Hello everybody!

After a few wonderful comments about my 'Gerald voice' in my last story, Spanish 2, I decided to try my hand at a GeraldxPhoebe story that is KIND OF basically my headcanon for how they get together in the first place. (it's one of 2 actually haha)

I am excited about where this story is going and I hope once you read this first chapter, you will be too!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Polkahotness

~Phoebe~

When I was younger, my mother used to tuck me into my bed each night and read to me like any other child readying themselves for sleep. However, instead of fairy-tales about Knights in shining armor rescuing the fair damsel in distress, I was much more interested in how the universe around me worked. At approximately 8 o'clock each night, I'd skim through my large bookcase and pick out textbooks upon textbooks about about atoms, molecules, stars and the universe for my mother to read to me instead. In my mind, I found it much more logical to inform a young girl such as myself about the ways of the world rather than about being 'beautiful' and waiting for someone dashing to come and save her.

While each of my decisions growing up formed the woman I was becoming each day, I found that this particular decision- the choice to be read science spectaculars over dilapidated fiction -was one that I somehow continued to return to. Would it have benefited me to be read the age-old stories passed down from generation to generation in the form of princes and princesses? Could one theorize that tales of false happy endings may have been able to shape me more into a well-rounded human being than factual research?

The thought had not crossed my mind much- if anything, very minimally. It was only at times when I truly felt excluded from the 'society norms' that those thoughts flitted through my mind. They were thoughts of feeling exposed; thoughts that perhaps the young Phoebe who was doe-eyed for each new piece of scientific knowledge had been wrong about how she desired to grow up.

The young Phoebe I once was, firmly believed that the person she wanted to become was smart, knowledgeable; first and foremost nobody's fool. Yet as I stood gathering my books and secretly listening to the conversation a few lockers down from my own, I wondered if those were the only three qualities I wished to posses even at just 17.

Could Phoebe, could I, have been wrong about the person it was I sought to be?

"All I'm saying is the woman CERtainly knows how to wield that feminine charm she's always going on about," Gerald said from where he stood beside Arnold at his locker while they readied themselves for class. "I mean... mm mm MM, Arnold. You should have SEEN what the girl was wearing in Phys Ed today... STUNNING and we were just runnin' around in GYM." He smiled to himself with a thoughtful expression taking over his face. "That Rhonda Wellington Lloyd...she sure knows how to tease a guy. And you KNOW she knows exACTLY what she's doing."

It appeared that Gerald had already prepared himself for their next class as he leaned against the locker next to Arnold's. He maintained his eye contact while raising a brow and waiting for his best friend's response.

"I don't know, Gerald," Arnold said with hesitation while slowly reaching around to close his locker and spin the dial in an effort to prevent possible-theft. "It just seems like a pretty... shallow way to look at women."

"It's not SHALLOW, Arnold. It's an obserVAtion, man."

This amused Arnold and he turned around to face Gerald directly. "What are you? Some kind of observer now?"

"Of sorts. An observer of the female kind, you could say." He wiggled a brow while leaning in to talk in a loud-but-dramatic whisper, "I am a guy afterall- I am but a predator of the jungle that is Hillwood High."

"A predator, huh?" Arnold repeated, the hint of a smile laced in his voice as I couldn't see his face properly.

"Not like THAT, GEEZ Arnold."

"Than what? What DID you mean?"

I found that I was holding my breath for his answer while peeking around the door of my locker. I watched him silently; the air from my lungs suspending inside of me as my eyes searched Gerald over from head to toe.

"I MEANT," he started with considerable emphasis, "that I appreciate a good-looking woman about as much as any OTHER teenage guy my age. It's just what we DO, man."

Arnold shook his head from where he stood before beginning to walk in the direction of the small stairway leading to the 600 wing above. "Not ALL of us are like that, Gerald. Just because you're a teenage guy doesn't mean you have to give in to all of those stereotypes."

Gerald smirked to himself while pushing away from the locker to stand upright and hook his thumbs around the straps of his backpack while following after him. "You only say that because you're under the spell of your OWN girlfriend, man. She DOES things to ya."

This made Arnold chuckle with a slight shake of his head. "Helga does not have a SPELL on me, Gerald. I just think women deserve more respect than-"

With a raise of his hands, Gerald began waving wildly about to stop Arnold mid-sentence. "Hey, hey, hey, man. Don't EVEN. I respect girls. Don't go saying I disrespect girls when I- Gerald Johanssen -DEFINITELY respect the ladies."

