A/N: Hey, only half a year this time! That's like some kind of record, eh? Again, I'm horribly sorry, and to who(m?)ever cares enough to stick with me still, I'll keep trying to get better. I think I'm heading in the right direction, at least. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy it.

P.S. I'm sorry that my story has so many modern references with just a "Who" thrown in, but it seems to be a popular thing in the movie, so I'm going to keep doing it.

"Sally, where are you?" Ned whispered, slumping back against the wall of the school. He glanced at his watch; it'd been an hour since she'd left him there with a kiss and the promise of "I'll be right back." Now the sun was just starting to slink behind the trees and his neck was stiff from watching out for her. "Sal," he moaned, stepping away from the wall and putting his hands on the small of his back, arching to crack it.

"You all right?"

He turned around and saw Jamie standing behind him, hugging her books to her chest. She'd dyed her fur so that instead of being a melancholy, dull blue, she was navy. It made her look older somehow. "I'm fine," he said, slumping back against the wall. "Just waiting for Sally."

"Oh. Can I wait with you? Jackie's supposed to be talking to Mrs. Kotsky."

Ned didn't want to say no (well, actually he did, but he didn't think it would be polite), so he nodded and managed a smile. After a few tense seconds, he tilted his chin towards her hair. "I like it."

"Thanks. This girl, Kira, said it would look cute, and I just thought . . ." She giggled. "I mean, if she thought so, I should give it a shot, huh?" He nodded, resulting in a few more moments of silence. This was excruciating.

"So how've you been? Good summer?"

"Yeah. I'm seeing someone." Her face was so purple after saying it that Ned knew she hadn't meant to blurt it out. When he didn't respond, she continued. "Paul. From . . . from math class. He's yellow."

"Oh, yeah. I know him." Ned didn't know there was a Paul in their math class. He didn't even know if there was anyone yellow. Of course, he never paid attention to anything but schoolwork, so that might have been part of his problem. "Nice guy."

"Yep." Silence. Ned's legs were just itching to run away, and if he didn't think that Sally was coming back sometime, he would. Well, he'd come back later and apologize. But that didn't change the fact that he wanted nothing more than to be out of this conversation.

"Listen, Ned, I'm really sorry about everything that's happened."

He turned to her, confused. "What's happened?"

"You know . . . I was just being so immature about everything. I really like Sally a lot," she added hastily, "I was just embarrassed that you didn't seem to like me as much as I liked you and . . ." She trailed off, studying her shoes with an intensity that didn't seem warranted.

"But I did like you." Jamie's head snapped up, her eyes wide with surprise.

"But I thought you were in love with Sally," she said, her voice little more than a murmur.

"Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean I didn't like you. You were just —"

"In the wrong place at the wrong time," she finished, her face lighting up with understanding. "I get that. And by the time you meet someone you liked, you don't feel the same way as you thought you did, and then you don't know what to think, because you don't know how you feel about anyone. You know what I mean, right?"

Not at all. But he nodded and looked away. This was probably the most uncomfortable he'd ever been in his entire life. As the silence spun out between them, winging its way towards the woods at the edge of the parking lot and disappearing into the golden sky, he pondered three guys that always sat next to his and Patrick's art table. They were all red, long and lanky, with ripped clothes and messy hair. Neither Ned or Patrick had known their names, but they were always complaining about how obnoxious their various ex-girlfriends were, and how horrible it was to have so many whiny — they used a word that Ned tried to avoid — to deal with all the time. He and Patrick had thought it was ridiculous; oh, poor me! I have too many women in my life! How can I ever deal with such horror and pain?

He was now starting to see their point.

Jamie had continued, though Ned wasn't sure exactly how long she'd been talking. "Anyway, I just feel like I really wasn't fair to either you or Sally, and I want to turn over a new leaf. Kira says that it's best to talk about your troubles, and so that's what I'm doing now." She turned slightly pink and added, "Paul thinks so, too. I talk to him about it a lot."

"Paul must be a great guy," he said, thinking, Paul must be a saint.

Her eyes lit up. "Yes, he listens to everything I say, no matter how boring. I'm quite lucky." Before he could reply, she threw her arms around his neck and pecked him on the cheek.

Actually, this was the most uncomfortable he'd ever been in his entire life. He patted Jamie on the back and tried to push her away. "Jamie," he began, gasping at her grip, "I'm glad we're friends again" — though he'd never honestly thought that they'd stopped being friends, and wasn't sure exactly how close they were now supposed to be since their estrangement was apparently over — "but don't you think —"

"Oh, of course." She peeled herself off of him with a shy smile. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." She turned away, her smile fading to a look of bafflement, and under her breath she muttered, "Nothing?"

Ned was about to ignore that strangeness and lie through his teeth when he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. He whirled around and saw Sally leaning against the wall behind him. Her expression was hard to read. "Sal!" he exclaimed, taking a quick step away from Jamie with an embarrassed grin. "You're back!"

