DISCLAIMER:

I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan. If I did, it would not have been cancelled due to lack of merchandise.

Special thanks to: purpledragon6 and A Necessary Production. Reviews are always smiled upon

Sorry this took so long! I have had to read sooo much for English, and then I got sick, and a lot of junk has been going on, so, yeah… and then, since I'm such a procrastinator, my parents want me to always do my homework for updating. I had to sneak away to write this…. So, enjoy! And, as always, review!

Chapter 8

Amy woke to Octus' alarm. She looked around, startled, to find herself tucked into a bed with flowery covers. She must have been in Ilana's room, because all around her were simple, yet girly, items that reminded her of Galaluna. With a start she found that she wasn't alone, and bolted upright. This startled Lance and Ilana, who jerked awake. Ilana found that her head was still resting on Lance's shoulder, and that her hand was still on top of his. She quickly removed herself from him, as he moved away from her with the same awkwardness. They massaged their sore necks and backs as Octus said, "It is time to start preparing for school."

Lance stood up with a slight grunt. "Uh, yeah. Amy, don't forget to pack your stuff for school. I'll explain the campus to you in the car. I'm, uh… gonna go get ready." With that he briskly walked out of the room, and within seconds could be heard drawing a shower (which Amy remembered that he liked cold).

Ilana also rose and stretched. Amy quickly got out of the princess's bed, and asked where she could prepare. Ilana frowned. "We didn't get you any clothes…"

"Oh, no, that's fine", Amy quickly assured her. "I packed a couple pairs from Galaluna, just some plain T-shirts and jeans." She frowned, though. "Shoes might be a problem, though. I've only got combat boots."

"You could wear some of mine", Ilana offered, gesturing to her growing collection.

Amy peeked at the shoes. There were some tennis shoes, some flats, some boots, and…wait, what were those? They looked like a torture device with heels six inches high, a pattern of snakeskin and leather, spikes all over it, and an exposed toe so pointed that it could be used to stab someone. She shuddered slightly. This was a new kind of combat weapon to her.

"Uh, I think I'll just wear my boots, so I'll be comfortable. Anyway, to be honest, those scare me", Amy admitted, looking towards the torture shoes.

Ilana giggled, and her eyes sparkled with an inside joke. "You are just like your brother… very well. Don't forget to pack accordingly for your auditions today. You can get ready in the guest bedroom downstairs. I suppose that will be your room, now."

Amy thanked her and headed downstairs to take a shower while Octus prepared breakfast.

As a trained strategist and tactician, Amy was amazed at how easily plans went awry in the house.

They had planned to leave by seven thirty, as school started at eight. However, they weren't ready until fifteen minutes after that, as everyone was busy rushing around, trying to prepare for the second semester. Everyone, of course, except for Amy- since her bag was her backpack and she already had everything packed, all she had to do was shower, get dressed and have breakfast. She tried to help the others get ready, and Lance explained where she would be going to get to her classes as they wove through traffic. They arrived at school only five minutes after they left, surprisingly fast- but, then again, 'Mr. Lunis' was great during rush hour.

Lance managed to show Amy around school, take her to her locker, give her the combination, and walk her to her class before the final bell. She noticed how all the girls looked at Lance, and elbowed him in the ribs playfully. "Looks like you've got a fan club."

He rolled his eyes. "Please, don't encourage them. I don't understand these earthlings at all."

"Yeah, what girl could like you?" she teased, and he ruffled her hair. "Ah, shaddup," he responded.

Before the bell rang, she had enough time to review her schedule once more. First period was Trig, then came World History and soccer tryouts with Ilana. Then they had a break, and fourth period was tryouts with Octus- Newton, she corrected herself- for String Ensemble. Then lunch, and once that was done, she had Chemistry and another tryout with Newton for Wind Ensemble. I wonder what instrument he'll pick to audition for, she wondered, and smiled at the thought of him with a piccolo (which is a very small flute that can go reeealllly high and hurt your ears). Finally, her seventh period was an audition for the Wildcat Marching Band, which she would have to ace to get in halfway through the year. Busy day.