Arnold stopped walking beside him just as they approached the stairs and slowly turned around to give Gerald a near defeated look. "You may THINK you're a ladies man, Gerald. But the fact that you're drooling over Rhonda because of what she's wearing just shows you share a lot in common with most other guys our age."

Gerald dropped his arms to his sides before reaching them up to cross tightly over his chest. I watched from the edge of my locker; the door helping to hide my face as I continued to shamelessly eavesdrop. "You tryin' to tell me something here, Arnold? Cause if you ARE, then I suggest you go ahead and SAY it, already."

Arnold paused where he stood and looked his friend over for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "It's just... I KNOW you, Gerald. And I know you're BETTER than all of that. Don't give in to what everyone else is doing. You've seen first hand what it does to people."

"What? Like you and Pataki?" Gerald asked from where he stood still staring at Arnold remaining stoic by the stairs. "Cause you two are in a league of your OWN."

Arnold chuckled and waved for Gerald to follow after him; his legs quickly beginning to walk as he complied with Arnold's silent request. "I mean REALLY, man," Gerald continued as they at last began their walk up the stairs in route to their next destination. "Your guys' relationship would make for a pretty bomb reality show or something."

"Reality show, Gerald? Really?" Arnold laughed out while their voices began to fade into the backdrop of indistinct conversations buzzing through the crowded hallway. "Who would watch a show about US?"

"All I know is I would watch it, and that's saying enough. I mean look AROU-" at last, Gerald's voice dissipated into the chaos, leaving me to stare after him and Arnold as they fused into the crowds around them.

My eyes lingered on their forms as they succumbed to the vast groups of teenagers huddled in the hallway. Class was mere minutes away from resuming, and most people were well on their way to the next stop in their daily routine of school we encountered each and every day.

However, today was different. Today, I believed, was monumental. Gerald's words and opinions seemed stamped in my head; each one bringing forth thoughts I'd never encountered before when it came to Gerald.

His words, though I'm sure were merely out of context and were not exactly mine to hear in the first place, came across as shallow- something I'd never believed Gerald to be.

It appeared that the feelings (I tried to squash with little luck) that I had for Gerald, could possibly be blinding me to the type of person he could actually be; a thought which sent a waver down my spine and froze me in my place.

Luckily, a triple-tap on my shoulder demanded for attention and as I spun around to see who had been standing behind me, I couldn't help but smile at my good fortune and Helga's seemingly impeccable timing to take me away from my flurry of thoughts.

"Why, hello, Helga," I greeted with a pleasant smile, though Helga did not appear to be fooled by my false countenance.

She raised a brow at me while crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, Hi, Pheebs. Mind telling me why you're all oogling after Tall Hair Boy and Arnoldo?"

"I can assure you I wasn't... looking with lust at your boyfriend, Helga. That would be absurd and incredibly-"

"Phoebe." Helga's tone was dry and stopped my talking quite effectively. "It was a JOKE. What's got YOU so jumpy today? Pop quiz gone WRONG or something?"

I held my books tightly to my chest while gently closing my locker door and turning to face Helga as we began to walk towards our history class. "Quite the contrary, actually. In fact, the pop quiz I took today went rather well considering I was only one of three in the class to receive a 100% on it."

Helga nodded her head with a purse of her lips in what appeared like an upside-down smile, though I wouldn't classify it as a frown. "Well, I'm happy for ya, Pheebs. That's great. What class?"

"Advanced Placement Chemistry, of course."

"Ahh... the big ole Chem-dog," She said with heavy sarcasm though she didn't need to put out false enthusiasm per my account. I knew very well that Helga was neither interested in Chemistry nor would want to hear about the subjects I'd taken my pop quiz on. "Glad to hear you're the smartest one of the nerds, Pheebs."

Instead of boring her with trivial facts about the questions listed on the pop quiz, I cleared my throat and said shakily, "Nearly the smartest. One of the other perfect scores in the class could certainly give me a run for my money, you could say," I teased with a small giggle.

This piqued her interest somewhat, though I could still tell she was focused on the people up ahead of us attempting to move out of our way as we walked. "Oh yeah? And who's that?"

"Dillon," his name flew off of my lips and Helga halted where she stood while turning around to face me. "Dillon Lee-Ung." I repeated while this time providing his last name.

Though Helga didn't need it to know who I was talking about. "Dillon, huh? Well I gotta say, it doesn't surPRISE me. He's kinda been obSESSED with being a boy-genius since he started high school last year." She scoffed at the fact, "Cripes, LAST YEAR. The kid is a know-it-all FRESHMAN." She shook her head while grimacing. "He's kind of a freak, don't you think?"

