❝Family isn't always blood and I am grateful for the friends who have turned into family.❞

Unknown

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"So, my mom says 'Why don't you try being polite for just one day and see if people don't notice'," Cory rolled his eyes as he walked down the hallway, Shawn and Elena on either side of him.

"Hey, for what it's worth Cor, I think you're polite," Shawn paused, "Then again, polite in my family means wearing a tie for your arraignment."

"Well, tie or not I still think you're polite Cor. Most of the time anyway," Elena patted his shoulder with a smile.

She couldn't help let out a laugh and Cory gave her an offended look.

Rolling her eyes, she turned Cory around. Mr. Feeny was holding a fire extinguisher in one hand and dragging a boy covered in dry powder from said fire extinguisher.

"Oh," Cory nodded his head.

"I appreciate your quick response with the fire extinguisher, Mr.Mendoza, but in the future, please, wait for a fire," Mr. Feeny sighed as he let the boy go.

"Achoo!"

Cory leaned forward. "Bless you, Mr. Feeny."

"Oh, thank you." Mr. Feeny's eyes widened slightly, "Mr. Matthews, that's surprisingly considerate."

"Good. Tell my mother."

"Don't ask," Elena shook her head as Mr. Feeny gave the boy a questioning glance.

Mr. Feeny nodded his head at the girl in thanks before making his way to his office.

"Hey Ladybug," Eric booped Elena's nose as he walked passed them with River.

"Hey guys," River smiled at the three, coming to a stop when he reached them while Eric kept going.

"He was trying to get you to tell him about the party, wasn't he?" Elena rolled her eyes.

"You ask questions you already know the answer to, you know that?" River laughed, "When I didn't tell him anything he got really confused. About how he couldn't decide whether I failed or not because I wasn't giving him a report but I was also doing what you asked."

Elena smiled as she held out her first to River for a fist bump.

"Oh, now watch as I shift into turbo polite." Cory smirked before rushing to open the door for his brother, "Eric, allow me."

Eric paused as he stared at Cory, "Okay."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Cory smiled charmingly.

"No, I'll take it from here," Eric nodded his head to the bathroom, "Thanks."

"Alright. Tell Mom I offered."

Cory pushed himself off the door frame and turned to walk back to his friends, "Aah!"

"Hey!" A girl in a leather jacket glared at him as her books fell to the floor.

"Oh, sorry," Cory leaned down to pick up the books she'd dropped when he ran into her, "You okay?"

"I don't know," She stared at him before taking the book and throwing it back on the ground.

"Whoa, twice in a row!" She smiled as Cory handed her the book again, "You're a very polite fella."

"Thank you."

"And your smile, it's kinda engaging."

"Yeah, I use the toothpaste with swirls."

"Humorous, too. You got possibilities. Turn around. Let me look at you," The girl took a step back, "Well, I don't usually go for Velcro-heads, but on you, I don't know. It's workin' for me. You got a name?"

"Uh, Cory."

"I'm Theresa. My friends call me T.K."

"Oh, nice to-" Cory grimaced when he held out his hand to her and she grabbed it, "Oh, gosh, I knew this was going too well."

"Chill," Theresa laughed as she wrote on his palm, "It's a pen! Keep in touch."

"Alright, Cor." Shawn smiled at his best friend as they walked over to him.

River patted his shoulder with a smile.

"My little Cory is growing up!" Elena cooed loudly as she pinched his cheeks before laughing.

"That girl," Cory whispered as he stared down at his hand, "She wrote seven numbers on my hand. What could that possibly mean?"

"Dial them on a phone and you'll find out," Elena rolled her eyes, as she wrapped an arm around him.

Cory looked at her as if she'd lost her mind, "How can I call her if I don't have her-"

"There we go!" Elena smiled proudly when Cory cut himself off.

A smile slowly made its way onto his face as he looked down at his hand, "Oh."

▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼

"No Eric."

"Please Ladybug!" Eric begged.

"I'm not telling you anything else about the party!"

"And I'm not asking, I just want a name!" Eric whined.

"Why is it such a big deal anyway," She huffed, "You went to parties when you were in seventh grade too."

"Exactly! So I know exactly what happens at these parties and how boys think. None of these losers are hurting my little Ladybug! I'm not gonna let them."

Elena smiled at the eldest Matthews boy. "I love you Eric."

Eric wrapped an arm around her and hugged her, "I love you too Ladybug."

