A/N: And we have entered high school. . . .

"Bye, Sal, Sarah!" Ned said, waving to his friends as he entered his eleventh-grade chemistry classroom. He was only in tenth grade, but, being as smart (or as geeky, depending on whether or not you ask Sally) as he was, he was taking a class with juniors.

He didn't really like this class, since he didn't have any friends in it — Sally and Sarah were both in Biology that period, and Patrick took Chemistry in the morning, and it was just after lunch.

Ned collapsed into his seat, noting that the one next to him was empty again. Though Ned and Sally had made friends with Patrick and Sarah, who were the two kids sitting next to him in sixth grade, he still was by no means popular, and probably never would be. He shrugged, sliding down in his chair and pulling out a notebook. Maybe he could get his math homework done before class started — he was early. . . .

"Ned?"

He looked up to see his teacher, Mr. Whiler, standing over his desk. "Is the seat next to you empty?"

Ned nodded, and Mr. Wiler gestured for someone to come over.

"Ned, this is Cassandra Moser. She's a new student, and your lab partner. I'm sure you'll make her welcome. Cassandra, this is Ned McDodd."

"Hi," Cassandra said, smiling nervously.

"I . . . I . . . ngh."

Cassandra was, without a doubt, the most beautiful girl Ned had ever seen. Her hair was long, blonde, and wavy, only slightly darker than her fur, and her eyes were large and blue. She laughed, and Ned, realizing what he'd just said, felt all the blood drain out of his face.

"I mean . . . hi!" What else could he say to repair the damage he'd caused? "Uh . . . Ned! I'm Ned, and uh, hi." He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to look nonchalant.

"Yeah, he told me." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing pretty green earrings in the shape of butterflies.

"Who told you what?" Ned asked distractedly.

The tense smile Cassandra had been wearing melted, and she regarded him warily. "The teacher? Told me your name?"

"Right," he said, not listening — he'd just noticed that Cassandra's earrings matched her shirt, which made her eyes look turquoise.

"Okay . . ." Cassandra said, sitting down and edging her chair as far away from Ned as possible. She began talking to a girl across the aisle.

"Yeah," he heard the girl say. "He's a little . . ." She twirled her finger around her ear. "Weird."

Ned's head snapped up, and he looked at the girl Cassandra was talking to.

It was Sherry. He groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

If Cassandra became friends with Sherry, he was doomed.

"All right, everyone," Mr. Wiler said, handing out a packet to each student. "Here's your lab. Everything you need is on these trays. You have all block. Begin."

Ned took the packet, reading it over. "Doesn't seem that hard," he said to Cassandra. "Can you grab the supply tray?"

Cassandra nodded, still looking at him suspiciously. He managed to make it to a table without falling on his face. He pretended to read over the lab, waiting for Cassandra to return.

Okay, he told himself, tapping his long fingers on the table. This is okay. She thinks you're a total freak, but so do most people. You have to convince her that you are awesome. That shouldn't be too hard. Just don't do anything stupid.

"Here," Cassandra said, setting the tray down on the table and hurrying over to the other side. "What do we have to do?"

Ned had gotten distracted by her hair, which shimmered in the light. "Oh! Well. . . ." Ned glanced back at the lab again. "We have to combine these chemicals and see how different chemical . . . stuff reacts to each other." This was good — as long as he didn't look at her, he could talk perfectly fine. "We're using the dyes to show contrast or . . . something." He risked looking up at her, and she smiled slightly. Yes! Damage control.

They began working, not speaking much except to comment on the lab or ask a question. But Ned still thought that maybe she liked him — she kept glancing up at him every few seconds. Finally he decided to just go for it.

"Uh, Cassandra?" he asked, breaking the silence that had spanned for seven minutes.

Don't do it, his brain warned him.

She turned to him, her blue eyes wide with curiosity. "Hmm?"

Flustered, he began moving vials of dye around, not meeting her eyes. "I was just . . . kind of . . . uh, wondering. . . ."

