Fanfic #9: "Easier Thought Than Done"

[moofoot]

my first POTF fic. it was on the old boards, and I'd written till around the fourth or fifth chapter, but I've done a bit more now, so it's a little longer -> something people who liked the fic before would probably like. hopefully the new members here like this too!
Easier Thought Than Done
Join Pim as she tries to bring together Phil and Keely - with allies, obstacles and enemies along the way.
Prologue
A quick peek at the clock told me the time. 5 minutes to five o'clock. I could hardly wait until Keely would get here. Man, had we got a surprise for her!

I glanced at Phil. A surprise for him, as well. He was playing with the GameSphere, something that my dad found in the Time Machine a couple of days ago. He didn't know that Keely was coming, but he soon would.

What is this, you say, another crafty idea of mine?

Yes, it is, but this time, it isn't to take over the world.

I don't show it a lot actually, never but I love Phil, even though, sometimes he can be extremely dense.

Like now.

Idiot, he is.

I was watching him with Keely the other day. I was inside the house they were outside and I don't think they knew I was there. That goofy grin of his was pasted on his face, and Keely was looking back at him with a quirky smile on her lips, as well. They were chatting away, God knows about what I wasn't in earshot distance and at one period of time, he threw an arm around her.

I was surprised, sure, but Keely seemed used to it. In fact, she scooted closer to him and leaned into him, her head on his shoulder.

Phil had a female friend back in the future, too [haha, doesn't that sound like that old movie? Back to the Future, wasn't it called?] but the closest I had ever seen them was when they'd high-fived after a virtual football match.

Hmmm. I scooted closer to the window and stayed longer to see if anything happened. Any kissing, anything?

Nope. With a frown, I realised that they weren't together.

But they weren't just friends, either.

And since they were already half-way there, I thought I could just push them further.

Turns out, though, that it was easier thought than done.

[moofoot]

Chapter 1
The doorbell rang.

Pim heard the door opening right after the ring of the doorbell. She smiled. Ah, so it was Keely, after all. She never usually waited for someone to get the door opened for her since she was a frequent visitor.

"Hey!" Keely called cheerfully as she entered the living room.

Phil turned around, his eyes wide. "Keely?"

CRASH!!

Phil snapped his head around again. "Drat, lost a life," he muttered, furiously punching the buttons again.

Shaking her head, Keely looked at Pim. "Why'd you call?"

"You called?" Phil seemed unable to believe it. He was still facing the television set, however, so Pim could not be sure.

"Yeah, I got four tickets for this horror movie because I thought it would be great to see it, but Mom has horror-movie "issues" and Dad won't go because Mom won't go, so it'll only be Phil and me, and I'm calling a friend, so Phil could call a friend, too, and I thought it was obvious that he would call you, because you're his best friend and all, and - " Pim was going breathless. She had to say her excuse for inviting Keely over quickly before she forgot it all.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay, I got it," Keely said with a giggle. "Where's this friend of yours?"

Pim blinked. She bought it? Not believing her luck, she stammered slightly as she replied, "She'll - ah, she'll meet us there." And that part was true. Phoebe, a new friend from school, said that she'd meet all three of them at the theatre for the movie.

"All right, shall we go, then?" Keely said, clapping her hands together.

"Hang on," Phil said. A few beeps later, the words 'game saved' appeared on the screen. He turned around. "Yeah, let's go."

Keely went first, closely followed by Phil. But he paused at the door and waited for Pim to catch up. He frowned at her. "I know you're up to something, but I don't know what it is yet. Some thing tells me I'm not gonna like it - so I'm keeping my eye on you..." he warned.

Before his sister had time to react, however, he jogged to the front and caught up with Keely. Pim couldn't help a wide grin as she watched his arm take its usual place on her shoulder. Just a few seconds later, Keely laughed loudly, and Phil, in return, bore a wide grin on his face.

"Bro, trust me when I say that you'll definitely like this," she whispered to herself in voice filled with glee.

"Like what?" her mother questioned from behind her.

Pim stiffened. "Uh, nothing, mom - nothing," she replied quickly, breaking out into brisk, wide steps. "See you later!" she called, walking even faster to catch up with the other two.

[moofoot]

Chapter 2
Crowded as the theatre was, Pim managed to spot four empty seats nearer to the front - two right in front of the first two, the arrangement that seemed perfect.

Quickly, she dashed toward the seats, and sat down on one of the seats behind. Her brother was tagging along behind her. He'd always reach out to grab her hand in crowded places, something she was very appreciative about. "Phil, sit there, before someone else can," she instructed. Phil, whose hand she was still holding, dropped it and plopped himself onto the seat in front.

Keely and Phoebe, a brunette, quickly placed themselves with their respective friends.

"Hey, Pim?" Phoebe whispered to her. "Why did you ask me to come along with you?"

Pim stared at her. Trustworthy enough? Deciding that she was, she leant closer to her. "I - " she glanced at Phil and Keely. "Okay, come with me, we'll buy some popcorn." Phoebe nodded in agreement, and Pim turned to the other two. "Someone sit in one of our seats while we go get some popcorn," she said.

Both nodded, and Keely, being the one sitting outside, sat in Pim's seat as they got up. "Get me salted!" she said.

"Okay."

As they left, Pim carefully highlighted her plan. When she finished, Phoebe was holding a tub of salted butter popcorn in her hands and she herself was holding another one in hers.

Phoebe frowned. "I don't think you should interfere in your brother's life like this," she commented.

