Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

***

A/N: I would like to clarify that the chapter name is NOT a Shawn Mendes reference. This is such an important point that I would state it in the beginning A/N :P

***

Bree couldn't help but be a bit nervous when she was called to the principal's office at the end of the year. Mrs. Peters had always seemed strict and imposing to Bree, and now that they had just finished their finals, Bree wondered if she'd somehow failed every subject. Maybe that was why the principal wanted to see her?

But that was irrational, because while Bree wasn't arrogant, she did know she couldn't have done too badly. And she certainly wasn't a top student either, so she probably wasn't eligible for scholarships or awards.

Had Bree broken the school rules and was facing expulsion? Bree had to admit, she might've fooled some hotel receptionists and she might've used fake IDs, but she didn't do anything illegal at school. Seriously, she hadn't! Bree was just your normal, average middle schooler. Yup.

So Bree took a deep breath and entered the principal's office with an impressive state of calmness. Fortunately, Bree wasn't in trouble- quite the contrary, in fact.

According to Mrs. Peters, a time capsule by the famous Brothers Grimm had been discovered by the University of Berlin. The capsule contained three brand new fairy tales, and they would be revealed to the public three weeks into September.

"That's so cool!" Bree gushed, genuinely thrilled. Mrs. Peters raised her eyebrows, a little surprised by her uncharacteristic show of enthusiasm. Bree quickly explained, "People think fairy tales are for kids, but the original fairy tales are so dark and, well, grim. Like, Snow White's stepmother danced to death in hot iron shoes. And it's super interesting to see how certain companies (ahem, Disney, ahem) adapted these gory tales and made them for children..."

Mrs. Peters smiled. "In fact, that sort of enthusiasm is exactly what I'm looking for! I've received an invitation to the event, and I'm inviting a few students to go with me." She picked up a pamphlet and slid it towards Bree. "Ms. York told me you're quite the ambitious and passionate writer, so I wonder if you would be interested?"

Bree didn't know why, but she felt a sudden need to go on the trip. She had to. She couldn't explain it no matter how much thought she gave it. It was almost like something magical in her blood was beckoning her, hypnotizing her-

"That honestly sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime!" Bree happily took the pamphlet and flipped through it. "I'm actually part German myself and I've always wanted to visit Berlin- historical value and all that." Her eyes caught a photo in the pamphlet. "Cool nightclubs as well," she quipped.

"We'll only be in Berlin for three days, but we'll have an action-packed agenda to make up for it. And yes, Miss Campbell, I must say I'm intrigued by the history of Berlin as well."

"I hope my parents let me go. As cheesy as it may sound, this sounds like the trip of my dreams," Bree admitted with a grin on her face. "May I ask who else did you invite?"

Mrs. Peters tapped her chin in thought. "You're the first student I asked, but I'm planning to invite Mindy, Cindy, Lindy, and Wendy."

Bree's grin faded a little. Those four girls weren't the worst, but they were certainly peculiar. "I see," she replied politely. But even if they were irritating, they weren't going to ruin Bree's fun. Bree was determined to have a good time and nothing was going to stop her. Not even if, let's say, an army rose from the dead and started a zombie apocalypse.

"Oh, and I'm planning to ask Conner Bailey as well."

Bree's heart leapt. "Oh, good!" she commented, hoping she didn't sound too excited even though she was consumed with delight.

Conner Bailey might go to Germany! That's ... beyond anything I expected!

"I believe he's also in Ms. York's class. In my opinion, he's a skillful and creative writer."

Bree couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, I know. I've read some of his stuff." She suddenly realized she sounded overly-invested in Conner's writing, so she hastily added, "I mean, I read them while I was Ms. York's TA."

"That's great! It's always lovely to interact with other writers," Mrs. Peters continued, oblivious to Bree's apparent interest in Conner. "In fact, I can imagine the two of you getting along nicely."

"Oh." Bree did not know how to react to that. "Well, yeah, he's a nice boy."

Bree instantly regretted her words. Nice boy? Nice boy?! THAT's how you describe him? Bree scolded herself.

But seriously, "nice boy"? What are you, a 20th century middle-aged mother commenting on boyfriend options for her daughter?

Mrs. Peters just chuckled and mercifully dropped the topic. "Hope to see you there, Miss Campbell! Let me know if you can join!"

And that was how Bree left the principal's office slightly (just slightly, mind you!) more flushed than before.

***

Danielle tapped her foot on the ground as she waited for Bree to emerge from the principal's office. Bree told her she could go home, but Danielle felt obliged to wait for her. After all, Bree always waited for her when she had after-school practices for the school musical. Seriously, Bree was such a kind friend but other people didn't give her enough credit for it.

