Fanon:BIG NATE AND THE BET

This is my fanstory. I've been working on it for a while now. I will update it when I can. Let me know what you think!

“Darn it!”

Francis and Teddy looked up from their lunches to see Nate coming towards their table, his face spelling out his frustration.

“I’ve tried asking pretty much every girl in the 6th grade if they wanted to be my date to the school dance, but so far no luck! I don’t get it!”

“Dance?” Teddy asked. “I didn’t know we had a dance coming up.”

“Next week is the spring dance,” Francis said, “I’ve already asked Sheila to go with me. Nate is just frustrated that no one would go out with him. Like it is a big shock to him.”

Nate sat down beside Francis and propped his elbows on the table.

“I don’t understand. I’m good-looking, have irresistible charm, and…”

“And you are full of yourself.” Teddy interrupted. Just before Nate could swat his ear, Teddy quickly remembered something Nate had said. “Wait a minute, Nate.” Nate paused, his hand just inches from Teddy’s ear. “You said you’ve asked pretty much every girl to be your date? Who haven’t you asked?”

Nate sat back down and knit his eyebrows together, thinking about the question. “The only girls I haven’t asked are Gina, Kim, and Dee Dee.”

“Why haven’t you’ve tried asking Dee Dee?” Francis asked.

“Well…” Nate began, “it’s because, well, um…” Nate’s ears began to turn red as he tried making up a reason as to why he hadn’t asked Dee Dee, the drama queen of PS.38 to the dance.

“It’s because you LIKE her, isn’t it?” Francis teased with a smile.

“OOOOOOO…” Teddy began to whistle.

“No! That isn’t it at all!” Nate blurted out. Truth be told, Nate liked Dee Dee as a friend, but that was as far as his feelings for her went. Though he did sometimes think she was cute, maybe even the cutest girl in the school. Nate pushed his thoughts of Dee Dee aside when he realized his friends were talking again.

“What did you guys just say?”

Francis and Teddy rolled their eyes, as this isn’t the first time Nate zoned out on them during a conversation.

“I was saying, didn’t you and Dee Dee go to a dance together?” Francis said.

Nate remembered that dance. He hadn’t meant to ask Dee Dee to that dance. Nate was trying to ask Dee Dee to join the cartooning club, but a stray sandwich caused Nate to lose his track of thought, and Dee Dee accepted what she thought was an invitation to the dance. Nate remembered panicking, worried that Dee Dee would perform some big, dramatic act in front of everyone there.

Not that the dance was a complete disaster. Nate thought it was one of the best dances of his life. However, he hadn’t really given any thought to asking her again. Especially since she made it clear she only thought of him as a friend.

“That was an accident,” Nate replied, “I didn’t mean to ask her that time.”

“Well, you should ask her again,” Teddy said, “after all, you two go together like peanut butter and chocolate.”

“No, I’m not doing it.” Nate stated firmly. “Nothing will make me ask her. I’d rather ask Mrs. GODFREY before I ask Dee Dee again.”

“Well then, I guess we should make this interesting,” Francis said, rubbing his hands together, “Let’s make a bet!” Nate froze, his ears suddenly attentive, listening to what the bet was, fearing the worst. “Here is the idea. If you, Nate, ask Dee Dee to the dance and go with her, I’ll do your homework for you for a MONTH. You don’t, and you have to give up Cheez Doodles for a month.”

Nate swallowed hard, hardly believing his ears.

“Even better,” Teddy added, “you have to do one slow dance with Dee Dee before the end of the dance. You do that, and I’ll buy you a big bag of Cheez Doodles every day for a week.”

Nate began to think it over, weighing the pros and cons of the situation. If I ask Dee Dee to the dance, I could risk getting humiliated in front of everyone, Nate thought, but if I don’t ask, I’ll lose Cheez Doodles for a month. He looked at Francis. But with free homework help, he thought as he turned to Teddy, and free Cheez Doodles, how can I say no?

…

“I’ll do it.” Nate said. He figured that there was a way he had this in the bag. If he told Dee Dee it was part of the bet, she would surely come through and help him. That way I can avoid acting like a fool asking her to the dance. Nate thought to himself.

Francis seemed to know what Nate was thinking. “You can’t tell Dee Dee about the bet. That defeats the purpose of the bet.”

“Oh come on!” Nate fumed.

“He’s right,” Teddy chimed in, “we both know you would tell her about the bet to make it easy on yourself.”

“No, I wouldn’t!” Nate said defensively.

“Uh, yes you would!” Francis and Teddy said.

“Fine!” Nate said as he got up from the table. “I’m gonna do it!” He looked across the cafeteria, scanning each table for his target. He saw Dee Dee chatting away with fellow members of the drama club. Nate took a deep breath, and started to walk over. He inched slowly across the cafeteria, sweat beginning to break out on his forehead as he got closer to his destination.

''Get a grip, me! You ask girls to dances all the time! Why should this be any different?'' Nate was getting closer to Dee Dee’s table, when suddenly; he was kissing the dirty cafeteria floor. At first, Nate was stunned at what happened, but when he heard ugly laughter, he had a sinking feeling as to what it meant. The laughter continued, and Nate could do nothing but get up and face his humiliation.

