vampgirl8: Here's the next chappie that went missing. THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME THIS FAR!

Day Four-Monday, January 8, 2008

I nibbled my lip, poking my locker door absently. Why I chose the locker to poke is beyond me, but at this moment, I didn't really care about the reasons behind the choice.

As to why I was poking it in the first place, now that I can answer.

Zer-freakin'-o. Yes, I blame him.

Sighing, I pressed my forehead to the locker door, rubbing my temples absently with the hand that wasn't poking the locker. Behind me, the sounds of my fellow peers greeting each other after the weekend was heard, and the distinctive clamor of slamming lockers and stomping feet echoed. Suddenly, a voice behind me spoke.

"Hey Morgan! Watcha…doin…?" The voice trailed off for a moment before continuing. "Umm…why are you poking a locker?"

Pulling my head away from the metal, I looked over to find Brandi observing me, brow raised in silent question.

I sighed, but answered. "I'm thinking."

"About what?"

I shrugged. "Lots of things. Sarcastic males, death by leaning tower of Twinkies, demonic squirrels…"

I stopped when I noticed that Brandi's expression had become confused. "Huh?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm sure it is," she agreed, "but, like it or not, I will hear it. Or do I have to get Samantha and Ariel to come over here and help me with convincing you?"

I narrowed my eyes. "That is cruel." She just gave me a bored look. I furrowed my eyebrows. "You're surprisingly non-hyper today."

"Meh," she grunted, "I haven't had any sweets yet."

Oh, well that explained it.

The bell rang then, and I let out a long puff of breath before saying bye to Brandi, promising an explanation at lunch. (She threatened to steal Samantha's spork and poke me to death with it if I didn't agree.)

When I sat down at my table in Homeroom, which was Mr. Beers' class, I sank my head down on my folded arms, still lost in my thoughts.

I wasn't even that close to him, I told myself, so why do I find myself actually missing him?

Not ten seconds after this thought came to mind, I heard a chair scrape next to me-a spot that is usually empty-and a seemingly bored voice say, "So, we meet again."

My head shot up so fast I almost gave myself whiplash.

There, sitting right next to me, was Zero.

My mouth gaped, opening and closing as I struggled to voice my surprise.

"Either you're shocked by my presence, or you're practicing to become a professional goldfish. I'd like to assume that it isn't the latter?"

Swallowing my shock, I raised an accusing finger at him. "You!"

He nodded. "Me."

"What are you doing here?" He smirked, eyes glistening mischievously as he rested his head on his palm, though his expression remained bored. "Aww, that hurts. You act as though you don't want me to be here."

I lowered my gaze to the table, blushing for some odd, inconceivable reason. "It's not that I don't want you here…"

"Then what is it?"

My flush became brighter, I know it did, because I could feel it…and I had no idea as to why it would. All I know is that I was slightly…nervous?…as I answered his question. "It's just that, well, I kind of…m-missed you.

Dear Lord! Did I just stutter?

"Really?" I looked up, meeting his suddenly intense gaze. "Why do you think that is?"

As I stared into those eyes, whose color I still had no name for, I found myself unable to not answer. "I don't know."

We were both quiet for a moment, then I turned away, absently picking up my book that I'd brought to read for pleasure. Just as I'd found my page, I heard a small mumble from next to me, so quiet, I almost thought it hadn't been real. "I missed you too."

I swiveled around quickly to look at Zero, but he was facing away, carefully not making eye contact. But, oddly enough, I thought I saw the slightest hint of pink on the part of his cheek I could see.

And, shockingly, I found that I like that.

"What the hell is the answer to number three?"

"How am I supposed to know? I'm doing the last half-it's your job to do the first."

"I know, but help me with this one dammit!"

Sighing loudly, I turned in my seat to the moron sitting next to me. By now, we were halfway through Homeroom (Which is science, for me.) and Zero and I had been partnered up at the table to work on some assigned problems from the book.

"Which one is it?" I asked irritably. "Three, right?"

He nodded, and I looked at the problem in my own book. After reading it, I looked up at him silently. "Zero?"

"Yes?" he replied innocently.

"This is a vocabulary question."

"I know."

I stared at him for another few seconds, then reached over and grabbed the book I'd been reading earlier. "You know exactly what you're doing, don't you? You're just doing this to annoy me, aren't you?"

Zero smirked. "Maybe."

"Hmm." I weighed the book in my palm for a moment, before twisting my hand so my grip now rested at the bottom as I brought it hard upside the back of Zero's head.

