Chapter 42

A/N: Hello! I have made little allusions to a rather disturbing one-shot of mine. Any of those one-shots are canon to this story, including that particular one. I will explain why I took this 'artistic liberty' if you will when we get to that point in the story.

"Good morning, A. Nigma!" Tina beamed at the camera, her reflection appearing in her computer screen from the webcam. "The last few days have certainly been intense. A once in a lifetime eclipse, a pyramid opening, our school president suspended for cheating-or was it blackmail? Chaz was his adorably jerky 'I'm trying'-self as usual, and people are being taken to a secret location called Coral Grove for 'knowing too much'." As she spoke, several pictures had appeared to illustrate her points about the events.

Sighing in frustration to herself, Tina leaned back in her chair. "Who am I kidding? I can't report any of this without actual facts! Well, maybe the Chaz part." she said thoughtfully, but shook her head. "What's worse, I convinced a girl who I want to be friends with to ask a guy how he feels about her, only to get cruelly rejected! I swear; any form of relationship I try to make just all goes crazy!"

"Lee! Lee!" Holger called as Lee walked toward the school gates, her bangs getting in the way of her vision. "Wakey, wakey!"

"Oh hey, Holg', sup?" Lee asked as her eyes hardly strayed from the phone in her hands.

"Holger be getting sad, vibey feelings from you, ja?" Holger leaned in close to show her how his index and thumb came within pinching distance of each other. "Perhaps? Teensy bit?"

"No, I'm fine Holger, I've just been distracted by Biffy's twenty-four hour surveillance Serpent network." Lee replied as she watched the large snake go slithering across the screen. "There's been no sign of him today." She sighed in frustration. "Where is that nut-bar?"

A hand suddenly flicked the long locks on the back of her head, and it was enough to have her shrieking, jumping as she almost dropped the camera. She whirled around wide-eyed, but her racing heart calmed once she saw it was Biff.

Biff chuckled. "Heh, paranoid much, babe?"

Lee sent him a withering glare. "Well, considering who I'm dating it seems appropriate." She drawled, but gave a chuckle of her own as Biff gained a put-upon expression. She sidled up beside him, leaning against his side as she held up the phone. "Speaking of creepers that like to startle me." she teased.

"Cute." Biff quipped.

Lee grinned faintly. "Your favorite snake is on."

"Man, that snake is so messed up." Biff replied.

"The reptile or the scum that owns it?" Lee asked with a dark smile, only to have Holger push his way in front to look get Lee's attention.

"But Lee, Serpent cam is only distracting Missy Lee from her own true feelings." Holger said and Lee furrowed her brow.

"What, that me and Biffy haven't gone on an official date?" she questioned. "I'll admit I'm frustrated, maybe a little worried, but still…"

"Holger talking about Friend Jenny, who Friend Lee gave shoulder for tears of fears and snot." Holger reminded her.

"Oh, yes, that unpleasantness." Lee said wincing. "Tears I didn't mind staining my shirt, snot-not so much."

"Wait, what happened with Jenny?" Biff asked, and Lee considered it a bonus that he didn't call her 'nose-picker'.

"She," Lee paused as she thought of how to sum this up, "had her heart crushed by a guy-mind you, she didn't have feelings for him, I think. Though when she asked him if he liked her, as friend or whatever…" she trailed off.

"The big chicken crushed Jenny!" Holger wailed in misery, as if taking this as a personal affront.

Lee blinked. "That's…that's precisely what happened!"

Biff slapped his forehead in annoyance. "This again? Babe, he does not have super powers!"

"Well, he was certainly uncanny in what he said. I remember him saying 'big chicken to crush Jenny at 9:30'. I know 'cause he called me at 1 in the morning." Lee explained, her voice growing growly towards the end.

Biff frowned. "He doesn't even know what his powers are…" he stopped, grinning in a way that was almost evil and Lee could practically see a light bulb go off in his head. "Wait, maybe I can help. Process of elimination kind of thing, I got a slow day." He glanced at Holger. "Meet up after homeroom?"