“Hey dorkus, better watch where you step!” a voice cried out.

Nate recognized that voice. It belonged to Randy, the 6th grade bully. He had a thing about targeting Nate for his most diabolical ploys.

As Nate began to pick himself off the floor, he thought to himself, Leave it to Randy to mess something up. Thanks to Randy, Nate blew his first opportunity to win the bet. Meanwhile, Randy’s goons were laughing their heads off while their leader just smirked.

“So,” Randy began, “why were you heading towards the drama club table?”

“That is none of your business.” Nate retorted.

He turned around and looked at the table in question, where Dee Dee was looking right at him with a look of concern on her face.

''Oh man. What am I going to do now?'' Nate began to panic. ''I can’t ask her right now. Randy is watching and I can’t stand that kind of embarrassment.''

Nate turned around and began walking back to his seat, a look of embarrassment on his face. “I can’t believe I just got humiliated by Randy.”

“Yo, dingus!” Randy called out. “If I were you, I wouldn’t want to hang around a bunch of non-talented people either!”

“EXCUSE ME!?!?” Nate turned around. Dee Dee had gotten up and was busy marching toward Randy’s table. And boy was she MAD. “The only people with no talent I see around here are you and your idiot friends!” She was at the table, and she grabbed Randy by his collar and shoved her face close to his.

“This, by the way, is NOT AN ACT.” Randy gulped, fear clearly visible not just in his eyes, but in his whole body.

“Now apologize to Nate right now!” Dee Dee growled.

Randy swallowed, turned his head toward Nate and said, “I’m sorry, Nate.”

Nate could hardly believe what had just happened. Dee Dee just scared the living ghost out of Randy! Dee Dee let go of Randy’s collar, and walked over to Nate. Everyone who witnessed the event went back to eating.

“Thanks for what you did.” Nate said.

“Hey, that’s what friends are for.” Dee Dee said with a smile. “Now what was it you wanted to see me about?”

…

Nate was caught off guard by Dee Dee’s question.

“What makes you think I was going to see you?” Nate carefully asked.

“Well,” Dee Dee began, “you were coming towards the drama club table, and the only person you talk to who is in the drama club is me.”

Nate could hardly argue with that. He didn’t know any of the other girls in the drama club except for Dee Dee.

“Now what did you want to see me about?” Dee Dee asked again.

“Well, uh…” Nate began to sweat nervously again. What is wrong with me? he thought.

He cast a glance over to where his friends were sitting. Both Teddy and Francis looked like they were trying to conceal their laughter. Nate began to blush a little. He looked over to Randy’s table. Luckily, Randy wasn’t looking in their direction. But Nate felt a little embarrassed asking Dee Dee to the dance, especially after the fiasco that just occurred.

“Do you think we could meet after school?” Nate asked Dee Dee. He felt like this would give him time to think of a plan.

“Sure,” Dee Dee said, “just as long as you don’t have detention.”

Nate smirked at that. “I’ll have you know, Dee Dee, I have a streak going on right now. I haven’t had a detention in two weeks and running.”

“Good to know.” Dee Dee replied. Suddenly, the bell rang for lunch to end. “See you after school Nate!” Dee Dee said as she skipped off.

Nate joined his friends as they walked out the cafeteria door.

“Well, how did it go?” Francis asked.

“I asked Dee Dee to meet me after school.” Nate told his friends about his talk with her.

“Well, you have a few hours to think of a plan.” Teddy said.

“I know, I know, but you can’t rush a great plan. And I’ve got one cooking up here as we speak!” Nate pointed to his forehead.

“Oh boy, this ought to be interesting.” Francis said, rolling his eyes. “We all know how Nate’s plans always end up working out.”

“Yeah,” Teddy said with a smirk, “they ALWAYS work out SO WELL.”

“You guys laugh now,” Nate said, “but you won’t be laughing when I win the bet!” He thought to himself, Just as soon as I figure out what my next move is.

…

“Now when a plant absorbs sunlight, it turns that sunlight into food. We call this process blah blah blah blah…”

Nate tuned out Mr. Galvin’s boring science lecture to focus on his more important dilemma: how could he ask Dee Dee to the dance? He asked her to meet him after school, but what would he do when he meets her? He was drawing blanks left and right. Nate had come up with nothing.

There’s got to be something I can do to make it easier to ask her. Nate thought. Maybe I could take her somewhere away from everyone here and ask her. That didn’t sound like a bad idea. Nate began to smile, but then began to frown again. But where would I take her? He began to think hard, trying to think of places most of the other students didn’t visit often or at all. Just when it looked like he had run out of ideas, Nate suddenly had an epiphany.

''The ice cream place where Mr. Rosa works summers! Of course!'' Nate began to search his backpack. C’mon, c’mon, I know I put it here somewhere… AHA! Nate pulled a small, wrinkled piece of paper out of his backpack. TWO FOR ONE ICE CREAM it said. This coupon is my ace in the hole! Nate thought. Victory is mine for the taking!

The bell rung, signaling the end of yet another school day. Nate walked down the halls, holding onto the coupon as if it were the most valuable thing he owned. Which, given the circumstances, it was.