Now that exams were over, Danielle could solely focus on the musical, which was in a few weeks. Every time Danielle thought about the awful yet wonderful musical, her stomach would clench and she would feel faint. Danielle took a deep breath to ease her nerves. It was alright- she'd practiced a lot and she'd gotten along with the other kids. It's going to be fine, Danielle stubbornly repeated to herself. Stop being a worrywart.

Danielle got tired of standing, so she went to the school's basketball court and plopped down on a bench. Distantly, a basketball thumped repeatedly on the ground. Apparently someone was practicing, but Danielle didn't care.

She took out her musical script and attempted to smooth the pages. It was wrinkled and even torn at some places from overuse, but it didn't matter because the script was still readable. Danielle cleared her throat, and started to sing softly.

Obviously she couldn't fully use her voice because she didn't want to disturb others, but it was still nice to familiarise herself with the melody.

So Danielle sang to herself, gradually growing more and more confident. Birds idly chirped on trees, while sunlight fell through leaves and dotted the ground like golden coins. It was such a peaceful afternoon- without stress from exams, without peer pressure from friends.

Until a basketball nearly smacked her in the face.

Danielle yelped and dropped her script. Her hand flew to her right cheek, which was where the basketball had brushed past. Thankfully, the ball hadn't scratched her, but her skin felt a little raw. Behind her, she heard the basketball land and bounce.

"Sorry!"

Danielle turned so quickly she nearly gave herself whiplash. She knew that voice, that damned voice that made her knees shake and her legs wobble-

Fred Hayford stood casually in front of her, sweat glinting on his tanned face. He was staring straight into Danielle's eyes, his expression one of concern. Danielle felt like she couldn't breathe.

"You hurt?" he asked.

Danielle somehow mustered the courage to speak. "Oh, I'm fine. It didn't really hit me," she said in what she hoped was a cool and nonchalant way.

"Sorry about that again." Fred did look genuinely sorry about it. "Guess I threw the ball too hard."

Blood rushed to Danielle's face. To avoid looking at Fred, she hurriedly went to pick up the ball. Danielle noticed that ever since Alex had moved away, Fred went to the basketball court daily, probably to take out his anguish via sports.

Danielle grabbed the ball and threw it back to Fred. Her aim was a little off, but still he caught the ball with ease.

"You waiting for Campbell?" Fred asked as he idly spun the ball on his finger. Danielle's heart speeded up. Why was this stupid jerk so effortlessly cool, and why, oh why did she continue to feel like a trainwreck around this one boy?

Danielle nervously tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. "Y-yeah."

Fred nodded at the script. "Good luck with the musical, Rowland."

His words rendered Danielle speechless, and she suddenly couldn't bear to meet his gaze. "Oh, umm, thanks," she muttered shyly. Then a sentence tumbled out of her mouth before she could fully realize what she was saying.

"Are you going to watch the musical?"

A small smile quirked on Fred's lips. "Yeah! To support the school and all that."

"Oh... I see." Danielle gave him a small smile, trying to ignore the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

There was an awkward pause. Danielle abruptly ducked her head to look at her script again, and Fred returned to practicing. Danielle opened her mouth and started to sing, except her voice was now a little louder, a little more wobbly.

She wondered if Fred heard her. Wait, why did she care again? Her heart thumped loudly and she nearly missed a note. Her cheeks flushed. Stupid boy and his stupid influence.

Danielle honestly tried to practice, but she kept on being... distracted. In the end, in order to not make a fool of herself, she just stopped singing.

Danielle held her script to her nose, hiding half of her face as her hesitant brown eyes roamed the area. They wandered for a while but finally landed on a solidarity figure on the other side of the basketball court.

Fred was slamming the basketball with way more force than necessary. Even after all these months, he was still frustrated by Alex moving away. Danielle sighed. It was no secret that Fred had feelings for his Alex- Danielle had heard the girls whispering about it. She puffed at her bangs wistfully. How could she compare to Alex? Alex was smart, Alex was nice, and she'd known Fred ever since kindergarten. Danielle was just some random girl who ended up bothering him because her silly schoolmates were so eager to "ship" them. She really didn't have a chance-

Danielle's hand stiffened, and her fingernails dug into the paper of her script. Gosh, why was she so caught up on this one boy? She didn't need a boyfriend! How could she have a boyfriend when she was still struggling with basic friendship?

But-

One could wish, right?

