Meg wasn't sure when she became Vanessa's lackey.

Last night Vanessa made some changes to the set list and then told Meg to hand out the sheets to the rest of the band. Why Vanessa couldn't do it herself or just send out a group text, Meg didn't know. Meg had classes with Flynn and Jim and would be able to give them theirs then, but she didn't have any classes with Rapunzel. Meg knew if she didn't find Rapunzel this morning before classes she'd have to try to track her down after school and she had no desire to stay at school longer than she had to or go over to Rapunzel's house.

Meg heard that Rapunzel had had to choose between the band and cheerleading and for a moment Meg thought maybe she'd choose cheerleading and finally leave the band. Spending extra time with her ex's best friend was like having a pebble in her shoe that she just couldn't get rid of. Even though Meg and Thomas had been broken up for a few months, Rapunzel still treated Meg like she was a succubus. Despite the fact that Thomas broke up with her. It would have been nice to finally get away from that mess.

No such luck, though. Rapunzel chose the band and Meg was stuck with her.

When Meg rounded the corner she saw Thomas leaning against Rapunzel's locker. She immediately shoved her way through the closest door before he could see her. She didn't know why; it wasn't like the world would end if Thomas saw her. But she had panicked and now she was...

...in the boys' bathroom.

And John was standing at the sink, staring at her.

What was more awkward than running into your ex? Running into his half brother in the boys' room.

Meg cleared her throat and averted her gaze. "Sorry. I didn't know this was the boys' bathroom."

John chuckled and went back to washing his hands. "Well, I'm sure our toilets work just as well as the girls'."

Meg made a face at the stall next to her. "Good God, no. You couldn't pay me to use one of those. Boys are disgusting."

"Then why are you still in here?"

Meg's face heated with embarrassment. "I'm hiding." She hesitated, then added, "From Thomas."

John sighed. "He hides every time he sees you, too."

Meg arched an eyebrow. "He does?"

"Yeah."

Well, at least she wasn't the only one not handling this breakup maturely.

The bathroom door started to open and Meg practically dove inside the closest stall. She shut and locked the door, then stood on the toilet seat and crouched down. She had to brace her hands against the stall walls to keep herself balanced and she tried not to think about what else had come in contact with these walls.

"Oh. Hi, John." It was Thomas.

"Hey." She heard John grab a paper towel.

"I was looking for Meg," Thomas said. "Have you seen her?"

"In the boys' bathroom?" John asked.

Meg bit the inside of her cheeks to keep from making any noise and prayed to God her foot didn't slip.

"I know how it sounds, but I could have sworn I saw her come in here," Thomas told him.

"I haven't seen her," John lied.

Meg sent him a mental wave of gratitude. It was bad enough she was crouching in a bathroom stall like a coward; she didn't want to be called out on it, too.

"Why are you looking for her, anyway?" John asked. "Don't you usually hightail it in the other direction when you see her?"

"I do not," Thomas protested.

"Rapunzel said you hid behind a video game when you saw her at the arcade Saturday night."

"She was with Hercules. It would have been weird if we ran into each other."

He saw me with Hercules? Meg thought. She didn't know why, but that made her feel guilty; like she had been caught cheating.

"Why are you looking for her?" John repeated.

"We can't dodge each other all school year. Maybe if we talk things out we can get past this awkwardness." He paused. "And not have to hide in bathroom stalls to avoid one another." He spoke that last part loud enough to make it clear.

She'd been caught.

She stayed still and silent, though. She wasn't coming out. Whatever talk they needed to have did not have to happen right now in this bathroom.

Meg watched Thomas' feet walk back towards the bathroom door.

"See ya around, Meg," Thomas called out.

"You too," she replied.

The door closed and she groaned.

"The coast is clear," John said, not bothering to hide his amusement.

Meg came out of the stall. "I'm gonna have to move out of the country now."

XXX

Belle impatiently drummed her fingers on the tabletop. She was supposed to be tutoring a new client today, but they were fifteen minutes late. She could have picked up a shift at the bookstore this afternoon, instead of sitting alone in the school library after school. She certainly could use that extra money.

"Sorry I'm late."

Belle jumped at the sudden voice behind her. Gaston rounded the table and sat down across from her.

Belle suppressed a groan. She was one of the only girls in school who couldn't stand Gaston. Even Jane wasn't immune to his looks. To say she was unpleasantly surprised to find out he was the one she's supposed to be tutoring was a major understatement.

"Please tell me you took a wrong turn on your way to the gym," Belle said.

"No." He leaned forward and lowered his voice, even though no one else was in the library. "I need a tutor."

Belle eyed him. "In what?"

"Everything."

"How is that possible? We're only two weeks into the school year." Belle knew Gaston wasn't the brightest student in their class, but she also knew he wasn't a complete idiot, either. Usually the only students who sought out tutoring this early in the year were Freshman. Some because the Freshman English teacher always started the year with Shakespeare and they struggled to understand it; and some because they felt over their heads in general. The latter usually just needed a bit of a confidence boost and a good pep talk.

"There's some sort of tutor- client confidentiality thing, right?" Gaston asked.

"Um..."

"Because you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

Belle nodded. There was no such confidentiality agreement, but Belle wasn't a gossip.

Gaston studied her for a second, trying to decide if he trusted her, then said, "I barely passed my classes last year. My guidance counselor says if I don't really step it up this year, I likely won't graduate. I want to hire you to help me all year."

"I don't know, Gaston. Maybe one of the other tutors would be a better fit for you."

Gaston shook his head and leaned back in his seat. "Nah. You're the hottest tutor in this school. I don't want to spend all year hanging out with some ugly chick."

Belle glared at him. "No. You're a pig. And, frankly, I don't care if you don't graduate."

Belle grabbed her bag and stormed away from the table. She heard Gaston run after her, but she didn't stop until he caught up to her and cut in front of her.

"I didn't mean to piss you off. That was a compliment," he said.

"I don't want to spend all year with some boorish, brainless jock."

Gaston frowned. "I'm not exactly thrilled about being around a judgmental snob-"

"I am not a-"

"-but my guidance counselor recommended you by name."

Belle snapped her mouth shut. Someone in the staff actually recommended her? She looked up at him. He seemed sincere; at least, it didn't look like he was lying. "Really?"

Gaston ran his hand through his black hair. "He didn't sound like he had any confidence in me, but he said if anyone could help me, it was you."

Belle didn't like Gaston, but she couldn't help pitying him. You have to be in pretty bad shape if even your guidance counselor doesn't think you're capable of... well, anything, by the sounds of it. Having your guidance counselor basically write you off when the school year has barely even started was unfair to anyone. Even someone like Gaston.

Still, the idea of spending time with Gaston on a regular basis for the whole year filled Belle with dread.

"Please, Belle? I'll pay twice your normal rate. Triple! Really, money is not an issue."

Well, shoot. She could definitely use that kind of money. "All right, triple," Belle agreed. "But, you have to pay for a month's worth of sessions in advance- every month. If you remember, I was supposed to tutor you last semester, but you flaked on me."

She didn't mention that if he hadn't flaked she wouldn't have ended up tutoring Adam, and that she had always been thankful he never showed up.

"And now I'm paying for it," Gaston said. "But, you have a deal."