“Good thing Mr. Rosa gave me this coupon last summer,” Nate said to himself. “He said it was good until the end of April.” Nate checked the coupon’s expiration date to make sure.

While Nate was preoccupied with this, a strong force smacked Nate into the wall. Nate was dazed for a second, but quickly snapped out of it when he realized he was covered with all sorts of junk, homework assignments, and other odds and ends. He suddenly realized he was buried in his stuff. Nate popped out of the pile and looked over to his locker.

“Sorry Nate,” said a short, round boy. “I needed to use your locker.”

“It’s okay Chad.” Nate said. “What for?”

“A bully was chasing me again.” Chad replied, pointing to the kid that was running away, bits of paper flying off of him.

I’ve got to start charging a user’s fee for that thing. Nate thought. Then he suddenly realized something was missing. THE COUPON!  He panicked. Nate started rummaging around in the pile of junk, looking for his ace in the hole.

“This can’t be happening. Not now!” Nate said.

“What’s wrong Nate?” Chad asked.

“I had an ice cream coupon that I was going to use today. But now it’s lost in here!”

“I’ll help you Nate.” Chad said, as he began to think about ice cream.

“Thanks Chad. I’ve got to meet Dee Dee in five minutes! We don’t have much time!”

“Wait,” Chad said, puzzled, “are you taking Dee Dee for ice cream?”

“Uh…” Nate began to blush. “…well, yeah. But I have to. I’m gonna ask her to the dance.”

“OOOO…” Chad began to whistle.

“Please don’t.” Nate interrupted. “Just help me find the coupon.”

Nate and Chad searched through the junk pile, looking for the coupon.

“Why do you want to ask Dee Dee to the dance?” Chad asked.

“Because,” Nate answered, “Francis and Teddy made a bet with me. If I don’t ask Dee Dee, and do one SLOW DANCE with her, I lose Cheez Doodles for a month.”Chad nodded, understanding Nate’s dilemma.

After three minutes of searching, Chad finally said, “I think I found it!” and pulled out the wrinkled coupon.

“YES!” Nate exclaimed in excitement, “CHAD, YOU’RE THE MAN!” Nate grabbed the coupon. “I’ve got to hurry. Chad, press the button inside my locker. It will clean up the mess.”

“No problem, Nate. Go get her, and hurry!”

…

Nate took off, speeding down the halls. Finally, he made it out the doors.

''And only one minute left! Where is she?'' Nate pondered to himself as he searched the school grounds. He found her over by the parking lot, near the spot where he flooded the place with cream of wheat once. He hurried over to her.

“Hey Dee Dee.” Nate panted once he got there.

“Hey Nate. Why are you breathing so hard?” Nate explained that he had something important to do before he came.

“Well, now that I cleared up that, I was wondering if you would want to have some ice cream on me.” Nate said.

“Oh! Well, uh, sure!” Dee Dee exclaimed, clearly taken off guard.

“Great! Shall we?” Nate said with a grin. They both began walking off towards the ice cream shop. So far, so good. Nate thought. Please let nothing else go wrong. He looked around, taking in the beautiful scenery.

Suddenly he heard something that made him and Dee Dee stop.

“Psst! Nate!” a voice hissed from behind a nearby tree.

Oh no. What now? Nate thought. Then he noticed Francis and Teddy poke their heads out from behind the tree. Nate excused himself from Dee Dee and walked over.

“How’s it going, Romeo?” Teddy teased.

“Yeah, give us the update.” Francis said, smiling.

Oh, brother. Nate thought to himself, rolling his eyes.

“C’mon, Nate! How is your plan coming along?” Teddy said with a grin.

“SSHHH! Pipe down, will you?” Nate hissed, “Dee Dee can’t know about the date, remember?” Nate looked over at Dee Dee, who was patiently waiting for Nate on the sidewalk. “Look,” Nate whispered as he turned back to his friends, “I’m taking Dee Dee to the ice cream place where Mr. Rosa works summers.”

“But you don’t have a lot of money.” Francis pointed out.

“I’ve got enough for one ice cream, and I’ve got this!” Nate pulled out the coupon and showed to his friends.

“You checked the expiration date, right?” Francis asked.

“Yeah. Mr. Rosa told me it was good till the end of April.” Nate said. “Now if you guys will excuse me, I’ve got a bet to win!”

Nate walked back towards Dee Dee. As they walked off, Francis and Teddy pondered the situation.

“You think he’ll win?” Teddy asked Francis.

“Knowing Nate, it could go either way. But one thing is for certain.”

“What’s that?” Teddy asked.

“It’ll no doubt be hilarious!” Francis said, smiling.

…

Later, Nate and Dee Dee arrived at the ice cream shop. Nate held the door open while Dee Dee walked inside.

This is going great! Nate thought. But the tough part is still to come. Nate approached the counter.

“I’ll find a place for us to sit.” Dee Dee said.

“Ok,” Nate replied, “I’ll order for us.”

Dee Dee skipped off to the seating area while Nate rung the bell for service.

“Alright, better get out my money and see if I can afford one ice cream.” Nate dug around in his pocket and came up with seven dollars. Perfect. Nate thought with a smile. “Now where is the service?” He rang the bell again. Now, how do I ask Dee Dee to the dance?

