Hollyleaf

I'm a bit nervous about going out to eat with the boys, but not too nervous. Hazeltail looks like she's ready to jump out of her skin, though. That's unusual - I mean, we've done this before. I shrug - Hazeltail does have mood swings sometimes, if I do say so myself. Still, I give Hazeltail some time for herself. Everybody needs some alone time (except for maybe Honeyfern) sometimes.

Pop. Pop.

Hazeltail's chewing grape-flavored gum, and I swear, if she pops another bubble, I'm going to go insane.

I sit down next to her - maybe I can figure out what's wrong. Hazeltail doesn't look at me, which is the first sign that she's not okay.

I narrow my green eyes and squint at her. Her normally wavy, chestnut hair has become silky, spiral curls that bounce around her face. She looks up at me and then looks down at her iPhone again, and I can see that she has mascara on. Hazeltail neverwears makeup and never touches her hair. Sometimes, she doesn't wash it for a week, and that drives Honeyfern crazy. Hmm...

Something's up, and I bet it's a boy. Who are we going with again? Bumblestripe, Lionblaze, and Berrynose all have girlfriends, I seriously doubt she has anything going on with Toadstep or Breezepelt, but then there's Foxleap - It's gotta be him!

"Hazeltail, is something… going on?" I ask her. She shrugs, still not making eye contact. "Look, if there's something - or someone - on your mind, you've gotta tell us," I say, even though Honeyfern is still plucking her eyebrows in the bathroom and will be of no help right now.

Hazeltail sighs, and looks up at me. "Fine," she growls. "It's…." her voice lowers. "Foxleap," she whispers. "I've had a crush on him for a while, but I don't think he likes me back. Have you seen the way Briarlight, Blossomfall, and Rosepetal look at him in class?" I nod mutely. Foxleap has plenty of girls drooling over him.

"Don't worry, Hazeltail," I tell my friend. I don't want her to get depressed over a boy, just like Honeyfern was. "If you talk to him tonight, I'm sure he'll notice you." Hazeltail nods, but she doesn't look convinced.

Hazeltail's self-image has improved a lot since when she transferred back to Warriors Middle School last year, but she's still not so sure people like her. I mean, come on, most of them love her.

Honeyfern stalks out of the bathroom, wearing a floor-length dress and muttering about her hopeless straightening iron, all while applying one of her (many) tubes of Revlon lipstick. She's already done a fabulous smoky eye and put on a pair of dangly earrings. She looks stunning, but for a simple dinner/snack at Dustpelt's Diner?

I think it might be a bit much, and I'm about to tell her so when there's a knock on our door. It's Icecloud, Ivypool, Dovewing, and Cinderheart.

"Where's Poppyfrost?" demands Honeyfern. Poppyfrost is Honeyfern's sister. "I've seen the way she looks at Berrynose, and if she's with him - " Honeyfern slams down the tube of lipstick. I'm pretty sure I just heard a crack, but knowing Honeyfern, she probably has another tube of the same shade, so it's all okay.

"Uhm…." says Icecloud, twisting her white-blonde hair around her pointer finger. "I dunno. I think she's in the library…?" She looks at Cinderheart, Dovewing, and Ivypool for confirmation, but the three girls just shrug.

Honeyfern sighs and stalks back into the bathroom, tossing hairbrushes, clips, and towels to the floor, in search of yet another accessory. Dovewing cringes when she hears a loud clang - she has extremely sensitive hearing because she injured her ear when she was younger, and the surgeons who reconstructed it did a bit too good of a job. It's helpful sometimes, but I don't envy her now.

"Whatever," says Honeyfern, who is slightly calmer but still flustered. "We'll pick her up on the way. And if she even looks at Berrynose, one of you hit her on the head with a frying pan." Icecloud looks at me, and we both suppress giggles. Honeyfern's a bit dramatic sometimes.

Still, I cross my fingers, hoping that Poppyfrost is smart enough to stay far, far away from Berrynose.

Honeyfern

I'm in a bit of a bad mood right now, because my sister, Poppyfrost, seems to be going after my boyfriend. And I really don't want to fight with her - she's my sister. Hell, we've been through so much together, and now that we've finally made amends, I don't want to break down our sisterly bond.

Hollyleaf's telling me to stop being so dramatic. I'm not that dramatic; I just want to avert a disaster, I guess.

We finally arrive at Dustpelt's Diner, and the boys are already waiting outside. Oops. I guess my hair took a little too much time. But a girl's gotta do what she's gotta do, right?

"Hey," someone breathes behind me. It's Poppyfrost. "Sorry I'm late, sis," she pants. "Got held up by old River. He started rambling about his 'good old childhood'" Poppyfrost makes air quotes, and I laugh. River is one of our four principals, and he's the oldest and weirdest. He doesn't do much, in terms of being a principal, but you can be sure that he makes school really interesting.

"Honeyfern!" calls a deep voice. It's Berrynose. Waving to Poppyfrost, I go to him and lean my head on his shoulder. He kisses my cheek. "Hey, good-looking. Thought you weren't gonna come."

"Of course I would come," I protest. "Anything to be with you." He chuckles and pulls me closer.

"Guys, we're in public so please don't start making out," says Icecloud sarcastically. She's standing with her brother and his friends, Breezepelt and Toadstep. I roll my eyes at her and she sticks her tongue out back. Ah, friends.

We go into the restaurant, and Dustpelt himself seats us.

"Hey dad," says Foxleap. "Do we get, like, a discount cuz I'm your son?" It's a running joke between the two of them. Dustpelt chuckles and shakes his head.

"But father!" protests Foxleap, drawing himself up to his full height and puffing his chest out. "Do you not value our loving bond?" Everybody laughs.

"No, I don't," Dustpelt jokes. "Now get in there before I charge you extra." Foxleap lets out a high-pitched squeal and then scoots into the restaurant. We sit at a big, round table. Berrynose sits down next to Lionblaze and Cinderheart. I'm about to sit next to him, when Poppyfrost nudges me aside and plops down in that seat instead.

"Hey Berry," she says, smiling at him. Berrynose looks questioningly at me, but I look away.

I feel my cheeks go scarlet. Still refusing to make eye contact with either of them, I sit in the seat next to Poppyfrost, seething.

What was that about sisterly bonds again?

Sorry if my spacing isn't that good.. I'm still working on it! Also, who should Dovewing stay with - Bumblestripe, Tigerheart, or someone else? Please review and tell me. And what about Ivypool? Right now, the options are IvyXToad, IvyXBreeze, or even IvyXTiger.

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