Trigonometry passed without incident. Amy introduced herself, and many eyes widened when the teacher confirmed that she was Lance and Ilana's sister. The teacher gave her a list of tutors to help her get caught up, but it became evident that it would not be needed when Amy solved two polynomials perfectly using Kramer's theory, which had been taught the semester before. On Galaluna, she remembered, this had been standard knowledge, and noted that this class should be fairly easy. She had been placed next to Ilana (thanks to Octus), and they both smiled as the students gaped at them when they easily answered the hardest questions their teacher had to offer.

She found herself seated next to Lance in World History, and again her introduction was met with surprise. Many of them glanced back at Lance, who had a satisfied smirk on his face that they were all so dumbfounded that he had another sister. She found that History was actually pretty interesting, as she learned about the economy of this planet and all of their failed military tactics (which Amy noted with slight amusement were all extremely poorly thought out). Once she pointed out a flaw in one of the Americans' most prized invasion plans, one that they called flawless, and the History teacher just looked from her to the board and back, and replied with amazement, "Yes, I suppose that would have guaranteed even less casualties." Lance looked over at her with a grin, and she looked at him with amusement. Many other times, though, he would fall asleep and she would have to wake him up before the teacher asked him a question. Typical Lance. Never much one for schoolwork.

Directly after, she headed towards the field with a wave and a "good luck" from Lance. After changing with Ilana in a highly inconvenient locker room (she had to be careful not to let anyone see her bandages, which were clean but still necessary), she took another 'healing' pill to make sure she wouldn't have any problems trying out for soccer. She and Ilana both performed wonderfully, and the coach didn't have to wait to post a team sheet before assuring them they both made it. Practices were every third period and games were Wednesday afternoons after school.

Break brought slight unease.

Lance and Amy were both swarmed with students (teenage girls especially) demanding an explanation for the sudden turn of events. Ilana had a crowd, too, but Newton was handling hers. Meanwhile, neither of the real siblings had a chance to answer any questions before the bell rang for fourth period (not that they wanted to anyway), and as Amy parted from the sea of students she nearly sprinted to the band room in an attempt to escape the demands of her classmates. Newton caught up with her, and they made it to the String Ensemble tryouts just in time.

Newton had produced a case from thin air, and from the looks of it, he was auditioning for the bass (bigger than the cello, which is like a vertical violin that's typically about 3/5 as tall as the person playing it). Well, I suppose that suits him, Amy thought as she sat down with her violin case that she had materialized from her bag.

She had not expected their music teacher to be so…well… eccentric.

True, he was dressed in a dress shirt and nice pants, and his poofy hair was sort of combed back, but his wild eyes and crazy attitude were rather unusual.

He didn't have her introduce herself, or Newton either, though she supposed there wouldn't have been a reaction at the last name "Lunis". The people here seemed like they didn't really care about popularity or social cliques. There was a mixture of nerds and some cooler people, with the cooler people being fewer than the nerds. The nerds seemed to have their own classifications as well: geeks, actual nerds, and dorks. There were virtually no "middle people", though (those people who seem to just blend in). Everyone in the group seemed to get along well together, like comrades with friendly competition to see who's best.

"Well, usually people aren't insane enough to try out for this class halfway into the year," Mr. Gerome (the music teacher) said. "But I suppose we have a few new pieces of fresh meat." The class turned to look at them. They were mostly juniors and seniors, with a few sophomores and three freshmen at best. Some of them looked at Amy and Newton with pity, thinking that they were about to be humiliated in front of the class. The others looked at them with something similar to blood thirst- a do-or-die moment. If they made it, they would be accepted- if they failed, it would be epic, and in doing so they be rejected completely. Amy had definitely seen too much war, because to her this whole room was filled with competition. She naturally sat up straighter, accepting the challenge.

