So I finally managed to finish and get this post up for you all to read! It's decently long and hopefully enjoyable. :3

Disclaimer: I do not own Level Up or any of it's characters. Some teacher's names have been provided by Adelene Abnormal as they are not mentioned in the show; thanks again for letting me borrow them!

Level Five- Intrusion

Lucy woke up early the next morning, thankful she remembered to set her alarm. She yawned and stretched before sitting up in bed, feeling jittery.

'Today's the big day.' Lucy let out a shaky breath then got to her feet. Once she had her glasses on, she quickly set to her morning routine, excitement welling up inside of her.

'I wonder what Dante's really like?' Lucy mused, flinging the contents of her dresser onto her already cluttered floor, trying to find something suitable for school.

'It's kind of hard to talk to him in public with his friends always around him and Juliet breathing down my neck...' She finally settled on her cyan skinny jeans and a dark purple tank top layered over a long, black lacy tank. Lucy rushed to the bathroom, her change of clothes in hand. Her phone vibrated and she backtracked to snatch it up before continuing on her way.

'I bet that's Jules.' Lucy flipped the phone open, placing her clothes on the toilet lid.

-Hey Luce, I'll be there in twenty. J-

'Called it.' Lucy closed her phone and tossed it onto the counter, shutting and locking the door with her free hand.

She showered and dressed quickly, spending a few extra minutes to carefully blow dry and brush her hair. She would be getting a haircut later that day, but at least her untrimmed mane would look nice for school. A horn sounded outside as she was pulling on her shoes.

Lucy bounded down the stairs and out the front door slowing slightly to wish her bewildered dad a great day before skipping out the door to Juliet's blue Beetle.

"Well, someone's in a good mood," Juliet remarked, noticing Lucy's carefully groomed hair and coordinated outfit. Lucy shrugged, feeling embarrassed.

"I didn't stay up until one last night and I set my alarm," Lucy said smartly. Juliet rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure a good night's sleep is the only reason you joyously skipped out of the house this morning."

They chattered aimlessly until they reached the high school where Lucy's cheerful mood was commandeered by nervousness.

"What if he ditches?" Lucy blurted out. Juliet pulled the parking break and killed the engine, quirking a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at her friend. A sudden feeling of guilt crept up her throat and she did her best to ignore it.

"He won't ditch Lucy, he asked you on the date." Juliet hoped she was right; the notes she gave to Angie and Wyatt may have been enough to change Dante's mind. Lucy seemed convinced and nodded slowly in agreement, stepping out of the car and shutting the door so Juliet could lock the vehicle.

"That's true; I guess I'm just freaked he asked me out at all. It's hard to believe I'm going on a date at all," she laughed, leading Juliet to their science class. Juliet clenched her jaw at the thought of Lucy's date.

'Hopefully my plan will work and she'll come to her senses.'

"Yo, Wyatt!" Dante called, rolling slowly to a stop at the edge of the blacktop. He scooped up his board and strolled over to his friend. Wyatt looked up from his book, then did a double take, noting the change in Dante's attire.

Much to anyone's surprise, Dante changed his usual weekly outfit for fresh clothes; today he wore red skinny jeans and a black skate tee. His handkerchief was crammed in the front pocket of his jeans as always.

"Wow Dante, did you... shower this morning?" Wyatt asked. Dante shrugged, unclasping his helmet. His hair looked like it had been trimmed and was far less greasy than usual.

"Yeah... Barbara's doing..." Dante sighed dramatically.

"She said I couldn't go out tonight if I didn't shower and change. She broke my streak too..."

"Wow, she's more serious about this date than Angie," Wyatt chuckled, stowing his book away in his bag. Dante was busy strapping his skateboard to his backpack. He looked up in confusion.

"What now?" Dante asked. Wyatt hastily got to his feet. Angie had given him specific instructions not to tell Dante about the notes on Lucy until after school for fear of him blabbing to his date and blowing their cover.

"Nothing, I was just saying how we should get to class," he fibbed. Dante grinned.

"Alright then, to science!" Dante shouted. He jumped up and barrel-rolled over the table before charging inside, Wyatt following with his head down in embarrassment.