Still with the script covering half of her face, Danielle peered at Fred shyly. He was now practicing shooting. She watched as he avoided and counteracted invisible enemies while mouthing something- some made-up narration, perhaps? Then he dribbled and leapt into the air. He threw the ball. And he missed.

Fred puffed out his cheeks, seemingly a little bit annoyed. A tiny smile involuntarily quirked on Danielle's lips. Fred grabbed the ball and shot again- this time he managed to get it through the hoop. Delighted, he pumped his fist in the air as celebration.

His cute little smile caused the butterflies in Danielle's stomach to flutter even more wildly. She began to hum softly. The late May breeze ruffled her auburn hair, carrying her voice to who-knows-where. She looked as Fred wiped the sweat off his brow in one rapid motion, spiky hair fluttering in the wind.

Fred... at first, Danielle had just liked him because of his looks. But after actually knowing about him, she discovered he was actually a pretty nice and funny dude. Plus, he was friendly to her despite all of the rumours about her apparent crush on him. She knew he must have been terribly annoyed by the rumours (after all, he probably liked Alex). And yet, he was amiable to her even when they were alone. So, maybe this Fred Hayford was actually a rather wholesome person. Perhaps he wasn't the jerk she originally thought he was.

It felt... nice, even with the current distance between them. Danielle parted her lips and continued to sing the bittersweet song from her heart.

"Hey, Dani!"

Danielle turned to see Bree emerge from the school building. There was a glint in her brown eyes and Danielle knew Bree's mind was occupied with adventure again. Danielle hurriedly stuffed her script in her bag and stood up.

"Why did Mrs. Peters want to see you?" Danielle asked curiously.

Bree was good at being nonchalant, but none of her acting skills could hide the sheer excitement emitting from her face.

"She asked if I wanted to go on a school trip to Germany. Apparently the Brothers Grimm, y'know, the famous brothers who collected fairy tales, have some new stories to reveal."

Thrilled, Danielle thumped Bree's back. "That's so cool! Like, that must be a major thing for writers worldwide!"

"Yup! Besides, I've always wanted to visit Germany. It has tons of historical value." Bree then sighed. "I really hope my parents will let me go..."

"Come on, they have to! If they don't, well, I guess you can always run away!" Danielle nudged Bree and giggled.

"Heh, that's the spirit!" Bree wrapped an arm around Danielle's shoulder, and together, the girls walked out of the school campus. Just before they exited the gate, Danielle tilted her head ever-so-slightly to catch a last glimpse of a boy-

A lonely boy, practicing alone on the basketball court, thinking of the girl he adored- the girl that would never be her-

Then Danielle smiled and pretended she'd never been staring.

***

"Hey, Freddie!"

A few days had passed since Bree's conversation with Mrs. Peters, and now it was Conner's turn to see her. Conner dashed out of the school building, a gigantic grin on his face.

Fred was, once again, practicing at the basketball court after school. He excitedly bounded over to Conner. "Dude, what happened? I'm gonna assume you're not expelled because you look too happy for that."

Conner rolled his eyes. "Bro, it's nothing like that! Mrs. Peters invited me to a school trip to Berlin. The Brothers Grimm have some new fairy tales to reveal."

Fred's grey eyes bulged. "Dude, that's cool! Can I go as well?"

"Unfortunately, I don't think you're qualified," Conner drawled in a fake high-and-mighty voice. He quickly dropped his act and flung an arm around Fred. "To be honest, I think it's sort of an invite only event."

"Aww man," Fred made a face and mock-pouted. Then he grinned wickedly. "But remember to tell me how hot those German chicks are."

(Fred would, in fact, learn the very next day that Bree was part German.)

Conner slapped Fred's back. "Shut up, you flirt," he chortled. Then he sighed. "I dunno if my parents will let me go though..."

Fred frowned. "Well, they let Alex go to Vermont (and leave everyone else behind, but I'll be bitter about that another time). Surely you can go to Germany for what, a week?"

"It's actually three days," Conner said. He looked down at the pamphlet and exhaled. "It's ridiculously expensive for a three-day trip."

"That's Europe for ya," Fred mumbled under his breath.

"Knowing my mom, she'll probably make me pay for this ludicrously pricey trip," Conner groaned. "And there's no way I can ever afford a quarter of it, probably."

"Don't say that!" Fred snatched the pamphlet out of Conner's hands, and peered at the numbers at the bottom of the pamphlet. "Umm, okay, this is really hecking expensive, but I don't think it's impossible. We still have a couple of months left, and you can save up your birthday money-"

Conner's face lit up. "And Mrs. Peters did say something about school fundraisers."

