"Bs," said Taurus.

"Dangit," scowled Pisces, reaching for the stack of cards.

"Two fives," said Libra, throwing them in.

"One six," said Cancer.

"Three sevens," said Taurus.

"Peanut butter," said Cancer.

"You sneaky devil!" exclaimed Pisces. Cancer stuck her tongue out.

"Two eights," yawned Taurus.

"One nine," said Libra.

"I win," grinned Taurus. Pisces's jaw hit the floor.

"Nice job," smiled Cancer. "I had no idea you had so few cards left."

Taurus pulled her shirt over her face. "I'm a master of disguise."

While they were still laughing, Gemini ran into the room. "Hey guys," he panted, and then turned to Cancer. "Hey Cancer, do you want to go out with me?"

"I-what?" asked Cancer, confused.

"WHAT?" roared Pisces. "SHE HAS A BOYFRIEND, YOU KNOW!"

"Oh yeah," remembered Gemini. "I forgot."

"YOU FORGOT???"

"I can explain," said Gemini hastily, as Pisces jumped to his feet, somhow managing to look extremely menacing to the boy who was over a foot taller than him. "Leo Aquarius and I, we have this bet on."

Pises blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Well," explained Gemini, still casting furitive looks at Pisces. "It happened like this-"

"Cue the dreamy flashback music!" I yelled, running across the room waving streamers.

"That's not-well- okay then," shrugged Gemini.

Leo walked into the tower, where Aquarius and I were. Since moving day, we had set up the main room into a comforatble sitting room. The room above the sitting room belonged to Leo and I, we had beds there and the floor was covered with pillows. The attic was Aquarius's, he had argued that because it was his only room, he should get the biggest.

"Hi guys!" yelled Leo. "I am here to bless this tower with my fabulousity!"

Aquarius jumped off the ladder, and used the swinging rope to swing dramatically down next to Leo. He swung into the wall instead. He had been practicing doing that and still hadn't gotten it right.

He jumped back up, and brushed himself off. "Leo, we've discussed this. I am more fabulous than you are."

Leo struck a pose. "You wish."

I sighed. "Guys, this is pointless. My fabulosity could whoop your fabulosity any day of the week."

"Prove it," challanged Aquarius.

Leo blinked. "How?"

I rubbed my hands together evilly. "We will have a competition of fabulousness! Whoever is the first to get a girlfriend wins, and will hereby the most fabulous." I paused. "And win twenty dollars from each loser."

Leo blinked. "A girlfriend?"

"Scared?" I challanged.

"Scared you'll embarass yourself," he scoffed. "Next time I see you, I will no longer be a single pringle." He strolled out of the room. Aquarius and I bolted after. The race was on.

I bowed. "These flashback services were provided to you by-"

Gemini pushed me out of the room. "So there you have it."

"That's messed up," snorted Taurus, torn between being amused and genuinely annoyed. "You're all chauvinist pigs."

Gemini shrugged. "It's just a competition. It's not a big deal." Taurus snorted again, and Gemini brightened up. "Hey Taurus! Will you go out with me?"

"Nope," said Taurus, poping the 'p'.

"But you're not dating anyone yet," said Gemini. "Pleeeeeease?"

Taurus gave him the finger, and strolled out of the room.

Gemini shrugged. "Okay, fair."

Libra shook her head. "Honestly, you three."

"But this is my chance to prove I'm better than them once and for all!" said Gemini. "I have to find Aries and Saggy!" he yelled, running out of the room.

Pisces was laughing. "Oh my god, this is going to be hilarious."

Cancer looked bemused. "A minute ago you were about to beat him up."

"Yeah, but those three are about to make total idiots of themselves, and it's going to be hilarious!" he explained.

Libra shook her head again. "I half feel bad for whoever tries to ask Scorpio." She couldn't picture Gemini asking Scorpio, though. Although, she couldn't have pictured Gemini asking Taurus or Cancer either. Or Aries and Saggy for that matter.

He's about to go ask them, she thought. I want to see how this turns out.

Libra stood up. "Thanks for the game, guys," she said. "It was fun."

"See you around, Libra!" waved Pisces.

Meanwhile, Aries and Saggy were in their tower. The main room was a combination of a sitting room and several different sports. Aries and Saggy were shooting hoops at a basketball hoop, whilst avoiding the pingpong table pulled out for a game they had never finished.

Someone banged on the trapdoor, and Aries yanked it open. "Oh, it's you."

