Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

***

 “Alex!”

 The girl spun her head to see Bree behind her. Alex grinned when she saw that Bree was already ready to go. The two had decided to work on their Social Studies project after school.

 “Thanks for letting me go to your house,” Alex said as she stuffed her books into her backpack.

 “No problem.” Bree, despite not having actually known the Bailey twins for long, more or less knew about their financial situation. She decided to avoid that topic completely with the twins as not to make them uncomfortable.

 “Hey Alex!”

 The familiar voice rang into the semi-empty classroom and Bree's heart stuttered. Conner's orange head popped into view, a somewhat sheepish look on his face. When he caught sight of Bree, he immediately looked away. She was too shiny and bright for him, and if he looked at her, he would be blinded by her awesomeness. And he would probably do something stupid, like smash into a wall.

 “Alex, can you give me the key?” Conner called.

 Alex stared at her brother. “What key- oh. Our house key.”

 “Yeaa…” Conner bounced on the soles of his feet, his bangs swaying slightly. “You're coming home late, right? Which means I'll have to go home by myself.”

 Charlotte had given one key for the twins to share. As Charlotte came home late, there was no one to open the door for the twins. Usually, Alex was the one to keep the key (as Conner had an oddly high risk of losing items), but occasionally, after school, Alex would want to go to the library and Conner would just want to chill at home. In those cases, Conner would go home with the key and when Alex returned, she wouldn't be locked out. That arrangement had worked pretty well for them so far.

 “Ah yes, the key.” Alex nodded. She rummaged in her jean pockets, and was surprised to find they were empty. “Strange… I usually put it here…”

 “Perhaps you put it in your bag?” Bree suggested.

 Mild panic ran through Alex as she hunted in her bag for that small, but important key. Packets of tissues and even the occasional tampon flew out of her bag, but there was no key. Sometimes Alex wished she could actually execute magic so she could just Accio the key like they did in Harry Potter. It was especially unnerving that Alex was usually very organized and rarely misplaced or forgot anything. Defeated, Alex flopped down on her seat, feeling like a complete failure. “I forgot to bring the key,” she muttered.

 Conner's face fell slightly, but he hid it as not to upset his sister. “Alright, guess I'll just hang out with Freddie until Mom comes back.” He shrugged his shoulders, flexible with new predicaments.

 “I thought Freddie had basketball practice today with his friends? Do you want to join them?”

 “Oh.” Conner stared at his sister. “Well, since I'm terrible at basketball, I think I shouldn't be there… guess that leaves the library.”

 “Or my house.”

 The Bailey twins spun to look at a nonchalant Bree, the one who had just spoken.

 To be honest, Bree had been pondering the idea of Conner staying at her house for quite a while. It seemed like a convenient solution, as Conner could have a place to go to, and she could not-so-secretly observe him more. And see if she could find out who Conner was crushing on. Bree wasn't trying to access her competition or do something weirdly possessive, she was just curious.

 Oh damn, Bree wasn't even convincing herself.

 (Bree was such a stalker.)

 Alex looked taken aback at the idea, while Conner was completely frozen. Alex marched forward, grabbed Bree by the shoulder, and whispered in her ear, “Bree, thank you very much for your hospitality, but I don't think it's necessary for Conner to stay. You know how he is.”

 The mental image of Conner belting I'll Make a Man Out of You with wild abandon slipped into Bree's head again, and she held back a chuckle. “No worries, I don't mind. And my sisters won't bother us much as they'll either be outside or stuck in their room.”

 Conner was still staring at Bree, eyes wide and mouth agape. Did Bree Campbell, the coolest girl in their year, just invite him to her house? Did he die and enter heaven (if there was one)?

 Alex now stepped close to Conner and muttered, “Just behave, okay? Don't humiliate yourself.”

 “I-I'm not a child, Alex,” Conner mumbled, rather dissatisfied with his sister's patronizing treatment. He mumbled a “thank you” to Bree.

 “You two ready to go?” Bree asked. As Conner’s somewhat flushed face popped up, Bree instinctively tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She immediately berated herself for that. You idiot! You know from online blogs that the “tucking hair behind ear” or “playing with hair” is a very typical sign of female flirting! And you don't want anyone to know about your crush!

