"Oh my god Preston, you look like you could murder someone," Harrison murmured as they walked into class. The usually hyper teen gave him a death glare before sinking down into his seat. "I'm so tired..."

   He dramatically dropped his head on the desk, earning a concerned look from his friend. Nerris watched him warily, slipping into her own seat. She met eyes with Harrison. "Is he ok?" she mouthed.

   The magical teen nodded. "Just tired," he mouthed back, using air quotations. Realization flashed in the girl's eyes and she changed the subject. "So Preston, what do you have planned for drama this afternoon?"

   His head shot up. "Right, right..." The teen started rummaging through his stuff, pulling out his leather notebook and a few other materials. "Introduction, and then basic improv. We have a new member, too. Pretty sure I told you guys, but Max is on the fence about joining-"

   "Preston?"

   "-So I'm trying to win him over. He'd be a great asset to the club and he could help me with some unfinished scripts-"

   "Preston."

   "-And overall I'm just trying to impress him but I'm terrified it's not going to work-"

   "Preston!" his friends shouted. Thankfully, the teacher was out of the room, so they only received some harsh glares from classmates.

   He gulped, realizing what had happened. "Yes?" His voiced cracked. Harrison's expression became more concerned.

   "Were you... Were you rambling?" he asked quietly. Preston suddenly found his desk interesting. "No..." He glanced up, seeing Nerris's disapproving look.

   He changed his answer. "Maybe..." He sighed, resting his chin in his hands. "Yes..."

   "Ok, what's happened in the past twenty-four hours to make you result to your old habits?" She asked, growing worried.

   "And don't say it's nothing," Harrison added. "Because it's obviously important enough to bother you this much."

   Preston ran a hand through his wavy auburn hair. He let out a sigh of defeat. "It's been twenty-five hours," he began. "But ok. Here's the story..."

•~•

   "So you think you have a crush on him?" Harrison questioned as they approached the cafeteria. Preston nodded, fidgeting with his notebook.

   "And you're on edge just because you haven't talked to him today?" Nerris asked, confused.

   "No, not entirely..." The theatre boy flipped to the last written page. "It's just our last interaction was... Awkward. And cold. And I kinda just... Overreacted a bit, I guess..."

   They sat down at their regular table, completely forgetting about food. Harrison pulled out a deck of cards, shuffling them. "Let me get this straight."

   The african american snickered. "You mean-"

   He threw a card and her, the corner of it hitting her in the chest. "Shut it," he growled. Preston sighed. "Continue."

   The dirty blond pulled out a ace of hearts. "So you've had a crush on this guy since you were, what?" He changed the card into a king, then a joker. "Thirteen? Fourteen?"

   He nodded slowly. Harrison flipped the card over a few times. "And then he vanished for..." He stopped the card, revealing it was a two of spades. "Two years?"

   "You don't have to do magic tricks while explaining it," Nerris muttered. She hissed in pain when another card hit her. Preston rolled his eyes at their childish actions. "To answer your question, yes, it's been two years."

   The magic loving teen carried on. "Ok. So now he has reappeared-" He snapped his fingers and a card appeared in his hand. "-And you still like him?"

   Preston blinked rapidly, but nodded. "Yeah... Where are you going with this?"

   Harrison put the deck away and leaned on the table, palms spread. "And how is this crush a bad thing?"

   "Oh. That's where he was going with it," he thought, playing with his hair. He bit his bottom lip, trying to find the words.

   "Well?"

   "It's too cliche!" The dramatic teen huffed. "It's only been three days. That's way too soon to develop a crush on someone, let alone someone you know who has just came back into your life..."

   "Pres...?" Both males turned towards Nerris as she spoke. "It happens more than you think. It's kinda normal for some people. Have you not heard of lost loves? Or childhood sweethearts? As much of a hopeless romantic you are, I figured you would know this by now."

   Preston sat in shock, rethinking the girl's words. The bell rang and they all went their seperate ways. "Maybe Nerris is right," he thought. "Maybe, just maybe, this is normal..."