"I don't know," I replied before I could think through what it was I was saying. "Dillon seems like an all-around nice person. We've conversed on a few occasions and he seems perfectly average to me."

"Average? Dillon? I wouldn't tell HIM that," Helga smirked. "It might make him have a nervous BREAKdown or something."

I shook my head softly and looked away from Helga. "It wasn't as if I had plans to. We don't talk very regularly, although, he has been making an effort as of recently."

Helga reached out to grab my shoulder and pull me to a stop so I could look up at her as she glowered down at me. "He's been making an EFFORT? Ha. He's probably just looking for some free tips on being #1 in the class, DOI."

As she let me go so we could proceed to our class, I quietly admitted with mild hesitation, "I'm not so sure, Helga. He's been almost... flirtatious as of late."

This stunned Helga as if the possibility were utterly absurd. "This is DILLON we're talking about, right? Dillon as in, 'I'm so much better than everyone around me because I'm only a wee-little-freshman and in AP EVERYTHING' Dillon?"

"I wouldn't describe him all as that, Helga."

"Why? Because you LIKE him or something?" She accused which somehow made my heart pick up speed in it's beating. "Do I detect a slight desire of the Dillon?" She exclaimed with distaste in her tone.

I sighed softly and shrugged. "He IS one of the smartest people in the school."

"Yeah, okay. But that doesn't mean you two are MEANT for each other or whatever." Helga began to gesture nearly wildly as she continued on her rant. "You need a lot more than just a few similarities- you need FEELINGS. Real, live, actual FEELINGS. You're smart enough to know THAT, though. Right?"

She turned to look at me as we entered the classroom, though I cast my gaze downward in hopes it would be easier to ignore Helga's assumption. "Phoebe?" She called after me as I scurried to my desk and unloaded my necessary items for class once seated.

"Pheebs- you WOULDN'T give that Dillon a second glance, right? If he were to go and 'get smart' and ask you out, you wouldn't go saying YES just cause he's," she changed her tone to that of a mocking high-pitched wail; "'one of the smartest peers in the school?'"

I focused my eyes down on the desk and explored the grooves and cracks in the old wood as it stared up at me. "I wouldn't say I am completely... repulsed by such an idea. We do have a lot in common and share many similar interests such as-"

Helga was taken aback by my response and gave me a demanding glare to cut me off mid-sentence. "You've GOT to be kidding me Pheebs. What did I just SAY? Were you even LISTENING?" This angered her and I'll admit I was slightly stunned by her sudden change in tone- and sudden interest in my romantic life at that.

"What ever happened to Geraldo?" She suddenly questioned; my pulse picking up speed at her nickname for Gerald. "Tall Hair Boy? Remember HIM? You mean to tell ME you're just giving UP on that conquest of the tallest afro known to man? SERIOUSLY?"

"Helga," I whispered while glancing around my surroundings as she hollered in the classroom. "I have to request that you keep your voice down..."

"What? Because I'm WRONG or something? I know you have the hots for him, so why bother with this OTHER dorkwad? Just because he's freaky SMART?" She shook her head angrily and stumbled through more words to say at her disbelief. "He asked you to the dance, didn't he? God, I'm not double-dating with that dweeb!"

"Helga..." I tried through her rant, but she continued on as if she hadn't heard me say her name at all.

"Criminy!" She exclaimed in agitation, "He'll be a complete FUN-sucker, Phoebe! I mean come ON!" She was shaking her head at the idea, then suddenly empowered by her next thoughts which she didn't hesitate to voice as well. "Cripes, I bet he didn't even ASK you, did he? Dillon and his freakishly entitled smarty-pants brain probably just ASSUMED, didn't he? He just FIGURED since you're both SMART and all, that he'd take you to the dance, huh?"

I shook my head quickly while adjusting the glasses resting on the bridge of my nose. "He hasn't... he hasn't asked me or assumed anything, Helga. It's just that I've heard from... various sources, that he indeed has intentions of asking me to the dance this weekend."

Helga sighed and moved to sit on her chair while spinning around in her seat to straddle the back and face me straight on with narrowed eyes. "And just WHO are these various sources? It's not Princess, is it? Because you know underneath all that expensive clothing and caked-on makeup is just-"

I cut her off almost defensively, my tone sharper than I'd intended. "Just a few people, Helga, okay?" Taking a calming breath, I regained control of my emotions and sudden anxiety to begin again. "And like I told you already, it isn't as though he has asked me. Perhaps you're blowing this out of proportion. They might all be incorrect about their gossip."

"And if they're NOT? What happens THEN?"

