"Aar, aar, aar," Pete mimics, with two chopsticks hanging from his mouth. I look at him, with a weirded out look on my face, with my food filled fork close to my mouth. He's looking around, soaking in the looks of our peers' faces, while doing nothing more than laughing at their state of confusion. 

"Why? Why? You are such a clown," I tell him, as I dig my fork deep into my lunch. Some people are laughing to themselves at this, while others are just avoiding eye contact with either of us. Pete takes the chopsticks out of his mouth, and looks at me with an amused look. 

"Oh come on. You like it. You like how much of a clown I am," he tells me, and I shake my head. I don't say a word, because I'm too tired to argue with him on this. After going through my first few periods, I need something to eat otherwise I will walk around looking like a zombie. 

"Now, where are Sophia and Sonia? I need to ask her if she brought any exotic vodka back from Russia during summer," Pete tells me. I look back at him with a "you're joking," look painted across my face. Pete does nothing but smirk at me even more, and take a napkin from his bag. 

"Uh, you do realize you're underage, right?" 

"Yeah, but what the police doesn't know won't hurt them. Plus, my mom's tequila stash is starting to get boring." I choke on my lunch a little bit, and raise an eyebrow at him. "I'm kidding. But I do want to know how the vodka is in Russia." I roll my eyes, as Sophia and Sonia come and join us for lunch. 

"Phew, glad the first few periods are done with. I need some food, otherwise I will stab someone with the chopsticks that Pete had in his mouth," Sophia tells me, as she opens her lunch bag. Sonia opens hers, and Pete just shoots her an expectant look. Sonia looks at him, with a curious look on her face. 

"Uh, what do you want, Pete?" she asks him, as she takes out her lunchbox. Irritation is woven throughout her gentle voice, which is a facade used to cover up her badass personality. 

"Oh, I just want to know how the Russian vodka is. You went last month, right? And I trust that you're old enough to know what it's like. Tell me. Did you get drunk on the first shot? Did you down the whole bottle?" Pete asks, while the look on his face resembles nothing more than someone who just made a dirty joke. 

Sonia sets her lunch bag down and gives Pete a death defying look. "I'll get back to you when you somehow manage to get to the Mexican tequila locked away in your kitchen. Also, ask me when your mom doesn't catch you and chase you down the street with the chancla, okay?" Sophia snickers a little bit, and Sonia opens up her lunchbox to eat. 

Pete isn't fazed by this, and he continues to eat his lunch. "Okay, I just was curious. Also, did you bring me back a bear from Russia?" Sonia looks at him, with a deadly look in her eye, and she stabs her fork into her lunch. Sophia just sits back a little bit more and continues to spectate the fight. 

"No, they can seriously maul you. And I will do that to you if you don't stop asking me stereotypical questions about Russia, Pete." Pete sinks back like a scared 5 year old. He whimpers a little bit, in an attempt to mock Sonia, while Sophia just snickers a little bit. 

"You know, Ray, you're lucky that you're done with your language credits. I made the really stupid mistake of starting French only in my freshman year. You get a lot of free passes this year," Sophia tells me, in an attempt to halt the potentially deadly altercation that may ensue, as I shrug.

"Yeah, I'm done with language things. The good thing is, I can practice on Pete, Sonia, and you because you're an Italian speaker, while Pete still somehow remembers all the Spanish we learned in those 4 years. Ironic, considering that he couldn't even remember why Capulet threatened to disown Juliet in Romeo and Juliet," I stab, and he just rolls his eyes. Sonia chokes on her food a little bit, while Pete just scoffs. 

"My mom helped me memorize all the verbs and conjugations. She was the best partner to practice on, because she's a native Spanish speaker. She's Mexican, so it's even better," Pete says, while I take another bite of food. 

"Didn't she also have the chancla in hand when you did something wrong?" I ask. 

"That too." 

I can't help but look at Sophia, who's eating her lunch so gracefully. The carefree aura that beautifully surrounds her adds a fresh glow to her skin, which I can't help but admire. I try to eat my lunch, but it's so hard to when she is just being her normal, angelic self right there. 

"Alright, Ray, we get that you're checking out Sophia. But you may want to clean up the drool on your chin. Same goes for you, Sophia. You got a little something right there," Pete says, while rubbing his chin a little bit. I blush from pure embarrassment, and wipe my chin with a napkin. Sophia chuckles a little bit, while tucking a dark lock of hair behind her ear after wiping her chin with a napkin. 

"Ah, Pete, shut it. We all know that you've been staring at Sonia since you first saw her in history class," I shoot back, which causes Pete to nearly choke on his food. Sonia gags a little bit, while Pete dramatically fakes choking to death. He holds his throat, and makes realistically artificial choking noises. 

"Ew, you little pervert! Unless I want her blonde hair to burn my eyes to ashes, then I wouldn't be staring at her," Pete says, as she scoffs. 

"I'm surprised your cheesiness hasn't caused me to choke to death already. Considering I've been dealing with it for the past 5 years," Sonia shoots back, as Sophia pinches the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Her eyes are shut, possibly so that she won't witness the bloodbath that is about to ensue. 

"Oh, that's why you always look dead."

"Yeah, because I'm so done with dealing with your bullshi-."

"Okay, okay, that's enough. Stop arguing like an old married couple. Ray and I are seriously done with both of you," Sophia interferes, as they both sigh. Sonia's face is a bright crimson color from all the yelling. 

"Pffft, we're married? If I was married to her, instead of looking for things to argue with her about, I'd be looking for annulment papers," Pete starts again. 

"Forget about the annulment papers. Why would I even marry you in the first place?" Sonia shoots, as Pete shrugs. 