 “Yes, sure.” Alex was quick to reply. Due to her mad hunt for her key early on, her belongings were hastily scattered across the desk again. She stuffed them back in her bag, with Conner occasionally trying to help. Alex appreciated Conner’s effort and care, but he was so disorganized and he kept putting her stuff in the wrong compartments. Nonetheless, Alex finished quickly, and the trio were ready go.

 A few girls whispered among themselves as Conner, Alex and Bree walked past them. Bree watched them out of her peripheral vision, cool brown eyes narrowing slightly. Those girls were the so-called “popular” ones, people with totally average looks masquerading themselves as the goddesses of the world and with their noses always stuck in shiny phones, making snobbish remarks at everyone. Bree thought they were probably gossiping about her, and why she was walking with the two weirdos, the Bailey twins. She knew the twins were hiding something, which most likely had something to do with their funny aura, but it probably wasn’t something shameful or horrifying. Sure, Alex may hug books, but Bree knew she was a kind person. And Conner, even with his crazy, silly antics, still meant the best for everyone. So, as Bree tilted her nose up higher, there was nothing embarrassing about being seen with the Bailey twins. Heck, she would rather spend her time with these two very interesting people than those “popular” people.

 Meanwhile, Conner was freaking out. His hands were doused with sweat, as if the Niagara Falls were gushing out from his very skin. He didn’t know what to do; he could either glance quickly at Bree for many, many times, or he could avoid her completely. He somehow simultaneously wanted to do both. Bree’s very presence was killing him yet breathing life in him at the same time. His heart pounded in an erratic rhythm, and he did his best to stop a joyful smile from quirking up his lips. Deciding he could no longer bear it anymore, he shot Bree a swift look, hoping to memorize every feature on her face. Oh hell, why was he behaving like that? All traces of thought disappeared when he saw her, with her captivating brown eyes and blue and pink bangs falling gracefully over her forehead. Conner gulped, and turned away stiffly.

 Why was he acting so weirdly? He’d never felt this funny around any person. Conner knew he should hate his odd behaviour and hunt down the reasons for it, but somehow, he liked that bubbly, warm feeling in his stomach every time he saw Bree.

 Bree could feel a pair of eyes on her, and she knew it was Conner. Conner, that loveable dork, with stupid bright eyes and fantastical imagination and cute exaggerated hand gestures. Just thinking about him made butterflies flutter inside her, but when she remembered he was probably crushing on someone, her mood was dampened.

 I have no right to be sad, Bree argued with herself. How long have I known him? I’m not going to go all sappy crying face because my first crush doesn’t like me back. She absentmindedly kicked a pebble along the path.

 Alex was feeling rather out of place. She knew Conner was crushing on Bree, and whether Bree knew that was undetermined, but still, Alex saw herself as the third wheel. She shuffled uncomfortably between them, training her eyes on the road.

 What should she do? There was only one other person that shared Alex's knowledge of Conner's crush, and that was Fred. And Fred would definitely “excuse” himself in a suspicious manner to leave Conner and Bree alone. Or bring up the topic of crushes in an obvious and tactless way. Alex snorted internally; she was too different from Fred. Unlike him, she wouldn't try to matchmake them together. Firstly, they were too young and not mature, and secondly, Conner didn't need any more distractions from schoolwork. Plus, Alex didn't want a hand in messy middle-school love affairs.

 Therefore, Alex decided to act natural and possibly act as a bridge between Conner and Bree to establish a possible friendship between the two. And to stop Conner from spontaneously singing and slamming into very hard, very solid objects.

 Unknownst to Alex, Conner was also feeling awkward (other than the euphoria he felt from being around Bree).

 He knew Alex and Bree were acquainted and they shared a class in Social Studies. They were probably somewhat close as he knew Alex wouldn't randomly pair up with someone.

 Unfortunately for him, he wasn't close with Bree at all (which saddened him for no reason).

 And he was basically barging into Bree's house because he couldn't go home. It was like being babysat with an embarrassing twist. Other than that, he didn't have much to do but watch Bree and Alex work on their project.

 Conner felt like a weird third wheel between the two girls.