Fred smirked. "Yeah, exactly! It's time to do some math, baby!" he whooped.

Fred put his hands on Conner's shoulders and marched him over to the school's noticeboard. The duo comically leaned forward and inspected the notices closely.

Fred jabbed a finger at a fluttering piece of paper. "This fundraiser is about selling candy."

Conner squinted at another notice. "There's one about baked goods. Apparently it's a bake sale."

"And this one is about pottery." Fred shook his head. "You up for that?"

Conner scratched his head sheepishly. "Can't say I'm really confident in my non-existent pottery skills."

Fred dug in his backpack and triumphantly extracted a calculator. "Well, assuming you join all of them..." he frantically punched numbers into his calculator.

Conner peered over Fred's shoulder. "Plus my monthly allowance..."

"... And your birthday money..." Fred added. With a quick jab on his finger, he pressed the equal sign button.

Fred and Conner stared at the number that popped up.

"Okay, I must've done something wrong because this number is waaay too large."

"Gimme the calculator," Conner ordered. He speedily inputted the numbers and a new number appeared.

There was an awed silence.

"Dude, how did you get a fraction?" Fred exclaimed incredulously. "We don't need to divide anything, this is just basic addition!"

Fred snatched the calculator from Conner again and punched in the numbers, this time slowly. "We. Are. So. Bad. At. This." He punctuated each word with a jab at the buttons. "This is why we need Alex," he grumbled."

At last, they finally managed to obtain a number that looked somewhat plausible.

Fred strokes his chin. "Am I right in saying this is slightly less than half the cost?"

"Funny, I was going to say it was slightly more than half the cost," Conner replied.

A quick calculation revealed that Conner was right. Fred and Conner flopped down on a bench in unison and groaned.

"I can only afford half of the trip..." Conner moaned.

"At least you can afford half of it," Fred pointed out. "And I don't think Mrs. Bailey (or is it Mrs. Gordon now?) would force you to pay the entire sum. That's just plain mean."

Conner snorted. "Hey, don't call my mom mean! But still, I'm gonna try to negotiate with them. This is too good of an opportunity to pass up on."

Fred heartily thumped Conner on the back. "Good luck, dude! Keep me updated!"

***

The delicious aroma of baked goods drifted through the air, and Bree inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell. She placed down the tray of cookies her family had baked. Next to her, her mother Jennifer Campbell stood up and surveyed the area with a seasoned eye.

"Hmm, quite a lot of people have joined the bake sale," Jennifer began conversationally.

Bree knew her mother was a competitive suburban mom baker and just had to join any bake sale she knew of. Now, she was probably once again eyeing her "rivals" at the bake sale. Bree resisted the urge to sigh. She hoped she wouldn't be like her mom when she became old (yes, Bree was calling her middle-aged mother old).

A lady with a short bob cut arrived at the table next to them, with two rather familiar figures trailing after her. Bree did a double take- she knew that shade of strawberry blond all too well. It was Fred Hayford and Conner Bailey. Bree swiftly averted her eyes. So apparently they were helping out?

"Oh! What a surprise to see you here, Louise!" Jennifer exclaimed with a bright but awfully artificial smile. Bree mentally face-palmed. Of course her mom knew this "Louise" from PTA or whatever.

The woman named Louise turned around and beamed at Jennifer. "Oh, Jennifer! It's been absolutely ages!"

As the two suburban white moms conversed like a pair of twittering parrots, Bree, Conner, and Fred exchanged awkward glances. Judging by how Fred seemed to look especially uncomfortable, "Louise" was his mom.

Bree cleared her throat. "So."

The boys' eyes darted to her.

"I heard you're going to the Germany trip too, Conner?" Bree asked, hoping the question didn't sound too intrusive.

Bree thought she saw Conner's eyes widen and shine with excitement. Liquid happiness bubbled inside her upon seeing Conner's cute expression. "Yup! That's actually why I'm at this bake sale- I have to earn my half of the trip."

Bree suddenly felt grateful that her parents agreed to pay for the entire trip. "I see, good luck!"

To contribute to his cause, Bree took out her wallet and peered at the Hayford-Bailey baked goods. "I think I'll have a choco chip muffin," she said.

Conner's cheeks reddened slightly as he handed her a muffin. His fingers brushed against hers- was it just her imagination or was his hand especially warm? "Oh, umm, thank you," he stuttered out.

Behind Conner, Fred was dying of silent laughter to the point he was noiselessly hiccupping. Fred likely knew of Conner's super obvious crush on her. Bree resisted the temptation to shoot Fred a withered look.