Pim glared at her. "If you disagree with me, just watch them during the movie and tell me after that how you feel."

"Well - " Phoebe shrugged. "If that'll make you feel better, fine."

Pim smiled. "Alright, let's go."

The previews were going on when they entered. They scuttled towards their seats and Keely sat in the front again with Phil.

The lights of the theatre dimmed as the movie begun.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It wasn't long before the first scare was introduced into the movie. Keely grabbed Phil's hand. Pim grinned and nudged her friend's ribs. She winced, but looked at Keely and Phil anyway.

They heard a loud ahem. Keely looked at Phil, and going red in a shade that was obvious even in the darkness of the theatre, she dropped his hand. They smiled awkwardly at each other and returned their gaze to the screen.

Pim covered her mouth and nose to muffle a snort.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Keely screamed. Phil reached out and took her hand in his. He waited for her to turn and look at him, and he then smiled. Pim noticed him squeeze her hand.

"Did you see that?" she whispered urgently towards Phoebe. She looked at her. The brunette grinned and nodded. "It's a wonder they aren't together yet," she said wryly.

"Precisely!!" Pim exclaimed, still in hushed tones. "They're taking too long!!"

Phoebe sighed. "You're right." She only hesitated for a moment before she answered. "All right. I'm in. I'll help ya."

Both of them shook hands in a deal, Pim beaming, and returned to the front - to watch both the movie and their new favourite would-be couple.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The credits soon began to roll. Pim and Phoebe got up and went outside [turning out to be the first two people out] before they realised that the other two weren't out yet. They waited impatiently for them, and finally glimpsed them. Pim waved frantically until she got Phil's attention. Both of them moved towards them through the crowd.

"Where were you? I thought you were lost or something!" Phil demanded, glaring at Pim.

"Relax, Phil, I'm okay," she said.

"I'm relaxed!" Phil cried defensively. Keely snorted and he snapped around to look at her. "I'm relaxed!!" he repeated.

"Yes, I believe you," Pim said sarcastically. Keely laughed and nodded. "Hate to break it to ya, but you're not very good at acting," she told him. Pim nodded in agreement and slapped Keely's hand in a high-five, both giggling.

Phil harrumphed and began to walk. Keely followed him. Phoebe wondered why she immediately followed him until she noticed. She gave a satisfied smile and shook Pim's shoulder.

Neither of them had let go of each other's hands throughout the rest of the movie.

[moofoot]

Chapter 3
"Pheebs, c'mon, hurry up!! We might lose them!" Pim whined, tugging on Phoebe's hand.

"Oh, geez, Pim," grumbled Phoebe, reluctantly breaking out into a jog to catch up with Phil and Keely.

There was no interaction, however, much to the indignance of both matchmakers, and they climbed up the steps of the school sadly.

"Bye, Phil," Pim said with a wave, and just like she did everyday, she walked to the right corridor while Phil and Keely continued walking forward. She stayed there for no longer than a minute and with Phoebe, she rushed out and followed Phil and Keely.

"Oooh - " she began, but was soon cut off when someone stood right in front of her, blocking their view of them.

"You're Phil's little sister, aren't you?" said the girl, frowning at her.

Pim nodded. "Uh, yeah, Pim," she stuck out her hand.

The girl took it. "Tia," she said with a nod. She gave another upward nod towards her friends. "What were you doing?"

Pim stared at her, while Phoebe smiled at Tia. "I'm Phoebe." Tia greeted her and Phoebe continued, "We're trying to bring them together."

The beam that spread across Tia's face was immediate, and Pim was taken aback. Tia laughed. "Finally!! I've been meaning to do it myself, but one person ain't enough, you see."

Pim grinned. "So you'll help us?"

"Oh, sure!!" Tia's face reflected Pim's. "Besides, you two aren't in their classes, but I'm in with them in most of them."

Pim nodded. "Thanks!" She held out her hand again, and Tia took it once more. "Deal?" she said, repeating what she'd asked Phoebe just two days ago.

"Yeah, deal," Tia nodded. She let go of Pim's hand, and used her hand to give a mock salute. "See you!"

Phoebe watched her retreating back with a mischievious grin. "And now there're three."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Keely grabbed some books off the shelf of her locker. "Oof," she muttered. "Too heavy, too heavy..."

Phil noticed her dilemma and couldn't help but grin. It was what happened every Monday, thanks to the fact that their first few classes were in the other side of the building. He grabbed the first few books from her pile as usual without hesitation and set them on top of his own books.

"C'mon, we'd better get going," he said, cutting her off before she could say thanks. She frowned and began to walk while he did.

"Meanie," she said.

"You've said enough 'thank you's, thank you very much," Phil said jokingly.

"Haha," she commented sarcastically. She changed the topic. "You heard? Tia's joining our first class today. Her first class teacher's sick so she isn't coming today."

He coughed and Keely heard the muffled remnants of 'gossip'. She straightened her back in a dignified manner and said, "For your information, Phil, I got my info from Tia herself."

Phil laughed. "All right, all right - hey, Tia!" he said with a wave.

The grinning girl waited for them to approach her so that they could walk to class together.

"Hey guys," she greeted. "What's up?"

"Eh, not much," Phil said with a shrug.

"We watched a movie last Saturday!" said Keely.

"'We' as in...?" Tia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Pim, her friend, Phil and me."

"You mean, Phil and I," Phil corrected.

Keely frowned and hit him on the head with her books. "Idiot." She looked back at Tia. "Horror movie. Man, was it it was scary - "

" - yeah, so scary that she grabbed my arm billions of times!" Phil interrupted.