"Hi Aries!" said Leo cheerfully. "Want to go out with me?"

Aries blinked. "Say what now?"

"Just say yes," said Leo. "It's kind of important that this happens fast."

Well, that wasn't the response she'd expected. The likelyhood of this being some kind of a prank skyrocketed. "Why would I want to go out with you?" snorted Aries.

Leo struck a pose. "I'm fabulous." Aries pushed the trapdoor down, unbalancing him and knocking him down the ladder. Then, she opened it again, and jumped down. Saggy slid down the ladder too to get a closer look.

Leo rubbed his back. "I guess that's a no, then. So, Saggy, do you want to go out with me?"

Saggy blinked. "Dude, I just saw you asking Aries."

"Yeah," explained Leo. "See, Gemini Aquarius and I had this bet on-"

Taurus walked around a corner. "Hello," she yawned. "Judging by the expression on Leo's face, I'm guessing he already asked one of you out."

"Both of us, actually," Saggy put in. "What's going on?"

"Hi Taurus!" said Leo cheefully. "Do you-"

"Before you finish that scentence," warned Taurus, "Know that I've already flipped off Gemini."

"So you said no, then," guessed Leo. "So, will you-" Taurus raised her hand, and Leo stopped talking.

"Am I dreaming?" asked Saggy. "Taurus is threatening Leo? I thought that was my and Aries's job."

"Gemini Aquarius and I have a bet," began Leo. "Whoever can get a girlfriend first wins." Aries and Saggy simultaniously facepalmed.

Gemini ran down the hall. "Hi! Aries, Saggy, do you want to go out with me?"

"Drop dead," said Aries, while Saggy flipped him off.

Gemini sighed. "Oh well. I was kind of expecting that."

"You guys are idiots," said Taurus. "You can't ask out a girl like it's some form of social status."

"It's a bet," said Leo. "You don't back out of bets."

"Besides," added Gemini, "If it was about social status I wouldn't have asked Saggy." Saggy punched him hard in the arm, and he winced.

Libra walked over, and blinked. "Did I miss it?"

"Yeah," shrugged Taurus. "Sorry."

She sighed. "Oh well."

"This bet is harder to win than I thought," Gemini said to Libra. "I've been shot down four times."

Taurus roller her eyes. "That's because no one is willing to date some idiot to help them win a bet."

"Date?" asked Gemini. "Who said anything about dating? I'd be happy with a fake date for, like, three hours."

"It's not like Aquarius is having better luck than us," shrugged Leo.

Aquarius: Hey Scorpio

Scorpio: Wut

Aquarius: I'm having a bet with Gemini and Leo. Do you want to fake date and then split the money?

Scorpio: lol you're funny

Scorpio blocked your number

Aquarius: Actually this comes as no surprise.

Leo walked into Pisces's bedroom, where Pisces and Cancer where observing his fish. "Guys, this is going to sound weird, but I'm desperate. Will you guys break up for like five minutes?"

"Actually, that was more polite than Gemini," noted Cancer.

"So will you?" he asked.

"No," said Cancer.

Leo sighed dramatically, and walked out of the room. Cancer turned to see Pisces in a fit of laughter on the bed. "Pisces," she said, amused, "This reaction is very different than when Gemini did it."

"Yeah," he giggled, "Because I know he doesn't actually like you. Now it's just funny!"

Cancer smiled a little. "It's kind of funny. But it's still rude."

Pisces shrugged. "They know no one's going to say yes. It's a game."

"Spoken like someone who didn't get asked out," scoffed Cancer, still laughing.

"Hey, Guys?"

Virgo and Capricorn looked up from their books to see Leo adressing them. "What is it, Leo?" asked Virgo. Leo? In the library?

"Do you guys know any girls?" asked Leo. "Outside of our group?"

"Not really," frowned Virgo. "Why do you ask?"

"We have this bet," said Leo, "And I need to get a girlfriend asap."

"You know what you really need to get?" said Capricorn. "A life." Virgo snorted.

Leo gasped dramatically. "Cappy! How could you!" He ran fake sobbing from the room.

Virgo went back to his book. This wasn't that out of the ordinary.

"Libra!" yelled Gemini, running down the halls to catch up with her.

Is he going to ask me? wondered Libra. I'm the only one he hasn't asked yet. "What's up, Gemini?"

"Do you have any girl friends from school?" he asked.

