Stuart's phone buzzed on the coffee table, and he dove to grab it. He turned on the screen as quickly as possible, hands fumbling.

"Hello, STUART POT! This is Verizon, messaging to tell you that--"

He groaned, deleting the message and laying back on the ground at the feet of the others. Noodle looked down at him with a puzzled look. "Why are you checking on your phone so much?"

"J-just expecting a message." He put the phone in his pocket.

"Message from who?" Russel poked him in the side, chuckling. "Did you get a girlfriend and not tell us?"

2D chuckled. "Not exactly..."

"Did you get accepted to a very good college?" Noodle asked, tilting her head.

"Wrong again."

"I'll tell you what it is!" Del shouted from a few rooms over. "He's got a crush on that Murdoc guy he never stops talking about!"

"Del!" All three of them shouted in unison.

"What? It's true. All he ever talks about it Murdoc, Murdoc, Murdoc. Have you not noticed? It's all Murdoc-said-this, Murdoc-did-that..."

"Del, please. He's just... a really good friend." His phone then buzzed in his pocket, and he jumped two feet in the air. He grabbed it from his pocket, looking at the screen.

"hey, dents."

He covered his mouth, giggling. Del yelled "There it is!" from the kitchen. Noodle and Russel leaned over to the screen.

"... wait a minute, then text him 'hey' back." Noodle nodded in agreement.

"Wait a minute?"

"You don't want to seem as desperate as you actually are."

"I'm not desperate!" He shoved at Russel, but the large man didn't budge. "He's my friend!"

Meanwhile, Murdoc sat in a parking lot, stretched across his car's backseat. A cigarette dangled from his fingers, and his other hand held his phone. His message glared back at him.

He grunted. He was so stupid. Granted, he didn't know what about the text was so stupid, he just knew that it was. His phone buzzed at him.

"hey :)"

Score.