Do they really consider this as hard? Amy thought during the audition. This was a piece of cake. All twenty-four major and minor scales in two minutes? Nothing. Sight-reading a piece that's tempo was 160 and cut time along with all sixteenth notes and a c sharp scale? Piece of cake. The class watched with astonishment as both the girl and the robot exceeded their expectations, and with great tone to boot. Mr. Gerome's face was priceless. His ecstasy showed, and they were both eagerly enveloped into the fold. Amy was put as co-first chair with a nice senior named Mike, and Newton was put as second bass wedged in between the Lee twins. The two Lee girls were both very nice and very smart, and Newton got into a conversation with them immediately about the credibility of today's quantum physics. Amy and Newton both got all of the music that the orchestra was playing for Festival (musical competition) in a week, and were expected to be fully caught up by tomorrow. Neither one of them considered this a problem.

Lunch was ten times worse than break.

By this time, word had gotten around to virtually every student at Sherman that Lance had another sister, and that she was smarter than most of the seniors. Their usually small table became crowded with bodies, and the ruckus became such that the lunch ladies couldn't handle it anymore and were forced to call in the principal. He warned them that if they didn't all settle down, he'd be giving out detentions, and they all quieted down slightly before he left the room again.

Amy tried to eat her lunch (which was good, but hardly aesthetically appealing), but only got a few bites in during the whole half-hour of what was supposed to be rest. She tried to answer their questions, but at a certain point she gave up. "No, yes, no, no, possibly, no, and no. Now go away." They didn't listen to her.

During the last five minutes, Lance finally got things under control.

"HEY!"

Everyone in the whole cafeteria shut up. Ilana tried to become as little as possible, Newton looked at Lance with slight annoyance, and Amy regarded him with amusement as he told them all to back off of her or else.

Many "jeez"s and "whatever"s were muttered, and most of the crowd backed off. Some people lingered around the table, dodging the glances Lance threw at them. He sat back down and resumed his meal. Amy chuckled under her breath as she hurriedly finished her own lunch, the bell ringing just as she was finished.

As the bell rang, she piled her tray on top of the others and walked with Lance and Ilana to Chemistry. The introduction was the same as the other classes (String Ensemble excluded), and Amy moved amongst the whispers to her seat (surprise, surprise) in between Lance and Ilana. Most of the whispers, Amy noticed, were centered around her and her brother. Without trying, she caught a few phrases- 'overprotective', 'soft spot', and 'who knew'. The science was basic but interesting, and the class passed without further incident.

Sixth period found her back in the band room with Newton, Mr. Gerome, and a new bunch of nerds.

This time around, Mr. Gerome seemed to be expecting their performance level. Nevertheless, as Amy performed Stamitz's 9th clarinet concerto with perfect pitch and Newton aced all of his scales on his tuba (which suited him perfectly), the class found their jaws dropped. Once again they were admitted into the ensemble and the odd little group. They received the music and one night to perfect it, but for first tuba and co-first clarinet, said Mr. Gerome, that should be no problem at all. This time the co-first chair was a small girl named Miranda, and she and Amy became fast friends. Newton sat next to a quiet girl named Ally and a talkative boy named Joe, and they also grew to know each other. Just like as in String Ensemble, no one really cared about popularity, and there were a few people who, like Amy and Newton, were in both the Ensembles. They warned the two the work would be hard, and blanched when Amy told them she was trying out for marching band as well. Only two of the students in the whole school were in both ensembles and marching band, and they admitted to having no social life whatsoever. Amy just smiled happily and said, "bring it on".

Which brings us to her seventh period audition.