The two walked down the hall before Eric stopped and leaned down in front of Elena.

"C'mon, I'll take you to class."

"Can we stop at the vending machine?"

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"You know, last night, T.K. and I talked on the phone for, like, two hours!" Cory smiled brightly, "It beats my previous time with a girl by, like two hours! She even asked me out to the movies this Friday night."

"She asked you out?" Shawn repeated before wincing as Elena elbowed him.

"Yep. And I just might let her take me."

"Which movie? What time? When are you going to be home?"

"Okay mom, chill," Cory joked and Shawn laughed.

Cory gulped when he noticed Elena staring him down, "The Flintstones movie at 5 o'clock. I'll be home by 9."

Elena's stare didn't budge for a few minutes before she smiled, "Do you know what you're going to wear?"

Cory sighed in relief before pausing to think.

"Well, even if you do that's not what you're wearing for your first date. We'll come over after school on Friday so I can pick something out for you."

"All right, homeroom, announcements," Mr. Turner called out as he walked into the classroom.

"Thanks Lena." Cory smiled at the girl before they all moved to their desks.

"Uh, stay awake," He advised, "Item one, chess squad. All students interested in trying out for the fast-paced world of-" He cut himself off when he saw the bored faces of students, "Yeah. Um, let's see, jumping to relevant stuff. Due to a freezer mishap, fish kebabs will not be served in the cafeteria today as scheduled."

The class clapped in relief and Shawn stood from his desk and bowed.

"Thank you, thank you."

"I don't want to know," Mr. Turner sighed as he went back to the announcements, "Uh, Item 15-"

"Hey," Theresa cut him off as she stood in the doorway.

"Hey back," Mr. Turner looked down at her unamused at her interruption.

"Ah, there he is," Theresa smiled when her eyes landed on Cory, "There's my guy."

"It's funny, I got this thing here called homeroom-"

Theresa cut Mr. Turner off again as she shoved a note towards him, "Yeah, this note covers it."

"T.K. what are you doing in my homeroom?" Cory smiled up at her from his seat when she walked over.

"Our homeroom now, sweetie."

"Okay, Theresa, welcome aboard. Pick yourself a desk," Mr. Turner said as he finished reading the note.

"Mr. Turner, is it okay to sit two to a desk?" Theresa smiled at Cory.

"I'm thinking, no."

"For a five-spot?"

Mr. Turner pointed to a desk on Cory's immediate right.

Once the bell rang, everyone rushed to the door.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Theresa turned angrily when she felt someone grab her wrist.

"Elena Martinez, Cory Matthews' best friend." Elena introduced before dragging Theresa out of the classroom.

"What do you-"

"No, no." Elena held up her hand, "I'm talking, you're listening."

Theresa glared at her but didn't say another word.

Elena smirked. "Cory is a sweet boy, dumb but also very sweet. Now, that combination makes it easy to get hurt. What I'm saying is, don't hurt my best friend."

"You're a straight shooter Martinez." Theresa smiled, "You got yourself a deal."

Theresa held her hand out and Elena smiled as they shook on it.

"Ah, my two favorite people!"

The two girls turned to see Harley Keiner walking towards them with a big smile.

He wrapped an arm around the two. "Walk with me."

"So Martinez, as you know you are an honorary member of my gang. The youngest in fact. This also makes you my honorary little sister along with T.K. over here."

"That's what the 'K' stands for," Elena breathed in.

"And as my honorary sister, I am trusting your judgment on my precious sister's date. Baboon."

Elena smiled at the older boy. It was endearing that he trusted her opinion. "He's a gentleman."

Harley nodded his head. "You can go on your date."

Theresa squealed and hugged Elena tightly. "Thank you!"

"Martinez will also be going on this date."

"Not that I wouldn't love that," Elena rolled her eyes, "I already have plans with River."

"Oh, I know. That's why Jones is now taking you to see The Flintstones" Harley smirked at the girls, "You will chaperone T.K.'s date and you will chaperone Elena's date."

"It's not a date," Elena crossed her arms defensively.

"It is an outing with a boy alone. Whatever you want to call that, I need it supervised. For both of you."

"Eric también te consiguió," Elena sighed.

"Él señaló un problema," Harley corrected.

Elena smirked proudly. "You're getting better."

Harley smiled back before ruffling her hair, T.K. receiving the same treatment before he left.

The two rolled their eyes and immediately went to fix their hair.