 And as for Bree, she knew the Bailey twins were like two peas in a pod. One couldn't survive without the other. She imagined they would talk and joke and share dumb memes on the way back from home, and now she, an outsider, had suddenly barged into their little circle. No wonder they were silent.

 So basically, all three of them felt they were the odd one out of the trio. Which lead to awkward shuffling and even more awkward silence.

 Conner was extra fidgety due to the silence. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a laser beam. Conner imagined a thick soupy mist hovering between the three of them, the white tendrils curling around their ankles like some silent monster preying on their uncomfortable souls. Now Conner thought about it, it seemed like a cool fantasy monster idea. Maybe he could incorporate it in some of his stories somehow…

 Alex could see Conner was beginning to space out. She could definitely recognize that wide-eyed, faraway look. Misinterpreting that Conner was getting distracted by Bree (again, Alex noted), Alex took the initiative to speak. “So, Conner? Did anything interesting happen at school?”

 Oh wow, I sound like a mom. Correction: I sound like my mom.

 Conner blinked, yanked out of his wild imagination. He subconsciously scratched his head as he searched his mind for a funny anecdote.  “Y'know, someone at the lunch table bought a huge pack of marshmallows, so Fred tried to see how many marshmallows he could stuff in his mouth. He ended up nearly vomiting, but it was still funny.”

 “He does stupid things like that,” Alex muttered, shaking her head in an albeit fond way. Her eyes scanned the tidy rows of houses, and wondered which one was Bree's.

 “We're here,” Bree said. The twins looked at the cheerful suburban house, complete with a garden and a swing. It was also a bit bigger than average due to the Campbell family having four daughters.

 Alex and Conner shared slightly nervous looks, and followed Bree inside.

 “Welcome back sweetie!” Bree's mother, Jennifer, called out brightly.

 “Hey, Mom, this is Alex, the friend I told you about. We'll be working on our project,” Bree gestured to Alex. Alex waved and nodded politely. Bree shot a quick glance at Conner, who was standing there awkwardly. “And this is Conner, Alex's brother.”

 “N-nice to meet you, Mrs. Campbell,” Conner greeted, desperately trying to look good in front of Bree and her mom.

 Jennifer waved a hand dismissively. “Oh please, just call me Jennifer. I've told the girls to stay out of the living room for you guys to work. Want some snacks?” she directed her question to her two guests.

 Conner opened his mouth to reply, but Alex bet him to it. “No thank you, we're good,” Alex said quickly.

  Conner looked rather distraught by his sister's apparent “betrayal”, and tried to speak, but Alex nudged him hard in the ribs when Jennifer's back was turned, which shut him up.

 Bree lead the twins to her dining table, which was large enough for them to comfortably work on the project. Alex found herself staring a little wistfully at the cushions with hand-sewn patterns, the photos of buck toothed children on the mantelpiece, and the little handicrafts the siblings had made over the years, proudly displayed on shelves. Once upon a time, she and Conner had something similar too. That was before everything changed.

 No matter, it was no use dwelling on the past. Bree had taken out some cardboard and coloured paper, and was laying coloured pencils and markers on the table.

 Conner was feeling more jittery by the second. He felt so wrong being in the middle of two girls. It was like a character appearing smack dab in the middle of a scene when he wasn't supposed to.

 “I guess I'll just work on my homework,” Conner told no one in particular. He sneaked a look at Bree to see if she had reacted. She hadn't. Conner puffed on his bangs on his forehead and took out his assignments.

 “I got my part finalized,” Bree mentioned as she took out a sheet of paper she had printed. “I don't understand why the project has to be handwritten. A complete waste of time in my opinion.”

 “Maybe they're training our writing speed for the exams,” Alex commented. “There is a time crunch, after all.”

 Conner tried to tune out the two girls as he worked out on his English essay. He stared blankly at the empty piece of lined paper, willing words to flow in his brain as they always did when he found a particularly compelling idea.

 Focus! Focus! He yelled internally with no avail. He could hear Alex and Bree discussing next to him. Oh, when did Bree's voice become so… pretty? Her voice was cool and smooth, and hearing it sent a jolt in Conner's spine, which pleasantly spread to the rest of his body.

