"Dude you're burning the chocolate!" Joey started, peering over Zak's shoulder into his pot of melting chocolate.

"No I'm not!"

"You're supposed to stir it!"

"What? No you're not."

"Yes you are," I interjected, looking between the pair of men fighting. "Zak, didn't you read the directions?"

"It said to melt the chocolate," Zak responded, frowning at me.

"And how did it say to melt it?"

Zak scrunched up his face. "Put it in a pot..."

"It says right here to put it in a double pot, stupid," Joey said, picking up the instructions sheet. "Look."

Zak looked at it for a moment, and then grinned. "Oh, it does say that."

"Bravo," someone said sarcastically from the other side of the room. "You're literate."

Immediately Zak and Joey's eyes narrowed, turning in the direction of the voice. My head turned as well, and I found Tucker and Joel smirking at the pair of men next to me. A small sigh escaped my lips. "Guys, don't-"

"Literate? Tucker, since when do you know such intricate words?" Zak snapped, glaring at the blonde.

"Now you're just trying to hard, Zak," Joel commented, rolling his eyes.

Joey snorted. "I wouldn't be the one talking, Joel."

Joel's eyes narrowed his twin brother. "And neither should you."

"At least I can boil chocolate correctly," Tucker jeered.

"You guys, no fighting!" I cried exasperatedly. "Do you really have to fight every single day? Can't you get along?"

"No," the four men responded at once.

"You better start getting along, because I won't stand for this petty bickering every day."

"Why don't you go complain to mommy?" Tucker snapped, glaring at me.

For a split second I froze up, surprised by his remark. My chest suddenly felt tight as I fought to resist the urge to glare at him. He didn't know my mom was dead. I couldn't get angry with him for making a comment like that. However, I didn't expect how much a comment like that could get to me.

"Tucker, watch your mouth."

My eyes shot to Arden, who was frowning at Tucker from his spot. He was sticking up for me? Did he know something? I shook my head. He couldn't know. Nobody except Melissa and my uncle knew at this school.

"Why are you sticking up for her?" Tucker demanded, turning his attention to Arden.

"She's a teacher," Arden said slowly. "We can get in trouble for being fresh. And we both know you can't afford getting a detention."

Tucker's face fell slightly, and he quickly adverted his gaze. "I know."

"Then start respecting her."

Tucker muttered something, but I couldn't quite catch it. It was obvious he was badmouthing me in some way though. I frowned, sighing once more. What did I ever do to deserve his hate? He seemed to like me as much as he liked Zak.

"Yeah, respect your elders, Tucker," an amused voice stated, putting emphasis on the word "elders".

I turned quickly to glare at Oliver. What was he doing? Was he trying to make someone realize I was younger than everyone? He ignored my gaze, locking eye contact with Arden instead.

"Stay out of it, Oliver," Arden growled.

Oliver shrugged, a smirk gracing his lips. "I just wanted to give my two cents."

"If I wanted you're two cents, I would have robbed you."

"I think you mean asked you," Zak interjected, smirking in amusement.

Arden snorted. "No, because I wouldn't ask Oli for anything."

"It's Oliver," Oliver growled. "Don't call me Oli."

"Why not, Oli?"

"I mean it, Arden."

"Aw, does Oli not like being called by a cute little nickname?" Arden teased, pouting at Oliver.

"Arden, stop it," I commanded, frowning at him. "Don't encourage him."

Arden's attention abruptly snapped to me and he frowned. For a moment I thought he was going to tell me to shut up, but instead he sighed. "Sorry, Ms. Allen."

"You all need to stop fighting," I started, turning my attention to the whole class. "You all fight over the stupidest things! You better start getting along."

There were snorts and barks of laughter throughout the room. Even Arden cracked a smirk. A hand was suddenly placed on my shoulder and I jumped, turning to see coon tail boy grinning at me.

"Impossible," he stated.

"Nothing's impossible, Luke."

"I have to agree," Joey added. "I could never get along with them..." He nodded his head towards the other side of the room.

"Joey, your brother is one of 'them'!"

"We do not get along," Joel interjected before Joey could reply. "I couldn't get along with someone like him."

"You take the words right out of my mouth," Joey said flatly.

"Glad the feeling is mutual."

I rolled my eyes. "Listen, I don't care about your whole school gang problems, but this is my class. And in my class, we get along. Got it?"

"You say that," Oliver started, "but still you partner us with people we get along with, and also divide us to two different sides of the room?"

"The only reason I do that is because I don't want a repeat of the first day," I told him, narrowing my eyes.

"Then how are we supposed to 'get along'?" Oliver demanded, rolling his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes. "Well, since you're so keen on wanting to get along, I'll switch up the partners starting next week."

