Author Notes: And another chapter underway! Thank you to all reviewers so far. In answer to a few questions: Hawaiin Ginger – I totally was not intending to include much of the couples in my story, but I am kinda diggin' my Jay and Theresa, so there probably will be a bit of fluff for those two ahead. Probably no AXA though for anyone into that pairing, because while they do fit together, I'm not a big fan of their relationship, so I won't be writing them any scenes together. Unless they're being jerks to Neil. ;) QK – the name you're looking for is Ameinias, provided you're thinking of the same Narcissus tale as I am. Let me know if that was the one you were thinking of, I'm curious. Now there were a few other questions, but I'm not at liberty to discuss those just yet! So you'll just have to read on and wait patiently for answers. ;)

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Sunlight reflecting from every angle in the heavily mirrored room, Neil awoke to a pounding headache. Opening bleary eyes he tilted his head to the right, checking his reflection in the mirrored wall beside his bed. "Oh dear, you look horrible…" Shutting his eyes again he brought his left hand up to his head, pressing his fingers over his eyes as though attempting to drown out the light. He was tired, a feeling that was quite unusual for him as he slept soundly most nights.

Rolling over onto his side, Neil dropped both feet over the side of the bed to the floor, his toes the only part to touch the carpet. One hand was still pressed to his head as the other held his mirror. After sitting up for a moment and assessing whether his headache would prevent him from walking properly, he finally stood up. He arched his back and stretched his neck, peeling his fingers away from his eyes to open them and peer around the room. He walked over to the door, his hand resting on the cool metal doorknob for a moment before twisting it open.

He left his room and emerged into the hall, silently padding down the hallway to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of spring water, holding the bottle under one arm as he twisted off the cap. He still held his mirror in the other hand. He brought the bottle up to his mouth, draining one third of the contents before stopping. He felt slightly better and chanced a glance into his mirror, noting with pleasure that he looked improved from only minutes before. Sipping more of the water he then sat at the kitchen table, his mirror held out in front of him as he laid down the bottle and began combing through his hair with his fingers. He was so engrossed in his task that he didn't hear the sound of soft footsteps joining him in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Neil." Theresa hadn't slept too well either that night, her head slightly aching this morning. She had decided, however, that she was going to make a concerted effort to be nicer to Neil, starting this morning.

"Morning." Now that he was done combing through his hair, Neil was arranging his fringy bangs over his eyes.

"Did you sleep well last night?" As she went to the fridge, Theresa tried to make polite conversation, though she found herself at a loss for something to say. She wanted to ask Neil about his friend, but she felt it would simply be too strange.

"Not at all. Mind tossing me an apple?" Neil didn't look up from the mirror as he made his request, his eyes straying from himself only when he took a sip from his water bottle.

Dropping down and hiding her face behind the fridge door, Theresa had to fight off a wave of annoyance at Neil's request. It was so like him, to just demand something without even so much as a simple please! She had to remind herself of her plan to be nice to the blond, so instead of replying as usual and telling him to get his own food, Theresa took an apple from the fridge, along with an orange for herself, and sat down at the table and handed it to Neil.

Still fixing his hair, Neil wrinkled his nose as Theresa handed him the piece of fruit. "The least you could do is wash it, you know! There could be tons of germs on that thing, are you trying to make me sick?" Neil didn't take the offered fruit.

Theresa stared at him in shock, shaking her head slightly. However, she suddenly remembered Jay's comments from the night before, about Neil acting strange. So her aggravation was suddenly washed underneath a wave of relief. This was typical, day-to-day behaviour for Neil and it made her smile. So relieved was she that Theresa actually went to the sink and washed the apple, towelling it dry before handing it to him.

Neil finally looked away from his mirror at the apple, his eyes then travelling up to meet Theresa's. "I suppose it would be asking too much if you could cut it up for me?" Neil flashed a smile at Theresa, not expecting her to actually do it.

Though the request also made her relieved that apparently Neil was back to being Neil again, this request was a bit much. She grinned and laid the apple before him on the table. "Yes, Neil, that would be asking too much." Pulling out a napkin and laying it before her, Theresa started to peel her orange, noting with surprise that Neil picked up his apple and bit into it. She stopped what she was doing and fixed him with a usual glare. "I thought you wanted it cut."

Neil looked back at her and grinned. "I just wanted to see if you'd actually do it. I'm too lazy to bother getting a knife, so I'll just eat it normally." Then he returned his attention to his mirror, alternating between pursing his lips at himself and eating apple.

Theresa shook her head and returned to the orange, annoyed at Neil, but still glad for the usual feelings. It was a sense of normalcy that had been thrown off the day before. As the two sat eating their fruit in silence, they were soon joined by Jay. He looked pointedly at Theresa, who gave him a look as if to say that things seemed to be back to normal this morning. Though he trusted Theresa's judgement, Jay wanted to check it out for himself. "Hey Neil, got any plans for the day?" Jay stood by the table, looking down at Neil.