"Then," I started while thinking through my words very carefully, "I shall weigh the pros and cons before giving him a definitive answer."

"You gonna make him some graphs too, while you're at it?" Helga joked while raising a brow, though I returned her playful expression with a huff and a small frown. "Look, as your BEST FRIEND, I STILL don't see why you keep putting off the Tall Hair Boy thing. You like him- he likes you; the whole thing should be a done DEAL by now."

I watched her for a moment as she waited for a response. At lack of one, she sighed and calmed herself before saying with a slight edge, "You have GOT to know I'd rather double-date with Gerald and all that hair of his over Dillon the Wonder-Nerd and his dilapidated ego ANY day."

At my silence, she sighed and leaned in towards me with encouraging, yet tired, words. "C'mon Pheebs, you two have had eyes for each other almost as long as Arnold and I have. Don't you think it's TIME one of you starts ACTING on those feelings? That's what you always used to tell me- that I should just... get OUT there and TELL him if I felt them... shouldn't you do the same thing?"

I shrugged half-heartedly and set my eyes back down to admire the desk once more; my hand reaching up to trace the cracks in its surface which I'd inspected many times before.

"Helga," I began tentatively, my eyes avoiding hers. "Don't you think it to be rather... odd of me to pursue someone like," I lowered my voice to that of a nearly inaudible whisper, "Gerald?"

Nervously, I glanced up through my eyelashes to Helga who was giving me a dumbfounded look. "You're kidding, right? It's the twenty-first CENTURY, Pheebs. I think the two of you shouldn't be worried about how our community of wack-jobs that IS Hillwood High think of your dating each other. That kind of thing has been-"

Knowing exactly where she was headed, I shook my head and stopped Helga mid-sentence. "No, no, no, nothing like that, Helga. I believe our country has come rather far on the issue of racially diverse partnership in the last few decades; the best example being my own parents. It isn't that which I'm afraid of."

I took a deep breath, my heart somehow fluttering like wings inside of my chest. Perhaps you should be more... specific. I told myself before clearing my throat and trying again. "What I suppose I MEANT to say, was, don't you believe it to be strange... the concept of Gerald and I together? I would think our... personalities alone would point towards simple friendship rather than something more."

Helga raised her brow and watched me for a moment as the bell rang; a few stragglers rushing into the classroom in hopes to beat our still absent teacher. "Just because the two of you are kinda different doesn't mean you should go ditching Geraldo for some smarty-show-off-kid who is years younger than you and probably wreaks of baby powder."

"Baby powder?" I questioned quietly, to which Helga responded with a shrug of her shoulders.

"The kid's an infant- he's just a FRESHMAN. I'd think you'd go for...a more RESPECTABLE mature sorts over that egotistical goof."

A smile tugged at my lips as I eyed Helga curiously. "You believe Gerald to be respectable?"

She rolled her eyes and returned a mischievous sort of grin to me. "He's a lot better than doofus Dillon if you ask me. All I'm saying is Gerald is a good guy, and, you didn't hear this from me, alright?" She said suddenly while leaning in and waving a finger for me to follow suit.

"Yes?" I whispered back while my heart continued to thump against my ribs as I leaned in towards her.

"I didn't want to TELL you but since you have this weird notion going on about Dillon you should probably know," She began before clearing her throat and whispering loud enough for me to hear. "A little football-headed birdie MAY or may NOT have told me that Geraldo has plans to ask you to the homecoming dance. Today." She wiggled her brow and leaned back with a proud and smug smile lining her lips while crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

"Helga, you can't be certain just because-"

"I'm dating his best friend?" She finished with a raise of her brow followed by a dramatic eye-roll, "Oh yes I can. Have I ever been WRONG, Pheebs? Ever LIED to you? Hmm?"

I looked up to the ceiling and tapped onto my chin for a moment of considerable thought. "Well, there was the time that you-"

As if anticipating my response, she quickly cut in to clarify, "RECENTLY, Pheebs, alright? Recently, I've been a regular Honest Abe." She said while holding her hand up as if to give a swear to an oath. "I've changed my ways- you know that." At this she smirked and leaned back against her desk again; her smug smile returning to her face. "For the most part that is."

At that moment, our heads shot over to look at the door of the classroom as it flung open to reveal our tardy teacher who was jogging in the direction of his desk at the front of the room.

"Sorry, sorry, everybody," Mr. Darcey said through a shaken laugh as he hurried to prepare himself for class that had already been in session for a few minutes now. "You wouldn't beLIEVE the line at the vending machine, amiright?" He attempted a chuckle although our class was not very receptive to his mediocre joke.

