Papers overflowed his desk, the computer screen emitting a faint glow. Another press of the keyboard. The lamp's yellow hue radiated throughout the bedroom, shadows overtaking its light in its corners. Exhaustion coursed through Gumball's body as he struggled to stay awake. An open window let in the September wind and he couldn't help but shiver at its chilling touch. He looked at the window, briefly considered closing it, and felt another wave of numbness wash through him as the thought exited his mind without a trace. The cold lulled him to the comforting embrace of the blankets folded neatly on his bed.

August was easy enough, but September presented a drastic increase in the volume of schoolwork that Elmore High's students had to deal with. With even Anais's hands full, Gumball was left to trudge on his own in the middle of the night.

He groaned and leaned back in his chair. His mind was bursting with activity, little of it related to the essay currently typed on his document.

Has it already been four weeks?

Suddenly, the world around him transformed, morphing in his mind, the late summer evening pouring its golden sunlight into memory. Tobias's words echoed like a broken record.

Yet time marched on. That late summer finally rested into a cool autumn, the school settling down into its status quo. With it, the freshness of those first few weeks was replaced by the monotony of the middle of the school year.

At least we still have like six football games left, Gumball thought. That meant six more Fridays of seeing his girlfriend in a cheer uniform; something to undoubtedly look forward to. The thought of Penny was comforting as always, but there was always something beneath it, festering and itching at his mind. He felt its slithering roots tug on his stomach, setting in a slight unease. He felt his heartbeat more keenly than ever.

Six football games with Tobias playing right in front of her… The weight on his stomach increased, an image of Penny's gaze wrapping around Tobias flashing in his head. Gumball slightly frowned, his eyes narrowed. Ugh, stop! He rubbed his forehead before picking up his phone.

[P: u alr?]

Gumball felt his thumb hover over the call button. I should tell her about the fight… The chair underneath him rocked back and forth as he mulled it over in his head. But she could think I'm weak. That would play her right into his…

Enough! He let out a sigh and shot out a response.

[G: yea, js this fucking essay has me dying]

Before he could regret it, he banished the thought from his mind. A notification popped up shortly after.

[P: alr! goodnight :) ]

He smiled, her aura dissipating the fog in him.

[G: night 3]

Gumball's computer shut off as the room dimmed into dark, the light of the moon touching the empty bed. He rested his phone on the nightstand before shuffling into his bed, diligent to avoid waking Darwin from his slumber. I probably shouldn't have told her anyways, he mused. His thoughts spaced out as he fell asleep.

"Morning". The hiss of sizzling eggs whipped Gumball's ears as Darwin cooked breakfast. The flickers of the stove fire reached to lick the side of his pan.

"Eggs on a Thursday?" Gumball asked with a slight tilt to his eyebrow, using a spatula to load a few eggs onto a plate he grabbed.

"...why not?" Darwin replied. The last of the eggs cooked in the pan as Darwin scooped them onto his own plate, pouring a healthy dose of hot sauce on them.

"Hey, fair enough." Gumball finished shaking on salt, now forking his breakfast down as hastily as possible. The two ate at the table in silence, closely eyeing the time to ensure they weren't late for school. The dawn's light shone brilliantly on the table, its brightness radiating on the white-gold pattern of the table cloth.

"Oh shit, it's 7:30. Gotta head out." Gumball went to grab his backpack from the couch, its contents overflowing with his homework papers from last night.

"7:30?" Darwin's voice raised a bit as he prepared to leave with him. "Dude, school is only fifteen minutes away, why are we leaving now?"

"Oh, uh," Gumball said as he stuffed his homework into his backpack, zipping it shut. "I'm picking up Penny now."

"Oh, alright." Darwin smiled as he finished his eggs, dumping his utensils in the sink. He looked at Gumball, who's wince was obvious from across the kitchen. "Dude, what's up?"

"Well, you know how me and Penny are becoming more serious…" Gumball started, putting his hands into his pockets. His fingers rubbed the fabric inside for comfort, the smooth surface easing his tension. Darwin stared at him, a blank look of confusion having wiped across his face.