Lee crossed her arms and frowned, not liking where this could be going. "Biffy, what are you-" she was cut off by Holger's excited cry of "Most yesfinetly" as he enthusiastically fist-bumped with Biff, only to shake his hand.

"Huh, guess it's not invincibility." Lee muttered.

"Boo-yah, instant guinea pig!" Biff said smirking.

Lee placed her hands on her hips, expression stern. "Biffy, Holger is you to experiment on!"

Biff peered down at her before looking at the phone in Lee's hands. "Hey, you know, that can't have much battery power left."

Lee blew her bangs out her eyes as her expression showed stress even as she recognized this for the subject it was. "Please don't tell me that now." she said as the three of them went into the school, her eyes once more to the screen, and when she and Holger went to their first period class, they kept looking at the phone until the television coming on took their attention from it.

"Good morning A. Nigma High, I'm Chaz Monorainian."

"And I'm Tina Kwee," Tina chimed in before her expression turned serious, "with our top story: yesterday in a shocking turn of events, our school president was suspended and disposed for cheating."

"And I would up spending over three hours with a very upset outcast as her own personal hanky to sob into." Lee sighed, sympathy running rampant for Jenny even as she still felt the need to crush Brad.

"Oh, don't be too sad, Missy Lee." Holger said. "Maybe the gold-star Brad will ask her for forgiveness before the day end?"

Lee snorted, her lips curling back into a sneer. "Yeah, and maybe I'll turn into a pink-dress wearing, girly-girl."

"Hey," Chaz's voice brought them back to looking at the television screen, "I get why Cam the former man cheated," he added, his expression light-hearted as he laughed, "who doesn't, am I right? But to get caught? Bad form!"

Beside him, Tina narrowed her eyes. "So, you cheat do you? At what precisely?" she asked, and her tone had both Lee and Holger sitting up straight as they focused more closely on the television.

Chaz coughed, his expression shifting nervously. "I, uh, never that is, er, I meant cheaters in, um, cheating death or uh-er…" he shrank down in his seat, his knees hitting the ground audibly as he became barely visible over the desk top. "Oh god, that was a poor choice of words-don't leave me!" he pleaded. "I've been faithful, haven't even stared at my mirror in two weeks cause I've been staring at your face!"

Tina's expression cracked as she sighed with exasperation. "Oh, alright! Just get up already." She tilted her head wryly. "I never thought I'd be so upset to see you on your knees begging."

"Oh thank you!" Chaz cried out in relief, and he shifted to grab Tina's hand as he kissed the back of it frantically-and perhaps a bit too dramatically. "You are my jewel, my only lady."

"Oh will you just get on with it?!" A familiar voice with a noticeable lisp snapped, and Lee recognized it as Beth.

Chaz's expression became sarcastic as quickly as it turned romantic. "Oh yeah, this should be good. And so it's my great displeasure to introduce our new president, Beth, and warning, if you wanna close your eyes, now's the time. FYI, not-so-T.V. friendly."

"Greetings, disciples." Beth said wearing a wizard hat and carrying a wand. "And if that's the way you really feel," she said turning her gaze to Chaz, "then as school president I hereby banish you from the news room! Belicimo!" she shouted and kicked Chaz's chair off-screen, and Chaz's muffled voice rang out indignantly before trailing off.

"I'm pretty sure school presidents can't banish anyone, Beth." Tina said sounding frustrated. "That's up to the principal, or principals in our case." She said rolling her eyes again.

"Silence!" Beth ordered. "From now on, the name 'Camillio Martinez' is banned from school grounds, and so is gluten. Say goodbye to pizza Tuesdays." She said laughing while the students in the classroom booed. "From now on, everyone must address me as the High Wizard of the Arcane of Total Knowledge, and Power."

The screen split in two and Chaz was shown in the hallways. "Tina, your Chazzy here, and looking great I might add," he said and Tina rolled her eyes again, "I'm live with the former First Lady of A. Nigma High." He said as Brandy was standing next to him wearing black and crying into a handkerchief. "Brandy, the king is dead, how does it feel? I hope it feels awful, you know, ratings."