Nate began thinking of how to go about his main task when a familiar voice piped up, “What can I get you, sir?”

Nate suddenly snapped up in response.

“I know that voice anywhere!” He looked up at the counter to see a fat, mustached man with a Band-Aid on his forehead.

“SCHOOL PICTURE GUY!!! What are you doing here?” Nate asked. He could hardly believe that School Picture Guy was here at the ice cream shop.

“I am delivering delicious frozen treats to the happy customers who come in here.” School Picture Guy said.

“That’s cool!” Nate replied. “Well, I’m here to order two ice cream cones for me and someone else, and I would like to cash in this coupon with the order.”

“Alright kid. Two ice creams coming up!” School Picture Guy took the coupon and put it in his apron. “What flavors, kid?”

“Vanilla for me, and death by chocolate for the other.” Nate answered.

“Alright, here you go kid!” School Picture Guy handed the cones to Nate. “That’ll be seven dollars.”

Nate grabbed the money and put it on the counter. As he grabbed the cones, Nate thought to himself, Alright, now the hard part comes. He walked over to the booth where Dee Dee was sitting.

Nate handed Dee Dee her cone and then sat across from her. A few moments of silence passed as they both ate their ice cream.

''Okay, the first thing to do is engage in small talk. Easy enough.'' Nate thought. “So, uh, Dee Dee, how has everything been going?”

“Everything has been fine Nate.” Dee Dee replied.

A few more moments of silence passed.

C’mon, you’ve got to find a way to talk about the dance. Nate began to sweat. He looked around for something to help start a conversation about the dance. Then he spotted School Picture Guy.

That’s it! Nate thought with joy.

“Hey Dee Dee. Check out who’s working the counter over there.”

Dee Dee looked over to the counter. “Whoa, is that the man who takes our school pictures?”

“Yep, it sure is.” Nate answered. “He also doubles as a DJ for some of the dances at school.”

“Do you think he might be the DJ at the dance next week?” Dee Dee asked.

“Either him, or Coach John!” Nate laughed a little. “Say, speaking of the dance,” he looked at Dee Dee straight in the eyes, “I, uh, was wondering… if… maybe… you want to…”

Nate’s stomach felt like it was in knots. His mouth felt as if it had gone dry. Dee Dee looked at Nate with a puzzled look on her face.

“What is it, Nate?”

“I was… wondering… if… you… wanted…” C’MON, JUST SAY IT YOU IDIOT! Nate’s brain screamed at him. Nate took a deep breath and, without missing a beat said,

“DoyouwantogotothedancewithmeohgoshlookatthetimeImustbegoingseeyaDee Dee.” Nate got up and ran out of the shop, leaving a very confused Dee Dee behind.

…

Nate walked down the street, giving himself a good talking to.

“What is wrong with you?” Nate said to himself. “You’ve flirted with hundreds of girls, had three girlfriends, and one of them was a SEVENTH GRADER for crying out loud! Well, it’s Dee Dee. She’s one of my closest friends. I can’t just ask her out. She might think I’m asking her out on a date or something! Oh, and taking her out to ice cream, WHICH YOU’VE NEVER DONE BEFORE, isn’t going to make her think it was a date? Ah, man, what am I going to do?” Nate sat down on the edge of the sidewalk and buried his head in his hands.

“Hey, Nate?” a voice piped up.

“Dee Dee?” Nate looked up and almost had a heart attack. Dee Dee was indeed right there, and she looked way beyond confused.

“Nate, is something wrong? Why are you acting so strange?”

“Well, uh…” Nate began to stammer, “I-I, um, well, heh-heh, I, um, well…” C’mon, SAY IT!!!! Nate’s brain had all but worn out its imaginary voice. “I, um, had a very important thing that I have to go to so I’m just going to leave. Bye.”

Nate began to walk away, but Dee Dee grabbed the back of his shirt.

“Nate, I know you well enough to tell when you’re lying. SO WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON?!?!?”

Nate gulped, wondering how he was going to explain himself. It’s sink or swim time, Nate thought to himself, I think she deserves an explanation.

“You see, Dee Dee, here’s the truth, I…” Nate felt absolutely silly telling Dee Dee this, but he felt like she deserved the truth. Or, at the very least, some of the truth. “I was going to ask you if you would like to go to the dance with me. But I got nervous and decided to chicken out.”

“Seriously, Nate? That’s what is going on?” Dee Dee asked.

“Yeah.” Nate answered. It’s now or never, he thought to himself. “Dee Dee, would you like to go to the dance with me?”

Dee Dee dropped on one knee and replied with, “Yes, yes, a thousand times YES!!!”

Oh boy, Nate thought as he rolled his eyes. At least he got that part out of the way. And for some reason, his heart felt as if it was doing cartwheels and jumping for joy.

“Great! So the dance is on Monday, we can make plans over the weekend.” Nate said as he helped Dee Dee off the ground.

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Dee Dee said.

“Want me to walk you home?” Nate offered.

“Sure.” Dee Dee said.

Nate and Dee Dee began walking off towards Dee Dee’s house. As they walked along, they took in the beautiful sights of spring that surrounded them. While the two continued their journey, Nate looked over at Dee Dee.