Helga rolled her eyes while slowly turning back around to face Mr. Darcey as he at last began our lesson for the day. However, despite my best efforts, I found that I was unable to keep focus on what it was our teacher was lecturing us about.

Could Gerald really be planning on asking me to the homecoming dance? I wondered as Mr. Darcey turned to begin scrawling something onto the chalkboard ahead of him. If he were indeed to ask me such a thing, why would he take such a long time? Homecoming is already this weekend- a mere two days away at that. Could he believe I had already been asked? I tapped my pencil on the cover of my binder which held various tests and essays I'd received perfect scores on from this semester alone. Then of course, if said rumors of Dillon asking me to the dance were indeed true, the same question could easily be posed to HIS motives as well. I reached my pencil up to rest the eraser on my cheek as my thoughts roamed onward.

And yet, the possibility of Gerald asking me to the homecoming dance still remains. If he WERE to ask, should I say yes? The immediate answer that sprung into my head was 'absolutely' as it was no secret I'd been harboring feelings for Gerald a while now. The secondary answer, the one that came from deep inside my conscience and better judgment, spoke out then in a quiet voice to myself; the words ringing in my head.

After everything I heard today, though I shouldn't have been listening, his words still remain already spoken. His opinions on women seem...vastly different than what I had previously thought. I chewed on my lip for a brief moment; blood flowing to where my teeth gently bit down onto. Perhaps Gerald and I are really NOT as compatible as I'd previously believed. Perhaps... perhaps it would not be wise to engage in a relationship with someone who believes such things.

Mr. Darcey drew a single line under what he'd written onto the board and tapped at it twice; the hallow sound pulling me from my thoughts to direct my attention towards him.

"Today," Mr. Darcey said, "we'll be talking about the Civil War and how it shaped our country to what it is today."

A small groan resounded through the room. "Now, now," Mr. Darcey continued through the grumbles, "That's no way to treat our nation's history. It's an important lesson! Annnnd," he said with a smile while pulling out a remote that turned on the projector hanging from the ceiling. "It begins with a movie!"

A handful of heads turned to look at each other with excited grins. Movies, to most of my classmates, entitled them to premature rest in the form of napping on their desktops. While I normally disagreed with such activities during class periods, when the movie began I couldn't help but allow my thoughts to drift away in the form of a mental-nap. It was a nap away from the Civil War and into a dream-like state full of questions, confusion and mild excitement at the news Helga had just confided to me.

Despite it's surprise to me that Gerald actually had plans to ask me to the dance, I had almost expected as much. Gerald and I shared one class together- English Lit and Writing Comp 1, fondly shortened to 4:1 -during our last period. It was there that Gerald and I, to my belief, had grown rather close in regards to our relationship. I considered him to be a close friend, one whom I could tell most anything. And to my knowledge, at least when he was in my vicinity, he seemed to feel relatively the same. Not to mention, similar to how Dillon had been with me this passed week, Gerald had been even more so; in the flirting department that is. These last few days alone had truly begun to feel natural with Gerald; so much so that I found myself anxious each day for the class we shared to begin.

They were feelings... not similarities, but feelings that I had never encountered before. The feelings I felt were the ones I knew Helga had been referring to before class began, I simply did not wish to admit that- because they somehow frightened me.

The lights of the classroom turned off, the solid darkness and adjusting of my eyes waking me up from my thoughts to focus up on the screen being illuminated by the projector. With the click of a mouse, Mr. Darcey began the video as the class settled in for their ritualistic snooze.

Helga turned around to look at me as the music for the video filled the classroom. "Hey, wake me up when this is over, will ya?" She asked through a yawn before twisting back around and laying her head on the desk.

I sighed, my eyes blindly staring ahead at the images as they flashed on the screen. "Of course, Helga," I whispered while at last falling back into that dream-like state of memories from the last conversation I'd had with Gerald. It was a conversation unlike that of the shallow person I'd witness today speaking with Arnold by his locker. THAT conversation had been someone else, I told myself.

The conversation I overheard today was a one which only left me confused and conflicted at it's very content altogether in correspondence with the one Gerald and I had partaken in just the day before.

Our teacher had instructed us to work on our research papers- the project I'd been waiting for all semester. Most of Mrs. Calciprazz's assignments had much of a creative element to them, which I'll admit isn't my strong suit. Feelings and inner-thoughts were not my cup of tea, however, the research paper proved to provide me with plenty of opportunities to show off my vast knowledge through it's structure and factual content. I thrived on papers like these. Research papers did well with my book smarts I'd been told many-a-time I possessed.