"Uh huh," He felt his brain roll its eyes as he now leaned against the archway from the kitchen to the living room, his arms folding across his broad chest. Gumball shifted a bit, his hands diving deeper into the pockets of his pants.

"Look dude, I'm picking her up before school now, and that means you're gonna have to find another ride today." Gumball slid the backpack on, grabbing the keys to his car as he headed for the doorway.

"...Dude what the fuck?" Darwin gave him a look of utter disbelief. "Why can't I just third wheel-"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not changing my mind." Gumball said.

Darwin pinched his nose bridge, looking at the ground. He felt the tension in the room thicken, its substance squeezing both of their lungs. He took a deep breath, letting the air loosen his muscles and clear his head.

"It's your car, man. If you need time with your girlfriend, I support you." He shrunk in himself, feeling his world shrink into his body.

"Thanks." Gumball opened the door and took a step out before glancing back at his brother, his eyes pointed down. "See you there," he said as he walked out the front, his shoes creaking the planks of their porch below.

Darwin stood in front of the door, letting out a sigh. Passed up again? Really? He retreated back to the kitchen, finishing his breakfast with an air of dejection emanating around him.

A chilled wind picked up around campus; it slithered its way through Penny's sweater. In response, she snuggled in her boyfriend's arm, holding it tight to her chest as they walked to their first class. Gumball appreciated its comfort, but just like last night, his mind wandered far away. He glanced at the guys in Elmore High's student body as they passed them, feeling vaguely threatened. It was an odd and recent feeling to develop, but he just couldn't rid himself of it.

They passed Tobias, hanging out with his friends just outside the gymnasium. Tobias's tall, muscular frame shifted as Gumball's presence, his demeanor now sullen and cold. His silent, nearly unnoticeable glare pierced Gumball's skin.

Gumball returned the glare, but underneath it was a deep, seeded anxiety that the sight of Tobias only awakened further. His mind flashed back to the events of last week. Messy, tangled emotions stirred inside him, dancing with pain in his chest.

"...so she said 'you have a crush on WHO?' because obviously Masami didn't like that because you know her clique in the cheer squad is pissed at the dance team!" Penny's voice broke his silence as the pair walked into class. "But what do you think?"

"Uhhh…" was all Gumball could muster. "The other one is definitely in the right."

Penny sighed in disappointment, looking up at her boyfriend as she laid her hand on his. "Are you sure you're alright? Your mind is completely somewhere else…"

"I know, I'm sorry," Gumball said. "I'm just tired." He twinged inside at his deception, knowing she deserved better.

"Didn't get enough sleep?" Penny asked.

"Yea," Gumball replied, slightly smirking. "Ms. Simian's essays are the worst, right?"

Penny groaned, "I know! A 10 page word count is crazy! How are we gonna survive college when every class is like this?"

"No idea. I'd just kill myself at that point," Gumball laughed. "Oh shit, applications are due soon!"

"Yea, for you." Penny hugged his side as she gazed up at him, teasing him. "Lucky me, UCLA's due date isn't until next month!"

Gumball felt his stomach drop, a wave of cold washing over his body. Wasn't that where Tobias was trying to get a football scholarship? They'd be so close while he'd be so far. What would happen then? Would he see her walking to her dorm on some Tuesday afternoon, strutting up to her with his frat friends as she checked out his body? And then they would start talking and…

"What's up?" Penny asked, snapping Gumball out of his thoughts. He noticed that they were now sitting together in Ms. Simian's class. Penny gave him a soft, innocent smile as she unloaded her backpack, preparing to turn in her essay.

"Nothing. Just tired, like I said earlier." He returned the smile as students shuffled into the room with essays hanging from their hands. Tobias joined them, passing Gumball and Penny as he made his way to his seat.