Perhaps the biggest class in all of the school, the Wildcat Marching Band truly was wild, and Mr. Gerome's true personality was brought to light. Given the opportunity to change into a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a T-shirt, he became more light-hearted, and this time Amy was asked to introduce herself. Some of the people in marching band did, in fact, know of the Lunis siblings, and had a hard time refraining themselves from bombarding her with questions during practice (which they did afterwards anyway). Mr. Gerome (whom many of the students casually and affectionately just called "Gerome" [a habit Amy would soon adopt]) assumed that she would play clarinet, and so was surprised when she told him she would like to play trumpet here instead. This audition was much easier than even the other ones were, and so it was no problem that she got in. The 'show' (the performance, where shapes and figures are formed while playing memorized music) was being re-started due to a second semester, which was a rare occurrence. It was a good thing, though- otherwise, everyone else would've known the whole ten-minute show perfectly, while Amy would have been left to figure the whole thing out (which she could've done, but it would have been a hassle). She was appointed co-first chair for trumpet (she was beginning to feel a pattern) along with a senior named Andre, who had a very…unique sense of humor. Sort of perverted to the point of being funny, and he often did random things for no reason that left everyone either cracking up or sighing with annoyance. Lance, Amy thought with a chuckle, would hate him. Super over-protective mode, for sure. Either that, or they'd make pretty good friends. She decided she'd find out later.

The practice was an hour long. The new music was passed out, and everyone got their 'dots' for the first movement ('dots' are the coordinates on the field that the marchers are assigned to go to at a certain point in the music, kind of like directions). Mr. Gerome admitted that they would usually get accustomed to the music before the dots were passed out, but since it was the middle of the year, they were kind of pressed for time. The practice schedule was established- Tuesdays 3-5, Wednesdays 5-9 (after soccer 3-5), Fridays 3-7 (since football season was over, they wouldn't be having any more Friday games), and the typical show on Saturday, where the labor would vary from five hours to twelve hours of work. This schedule later astonished Lance, who wondered how "so much time could be put into something so useless". Amy would tense at this, but let it go for the moment.

They were dismissed promptly at four, and Amy experienced a sense of de ja vu as the "bandies" swamped her, nearly knocking her over if it weren't for her acute sense of balance.

"Why did you join now?" "Are you really Lance's sister?" "You know, you're kind of crazy to do the two ensembles and marching band at the same time." "Say something in Chinese!" (this last demand came from her being transferred from China, her alibi).

The last of these Amy obeyed, and proceeded to exclaim (rather loudly), "Hung gao xing xing dong yi." They all stared at her.

"What does that mean?" asked the person who had asked her to speak Chinese in the first place.

"It was nice meeting you", Amy said calmly, separating her trumpet and mouthpiece and packing them both up. "See you tomorrow", she called, waving good-bye. They stared after her as she ran to the car waiting for her in the parking lot and jumped in the back seat.

"So, how was it?" asked Lance, and Ilana looked at her with expectation as well. Amy shrugged. "Eh. The usual."

The next two days passed without any other surprises. Amy had easily accustomed herself to life on Earth, and the ruckus at school slowly calmed down. Indeed, there was much rumor about Lance, and how he appeared to have a soft spot for Amy. His fans certainly had not expected this, and now that this bad boy seemed to have a soft spot for his sister, the girls found him even more irresistibly sexy (to his extreme annoyance).

One night he complained to his little sister at dinner: "Ever since you've come along, those stupid girls won't get off me! One tried to kiss me today!" he complained, and where Lance didn't notice Ilana's tension at this last sentence, Amy observed it with slight amusement.

"What, and you didn't kiss her back?" Amy teased, and Lance let out a grunt of disgust which seemed to ease Ilana a little.

All of the music programs were pretty fun. Amy had already gotten cell phone numbers from half of the Ensembles and Marching Band, and despite the fact that she was already preoccupied with classes after Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, she had also scheduled private practices on Thursdays, so her only free day was Monday. She would practice with her violin, clarinet, and trumpet sections with her co-leader until six (one hour for each, as school got out at 2:50 and they had a 10 minute passing period). "So much for blending in", Amy sighed one evening. "Oh, well."

Thursday, however, held many surprises in store for all of them.

During lunch, Kimmy bounded over to all of them. She had been sick since Saturday, so she was forced to hear about Amy from all of her classmates. Newton, of course, had visited her every day, but having printed no pictures, Kimmy was forced to accept descriptions. Wednesday night her fever had broken, but she was late to school Thursday morning, and was swamped by her friends during break, so she was so eager to see the new Lunis sister that she bowled into her.