It was towards the end of science as Lucy shifted in her seat uncomfortably, eager for the class, no, the day to be over with. Dante and herself had been exchanging awkward glances all class period to the point where even Mr. Patrick took notice.

"Eyes up front Lucy, Dante," looking from one student to the other with an expression of subtle amusement on his face. Several snickers echoed through the classroom.

Lucy felt her cheeks heat up and she immediately buried herself in her notes. Dante seemed unfazed and instead took to making rude faces at Mr. Patrick when his back was turned.

Juliet glared into her textbook, a mixture of anger and guilt boiling inside her.

'Completely ridiculous... and she called me silly for liking Lyle.' The bell rang much to everyone's relief and the classroom emptied into the halls.

Later that day, Dante and Lyle had just met up and were heading to their art class. Lyle was laughing at a joke Dante just told.

"That's a good one," Lyle chuckled, fist bumping Dante. He cleared is throat, getting serious.

"Today's your date with that girl, right? So how are you holding up?" Dante looked thoughtful for a moment then gave a half-hearted shrug.

"Well I am a little nervous; never really went on a date before. Never had a girl even accept a date when I offered," Dante chuckled weakly, his gaze dropping to his dirty black skate shoes. All these new feelings were cropping up that he didn't know how to process. There hadn't been a girl who liked him since grade school, at least that he knew of.

Lyle felt his distress. He raised his arm and pat Dante on the back, giving his friend an encouraging smile.

"Don't sweat it man. You just got to take it easy, take your time and get to know her." Dante raised his brown eyes to meet Lyle's, a small grin on his face. He felt a little better.

'Maybe I'm making too big of a deal out of all this. I've just got to chill,' Dante thought, looking more like his old self.

"Yeah, you're right; nothing to worry about." Lyle nodded in approval, glad to see Dante's mood improving.

"Plus you have Angie to help you get ready; apparently her and Wyatt have some secret weapon to prepare you."

"Ha! This date will be a piece of cake then," Dante said happily. Lyle snorted in response.

"It's a date dude, not a test."

"Whatever man, I can handle it."

Once school let out, Lucy flew through the halls to her locker, her heart racing.

'Finally! I can go to the mall and prepare for my date.' After she got out of science, the rest of the day seemed to speed by for Lucy.

'I guess I was just nervous this morning because he was in class with me,' she thought, flinging her school supplies into her locker. She then raced out to meet Juliet, who had began having moral conflict with her actions.

'I wish I had never given those notes to Wyatt and Angie... now Lucy's date is going to be ruined...' Juliet sighed heavily, then shook her head.

'No! Lucy doesn't need to be seen with the likes of him. This will work!' She nodded to herself in determination, her mind made up to stick with the plan just as Lucy came running into view. Juliet smiled at her friend and took her seat in the bug.

"Shall we go for a good mall crawl then?" Lucy asked breathlessly, tossing her backpack onto the floorboard and plopping down into the passenger seat.

"I would say so," Juliet giggled, starting the engine and putting the car into reverse.

"Remember our agreement; you can pick your haircut but I get to choose the outfit," Juliet sang. Lucy buckled her seatbelt and leaned back, propping her feet up on the dash.

"I remember; just make it something... stylish." Juliet remained silent, choosing instead to turn on the radio. She gave Lucy a quick smile.

'And what an outfit it'll be...'

It was five thirty and Lucy was starting to have her doubts. The trip to the mall was a nightmare and a half for Lucy and she was glad it was over with.

'I am never letting Juliet pick my clothes again...' she thought, shivering in horror. Her hands found her now trimmed and dyed hair and she felt slightly relieved.

Lucy's hair was now in a short modern style with the back intensely layered and the sides tapering down to shoulder length in the front. Her wildly overgrown bangs were neatly swept back to the edge of her glasses and trimmed to perfectly frame her face.

'I'm glad I didn't let her style my hair...'

While Juliet had kept her word about Lucy's hair, she had taken some major liberties with Lucy's attire; Lucy was wearing a light blue and peach colored blouse and a ivory cropped jacket with matching embroidery. Through some miracle, Juliet forced Lucy into a skirt and pale blue flats.

