Angus had gone to bed with a tornado in his brain and an earthquake in his heart. He never did get an answer the other night, as Malcolm couldn't seem to give him one. He was only two years older...what did he know about love that Angus couldn't understand himself? When Malcolm failed to respond, a light knock on the door sounded instead. Their noisy discussion had woken their mother, who was not expecting to see her son in the condition he was in. After bursting into the bathroom pulling Angus in for a hug, a rough scolding at the both of them for getting home so late, and giving all her attention to the wound on Angus' face, the boys were sent to bed under a two week grounding. Besides the trouble they got into, Angus needed a good long rest from school, and was allowed the day off on Monday. Malcolm tried to protest for him under a false reason of a history test, but Angus' kick to the shin shut him up real quick. During a late night questioning, Malcolm would yet again remain silent.

The cold wind blew through his window and he begrudgingly left his bed to close it. His neck had been pressed by a warm washcloth and gauze while his eye had been treated with a liquid medicine. It stung, but not at all worse than the cards Johnny dealt him. Sleep wouldn't come to him, even if he was allowed any. His mind traveled down the block to the bedroom where his high school sweetheart slept away her worries. His jacket draped over her now lay on his floor, her mother thinking so poorly of them now believing them to be 'not so bad'...his heart stolen and locked deep in the clutched palms of the girl he kissed that night, the girl he carried home that night, the girl he fell in love with that night.

Angus rolled over in his bed toward the wall. What did Malcolm know? Couldn't he see a crush wasn't the word to describe what he felt? It wasn't the same temporary euphoric feeling that incited him to climb out her bedroom window. That was long gone, and he hoped it never came back.

How could he admit to her, without ruining their friendship, how he felt? Most likely she didn't reciprocate and then he'd be left with that to dwell on. Or what if somehow, in the deep, dark mechanisms of his brother's mind, he was right?

Was love questioned? Was it an instinct and you simply knew if it were real, or could you doubt yourself? Maybe during their dance as they waltzed alone Angus had been caught up in the heat of the moment and kissed her by accident. Yet, he felt something different long before the dance. He just never realized.

A warm, yellow glow bounced off Angus' window. His room went from black to deep blue and he sat up in bed with no signs of sleep written on his face. His head felt better but the bruise was still a gnarly purple. His neck was still sore. And his heart was still dizzy with confusion. Maybe taking a few days off was a good idea. He needed rest for his health; not to mention some time away to think. If he really was in love, he'd know it in a few days. If it was a crush, it'd disappear with a couple days without his friend. A concussion didn't brighten up his day but it gave him an excuse to distance himself. A good while without Susan might liven him up as well. If Johnny saw the two together, he'd be dead in a locker.

Maybe then he wouldn't have to think about love.

The weekend passed and Monday found Hannah sitting all alone in her art class. Teachers had been notified that Angus wasn't going to show up due to an 'unfortunate accident'. The words made Hannah's blood boil, and her drawing was darkened a bit too well from her grip on her pencil.

Along with anger, she was in a hole. A hole dug by her best friend himself and then left there to rot. Everything he said to her that night was formed by a shaken up brain and wasn't sincere. But what about before the fight? He didn't put his lips on hers to kiss away a wound. Platonic kisses generally aren't on the mouth to begin with. Angus said he had never kissed anyone either after her denial, perhaps he just wanted to get it over with and brag about its occurrence.

The microscope wobbled within her shaking hands. She couldn't concentrate on her sample of hair cells for science class without her mind wandering to her friend. Hopefully the worst was over and he wouldn't have to suffer the pain anymore. A pair of snow white hands gripped her microscope to steady the shaking. Looking up Hannah saw Susan biting her lip, looking a different direction. For a moment she didn't say anything. Only thought her next words carefully lest she cut a red wire. "Have you seen Angus today?" Her voice was shallow and quiet.

Hannah released her grip on the microscope. "I thought you heard. He's taking a few days off due to his...injury." Susan's eyes closed as if the word injury caused her pain. "Johnny sure is protective of you, huh? Considering you two broke up a few weeks ago."

"Last year. I tried to leave him, but he wouldn't have it," Susan explained. "His machism inflated and I took a backseat to his life. But as soon as I have a say in anything..." Her sentence dropped off into nothing. "I know Angus is a good guy. Ever since that party they threw I figured he had a thing for me, but I didn't want to lead him on or anything. He's just not my type."

"Took him a while to figure that out," Hannah muttered. "Did you change your mind last Saturday?"