"Oh, right," Keely said, though her cheeks were going red, "That was once - "

Phil cut her off again. "But you would've done it again if I hadn't taken your hand myself when you screamed."

Tia barely disguised a smile as she pretended to frown. "Well, you said that you said that you took her hand when she screamed - surely that means you were scared too?"

Phil opened and closed his mouth a few times, then finally closed it. "Girls always ganging up on me - I need more male friends," they vaguely heard him mumble.

"Oh, stop being - " Keely started.

" - so sore," Phil and Keely finished together. Phil sighed. "I know, I know." He flashed a joking smile at her. "We're getting late, come on."

"Okay," Tia said. They hurried to their class quickly. But at the entrance, Phil stopped and turned around. "But for punishment, you have to carry your own books into the classroom yourself," he said, his voice containing laughter as he placed the books he had taken back onto her pile of books. He walked into the classroom again.

"Philllll!!!" Keely whined, following him quickly.

Tia stood outside, staring blankly at Keely chasing after Phil as fast as she could [though it wasn't very fast] and Phil finally lifting all of Keely's books from her hands and carrying them to the table at the back, while Keely continued to protest, this time because of the lack of the load.

"Opens door means interested but with someone else...front cuts, back cuts, book-carrying - " Tia grinned widely as she entered the classroom. " - he's interested!"

Keely hugged him briefly before they sat down at the table and Tia was not very surprised about it.

"And so is she!" she giggled, walking towards the other two. "Pim and Phoebe are soooo gonna like this!"

[moofoot]

Chapter 4
"Hi," said Tia on the phone, and immediately burst with the latest news. "Seth's in."

Pim smiled and whispered excitedly, "That's great!" Phoebe, on the other end of the three-way call, agreed with her.

Pim walked into her room quietly and closed the door. Locking it, she leapt onto her bed. "Alright, so you two got any ideas?"

"Nope, nothing for now," Phoebe said.

"I got one!!" Tia exclaimed. "I suggested a Christmas Ball this year since it's coming soon..."

"Oooh, not bad!" Phoebe said at once. "It's almost definite that he'll ask her."

"Whatdya mean, almost?!" Pim questioned, sounding mildly insulted. "It's definitely definite!!! Phil likes her!"

"Likes who?" a new voice was introduced into the conversation.

"Uhhhh...who was that?" Phoebe asked hesitantly.

Pim gasped. "Oh no..."

"Who was it?"

"Oh no oh no oh no..."

The person cleared her throat. "Pim Ganza Diffy, tell me what you are doing and tell me now."

No one found the situation funny enough to laugh at Pim's ridiculous middle name. "Mrs Diffy?!" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah," Pim said nervously. "Uh...let me start from the beginning?"

"Please," Barbara said promptly. The story began and finished, and in the end Barbara couldn't hold back a loud snort.

Tia chuckled. "So you agree with us too?"

"Oh, yeah!!" she said with a laugh. "I don't know why I didn't do it sooner!!"

They all laughed in agreement with her.

All four of them didn't hear a faint click in the background.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"oh my gosh, oh my gosh," he muttered quickly under one breath. He looked nervous as he paced around the kitchen. He was thinking about the phonecall he'd just heard.

"Hey, dad," a cheerful voice greeted him as the back door slammed shut. Phil looked at his father worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong? No - nothing's wrong," Lloyd said nervously. "Nothing at all. Everything's fine."

His son stared at him and nodded slightly. "Alllll right," he said, disbelievingly. He set his bag on the table nearby and walked over to the fridge.

"How was school?" Lloyd started a little hesitantly, as if desperately trying to cover up.

"Was fine," he said shortly, drinking out of the carton. "I got a coupla assignments and I gotta hand 'em up soon. Keely's helping, though, so there shouldn't be much of a problem."

Lloyd nodded, inwardly wondering how there could be a problem if Keely herself was the problem. He tried to voice his opinion tactfully. "How're things with Keely?"

"Fine," he said, eyeing his father a little doubtfully. "Why?"

"Just...wanted to know," he said with a shrug.

"Oh." He sat down on one of the chairs and stared at the table top. "Maybe it's not all fine..." he started, trailing off.

"Mm-hmm?" Lloyd said with interest, nudging his chair closer to him.

"It's just," he began, then looked up at the older man. "Never mind." He shook his head and pushed himself off the seat. "I'll see ya later."

Lloyd simply stared at the retreating back of his son and wondered what was going on that he couldn't know.

Then he looked up at the framed group picture on the wall that they'd taken recently, and smiled slightly. The third girl in the photo smiled back at him, her arm around Phil and her head leaning on his shoulder. He, in turn, had his arm around her and his own head leant upon hers.

Perhaps there wasn't much need to wonder, after all.

[moofoot]

Chapter 5
"I can't believe we're having a Christmas Dance this year!!" Keely groaned.

Phil snorted and looked up at her from his homework. "Yes, something very nice to talk about while we're studying in the library." A glare from his friend told him that she wasn't kidding and he sighed. "What's wrong with having a Christmas Dance?"

"I don't know - for one thing, I may be one of the most popular girls in school, but - " she paused, stared at Phil, and flushed. "Never mind."

"Oh, come on, tell me!" Phil teased, pushing the chair closer towards the table. "I won't tell anyone!!"

Keely grinned. "That's probably 'cause you don't have anyone else to tell." He looked at her, offended, then she shook her head. "All right. Don't tell anyone - " Phil nodded fervently and she had to smile again at his eagerness, " - but I, uhm, I can't dance."