"You got a flyaway," Elena pointed out before smoothing out T.K.'s hair.

"Thanks," She smiled before combing her hand through Elena's hair, "Just a little fluffy."

The two made their way to their next class, talking and laughing.

"Hey, you ever tell Cory your last name?"

"Hasn't come up, why?"

"Oh, pobrecito Cory."

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Elena had barley made her way out the door of her History class when someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a bench in the hallway.

"Hey!" Elena glared before noticing who it was, "T.K.?"

"I thought he was nice!" Theresa huffed, her eyes squinting and her fists clenched.

"What are you-"

"He's just like everyone else!"

"Okay, I need to know more than-"

"Good for noth-"

Elena rolled her eyes, she was basically talking to a wall.

When talking doesn't work start yelling, Elena thought to herself, That's what mami does anyway.

"Hey!" Elena yelled and Theresa immediately stopped talking, "That's my best friend you're talking about. So instead of talking bad about him why don't you tell me what he actually did and we'll go from there."

Theresa sighed before she sat down next to Elena and started explaining what happened with Cory.

He'd bailed on their date because he felt Theresa was getting too serious too fast.

Before Elena could try to justify her best friend's actions she was cut off. Again.

Harley was standing in front of the two.

"Martinez, you are one of the few I trust with my sister. Take care of her while I take care of baboon."

Elena opened her mouth to defend Cory but Harley was already gone.

"la gente necesita dejarme terminar de hablar," Elena crossed her arms.

"You two, get to class!" A teacher pointed to them.

"Well, looks like Cory's finally finding out your last name."

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"Alright, I think this'll work."

Shawn and Elena looked over at him from the couch. Cory had decided to wear a tux for his date with Theresa.

"Black shoes, white socks, bow tie," Shawn nodded his head, "Should do it."

"Eric, how do I look?"

"Like a ventriloquist's dummy."

Cory smiled. "Perfect!"

Eric sat down next to Elena, watching his brother in confusion. "You know, I thought you had a date, but apparently, you're going to Sears to take pictures for Grandma."

"This is for my date."

"We want to make sure he's totally unappealing to this girl," Shawn explained.

"To make sure that she never wants to see him again," Elena finished.

"That's good. Play your strengths," Eric smiled at Cory.

Cory went pale when they heard a knock on the door.

"Oh, gosh, she's here," He turned to Shawn desperately, "Shawn, stay with me."

"Relax, it's just River," Elena patted Cory's shoulder as she ushered River inside.

Cory smiled and just began to remove his arms from Shawn's shoulders when they heard another knock.

"Shawn, stay with me!" He yelled, his grip on Shawn returning.

"Come on, what the worst thing that could happen?" Shawn tried to calm him down.

Frankie Stecchino stood at Cory's front door. "It is time."

"I got a date with Frankie!" Cory cried.

Elena was quick to place her hand on his forehead before he could slap it in frustration. She wanted to make sure he didn't hurt himself. Or have a big red mark across his forehead.

"Miss Keiner's waiting in the car to go to the movies."

"Oh, that's better," Cory sighed before his eyes widened, "No, it's not. Shawn, she's gonna see through this outfit. I'm goin' out in a bow tie. I'm coming back in a box. Help me."

"Miss Keiner doesn't like to miss the coming attractions, Fuzzy."

"Hey," Elena glared at Frankie, "Let him be as dramatic as he wants for as long as he wants."

Frankie threw up his hands in defense and nodded his head.

"Thank you, Frankie," She smiled before turning to her best friends.

"Oh," Frankie pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind his back and held them out to Elena, "These are from Harley for River to give to Miss Martinez."

"Not a date." Elena huffed before taking the bouquet.

She looked up at Frankie to thank him before pausing and turning to River, "Thank you?"

"And these are for Fuzzy from Miss Keiner," Frankie went back out onto the porch and brought in a large stuffed bear.

Eric watching all of this happen, continued eating his sandwich as he pulled River to the side.

"No funny business."

River sighed. "Trust me, I'm not happy about this either."

Eric glared at him. "What so my Ladybug isn't good enough for you?!"

"What? No!" River's eyes widened, "I meant that-"

"Yeah, yeah," Eric cut him off, "Y'know, you would be lucky if Lena even decided to go on a date with you."

"I know that, okay. I just meant that we were supposed to go to Chubbie's to work on a History project not babysit your brother's date."

Eric watched the boy for a minute before he nodded his head. "You make sure Elena has a good time."