"I don't know. No one in their right mind would make that mistake." 

"Especially when it comes to someone like you-."

"GUYS!" Sophia screams, in the midst of the starting of another argument. She stabs her fork into her pasta in frustration, and looks at both of them with an annoyed look on her face. 

"Guys, she's right. Stop arguing already. It's the first day of school. Can't you guys go one day without arguing?" I ask them, and Sonia raises an eyebrow. 

"I don't know. That's a challenge, considering the fact that Pete just won't stop being annoying," Sonia shoots. Pete sets down his food, and groans. 

"Oh yeah? Well-," Pete starts, but I cut him off. 

"Knock it off. Now. If I hear one more argument from either of you guys, then I will tell Pete's mom that he ditched class on his birthday last year," I say, and Pete groans. 

"Sonia, if you don't stop arguing with Pete, then I will personally tell your mom that you broke her rose pot," Sophia threatens, as Sonia rolls her eyes. 

"Ah, fine. I'll stop. But anyways, Sophia, have you been talking to Victoria? I heard a rumor that she was dating a dude named Preston, but it wasn't confirmed. Spill the tea," Pete says, while leaning in. Sophia rolls her eyes, and chews her food a little bit more so that she won't choke. 

"I don't know. I haven't been talking to her much, and David didn't really tell me anything. I haven't had a decent conversation with her in such a long time," she tells him, as she continues to pick at her food a little bit more. 

"Lucky you, knowing David Bell personally. Some people would argue that being friends with his sister is also a good catch, but I would disagree with that. Victoria's not the friendliest. And being the sister of Anthony Smith. You lucky duck. And yeah, I know what you mean. What Victoria did to you wasn't cool. I have no respect for her."

"That was in the past, Pete. It's over now. What's done is done. I can't forget what she's done, but you can always forgive. I can't hold it against her forever. It's time to move on. Plus, I have you guys, so that makes everything better. " Pete gives the, "damn," look, which causes Sophia to roll her eyes. Sonia's arm goes around Sophia, which causes her to smile. 

"You're so kind hearted. But I am too. Even you, Sonia, despite the fact that we both are on the verge of ripping each other's throats out."

"Aw, you complimented me? That's a first! Wait, you complimented me? Pete, who gave you the shrooms? Who? Spill," Sonia demands, as Pete rolls his eyes. 

"Enjoy it while it lasts. If I compliment you one more time, I'm going to be sick," Pete shoots, as we finish our lunches.

"Ah, we're done at the same time, Ray. Coincidence. Do you need to go to your locker?" he asks. I get up and nod. 

"Yeah, I need to get some textbooks. I'll see you both later," I say, and with that, Sonia and Sophia wave. Pete slings his backpack over his shoulder, and we walk over to where my locker is. 

As I'm turning the combination to my lock, Pete leans against the lockers and purses his lips together. When I finally get my locker open, I turn to him and analyze his weird looking face. "What's with the look on your face?" I ask him. 

"Ray, I have a question for you, and you better be honest with me. Do you like Sophia?" 

With that, it's like everything stops in its tracks. All time stops, all actions stop, like it comes to a screeching halt. My hands remain clamped to the locker door, with my eyes fixated on the books gently resting in it. 

"I-I don't know, Pete. It's complicated," I say, which resumes the time, as I take the last book in my locker. Pete rolls his eyes at me, as I close the door of my locker. 

"What do you mean 'it's complicated?' You've known her for years. And I mean years. Ever since you were both in diapers. Why haven't you made a move yet?" Pete starts going on a random rant to me. My fingers go up to pinch the bridge of my nose. Pete bombarding me with questions is making my head spin like a Tilt-a-Whirl. I can't contemplate an answer when he's yapping in my ear like an obnoxious chihuahua. 

"Look, I'm just nervous. What if she doesn't feel the same? She's one of my best friends, and the last thing I want to do is jeopardize my friendship with her. Have you seen the movies? They almost always never work out. I don't want that to happen to us." The look on Pete's face turns from confused and slightly irritated to sympathetic. I start walking to the library, while Pete runs to catch up with me. 

"Okay, I'm sorry for lashing out at you. I really am. But how would you know if you never tried? I saw Sophia kind of check you out at the lunch table. Through the corner of my eye. Plus, what movies have you seen where the best friends turned into lovers don't work out? From my experience, they're always fine. Plus, my mom made a move on her best friend. Three years later, they got married, and I'm the product of it!" We enter the library, where I lower my voice so that I don't attract attention to myself. 

"Oh. Yeah, when I get access to a time machine, I'm going to go back to that time and talk your mom out of making that move." I sit down at a nearby table, as Pete plops his backpack down next to him. 

"Damn. That's cold. But anyways, my point is, make a move on her already. If she doesn't accept, then it's okay. She's a really forgiving person. Plus, the masquerade ball is coming up! It's a perfect opportunity!" 

As much as I hate to admit it, Pete's got a really good point. The masquerade ball, also known as one of the biggest dances of the year, is coming up faster than I can handle. Since it is my last year, I do want to make it as memorable as possible. 

However, it will probably be even more memorable with Sophia by my side. Would it be a good time to ask her to be my girlfriend?

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I don't know, Ray. Is it a good time to ask Sophia out? What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments. 

Hey everyone! How are you all doing? So, a lot of you guys may be thinking, "why is this chapter called 1.5?" Well, it's because it's sort of a continuation, but not really, of the last chapter. I feel like those who read this before I put this new chapter in didn't get a chance to absorb the characters and see what their mindset is like. So, this is to help with that! I call these "pacer chapters." Not only that, these are to help the pace a little bit more. 

That's pretty much it. Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all in the next chapter!

Love you guys, 

Shree