"Guess-guess I'll buy some of yours as well!" Conner managed to get out. "I'll like to have a triple chocolate chip cookie, please."

(As Bree gave him the cookie, she realized they both chose to buy chocolate baked goods from each other. Coincidence much?)

Fred still looked like he was dying. His grey eyes were all crinkled up and he was biting down on his lip to stop himself from laughing out loud. Bree watched as he looked elsewhere to stop his incessant chuckles.

Dammit, Hayford, Bree thought, I know Conner and I are kind of a joke, but we're not that funny.

After a while, Fred left, leaving Conner and Mrs. Hayford (the "Louise") to man the table. The moms continued to exchange pleasantries which were just jabs in disguise. Bree had spent too much time around suburban moms to know they just wanted to one up each other. And yet, they had to do so in such a roundabout way with simpering smiles plastered on their faces. Bree couldn't understand why they couldn't be direct.

Bree tried to tune out the chittering women and focused on handing out cookies. After what felt like an eternity, Jennifer and Mrs. Hayford finally stopped talking and Bree could breathe a sigh of relief.

Next to her, Mrs. Hayford and Conner started to talk about, predictably, Fred.

Mrs. Hayford sighed. "I wonder where Fred is... what is that kid up to again?"

"Knowing him, he's probably flirting with girls or something."

"And yet he still doesn't have a girlfriend. I personally don't think fourteen year olds should date, but if he's up for that, so be it."

Bree was a bit surprised by how Conner could talk about Fred's love life so easily in front of his mother. But then again, they were childhood friends. Their families were probably really close.

Conner hmmed. "Maybe he's just waiting for the right person."

(Somehow, Bree couldn't help but be reminded of Alex.)

After a while, Mrs. Hayford became annoyed by Fred's absence and ordered Conner to fetch him. Bree ended up taking a break while her mom handled the table. She glanced down at her phone to read the new texts she'd gotten.

Danielle Rowland: hey bree im coming to the bake sale now! wheres your table?

Me: You should find it if you go to the basketball court

Danielle Rowland: :D :D save sum cookies for me!

Me: Haha don't worry, we have plenty left :)

"Bree!"

Bree looked up to see Danielle walking towards her, her short auburn hair seeming especially saturated in the sunlight, which contrasted the bright blue headband she was wearing. Interesting. Bree knew Danielle usually preferred hairclips.

(Oh hell, why was she noting down what hair accessories her friend was wearing? Bree needed to chill with the detective thing. Her senses had gotten too sharp due to her fascination with the Bailey Twins Mystery.)

Danielle bought a few Campbell cookies and happily chatted with Bree. "Damn, your family's cookies are the best," Danielle commented with a mouth full of chocolate cookies, crumbs spilling out on her lips.

Bree chuckled. "Have I ever told you about the time one of my sisters baked cookies for a guy?"

"No?"

"Anyways, my youngest sister Amy has- or had, I dunno, I'm not that caught up with her love life- a crush on her classmate (who has the most generic white boy name). And he loves cookies. So my dear little sister spent an afternoon baking cookies and dragged me along to give them to him."

"Aww, that's sweet!" Danielle remarked with a grin.

"Yeah, plus he seemed to really like them too. So I casually told him he could get the recipe by marrying into the family," Bree continued, the corners of her lips quirking up at the memory. "Amy was so embarrassed."

Danielle nudged Bree. "Wow, never knew you were a matchmaker," she teased her.

Bree waved a hand. "Nah, it's just to make fun of Amy."

Danielle then wandered off and ended up approaching the Hayford's table. Fred and Conner were still absent, so Danielle couldn't possibly be there to find Fred (or more appropriately, ogle at Fred). Bree observed Danielle curiously. Danielle was gazing at the blueberry muffins on the table.

"You seem to be interested in our blueberry muffins?" Mrs. Hayford remarked and offered Danielle a gentle smile.

Danielle nearly jumped and she giggled nervously. "Y-yeah. I think I'll have one, please."

Apparently Danielle adored the muffin, so she ended up buying two more. Mrs. Hayford struck up a cheerful conversation about muffins.

"Most kids your age seem to prefer chocolate." Mrs. Hayford gestured to the tray of chocolate muffins next to her. There were significantly less chocolate muffins than blueberry muffins, showing the chocolate option was indeed more popular.

"Oh yeah, chocolate is sweet, but it can be too sweet at times," Danielle replied, "Blueberry is refreshing, and..." she giggled a little, "it seems like the healthier choice? Like I feel less guilty eating them."