Libra felt a twinge of annoyance. "Yes, but I'm not going to give you their numbers without their permission."

Gemini sighed. "I'm going to lose! I've asked everyone!"

You haven't asked everyone yet. "Yeah, you are," agreed Libra.

Gemini brightened up. "Hey, Libra! You're a girl! Will you go out with me?"

Libra opened her mouth to answer, and then closed it again, as something unexpected happened. Or rather, something expected didn't happen. I don't feel anything. I thought for sure I would feel something. But I don't feel anything at all.

"Hey, Libra?" frowned Gemini. "Are you okay?"

"Sorry, what?" she asked. "I didn't hear you."

Gemini shrugged. "I was going to ask you, but I don't really want to. We're friends, and it would feel too weird."

"Yeah," agreed Libra. "It would be weird." Just friends, she thought. "We're just friends."

"I guess I'm just going to lose," he shrugged.

"You are going to lose," pointed out Libra, "But so are Leo and Aquarius. No one's going to say yes."

"Yeah, we all kind of assumed that," shrugged Gemini. "We were just screwing around. We may need to apologize to everyone, though, because I think Aries Saggy and possibly Taurus are ready to rip some heads off."

"Yeah," grinned Libra. "I'd sleep with my door locked tonight."

"It's a plan," agreed Gemini.

Libra paused for a moment. He's my friend. I need to talk to someone, about the other thing. The other thing she'd been ignoring. "Hey, Gemini?"

"What's up?" he said.

"Can you... can I say something and you not repeat it?" asked Libra.

"I mean... sure," nodded Gemini. "Assuming it's nothing to do with Aquarius or Leo because I could seriously use some blackmail material."

"No, nothing with them," laughed Libra. "It's..." she paused. "Have you ever gotten a crush?"

"Sure," he nodded. "Everyone gets them." Then he paused. "Why do you ask?"

"I... I have one."

Gemini nodded, slowly. "Cool."

Libra shook her head. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this. It's not important. I just... you know. I wanted to talk to someone."

"Oh yeah, of course," nodded Gemini. "That's perfectly natural. I mean, I'm probably the litteral worst person you could talk to about anything, but, you know, I'm your friend, and I'm here if, you know, you wanna talk."

Libra arched an eyebrow. "Gemini, that was practically poetry."

"Like it?" he grinned. "I'm thinking of writing a book."

"I'd buy it," smiled Libra, and paused again. "You know, that's all I wanted to say. Thanks for listening."

"No problem," said Gemini, giving a thumbs up. "If you want some general advice, don't put out your clothes to dry in the rain."

Libra snorted. "I'll bear that in mind."

Gemini hesitated. "Can I ask who it is? I have a guess, but..."

Libra hesitated too. "Um..."

"It's fine if you don't want to," he said quickly. "Can I guess who it is?" he asked

"Sure," nodded Libra, slightly relieved. "It just feels weird to say it out loud."

Gemini stroked his chin. "Is it Capricorn?"

"What??? How do you-.. I mean..." Libra trailed off, her face heating up.

"Come on, it's pretty obvious," snorted Gemini.

"Since when?" demanded Libra, more curious than anything else.

Gemini just waved his hand vaguely. "Oh, ages."

Well that's helpful. Had Gemini known before she had? And if he knew about Capricorn, had he known about the other thing? "Did you... could you tell if I had any crushes before?"

Gemini shrugged. "Not really, but I litterally tripped over a guardrail once, so I wouldn't trust me on that."

"Oh. Okay," said Libra. "Okay." She was silent for a moment.

"The point is," concluded Gemini, "go you. Good luck with... stuff."

"Thanks Gemini," smiled Libra. Gemini was never the most articulate, but strangely, that seemed to give more depth to what he said. "You too."

"I'll need it if I'm going to survive Aries Taurus and Saggy," he muttered. Then he reached into his pocket, and Libra knew why: She had just felt her phone buzz as well.

Capricorn: Dinner's ready everyone

Libra cursed herself. She'd forgotten.

Libra: Cap, why didn't you remind me? It's my day!

Gemini elbowed her. "See what I mean?"

Libra felt herself turn red, and she turned away from Gemini to her phone. "See if I ever tell you anything again."

"Aww," pouted Gemini.

Capricorn: Yeah, but you did it for me on Tuesday so we'll call it even.

Libra: I was just trying to be nice.

Capricorn: So was I.

Aries: Pfft, Capricorn doesn't do nice.