It appeared that I was of the rare variety of 'book smart' people that offered few creative perks with which I could use to 'express myself.' My partner, however, was unlike me in the ways of creativity. My partner was Gerald who, while he didn't enjoy writing short stories or narratives like our teacher often assigned, enjoyed writing things he referred to as, 'sweet riffs' in the form of poetry unlike my friend Helga's.

"If you give it a cool beat, any lame brain poem can be made into a sweet riff," He said while gesturing to his mechanical pencil before tapping away a rhythm on the desk while slamming the heel of his hand down at the appropriate times. The result was a sort of percussion that could easily fit in with any song that played on the radio these days. In time with his pencil-driven music, Gerald began to recite a poem I recognized from my Recent US History class when we'd studied the jazz era- though Gerald offered a refreshing twist.

"Because my mouth is wide with laughter

...Andmythroat is deep with soooong

You, you do not think I suffer after

I've held, my pain, so long." He finished with a finalized tap of the top of his pencil and looked over to me with a smile.

"Minstrel Man, by Langston Hughes," I described with a returned smile. "A very good poem."

"You're telling me. They don't WRITE stuff like that anymore. Rhymes like that... they make you FEEL something, ya know?" He gushed while looking down at the tip of his pencil where he lightly tapped on the desk. "I remember when I first heard that poem, in eighth grade? Mm mm MM, it made me THINK, Pheebs- really think about everything my ancestors had been through."

He shook his head while deep in thought for a moment, though a smile burst onto his lips as he looked up and over at me again. "I'm no poetry nut like Pataki or anything, but I feel for a good rhyme or two. Especially when you add in a beat or two."

I nodded my head, my eyes returning to that of the school's laptop screen we were using while in class today. I clicked away at the keyboard typing a few words to add onto our research paper, though paused for a moment to drop my hands from the computer and onto my lap. "Gerald?"

"Yeah Pheebs?" He asked while twisting in his desk to face me completely from where he sat at the desk adjacent to my own.

"Do you ever feel, that at times... you don't fit in?" I pursed my lips realizing I hadn't worded my thoughts properly. I opened my mouth and held it as such waiting for words to at last pass from my lips. "Or rather, that you do not fit in with what society wishes you would be?"

He raised a brow at me, a look usually worn by Helga though donning Gerald's face today as he watched me. "YOU don't think you fit IN?" He repeated.

I watched him for a moment, my eyes holding on his before at last breaking away to slowly nod my head as I looked down to my lap. "At times."

"Phoebe, you're the smartest person I know- you can't HONESTLY think you don't fit in."

"I try to," I said boldly while still avoiding Gerald's eyes. "I try to be like the other girls of my peers; Rhonda, Nadine, even Sheena, but I never quite seem to understand them... not like they understand each other. I'm afraid... I'm not like the rest of them."

"And who says you SHOULD be? Man, if I was a girl, which I don't WANT to be but if I WAS, I sure as heck wouldn't wanna be one of them."

Through my eyelashes, I looked up sheepishly to him where he remained seated before me from the open side of his desk. "You wouldn't?"

"No WAY, senorita." He said smoothly- a faint blush rising to my cheeks. "Those girls are CRAZY, man, haven't you figured that out by now?" He waited for my response- a small nod and tiny chuckle -which only encouraged him to continue. "It's like that poem, Pheebs, the Minstrel Man. My man Langston knew what was up."

He resumed the tapping of his pencil on the desk like he had minutes ago, the rest of the poem effortlessly coming from his mouth as if he'd done it thousands of times prior.

"Because my mouth is wide with laughter

You do not hear my cryyy?

Because my feet are gay with dancing

you do, not know, I die."

"Mr. Johanssen, don't make me take that pencil away from you again!" Our teacher called to us from where she sat at her desk observing our class as we wrote.

Gerald smiled in her direction and lifted up the pencil in the air while giving her a slight nod. "We're cool, Mrs. C- No more pencil, alright?"

Mrs. Calciprazz offered a stern look before returning her gaze to her own computer; Gerald and I once alone to our research papers and current conversation.

"Phoebe," Gerald began again, my attention once again on him instead of my computer where it should have been. "Those girls just wear masks to fit in with one another. We've ALL got masks on, ya know?"

"And this mask- you wear one as well?" I asked, in reference to the hypothetical one he was referring to.

Gerald nodded his head with a sad smile lining his lips. "Sometimes. If I have to. But that doesn't change who I AM... ya know?"

"And just who is that, prey-tell?"