If Amy hadn't known better, Kimmy would've been dead in seconds, but as Octus had warned her of the crazy cheerleader Amy knew exactly who this was. "Hi, Kimmy", Amy greeted the girl she had caught from falling over and was currently trying to help back up.

Kimmy blushed as Newton pulled her up. "Sorry! I guess I was going too fast!" She giggled, observing Amy. She grinned. "A redhead, nice! I had heard that you had red hair, but I thought it was dyed." She held her hand up for a high-five, and Amy returned it with an amused expression. "You've heard about me", Amy noted.

"Well, yeah, duh. I mean, no offense, but new kids in Sherman are a pretty big deal. Your brother and sister and Newton here were pretty big when they appeared. And disappeared…" Kimmy looked at Newton, then back at Amy. "Anyway, you're another Lunis, and considering no one even knew you existed, such a sudden transfer is going to create gossip."

"I see. Well, here I am", Amy said, resuming her lunch.

Kimmy looked at her strangely. "Oh, no. I'm not done with you yet." Amy looked up from her lunch. "I didn't think you were", she admitted.

"Okay. Question number one: you're fourteen and a junior: how?"

"I'm advanced for my age, and either way, next week I'll be fifteen", Amy responded. The rest of lunch Kimmy grilled Amy (to Lance's great disdain), and seemed particularly perturbed when Amy admitted to being in 'all three' (String Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, and Marching Band). "B-b-but, why?" the cheerleader asked, obviously troubled.

Amy shrugged. "I like it. Newton likes it too, I suppose. The people are funny and nice, and it makes me happy, just like cheerleading does for you."

Kimmy laughed good-naturedly. "You're comparing marching band and cheerleading? Good luck, Amy. That's all I can say. You'll do just fine, though- I can tell."

Amy smiled. "Thanks, I suppose. I've got rehearsal after school until six in the band room. You could drop by if you like."

The bell chose that moment to ring, and the Lunises hurried off to Chemistry while Newton walked a thoughtful Kimmy off to history.

"Oh, great", Lance muttered as he rounded the corner to the H wing.

Glaring him in the face was a great big yellow poster screaming, "SPRING DANCE COMING 3/1! GET YOUR TICKETS NOW AND DON'T FORGET TO GRAB A DATE!" in bright pink letters. "THE THEME IS 'HAWAII SUNSET', SO DRESS FOR A LUAU!" The letters got smaller at the end, and you could tell that whoever was making the poster had run out of room, so it was more like, "SO DRESS FOR A LUAU!" The girls were all crowded under the poster, squealing like crazy. The last line killed Lance.

"Girl's choice!" WHYYYYYY, Lance cried out in silent agony. This is going to be torture. I'll be lucky to survive. He wasn't cocky, but it was true that he had a lot of secret admirers. He didn't know it at the time, but before he left school that day he would already have been asked by two different girls (neither of them being Kristen). At least when it was guy's choice, he was in control… he sighed and headed off to pottery, ready to pound his frustration into clay.

Amy thought she was going to die.

She couldn't breathe. Her eyes were watering. She was about to pass out.

Not even those guards with the fuzzy hats at the British palace (or wherever they were) would be able to stand Andre. So perverted, yet so funny…

Amy finally recovered from her fit of laughter and punched him in the arm. Her face was beet red, and most of the trumpet section started cracking up just from her face. We're hopeless, Amy thought with a smile.

Eventually, they settled down. "From measure sixty-four?" Amy asked Andre. "Sure", he chuckled.

The room was soon filled with the blast of trumpets, not nearly as nasal or badly pitched as it had been at the beginning. It still needed some work, though.

Andre noticed it, too. "Hey, guys, make sure you focus on tone. When you tongue, say tone so your throat opens into a vowel shape."