His eyes widened. "What?!" he cried.

"Shut up!!" Keely said, waving her arms frantically. The glare and loud 'shhhh!!' from the librarian went unnoticed as he stared at her, looking baffled. "You can't dance?"

She smiled sheepishly and looked down. "Guilty as charged."

"And - does anyone else know about this?" Phil asked. She shook her head. "Tia?" he tried again and once again she responded in the negative. "Whoa...why did you tell me, then?" he questioned.

She smiled up at him and reached for his hand. With a grin, he threaded his fingers through hers.

No reply was needed.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

They were walking home together, in a discussion about the enraged tirade from the school librarian when they'd left the place, when it hit him. "Hey, I could teach you how to dance!!"

"Wha - what?" she was caught off gaurd from the sudden change in topic.

"I could teach you dancing!" he repeated, a full-watt smile on his face. "I know how! Dance lessons were compulsary for Pim and I because our dad wanted us to be 'well-rounded'," he explained. She stared at him questioningly and he shook his head lightly. "Don't ask." She laughed and, pleased, he continued, "I could teach you how to dance!!"

Keely shook her head slightly. "I don't know, Phil..."

"Come on, Keel! It's not like it can kill you or something!" He seemed so enthusiastic that she had to shrug.

"Okay, okay, fine," she gave in reluctantly. "But just so you know, I am not happy about this."

"Oh, I know," Phil said with a laugh.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Okay, Mom, Dad, gotta go!" he called as he hurried to the front door. "I'll be back by...I dunno, five or six-ish?"

"Hey, where're you going?" Pim asked as she tried to catch up with him.

"Over to Keely's. I'm gonna teach her how to - " he paused and shook his head. "Never mind. I promised I wouldn't tell!" He leant into her and whispered. "Not even Tia!" He left the house grinning widely, as was Pim.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

He entered the house and, walking straight towards Keely's room, he waved to Keely's mom as he passed by the entrance of the kitchen. He placed both his hands on the door and knocked 'The Knock'.

"Come in, Phil!" Keely called. He opened the door and went inside. "Hey!" she greeted cheerfully, switching off the television in the room.

"Hi," he said back. He walked over to the VCR and pressed the eject button. "What were you watching?" He turned over the tape in his hands and smiled. "You kept it?"

"Of course I did," she said. "Why wouldn't I?"

He shrugged. "I just thought..." He shrugged again. "Ah, never mind."

She watched him silently for a moment. "I asked our teacher for the tape later that day. He told me that I have gem of a best friend there. And I agree," she said with a bright smile.

He returned it and set the tape on top of the tape-recorder and turned around. "All right, you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Keely said with a nervous smile. She hesitated in front of Phil. "I'll apologise in advance for the number of times I'll step on your foot."

"Ah," Phil shook his head and waved his arm in a not-caring manner. "You can't be that bad."

Boy, was he wrong.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"My toes hurt."

"I know! I'm sorry!"

"My toes hurt, and my arms hurt."

"Phil!!"

"Ahh," he cried, and collapsed on the bed. Keely rushed up to him. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," she mumbled repeatedly.

"Hey," Phil said amusedly, pulling her up so that they were eye-to-eye. "You already apologised."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said, then clapped her hands to her mouth. "Oops. Sorry, sorry - "

"Oye, stop," he said with mock-irritation, and she smiled sheepishly.

"Sor - "

It was his turn to clap his hands to her mouth. "Shush."

"my gosh I do talk too much," she said laughing.

"Yep." He nodded in agreement. He got up and opened the door. "All right - so, ah, when's the Dance coming up, then?" He started walking to the front door and Keely followed close behind.

"This Saturday."

"Oh." He shook his head. "I don't think you'll be able to get this straight in three days," he said teasingly.

She nodded seriously, although she knew Phil was just kidding. "Hey - maybe you can go with me," she said, with a sudden flash of inspiration. "I'll try extra hard not to step on your feet because you're worth the effort." She grinned widely.

"I was already planning on asking you," he said and grinned at her.

"So we're going together?" she said once they'd reached the door.

"Of course," he answered, and hugged her once. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Mrs Teslow smiled when she heard the conversation in the background. It broke out into a more mischevious one soon enough. There was probably a group already backing it up, and she would love to be a part of it.

[moofoot]

Chapter 6
"How do I look?"

"Perfectly fine, Phil." She sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe I offered to help you out."

"Neither can I." He flashed a teasing grin at his sister then glanced at his watch. "I'd better go," he said. Pecking Pim on the top of her head, he turned around, grabbed his jacket and left.

"Bye mom, dad!" he yelled, and the door slammed shut behind him.

The remaining three of the family waited in the hall for the phone to ring anxiously. When it finally did, Barbara grabbed it and greeted, "hello?"

"She just left," was the short reply from the other end of the phone.

She smiled widely. "All right, thanks." She paused. "Begin plan, then?"

"Yep. Operation Pheely, commence."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Did I tell you that you look...amazing?" Phil questioned, smiling shyly at his partner.

"Yep." Keely nodded and laughed. "But I like hearing it."

"Good. Don't think I'm gonna stop," he remarked, eliciting another giggle from her. "You're dancing pretty well, by the way," he said, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Yep!" She smiled. "Only stepped on your foot five times!"

"Who're you gonna thank?" he started expectingly.

"Hmm..." She made a show of thinking over it and he slapped her on the shoulder with mock-annoyance.