Gerald stiffened up into a proud stance and popped the collar of his shirt, though it had no tails to pop. "A supah-fly ladies man." He wiggled his brow in my direction as I shook my head.

"I would sure hope you are more than that, Gerald. You do not seem like the type to go after women who wear masks." I returned my hands up to the keyboard of the laptop, though I typed nothing as Gerald responded in a cool and soft voice that made my hairs stand on end.

"Oh I don't, baby. I only go for the BEST."

He'd winked at me, a wink which I'd pretended not to see. Soon after, the bell had rung though we'd hardly made a dent in our paper. It appeared that we would have to put in some extra time on the assignment- something I'd be lying if I claimed didn't excite me in even the slightest.

I often craved more time with Gerald, though I would never admit it to anyone other than Helga. Even then, my feelings usually stayed deep within me where they were safe to roam. Helga was so motivated about 'feelings' yet she didn't understand that they were not as easy to maneuver in my eyes as they were in hers.

For myself, it was easier for such illogical things as 'feelings' to be trapped where they couldn't harm the natural order of things. Feelings were not of science- they were not tangible and thus, they could not be controlled.

I'd learned, through friends and others before me, that feelings had a way with messing up one's life- something I had no intentions of allowing to happen what with college in my near future which I'd been planning for my entire life.

High school was for learning and knowledge; to prepare for college and ultimately careers that we would have the rest of our lives. High school was not meant for such trivial things as dating, relationships and... FEELINGS that could hinder ones potential. Helga may be alright with letting those feelings out to mingle with another's, though I doubted Arnold would ever break Helga's heart. They appeared to be true soul mates (though I did not truly believe in such things) in a way I had never expected. Much to my own chagrin, I at times even... ENVIED their relationship and the organic quality it had. Helga, my very best friend, had found happiness in another who matched her completely. So indeed, what were the chances of myself ALSO finding a match so quickly and in the same place?

It didn't take a star pupil of a probability and statistics class (even though I had been when I'd taken the class last year) to figure out the mathematics behind such a question- the odds were against it and thus, so was I.

Yet the feelings accompanying the thought of Gerald wishing to take me to a dance told me that perhaps I wasn't as adamantly against such an idea after all.

The feelings I was so afraid of told me that maybe it was in fact time for me to take a risk and allow my them out. A simple outing with Gerald wouldn't ruin all of my educational progress towards my collegiate future, would it? Perhaps even a small relationship wouldn't ruin it either- if the outing itself were to go well that is.

As I walked the hallways by myself after History class, I found myself indulging in this thought with excitement. The hope that Helga's secret was true and by the end of the day I'd have a date to our homecoming dance pulsed through my veins as I made my way to my penultimate class of the day.

Helga may in fact, be right, I thought to myself as I approached the intersection between the 600, 400 and 100 wings across from the lobby of our school where a group of my classmates were standing. The similarities I have with Dillon are nothing in comparison to my feelings for Gerald... though LOGICAL, going with Dillon- if he DID choose to ask me -would be a mistake if Gerald has had plans to ask me all along.

My eyes caught on Rhonda who was standing at the center of the students in the lobby; her obviously fake laughter filling the foyer. She is wearing a mask- one with which I needn't wear. Gerald himself said he would not 'go' for someone like that. He indeed was NOT shallow, not when he'd said all of the things he'd told me yesterday. Maybe the conversation this morning had simply been that- his mask. After all, he'd clearly said-

My thoughts were dashed as the sound of Gerald's rumbling laughter amid the crowd Rhonda was standing in; a few people mingling away to give me a clear view of what was transpiring in their group.

Silently, I watched from where I now stood frozen, their conversation loud enough to drift over in my direction.

"Oh but Gerald," Rhonda cooed with a hand on her hip while the other reached up to run her fingers through her hair. "The way you... bounce that ball around the court is simply diVINE."

Gerald smirked at this while crossing his arms. "You mean- dribbling?"

She snapped her fingers as if she'd only now realized such a word existed for the action she was describing. However, Rhonda was putting on a show- I was well aware, as I'm sure Gerald was too, that Rhonda knew what basketball was and how it was played. Many times growing up she would attend the games we played, so it was not as if she was unfamiliar with the rules and terms.

"Look, Rhonda," Gerald said after a moment and then dropping his hand to his side, "As fun as this has been, I have GOT to get to my next class. And you're just a LITTLE distracting."

I raised my own brow in silent confusion as Rhonda giggled and walked towards Gerald with a sultry look in her perfectly-made-up eyes. "Distracting? I'm curious, are you talking about now or in gym this morning?"