With that, Eric walked away from him and towards his brother.

"Any last words for Mom and Dad?"

"Tell Mom 'Politeness kills'."

"After you," Frankie took a step back to let Cory pass.

Elena and River looked over at each other as they followed Cory out.

"Esto va a ser divertido," River sighed.

"Estoy saltando de alegría," Elena huffed.

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"Hey!" Frankie leaned into the backseat when he saw Theresa lean closer to Cory through the rearview mirror.

"Frankie, I'm datin' here!" Theresa glared at him.

"Well, I'm chaperonin'."

"And I'm trying not to throw myself outta the car," Elena rolled her eyes.

Theresa looked at Cory expectantly. "Will you talk to him?"

"Sure. He always listens to me," Cory sighed before leaning towards the front, "So, uh, Frankie nice hat!"

"Shut up."

"Yes, sir."

"Frankie, be a good guy, huh? Go play on that swing set over there." Theresa pointed outside with an eye roll.

"This I cannot do," Frankie refused before he smiled, "Ooh, the dancin' snacks! I love the dancin' snacks!"

Theresa leaned towards him with a five-dollar bill. "Here make a dream come true."

"Harley gave me orders," Frankie paused, "Ooh, the Snow Caps are doin' the cha-cha!"

Theresa smirked. "I think they're savin' the last dance for you, Frankie."

Frankie did not need more convincing before he was rushing out of the car. "Out of my way!"

"Alone at last," Theresa smirked as she inched closer to Cory.

"Now what?" She huffed when she felt someone pulling her back.

"Too close. Way too close," Elena deadpanned.

Cory had never been more thankful for Elena being so overprotective.

Theresa rolled her eyes and went to say something when Cory cut her off.

"Y'know T.K. I'm really thirsty, I'll go grab us a couple of drinks. Lena, River, help me?"

Elena was already shuffling to the door but T.K. stopped her.

"And the torture continues," Elena huffed, crossing her arms as she sat back down.

"Oh, save your strength," T.K. smiled at Cory, "You just sit there lookin' good."

"Shawn?" Elena and River were confused, to say the least when Shawn shuffled into the car.

"Shawn, how'd you get here?" Cory looked at his best friend thankfully.

"I live on the other side of the fence," He shrugged, "So, how's it goin'?"

"I haven't thrown up or jumped out of the car yet, so that's good," Elena told him.

"Shawn, she's all over me," Cory whined, "I don't think Lena can keep her away for much longer."

"She's persistent," River agreed.

"I will keep her away from you kicking and screaming Cory," Elena promised.

Cory smiled gratefully at her. "Please never leave."

"Don't worry Cor, she's stuck with us for life. We won't even have to wait since we got rid of Tyler early," Shawn smirked.

"Tyler?" River looked at Elena for an explanation.

"Don't ask. And stop talking about Tyler."

"How do I get her to stop?" Cory asked his three friends.

Shawn frowned. "I've never exactly had that problem before."

"I'm the exception to that," Elena smirked.

"No you're not," Shawn scoffed, "You're gonna be my wife."

Cory cut into their banter before it could go on.

"Can we get back to me? T.K. went to get a soda not milk a cow, she's going to be back any minute!"

"Okay, okay, how do you normally strike out?"

"I don't know. I mean, it's usually so easy for me!"

"Okay," Shawn sighed before opening the car door, "Look, hop on my bike. I'll get you out of here."

River opened the door on his side for him and Elena but Cory stopped them.

"Ditch Harley Keiner's sister on a date? Are you mental?"

"Besides, it's a bike, not a bus. it's not going to fit four people."

"You're right Lena," Shawn turned to River, "You'll have to walk."

Elena sighed. "Too late."

Cory's eyes widened when he saw T.K. walking to the door and quickly pushed Shawn out the car.

"Hey Martinez, your boy looks different," Theresa leaned closer to 'River'.

Cory may have accidentally pushed River out of the car instead of Shawn.

Elena was quick to push her back. "Nope. Same face, same boy, same River."

Theresa shrugged and turned back to Cory with a smile.

Shawn and Elena shared a look before Shawn gave Cory an apologetic smile.

"Looks like you forget to get popcorn, Len- Hermosa and I will go get some!" Shawn stuttered before he pulled Elena out of the car.

"Hermosa?" Elena laughed once they were outside.

"That's what he calls you isn't it," Shawn shrugged.