 He vaguely realized Bree was talking about scissors. The word “scissors” had never sounded so beautiful. Conner was seriously considering the possibility of an alien parasite in his brain. Either that, or Bree had magic blood in her veins which inexplicably wrecked with his feelings. Having actual dealt with actual magic, Conner wouldn't rule out the latter as an option. Maybe Bree was secretly a sorceress. A sorceress with gorgeous dyed bangs and powerful magic stored in her many bracelets. Or, maybe Conner was just being weird.

 Conner stared back at his (unfortunately) empty piece of lined paper.

 The paper glared back at him.

 Conner couldn't believe was losing a staring match with a pathetic piece of paper. To be fair, Conner himself also felt equally, or more pathetic.

 He sighed softly, and managed to put down a few sentences. He felt like he was straight up vomiting words from his mouth. It was getting harder and harder to focus with Bree in close proximity. Conner's sweaty hands gripped his pen.

 It was then he realized the girls’ voices had gone quiet, replaced by the scritch-scratch of pens on paper. Conner turned over the essay question in his head again and again, and finally found a point he could start with.

 Once Conner started, he was on a roll. Ink flowed freely from his pen, and knowing Conner's rather (ahem) artistic penmanship, perhaps too freely. He managed to tune out his surroundings and his thoughts of Bree.

 Meanwhile, two seats away from Conner, Bree was steadfastly copying her part by hand. Her hand was starting to cramp, and her handwriting slurred. Bree decided to take a break and drank a sip of apple juice her mother had brought up earlier.

 Out of interest, Bree's eyes swiveled to Conner, trying to see what he was doing. According to some research she had found online, when you see your crush, your brain releases certain chemicals to make you feel happy, similar to how drugs work. Essentially, love was a drug. That was comforting. And your brain will subconsciously search for that person in order to get that feeling of happiness again. Basically, Bree was getting high on Conner. She wanted to facepalm herself.

 Conner's mop of strawberry blonde hair glinted in the dining room light. Whenever he moved his head, the sparkles of light shifted, like some sort of golden halo on his head… okay, Bree was beginning to sound like the dumb girls in badly written YA fiction.

 The minutes ticked past, and Alex and Bree idly discussed on the presentation of their project. Conner had finished his essay and was now wrestling with his math homework. Math had always been Conner's weak spot. He couldn't figure out why the numbers suddenly went from positive to negative. This unit on negative numbers was really having a negative affect on him. Alex or Fred were usually patient enough to teach him, but obviously neither of them were available at that time.

 To make matters worse, math wasn't simply something Conner could randomly come up an answer with. At least for English, he could use unnecessarily long phrases and check the thesaurus to sound more “professional”, but for mathematics, they were just icy, hard, immovable numbers! Conner just couldn't get them.

 Conner grunted and shoved a hand in his hair, messing it up. Maybe if he gave his head a massage it could stimulate his brain. Or magically awaken that dormant part of him that was responsible for logic.

 Conner forgot how long he had been agonizing over his math homework. He finally attempted to do question one, but somehow the answer didn’t seem right. He peered at the numbers as if they were written in ancient runes, and grunted, air shooting out from his nostrils.

 Bree happened to had been keeping an eye on Conner, and noticed he was struggling with maths. He didn’t seem to have made any progress with his work. As much as Bree hated to see Conner (or anyone else) suffer at the hands of the cruel, torturous subject known as mathematics, she had to admit Conner’s frustration was a bit endearing. The way he scratched his head just made his hair… floppier than usual, and Bree was filled with the sudden urge to run her fingers through his soft-looking hair. And she liked how he puffed out his rosy cheeks like a child.

 Conner Bailey was so going to be the death of her.

 “I need the washroom,” Alex muttered.

 “It's down the hallway, second door to the left,” Bree informed her.

 “Thanks.” Alex stood up and hurried away. Unintentionally (or not) leaving Conner and Bree in the same room alone together. They both heard her footsteps fade away.

 There was a pause.

 Conner was still glaring at his maths homework. He couldn't for his life figure out how to solve these problems. Suddenly, with only Bree and him present, the room's temperature seemed to increase dramatically, and Conner gulped. Focusing on his work seemed so much more difficult than usual with Bree's presence practically radiating from her. Conner's mind blanked completely, and he subconsciously drummed his fingers on the table, trying to get rid of the nervous energy.