Brandy choked up. "My Cammie may be gone, but he will not be forgotten." She vowed.

"Chaz, I can't help notice a lot of are scratching their heads." Tina said worriedly.

"Of course they are." Brandy said. "Losing Camillio as their president makes no sense-" she said, but was cut off by the screen going into an emergency broadcast mode.

Lee looked down at the phone, her brows furrowing in frustration as she saw the blinking red light. "Biffy was right, come on battery, last!" she said as the snake appeared on screen, only for it to swirl around and turned the camera toward a large board with pictures pinned on it. She narrowed her eyes and zoomed in on, her eyes growing wide at what they were. "What? Photos of my parents, and wha-" she said catching a side image of her sleeping in her bed, but what caught her attention was her toothbrush being placed like it was going to get put in the toilet. "Is that my electric toothbrush? What is this?" she questioned as the screen went blank and she growled in annoyance. "No, come on!" she hissed furiously.

When the bell rang and they were let out of class, Lee and Holger walked toward their lockers and Biff came up to them. "Ready for super power testing?"

"You mean magic power testing." Holger corrected.

"Whatever Aladdin, first test, walk through that wall." Biff said pointing to the wall down the hall. He laughed when Holger crashed into the wall while Lee winced. "Walking through walls, negatory. Lee, how's the feed?"

"It isn't," Lee said closing her locker with more force than necessary, "but before it conked out, the snake changed the angle. Guy's got photos of my family! If that's not creepy, I don't know what is!" she said both angrily and worriedly.

"Oh it's creepy alright." Biff agreed.

"Well, well." Barrage said marching up to them. "If it ain't the two lovebirds out of their nest, busted for loitering!"

"Between classes?" Lee questioned in disbelief. "Isn't that a tad excessive, even for you?"

"You want excessive?" Barrage repeated. "I'll give you so much excessive your head will-"

"Principal Barrage!" Tina shouted from down the hall with Beth following after her.

"Stop already! Haltisima!" she shouted and pointed the wand at Tina, who only stopped when she reached Barrage.

"Barrage, A. Nigma High has a lice outbreak!" Tina announced, causing the students to gasp.

"Lice?" Chaz shouted and covered his hair with his jacket. "Sweet papa! Not the hair gremlins! Okay, don't worry scalp, I will get you out of here." He said and fled down the hall.

"Lice? In my school?" Barrage repeated. "Horse-hoey with a side of pickle chives and gravy. A most likely story." He said, but the sounds of sirens overcame the school.

Lee's eye twitched as she reached back into her locker for the hat Biff had made for her with her tattoo symbol stitched around it and she pulled the hat over her hair, while bunching the rest of it inside to make sure it all fit. "Oh no, I'm not going through that again."

"What again?" Biff asked raising a brow at Lee's paranoia.

"Had lice once, my scalp and neck hurt for a week after my mother was done washing my hair and picking through it." Lee explained and stared at him suspiciously. "You infected?"

Biff reeled back in offense. "What? No!"

Before Lee could state her relief, the doors opened and three people wearing white jumpsuits came in. "This place is quarantined, you've got lice." He said and the students groaned.

"I do love a good lockdown." Barrage said and pulled out a remote, pressing a button that caused all the doors to be sealed off and the windows as well.

It wasn't long before all the students were being ordered to the gym to be checked for lice by eyebots while Barrage escorted the small group to the gym himself.

"But sir; how did the outbreak experts get here so fast?" Tina questioned. "I didn't call them and you didn't even know about the lice until a minute ago."

"There experts, Miss Kwee, it's their job to know about outbreaks before the rest of us." Barrage retorted. "Now quit prancing on my petunias and get!" he shouted as he pointed down the hall.

Both Biff and Holger walked ahead while Tina and Lee lagged behind a little as someone wearing a paper bag over their head hurriedly up to them and shoved one over Tina's head with two eye holes cut out.