Oliver suddenly glared at me. I resisted the urge to smirk smugly at him, and turned back to the class. Everyone now had apprehensive expressions on. To be honest, the idea of setting new partners up- partners I knew they wouldn't get along with, made me apprehensive as well. But I was tired of all the fighting. It was worth a shot.

"Oh no, my chocolate!"

My eyes snapped to Zak, who was staring at his pot in horror. It took me a few seconds to realize that his pot was on fire. My jaw dropped in shock as Zak threw me a bewildered look.

"What do I do?" he asked in a panicked voice.

"Get the fire extinguisher!" Joey ordered before I could respond, yanking Zak away from the burning pot.

"I've got it!" Luke responded before I could even turn towards the area where the fire extinguisher was held.

"I should do it," I protested, taking a step towards him.

"I've got it."

"Now would be a great time for some Indian tribal dances," Jeff commented, watching the commotion in front of him with an amused look.

I stared at him flatly for a second. When he realized I'd heard what he said he laughed sheepishly, turning away from me. I shook my head, turning my attention back to Luke, who was now putting out the fire. It only took a few seconds. To my luck, the fire alarm didn't go off.

"Ms. Allen, what do I do with this pot?"

I sighed, motioning for Joey to hand the destroyed pot to me. "I'll clean it later myself. It'll probably have to soak in some water for awhile in order for the burnt chocolate to be scrubbed off."

"It's hot," Joey warned me. "I'll carry it. Where do you want it to go?"

I smiled at him. It was nice knowing there were still gentlemen like him in the world. Well, he could be being a suck-up, I thought. But I doubted that. "Let's go put it in the sink in the supply room." I turned my eyes to Zak as Joey started for the supply room. "Can I trust you won't catch anything on fire for the few moments I'm gone?"

Zak smiled sheepishly. "I'm not sure..."

Tucker snorted from across the room. I sent him a warning look. He flipped me off.

"Tucker!" Arden snapped, but I could tell he was amused.

"Do you want a detention, Mr. Quinn?" I asked threateningly, a little hurt by his actions. I mean, really! What was his problem? Was he like this to every teacher? Flipping me off was a little across the line.

"No," Tucker muttered, glaring at the floor.

"Don't do that again then."

"Whatever."

I could tell Arden was trying not to laugh now. After a moment more of glaring at Tucker, I turned around and headed towards the supply room. Oliver smirked as I walked by him.

"Must be nice to have a suck-up like Arden to defend you," he commented quietly.

"Shut up," I snapped before I could stop myself.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Did you just tell a student to shut up?"

I quickly glanced around to see if anyone had heard me. Luckily, it seemed like no one was paying attention. I had to be more careful and not let things like that slip out. Oliver simpered in amusement as I frowned at him.

"Ms. Allen! Where does this go?" Joey called, his voice slightly muffled by the supply room door.

"I'm coming," I told him, looking one last time at Oliver, who had a smug expression on his face. "Why don't the rest of you clean up? We'll call it a day... I don't want anything else catching on fire."

There were a few snickers throughout the room, and I heard Zak laugh ruefully. "I'm sorry..."

"Ms. Allen! The pot?"

"Just put it in the sink!"

Suddenly there was a crash from the supply room. My eyes grew wide and I hurried towards it, popping my head in. "What happened?"

"I put it in the sink?"

"And it made that much noise?"

"I threw it in the sink..."

I sighed. "Joey..."

"My bad," he responded with a grin.

I pointed towards the exit. "Out."

"Right away m'am!"

Joey scooted past me and back into the classroom as I went to check on the dishes in the sink. Luckily he didn't break anything. I switched on the water, filling up the burnt pot so it could soak.

"You know, you really shouldn't be alone with an older man in here," a voice commented from behind me.

I jumped, twisting around to see Oliver smirking at me. "Go back in the classroom, Oliver."

"Hmm, I think not," he drawled, leaning against the counter.

"Then lower your voice," I warned.

"If it slips, it slips."

"No, that's not how it works Oliver!" I whispered harshly. "I can't let anyone know!"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why does it matter? You can find a new job," Oliver said in an offhand voice.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Oliver, I need the money this job offers. You don't know how hard it is to live on your..." I trailed off, quickly adverting your gaze. "Never mind."

Oliver frowned. "On your what?"

"I said never mind."

"Tell me."

"Forget it, Oliver." I tried to move around him, but he quickly put his arm out, blocking my way. I gave him a flat look. "Please move out of the way."

"No. I want to know why I'm keeping your little secret for you," Oliver responded, shaking his head. "If you want it to stay a secret, tell me what you were going to say."

I scowled at him. "I was going to say that it's hard to find a job when you're as young as I am."

"Why do you even need a job?"

"Why do you?" I countered, earning a harsh look.

"That's not of your business."

"You're such a hypocrite!" I commented with a small laugh. "If you want me to tell you why I need a job, then you tell me why you need one first!"

