"All I'm sayin' is, I think your answer should have been considered right bro! Having a badger as a pet is like, the most notable thing ever!"

"Yeah, but I don't think anyone else agreed with me." Johnny gloomily said. "I probably looked like an idiot in front of everyone."

"Well yeah, you did. But everyone gets an answer wrong sometimes." Shawn said while sipping his cup of water.

"Not that Elizabeth chick bro, she's like, super smart!" Adam laughed as he twirled some spaghetti on his fork. "She doesn't even look like she'd be, man! She's totally hot, got some cool-ass piercings, but not like, cool ass piercings. Like, the piercings are cool, not saying she's got a cool piercing on her ass. She looks like an old school punk rocker man! Even wears Chucks without socks, cause she's probably like, fighting the man, bro-" Adam rambled before getting slapped in the back of the head.

"She's also totally right over there!" Shawn whispered behind his hand while pointing to a group of students standing in the shade of a tree.

Doing his best to look inconspicuous, Johnny turned away from his plate, hoping to catch a glimpse of Elizabeth again. She wasn't facing him, thankfully, and he couldn't help but crack a smile just at seeing her again.

"Bro, I think Johnny here has a thing for Miss Elizabeth" Adam whispered to Shawn while nudging him with his elbow.

"He really isn't good at hiding it." Shawn sighed.

"Bro probably doesn't even know that we know he's totally staring at her."

"Maybe he just doesn't care."

"I dunno about you, but I'd care bro, and I'd probably tell you guys to shut up about it or something."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, he's still staring.

"JOHNNY!"

Snapping out of his stupor, Johnny looked around in shock before seeing both of his friends snorting with the effort of containing their laughter. He tried his best to look nonchalant about the matter, but their reactions were quickly breaking his will.

"How do you like the view bro?" Adam began.

"Johnny, do you uh, have a thing for her there?" Shawn asked, covering his mouth to stop the laughter.

"Well, yeah, but who wouldn't!" Johnny almost shouted in defense. It was an honest question in his mind, she was cute, super smart, and was among the kindest people he had ever known. It may not have entirely matched her appearance as a rough punk, but he knew better than anyone that she hadn't always been like that.

"I dunno about you bro, but I would too. Problem is she's so far out of my league I've never bothered." Adam said honestly, a first for him. "She's way too smart to fall for someone like me. I need an idiot."

"Surely, you have an angle if you think you have a chance Johnny." Shawn said, adjusting his glasses as he did. "Like stupid here," He began, motioning to Adam as he said this. "I don't bother fantasizing about a girl I'll never get to be with, as it'll only lead to disappointment."

"Oh you know it, bro!" Adam said, unfazed by the insult.

"So, what's the secret you're not telling us? Do you know something deep and dark about her that she'd be willing to date you to keep secret?" Shawn asked. "Or maybe you saved her life when she was in danger, and is looking for a way to pay you back?"

"Yeah, or maybe she was in trouble, and you were like, no officer-bro, that's my weed, not hers. And she's still grateful, or something." Adam added.

"No, nothing like that. It's nothing big, just that we, you know, grew up together." Johnny explained in a near whisper, afraid of his friends laughing over his reasons. A nervousness that proved to well-founded as Shawn choked for a moment.

"You know I love you like a brother, bro, but is that like, all? I'd hope one of my closest bro's has more to go on than just some old memories." Adam said, slapping Johnny on the back.

"Well, that and..." Johnny began, ignoring the pain his back was quickly going into from the repeated attacks. "Well, she called me something that I haven't been called by anyone for a really long time."

"Ooh... what is it?" Shawn asked interestedly as he leaned in closer.

"Yeah bro! This is what I was talking about! So come on! Out with it!" Adam cheered.

"Well, she called me..." Johnny began, before leaning in closer and swallowing hard. "She called me John-boy. Wh-which is what she used to call me when we were best friends as kids!" he said, hurriedly adding the second part realizing how weird what he had just said seemed.

"John-boy? What kinda nickname is that?" Shawn asked.

"I dunno, it's just a nickname I had as a kid. I used to call her Elly."

"ELLY! Bro! Why didn't you say so?" Adam interrupted excitedly. "You two were probably crushing all over each other back then! Maybe she's still got a thing for you if she's bringing up an old nickname like that bro!"

"Maybe." Johnny said, unsure of himself.

"I'd say its a possibility." Shawn said, adjusting his glasses. "But, tell us more first. If you were so buddy-buddy as kids, what happened to get you both to where you are right now?" he asked.

"Well, she moved away one day. One of her grandparents died, so her parents got rich quick. They probably didn't want to be around us middle-class citizens anymore, and moved to an area around Riverside." Johnny explained, trying to remember the details.

"Oh, so she became one of THOSE people." Shawn remarked bitterly as he rolled his eyes.

"Well, not entirely. Just... look at her!" Johnny whispered, nodding his head in her direction. "She looks nothing like the snooty types. Despite the turn her life took, she still looks close to what I'd have imagined she looked like, had she never left at all. Though we weren't too close when she started at the same High School as me, I figured she had just forgotten who I was and all the times we had."