"It's not like muffins can be very healthy anyway," Mrs. Hayford pointed out, and both of them laughed.

"That being said, this is a really good muffin," Danielle praised. "It isn't sour, but it isn't too sweet either."

"What a coincidence that my son also likes blueberry muffins," Mrs. Hayford said. "He'll be delighted to know he's not the only one who feels this way. He's been rather sad that our muffins haven't been selling as well as the chocolate ones. He did spend a lot of time baking them."

Bree suddenly wondered if Danielle knew she was talking to Fred's mom. She probably didn't. Bree honestly didn't know whether that was better or worse.

Danielle merrily skipped towards Bree's table, blueberry muffins in hand. "Hey, Bree!" she greeted. "These muffins over there are fantastic!"

Bree tried not to laugh. "Yeah, yeah, I know.

(In that split second, Bree immediately understood the exact emotion Fred felt earlier when he was laughing at her and Conner.)

Danielle ended up sitting next to Bree while she ate her muffins. Bree didn't know how to tell her she was eating Fred's muffins, so she just didn't.

All was well until Fred and Conner ambled into the scene. Danielle, who was always embarrassed by Fred's presence, frantically made herself smaller by pressing her against Bree's side.

"I thought you would want Fred to look at you?" Bree casually remarked.

"Yes, I want him to notice me but at the same time I don't," Danielle said decisively as if that made perfect sense.

It was then Bree decided to give up on understanding crushes, and turned her attention to the trio next table. Judging from how Mrs. Hayford was gesturing at the muffin trays, they were talking about the bake sale.

Bree heard Conner snigger, "Hey Freddie, people still like my chocolate muffins more!"

Fred dramatically huffed then muttered, "Don't get too smug, dude. We're barely halfway through the sale. I'm sure someone appreciates blueberry."

Mrs. Hayford then gleefully notified him, "Fred, sweetie, did you know a girl just bought three of our blueberry muffins?"

(Danielle choked. Bree pretended not to notice.)

"Oh!" From his tone, Bree could tell Fred was absolutely delighted. Fred then grabbed Conner's shoulder and shook him violently. "See, I told you people would like my muffins!" he whooped.

Conner waved his arms like a windmill to shoo Fred away. "Must say this girl has very odd taste indeed," he snarked.

Danielle turned to look at Bree, her big brown eyes even bigger than usual. She looked so hilariously horrified and Bree offhandedly raised a hand to hide her chuckles. "W-what? Hayford baked those damn muffins?!"

"Oh no," Bree teased her, "does not make you not want to eat the muffins anymore? Because they're corrupted by the 'stupid womanizing bastard'-"

Danielle then did the opposite of what Bree had just said and hastily swallowed the last bit of her muffin.

"Calm down, you're going to choke," Bree told her.

Danielle ignored her. Then she haphazardly shoved her hands in her hair and yanked at her tresses. "Urgh! Why is he a good baker too?" she moaned, cheeks dusted with pink.

Then in a quieter voice, she mumbled, "Why is he good at so many things?"

***

They were now near the end of the bake sale, and unfortunately, Conner still sold more of his chocolate muffins compared to Fred's blueberry muffins. Fred was a little displeased, but according to his mom, a girl brought three of his muffins, so at least he had managed to charm someone.

Speaking of charming someone, Fred couldn't help but notice the awkward yet nauseatingly sweet interactions between his best friend and his crush. (It made him a little jealous, not because he had a crush on Conner or Bree, but because he couldn't have those interactions with Alex.) And now they would probably go to Germany together. How romantic.

Therefore, Fred thought Conner would want to spend as much time with Bree as possible at the bake sale. Conner was a decent baker and cook, and perhaps he could impress Bree with his skills. But after a while, Conner began to not-so-discreetly check the time with increasingly frantic motions.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I think I have to leave early," he stuttered out.

Fred blinked, surprised. "What do you have to do?"

Conner's bright blue eyes darted to the right. "I, umm, have to write a letter to Alex! It's really important!"

The mention of Alex caused Fred's stomach to clench. "Ah yeah, she still hasn't replied to my letter," he said in what he hoped was a casual way even though his heart was aching so much.

Conner chuckled nervously. "She hasn't responded to my letter either... maybe she's just busy?"

"She's always busy," Fred muttered, disappointed. "But I mean, she won't forget about us, right? You're literally her twin and I'm one of her best friends."

(Fred didn't like how he sounded like he was desperately convincing himself Alex still cared.)

"Of course she won't forget about us!" Conner slapped Fred's shoulder. "Dude, you're just overthinking things."