The blond didn't look up at Jay, as he was still occupied with making his reflection look perfect. "Yeah actually I do." He didn't elaborate at first, which caused Theresa and Jay to glance at each other, before Jay prompted him on what he was doing. "Oh, I'm meeting my new friend and we're going to the beach. I had meant to go tanning yesterday, but I got sidetracked."

"So, who is this guy, Neil? Do we get to meet him?" Jay couldn't help but feel like Neil's father, as though he were questioning him before going out on a date with someone new. He hadn't meant to sound so protective and he hoped Neil wouldn't pick up on it.

Luckily for Jay, Neil was still too distracted to pay full attention to Jay. "Oh sure you can meet him!" Finally Neil looked up, as though he were excited at the notion of introducing his friends to his new acquaintance. "His name is Amery, he'll be dropping by soon. He'll be starting at school with us on Monday." Neil finished his apple, leaving the core on a napkin on the table and picking up his water bottle and draining it.

"That's great." Jay was pleased. He'd been curious about this new friend of Neil's yesterday, and he was also happy to note that as Theresa had suggested, Neil seemed to be back to normal. Jay went to the fridge, opening it and taking out a carton of eggs. "Anyone else want some eggs?"

"Sure thing; make me two sunny side up, and make sure they're properly cooked, I like the yolk runny, and no spices in it, Jay!" Neil immediately made his request, looking thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "Are you going to make some bacon too? I'd like some bacon and maybe a glass of orange juice while you're at it."

Jay looked at Theresa, who wore a smug expression on her face. From the way Neil was acting now, it almost made Jay wonder if he hadn't just imagined the previous night's actions. Instead of questioning, he took the bacon out of the freezer and asked Theresa if she'd also like some. Then he set about cooking breakfast, still at it as Herry emerged and placed his order. With the four teens in the kitchen, conversation was now running smoothly.

Two hours later, Neil was looking himself over one final time before preparing to leave the house. Amery was due to arrive at any moment now and he wanted to look his best. For the first time now he wondered what Amery would think of the other six, pausing for a moment to ponder this new question. He imagined that he would probably like Theresa, as long as she kept her haughty attitude under check. Jay would probably be fine as well, even if he didn't dress as snazzy as Neil did. Amery probably wouldn't know what to do with Herry, and Archie and Atlanta would probably only offend him in some way with their comments. Unless Atlanta was in a friendly mood this morning, as she was every now and then. Archie was always a little crotchety though, no matter what time of the day it was. With any luck, uber geek Odie would probably hide out in the basement until after they'd left. He liked Odie well enough, but he wasn't sure he wanted Amery to meet him right away.

Neil heard the doorbell ring and knew it was his friend, so he took another moment to assess himself. Jay would probably get the door and he didn't want to give the impression that he'd been sitting around, waiting for the other boy. Amery could wait for him.

Just as Neil figured, Jay tried his best to walk calmly to the door, curious for a glimpse of Neil's friend. A smile on his lips he opened the door, coming face to face with a lovely boy with curly brown hair and warm brown eyes. Amery looked at him curiously for a moment before Jay greeted him. "Hi, you must be Amery, Neil's friend?" The boy in question nodded and Jay ushered him into the house. "Neil's still getting ready, so why don't you come and sit down for a minute?" Still unable to shake the feeling of acting like a father, Jay pointed toward the living room.

Amery smiled politely and walked into the room, his eyes flitting around the room quickly, as though he wanted to memorize where everything was situated. His gaze flickered over Theresa, who smiled and waved at him, offering a greeting. Amery responded and sat down on the couch, his eyes still flickering around the room as Jay sat down next to Theresa on the other couch. Shutting his eyes and shaking his head, Jay tried not to act as uncomfortable as he felt.

Luckily for him Theresa appeared to be as comfortable as ever, her eyes happily taking in Amery. Trust Neil to pick out the pretty ones, she thought as she looked him over. She was a little curious about the friendship, though. Neil liked to be the centre of attention, and this boy was quite beautiful in his own right. So why didn't Neil see him as competition? "So, Neil said you're starting at the high school on Monday. Are you looking forward to it? It's not too bad of a school."

Amery took a moment before replying, as though he were finishing his survey of the room before returning his attention to Theresa. "Oh yes, I hope I'll be lucky enough to have Neil in some of my classes. I won't find out until tomorrow, though. They wouldn't give me a schedule any earlier."

Theresa smiled, "yeah, well good luck with that. I have a few classes with Neil myself, so hopefully I'll see you there on Monday." Footsteps could be heard in the hall. They were too light to be Herry, too heavy to be Odie, too slow to be Atlanta, and too swift to be Archie. Theresa was pleased as she watched Neil walk into the room, her ability to tell her team mates apart by footfall still holding. When she looked back at Amery after seeing Neil, it suddenly became obvious to her why Neil didn't consider Amery to be competition.