"Why should I? You don't know a secret about me that I'm asking you to keep," he responded, a smirk appearing on his lips again. "I don't have to tell you anything."

I bit my lip to keep myself from screaming at him. Why did he have to be such a jerk? He didn't need to know anything about my private life! If I told him, he'd probably pity me. I didn't need pity.

"I don't want to tell you," I told him honestly, staring him in the eyes.

For a moment he looked taken aback, but he quickly rearranged his features into a nonchalant mask. He shrugged. "Whatever."

"You can black mail me all you want, I'll help you with your job, I'll help you with whatever you want, Oliver! Just please don't tell anyone!" I hated to have to resort to begging, but Oliver was so unpredictable! I didn't feel like I could trust him.

"I said if you help me with my job I wouldn't tell anyone," Oliver responded simply, rolling his eyes. "Don't get so worked up."

Don't get so worked up? I clenched my fists, giving Oliver my harshest glare. "You know what? You're not my favorite person."

Oliver stared at me for a second, his face blank. I returned his look solemnly. When he started laughing, I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. He thought it was funny I didn't like him?"

"I'm not your favorite person?" Oliver repeated, sounding highly amused. "Oh, that's quite a shame."

"What's so funny?"

Oliver suddenly leaned closer to me, coming within inches of my face. I backed away from him a bit, making him smirk. "Why don't you just say 'I hate you'?"

"But I don't hate you."

"You... what?"

I almost laughed at Oliver's shocked expression. "I think you're annoying, and a jerk, but I don't hate you."

Oliver opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a different voice spoke up.

"You two are alone in here again? During actual class though, I see your getting riskier."

I jumped and turned around to see Arden at the door, standing with his arms crossed. Oliver immediately scowled, narrowing his eyes at Arden.

"We aren't doing anything."

"Is that so?"

"Oliver was just-"

"Harassing you?" Arden finished for me.

I looked at him in shock. "What?"

"I'm not harassing her," Oliver snapped.

Arden chuckled. "Really? From what I listened to, I think you were."

"You were listening to us?" I asked, my eyes widening. "For how long?" Did he hear the beginning of our conversation? Did he know?

"Not for long, but long enough to know that he's blackmailing you about something."

"It's none of your business," Oliver responded coldly.

"Actually, it is."

"Oh really? How is that?"

"Since Harley is my girlfriend."

My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as Arden smirked. I quickly turned to Oliver, whose eyes were on me now. For some reason, he looked angry.

"You can't date a student," Oliver told me. "It's against school rules."

"Who cares about rules?" Arden snorted.

"Wait, wait, wait," I interjected before Oliver could respond. "Arden, what are you talking about?"

"It's fine Harley," Arden responded, putting emphasis on my name. "Oliver can know we are together."

"But-"

"And he won't tell," Arden continued, cutting me off. "Since I know something about him I'm sure he can't let others know about."

I looked at Oliver in surprise. "He does?"

"It's none of your business," Oliver growled. "Move."

Before I had the chance to move, Oliver roughly shoved me out of his way. I staggered backwards a few steps, hitting my back on the edge of the sink. Oliver made his way towards the exit, but before he went out he stopped in front of Arden, grabbing the front of his shirt.

"Oliver!" I protested, pushing away from the counter and hurrying towards him. "Let go!"

"You say one word to her, and you're dead," he warned threateningly.

"You say one word about her secret, and I'll tell everyone," Arden rejoined, narrowing his eyes.

"Whatever," Oliver scoffed, pushing Arden away, and then storming out the door.

"Oliver!" I called after him, but Arden put out a hand to stop me.

"Let him go."

I stared at Arden, shaking my head. "Why did you say that?"

"He was harassing you!"

"I understand your intentions, and I thank you for that, but why did you say we were dating?" I demanded.

A small smirk appeared on Arden's face. "Oh, that was purely for my entertainment. I didn't expect him to get so angry though..."

"It's not funny! What if he says something to someone? Arden, I'm a teacher! I could lose my job!"

Arden laughed. "Don't worry. He won't tell."

"How do you know?"

"Because," Arden told me, rolling his eyes. "I know his deepest, darkest secret. And trust me, he doesn't want anyone to know."

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Totally not happy with this chapter... totally not happy with this story. Erg :/ Maybe I'll like it more tomorrow... Don't you hate the feeling of having writer's block and writing something that makes you hate yourself? I do. This is so annoying. I hate when it happens D:

Oh, another thing! A lot of people ask me questions in comments, and I get so many it's hard to reply, so in the external link is my formspring, so if you have dire questions or anything you can just go there to ask me! :D It's easier for me to respond that way haha. So yeah. In external link.

[Today's Song: I'm Not Okay, I Promise - My Chemical Romance] I'm in a My Chemical Romance mood today...