Lucy tugged at the edge of the skirt uncomfortably, and while she had to admit she looked good, the clothes were not suited to her taste. Though she was unaware of Juliet's true intentions to spoil her date, Lucy had her own tricks and had managed to sneak a change of clothes into her shoulder bag.

'Almost time,' she thought, eying the neon clock. Only fifteen minutes until Dante was supposed to arrive. Her stomach slowly wound itself into a knot, worried he wouldn't show. Just outside, Angie and Wyatt were preparing to send Dante in.

"Do I really have to wear this? I look ridiculous!" Dante whined, slapping the now worn notes on Lucy against his leg. Angie glared at him; he had spent the last hour and a half bellyaching over the dress clothes she had picked out of his closet.

"They're far better than what you were going to wear!" she growled, fixing his collar. Dante felt like a clown, his hair was all slicked back and his face was raw from scrubbing. Angie wouldn't let him leave until every speck of dirt was gone from his person.

"Alright, it's time to go in there! Make us proud," Angie said, her eyes flicking to the sheet of notes.

"And no cheat sheet for you!" She snatched the paper out of Dante's hands.

"Now go!" Angie said, shoving him inside.

The door to the diner opened and Lucy groaned inwardly.

'Is this really happening...' she wondered, glancing over at Dante and Angie who was busy straightening Dante's collar again. He looked more uncomfortable than she did.

Angie had somehow crammed him into a pair of slacks and a dress shirt but apparently couldn't find any nice shoes as Dante was still wearing his skate shoes.

'Why does it feel like this was all planned?' Lucy watched Dante finally push Angie away. Her heart skipped a beat when her turned her way, sending her a dazzling metallic smile. Lucy smiled shyly as Dante took the seat across from her.

"Hi again," Dante said, running a hand through his strangely styled hair.

"Hi," Lucy managed, fidgeting with her glasses.

'At least we can get to know each other now with no interruptions.'

Unbeknownst to Lucy, Angie and Wyatt had taken a seat with Juliet on the other side of the diner. The girls watched the pair intently, barely speaking while Wyatt looked over the notes, a weird expression on his face.

'I hope this date goes well; we put so much into it.' Angie thought, her eyes narrowing.

'He better not screw up.' Juliet was spying for entirely different reasons but soon realized if conversation started at the table, she may not be able to keep up her ruse with Dante's friends. She quickly excused herself to the bathroom and instead took up camp at another table.

On the other side of the room, Lucy had mustered up enough courage to start a conversation with Dante, though she wasn't liking the results.

"So, you're saying you have no real interest in skateboarding? Why do you do it then?" Lucy asked doubtfully. She was starting to get really suspicious as Dante's answers didn't sound like they were coming from him.

'He can't really think I believe he's into sports and studying... I've never really talked to him and I know that's a lie.' Her heart sank at the thought. Dante on the other hand was starting crack under the pressure.

'This isn't working!' Dante's eyes flicked over to Angie. She pointed rapidly back to Lucy who was poking at her fries unenthusiastically. He gave Angie a pained expression before returning to Lucy, noticing the depressed look she was giving her food.

'I need to try something else... Angie's notes are not working.' Dante struggled for inspiration, hoping to save the date. His hand leaped to his phone as an idea hit him.

-This date is a scam; we're being watched so I can't speak out loud but Angie put me up to this. D-

Dante hit send and waited for Lucy to notice. Lucy felt her side vibrate and pulled her cell from her bag, raising an eyebrow at the name that came up.

'Dante? What's this about?' Dante watched Lucy's face fall as she read and he hastily wrote a longer explanation.

-Angie got notes from your friend and I've been using them this whole time. D-

Lucy glared at her phone and texted a reply, jabbing her fingers violently into they keys. Dante flinched a little as his phone vibrated, afraid to read what Lucy sent.

-What do you get out of this date being fake? L-

Dante looked up at Lucy's crestfallen face, realizing her could have chosen better words to explain what was happening.

'Great... I think I just blew it...'

That's right! A cliffy! No worries as I've already wrote half the next chapter so you'll see it within the week. XP

Hopefully things will get better for our potential couple...

Please review and let me know what you think! Thank you all for reading!