Gumball caught his eye again as he passed. Tobias walked with a certain weight in his step; it seemed to shift the very air around him into a foreboding miasma. His glance was singular, pointed, and sharpened with resentment like a steel blade. His eyebrow curved, creased into his face as his glare met Gumball's own. Gumball's eyebrow first raised, his pupils slightly widened, before dimming into solemnity. His eyebrow never seemed to crease into his face.

Ms. Simian's droning buzzed in Gumball's mind like white static. It couldn't hope to allay the feeling that slowly, almost unbearably so, crawled as a vine through his throat. Its claws found ridges on his voice, dully choking him out, as its poison wound through his body. Gumball swallowed; its vine retreated deep inside him. At once he felt freer, his voice unhooked and his mind at peace. He would feel Penny's laughs, banishing the vines further deep inside his stomach.

The morning bell's shrill ring cut through his ears, snapping Gumball back to reality through a dazed groan of pain. Ms. Simian shut the classroom door; its thump hushed the disconcerted voices of her students with a startling quickness.

"As I'm sure you're ALL aware…" Ms. Simian began, "your multiple choice exam on 1984 is tomorrow, on Friday. For those who have been doing the reading carefully, you shouldn't have a problem completing it." Her eyes swept across the classroom, reading the looks of her students to gauge their reactions. Satisfied at the dismay hidden behind their downward gazes, she continued.

"For those who HAVEN'T done them…" she enunciated her speech, her eyes locked on Gumball, "you will find this exam punishing." Ms. Simian ended that sentence with a smirk.

Gumball sighed, his arm lightly pressing against Penny's. "Shit, I really shoulda done it without Anais," he whispered.

Ms. Simian approached his desk, tapping her pen in her hands. "Watterson. Feel the need to make comments during an important ?"

Are you serious? I do this for weeks and you only say something now? He thought with a mental groan. He glanced at Penny before looking back at Ms. Simian. "It was only about the homework, Ms. Simian."

Technically the truth; although with the incriminating details left out. Ms. Simian eyed Penny, narrowing her gaze at her in a calculated act of discernment.

"He's telling the truth," Penny shrugged, giving Gumball a small smile and a supportive glance. She turned back to face Ms. Simian.

Ms. Simian scowled, rapping her pen on Gumball's desk. "Keep the talking to a minimum. Don't make me repeat myself." She walked to the front of the class, turning on her computer and opening her lesson slideshow. "We're going to review the first draft expectations for your papers…"

Gumball reached inside his backpack, ripping a piece of paper from his notebook. He jotted down "Thanks :)" before sliding the paper to Penny's desk. Her attention shifted downwards to the note, her smile lighting up like the sun as she giggled. Her face brightened, she glanced at Ms. Simian, still lecturing, before writing a response of her own and handing it back to Gumball.

Across the room, Tobias's envy churned inside him, a furnace smoldering coal in his stomach.

Carrie's truck drove through the streets of Elmore, music at maximum volume. It felt heavenly to secure a day with the truck. Her parents and siblings nagged at her, demand in their voices, with reasons why they absolutely needed the truck "that day", and for Carrie, "that day" had been every day for a month.

She was liberated; a lunch period away from Elmore High may as well have been Nirvana. As such, it was perfectly appropriate to blast her favorite songs, all layered with thick guitar tones and screaming, in her truck that day. Carrie's ears carried the melody, anticipation building at the climbing of the chorus, when the music screeched to a halt.

"GOD DAMMIT!" Carrie nearly slammed the brakes to a halt, earning a honk from the car behind her. She pulled over into a nearby parking lot, resisting the temptation to flip the other driver off. Her phone buzzed incessantly, draining her mood as she let out an audible groan.

You'd better not be calling me for nothing, she thought as she flipped the screen over and pressed the power button. The name Darwin appeared over the green answer button, her phone still buzzing in wait for her response.

Her anger would dissipate like vapor. Darwin? You've barely called me before… Her brows lifted, eyes tilted in intrigue. Her fingers lowered to the answer button; briefly paused before pressing it in a firm curiosity.

She turned on the speaker. "Darwin?"

"Hey Carrie," he said. "You doing anything tonight?"