"Look at them," Tia said with a sigh. "They're too sweet," she added on the phone.

Pim on the other line agreed at once. Lloyd sighed irritatedly and said, "I'm sure that the extra info is appreciated. Now can we please get somewhere?"

Tia gave an annoyed grunt but continued anyway. "Phil looks great, Pim, you did a fab job."

She grinned proudly. "Thank you - thank ya very much," she said and added a wink for the effect. Lloyd glared at her, however, and she shrunk back once more.

"Hey, hang on. What's Fred going over there for?" Tia started suddenly. She pulled Seth along with her when she strode a little closer to the couple and the approaching hottie of the school. "It looks like he's asking her to...dance." She winced slightly. Under any other circumstances she'd be jumping with joy for her friend, but at that moment, she couldn't help wanting Fred to leave.

Immediately.

Of course, she couldn't always get what she wanted.

She couldn't hear a word of what was going on, so she settled on reading their lips. From the looks of it, Fred was inviting Keely for a dance, and Phil, knowing Fred's reputation, was saying that it was okay with Keely went. He had failed to notice that even though Keely looked starry-eyed, it wasn't for Fred - it was for him.

Stupid idiot, Tia thought, furrowing her brow as Fred pulled Keely to the dance floor. Stupid idiot, she thought again, as she watched Phil staring at them as they went further and further away from him and deeper into the crowd of couples on the dance-floor.

Stupid idiot, she thought once more, though this time about a different person, as Fred leaned closer to Keely. She breathed out a loud sigh of relief when Keely simply turned her head so that Fred's lips met only her cheek.

"What? What's happening?" Pim asked anxiously, waiting for an update on what was going on.

Tia didn't reply and instead handed the phone to Seth, who was standing right beside her. Her eyes followed Fred and Keely right until Fred closed the door that he had just pushed Keely through.

Phil followed them immediately, his confident steps revealing only a bit of the anger he was feeling.

Seth and Tia were hot on his trail. The handphone had been turned off.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The last two arrived just in time to see Phil punching Fred square on the nose. Her gasp was drowned out by a pained yell from Fred. He mumbled a quick apology as he backed away, his face red with embarassment.

Tia and Seth backed into the shadows and watched.

Phil turned around and stared at Keely, who was already gazing at him with admiration, her jaw hanging open. There were streaks of tears on her face. His face broke out into a slow grin. "You okay?" he asked, pushing her jaw up to close her mouth.

She nodded, still staring at him. Then her mouth curved into a grin as well so that her face reflected his, and she threw her arms around him. "You were great," she whispered into his ear.

He tightened the hug as she continued, still softly. "I'm glad you were here."

He ran her fingers through her hair as he replied, "So am I."

[moofoot]

Chapter 7
Phil reached home that night with a wide grin stretched over his features.

Barbara only looked mildly amused as she asked him why he was grinning.

He shrugged and just said, "The dance was actually pretty fun."

"And punching someone was fun, too?"

Phil's jaw dropped and he stared at his mother.

"Tia told me," she replied his unasked question and stepped closer to him. "Look, sweetie, I know it was only defensive, and under these certain circumstances, it's all right, but I don't want you to ever do it again, okay?"

He managed an embarassed nod and then sighed. "Sorry mum. I guess I let my emotions get the better of me, you know?"

She nodded. "Don't make a habit out of it." She nodded upwards at the stairs. "Now go, it's pretty late already."

He turned around and began walking up dejectedly. "And Phil?" she started again, her tone of voice lighter. He stopped but didn't face her again. "Great going," she said, grinning.

He spun around and beamed at her. Running down the steps he had already climbed, he hugged her and said, "You rock." Before she had time to react, he dashed up the stairs again, this time with a happier gait.

She laughed, and went to the kitchen where Lloyd was waiting for her.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Everyone's talking about it!" Tia said proudly, putting the tray down at the table where Phil, Keely and Seth were already sitting.

She was, however, greeted by two glares.

"Whaaaat?" she asked cluelessly, glancing at Seth for a heads-up. He shook his head.

"You told my parents that I'd punched someone at the dance?!" Phil asked.

"And how did you know that, anyway?" Keely added, immediately at the aid of her best friend.

She blinked. How was she supposed to reply to that? Then she smiled. "I saw it!"

"Oh?" Phil questioned, leaning closer to her from across the table, his voice more dangerous. "And why were you there?"

"I was with this guy, and he wanted to show me something outside, and - "

Tia was cut off by Keely. "What else did you see?" she asked, almost urgently.

"Nothing else." She smiled innocently. "Why?"

Phil and Keely both reddened. "Nothing," they said in unison.

Tia's smile became more mischevious as she exchanged glances with Seth.

Nothing? Yeah, right.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"A new plan. That's what we need," Tia said on the phone to Pim.

"Yeah. And something that'll put them together - once and for all."

Both frowned in thought, when Pheobe, sitting next to Pim, interjected, grinning widely. "Got it."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

They were both at the library again, this time researching for their history project that they had to do in pairs. They were sitting at the square table, both on the same side of it. She was leaning on him, and he was holding the book up in front of them so that they could both read. In front of them was a stack of more books.

There was a pained look on Marla's face as she realised that there were no more free tables around. With an irritated sigh, she set down the five books she had on the table in front of them. Tanner followed her, looking equally frustrated.

"hello, Phil and Keely," she said snootily, sitting down on a chair opposite Keely.

He put down the book, glaring at their new tablemates. Keely just gave a short and sharp greeting of 'hello' and propped up the book again.