You're not guilty, his brain said with the bone-deep weariness of someone who's spent their entire life talking to idiots. You've done nothing wrong, so stop acting like you two were making out or something!

"I am," she said. She turned to Jamie. "How are you?"

"Good," Jamie mumbled, "though I kind of have to go find Jackie. She should have been back by now. . . ." Without bothering to say goodbye, she hurried into the school. Sally watched her go, and that time Ned had no problem reading her expression; much like John Whayne in those old films, her body language was just screaming You'd better run.

"What took so long?" Ned asked once she was gone. He was aware that his smile was strained and his eyes were bugging out (they felt far too large for his head), but he couldn't do anything about it. "You were in there a while."

She shrugged. "There were a lot of kids with math woes." She shot him a sideways glance, adding, "Besides, it didn't look like you were bored. That was quite the hug."

"Yeah." There was a beat of silence. Okay, Ned, his brain instructed. Relationships can hinge on these moments. She doesn't seem too suspicious, so as long as you can prove to her that everything's fine, she'll be happy. Be careful, because you tend to screw things up. Just be calm. "She wants to be friends." That would have been perfect if your voice hadn't cracked on "friends."

Sally made a noncommittal noise. "You realize that you're acting very suspicious, don't you?"

Bingo. "I know, Sal, but nothing happened, seriously. She's seeing someone. Paul. From math class." He smiled with a vague sense of victory. He couldn't help but feel nervous; Sally and Jamie just seemed to want to think the worst of each other, and the worst of Ned when he hung out with either. It was infuriating as well as terrifying.

To his surprise, she smirked. She was in their math class, too. "Paul? You mean Paul Fishe? He's gay, Ned. They're definitely not dating unless there's something about her you're not telling me."

He ducked his head. "I wouldn't know," he muttered. "But she said they were dating."

"Trust me, he's more interested in you than in her." She stepped a little closer, peering through the glass doors to try and get a glimpse of her. "Makes you wonder why she lied, huh?" He had no response. Sally stopped and put her hands on her lips. "Just tell me the truth, Ned," she began. "Did she kiss you?"

Lie! If you've never lied before in your life, do it now! He nodded, focusing his gaze on his feet. Idiot. He was too afraid to even glance up and see how Sally was taking it. Which was why he didn't realize that she was storming off until she stepped on a stick with a huge crack. Like it was a gunshot for a race, he took off after her, almost tripping on the stick that she'd stepped on. "Sally, it was on the cheek! It didn't mean anything! I — ack!" His foot slipped into a hole and he collapsed, his ankle throbbing.

Sally had paused, unsure whether to go back and make sure he was okay or keep walking. Finally she turned around and hauled him to his feet. "What is it about her?" she asked, not meeting his gaze.

"Nothing! Sally, how can you think that?" He was actually getting angry. "How can you look at anyone else in the world and see someone better than you? Who exists that you think is more beautiful, or nicer, or funnier? Saner, maybe, but aside from that —"

"Was that a joke?" She let go of his arm, letting him wobble for a few precarious seconds before he found his footing again. "Is this funny to you?" she demanded. "I'm sorry, maybe I should find this funny, too! Some girl comes up and starts crawling all over my boyfriend and then he acts like he's trying to cover up a crime. Should I be laughing, Ned?"

"Yes!" he cried in exasperation, throwing his arms into the air before letting them fall to his sides. "Normally you would find this hysterical! I just don't understand why she bothers you so much."

Even as she jerked like he'd slapped her, as his brain was telling him he was too stupid to speak, Ned could couldn't bring himself to take it back. Because when she glared at him, clearly trying to formulate a comeback, he saw something in her eyes that strengthened his resolve.

He was right. And she knew it.

She was supposed to find this funny; when some gawky blonde with a grass-stained cheerleading outfit had tried to worm a date out of him, Sally had found it impossible to keep from giggling and joking about it. That had only been a month or so ago. She'd always struck him as unflappable, calm and amused at any circumstance and confident that he wouldn't want anyone else. Something was wrong here, and he had no idea what.

"You know what? Fine. Go hang out with her. Make out with her if you want. I won't care, because why would I? I'll just be at my house, finding this all so very funny. Goodnight."

Ned didn't bother to chase after her this time. He just hoped that she would talk to Sarah. Sarah was always helpful at times like these.

In fact. . . . He sprinted in the opposite direction, not stopping until he got home. Mimi was reaching for the phone, no doubt planning to call Ryan again. He almost knocked it out of her hand, punching the numbers without so much as an apology.

"Ned! What the heck's your problem? I —" She stopped when he held his hand up.

"Sarah?" he said. "I need you to go to Sally's house. There's a problem."

"When should I get there?" One of the things he loved about her was that she always seemed to understand when to demand explanations.

"Now."

She hesitated. "Relationship-breaker?"

He closed his eyes, for the first time feeling the full weight of the issue, which had come out of nowhere and escalated too quickly. "I hope not."