"Ouch!" He clutched the back of his head. "What was that for?"

I set the book down on the table calmly. "For annoying me."

"I'll say again what I said yesterday-you're crazy."

"I admit to having some random bouts of insanity, yes, though admittedly not as many as some of my friends. I believe I told you this, maybe not in so many words, yesterday."

Zero shook his head. "If you're like this, you're friends must be lunatics."

"Well, I did hear once that Ariel was planning to make a private room at a psyche ward for herself and Stephanie," I admitted. "They said something about giving it a Twilight theme…with Edward Cullen, and such."

Zero raised a brow. "I've heard of that book. "Don't the vampires in there sparkle? Are they gay, or something?"

I glared at him. "Do not make fun of Twilight in my presence, I happen to be a big fan. And le tme tell you, if you do so in front of Ariel or Stephanie, they will not hesitate to slap you." I paused. "And don't dis the gays, either."

He chuckled, "I'll have to be on guard, then."

I glanced at the time on the clock. "Get to work, class will be over soon."

He rolled his eyes. "I should have left you to the demon squirrel."

"Funny, I was thinking almost the exact same thing."

"Almost?"

"Yep, but it'd be you instead...and I'd watch while laughing."

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome." I leaned over to peer at his paper. "Now, what did you get for number one?"

Class ended soon after that, lunch following quickly after, where I was forced to introduce my new friend to the others when he insisted on sitting with me.

"Friend, huh?" Samantha murmured, watching us from her position next to Hakuron at the table, where she had her head rested on his shoulder. Now I can't be certain, but from what I'd observed of the two, it appeared Samantha enjoyed cuddling.

And, apparently, Hakuron enjoyed letting her.

"Cough-friends with benefits-cough." Ariel's fake coughing was done behind a closed fist in front her mouth that concealed a large grin.

I glared at the girl. "Shut up."

She cocked her head, her expression saying, "who, me?'

Oddly enough, my expression was saying, 'yes, you.'

"Morgan! Tell me about the squirrels and Twinkies now!" Brandi cried, clapping her hands together agitatedly.

Ariel cocked a brow at her. "Fluffy say what?"

I sighed. "It's a long story."

Samantha grinned. "I think we have time."

I sighed once more-I'd been doing that a lot lately-and slowly began to recount the tale of how I met Zero, and the days following.

It was quite amusing really, watching the varying expressions flit across my friends' faces. I saw disbelief, amusement, laughter, sadistic pleasure-Ariel and Samantha-exclamations of joy-Brandi-near spitting up of milk-Cara-and silent wonder-Hakuron.

By the time I was done, they were all grinning madly, or staring at me oddly.

"Leaning tower of Twinkies?" Samantha deadpanned.

I nodded. "Yep."

"Oh my gosh, Daddy!" Ariel was tugging Samantha's sleeve. "Mommy's finally coming into her insanity! She's becoming one of us!"

Well, that was a frightening thought.

Next to me, Zero leaned in towards my ear to whisper, "'Mommy?' 'Daddy?'"

I shook my head and whispered back, "Now that is a really long story. One I don't feel like explaining right now."

He nodded, leaning away once more, and I felt oddly…cold…at his departure.

Shrugging it off as some random anomaly, I turned back to Samantha. "So…how are you two doing?"

Samantha blushed. "That's none of your business!"

"Yes, it is. As your friends, we have an automatic right to know what you and your little boy toy are up to." She glared at me now. "Who says?"

"God."

"Hey, you can't bring God into this!"

"Hmm," I tapped my chin, "I suppose not. Come Zero, let's take up our trays."

The boy followed me silently, shaking his head. As we walked, I thought I heard and odd tinkling sound, and noticed Ariel discreetly looking at her phone, which was aimed in our direction. Odd, what would she be doing with that at lunch, when she could easily get caught?

Deciding to ignore the suspicious feeling suddenly aroused in the back of my brain, I turned away to focus on getting my tray put away.

When that was done, we went back out to the connected entry way to the hallway, where I made him wait so I could get a drink. As I was doing so, I asked him a question between sips. "So, what do you think of my friends?"

He glanced back through the open doors of the cafeteria, where Brandi was making a funny face-most likely telling some odd story-Ariel's cheeks were burning red from laughter, Samantha's expression was hidden in Hakuron's shoulder, and Cara was laughing loudly and uninhibitedly.

"They're…strange."

"I know." We started walking back into the cafeteria, and he turned to me as we did so.

"And crazy."

"I thought we discussed this?"

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