look on your face!" Curly couldn't stop laughing. It was manic laughter, but it was infectious and soon I was laughing too. Bart was finally standing in the doorway.

"Wow, Lisa wasn't kidding." he muttered.

"I wouldn't have said 'come over' otherwise." I grinned. "I don't just invite random fourth-graders over. Bart, meet Curly. Don't ask about the name, it's a long story."

After that, I switched the TV off to get Dad to listen while I introduced him to Curly.

"What a little nerd." Dad muttered to me in a loud whisper. "He's like that Milhouse kid who Bart hung out with, glasses and everything."

It was true that Curly's glasses had the same frames as Milhouse Van Houten, Bart's best friend from Springfield who had a long-standing crush on Lisa.

I decided not to introduce Curly to Mom that night, since she wouldn't approve of me hanging out with a guy that late and I really didn't want to bother with her lecture. So once I'd introduced Curly to Dad, I decided it was time he left.

"Next time, knock and wait for someone to answer." I advised. "I want to live to the age to get my license."

"Of course, Stephanie, of course." Curly said. Suddenly, his face lit up. "So you still want to hang out with me?"

"'Course I do, Crazy." I teased. "How about Saturday? Oh, but don't call around until at least after midnight."

"Sure, Steph. I'll see you then. I've gotta go now, anyway, I've got to finish my plan for world domination."

I giggled and closed the door. I couldn't stop smiling that night. But then, when I went up to bed that night, I found a note on my bed:

Sweet dreams, Steph.

So, what do you think? It's an unlikely friendship, but I'm determined to make it work. Please review!