"What the!?" Tina shouted and ripped the bag off.

The masked person let out a cry of anguish. "No, Tina, you've just lost your only defence against those little leeches!"

"Chaz?" Both Lee and Tina questioned in disbelief.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see when Chaz actually put a paper bag over his head." Lee said snarkily.

Chaz rolled his eyes. "It's for protection against those vermin." He said crossing his arms. "Tina, even Ping has enough sense to cover her head, why couldn't you wear the bag?"

Tina rolled her eyes too. "Um, because I'm not a totally conceited person." She said and Lee raised a brow, and flushed when she realized she'd just insulted the redhead too. "Not that you're conceited, you've just got bad memories."

"I said get!" Barrage shouted from further down the hall.

"Well I'm staying far away from the other lice-ridden misfortunates." Chaz said and looked pleadingly at Tina. "Come with me? Let's be the only people left with great hair here."

Tina shook her head. "It's mandatory, and I'm not too thrilled with the thought of hiding in a dark place somewhere until this is over."

Chaz sighed in disappointment, and looked at Lee for a moment, who only scowled at him and he turned away. "I'm off then." He said fleeing down the hall in the opposite direction.

Tina sighed as well before she linked arms with Lee and marched them both down the hall. "Come on, don't listen to Chaz; he's just trying to freak us out."

Lee smiled shakily, despite having the same thoughts about hiding as Chaz, but it's not like she'd admit to it. "Of course he is; he wouldn't be Chaz, would he?" she asked and Tina smiled fondly.

When they got to the lines where the students were lined up, Tina noticed Jenny frowning at their linked arms and she let go of Lee. "I'm gonna go wait with Jenny, I think Biffy and Holger are up ahead."

Lee grimaced. "Oh great, I get to go faster." She said and went to standing in line with Biff and Holger, and she gripped her hat petulantly before taking off to let Barrage scan her head.

"Maybe infected, but it's a squeaker." Barrage said and Lee groaned as she put her hat back on and followed after both her friends.

"Hey," she said and glanced around confused, "where's Holger?"

"Trying to find out if he can fly." Biff said pointing up the rope ladder, who screamed on the way down, with Biff laughing once more. "Flying oh-to-the-he-did-not."

"I thought taking advantage of the already disadvantage was cruel," Kimmie said walking by them, "gee, who's the mean one now?"

"Oh, what? That's not even-he asked for it and-" Biff cut himself off and looked deflated. "Ah, she's totally right."

Holger got back to his feet excitedly. "Holger try again!"

Biff put his hand on Holger's shoulder. "No more flying tests, from now on, we only do stuff that can't lead to serious bodily injury, okay?"

Holger seemed disappointedly. "Maybe teensy almost bodily injury?" he asked and Biff's shoulders sagged when Kimmie turned her nose up to him.

"Ouch!"

Lee looked past Biff to see her mother rubbing her hair where a man in a hazmat suit had plucked a hair out. "Watch it with the rough stuff." Sue said and the man shrugged before putting the hair into a container. "That's more like it." She said as she was given a checkmark stamp on her hand and gazed toward Lee, though she did cast a disapproving glance toward Biff momentarily. "Lee, you'd better not fail this test."

"Come on mom," Lee said as her mother walked by her, "it's a lice outbreak, not that kind of a test."

"No excuses!" Sue said sternly. "But at least you're showing some sense since the last time this happened."

Lee flushed as she took her hat off, blowing her bangs out of her face once more. "I so need a haircut."

Biff reached out and brushed Lee's bangs out of her face and behind her ear. "I don't know; I like your hair long."

Lee blushed as she stared up at him, but heard the man at the chair tapping his foot impatiently and she sighed before walking over and sitting down and felt a hand run through her hair before plucking a red strand out. "Ow!" she said rubbing her hair. "I know I made you wait, but was that really necessary?"

Lee heard a giggle and stood up abruptly, turning around as the Serpent narrowed his eyes at her. "No, but it's way more fun."