It became suddenly, stiflingly obvious that Amery adored Neil. His eyes lit up at the sight of the blond, standing up from the couch and smiling at his new friend. For his part, Neil didn't appear to notice the affection in Amery's gaze as anything more than the usual fawning over him that near everyone who met him did. "Neil! I wasn't early, was I?" Amery's eyes were glued to Neil as the blond entered the room and stood by the doorway, casually leaning back against the wall.

"Oh no, you were right on time. I see you met Jay and Theresa, that's nice." Neil glanced at his friends, curious to see their expressions. He happily noted that Theresa seemed especially taken by Amery. Jay also looked a little surprised, as he'd also had the same initial thoughts as Theresa about why Neil would pick someone so good looking to hang out with.

"They were pleasant. Are you ready to go?" Amery seemed eager to leave, as though he'd only been politely putting up with Jay and Theresa until Neil arrived.

"Sure, let me grab my bag and we'll be off." Neil retrieved his bag from the floor by the front hall closet as the other three followed him out to the door.

Amery swiftly walked up to Neil and put a hand on Neil's shoulder bag. "Let me carry that, Neil." Without being too forceful, Amery took the bag from Neil and slung it over his own shoulder, before slipping on his shoes.

Neil just grinned as Amery took the bag, still clueless about Amery's show of affection. He glanced at Jay and Theresa, a smug look on his face. "Well we're off then, I'll see you guys later." He then led Amery out of the house, and in just enough time.

Theresa leapt forward to shut the door, barely closing it before a laugh escaped her mouth. She turned back to Jay; hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter. "Jay, do you think Neil has any idea?"

A little more shocked than amused, Jay stared at the door even after it was shut, looking completely stupefied. He finally met Theresa's gaze and shook his head. "No way. He's so used to people being attracted to him; he probably doesn't realize that Amery seems to see him in a different light. Otherwise he would have mentioned it, wouldn't he?" As Jay continued to think about it, he started to find the humour that was gripping Theresa.

"The way his eyes just lit up the second Neil walked in the room; that was priceless." Theresa remained leaning against the wall, her arms crossed. She had been expecting Neil and Amery to be the picture perfect replica of arrogant young men, battling it out with each other for domination. Instead, Amery was following Neil around like a puppy, carrying his things for him. "Jay, do you think we should warn him? Before school? Then again, that could be really amusing."

Jay grinned, following Theresa's line of thought. "I imagine the girls would probably appreciate that so Neil doesn't give off the wrong impression." Suddenly the expression on Jay's face changed to one of a more serious nature. "Unless, maybe Neil does realize?"

Theresa gave Jay's comment a moment's contemplation before shaking her head. "No, I can't see it. Neil might be a little girly, but he definitely appreciates girls. At least I'm fairly positive." She grinned at the end, suddenly finding the situation even funnier. What if Neil actually was gay and he did realize that Amery wanted him as more than just a friend?

"Maybe we should just stop thinking too much about it. I mean, the guy did just move here, after all. Maybe he just wants to make sure Neil will still be his friend on Monday? Maybe he's not comfortable in groups and that's why he was so happy to see Neil?" Jay was beginning to feel a little guilty for automatically jumping to conclusions about Neil and his new friend.

Theresa only grinned at him, walking over to his side and slinging an arm around his shoulders. "If it makes you feel any better, Jay, let's keep our assumptions to ourselves. Maybe things will change and we'll see that we're wrong. Buy if we are right, that's going to make for some very upset girls at school." Theresa couldn't help but laugh again at the thought. It would be hard to keep her thoughts to herself since they were so unexpected, but she would do her best. Especially since it seemed to be bothering Jay.

"Thanks, Theresa. I just don't want the others to hear about this, we should let them draw their own conclusions. We'll just say that we met Amery and that he was pleasant. Okay?" Even though Jay was curious, he didn't want to discuss Neil's potential love life any further.

"Okay. Now promise me you're not going to spend all day brooding over feeling bad that you jumped to conclusions?" She looked at Jay a little sternly, knowing from experience that that was likely Jay's planned course of action for the day. "Maybe we should do something to take your mind off of it." Jay seemed to perk up at that idea, knowing that he would be better off spending the day occupied so he wouldn't think about Amery. "How about we go to the beach?" Theresa couldn't resist one final comment, laughing as Jay scowled at her. They finally settled on going to the mall to catch a movie, heading off in Theresa's car.

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Author Notes: Well, that certainly went well, no? ;) After only a day and night spent contemplating Neil, Amery has indeed fallen helplessly in love with him. But will it be returned? And just what will the girls of New Olympia High think of these two gorgeous boys going everywhere together? We'll most likely see in the next chapter.