Tanner and Marla, however, had different ideas.

"So you chose each other as partners?"

"Yes, Tanner, we did," Phil said briskly. He added, in his normal voice, "Keel, tu - " and was cut off when Keely turned the page like he wanted. He grinned.

"We didn't have a choice." Marla glanced, frowning, at Tanner.

Keely let out a soft, uninterested grunt, turning another page.

"How's English class?"

"Doesn't he see you during english classes?" Keely questioned. Phil snorted slightly.

"And both of us still see you, Tanner, when we're acting or something," Phil chipped in before either of them could butt in.

Tanner scowled. "Yeah. I remember your last performance." He made a face as he recalled the praises they'd gotten from the teacher.

Marla pushed the book a little nearer to the centre of the table as she leaned on it, smiling suddenly. "I heard you gave Fred a nice little punch on the nose."

Phil reddened. Keely laughed and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "I thought it was sweet."

He only grew redder.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Marla commented, in a sickly voice.

Keely got up abruptly and turned to Phil. "Ya wanna go to my house? I can gaurantee that these people," she gestured towards the other two, "won't be there."

Phil seemed only too glad to agree. He got up and gathered the books, then turned to leave mediately. Keely sighed and nudged him, and with an identical sigh, Phil said, "Nice chatting with you all."

"I'd say that, but then I'd be lying," Tanner said with a sarcastic smile. Phil glanced at Keely, looking irritated and slightly disbelieving, as well. She nodded, grinned, and took some of the books off Phil's load. He smiled and left at once, and Keely followed after glaring at both of them.

As they left, Tanner and Marla's faces broke out into identical smiles. She got up and gave the brunette sitting a few tables away and thumbs-up.

Tia grinned in reply.

Part I of plan - complete.

[moofoot]

Chapter 8
"I'm not jealous," she told herself. Her green eyes flicked to them again, and sighing, she turned to face away from them. "I'm not jealous," she repeated. "Nope. Not me."

She glared at the wall in front of her, attempting to focus on something else. 'Oh, look!' she thought, 'Ants! Three of 'em.' With rather forced curiosity, she watched them climb slowly up the wall. And then she noticed that the three ants were walking in an odd formation - two walking quickly in the front, the other walking behind slowly.

She sympathised for the last ant. She knew how it felt. Almost subconciously, she glanced at Phil and annoying-what's-her-face talking a few feet away.

Keely was irritated at herself. What on earth was making her feel so...urghed? She knew it was stupid.

She thought she knew it's stupid.

Maybe it's not really so stupid after all.

She let out another sigh and closed her eyes, leaning against the wall in front of her.

She knew that it was jealously. It was just the fact that she didn't want to admit it. Because admitting that would mean she liked him. Which wasn't true.

Right?

She growled. Confusing thoughts.

Irritating thoughts.

Irritating Phil.

"Argh!" she yelled suddenly, pushing herself off the wall - and colliding with someone. She felt strong arms around her, pulling her upright, and involuntarily, she turned red as she realised whose familiar grip it was.

"You okay, Keel?" he asked.

She turned around and smiled at him. "Uhm, yeah - yeah," she stammered, watching as his eyebrows furrowed with concern.

Irritating, but oh, so very cute Phil.

He smiled in reply. "If you're sure..."

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." She grinned back at him. They stared at each other for a while, and she studied his dimples and chocolate eyes. He cleared his throat and let go of her, his cheeks tinging a light pink. She fell back slightly at the sudden loss of support and leant against the locker, and she noticed fleetingly that he almost stepped in front to catch her again.

Her grin widened.

"So - uhm - what did she want?" she asked, nodding towards the girl who was walking away down the opposite side of the hall.

"Oh. Ah, she wanted to know about Seth. Y'know, his status and all." His flushed face held a quirky smile as he continued, "Can you believe she likes him?"

Her immense relief was hidden by a frown. "Don't be mean," she berated, nudging him as she stood up straight.

"Ouch. Fine, fine," he said. He began again, after flipping his imaginary long hair. "oh my gosh! Like, just, oh my gosh! That's just, like, someone else to add to the list of girls who chase around Seth! The total must be like, a hundred and twenty!"

She couldn't contain a laugh. "You are very mean," she commented, giggling, walking down the hallway. "Come on, we should be going home by now. We still have loads to do."

He jogged to catch up with her. "You were laughing," he accused, his smile teasing, challenging.

"So I was. But you were the one being mean first," she argued.

He was quick in his reply. "Ah, yet you encouraged my being mean by laughing."

"Yes, but I immediately told you you were wrong to be doing such things," she began, and continued to ramble.

It was during this friendly debate, this simple activity, that she noticed how his cheery smile could make her heart race, and how a simple brush of fingers made her shiver slightly.

It was all this that brought her to the conclusion - she was falling for her best friend.

Tia would love to hear about this, she thought wryly as she waved goodbye to Phil later that evening.
Nothing to do with the plan - just a little bit of fluff to show that Keely *does* like him. heh.

[moofoot]

Chapter 9
"Hey, Keely!" Tia called, waving to get her friend's attention as she walked dazedly down the path in front of her house. She tightened her grip on the thick envelope nervously.

The blonde blinked twice before showing any real response. "Yeah?" She seemed to notice Tia only after a while, and then smiled suddenly. "Hey, Tia!"

Tia nodded, then frowned a little bit. "Are you okay?"

She seemed to hesitate before she replied, "I'll tell you later." She then smiled again, and added, "Nothing too big, anyway."