Lee gasped and pointed at him. "Guys, it's the Serpent!" she shouted at Biff and Holger as the man ran past her. "Come on!" she added and the three of them ran after the man out of the gym. "He can't get far, the school's in lockdown."

"That's right." Biff said chuckling. "This time he's trapped on our turf."

"And I bet I know where he's headed, come on." Lee said leading them to the secret room in the library, and after they arrived, the Serpent opened the door, his face going blank as he stared at them. "You're not getting away this time!" Lee shouted, noticing for the first time the Band-Aid covering a spot on his neck. She'd been too distracted down in the tunnels to notice it before.

The Serpent smirked. "Really? I'm intrigued, how are you going to stop me?" he asked taking his retractable staff off his back and it collapsed to full size.

Lee looked sheepish for a moment. "Good question." She said glancing at Biff. "Darling, how are we gonna stop him again?"

"Holg'!" Biff shouted. "Use your super powers on him, I mean your magic powers-I mean whatever they are, use 'em!"

Holger stepped toward the Serpent, sniffing the air before reeling back at whatever he smelled. "No love smell, only whole lifetime of sadness and much loneliness," he paused as he caught another whiff of the air, "and, confusion?"

Biff looked annoyed. "No, not that power, zap him with a lightning bolt or something!" he shouted, but sighed in disappointment when Holger flourished his hands, only for nothing to happen. "Lightning bolt fingers, zilch-a-rama."

"Boys and girl, it's time to stand aside." The Serpent said taking out a key card from his pocket.

"No vey Jose, person!" Holger shouted. "There is no stand aside for sidekick supremo!" he added and plucked the key card out of the man's hands and was kicked to the ground, to which Holger quickly put the key card in his mouth.

For a moment, the Serpent looked at him in disbelief before his features tightened in anger. "What did you do?" he questioned before striking Holger in the stomach. "Spit it out!"

Lee and Biff looked at each other. "Pile on!" Biff shouted and both of them lunged for the man, who only side-stepped and ran out of the room.

Lee looked at her boyfriend flatly. "Maybe next time, just do the pile on? Don't warn him first." She said as Holger spit the key card out.

"Nice move." Biff said. "Cuckoo, but nice."

Holger chuckled weakly. "Donkey shine."

The three of them quickly got to their feet and hurried out of the library down the hall. "Even if we catch up to him, he's a ninja, we need a plan." Lee pointed out and Biff abruptly halted.

"Already got one." He said and hit a locker, which opened to reveal several crystallizers. "Sha-shing!"

"Whoa, where did you get those?" Lee asked amazed.

"I've been stocking up for a rainy day," Biff said picking up one of the crystallizers and cocked it, "and today, it's raining lice. Time to even the odds."

Lee smirked and both she and Holger grabbed a crystallizer. "Come on, I think I know where he's going next." She said and led them to principal's office, where they found the Serpent trying to get by the secret door in the wall, with Biff attempting to cock the gun again, only to stop.

"Oh right, I already cocked mine." He said quietly and fixed the direction Holger was pointing his crystallizer as he would have shot himself if he'd fired.

Lee grinned viciously. "Gotcha!" she said before her expression turned angry. "I know you're stalking my family!" she added, only to sniff when she realized she hadn't been sneezing around him now. "Hey, how come you don't stink anymore?"

The Serpent crossed his arms with a flat expression on his face. "How come you don't stink anymore?"

Biff rolled his eyes. "Uh, you're not very good at comebacks, are you? End of the line, pal!"

The Serpent smirked. "Not quite." He said taking his staff off and the three students fired at him, only for him to dodge the blasts and threw his staff at the vent, knocking it off. He jumped toward it as he caught his staff and crawled into the vent systems.

Lee caught sight of Biff smiling and raised a brow. "What are you smilin' about?"

Biff chuckled. "He's still on our tuff, specifically, yours." He said and pointed at the vents. "Go get him!"