This took Gerald aback, though he didn't falter until Rhonda's spell. "Who says I was looking at YOU, Lloyd?"

Rhonda shook her head and smiled a devilish grin, "It seems only natural, don't you think?"

"Think WHAT, man? The clock is ticking by and I am GONNA be late."

Rhonda took a few more steps closer to Gerald who's eyes seemed to grow larger with each step she took to close the gap between them. In an instant, her reached her arms up to wrap them around Gerald's neck and lean into him; her eyes batting as she looked at him.

Despite my best efforts, my blood began to boil underneath my skin. I stared on in bated breath as I awaited the next words from Rhonda's painted lips. "That we go to the dance together, of course!"

Gerald's eyes widened even further as he stared at her; his gaze leaving her eyes to look her over which further increased the temperature of my blood as it raced through my veins. "You and me? The homecoming dance? Really." He said with a raised brow as his eyes returned to hers.

Rhonda nodded her head and reached up to trace imaginary lines on his cheek with her index finger. "Think about it- I'M the most popular girl in school and shouldn't the most popular girl go to the dance with the most popular boy?"

He appeared to think this over for a moment which was more than enough for me to spin around and immediately travel in the opposite direction. With tears welling in my eyes, I maneuvered my way through the crowd with quiet "excuse me" and "pardon me"s as I weaved through the herds of high schoolers.

How could Gerald consider such a request? I thought to myself as feelings of hurt and disappointment flooded my system. How could I have been so foolish as to think Gerald desired someone other than a perfectly contoured and scantily clad young woman such as Rhonda? I shook my head as I continued to scurry through the hallway in an attempt to go the roundabout way to my next class.

What Rhonda suggested is perhaps true- that it only makes logical sense for the two of them to attend the dance together. Who am I to believe I could change such class-systems and hierarchy? Why SHOULD the most popular boy in school go with the smartest girl? The- how did Helga put it the other day- Queen of the Nerds?

Her nickname which I had originally laughed at suddenly stabbed me in my abdomen; the pain blinding me to where I was walking. Within moments, my body crashed into another's- the both of us falling to the floor of the hallway as my papers and books I'd been clutching flew in every direction.

"Oh my goodness!" I exclaimed as I tried to collect my things as fast as possible. "I apologize- I wasn't looking where I was going, or rather-"

"It's alright, Phoebe," the familiar voice said while reaching out to hand me one of my textbooks. "Fancy running into you here when I was just searching for you myself."

I glanced up to Dillon and took my book from his hands. "You were looking for me?" I asked while gathering the last of my papers and pushing myself up to stand before him.

"Indeed, I was." He responded with a small smile and I turned around to look back at where I'd came.

Turning back around to face him, I swallowed, took a breath, and then proceeded. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Well you see, I was wondering if you would accompany me to the homecoming dance this weekend." He said very bluntly without a hint of nervousness lacing his voice.

"You wish to take me to the homecoming dance?" I repeated as if the words would explain themselves better when spoken through my lips.

"I believe we would have an excellent time. The two of us appear to have a lot in common which would provide plenty of conversation topics and other such things to bond over while we are there." The words effortlessly left his mouth as if his thoughts were far ahead of his lips in the way of expressing himself.

I stared at him for a while as the warning bell rang through the hallways alarming us to the 5 minutes remaining before class began. Is this what I am meant to do? Follow the stereotypes and indeed go with the smartest boy in school as I am expected to do? Rhonda's words to Gerald replayed in my head; a bitter taste accompanying them in my mouth.

With a purse of my lips, I blinked a few times before at last nodding my head and saying in a squelched voice, "Sure, Dillon. I would be... honored to go with you to the dance this weekend."

A smile tug at his lips though he only nodded before reaching his arm out with an expectant look in his eyes. "Would you like me to walk with you to your next class? We can discuss the pop quiz we both acquired perfect grades on this morning."

I offered a small smile as we began to walk to my next class, though my mind was far away from Dillon's constant talk of molecules and elements and other such things I was not interested in at this very moment. My thoughts were still focused on Gerald and the OTHER conversation I'd over heard which I was not meant to hear, yet again.

All the while, as Dillon and I walked, I couldn't help but wonder just how I would tell Gerald of my date to the dance and ultimately, if it would even matter to him once he knew.

After all, I was just the smartest girl in school pining after the most popular boy- a notion that appeared to be truly foolish indeed.

Okay, so maybe this first chapter was in Phoebe's POV, but i promise Gerald is coming up :D

What do you guys think so far? I would love to know!

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