(Above is Daphne Keller) 

Carson's POV – (Friday)

It was a week before the Winter Formal and the entire school was going all out. They had a décor committee and a hosting committee and a catering committee, all lead by students.

"It's so amazing how the school comes together and works together for a dance, but ignore important matters like the cafeteria food." Emily complained, gesturing to the food on her tray.

"Hey, someone on the street would kill for a plate of..." I said, but stopped when I couldn't figure out what was on her plate.

"Uh, a plate of – what is that?" I asked, placing my tray down on the table and taking a seat.

Rachel laughed. "Is that supposed to be Mac 'n Cheese?" she asked me.

I looked at my tray and grimaced.

Was Mac 'n Cheese supposed to be so runny?

I pulled my lips into a straight line and pushed it away from me, as something crawled out of the plate.

"Clearly I'm not the only one who thinks so," I said.

"Ew!" the group exclaimed and pushed their food to the centre of the table.

"Okay, I'm going to the vending machine. Anyone want something?" Eli asked.

We all handed him our money and he walked off.

"So...how's things with Amy?" Emily asked Kyle. "I'm sorry we didn't figure it out earlier."

He shrugged and looked down with a small smile to cover up the disappointment on his face.

"It's okay. I'm over it." he said and got up, walking after Eli.

I looked over to Emily and shook my head. "He's not over it." I said to her.

She nodded and smiled.

"I didn't know why she said yes to Derek. Maybe she liked Kyle, but because he took so long, she thought he wouldn't ask her." she suggested.

I shrugged and looked to Rachel. She looked at me, smiling, then looked down blushing.

"So, you sew, Carson?" Emily asked, smirking at me.

I blushed, knowing what she meant.

"Lisa taught me at the last moment. I hope it wasn't too messy?" I asked Rachel.

She blushed and smiled, shaking her head.

"No, it was perfect. You sew better than I do." she laughed. I laughed as well.

I felt a hand on my shoulder then a packet of crisps. I looked up and saw Eli smiling at me.

"I think I'm in love..." he said and sat next to me.

"What?" I asked, alarmed.

Didn't he just ask Sierra out?

"Like, with Sierra?" I asked again, worried.

He smiled and shook his head.

"Nah, she broke up with me the other day. Something about a misunderstanding or whatever, I wasn't listening." he said, as if it was nothing.

I rolled my eyes.

"So, who are you in love with?" I asked him. He sighed and smiled.

"Her name is Daphne Keller." he said. "She's so beautiful."

I chuckled. "Dude, how long have you known this girl?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"About a few minutes. We met at the vending machine. I asked her to Winter Formal, and she said yes." he said, dreaming into the cafeteria wall.

I looked up at Emily and raised an eyebrow at her. She shook her head and looked away.

Okay, so this wasn't normal...

"Eli, is Daphne a Christian?" Emily asked him. He looked up and nodded his head wildly.

"Yes, she is. That's what we were talking about, we were talking about secular music and stuff, and we just hit it off." he said.

"So when are we meeting this Daphne?" Kyle asked, who had silently returned and no one had noticed.

Eli smiled. "This Sunday. She's new here and I asked her to come to church with me."

I squinted and turned to face him.

"I thought you were talking about secular music?" I recalled. Eli held up a finger.

"And stuff..." he reminded me.

The bell rang and we all departed the cafeteria.

~&~

I walked into the park after school, hand in hand with Rachel. Eli decided to take Kyle out after school to try and cheer him up.

"When did Kyle tell you about Amy?" Rachel asked.

"About a month ago," I said. Rachel nodded and looked to her right at the duck pond.

"Why do you ask?" I asked her.

"Why didn't he tell me, his sister? I thought we told each other everything." she said, biting her bottom lip.

I stopped walking, which caused Rachel to come to a halt as well. She looked at me.

"Look, Kyle was scared you wouldn't want him dating Amy, because she was your best friend. He's more sensitive than you think." I said.