She looks cute, Nate thought. ''Wait, what am I thinking!?!? She’s my friend! Knock it off!'' Still, Nate couldn’t deny that Dee Dee looked beautiful against the pretty spring background.

“Don’t say anything. Don’t say anything.” Nate thought. As Nate was preoccupied getting his brain back in order, he accidentally walked a little too close toward Dee Dee, and their hands briefly touched.

“Yipe!” Nate thought as he quickly pulled his hand away. Dee Dee looked at him, and Nate blushed with embarrassment. While his brain was busy panicking, his heart felt like it could jump to the moon.

“Why do I feel like this?” Nate wondered.

…

Soon, Nate and Dee Dee reached their destination.

“See you tomorrow Nate!” Dee Dee said as she skipped up the steps to her house.

“Bye.” Nate replied. Nate walked off, feeling pretty good about himself.

“Hey, Nate!” a voice cried out.

“Hm?”

Nate turned around to see Francis and Teddy running right for him.

“What’s up?” Nate asked his friends when they approached.

“How did your DATE go?” Teddy teased.

“It was not a date!” Nate shot back. “Just a meeting between friends. And I’ll have you know, Dee Dee has agreed to go to the dance with me!”

“Now it’s just a question of you showing up to the dance with her!” Francis said.

“Relax,” Nate said, “I’m going to her house tomorrow to make some plans.”

“OOOOO…” Teddy and Francis began to whistle.

“Knock it off, guys! C’mon, gimme a break!”

“Alright, alright, we’ll knock it off.” Francis said.

“Good.” Nate began to walk off to his house. “Wanna come over and hang out?” Nate asked his friends.

“Sure,” they answered.

All three friends began to walk off towards Nate’s house. Just when they reached the house, Chad came running up.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Nate! I’ve got some bad news!”

“Calm down, Chad. What is it?” Nate asked.

“It’s Kim! She’s been looking for you all day!”

Nate began to shudder. “Why me?” he asked himself. “Wait a minute; I’ve already got someone to go to the dance with me! Duh!” Nate smacked his forehead. “I shouldn’t have to worry about Kim.”

“Uh, Nate?” Teddy spoke up. “You tried to use Dee Dee as an excuse to get out of going with Kim last year, remember?”

Nate sunk his head in his hands. “How can my life get anymore worse?”

Just when things couldn’t be worse, Nate’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and read the incoming text.

“I’m coming for you.” it read. It was from Randy.

“Great. Just great. Now Randy is after me. I am so dead.”

“What are you going to do Nate?” Francis asked.

Nate replied with, “I’m going to hide in my house and eat a lot of Cheez Doodles.”

He opened the door and walked inside.

…

“Dad, I’m home!”

“Hey Nate! How come you were late? Did you get detention again?”

“Uh…no.”

Nate felt his cheeks turn red. He didn’t want his dad to know that he had spent an hour with Dee Dee and asked her to the dance.

“I was hanging out with some friends.” he answered as he walked into the kitchen.

Technically, this wasn’t a lie, as Dee Dee was one of his best friends.

“How was school?” Dad was busy at the counter, no doubt preparing some sort of inedible garbage that posed as dinner.

“It was fine.” Nate said. “Hey, dad, tomorrow I’ve gotta go to a friend’s house.”

“How come?” his dad asked.

“Ah…” Nate racked his brain for an excuse. Anything to keep his dad from suspecting he was going to the dance with a girl.

“By the way,” his dad said, “I heard your school has a dance next week. Are you going?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, I’m going. Probably going to hang out at the snack table with the other 6th grade guys.”

“Have you asked anyone to the dance?”

Nate was caught off guard by the question. Oh shoot, he thought. How am I going to get him off my back without him getting suspicious?

“Yeah, I’ve asked some girls.” Nate said to his dad. Again, not a lie, he had asked literally EVERY girl in PS.38 to the dance.

“Has anyone accepted your invitation?” his father asked.

“No.” Nate said, sweat breaking out on his head for about the twentieth time that day.

“That’s a shame,” his father said, “I hate seeing you go to dances all by yourself. Hey, maybe I can go with you!”

“What? No, no, no, please no!” Nate begged. His mind began to flashback to the time his dad joined him at the pond wearing FIGURE SKATES. “Dad, it’s fine. I’ll be with my friends eating snacks! You don’t need to come!”

“Maybe I can volunteer as a chaperone.” Mr. Wright said thoughtfully, stroking his beard.

“Dad,” Nate said as he put his head in his hands, “the only adult at the dance would be the DJ. And you are not a DJ.”

Mr. Wright turned around to face his son. “Nonsense!” he said with a chuckle. “I know some rockin’ tunes that’ll get you kids swinging!”

Please tell me this isn’t happening right now. Nate thought as he opened a cabinet and got out a bag of Cheez Doodles. Randy was after him, Kim was after him, and now his father wanted to be a DJ at the dance. The only good thing to come out of this situation was that he was going to the dance with Dee Dee. But the hardest part of the bet was still to come. Nate slow dancing with Dee Dee.

I don’t know how I’m gonna pull THAT off, Nate thought as he munched on his favorite snack food.