'Right,' Tia thought, watching Keely as her mind seemed to drift off again. "Uhm, hey," she restarted, "You know when Phil - " she noticed that Keely snapped back to attention at the sound of his name and smiled inwardly - " - had that, uh, date with the Mayor's daughter?"

"Alice? Yeah, I remember," Keely replied, looking slightly confused as to the sudden mention of the date that had happened over a year ago. "Why?"

She also remembered that she had hardly mentioned much to Tia - in fact, the only way Tia actually knew about it was because she had suggested, jokingly, 'karate-chopping a fly' that had landed on Phil's nose - only a week after the incident. His reply had also been teasing, 'Only if I get a dance afterwards,' adding a sly wink and a squeeze of her hand. Of course, Tia got neither head nor tail of this statement and said so. For this, Keely gave her a short summary of it all, rather slyly forgetting some of the unimportant details of the ''j' word' and the dance.

Tia still hadn't understood Phil's remark, but she kept quiet about it. And soon it was believed that Tia had forgotten about it as a whole - which, truthfully, she had.

Until Alice had met her after school that day. She had provided a much more in-depth explanation of the happenings, and pressed into Tia's hand copies of the pictures she had found in her camera the day after that - only saying that she wanted Keely and Phil to see it, and realise what they had.

Tia accepted it, feeling curious, and flipped through the pictures as soon as she had gotten the chance.

She was thoroughly satisfied with what she had found.

And she thought that Phil and Keely would rather enjoy her find, as well.

"Why?" Keely repeated, bringing Tia back to the present.

"Uhm," the brunette began, "Alice - she wanted me to give you this. You guys, I mean. You and Phil."

Keely took the envelope from the stammering girl suspiciously, as if it would explode any moment. Taking notice of this, Tia sighed. "Relax, Keely, it ain't a bomb."

She blushed, and snapped back immediately, "I know it isn't!" She examined it keenly and nodded to Tia, not taking her eyes away from it. "I'll go check this out."

"Yeah. Do that." Tia grinned as she walked away. It was only after she disappeared from view when she remembered she had forgotten to ask her what Keely had been thinking about at the beginning of their conversation. Sighing, she turned away, and thought resignedly, 'I guess it'll have to wait.'

--

They both stared at the envelope as it lay on his desk.

"Open it."

"No, you do it."

"No - " Phil let out a sigh. "This is ridiculous! It's just an envelope, for crying out loud!"

"We don't know what's inside," Keely reminded. "And Alice wasn't very happy with you the last time you talked to her."

"Yeah, well..." he trailed off and finally picked up the envelope, taking a deep breath. "I say we go for it."

"Fine." She shrugged.

There was a loud tear heard, followed by the ruffle of paper as he tore the envelope and took out the pictures.

"Hey - that's me," he observed as he looked at the first picture.

"Yeah, that is," she confirmed, leaning towards him to get a better look at it. She let out a gasp as she realised where that was from. "It's from your date with Alice!"

"But I thought you were taking pictures of both of us."

Keely blushed as she remembered what had actually happened. "Uhm, was I?" she lied, and quickly changed the subject. "It's a great picture of you."

He stared at her for a while, as though searching her, then smiled. "Thanks."

"N - no problem."

The next few pictures all included him with Alice, as Alice had given Keely the duty of taking photographs of the two of them throughout the evening. They looked through those fairly quickly.

"This one's of you."

"Oh, I didn't know that," she commented sarcastically, hitting him upside the head.

He laughed in reply and rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, okay..." He didn't take his eyes off the picture. "Who took it?"

"I gave the camera to Manny after a while," she explained.

"Oh." He glanced up at her, grinning slightly. She felt his gaze and looked up. Their eyes met and she smiled. "What?" she asked.

"What what?" he replied.

"What're you looking at me like that for?"

He looked down at the picture again quickly, breaking their eye contact. "You look..."

"Messy? Ugly? Terrible? Witchy? Horri - "

" - beautiful," he cut in, chuckling. He seemed to have just realised what he had said and tried to correct himself. "I mean - I - you - "

"Your eyes need checking," she said with a brief smile.

"What?" He scoffed. "Of course you're beautiful."

"Yeah, in this extremely bad shot of me looking totally and completely and without a doubt messy?" she argued.

"That just shows that you look great no matter what," he declared. They looked at each other simultaneously and their eyes met once more. Her breath caught in her throat and she opened her mouth to speak. "Phil - "

"Your mom wants to know if you're planning on staying over."

"What?" Keely questioned, turning around.

"Your mom wants to know if you're planning on staying over tonight," Pim repeated, leaning against the door she'd just opened. "She says it's okay because tomorrow's a Saturday."

Keely looked back at Phil as if asking if it was okay with him. He gave a half-smile and nodded.

"So I'll go tell her, then?"

"Yeah." Keely turned back to her. "Yeah, you can tell her I'm staying over."

"Okay." Pim smiled slightly and, without giving her usual wry comment about Phil, she left.

"That's odd - first time she didn't say anything bad about you," she said with a laugh. He nodded again wordlessly, looking down at the pictures and frowning in what looked like deep concentration.

"Phil - about what was happening - what we were - " she started hesitantly, only to be interrupted by him.

"You wanna see the rest of the pictures?" He held up the stack of photos in question.

She looked just a bit worried when she agreed.

What was going on?

[moofoot]

Chapter 10
"Your ex-manager's pretty good at photo-taking," Phil said, breaking the short silence, sounding impressed.

Keely smiled slightly. "He'd like to hear that." She suddenly perked up a little bit. "You think that'll earn me my job back?"