"You use it kinda wrong but it was cute."

Shawn blushed and smiled shyly.

"Well, this was a nice breather from all of that," Elena gestured to the car, "Let's go get the popcorn and go back in there."

Shawn's eyes widened. "The whole point of getting out of there was to not go back inside!"

"We can't just leave Cory like this."

"Sure we can, we've done it before."

"Shawn-"

Elena was cut off by River yelling.

"Frankie, man, you gotta let the guy go!"

Frankie was so excited to see the dancing snacks that he'd wanted to see them again.

The guy in charge of the movie wouldn't play it again and he was now being held against the wall by Frankie.

Elena looked from Frankie back to the car.

"Well, we can't let Frankie get in trouble," Elena smiled.

"We'd better go help," Shawn agreed.

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As the three tried to pry Frankie off of the guy working the movie, River's hand slipped and he and Elena went tumbling to the floor.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Jones! You're a dead man!"

Elena who'd fallen under River tilted her head up only to see Harley Keiner and Eric Matthews.

"This is not going to end well for you," Elena sighed.

River's eyes widened as he scrambled off her.

Harley rushed over and helped Elena up. "You okay, Martinez?"

"I'm fine, thanks Harley."

The older boy smiled at her and ruffled her hair before turning to River with a glare.

"Harley, he wasn't doing anything-"

Elena cut herself off when she realized he wasn't listening.

"Do you enjoy ignoring me?" She huffed to herself.

Eric walked over to Elena and checked her over before kissing her forehead and joining Harley.

"What do you think you were doing Jones!"

Shawn, who'd finally gotten Frankie to calm down, came to stand by Elena.

The two watched as Eric and Harley stalked towards River, threats spilling from both of them.

"Grab him and run to your bike," Elena turned to Shawn, "It's going to have to fit four."

"I kinda wanna watch this play out," Shawn shrugged with a smirk.

"Shawn."

"And I'm going."

"Where do you think you're going!"

Harley and Eric went to chase after them but Elena rushed up in front of them.

"Hey guys," She smiled sweetly, "Did I ever tell you about that time I filled the dodgeballs in the gym with jelly?"

"No, but I will be happy to listen to that story after Jones has been buried six feet under."

"Yeah Ladybug, just give us a few minutes," Eric agreed as he and Harley moved around her.

"C'mon, let's go," Elena sighed as Frankie came to stand by her.

The two began to walk in the direction their friends ran in.

Frankie looked down at Elena. "Aren't you going to run after them?"

"No."

"Well, how come?"

"I don't like running."

Frankie shrugged. "Makes sense."

When the two finally made their way back to the car, Cory was on the sunroof and Harley was crawling out of the backseat. Eric and River were running around the car in circles.

"I just wanted to go to Chubbies," Elena sighed.

"I like the way you think," Frankie smiled down at her.

"I think we deserve to go to Chubbies after the night we had," Elena gestured to the mess in front of them.

"Yeah, we do!"

"Give me a minute," With that, Elena lifted herself onto the hood of the car and jumped onto Eric's back when he passed her.

"Ladybug, I need to see to be able to bury this jerk!"

Eric tried moving her hands off his eyes while he ran around blindly.

"Tree! Tree!" Elena yelled out and steered his head to the left to get him to move away from the tree.

While she was distracting Eric, Theresa was struggling to pull Harley back into the car to keep him away from Cory.

"Get on the bike and go!" She yelled at Shawn, Cory, and River.

"We can't keep this up forever!" Theresa huffed in agreement.

And with that, the three boys rushed out of the drive-in.

"So, Chubbies?" Elena smiled at Harley and Eric.

The two looked at each other and sighed.

"Chubbies," They agreed.

Frankie and Elena high fived.

▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼

Shawn looked around the hallway before making his way to Cory's locker. He slipped a few papers through the locker vent.

"Cory, here are the notes from fourth period."

Cory had decided his best plan of action was to hide in his locker.

Shawn really wished Elena was here to knock some sense into him.

Elena was busy being supervised by Eric at all times. He walked her to and from class and glared at any and all boys they passed.

She'd thought she'd finally gotten rid of him when Mr. Feeny forced him away for detention. Joey and Frankie were there to burst her bubble and replace Eric. Harley's orders.

Shawn leaned against the locker casually. "How long you gonna be in there?"

"Just slip my diploma through the grate."

Shawn rolled his eyes and pushed off the locker.