Lee looked at the vents apprehensively. "Yeah, lucky me." She said sarcastically as she used the strap on the crystallizer to put it on her back and adjusted her hat so it wouldn't be in the way before climbing up into the vent. "Here goes nothing." She said and tried to peer around in the dark for any sign of the Serpent, and caught sight of him ahead of her as she turned a corner. "Gotcha! For reals this time." She muttered.

Up ahead of them both, the vent grate lifted and Holger was there, holding his crystallizer up. "Stinky ninja person!" he shouted and fired, but the Serpent leaned out of the way and hit the vents around him instead, causing it to crystalize over. Lee scowled as she lunged for his foot, but missed it as the vent became too crystallized for her to crawl through. "Sorry Lee!" Holger shouted in apology.

Lee back tracked as she heard the commotion in the hallway and ended up landing on her feet in front of the gym doors, holding her crystallizer at the ready as she and Biff cornered the Serpent. "I'm sick of your games! Why are you messing with my family? What do you want from me?!"

"I already have what I want." The Serpent replied.

"Okay, enough with the riddles." Lee retorted irritated. "Everything with you is slo-mo doves flying around in the rain; I've had it. Biffy, lock and load." She said cocking her crystallizer, only for Biff to stop short again.

"With pleas-oh, I keep doing that!"

"Fine, have it your way." The Serpent said as he took a baggy out from the inside of his jacket, with a vial of one of Lee's red hairs, and her picture in it.

"What?" Lee questioned confusedly. "Okay, I know you're a gold-medal class weirdo, but why do you have that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The Serpent said teasingly.

Biff rolled his eyes as he answered instead. "Is it the same reason why you're wearing a Band-Aid on your neck?" he questioned and smirked. "What'd ya do, cut yourself shaving?"

The Serpent's smile looked more like a shark's grin, like he knew something they didn't. "Oh, I can assure you it was not from shaving at all." He said as he kept his eyes locked on Lee with an odd gleam in them, but then his expression went a bit surprised when he heard Barrage yelling from the other side of the gym doors just before they were flung open.

"The outbreak has been contained, lockdown is over." Barrage announced, as the students began to file out of the gym.

Lee tried to ignore the crowd as she kept her glare levelled at the Serpent, who seemed to disappear when a few jocks walked by, causing Lee to blink and look around wildly. She felt her hair get tugged roughly once more, but when she looked back, it started to get too crowded to find him. "I don't believe this."

"Where'd he go?" Biff questioned look around as he came to stand beside her.

"And why does he like stealing my stuff?" Lee questioned rubbing her head.

"Where'd you go, ladies?" Barrage asked sarcastically. "You, detention." He said pointing at Lee, who scowled. "And you, detention too." He added pointing at Biff.

"But I didn't do anything." Biff protested.

"No, but you will, now hut two, three, four!" Barrage shouted.

"So close!" Lee muttered as she and Biff walked down the hall together.

"And if you've forgotten, any kissy-kissy, and you both go zap-zap!"

Lee rolled her eyes.

"So it was like awesome for two hours, and then the stank set in." Cam said from Lee's computer screen. "I don't know how I'm gonna do two more days."

Lee tried to smile at him, but it felt like a grimace instead. "At least you didn't catch lice or get your butt kicked by the Serpent. Why would he take a hair? And my hat?"

"Dude, whenever you see that kind of thing in a movie, either it's a voodoo doll, or like cloning, bro." Cam replied.

"Yeah, how 'bout a slightly more reality based theory?" Lee questioned. "Even though anything's possible at A. Nigma High." She conceded.

"Okay," Cam said thoughtfully, "maybe he's like your biggest fan." He said and his voice tried to go deeper and be more 'manly. "Oh, Lee Ping, she's so cool and stuff, I wish I had a souvenir. A hair follicle or maybe a hat."

Lee chuckled dryly, shaking her head at Cam's ridiculous line of reasoning, but he was managing to cheer her up without even knowing it. "As if!"

