Later that day, recess brought another opportunity for Tobey to play comforter to his former rival. He was still rather unsure of how to go about accomplishing such a task. There were moments frozen in his past that rapidly thawed out, all involving both himself and the girl he knew as both Becky and WordGirl. A lot of them caused him to go bright red once more, considering they also pertained to his ever present crush on the young brunette. Her mannerisms both baffled him and caused him to be endlessly attracted to her. All of this had doubled ever since finding out her secret. Now, he waited on the swing set for the girl with the brown eyes and fierce personality that had stolen his heart.

It took a couple of minutes, but he finally saw her emerge from the school building and maneuver across the yard towards him. He took a moment to recalibrate his mentality. Saying the right things here could spark the type of friendship that he now yearned for with her. However, saying the wrong things could push them further apart than ever. The way the past 24 hours had gone, their new truce stood on the edge of a cliff. Now, he felt that it was up to him to build a bridge to get both of them to the other side.

"Hey," she said as she sat down on the swing next to her.

"Hey," he responded awkwardly.

"So…" She ventured, kicking her legs back and forth in an attempt to dissipate said awkwardness. "…what…um…what did you wanna tell me in there?"

"Oh, that. Look, Becky, I don't want to sound impertinent, but…why did you call Violet?"

Becky turned red. "Sorry about that," she said. "Honestly, my emotions kinda got the better of me after you left last night. I was…frankly, I was pissed off. I hated that you'd found out the truth about me, but I also hated that I'd been so careless as to let my guard down like that."

"Well," Tobey said, "to be fair, you couldn't have known that my robot was recording at the moment."

"No, I guess not," Becky said. "But I was getting ready to engage it in pitched battle, so I guess I should have been more careful to begin with. Anyway, back to last night, I just needed someone to blow off some steam to and Violet happened to pop into my head. I called without thinking, Tobey. I should've known she'd go on some great 'I have to protect my best friend even though she's perfectly capable of protecting herself' crusade."

Tobey chuckled. "Yeah, she's kinda like that, isn't she?"

"Oh, you have no idea," Becky said. "This one time, she thought that Bob and I were being chased by Bigfoot on a camping trip, so she set up this whole anti-Bigfoot alarm system. It was somewhat ingenious in its design, but made for a rather…difficult night's sleep."

"Let me guess," Tobey said, "she hung a bunch of bells from the trees to serve as a forewarning should the mythical creature actually show itself."

"Exactly," Becky huffed in exasperation.

"Wow…you know, it's rather surprising to me that you'd get this way about your best friend. I mean, I thought you were supposed to be there for each other…you know, compatriots to the end, all for one, one for all? Things like that?"

Becky smiled and Tobey's heart skipped a beat as her expression softened. "Yes, that's true. All the same, even the best of friends can have their difficulties."

Tobey frowned. He'd never had a friend before, so he couldn't speak to the veracity of Becky's claim. His entire life ran through his mind on a hyperactive highlight reel. Each scene presented a scenario where Tobey had pushed his fellow kid away in favor of his own feats. He suddenly realized what an arrogant brat he had been and how desperately he wanted to change. Something new burned inside of him, driving this desire. Becky was a terrific cause of it, as he'd love nothing more than to call her his friend…and, with luck, perhaps something more one day.

"I…I wouldn't know," he confessed. "I've never had a friend before."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see the orbs that had beguiled him in battle so many times smiling at him. Usually, they burned with ferocity and an anger whose source was found not in vengeance or evil but a distinct, protective determination. The city was her home and she'd do anything to keep it intact. Once more, Tobey's mental highlight reel began whirring. This time, scenes of his many battles with WordGirl played out in full. He felt worse with each one, as he saw how horrifying his behavior had been. He had wanted WordGirl to notice him above all the other boys his age, and he thought that showing off his intellect would do just that. But it had only served to push her away. Now, he had a chance to make everything right.

"Becky…I…I don't even know how to begin apologizing for everything I've done to you. No matter who you were, I was terrible to you."

"Yeah, it's true that I detested your evil robotic ways…but I could've been nicer to you when I wasn't WordGirl. Maybe, if I had, then you would have reformed sooner. So, for that, I apologize."

Tobey smiled, feeling the warmth and sincerity of her words. "Thanks, Becky. That really means a lot to me."

Becky returned his smile. "Yeah, yours means a lot to me, too."

"So…friends?"

"Friends"