…

The next morning, Nate woke up, and started preparing for a very interesting weekend. He texted Dee Dee to let her know that he was coming by later that afternoon; then he went downstairs to have breakfast. As soon as he finished, Nate got a telephone call from Francis.

“What’s up?” Nate said.

“I forgot to remind you, Nate, you still have to do one slow dance with Dee Dee or I win the bet.”

“No need to remind me,” Nate replied while rolling his eyes, “it hasn’t slipped my mind.”

“Just making sure,” Francis said, “because you have a habit of forgetting important things.”

“Since when have I ever forgotten something important?” Nate asked sarcastically.

“Last week’s social studies report.” Francis answered.

“Oh, good point.” Nate slapped his forehead as he remembered THAT disaster. “Anyway, Francis, could you do a favor for me?”

“What?” Francis asked.

“I need you to be on the lookout for Kim or Randy. Especially Kim. I’ve already asked Dee Dee to the dance and she accepted, so it wouldn’t do me any good if Kim forced me to go with HER instead.”

“Alright Nate, I’ll look out for both of them.” Francis said.

“Really?” Nate asked.

“Yeah. You’re already under enough pressure as it is. I don’t think you need anymore.” Francis replied.

“Thanks!” Nate said. After they said goodbye, Nate hung up the phone and looked at the time. “Hmm…better start heading towards Dee Dee’s place. Even with Francis on the lookout, it may take me some time to head over without Randy or Kim finding me.”

Nate was just about out the door when the doorbell rang.

“I wonder who that could be.” Nate wondered. He was about to open the door when he thought, ''What if it’s Kim? I’ve got to be sure.''

He got out a stool and stood on it. With his new height, he could check the peephole. Nate looked through the peephole and saw that it was, indeed, Kim.

“Oh no. This can’t be happening.”

Nate began to panic. Then he got an idea.

“I hope it works.” Nate said to himself.

Nate slipped out the back door into his backyard. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make it halfway to Dee Dee’s house before Kim finds out I’m gone, he thought as he climbed over the neighbor’s fence. Mr. Eustis wasn’t home, and his dog, Spitsy, was busy licking himself in the front yard. Nate ran across Mr. Eustis’s backyard and climbed over the fence. Then he ran to the front yard of the new house he was at. He looked over at his house. Kim was STILL standing there, ringing the doorbell.

This should be easy, Nate thought with a smirk. But just as he put his foot to the sidewalk, a voice cried out.

“There you are, Nate!”

Nate turned in the direction of the voice. It was Randy, and he was coming right towards Nate. Nate looked over at Kim, who was now looking back at him.

“Great,” Nate said sarcastically, “just great.”

He took off running, with Randy not far off and Kim following as well. I’ve got to lose them and make it over to Dee Dee’s place, Nate thought.

“Get back here, Wright! I want to give you something!” Randy called out.

“Yeah, a knuckle sandwich!” Nate shot back.

Nate turned a corner and dived into some bushes. Ow! he thought. Figures I would jump into a rose bush.

Randy turned the corner and screeched to a halt.

“Where did that coward go?” he said to himself. Kim also turned the corner and stopped as well.

“He won’t be able to escape true destiny.” she said.

Randy, overhearing this comment, turned towards Kim and asked, “What’s your deal with Wright?”

“He is to be my date to the dance, but he is hiding from me to hide his feelings for me.” Kim replied.

“Hmm…” Randy paused as if thinking. “That gives me an idea!”

He got closer to Kim and whispered in her ear. Kim nodded a few times before eventually saying, “I’ll go along with it.”

Randy replied with, “Thanks.” before walking off. Kim then wandered off as well.

After a few minutes went by, Nate finally crawled out of the bush.

“Worst five minutes of my life.”

…

Nate slid commando-style through backyards, front yards, and several bushes the rest of the way to Dee Dee’s house. A few hours later, he finally reached his destination.

He walked up the steps of the front porch and rang the doorbell. Dee Dee opened the door and gasped. Nate looked like he just barely got out of a fight. His clothes were torn in several places, twigs and leaves were stuck in his spiky hair, and he was bleeding from several cuts on his face, arms, and torso.

After getting over her initial shock, Dee Dee managed to ask, “What the heck happened to you Nate? You look like you were attacked by a lawn mower!”

Nate looked down at himself and blushed with embarrassment. “It’s nothing; just fell down the stairs this morning.”

Dee Dee raised an eyebrow as she looked at the assortment of leaves and twigs in Nate’s hair.

“Uh huh. C’mon in and I’ll help you get cleaned up.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Nate said as he walked in.

“It’s the least I can do.” Dee Dee replied.

They walked into the bathroom, and Dee Dee began rummaging through the medicine cabinet. Nate sat down on the toilet lid and waited.

“Nate, I need you to take off your shirt.” Dee Dee said as she continued to go through the cabinet.

“What? No way.” Nate said. He began to feel his ears turn red.

“Nate, if I’m going to help you with those cuts, I’m going to need you to take your shirt off.”

Nate blushed with embarrassment again, but begrudgingly complied. Dee Dee closed the medicine cabinet and approached Nate with Neosporin, Band-Aids, cotton balls, and cleaning alcohol.