Fred forced a smile on his face. "Yeah, you're probably right."

(He tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest.)

Conner said his goodbyes then left. Without his best friend, Fred felt oddly alone despite being with his mother. He moodily dumped rubbish into a tray and swept up the crumbs.

Fred had known the Bailey twins since kindergarten. Admittedly, he'd been less close with Alex during fifth and sixth grade (because that was the time when the "who likes who" gossip started to emerge and the time when Alex began to focus on her studies), but they'd been brought back together in middle school to help Conner deal with his crush. And for a while, all was well. But then Alex abruptly left, shattering the trio.

And then suddenly it all felt like a beautiful dream, a lovely little dream of gloved hands touching and knitted scarves and innocence. A dream now gone.

Fred knew he should get over it. He was totally out of Alex's league anyway, and she deserved a knight in shining armour, not a random flirt who was nowhere as smart as she was. Besides, he knew Alex wouldn't move to Vermont without a good reason. Maybe she was happier over there. And maybe it was for the best.

And instead of mooning after the unavailable Alex, Fred should really start to be concerned about Conner. Conner knew Alex more than Fred ever could. They were practically two halves of a whole. Separation was bound to hurt.

And if there was one thing Fred was certain, was that Conner liked to pretend he was happy.

Conner was the type of kid to hide his sorrow with bright grins and silly jokes. "I'm fine" he would say, but no one could see behind his sunny facade. Yes, Conner could be painfully blunt, but he also had the tendency to stubbornly sweep his problems under a rug instead of facing them. And that was problematic. Not even Fred could get him to open up at times.

His parents always said Conner chose to grew from the tragedy of Mr. Bailey's death, and maybe that was true-

But was he really okay?

Would he dare to ask for help when everyone knew him as the class clown? The silly kid who cracked the stupidest jokes? Did anyone ever take him seriously?

What would they do if the one who brought light into their lives was the one asking for light?

That being said, Fred could see that the Germany trip cheered Conner up greatly. Fred knew the Bailey family had quite the obsession with fairy tales, so it was natural for Conner to be fascinated with the Brothers Grimm's new stories. Not to mention Conner's crush Bree was also going. Conner was so going to have a heck of a time in Germany. That is, if he wouldn't screw things up by smacking into walls or spilling his lunch on Bree.

"Fred? Fred!"

Fred nearly jumped out of his skin. He glanced at his mother, who was snapping her fingers in front of his eyes.

"Who are you thinking of?" she asked not unkindly.

Fred let out a small chuckle. "It's not who, it's what," he answered good-naturedly.

"Throw these away, please." Fred's mother shoved a pile of used trays and plastic gloves in Fred's arms, and looked at him shrewdly. "Don't think you can escape from your responsibilities."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Won't dream of it, Mama. While I'm at it, I'll also throw myself away as a treat."

As he went away, with hands full of trash, he saw a familiar flash of purple. Apparently Bree was also walking towards the bin. Their footsteps echoed in the empty area while the mellow afternoon sunlight warmed their skin.

When Fred saw Bree, he suddenly, foolishly felt the urge to say something.

***

"Hey, Campbell."

Bree turned and resisted the urge to raise her eyebrows. So Fred was initiating a conversation when they were throwing away trash? Interesting.

"Heyford." Bree cringed a little at the terrible pun, but since during their last interaction, Fred had jokingly asked to call him that, so Bree went with it. "Your blueberry muffins looked really nice. I wish I bought one."

"We still have some left. Feel free to take a couple."

Bree didn't know why she was talking with Fred considering they hadn't spoken much before. She sort of knew his best friends- Bree had been the closest to Alex but now Alex had "moved to Vermont", and she and Conner were too blinded by their crushes to actually know one another.

Fred sighed. "So... I take it that you're rather observant?" He sounded oddly anxious.

Bree pursed her lips. Something wasn't right. Fred was being too cautious and sketchy. Bree didn't want him to beat around the bush. "Just say what you want to say," Bree said evenly. "I'm not gonna bite."

"Well, okay." Fred looked mildly uncomfortable, but also relieved that Bree wanted him to be honest. He then inhaled and hesitated. "Umm. How do I begin-"

A thought struck Bree like a bolt of lightning. "Is this about Conner?" she asked bluntly.

Bree looked directly at his eyes and never broke eye contact, almost as if challenging him. She could see Fred's Adam's apple bob. A few tense seconds passed.

Fred then exhaled. "Yeah," he mumbled.

Aha! Bree thought triumphantly. So I was right.