He shook his head, laughing. "Nope, don't think that'll work."

"Oh," she said disappointedly, leaning back into her chair again.

"Hey," he offered with a grin, "His loss." He watched her for her reaction.

"You think so?" At his earnest smile and eager nod, she giggled. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." She leant forward. "What picture were you looking at, anyway?" She took the pictures from him and, leaning back again, she continued looking through the pictures.

He watched her eyes as they sparkled and her smile as it widened. A wisp of hair moved across her face in the wind, and he resisted the urge to move it away, instead watching her as she did it herself.

He sighed mentally, looking away, and turned towards the pile of pictures he had already gone through lying on the table. He picked up a few and began to flip through them. Only after a while did he catch himself looking longer at the pictures with Keely in them.

He allowed himself the slighest of glances up at her.

There was something about her that no one else he knew had. Even one of her small smiles was enough to make him stop thinking straight. And her laugh...

He shook his head.

"What?" Keely asked suddenly. He looked up quickly. Had she been watching him? He began to shake his head again, automatically this time. "Nothing."

She smiled briefly and went back to what she was doing. He willed his heart to stop racing.

'I sound like a love-struck fool,' he thought reflectively, turning back towards the photos.

And he was.

He hadn't realised it while it had been happening, but there was no doubt now that he had fallen for her. Hard. It was crazy - one moment he had been watching her yelling at Tanner from across the room during drama class, and the next, he had found himself thinking, "I am so blind."

He had no idea of how he was going to leave when the time came. The century that had quickly become a part of him was allowing him to be a part of it, too. Those routinely walks to school with Keely, often accompanied by Tia, those classes that he had been forced to take up and ended up loving anyway, heck, even the enemies that he had never had a chance to really have at virtual schools were sometimes the most entertaining parts of his day.

It was crazy - but true.

"Phil."

"Mmm?" He replied distantly, staring at the desk.

"This one's of us." She leant a bit to the side so that their shoulders were touching and the photo was in both of their views.

It was a picture that had both of them in the shot, plus Alice, but they were nearly at the opposite sides. A normal picture, sure enough, of him dancing with his date while Keely stood near the table, but something about it made Phil study it more than he normally would have.

He smiled slightly in realisation and looked up. "We're looking at each other," he observed.

She nodded, looking pleased that he noticed. "Kind of odd, isn't it? That we're at the opposite ends of the room but we're looking at each other?"

He agreed. Their smiles widened as their eyes met. "Interesting," he said unnecessarily.

"We're both in the rest, too," she said, glancing down at the remaining pile. Her cheeks went a light pink.

"Are we?" Again an unnecessary question, but he said it anyway as he looked down at the other pictures. The first one caused him to grin. "This is from the - "

"Dance," she finished. "Yeah. The others are of the dance, too."

"But we didn't really dance much, did we?" he reminded. It was his turn to blush a bit. "More of hugging, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, I would," she said, giggling slightly. They looked through the rest of the pictures silently, her head resting on his shoulder.

"I liked it," he said suddenly, as he picked up one of the pictures and fingered it gently, rubbing his thumb over the top. He recalled that odd feeling of contentment he had felt at that moment.

"We look contented," she said, smiling, as if reading his thoughts. "As if...all was right with the world."

He was startled when it seemed as if she had read his thoughts, but he continued the conversation anyway. "Even though I might have to leave this century soon - leave you," he added. "And even though we were in a public place, dancing in a room where we - I," he amended, "made a lot of mess."

She laughed. "And we still had a lot of homework to do."

He chuckled slightly. "Yeah, that too."

"I liked it too," she admitted.

"We should do it again." he suggested. "Maybe a full dance this time?" He got up, bowing at the waist and offering her with his hand. "We don't have music, no fancy dresses, even though it's not like we really had fancy dresses then, but - "

" - I think that'd be...great," she cut in with a gentle smile, accepting his offer. As she wrapped an arm around his waist and drapped the other over his shoulder, she laughed suddenly. "You do realise we're getting too cheesy for own good, right?"

He grinned. "Any complaints?" he whispered, pulling her slightly closer.

"Nope," she replied softly with a grin. "None at all."

----===--------===--------===----

"They look highly suspicious," Barbara whispered to her husband during dinner that night. She observed her son with his 'best friend', laughing, smiling, chatting as if they were the only people in the room.

They had done it before, a lot, during the several dinners they'd had together, but somehow there seemed to be something different between them.

Oh, to know what had happened in the room tonight, she thought reflectively, sighing slightly. Pim claimed that she had walked in on them dancing when she'd called them for dinner - "if you call dancing hugging while moving around, that is" - but only the three of them would know for sure.

Never mind. Lloyd and herself had something up their sleeves that they'd been planning for a while now, and she couldn't wait to see what happened then.

----===--------===--------===----

Firstly, a billion and one apologies for updating so late. I've had the worst case of writer's block you can imagine. Of course, some people don't believe I had it, but it's true! =P
I'm not happy about this chapter, really, because I did this while I was high on writer's block [if that's possible, lol] and the end result is a whole lot of cheese, mush, and out-of-characterness. I'd appreciate it, though, if someone reviewed about it to tell me what you guys think.
Speaking of reviews, thank you for all of them! I certainly enjoyed reading all of them, and some of them more than others. It's helped a lot more than you'd believe. So thank you.
Alright, then, I shall take your leave. Please, please, *please* gimme some reviews. You wouldn't like to see me begging, would you?
-- moofoot