Frowning, Jenny kicked an empty pop can along the ground. While she got the warm and fuzzies around that guy from earlier, thinking about him did nothing to distract her from turning her thoughts to Brad. Even now it still stung to think about him, knowing that he found her to be nothing but a loser. She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid to believe that he might have liked her-

"Jenny, wait up!" Jenny paused, and turned around to see Brad jogging up to her. There was a car just a little ways down; had he spotted her? It shouldn't have mattered to her though, and she tried to act like it didn't.

"What do you want, Brad?" Jenny sneered. "Shouldn't you be avoiding me, can't be seen with an outcast, can we?" She looked around bitterly at the empty surroundings. It wasn't quite dark out, but it made her feel angry that Brad would choose now to try and talk to her.

"Hey, that wasn't entirely my fault!" Brad shot back defensively. "Your the one who just randomly asked me that in the hallway! I mean, how would you react if someone just blurted something out like that to you?"

"I'd kinda like it." Jenny snapped heatedly. "Especially given that not many people have said it to me!"

"Look...I get it. I hurt your feelings, but honestly, you've seen the cutthroat world I belong to. Can you say you've never made a hasty decision and regretted it badly?"

Jenny frowned as she gazed at Brad, a thoughtful expression on her face. Brad just looked worried, but she then let out a sigh as she felt some of her anger ebb away. His words got to her just a little; not enough to make her forgive him, but enough to understand what he was saying.

"Yeah, I kinda have on occasion." She frowned at Brad. "I was a popular girl once too, you know, before all this?" she reminded him caustically, and Brad who winced shamefully. He'd forgotten apparently, just like everyone else had. "Not quite as cold as what you did," she continued softly, though no less regretful, "but is the idea of liking this me really that bad?"

"Of course not!" Brad said firmly. "But, I mean...I'm just starting to...like, learn to be myself," he said uncomfortably, "it's not easy, I mean- was it easy for you to drop your nose-picking habit?"

"No, it's majorly hard. I've just done it for so long now, sometimes I do it without even realizing it." Jenny sighed. "And had to constantly remind myself not to if I wanted to make friends..." Jenny trailed off as her eyes widened slightly, and in a moment of insight she realized how awkward it was for Brad right now too. "Ohhh...sorry." She rubbed her arm in shame. "I guess I forgot how hard it can be to in your position. Even before I became and Outcast, fitting in was hard enough."

"But it's even harder trying to stay in when everyone is ready to judge you..." Brad said softly.

Jenny let out a short laugh, surprising even herself by how good it felt. "Get that from one of your dads movies?" she chuckled.

"Uh., no, I kinda just made that one up," Brad sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Okay, so, what do you want to do?" Jenny asked. It felt awkward, not knowing where they stood anymore.

"Well...I mean...if it's not too much to ask: maybe we can still be friends?" Brad bit his lip, but then his eyes widened and he waved his arms frantically. "I mean- I'm not trying to pressure you, but I really am sorry about hurting your feelings, and if you can be patient with me I-" Brad stopped, as though there was something else he was going to say, but changed his mind-"I can kick this gross habit of needing to be cool. Please just give me give me a chance to prove it."

"Well..." Jenny crossed her arms. "I probably shouldn't, but I do know how hard it is to kick a bad habit by yourself...and I'm not really in a place to reject potential new friends."

"So, can we?" Brad started to perk up, letting a hopeful smile cross his face.

"Yes." Jenny felt a brief smile cross her own lips, but it was gone in an instant. "But on the condition you also treat Lee and her friends with respect too." She pointed her finger at him to emphasize her point. "I know you got issues with her, but treat them like you'd treat me, because they're my friends too."

"Okay, okay I can do that, but I don't have to like them, do I? 'Cause I doubt even I have that kinda of acting skills yet." Brad nervously laughed.

Jenny rolled her eyes, but allowed another smile to cross her lips. "No, I suppose it would be too much to hope for that kinda miracle. But respect, we'll work on the liking them part later."

As Brad smiled at her once more, Jenny thought that now they'd aired their grievances with each other, things could finally be normal. It wouldn't heal overnight, but for now being kinda friends would suffice.