 Bree was still subtly looking at him. By this rate, it would take him months to finish his work.

 Then go and help him! A voice chirped inside her mind.

 Bree's rational voice immediately retaliated. What? No. We don't even know each other that well. It'll seem weird, she argued.

 But you're just fulfilling your duty as a nice, helpful classmate! What's the harm in that? Bree's inner voice was incurably optimistic.

 Bree carefully weighted the options in her hands, and decided to proceed.

 “Uhh, hey, Conner?”

 Conner's neck turned so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash. “Ummm yeah?” he squeaked in an embarrassing, prepubescent way. He wanted to curse his voice change.

 “You having trouble with these problems?” Bree gestured to his homework.

 “Yeah…” Conner stared dejectedly at his work. “I can't seem to understand these concepts. Why do the positive and negative signs keep on changing?”

 “It's not really hard.” All of a sudden, Bree had slid to the spot next to Conner, and was peering at his worksheet.

 Conner couldn't breathe. Bree Campbell, the untouchable goddess, was being too close to him. Too close. He could feel some sort of godly aura radiating from her, one that reduced his insides to jelly. He could practically smell her shampoo, which was vaguely flowery and reminded him of purple flowers blooming under the moonlight for some reason. His stomach was wound tight in an awful yet euphoric way.

 Bree was also nervous due to the closeness, but she kept her feelings under lock and key. She forced that logical part of her brain to work and focus on mathematics.

 “So when you move this number to the other side, it changes from negative to positive. It’s kind of a rule.” Bree pointed to Conner’s first mistake.

 Conner’s mind was blissfully frozen in the most awful and wonderful way possible. He knew he should get a grip but man, Bree was there. Right next to him. Then he realized she was talking and he had spaced out- again.

 “Oh! Uhh, yeaaaaah, you’re right,” Conner rambled, redness flushing up his cheeks. His hands scrambled for an eraser. “I dunno why, but I keep on forgetting basic stuff like this. Haha, I suck at math,” he said lamely.

 Bree eyed Conner. He was getting flustered again, which she attributed to him having a crush on this unknown (lucky) person. But they were the only ones in the room. And Conner’s round, squishy face was like a bright red tomato. What if…

 No. No. Bree vehemently shook her head, knowing what little thought had just slithered into her mind. She wouldn’t allow it. She wouldn’t allow it; the tiny, tiny, practically non-existent hope that Conner Bailey was crushing on her. It was just a crazy fantasy, and Bree was probably over analyzing and overthinking again. It was just- no. No.

 But it was too late. That little sliver of boundless hope was sliding and trickling into the cracks of her heart, filling her up with a strange, bubbly sort of new euphoria. What if, what if, he liked her back? And Bree knew once that notion came to her mind, she would never get it out.

 And besides, why would he like her? Conner probably liked the sweet shy little bookworms, someone with a sensitive, creative soul like him. Not her. Bree was too aloof, too weird. Why would he like someone who wrote morbid zombie stories like her? Or someone who was oddly attached to her beanie and bracelets? And Bree wasn't even that pretty. He had no reason to crush on her.

 Bree stared at Conner’s math homework, but not really taking it in. Her heart was pounding, quickening due to the new exciting discoveries she was making. Her mind was a whirlwind of boundless but impossible fantasies, barely leaving space for other thoughts. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

 “Also, Conner, when you multiply or divide the numbers, the signs don’t change,” Bree said, desperately trying to stuff her feelings back into that small locked box.

 Yeah. Mathematics. Mmm. Focus.

  “Oh,” Conner said dumbly. A pause. “Really?”

 “It’s the rules of mathematics. Also, I’m pretty sure 2 plus 3 doesn’t equal 6.”

 “Ah!” Conner suddenly discovered his basic mistake, and began to erase his frantic pencil strokes with vigor. “I'm such an idiot-”

 “Don't worry, everyone makes careless mistakes. I lost ten marks last exam because of them,” Bree gave a rueful smile.

 Conner continued to inspect his work, squinting his eyes to see if he could find more mistakes. Bree found that action comical and had to hold in a laugh. She forced her usual unassuming “cool and calm” facade on to hide her inner turmoil (she was very good at doing that).

