Lance! Lance!�
He blinked and focused his eyes on the hand waving in front of him. �Huh?�
Joey shook his head. �That�s the third time Lance. What�s going on? You never space out during practice. What�s up with you today?�
Lance opened his mouth but JC beat him to it.
�Jessica�s what�s up,� he snickered.
Lance hit JC upside the head.
�Ooh. This sounds interesting,� Chris grinned.
�Thanks JC,� Lance said sarcastically.
He smiled. �No prob.�
Lance narrowed his eyes and nodded sarcastically.
�So who�s this Jessica chick?� Justin smiled, raising his eyebrows. Finally, a chance to tease Lance back for all the teasing he had once received.
JC once again spoke up. �You know. The black haired girl in biology.�
Justin thought for a moment. �Didn�t she burn the lab 2 months ago?�
JC smiled. �Yup that�s her.�
�She didn�t mean to!� Lance cried. Then his cheeks became pink.
Chris grinned evilly. �How long has this been goin� on?�
�Ever since freshman year.�
�JC shut up!� Lance exclaimed.
�You never told us for 4 years?� Joey cried, hurt.
�I thought you knew. Everyone else does,� Lance said, confused.
�Do we LOOK like we listen to gossip?� Justin asked. His paused and his eyes went up for a second. �Do THEY look like they listen to gossip?�
Lance smiled and shrugged.
�So why did this JUST come up?� Joey asked.
�Uh�she kinda asked me out,� Lance mumbled.
�SHE asked YOU?� JC cried. �Where are your balls?�
�Shut up Joshua.�
*-*-*
�I�m-�
�How�d it go?� 4 voices asked.
She groaned. �Were you guys planning on �secretly� meeting me here or what?�
�No really,� Jada said. �How�d it go?�
�Went fine.�
Claire grabbed her shirt. �Details woman. Details!�
�Ok. Fine. We�re going out this Friday at 7,� Jessica snapped. �Is that detail enough for you?�
�Are you ok?� Kate asked, her playfulness stopping.
�Look,� Jessica sighed, �this is not the way I like to meet people. You set me up with some guy I barely even know for 3 damn months! He might like me, but I don�t even know his middle name.�
�Lance IS his middle name,� Ally said.
Jada shot her a look. �We just wanted you to GET to know him,� Jada said. �It�s not like you�re gonna get married or anything.�
�That�s nice of you, but not this way guys. This is not my way,� Jessica said, her energy wearing out. She turned around and went up to her room.
They watched her go in shock. Then they stared at Ally.
Her eyes were wide. �What?�
They sighed and shook their heads. �What�re we gonna do?�
*-*-*
Jessica went to school that morning, hoping not to run into Lance or JC or her friends. She sighed opening her locker, her eyes widened when she saw a single red rose lying in the locker. The thorns had been cut off, so she picked it up gingerly with her fingertips.
�Hey,� a deep voice said softly.
Startled, she spun around and her eyes focused on the figure before her. Her breathing eased and she sighed with relief. �Oh. It�s you.�
He smiled.
�Thanks for the rose,� she said, smiling.
He blushed slightly. �Welcome.�
�So Lance why are you here so early hmm?� Jessica asked.
�How do you think that rose got into your locker?�
She laughed, forgetting the obvious.
Lance smiled, seeing her laugh. �So are we still on for Friday?�
Her laughing died away as she nodded. �Yeah.� She managed to smile as a stab of guilt pierced her heart. She didn�t really like him like him. It was because of a dare she had come by. Now she knew that when the time came, his innocent heart would be broken. All because of her.
Jessica almost looked away as he smiled at her, the guilt becoming nearly too great. Instead she looked up at the circular clock on the wall and it read 7:25. It was then did the rest of the students usually filed into the building. Sure enough, the sound of more voices filled the once empty hallways.
She sighed and looked back at Lance.
�Can I walk you?�
Jessica smiled and nodded.
Lance smiled and they started down the hallway to their first period class, ignoring the stares and the pointing they received on their way over.
They sat down in their seats, waiting for the lesson to begin.
*-*-*
�Hey look,� JC said, pointing.
The other 3 craned their necks. They turned back to JC, smiling.
�He wasn�t kidding,� Chris muttered.
�Of course he wasn�t kidding,� Joey said. �Does Lance EVER lie?�
�What about that one time when he told us that a meteor was gonna strike the earth?� Chris asked.
They shrugged.
Justin smiled. �But you�ve gotta admit. He REALLY likes her.�
The guys nodded in agreement.