She began by helping Nate pluck the leaves and twigs out of his hair. Then, she started to treat his cuts. Nate flinched every time the alcohol touched one of his cuts, but soon he got used to it. But Dee Dee was just inches away from his face, her ponytail occasionally brushing against his body as she treated his wounds. Nate began to feel a tingly sort of feeling crawl all over him.

Dude, control yourself. Nate thought to himself as Dee Dee continued to clean his cuts. Don’t do anything stupid, don’t do anything stupid, don’t do anything stupid…

He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on not doing anything stupid, when Dee Dee caught a glimpse of his face.

“Are you ok, Nate?” she asked.

Nate opened his eyes and looked straight at her, “Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. Why do you ask?”

“You looked like you were in pain.” Dee Dee replied.

“Nah. I’m one tough customer.” Nate said with a grin, raising his arms as if to flex them. “I do not know pain!”

Dee Dee smiled and shook her head.

“Alright, Hercules, hold out your arm. I’ll attach the Band-Aids now.”

“You know,” Nate said as he obeyed, “if anyone at school saw us right now, they would think…”

“They would think what?” Dee Dee asked.

“They… would… think…” Nate struggled to force out the words, "that we were…more than friends."

“Then let them think that.” Dee Dee said, “Other arm please.”

Some silence passed. Soon, Dee Dee stepped back and admired her handiwork.

“Well, you won’t win any beauty contest, but at least you don’t look like the victim of a serial killer.”

Nate got up and grabbed his shirt. “Thanks, Dee Dee. Now, about the dance…”

“I have a question, Nate.” Dee Dee interrupted.

“What?”

“Well, why did you ask me to the dance? You haven’t done it willingly before, and the one time we did go together was an accident.”

Nate felt as if something was caught in his throat.

“Uh…” Nate tried to think of a good enough answer to the question. He couldn’t tell her the truth, that it was all so he could win a bet.

“The reason I asked is because… um…” Is it getting hot in here, or is just me? he thought to himself. He walked out of the bathroom and, just when he thought he was out of excuses, found one.

“I thought it was a good way for us to spend some time together.” he said. “As friends!” he quickly added.

Whew, dodged that bullet.

…

“So, uh, Dee Dee, what kind of plans can we make for the dance?” Nate asked.

“Actually,” Dee Dee said with a smile, “I was thinking maybe we can hang out and have some fun together. We haven’t done so in some time.”

Nate was caught off guard by this. “Uh, okay then, what do you want to do?”

“I was thinking maybe we go outside, play a little ball, rest in the shade…”

“Yeah, about that.” Nate interrupted. “I can’t go outside.”

“Why not?” Dee Dee asked.

“Well, Kim is trying to hunt me down and force me to go to the dance with her, and Randy wants to beat me up for what happened yesterday. So yeah, unless I’ve got a death wish, yeah, we can’t go outside.”

Dee Dee shook her head. “For as long as I have known you, Nate, I can’t remember a time you weren’t in some sort a jam.”

“What can I say? Trouble is my middle name,” Nate said proudly, “that is, it would be if I had a middle name.”

“Well, then what do you want to do?” Dee Dee asked. “How about we play Monopoly?”

“Tempting,” Nate replied, “but no thanks.”

The last thing he wanted was to hear Dee Dee’s loud voice singing every time she landed on Boardwalk, especially after what he had just gone through.

“Well, maybe we can sing karaoke.” Dee Dee suggested. “I’ll get the machine out.”

“Wait, what?” Nate was briefly caught off guard by this. But before he could stop her, Dee Dee was gone.

“Great, now I get to hear Dee Dee sing karaoke, and I’ll have to join in. This is going to be a disaster.” Nate said to himself as he walked off to find her.

“Dee Dee?” Nate called out as he looked for her. “Where the heck did she go?”

“I’m down here,” Dee Dee called back, “in the basement.”

Nate approached the open door and looked into the dank darkness within.

“Uh, Dee Dee, are you sure we should do karaoke? I’m pretty sure we could find something else to do.”

“Oh come on, Nate, it’ll be fun! Give it a try!”

“Uh…” Nate just stood there like an idiot, trying to come up with a comeback, but his mind went blank.

Maybe she won’t find the machine, Nate thought, and then we can do something else.

“Found it!” Dee Dee said.

The universe has a twisted sense of humor. Nate thought as he sunk his head into his hands. Dee Dee came up the basement steps holding a silver speaker by its handle in one hand and a microphone in the other. She walked into the living room and plugged the machine in.

Please tell me this isn’t happening. Nate thought.

Dee Dee looked at Nate. “C’mon Nate, this’ll be fun!”

“Right! Fun!” Nate said with a hint of sarcasm.

“Nate, please. Just give it a chance!” Dee Dee said as she started the machine. She scrolled through the song selection, and picked one. The music started. Dee Dee nodded her head to the beat, and then started singing.

And the mic didn’t work.

“Wait, what the heck?” Dee Dee paused the music and started to examine the microphone.

Thank goodness. Nate thought as he let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh! Silly me, I forgot to plug the microphone in.” Dee Dee giggled as she plugged the mic in.

Someone please kill me. Nate thought as he prepared for what he thought was going to be an unpleasant experience. The music started again, Dee Dee nodded her head to the music, and then began to sing.