Don't do it.

"If maybe . . . you wouldn't mind . . . ngh . . . that is. . . ."

Her expression was slowly growing irritated. "What?"

The venom in her tone made him wince, and he scratched the back of his neck, blushing. "Maybe you would like to . . . ah, go . . . somewhere . . . with me? Maybe?"

Her mouth fell open, and she looked at him with a completely horrified expression. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah . . . or not, you know, it doesn't really matter . . . to me. . . ." Trying to hide his mortification, he leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand. As he did, though, his elbow hit the small wooden rack that held all the dyes, knocking it forward.

And onto Cassandra, dousing her in a rainbow of colors.

She leapt back, staring at her multicolored clothes and arms in dismay. "You little psycho!" she exclaimed, causing the entire class to look over at them. "You ruined my clothes!" She examined the ends of her hair, which were speckled with light blue. "Do you know how long it took to get my hair perfect?"

Ned picked up several paper towels and thrusted them at her, panicked. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, it was an accident, I'm sorry —"

Sherry rushed forward, shoving Ned aside. "Oh my god, Cassandra. We have to try and wash this off." She shot a toxic glare at Ned. "Way to go, loser." She took Cassandra by the elbow and led her out of the classroom.

Ned looked at the paper towels still in his hands. With a sigh, he began cleaning up the dye, ignoring the avid stares and muffled sniggers of his classmates.

That, his brain said wearily, falls under the category of "stupid."

"And then Sherry rushed Cassandra out of the room," Ned finished, looking up at Sally. They were sitting in his living room after school, and he'd just finished telling her about his scarring experience.

Sally laughed, shaking her head. "Nice going, Ned."

"It's not funny!" he insisted, a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth nonetheless.

"I know. I'm sorry." She pressed her lips together, clearly fighting back another giggle. "Maybe it's not that bad," she said, getting up from her spot on the floor and rummaging through her backpack.

"Sally, she was tie-dyed."

She snickered, and pulled a candy bar out of her backpack. "I think this deserves my candy bar," she said, handing it to him. "To get you through this difficult time."

He unwrapped the chocolate, breaking off a piece and giving it to Sally. "I just felt like such an idiot."

"Well, you were." Ned dropped his face into his hands, and she sat down on the couch next to him. "But she didn't seem like the kind of girl you should be with, anyway. You need to be with someone who's less shallow." She smirked. "And has a better sense of humor. And . . . maybe cares less about her clothes. And has a fondness for weirdos."

"Thanks, Sal, you're making me feel so much better," Ned said sarcastically.

She put her arm around his shoulders. "You'll find someone way better than that stupid Cassandra," she assured him, giving him a one-armed hug. "Trust me."

He smiled, leaning his head against hers for a second before pulling away. "I don't know if I believe you, but thanks."

"You don't believe me? Considering how smart I am?" She put her hands on either side of his face, turning him to face her. Her hair had begun to escape from its ponytail, and wisps of red hair were tickling his cheek. "I see great things in your future, Ned McDodd. Including a fantabulously hot girlfriend who will love you to death. All right?"

He blinked, looking into her fiercely determined eyes. He'd never noticed how beautiful they were, or how she had a spray of freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. "I . . . yeah," he mumbled, half-smiling.

She beamed, kissing his forehead playfully. "I am always right about these things," she said, pointing at him with one hand on her hip. "Always." She turned and went into the kitchen in search of food.

Ned touched his forehead, then looked over at where Sally had left, his mouth hanging open slightly. He ran a hand through his brown hair, making it stick up crazily.

"Yeah," he repeated, listening to Sally rifle through the refrigerator. He shook his head and finished his candy bar, wondering what the hell had just happened.

A/N: Man, I am a one-shot-writing MACHINE! This one shows Ned growing hormones! Ned with hormones is going to be funny. Well, for me. It'll probably just be painful for him.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this, and another one will be up soon! These are so much fun to write!