"I'll be there. She just called me, anyway."

Ned thanked her, said goodbye, and hung up. There were tears in his eyes, and Mimi saved her manners lecture for another time. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Wanna talk about it, big brother?" she said with a weak smile.

"Nah, I'm fine," he said, swinging down from the stool they kept next to the phone. "Just gonna go for a walk." As he was about to leave, Mimi added, "You know, in the long run this is going to seem like pretty small potatoes." He nodded, muttered a quick thank-you, and left, thinking that Mimi might be wrong.

As far as he could tell, these potatoes couldn't get any bigger.

"I just don't understand why it's Jamie." Sarah was reclining in Sally's window-seat, playing with a couple of toy ponies Sally's sisters, Natalie and Nicole, had left behind. "I mean, you're not a jealous person. Like, ever."

"I didn't think I was, either." Sally was sprawled on the floor, her hair covering her face. She stared up at the waning sunlight through a curtain of red. "But . . . they dated. They kissed. She's not some girl — she was his first girlfriend."

"So?" Sarah leaned down and hauled Sally into a sitting position. "Ned liked her a little. He never loved her, and that he told me himself. He loves you, and you're an idiot." She pursed her lips and peered at Sally. "You're not . . . well, is it a bad time of the month for you?"

Sally blushed. It was, but she didn't appreciate it being brought up. "I can't help it, Sarah. She just . . . I feel like she's trying to take him away."

"You mean, like you did?" She sighed. "I love you two so much, but can you blame her for maybe not being over him yet? Would you be?"

Sally didn't have the heart to reply to that. Besides, Sarah knew the answer. "But I want her to leave him alone."

"I know. But I guess what this really comes down to is, do you trust Ned?" Sally shrugged. "Come on, Sal! We both know him better than that."

"But he seemed so guilty and nervous today!"

"He's neurotic. What are you going to do about it?"

Sally sat there for a long time, then laid back down with her hair over her face again. The dying sunlight made strands of her hair light up like they were on fire. Jamie was prettier than her, Sally knew. She understood clothes and colors and hair products that made her look perfect. She was also a little crazy, but that wasn't exactly an advantage Sally had over her. The events of this afternoon had certainly proved that Sally had at least as much crazy in her.

Jamie had a hold over Ned. She was an ex-girlfriend, and there was a definite bond there; there probably always would be. And Ned felt guilty for how they'd ended, so that meant he'd try extra hard not to hurt her feelings, which might be why he'd sometimes seem overly solicitous to her. To another guy it could look like flirting, but Ned wasn't like that. He never had been.

"What is it about her?" That question hadn't really been directed at Ned at all, because there was nothing special to him about Jamie. It was all Sally's issue. And he loved her despite that — despite the events of this afternoon, if she was lucky and moved quickly.

"It's funny," she muttered, climbing to her feet. "Why do some things seem so confusing one minute and then so obvious the next?"

"Welcome to the wacky world we live in," Sarah said with a smile. She watched as her friend puttered around, grabbing shoes and a shawl. "I'll just let myself out, then?"

Sally threw her friend an apologetic smile. "If you wouldn't mind. And —"

"Don't bother. You're already welcome." She stood and gave her friend a quick one-armed hug. "Now hurry. I think he's freaking out."

She forced herself to stick to a brisk walk. There was no use showing up at his house if she didn't have enough breath to explain herself. So, despite the adrenaline thrumming up and down her legs, she kept a steady pace until she reached the end of his street.

When she saw the red-and-blue lights in front of his house, she broke into a run.

Ned was in Who Park, as usual. There really didn't seem to be a better place to sit and mope. He watched the sun sink into the trees and listened to the animals rustle around just out of his sight. He didn't know why Sally had been so jealous of Jamie, but he knew that he had to prove to her that it was ridiculous. He'd liked Jamie, sure, but there had never been any contest. He'd been waiting for her to like him for over ten years now, and there was nothing that could take him away from her now.

He'd heard the sounds of sirens and ignored them. Something was going wrong in Whoville, and the unthinkable idea should have given him pause. However, he couldn't bring himself to care, not when he had his head so full of moping.

When Sally came crashing through the trees, he stared at her for a long time without comprehending what he was looking at. She was doubled over, flushed and sweating, her breath coming out in pants and gasps. He realized that she must have been looking for him and leapt to his feet. "Sal, listen, I never meant to make you think that I didn't love you or anything. Jamie really did just want to talk, and I don't like her like that, and I don't think I ever could. I —"

"I don't care about any of that!" Sally cried as soon as she had her voice back.

He suddenly noticed the panic in her eyes and the way she was shaking. "What is it, Sal?"

What she said next made their petty relationship problems seem like very tiny potatoes indeed.

"Ned, there's been an accident." She looked up at him with tears running down her face. "Your dad's been hurt. I think . . . I don't think he's going to be okay."