Capricorn: Not to you I don't.

"Thank you for dinner, Cappy!" yelled Leo.

"Shut up and eat," said Capricorn.

"I lost," announced Gemini, walking into the room.

"I almost won," said Aquarius, following him.

Cancer blinked. "How? You didn't ask a single person."

"I asked Scorpio," he grinned.

Leo's jaw hit the floor. "How are you alive?"

"I'm fabulous," he said.

"You know what's really fabulous?" asked Taurus. "This dinner."

"Aries, Taurus, Saggy, I apologize for offending your sense of... whatever I offended," said Gemini.

"Yeah, what he said," said Leo.

"We accept," said Aries graciously, but whispered something in Taurus and Saggy's ear when they weren't listening.

"I would apologize to Scorpio," shrugged Aquarius, "Except she blocked me."

"REJECTED!" shouted Leo.

Aquarius stood up. "You know what? This whole thing has made me realize that while I was searching for a perfect love that didn't exist, I was missing my one true soulmate who has been with me this whole time. And it's time that was recognized." Aquarius dropped on one knee. "Gemini, will you go out with me?"

Gemini hugged Aquarius. "Oh Aquarius, I always hoped that you might someday recognize our true love, and now all my drems are coming true!"

Saggy wiped away a tear. "Excuse me, I need a tissue. What a beautiful spectacle that was."

"You're jealous of our eternal love," said Aquarius, sticking his tongue out. Saggy gagged.

"The only thing I'm eternally in love with is this food," said Taurus.

"Which I should have cooked," glared Libra.

Capricorn folded his arms. "I rest my case."

"Well," yawned Pisces, "This has been a highly entertaining dinner, but I'm just about done with it, so bye!" He poked Cancer. "Let's go finish."

"Finish what?" asked Virgo curiously.

"Our fish observation journals," laughed Cancer. "It's so cute how excited Pisces gets!" Pisces stuck his tongue out. The pair left, and everyone else followed.

Capricorn walked into the kitchen, and stopped. "Libra, what are you doing?"

Libra raised an eyebrow. "Dishes?"

Capricorn sighed. "That's my job. I made dinner."

"It was my night," pointed out Libra.

"I guess we both have responsibility for it, then," shrugged Capricorn, and began wiping down one of the pots. For a while they wiped in silence.

"It's been an interesting day," said Libra at last.

Capricorn snorted. "You could say that. Those three..." he shook his head.

Libra smiled mischeviously. "Admit that you find them funny."

"When did I deny that?" Capricorn glanced at Libra. She seems like she's in a good mood. "I missed most of it, though. What did Aries and Saggy do?"

"Saggy told me she flipped him off. Taurus got kind of annoyed too, but I think she's not really that mad. I can only imagine what Scorpio did..."

"What did you do?" asked Capricorn.

Libra paused. "Nothing," she said finally. "All I did was say no." They again lapsed to silence, for a few minutes. And Capricorn didn't mind. Instead, he just rinsed the dishes until they were only a few left.

"Have you ever considered getting a girlfriend?" asked Libra. "I mean," she added quickly, "Pisces has one, and you and Virgo have never really talked about it."

"Not sure," shrugged Capricorn. "Never really thought about it, I guess. Maybe if I met the right person." Although, Capricorn thought, he'd probably be just as happy not dating someone. Depending on who, I suppose.

"Oh, okay," said Libra.

"What about you?" asked Capricorn, genuinely curious.

Libra was quiet for a moment. "Sure," she nodded. "Someday. Like you said, if I meet the right person."

"Yeah," nodded Capricorn, putting down the last dish. Then, he looked warily back up at Libra. "I'm doing breakfast, okay?"

"Not unless I get there first," grinned Libra, putting down the dishtowel and walking out of the room.

Capricorn sighed. Then he went off to bed.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

"HEEEELLP!"

"I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIEEEEEEE!"

Awoken by the noise, Capricorn poked his head into the hall, and saw Gemini, Leo, and Aquarius running down the hall, chased by Aries, Taurus, and Saggy, each supporting what looked like... a bazooka?

"I know they're annoying," said Capricorn, "But this seems a little extreme."

"It's paintball," yelled Aries. "But they don't need to know that."

"This is just for laughs," grinned Taurus. "They're not that annoying." The ran out of view.

Capricorn rubbed his eyes. Taurus was pulling a prank? He must be seeing things. It was time to go back to bed.