"Oh you know it bro, the trust-fund Princesses tend to gravitate more towards the cheerleader archetype, while our lovely Miss Elizabeth here remains true to her roots, or so it seems." Adam explains, oddly intellectually for a change. "And she hasn't forgotten you, man!"

"And she seems to be a genuinely kind person." Shawn said, sighing heavily. "Shame, I was really looking forward to insulting you more about this, but even I'm slowly being swayed."

"So... you gonna go for it bro?" Adam asks, a big grin spreading across his face.

"...Go for what?" Johnny asked, having a bad feeling about the direction the conversation was taking.

"I still think it's a bit flimsy, but he's asking if you're going to try and "Get With Her" Shawn said, adding air quotations to the last part of the sentence.

"W-What you mean like ask her out?!" Johnny squeaked in fear. "Sh-She'd never go for someone like me! I'm the kind of guy she'd eat for breakfast! No way would someone like her ever go for someone stupid like me."

"Bro! You gotta quit beating yourself up if you're gonna ask her out!" Adam happily interrupted.

"But I'm not going to ask her out!"

"But you gotta do it bro! Her calling you John-boy earlier, that MEANT something. You've gotta do it!"

"W-What if she was just being polite, and happened to remember me just then? She is very polite, it probably slipped out!" Johnny nervously said.

"Much as I hate to justify Adam's logic, he's got a point. A flimsy one, but a point nonetheless. I say it's better to go for it and get rejected, than to not go for it at all." Shawn hastily said.

"Yeah bro! A nickname from a happier childhood doesn't just "Slip Out", she's probably just waiting for you to ask her!" Adam said encouragingly.

"D-Do you really think so?" Johnny asked, Adam's unwavering belief beginning to affect him.

"Bro, I'm your bro, bro. Now, being your bro, I'm telling you to get over there and go for it, bro. If I was in your situation I'd already be over there, but I'm not, so it's up to you, bro." Adam said sincerely.

"I'll be over here, providing moral support, I suppose." Shawn said, cracking a smile.

Johnny had heard enough. He was going to go for it. He was going to ask his childhood sweetheart, now a woman who he hadn't seriously been in contact with for ten years of his life. But who, at least in his mind, harbored some kind of feelings for him in return.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Johnny said to himself as he stood and made his way to the tree where she stood with a few of her own friends. Only moments ago it didn't seem to be too far, but now felt as if it were a journey of a hundred miles between he and her. Maybe he was making a big mistake, what if something did go bad. What if she got one of her big strong friends to teach him a lesson? What if she was only joking so she could humiliate him? What if...?

Johnny steeled his nerves. Being humiliated would go away within a few days. The pain from a beating would fade. His friends were right, it was best that he keep moving forward. Anything negative occurring from this would fade quickly. Anything positive could potentially last a lifetime, and that was something worth risking his reputation and comfort for. Were the results reversed, he never would have gone for it. If rejection and pain never faded, he'd be happy in his shell, never reaching out to anyone, but he could take it.

He hoped to God he could take it.

The air on his skin felt cooler, he was now out of the bright sunlight and into the shade. The big tree Elizabeth and her friends had gathered around provided a great place to relax, and he'd have to remember to convince his own friends to have lunch there, instead of the shadeless tables at some point.

Johnny took a deep breath as he tilted his head up, to look Elizabeth in the eye. She really was pretty, and he hoped she'd respond positively. He had drawn the attention of everyone in the shade with his walk to her, and he swallowed hard before clenching his fists again.

"H-Hi Elly." Johnny stuttered out before flinching visibly. He had just referred to her by the nickname she had when they were kids, a name she likely never went by anymore.

A wave of snickers and murmurs swept the small group, breaking Johnny's concentration for a moment.

"ELIZABETHIWASWONDERINGIFYOUWEREN'TBUSYMAYBEYOU'DLIKETOGOSEEAMOVIEORSOMETHINGSOMETIMEYOUKNOWASADATEORSOMETHING!" Johnny blurted out in one breath, his heart racing the entire time.

Everyone within earshot struggled to contain their laughter, while Shawn and Adam, still at their table, placed their palm over their faces.

"I don't see why not, we can do it right after school." Elizabeth said with a sly grin. "I've gotta ask though, how did you get up the confidence to, err, ask me like you did?"

Johnny spent several seconds staring at Elizabeth, wide-eyed at her response to his outburst. She hadn't gotten mad, the group around her seemed to respect her decision, and things were really looking up.

"Johnny?" Elizabeth asked, snapping him out of his stupor as she waved her hand in front of his eyes.

"Wha-? Oh! I was nervous, but my friends at the table over there helped me." He said, smiling like a buffoon.

"Mm." She hummed in approval. "Well, What do you say we meet here at 5:00? University's empty after classes are over, and you really get to appreciate the beauty at that time." Elizabeth suggested.

"Great! I'll be here early! I can't wait!" Johnny nearly yelled before turning and running back to his friends, who both congratulated him with pats on his quickly getting sore back.