"Yeah, make sure you practice with your tuners, guys", Amy said. "And, for measure seventy-nine-" she paused as the trumpets found the measure- "it's rest for one- e-and, the you come in on the a of one, right before two. You guys are either coming in at the and or at two. Sixteenth note rests are tricky, but necessary. Make sure you mark that in." She checked her watch and got up. "Well, that's all I can do. Obey master Andre." And, with a salute, she exited the room full of laughter with a smile and headed for her violin section. She met Newton on the way in, and they waved as he headed off to the bass room with the Lee sisters following him. As she walked into the band room to refill the water bottle at the faucet, she thought she heard someone shuffle behind the doors. Try to relax, she told herself. There are a lot of students that hang around the band room after school. It's probably just someone getting their instrument. Her water bottle filled, she walked toward the violin section and Mike.

The violin sectional passed by with a peaceful serenity. Mike and Amy seemed to work naturally together, hardly requiring words. They improved a great deal on the gray area of Radiant Moonbeams, and left with satisfaction. Amy refilled her water once again (it was a hot day), and thought she heard that same shuffle. She tried not to be paranoid as she met Miranda and the other five clarinets for their sectionals.

Miranda might be small girl, and she might appear timid, but Amy soon realized that she was anything but quiet.

The clarinet section was a nice blend of the trumpet and violin sections, both fun and somewhat peaceful. Miranda couldn't seem to whisper for her life, and everyone cracked up whenever she tried. They got the tempo down, cleared up an arpeggio, and found easy fingerings for all of the trills- overall, a very productive day.

As she was cleaning out her clarinet, she was sure she heard the sound once again. Intrigued, she followed the sound, only to see a flash of color disappear behind a corner. Was it…red? Amy couldn't be sure, and before long Newton walked up to her. They clambered into Lance's old car, and it was soon forgotten.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
three hours earlier
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She really didn't know what she was doing.

Kimmy had changed into a pair of old (but still cute) sweats and an Avon Walk Against Breast Cancer shirt. She was checking the school directory, trying to find her way to the band room. She had never been there before, but the music soon guided her once she was within two hundred feet.

She was both fascinated and horrified.

So. Many. Nerds. In one place. And not just nerds- there were dorks, too, and geeks of all kinds.

Their forces had grown.

Kimmy shook her head. What was wrong with her? It must be this place. She dug through her purse until she found what she was looking for- her dad's old glasses. They were from his Halloween costume many years ago, when she still went trick-or-treating. He had been a lawyer, which Kimmy hadn't considered a very good costume at the time. Now, though, the glasses were helpful to her 'disguise'. She put them on, then huffed and took them off to clean them. This was why all the cheerleaders had contacts instead of glasses. Putting them back on, she pulled her bouncy hair up into a ponytail and took off a little of her makeup. She swapped her heels for tennies, and not quite sure what she was doing, she walked straight into the heart of nerddom for a glimpse of the strange Amy, who said that she would be practicing with her sections that day.

The problem was, she still didn't know where.

There were several rooms that branched off from the entrance, which was well-worn and needed a fresh coat of paint. She wandered around deserted rooms with mold and water-stained ceiling tiles until she found the room that Amy was in.

There was a broken section of plaster right next to the small door that led into the room with the ten horn-thingies… trumpets! They were called trumpets, Kimmy remembered.

They were all gathered in a small room, so damp that it could have been (and probably once was) a janitorial closet. They were all standing up (which Kimmy would have found extremely tiring after an hour), looking at metal sheets on tall sticks which were adjustable. Were they called music stands? She thought she saw a glimpse of a music sheet on one.

After a half an hour, she couldn't believe how perverted this 'Andre' was.

Perverted, but funny. She was having a hard time not laughing and blowing her 'cover'. She marveled at how Amy and Andre worked together to bring their section together. In the beginning, they had sounded terrible, even to an inexperienced ear like hers. By the end, however, they flowed in harmony, and worked together to create a wonderful brass sound.