 “I actually think… you've copied the question wrongly for this one?”

 “Oh crap,” Conner slapped his palm on his forehead. “Man, I'm just pathetic.”

 “Don't say that about yourself,” Bree advised. “Just because you're less… comfortable with math doesn't mean you're pathetic. Many people struggle with math too.”

 Conner didn't know why Bree was trying to make him feel better. He knew Bree was decent with math, so she probably took pity upon him or something… But hearing the words come out from her mouth sent a warm stream gushing from his heart. The corners of his lips quirked up.

 “I think I can manage them on my own now. Thanks for your help, Bree,” Conner said with a sincere smile, his gratefulness radiating from his practically glowing face. Somewhere in the back of his brain, he was wondering why wasn't he stuttering like he usually did, but he didn't dwell much on it.

 It was Bree's turn to be dumbfounded. Having seen Conner's rosy, ridiculously cute face was enough, but now she had to see him smile at her. And it was a gorgeous, genuine smile that added ten years to Bree's lifespan, and she had to fight hard to stop herself from smiling too. She got it hard.

 “Yeah, no problem,” Bree found herself saying. The pitter-pat of footsteps indicated Alex was returning, and Bree suddenly felt rather self conscious. She zoomed back to her old seat and pretended she had always been working on her project. She sneaked a look at Conner, whose face was still red and visibly flustered. Boundless hope leapt in Bree’s stomach, and she bit back a grin.

 What if, what if, Bree dared to hope, Conner did have a crush on her? And the imaginary perfect person Bree thought Conner was crushing on was her all the time?

 It was ludicrous. Fantastical. Even a bit narcissistic.

 Bree was unwilling to believe that without concrete evidence, and well… Conner blushing directly in her face wasn’t “concrete” enough.

 Bree, with her rational thinking, didn’t like to jump to conclusions. Especially on a topic as sensitive and as personal as her dumb crush liking her back. But Bree’s imagination was already running a thousand miles a minute, wildly speculating what would she do if Conner really did have a crush on her, what would happen if he, hell forbid, asked her out, what would happen in two years time if the feelings still remained-

 Oh, God.

 Bree was such an incompetent mess.

 Bree willed herself not to think of Conner, and she concentrated, concentrated on her school project, narrowing her field of vision until all she could see were endless rows of words, and she hoped her brain and heart would stop obsessing over the Bailey boy. It was wrong, creepy and distracting.

 A single schoolgirl crush on one thirteen-year-old would not change her that drastically.

 Bree absentmindedly fiddled with her hair, and casually side-eyed Conner. Conner was always so jittery and flustered. Or maybe he was only like that around her? None of Bree's friends really talked about Conner, aside from the one time he accidentally spilled his lunch on her, but even if in that case they just referred to him as “that random guy”. Therefore, Bree wouldn't have an idea of what Conner was like when he wasn't around her.

 Obviously, Bree couldn't go up to Alex or his best friend Fred and say “hey how does Conner act normally this is for very very scientific research”. Trying to observe him without noticing was too creepy and risky. And it wasn't like Bree could ask around. The last thing she wanted was to be involved in some silly middle school rumour.

 Bree's main strategy was to observe. She could take a few risks if she wanted to, but Bree was afraid. Afraid of her deepest secrets and feelings being revealed and stripped away in the most horrible possible- by gossipy middle schoolers who would surely spread them through the neighbourhood like wildfire. Bree knew how annoying the rumours could be, like they were for Danielle.

 Bree promised herself to stop acting weird. People would get suspicious and inquire- heck, they were already suspicious. Bree told herself to stop looking, to stop thinking, to stop this colossal mess of feelings related to Conner Bailey.

 As for whether he actually liked her or not, that was a question for another day. Or so Bree had thought.

 The hope, the fantasies, the theories, kept on burning in Bree's mind every day after she'd realized Conner blushed around her. It was another mystery, a tantalizing mystery, one that she was so close to solving. Bree could almost taste it on the tip of her tongue. The mystery and possibilities and unbased conclusions were awful, as they teased Bree, dragging her to the edge, driving her mad, until Bree didn't even care if Conner liked her or not, she just wanted a clear answer.

