Jaden Yuki slid into his seat at the lunch table, seething. Immediately, his friends noticed something was wrong. Normally, Jaden was an easygoing person, but right now, his face was as a beet. Next to his large, now stormy brown eyes, he looked like a model for a store's commercial.

"What's up, Jay?" asked Atticus Rhodes. Aster "Ast" Phoenix and Tryanno Hassleberry, Jaden's other two best friends, leaned in to listen.

"That...idiot!" he growled. That pretty much covered it.

"What'd he do this time?" Hassleberry asked exasperatedly.

"I didn't even look at him, before you ask. But he just pushed me into the fountain up by the front gate, laughing his head off! It took me the whole morning to dry off!" he hissed. Hassleberry winced sympathetically.

"And then what?" asked Ast, interested.

"And then nothing! He just left me there, soaking! I am going to KILL Jesse Anderson!" Jaden screamed.

Jesse Anderson, the most popular guy in school, seemed to always-single Jaden out. They hated each other, for reasons unknown by the rest of their friends. Sometimes, it was funny to watch their little rivalry, sometimes absolutely hilarious, and sometimes it just got out of hand, like today. Jesse probably thought dumping Jaden in the fountain was hysterical, but the rest of his little group had turned their heads, pretending not to notice.

"He thinks he's so perfect...,” said Jaden, glancing over to his table. He was laughing with his friends about something or other, and it made Jaden’s blood boil. He had already forgotten.

"He is," replied Ast, licking his lips. Jaden glared at him, completely uncaring about his huge crush on Jesse, who not only couldn't stand Aster, but considered himself too good for any girl or guy. As if. Jaden would as soon admit that as...jump off a cliff wearing a flaming jacket into a dried moat filled with spiders and hungry alligators. He had arachnophobia.

"Hey...Atticus?" asked an unfamiliar voice behind them. The four girls turned around, and Jaden glared at the newcomer. He recognized him from Jesse's clique. His name was Syrus Tuesdale, and he was a short guy with a big sense of humor but wasn't very good at making jokes. His had white skin and his blonde hair was dyed blue. (1) He was looking down sheepishly and a slight blush colored his cheeks. Atticus blushed as well.

"Hey, Sy. How are you?" He asked, in a softer voice than Jaden had ever heard him use. Syrus shrugged, looking back up.

"Pretty good." He noticed Jaden's unfriendly stare. "Um, hey. Jesse wanted to say he was sorry about the whole fountain thing."

"Yeah right. He's never sorry”, he sniffed, but his judgment on Syrus softened. "Do you want us to leave you two alone?"

Both Syrus and Atticus blushed even brighter. "N-no, I just wanted to say hi, and...Uh...I'll talk to you later," said Syrus, seemingly in a hurry. Atticus smiled and kissed his cheek. Syrus stood, dazed for a second, but then ran off.

"So...when's the wedding?" asked Hassleberry. Atticus did not respond, but an idea was forming in Jaden's head. (2) He had thought none of his friends had ties with any of Jesse's friends, but Atticus and Syrus seemed very close. Jesse was going to pay for dumping him in that fountain...

Jaden turned to Aster. "Ast, how would you like to go on a date?"

Jesse Anderson slid into his seat at lunch, grinning broadly. Alexis Rhodes, the resident preppy and current psychiatrist of the group, sighed. "I don't know why you've got it in for him, Jess. He never really did anything to you, did he? I'm sure you started this whole chain of events. And dumping him in the fountain was pretty harsh."

Jesse rolled his eyes. "It was not harsh. Believe me, Yuki deserves everything he gets." His entire table glanced at him.

"And would you mind telling us why?" asked Bastion, the star linebacker of the football team. (3) Jesse shook his head. Syrus Tuesdale stared intently at his tofu lunch. He was the only person who knew about Jesse's problem with Jaden. Heck, Jaden didn't even know about Jesse's problem with him.

If only Tuesdale hadn't suggested that Jesse and Jaden would have made a good couple. Jesse had decided it was necessary to prove that he hated him, so he had started a chain of pranks, which he had eventually responded to. Jesse knew he didn't like him...right? He was just like any other guy who tried to catch the attention of Jump High's hottest guy...right?

"I think I'm going to go..." said Syrus, leaving the table. He went over to Jaden's table of all people. He was probably apologizing for Jesse. He started talking to a brunette guy Jesse didn't know, and then came back, but Jesse was staring intently at Jaden, wondering why he didn't cut his long, thick, gorgeous brown hair. It was getting on his nerves.