Fred was Conner's best friend. Conner had a crush on her. (She had a crush on Conner, but nobody knew.) Bree could see where this was going, and she wanted to have this conversation as quickly and cleanly as possible. So she knew what she had to say.

"If so, I know he has a crush on me."

Fred's eyes widened. He looked like he was at a loss for words. "Oh."

"Yup."

"Umm, good to know that you know."

Bree's mouth suddenly felt dry. "Well, it isn't that difficult to realize," she offered rather lamely.

"Yeah. I agree." Fred nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Conner's... not a subtle dude. Anyway, the reason I'm bringing this up is to ask you to..." He shook his head, as if he forgot how to continue his sentence. He breathed through his teeth and got out, "Please don't mean to Conner."

"So you think I'm mean to him?" Bree said almost automatically.

Fred nearly dropped the rubbish he was holding. "No!" he choked out. "Bree, you're a very nice and decent person and I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression because that was not what I wanted to say."

"I see," Bree replied calmly. "So what is it that you wanted to say?"

(Even though Bree understood Fred's intentions, It was fun to vex Fred and see him panic. Maybe it was karma since he made Danielle flustered all the time.)

Fred slapped a hand to his forehead. "Just... please don't be too harsh when you reject him? If he ever confesses? He's having a pretty rough time with Alex gone and he has a new dad to get used to. I don't want to see him get hurt further. Not saying you'll do that!" he added hastily.

Bree didn't know whether to laugh or to feel bad for Fred. Fred straight-up assumed she would reject Conner. He was completely oblivious to her feelings for Conner, which was a bit reassuring, but his ignorance was oddly comical.

"I'm not saying that you should be nice to him because he likes you. Hell, if he ever does anything weird or creepy, feel free to sock him in the face! Just don't be harsh to him... urgh I'm repeating myself, I literally have no idea why I'm doing this," Fred rambled in a way reminiscent of Conner.

Bree decided to help reduce Fred's misery. "It's because you're looking out for him. That's cool of you."

Bree did think that was cool of Fred. People only knew him as the popular jock who played around with girls without realizing he was also a loyal friend.

Bree tugged at her purple beanie self-consciously. "I'll admit that I seem aloof and uncaring at times, but I promise I'm not like that on the inside. I'll be considerate of Conner's feelings. Besides, I think he's a good person. I won't have any reason to be mean to him."

"Yeah..." Fred said rather awkwardly. "Thanks for saying that. Please forget we ever had this conversation. I'll be, uh, leaving now."

Before Bree could reply, Fred dumped his trash in the bin and practically scampered away. Bree watched him go, amused.

"Wait!"

Fred turned around, and he actually looked slightly terrified. "What?"

Bree just smiled. "You're a good friend, Fred. Conner's lucky to have you."

***

A/N: Parallels between Bree and Conner's conversations with Mrs. Peters are intentional :P Mrs. Peters is the OG Conneree shipper XD

Have I ever written from Danielle's POV before? I don't think I have? And I've never been a theatre kid, so I might be biting off more than I can chew with Danielle lol. Also, what was that (one-sided) Frednielle part lol. I genuinely had no idea what I wrote. The calculator part was also completely improvised :-) you know what about EVERYTHING in this chapter is improvised :-)) which is why this chapter isn't that coherent compared to the others but I don't care anymore :-)))

SOMEONE STOP ME FROM GENUINELY SHIPPING FREE. THE FRED HAREM STRIKES AGAIN.

Shoutout to Taylor Swift's new album folklore for inspiring me to FINALLY finish this chapter. Not sure how songs about cheating and failed summer love and breakups can help me write this romcom fic, but it works.

(Seriously, folklore is a great and emotive album especially if you've been disappointed by reputation and Lover.)

I'm proofreading this at 1am so this chapter is probably a mess. I'm gonna reply to y'all's replies now UwU

Many of you have asked about Fredlex and whether they'll get together. All I can say is haha you'll need to wait and see ;) I may have written some hints in my previous A/Ns aha

Thank you for everyone's sweet comments! I really enjoyed reading every single one of them and they really motivated me! :D :D

One final note: please do not spam comment "update"! I'm honestly really happy that you're so invested and eager but it just comes off as demanding sometimes (which I'm sure is NOT your intention at all!). So yeah, would prefer something like "looking forward to the next chapter" or "can't wait!".

ALSO THIS FIC HAS REACHED 70K WORDS AND 10K VIEWS THANK YOU ALL FOR SUPPORTING ME! :D

(I am legit not coherent it's almost 2am)

26/7/2020