 Days, weeks shot by. Bree continued to observe Conner, for both detective and personal reasons. She'd made zero progress on the Bailey Twins Mystery, but she was pretty much sure Alex and Conner were hiding the same thing, and Alex still liked to hug books in the library. As for Conner, on some days, Bree was absolutely sure he was crushing on her, but on other days, it could be the opposite. It was aggravating Bree, and her emotions went up and down like an unpredictable seesaw.

 But she was deliriously happy. Whenever Conner passed by, it felt like a jolt of delightful electricity had shot down her spine. And there was that fluttery warm feeling in her stomach, reminding of the soft pitter-pat of butterflies in the hazy morning air. And his voice, his laughs, his chuckles, were such a wonderful noise, that made something unknown bubble deep inside her.

 As the initial wave of (Bree gagged) lovesickness passed by, Bree got better and better at hiding her feelings and acting normal around Conner. He was still laughing and joking loudly with his friends as always, and Bree discovered Conner basically went into two extremes whenever he saw her- either he froze completely or he started to ramble like crazy.

 By now, you may think Bree probably thought Conner had a crush on her with the overwhelmingly obvious evidence, but nooo, Bree feared her judgement was clouded. She wouldn't believe it unless someone, preferably Conner himself, said in directly in her face. Bree was awkward, carefully weighing her steps and refusing to jump to the conclusion that was millimeters away from her- better be safe than sorry, right?

 Her saviour arrived in the form of a certain Frederick Hayford.

 Everybody knew Fred was the Bailey twins’ best friend. He'd practically grown up with them and knew them best. For some reason, Alex and Fred had begun to engage in heated but hushed discussions in the corridors between lessons. Bree suspected it had something to do with Conner, but didn't enquire.

 To clarify, Bree had not been intentionally stalking Conner's sister and best friend for information. She just happened to pass by. And she happened to have good ears. And she happened to have ears that perked up at every single mention of “Conner Bailey”.

 It was an oddly warm November afternoon. Bree remembered seeing Conner's navy blue hoodie in the hallway and being briefly distracted. It was after the sixth period, when people were brimming with joy and hope at the thought of going home. Someone was chatting excitedly next to Bree, and she was politely nodding, but not taking it in.

 Then a flash of strawberry blonde, and the accompanying blond. Alex and Fred. Fred and Alex.

 They were standing next to the water machine, talking. Fred's voice was slightly louder than the general din of the moving students. His eyes were focused on Alex, apparently ignoring everything else. Bree didn't think much of them. They were just classmates she happened to know.

 As Bree passed by them, Fred's familiar voice floated to her ears…

 “I'm sure Conner doesn't even know he's crushing on Bree…”

 Time froze. Everything froze. For two seconds, Bree was completely paralyzed, the only sound being the loud thump, thump of her pounding heart.

 There was only one Conner in the entire school.

 There was only one Bree in the entire school.

 It was confirmed. Conner Bailey had a crush on Bree Campbell, and she had a crush on him as well.

 Well, well.

 Bree wouldn't say she had expected it, but it wasn't that shocking either. She had to blind to not notice the signs thrust in front of her very eyes.

 But what now?

 They liked each other. It was a mutual thing. A dumb middle school crush, but nevertheless a crush.

 Bree didn't really have a plan afterwards. She just wanted to ignore it and let it pass. But now it was sort of hard to forget that her very cute crush liked her back.

 Bree knew they were too immature and inexperienced for anything that resembled a romantic relationship. Maybe they could be friends, but that would just be awkward.

 Bree decided to wait. Wait and see how long their foolish feelings would go on for. Wait and see whether she and Conner had any connection. Wait until they were older and more able to deal with stupid romance.

 Yes. That was what Bree would do.

***

A/N: *wakes up from slumber* HELLO FOLKS TIS I WITH AN UPDATE AFTER HALF AN YEAR

 I’m sorry for OOC Bree. She’s supposed to act a bit… not like herself when she first realizes she’s crushing on Conner. She's lovesick woooo. That kind of thing does happen, but she’ll be a bit more like herself soon enough!

 Also, thank you so much for your reviews and comments! They keep me going ≧ω≦ Please continue to support my work if you liked it! Thanks for reading as always :D

12/3/2019