Amy exited the room, and Kimmy followed her. I hope I'm not becoming a stalker, she thought, and tripped over the doorjamb while she was distracted.

Kimmy quickly ducked behind the door as Amy turned to see what had made the noise. A few moments later the water shut off and Kimmy could hear her approaching the door, so she ducked into a different room. She saw Newton and Amy say hi to each other as they went off to their bass and violin sections respectively, and Kimmy resumed her little adventure.

The violins were even more amazing than the trumpets. The room was just as cruddy, though- there were rat holes in the walls, and the room was so dimly lit it hurt her eyes. They must have anticipated this, though, for each of them had brought their own light. They were sitting now, but there weren't enough chairs so some of them were forced to sit on crates and boxes. The music, however, made you forget about the room.

With their flowing, sonorous strings, they called out like a choir. Kimmy couldn't quite believe it, but she was becoming a kind of band nerd. Perhaps this was her alter ego…?

The clarinets followed, after yet another trip and narrow escape on the doorjamb. Their sound was like a pleasant melody, a lullaby that Kimmy's mother sang to her when she was little. Soon, she found that they were done, and she was disappointed. Three hours still hadn't been enough… she was beginning to see how these people could become so absorbed in their music. Listening to it was one thing, but she wondered what it was like to play it?

She left the band room before Amy and Newton could appear. As she walked home, she took off her glasses and untied her hair. Stuffing them in her purse, she walked along the sidewalk thinking about how much of a leader Amy was, and how even high school students could make something so amazing and beautiful. She resolved to go to the next concert, and some part of her noted that she was going a little crazy…

Kimmy.

It was Kimmy! Amy realized with a start from her Chem homework. She did come to watch me! At that moment Amy wasn't sure if she was flattered or disturbed. She decided both, and resolved not to mention it to Kimmy. If she had wanted her presence to be known, she would have announced herself. She was obviously embarrassed to be seen caring about such a 'nerdy' subject. Amy chuckled to herself and went back to her homework. These earthlings sure were odd. She wondered if Kimmy had liked it.

"What are you laughing about?" Lance asked her from the other side of the couch.

"Oh, just a peculiar thing I saw today", Amy replied, and changed the subject. "So, I see that they have dances here just as on Galaluna."

Lance winced. "Don't remind me. They're torture."

Amy laughed. "So, who are you asking?"

"That's the worst part," Lance sighed. "It's girl's choice." His eyes suddenly sparked with a kind of hope. He looked at Amy with the eyes of a drowning man looking at a lifeboat. "Hey, little sister?"

Amy burst out laughing. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. I'm not asking you to the dance. There are plenty of other girls your age. If you find one that you want to go with besides me or Ilana, though, I'll try and get her to ask you, if you want," Amy offered.

Lance groaned and went back to his history homework. But Amy noticed something…a small frown playing on his lips…

"No way!" Amy squealed. Lance jumped. "You do like a girl!"

Lance scoffed, but Amy saw the tips of his ears turn slightly pink. "Don't be ridiculous", he said, looking away. Amy wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily, though, and he knew it.

"C'mon, who is it?" she asked. Lance stared straight ahead at his worksheet. "Laance!" Amy almost whined. "You know I'll figure it out eventually. And when I do…" Her eyes glittered evilly.

Lance sighed, knowing that it was better to come from him. "Well, I don't really like her…but she's nice. At least, she's not as annoying as the other girls here," Lance said. "I think her name is Kristen."

Amy frowned. "You think? What, haven't you ever talked to her?"

"Hey, what was the cause for the Boston Tea Party again?" Lance asked, changing the subject. Amy, knowing that she wouldn't get any more out of him, started explaining all the tax acts that the British had passed that outraged the colonies. She found American politics so interesting due to their simple stupidity. There was really no sense in all these factions.

Lance finished his homework and Amy went into the kitchen for a glass of water. She found Lance heading to the stairs when she came back. For some reason Amy didn't go any further into the living room, and that allowed her to see what happened next.