"Wait a minute."

Shawn sighed as he walked back to the locker and opened it.

"What kind of notes are these? You've got doodles and tic-tac-toe and a piece of chewed gum?

"Great. You touched it. Now I can't eat it." Shawn huffed.

"It's bad enough I got to breathe through gym socks. Give me some notes I can-"

Cory was cut off by Harley, Frankie, and Joey walking up to his locker.

"I was just leaving," Cory smiled before locking himself back into the locker.

Shawn kept his back pressed against the locker but Harley pushed him out of the way easily.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Harley sang as he opened the locker.

"Look, Harley, it's only fair to warn you, I am wired to explosives in here. You pull me out, this whole school blows sky high!"

Harley gave him a bored look before pulling him out of the locker and pushing him into the hallway.

"Hey, that's my friend," Shawn tried to defend him but he was pushed into the locker by Frankie, "And this is my locker."

"I need a moment alone with baboon," Harley turned to Frankie and Joey, "Guys, go to class."

"Class!" Joey laughed, "That's a good one, Harley. Like me and Frankie would ever be caught dead inside a classroom, right?"

"Go!"

Cory pressed himself against Shawn's locker. "Look, Harley, give me a chance to explain."

"I trusted you to take my sister on a nice, polite date. I also trusted you to make sure Elena had a nice, polite time out. How do you repay me? You try and take advantage of that sweet, innocent child."

"I was not the one making the moves!"

Harley leaned closer to Cory. "What are you saying to me, baboon?"

"I'm right behind you, buddy!" Shawn called out from the locker.

"She was all over me, I swear!"

"You expect me to believe that my angelic baby sister actually came on to you?" Harley scoffed.

"Harley, I wouldn't make this up. It's the truth. You gotta believe me."

Harley looked at Cory for a minute as he thought.

Martinez did say he's a good guy and she wouldn't lie to me, He thought to himself.

With that thought, he moved away from Cory and looked at a group of boys across from them.

"Any of you guys know a girl named T.K.? Is she fast, like he says she is?"

The boys smiled. "Oh, yeah!"

"You guys know the "K" in T.K. stands for my sister?" Harley glared at them.

"Oh, no!" They were all running down the hallway like wild animals.

"This is very disconcerting." Harley sighed when he turned back to Cory.

"Look, Harley, I didn't mean to say she's a bad person, 'cause she's not," Cory explained.

"I know, I know. It's just, you try and do good by 'em, raise 'em right. But I guess it wasn't enough."

"You know, your sister loves you a lot. She told me you're the only one that's always been there for her." Cory tired to comfort him.

"And yet, it seems I failed her," Harley sighed, "Well, it's the pressures, you know? The demands of my day. I mean, I'm so busy collectin' lunch money and dunking kids' heads into toilets, I hardly have time for my sister anymore."

"You do the best you can."

"Yeah. But she needs more."

"She just needs somebody to set a good example for her. And you, you're always gonna be the biggest influence in her life."

"Yeah," Harley smiled, "I could talk to her. You know, set her straight a little."

"Yeah, that's what's important, not who she's dating."

"Well, personally, I was kinda hopin' she'd date you. 'Course, that's up to you and T.K. But, if it works out and you go out again you take her somewhere nice, eh?" Harley put some money in Cory's shirt pocket, "See, my sister, she deserves it."

The two shook hands with a smile.

"Aw, look at that," The two looked over to see Elena panting with a smile.

The two boys smiled at her.

"Told you he was a good guy."

"That you did Martinez," Harley agreed as he smiled at Cory.

"Lena," Cory looked at her in shock, "Did you run here?"

"No, I just walked really fast. Eric saw a pretty girl so it wasn't that hard to ditch him."

Harley looked her over. "If you just walked why are you acting like you ran a marathon?"

"I'm what people call a 'couch potato'. I don't do well with too much exercise."

"Ladybug!"

Elena's eyes widened when she heard Eric's voice ring throughout the hallway.

"Where do you think you're going?" Harley stood in her way with a smirk.

"I forgot you're like Eric," Elena sighed.

"See you Baboon," Harley called out as he walked away, his arm around Elena pulling her with him.

"So, Harley, does this mean, me and you, we're okay?" Cory smiled hopefully.

"No."

"I already told you River wasn't doing anything. We just tripped and fell," Elena huffed.

"I know, but Jones is not the only boy at this school."

"I shoulda jumped outta the car."