"anyways, get into groups of three, groups that you know you'll do well with," the teacher announces causing me to look over to mikey and mouth.

i point at myself to them, making it clear that they were to join my group and they both nod in agreement.

i stand up to walk over to them both.

"ready to win?" i ask. we were supposed to be doing a challenge today in science, like we do every once a month.

this time the children were supposed to see who could build the largest tower out of a certain amount of marshmallows and toothpicks.

"we better beat everyone else this time," mouth starts. his competitive streak always comes out during science challenges like this.

"should i go get some toothpicks and marshmallows?" mikey asks.

"yes, now mouth. where do you think it would be best to set up?" she asks, turning to face mouth.

"uh...there," he points at a spot next to the heater. a couple of girls with loud earrings slowly make their way over there but not before mouth runs and leaps to snatch the spot first.

"sorry ladies! there's still room on my lap if you want!" mouth calls out, laughing.

"act your age mouth," the girl mumbles to him, furrowing her eyebrows in annoyance.

"oh shut up nicky, i'm like young and this is how the boys my age act," he defends poorly, arms stretched out at his sides.

"well then act like a civil person!"

mikey came up to the two with the marshmallows and toothpicks, placing them on the ground.

"okay, let's do this," he says sitting down crisscross-applesauce.

mikey's breath sounds a little short, probably because of his asthma and allergy season. nicole gives him a small smile and moves the items around. mikey is a cute kid, always has been. it's confusing as to how he doesn't have a girlfriend yet, but yet again he's not exactly the river phoenix of existing. although nicole always found him interesting.

"thanks mikey," i say. maybe mikey isn't one of the popular kids but he's a good person. he hangs out with kids like chunk and the rest of the goonies. chunks the laughing stock of the grade seeing as how he's always embarrassing himself with stories of bank robbers and celebrity sightings in his own home.

i'm sure i'm in the group because i like comic books rather than the coolest new lipstick shade. mikey's probably here because mouths still here, and they grew up together the closest. data and chunk grew up with mikey and mouth too, meaning that we would obviously stick with them.

i came into the group a couple years late, not having such a best friend relationship with anyone, but we all got along just fine.

i'm not sure why mouth and mikey don't leave the group, i guess they believe in the power of friendship more than having an invite to the next hottest party.

"is everyone going to your house after school mikey?" i ask starting to build.

mouth's still causing a scene in the room and stealing people's materials when they're not looking so it's basically just me and mikey building.

"i think so. chunk said he had something to do first but mouth and i are walking back home together after school," mikey replies.

i look up and stare at him for a second.

his eyes are seriously blue today making them pretty, and his hair is brushed at the least.

how cute is this kid.

mikey looks up at me and smiles. he doesn't smile with his mouth open because for some reason he's super conscious about his braces making him a little nerdy.

i like my braces and take them into full stride around people i talk to. why should i be self conscious over something that makes so many people look cute? the only people that tease others for them are the assholes who can't afford them but can afford to shut up.

"can i walk with you two?" i ask him.

"sure. i mean brand will be home tonight and he's always fun to mess around with," he replies while laughing and looking down at what he was doing.

"sounds fun," i reply with a grin as well. mikey reaches for the same marshmallow as me and our fingers touch. he pulls away for another one but smiles in the process.

"hey do you think-"

"so! how's the tower of doom going guys," mouth says coming up and slapping us on the back.

"it would be coming along better if we had two more hands to help," i tell him.

"oh but look at what i got," he says pulling loads of toothpicks and marshmallows out of his two pockets.

i laugh and take them from mouth, setting them down next to our pile.

mouth plops down next to mikey and starts to help us build.

we have five minutes left and no one else's towers except maybe two are still standing, and ours is still taller. the perk of being friends with data is that his creativity sticks to us when an invention is involved.

"class times up," the teacher calls out and everyone puts their hands up.

she looks at all of the towers and figures ours is the largest.

"okay.....mikey's group clearly wins," she says.

mouth starts cheering, i start blushing, and mikey laughs.

"nice," mikey says high-fiving mouth.

"okay class, everyone clean up. we have about five minutes," the teacher says. i start to take the tower down when another group of girls walk up to us.

