When Metis walked into the lunchroom, bruised and cut, Jay was the first one to say anything about it, but Charles was the first one to move. Springing like a cobra, he looked at Metis' wounds, and anyone could feel the venom he was about to spit at whoever caused them. Had Metis lied then and said that Josh had hurt him, Jay knew that Charles would see to it that he was torn apart.

That's what friends do.

Mostly, Jay was frightened. He had never seen Charles like that before, and it was a terrifying thing – all gritted teeth and narrowed eyes, he looked like someone who found a good reason to become a criminal. Once Jay got over that shock, however, he started to notice another feeling, weaker than the fear, but far more insidious.

He got up and snuck away, leaving Charles and Metis to talk about biology projects, or whatever best friends passed the time with. As silly as it seemed to Jay, he needed to investigate. He knew something felt weird – he just didn't know what. As he was half-outside the cafeteria door, Odette ran up behind him and threw a friendly arm over his shoulder.

"Where you off to, cat?" She smiled. "What better place to spend your free time than the lunch room?"

"What?" Jay blinked, startled. "Oh. Hi, Odette. Yeah, I just had to, um," he paused, looking for words, eyes shifting from floor to ceiling, "I had to go to the bathroom. So, if you'll just-"

"Oh, no you don't." She grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the cafeteria. "You're no shuckster, honey. Just leave that to the professionals." She used his arm as a leash and yanked him back to her table, where Samuel, Erik and Sarah sat, bemused.

"You've captured another one, I see." Erik smiled.

"We've got more important things to worry about," Odette chided. "Jay here tried to split, and then he lied to me!" She turned to Jay, suddenly sympathetic. "Come on, now. What's buzzin', cousin?"

Jay laughed as he deciphered her words. Sure, Odette was weird, but at least she could make him feel better, even if it was by doing nothing at all.

"It's nothing, really." He glanced around to find eight disbelieving eyes that all begged to differ, and decided to change his tune; "I just had to think about something."

Sarah snorted. "I don't believe that, and I wasn't even there."

"Really," Jay said, exasperated, "I had to figure something out."

Sam pulled his head up from its cradle in his arms and asked, "Maybe we could help?"

Looking around, Jay could see he was outnumbered and out-willed. Sure, he could lie to one of them, but to all three? He knew he couldn't stand long against their incessant questioning. Reluctantly, he said, "I don't know. Metis walked in all bruised before, and Charles jumped up, ready to kill someone. We were sitting around and talking afterwards, and," He trailed off lamely, "I don't know. I just feel weird."

"Yeah, I cast an eyeball over there, before. Charlie was looking real frosted." Odette cocked her head to one side. "What's that got to do with you, though?"

"That's the part I don't get." Jay sighed, "I feel like-"

Erik quirked an eyebrow. Ever insightful, he asked, "Do you think you might be jealous?"

There was silence as everyone looked to Jay, who was, in turn, staring incredulously at Erik. He glanced quickly back to where Charles and Metis were sitting, and then burst into laughter. "What? You think I'm jealous of Metis? Why would I be jealous?"

No one else so much as smiled. "Maybe because you want Charles to care that much about you," Erik added. "We all know you like him."

Suddenly, Jay stopped laughing as he blushed bright red. "No, I don't-"

"Don't try to hide it," Sarah said. "I see the way you look at him, peeking from across the cafeteria."

"Not to mention the way you twirl your hair when he walks past your seat in biology," Sam added.

Odette giggled, "And the way you're blushing now. 'Fess up, Jay."

He shook his head furiously, not caring who his hair whipped. "No. I'm not jealous of Metis."

"Ah," Erik smiled, "So you admit you like Charles, then."

"What? I-" Yet again, Jay was hopelessly outmatched. He realized that the best way to keep his dignity was to admit the truth, and so he did, albeit begrudgingly. "Fine," he whispered, "I do like Charles. But I'm not jealous of Metis!"

"Are you sure about that?" Erik asked, and was met with silence as Jay did some soul-searching.

Sure, Jay liked Charles; he came to terms with that back in ninth grade. But could he be jealous of Metis, one of his closest friends? He just didn't see it. Maybe he wished he were a little closer to Charles, and maybe he wished they could have a conversation about something other than biology without every other word being an insult. Maybe Jay did wish he were friendly enough with Charles to feel comfortable about asking him on a date, and maybe he did wish that Charles cared when he got bruised, too. Maybe he wished that he could be Charles' best friend, but that did not mean-

"Dammit!" Jay slumped forward across the table and covered his head with his arms in a vain attempt to block out the truth.

"So you are jealous." Sarah proclaimed. "Nice call, Erik. The question now is," She paused a moment for dramatic effect. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know," Jay said, muffled, "Nothing?"

"What's laying low going to do for you? Listen, now," Odette smiled, "Pick your head up, and let's come up with a plan to get Charlie gone for you."

Jay uncovered his head and looked at Odette, slightly confused. Before he could figure out exactly what she had said, Sarah jumped in, saying, "Okay! What's a good way to get closer to someone?"

"Well," Jay sighed, "We are working on a project together."

"Half your job's done for you, then. Just chat him up," Sarah smiled, excited.

"Before you know it, you two'll be tighter than peas in a clichéd pod," Odette added.

Jay looked at them blankly. "Are we talking about the same Charles? He hates me."

"Ah, so you're a masochist," Erik said, amused. "Well, that will be a little tougher, but I think we can manage. We just need a plan to prove he's interested."

"I know!" Sam said. "Ask him for lunch money!"

"Lunch money?" Jay asked, skeptical.

"Yeah, just pretend you forgot it at home, or something." Sam felt that his plan was brilliant, and the sparkle in his eyes showed it. "Start searching through your pockets when you get near his table tomorrow, before Metis shows up. Then, curse like you did just now."

"He'll look up, see you're in need of assistance, and then he'll confess his undying love for you!" Sarah finished.

"Or, maybe he'll just lend you some money," Sam added, with slightly less enthusiasm than Sarah.

"You don't seriously think that's going to work, do you?"

"Isn't it at least worth a shot, Jay?" Erik prodded. "It's not like you have anything to lose."

"Nothing except my dignity," Jay mumbled under his breath. Of course, it didn't really matter how he felt about the new scheme; he was going to go through with it, whether he liked it or not. When he got home from school later that day, Jay picked up the phone and dialed Charles' number. If he was going to hope to get anywhere tomorrow, he knew he had some work to do.

Under the guise of biology, Jay and Charles talked about everything and nothing for hours, until the batteries on their phones died.