Lance, head down and hands in his pockets like he usually did, had just started on the first step of the fourteen-step staircase when Ilana came rushing out of her room and flying down the stairs. Seeing Lance, she tried to stop, but instead her feet flew out from under her and she fell face-first down the stairway.

Lance opened his eyes to see her flying toward him.

"Whoa", he said, catching her right before she slammed into him. Putting one hand on the rail to steady himself, he put his other arm around Ilana to catch her. This resulted in the very awkward position of her face pressed into his shoulder and her chest pressed to his. Her feet had finally caught up with her body, so she was standing of her own accord now. Her hands, which she had thrown out to catch herself, were balancing her weight on Lance's broad shoulders.

Needless to say, this was a rather…compromising position.

They were both blushing furiously, and their eyes had somehow met. They could feel each other's heartbeats, but they both thought that it was their own, as both were beating furiously.

From Ilana's view, this was actually rather comfortable… he was supporting her weight, and his rock-hard chest provided solid support. He smelled slightly of spice, probably rubbed off from Amy. Even though she was a step higher, he was still taller than her, and so in control…

From Lance's view, to be honest, he didn't know what to think. The princess of Galaluna was pressed against him, leaning into him, really. Her chest was pressed against his, and he was extremely (almost painfully) aware of that fact. Trying to draw his attention away from that particular area, he noticed how his arm was still curled naturally around her back, to keep her from slipping. It fit perfectly, like lock and key…her eyes, which had been black when they had first come to Earth, were now the color of honey, a light brown mixed with warm yellow amber that reminded him of a burning fire. His breathing was shallow, and their faces were so close that he found himself thinking those same thoughts he had had less than a week ago at that shoe store. She smelled of lemons.

They held that position, neither knowing what to do, for what felt like a lifetime.

Finally, Lance cleared his throat rather awkwardly as he took his arm from Ilana's back. He didn't notice the slight flicker of disappointment that crossed her face as he helped her up. "Sorry", she mumbled. "I seem to be falling a lot lately."

"Falling down stairs", Lance joked, causing her to blush. She finally worked up enough nerve to continue (slowly) down the stairs, and Lance headed up to his room.

His door hadn't even closed when his little sister burst through it.

Her eyes were a deadly calm, like the eye of a hurricane, and her body position was extremely tense. She walked slowly over to Lance, and looking him straight in the eyes, asked, "What the hell was that?"

Lance started blushing furiously, realizing that she must have seen everything. His face immediately fell in shame. This was not part of the mission, to fall in love with the princess. It jeopardized everything. His head fell, like a small child being chastised by his mother for breaking a vase.

Silence. "I'm waiting for an answer, Lance."

"I don't know", he whispered. Was he happy? Sad? Angry? He couldn't tell himself.

"YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH HER!" The shout wasn't what startled him. Hearing it out loud was a hard thing to do when you had been denying even thinking about it. It was a hard thing to accept, it was all so strange. Lance suddenly realized that the shout hadn't been furious, as he had been expecting.

He looked up at his little sister to find her completely ecstatic. Her eyes were sparkling with a determined fire, and her whole being was glowing with held in excitement.

Lance shook his head in disbelief. Only Amy.

"YOU ARE! I KNEW IT!" Lance could only hope that they couldn't hear her from downstairs. "Tone it down, will you?" he asked her with exasperation.

She plopped down next to him on the bed, and he placed his head in his hands and groaned. Amy chuckled, smiling somewhat sadly. "Oh, Lance, what am I going to do with you?" she whispered.

Well, that one was long. 14 pages in Word, the story lengths seem to be increasing exponentially… I actually wanted to write more, but it would've turned into a twenty pager, and this was a good place to stop anyway. Remember, I can't promise any regular updates! I try, but I'm only a human…in any case, has anyone noticed Amy's pattern of speech? Kind of a Galalunian-modern-English mix. Three days into my five-day weekend, and I've gotten virtually no homework done (yay procrastination!). Well, gotta go. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW! It means soooo much! Thanks, and have a great day!