Susan sighed and fiddled with the science instrument. "You saw the group of guys I came with. Do you think I want to spend my night like that? I had to get away somehow. I came to Angus for a better kind of attention and I knew he wouldn't send me away like many other people have." Hannah pursed her lips. "He may not have sent me away, but something certainly pulled him away from me." Two blue eyes shifted to meet two hazel ones. "I can see he definitely changed his mind."

"No...no he-he wasn't trying to-"

"I saw his eyes, Hannah. They didn't seem thrilled you were off with someone else."

"Well the feeling was mutual."

"I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have come on to him like that, I was just-lonely." Hannah opened her mouth to speak, then thought it better to drop the subject. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"I don't know. The concussion must be pretty bad if he's staying home for a few days," Hannah answered. "I'll call him tonight and ask, but I think I know the answer."

"Tell him I'm really sorry, and that I wanted to help, but Johnny's gotten handsy with me before when I got in his way and-" Her head shook, ridding itself of all the bad memories with that boyfriend of hers. "Never mind, he doesn't need to know all that."

"Johnny doesn't sound like the catch he's made out to be," Hannah mentioned quietly. The microscope had been set aside so the two could focus on the conversation. Susan took an unoccupied stool from a nearby table to sit on.

"He used to be. Or maybe I just thought he was," she replied with a sigh. "Look, maybe I was a bit hard on Angus growing up. I feel awful for that. And I know you're good friends with him, and I also know he's pretty fond of you. So...don't make the same mistake I did. Or you'll land yourself a Johnny."

"God knows I wouldn't want that," Hannah mumbled. Susan chuckled to herself.

"It's funny how when you're a kid-and you think you know what you want...but sometimes the things our parents warned us about, really aren't for us."

"My mother warned me about Mal and Ang, and they're still my best friends," Hannah said.

"My folks warned me about Johnny. Look how that turned out."

"Hey, so he was one dud."

"One mean, jealous, hard to get rid of dud," Susan finished. "But-I just can't let him go quite yet." Hannah nodded. "Take care of Ang. He needs a better girl than I was."

"Take care of yourself. Become the woman Johnny doesn't deserve," Hannah said softly but firmly. The science teacher meandered down the aisle watching her students work. The microscope was placed back in the middle of the table and the two girls mumbled nonsense pretending to look at the samples. With a suspicious look, the teacher moved on. The girls laughed when she left.

"Hey. I uh, heard the news," Susan said. Hannah raised an eyebrow. "Your news?"

"Oh! Oh yeah..."

"When?"

"Friday."

"That soon?" Hannah sighed leaning her head on the table. "Have you told him?"

"Yes. But, I don't think he heard me."

"Maybe when you ring him tonight you can tell him."

"Maybe...I ought to tell him in person though."

"Ask him to meet you somewhere. Ask him on a date." Hannah choked on her spit.

"A date? Aren't dates for people who date?"

"It's not like he was never gonna ask you anyway, let's be honest," Susan smiled. "Though, it's kind of a crappy first date when you tell someone news like that."

"Yeah, no kidding." A few minutes ticked by while the class around them studied their cell structures. "I'm gonna miss them."

"Ladies? Now is not the time to be chatting about anything different than ribosomes or chloroplasts," their science teacher interrupted, a ruler in her hand. Her face was rigid and stern, one that disciplined students on a regular basis and showed no mercy. "The only thing you'll be missing Hannah, is the opportunity to learn about the very structures that make up your body. So I suggest you end this discussion and get back to work."

"Then I suggest you quit talking and let me work," Hannah replied. "You give a five minute speech just to tell me to shut up, what's that about?" Susan's mouth opened in shock. The two girls didn't interact much until today, but it was a known fact that Hannah was the biggest teacher's pet in the whole school. To hear her talk back was like seeing pigs fly. Her reply seemed to have earned the whole class' attention.

"You better watch that mouth of yours, young lady," the teacher warned as she turned to leave for her desk.

"You better watch that figure of yours," Hannah mumbled. Stopped dead in her tracks was the teacher, soon whirling around to face the defiant student.

"What was that?" Her voice was dangerously quiet.

"Did I stutter?" Hannah was not in the mood to act nice and polite. Not when she had bad tidings to share later.

"One more crack like that and you're outta here."

"I could say the same about you and your ruler."

Hannah's feet swung back and forth over the edge of the chair. Only once in her life had she ever been sent here, and that was with Angus as an accomplice. Or enemy, at the time. Boy, was her mother not gonna be happy getting a call from the principal's office! She smiled, knowing Malcolm and Angus would be rather proud of her. And that's what really mattered to her. For just a few minutes she could get her mind off the rough time ahead. Hannah couldn't dodge it forever, lest forever she be dodged.