"But he heard me fan-girling each time they were together, didn't he?" she asked.

I shrugged and tilted my head to one side.

"Maybe he isn't as observant as you think he is," I said softly to her, trying to cheer her up.

She smiled.

"Maybe..." she said and started walking again, dragging me along.

I grinned and walked beside her again.

"So, Winter Formal?" I said, it was more of a statement.

She swung our hands in between the two of us.

"Yeah, what about it?" she asked.

"What time do I pick you up?" I asked her, trying to be smooth, but it was challenging when it came to Rachel because she always had something smart to say which defeated the purpose of my smooth-talking.

"You mean, what time do you fetch me from my room a door away from yours?" she chuckled.

I laughed and shook my head.

"Nope, I'm going out with Eli and Kyle before hand so that I can pick you up like a normal date would?" I said, moving in a subtly kissing her temple.

She giggled and smiled.

"Fine," she said, let go of my hand and ran for the playground.

"Bet you there, date!" she yelled over he shoulder, running towards the corner where the playground was.

I chuckled, racing after her, but stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her skid to a halt and slip on the ice.

"Rachel!" I yelled and ran toward her. She got on her knees and looked up, but not at me.

When I was beside her, I fell to my knees and looked her over for injuries or any sign of pain.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, looking her in the eyes, but she wasn't looking at me, she had her eyes fixed on something else.

I followed her eyes and saw a couple. They were holding each other closely and saying things to each other under hushed voices.

I squinted and looked back to Rachel. This time, she looked furious.

"I'm going to get that jerk," she said and got up.

"Whoa, whoa," I said and held her back.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her, mightily confused.

She pointed her hand at the guy.

"That's Derek!" she whisper-yelled at me.

"Derek?" I looked back to him.

She shook her head.

"You know the guy who asked Amy to Winter Formal? Yeah, that," she said, pointing at the guy.

"That's him!" she said. "Now let me at him." she said and tried to get to him again.

"No, just stop." I said. "What happened to turning the other cheek?" I asked.

She looked at me.

"You're right, but that's what Amy needs to do. We need to confront that jerk!" she said angrily.

I nodded.

"Yes, we will, but not now. We should let Amy do this." I said, rubbing her upper arm.

She sighed in reluctance and hesitantly nodded.

"Okay, let's go home." she said.

I smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Yeah, come on."

~&~

(Friday Evening)

Rachel, Kyle and I walked into youth tonight, dreading seeing Amy.

We told Kyle about Derek and he nearly strangled the guy when we went grocery shopping for Lisa, since she was stuck on the couch with nausea.

We walked into the main hall and found ourselves some seats. Rachel didn't have to sing tonight, so she sat beside me, with Kyle on her other side. We watched and waited for Amy, but she never arrived.

"I'm worried, do you think she found out before we did?" Rachel asked

Kyle pulled out his phone.

"I'll call her find out where she's at." he said while dialling her number.

He brought the phone to his ear and waited.

She answered after at least four or five rings.

"Are you okay?" were Kyle's first words.

Those words made Rachel jump from her seat and grab the phone.

"Amy, what's going on?" she asked and quickly walked out of the hall.

I looked to Kyle, who calmly let Rachel take his phone, which isn't a norm, and noticed he was staring into space.

"Dude, you okay?" I asked him.

He nodded .

"I am, but she's not." he said. "I think she knows. She answered the phone with a sob."

I shook my head.

"I can't stand guys like that." I said, slouching in my seat.

"How's it going, dudes?" Brian asked as he walked toward us.

"Not too good, dude." I said on behalf of both of us.

Brian frowned, pulled up a chair and sat in front of Kyle and I.

"What's happening?" he asked, looking generally concerned.

"Amy's being cheated on. Rachel's on the phone with her now and we think Amy might know about it." I said.

"He's a jerk." Kyle added.

Brian nodded.

"And how do you know this?" Brian asked.