"nice cheating, clark!" they say and mouth rolls his eyes.

"oh please, you're just jealous that you couldn't get your tower to even stand up, that's not the only thing you can't get to stand up!" mouth replies laughing hysterically.

i snicker a little but the girls start getting mad. i understand that, if the comment was made towards me mouth would be groaning on the floor right now.

"oh grow up for once mouth," the other girl says turning around.

"i'm so tired of girls telling me to grow up. you too nicky!" he says groaning.

"but you should grow up! you act like a kid!"

"i'm happy staying my age i don't want to grow up," he defends.

"okay peter pan," i chuckle at him with a shake of my head.

i stand up after clearing everything and walk up to mikey's desk.

"lunch in the library today?" i ask.

"sure, i mean you, data, and mouth are all going and chunks always wandering during lunch so i'd rather not be all alone," mikey sighs.

"okay, i'll see you then,"

the bell rings so i pick up my bag and books before heading to my locker.

i have to go to math class, which is a class i only have with mouth. i only have two classes without mouth and that's history and home ec.

i glance at my schedule pinned to my locker door and sigh at the contents.

history: chunk 8:30-9:30

science: mikey and mouth 9:33-10:03

math: mouth 10:06-11:36

lunch: entire grade 11:36-12:00

english: mikey and mouth 12:03-12:33

explore (home ec): mikey and data 12:36-1:36

study hall: mouth 1:40-2:45

nutrition break: entire grade 2:45-3:00

that's my schedule for the entire year, forever repeating itself, with an exception of my explore class being changed every semester.

"did you do your homework last night?" i ask mouth sitting down next to him.

"you're funny nicky, you really are," he laughs taking a piece of paper out.

"figures. here," i tell him setting my sheet down between us so he can quickly copy the answers down.

"anyways, mikey said you're walking home with us," he whispers while the teacher writes stuff on the board.

"that's the plan,"

"i saw you guys all smiling at each other earlier," mouth says. i look up to him and give him a look saying 'you're crazy'.

"and?"

"so, are you starting to like....like mikey? again?"

"mouth!" i say pushing him a little in my frenzied feeling. who does this kid think he is?

"i bet you do," he says laughing, "i bet that if you guys starting making out your braces would get stuck!"

mouth is quiet for a split second before he burst out laughing.

"oh my god," i say groaning as i place my head onto my algebra book.

mouth calms down enough to sit up straight.

"do you like mikey?" he asks.

i roll my eyes but his serious demeanour doesn't change.

"well, i don't know," i tell him.

"oh come on, it's not like i would tell him!" he says and i give him another look.

"i mean he's really cute and nice and, i don't know," i confide in him, not having anyone else to tell really takes a toll on me.

"seriously?" he asks wrinkling his nose. he's in a thought process of trying to figure out how to handle the situation and i don't blame him. he moves his head and makes a small face of disgust under the dim light of the classroom.

"i guess, please don't tell him,"

"i won't, i won't," he says smiling, which isn't a sign i should feel too safe with.

"yes you will!"

"i promise i won't,"

"liar,"

"i'm not lying! listen, i mean i kept mikey's secret about liking you when we were like 12!" he says quickly. my eyes go wide at him and his response is about the same.

"seriously? does he still like me?" i ask him.

"no, well i don't know, i only told you because it's from a while ago! but judging from all the smiley crap in science i would say yes," he says.

"well find out for me!"

"mouth, nicole, have anything to share with the class?" mr. holmquist says from the front of the room.

"no!" mouth and i say in unison.

everyone in the class has their eyes on us but i block them out. the teacher turns around and continues the lesson, surprisingly not yelling at us like he does to mouth frequently.

i pull out a sheet of paper and scribble something down on it.

"don't tell mikey," mouth reads out loud making me roll my eyes. he's going to get me into the world record book for eyerolls.

"i wrote it down for a reason idiot," i whisper.

"calm down nicky, i won't tell mikey that you looooove him,"

i blush a little and look the other way. i've always had little butterflies when i was near mikey, i always thought that maybe i liked him but i never addressed that i could like mikey.

i start figuring out new maths equations but couldn't get them quite right.

mikey was on my mind more than math.