I shrugged.

"He and Rachel saw him with another girl earlier today." Kyle answered for me.

Brian nodded.

"Is this true, Carson?" he asked me.

I nodded and crossed my arms. He sighed.

"I'm not saying your judgement is wrong, but how do you know that he took interest in this girl?" he asked.

"They were hugging and holding each other and kissing, etcetera. He was definitely interested." I said.

Brian nodded.

"Well, this is unfortunate." he said, shaking his head. "I hope she's okay. Is she coming tonight?" he asked.

Both Kyle and I shrugged.

"She's knows." Rachel said, standing behind me.

"How did she find out?" I asked her.

She placed a hand on my shoulder.

"He had just broken up with her, saying that he found someone better and that he just asked her out to get the other girl jealous." she said.

"Oh, that guy's got it coming to him." Kyle muttered from beside me.

"Now, I understand how you all want justice for this terrible thing that's happened to Amy, but you need to remember that the revenge is not the answer. The world says an eye for an eye, but God says if someone makes you carry their stuff for a mile, carry it another. You need to be wise." he said.

The electric guitarist played a chord on the guitar, signalling that the worship was about to start. Brian turned to them, gave them a thumbs up and turned back to us.

"We'll talk again later," he said then got up, turning the chair back to its original position and walked away.

I looked to Rachel and she smiled back at me.

"You're finally at my side again," I said to her.

She giggled.

"Yes, I am. Now focus on the music." she said, turning me by the shoulders to face the front.

I chuckled and started singing along with the band.

~&~

(Saturday)

Saturday mornings were something teenagers considered and sleep-in-day, and I agreed whole-heartedly, but when someone is feverishly knocking on the front door at early hours of the morning, it's a mission to ignore it.

I turned over in my bed and checked the time. It was 7:15. This was basic human cruelty. I huffed and got out of the bed.

"What's going on, dad?" I heard Rachel asked as I exited my room, running my fingers through my hair to get rid of my terrible bed hair with my one hand and used the other to rub the sleepiness out of my eyes.

"I don't know, I'll check it out." he said and trotted down the stairs.

"How is he so awake?" I asked Rachel, walking toward her.

She giggled when she saw my hair. I think I might have made it worse.

"Why are you so not awake?" she asked me. I shrugged.

"It's a Saturday morning, no one gets up before 10." I said.

She giggled and shook her head.

"And besides, you and your family are early morning people." I said, placing my hands on her waist.

She smiled and ran her fingers through my wild hair and tried to neaten it a little.

"And you're not." she stated with a slight cheeky tone.

I laughed and nodded.

"Amy? Dear, what are you doing over in this freezing weather?" Samuel asked from downstairs.

"Is that Amy?" Kyle asked, suddenly coming out of his room.

"It could be, let's check it out." I said and dragged Rachel downstairs.

It was beginning to get colder as autumn grew closer. The three of us trotted down the stairs and spotted Amy sitting on the sofa, sopping wet and Lisa handing her a cup on hot chocolate.

"Amy?" Kyle said and walked toward her. She gave him a smile, but she was holding back tears.

"Kyle," she said quietly, her lips quivering and her teeth chattering.

Kyle shot us a painful expression.

"Carson, please pass me the first blanket you see in the cabinet." he asked and walked toward me.

I handed him a large pink, fluffy and soft blanket and watched him walk over to her. He sat next to her and wrapped her up in the fluffy blanket.

"Thanks," she said, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

He leaned in closer and kissed the tear that fell, which made her smile, but the tears kept coming. She leaned her head on his shoulder and she slowly sipped on her hot chocolate.

There were two possible reason why Amy was here: she was upset about Derek or for family reasons. It was a sad affair, Amy's family wasn't Christian and they didn't support Amy's beliefs. They would often fight about it and Amy would be left in tears.

We left Kyle and Amy in the living room and walked into the kitchen with Lisa and Samuel.