At first Nate flinched, and wondered what had he done to deserve such punishment. Dee Dee didn’t exactly sound like Miley Cyrus, but she wasn’t horrible either. As Dee Dee continued to sing, Nate began to relax a little.

Dee Dee singing with music is less annoying than her singing without music. Nate thought. And it’s a little more tolerable.

Soon, the song ended, and Dee Dee handed Nate the microphone.

“Now it’s your turn, Nate! Show me what you’ve got!” Dee Dee said.

…

Nate swallowed the big lump that suddenly got caught in his throat. ''Oh man. This is going to be embarrassing.'' Nate grabbed the microphone and tried to think of a song that he could sing. He scrolled through the song selection. Dang, no rock songs. That was a bummer, for Nate was a fan of rock n’ roll music; he even led a rock band for crying out loud!

Suddenly he found a song that made him raise his eyebrows.

“Oooooo…” he whistled. “Okay, Dee Dee, prepare to be amazed.”

He hit the play button and stepped back. Then the first few notes of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” started to play. Nate nodded his head to the music; then he began to sing.

“Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you!” Nate sang.

Huh, I’m not doing so badly. Nate thought. ''I’m enjoying this! I should do this with Dee Dee more often!''

The song finished, and Nate stopped singing.

“How I’d do?” he asked Dee Dee.

“Well,” she began, “not exactly five-star, but not ear-bleeding bad.”

“I could say the same to you.” Nate said.

“WHAT?!” Dee Dee shouted.

Oh shoot. Nate thought. “Now Dee Dee, let me explain, heh, heh…”

“I HAVE THE VOICE OF AN ANGEL!” Dee Dee cried.

“Well, you don’t always sound like it.” Nate started to say. “Sometimes I find it downright annoying.”

“Ok, maybe I like to sing a lot.” Dee Dee admitted.

“You also like to dramatize everything.” Nate said.

“I can’t help it. I’m a drama queen.” Dee Dee said while striking a pose.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Nate replied while rolling his eyes.

Maybe I can get her mind off this, but how? Nate thought quickly, and while looking for a solution his eyes fell onto the karaoke machine. Well, Nate thought with a look of embarrassment, ''no one is around. So maybe…''

Nate offered the mic to Dee Dee. “Hey Dee Dee. Want to make beautiful music together?” he asked. Oh man, that sounds corny.

“Why not?” Dee Dee said. “I could teach you a thing or two.”

“Ha! In your dreams.” Nate said with a smirk.

He walked over to the karaoke machine and scrolled through the song selection.

“Shoot, I don’t know any duet songs.” he said, scratching his spiky hair.

“Let me see.” Dee Dee walked up to Nate’s side and bent down to scroll through the selection.

As she did, her hair brushed by Nate’s face, sending that tingly feeling through him again. What the heck is wrong with me? Nate wondered.

…

As Dee Dee scrolled through the song selection, Nate pondered what was wrong with him.

What is this tingly feeling I’m getting? he thought. I’ve never felt this before. He sat in an easy chair and tried to think of why this could be, but was unsuccessful.

Hmm… maybe I’ll talk to Teddy and Francis about this. That sounded like a good idea.

“Alright,” Dee Dee said as she stood up, “I’ve got us a song!”

“Alright, let’s do this!” Nate said as he sprung out of the chair.

Soon, “Just Give Me a Reason” began playing over the speakers. Nate and Dee Dee sang into the mic, smiles on their faces as they sang to their hearts’ content.

Meanwhile, outside of Dee Dee’s house, Randy was walking by, planning his revenge on Nate.

“Part one of my plan is in motion, but now I need something to help me humiliate Nate.”

Then he heard something that snapped him out of his train of thought. It was…music? It was coming from Dee Dee’s house. Randy snuck over and peered through the window. There he saw something that he thought he would never see, Nate and Dee Dee singing karaoke together.

Randy rubbed his eyes and looked again to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. Sure enough, Nate was right next to Dee Dee, singing and looking like he was enjoying himself. Randy was surprised, but then, his look of surprise turned to one of malicious intent.

“I know just what to do.” Randy grinned as he bent down and retrieved his phone. “This’ll help me humiliate Nate forever! And then I’ll have my revenge!”

The song soon finished, and Nate and Dee Dee’s singing turned to laughter.

“Ah man, that was the most fun I’ve had in weeks!” Nate said.

“Hey, at least we weren’t bad!” Dee Dee said. “We make a good pair.”

“Yeah, I guess we do.” Nate said with a grin.

Dee Dee’s smile made Nate feel ecstatic on the inside. He couldn’t describe this feeling, but whenever he was with Dee Dee he was happy. Mostly.

What is wrong with me? Nate thought. ''We’re just friends. I can’t be falling in LOVE with her, can I?'' Nate began to feel a little nervous.

Better not say anything. Nate thought to himself. ''She still thinks of me as a friend. At least, I think she thinks of me as a friend. Hard to tell.'' Nate’s stomach began to rumble.

“Man,” he said, “all that karaoke made me hungry! Got anything good to eat, Dee Dee?”

Dee Dee motioned towards the kitchen, “Step into Chef Dee Dee’s five-star restaurant for a bite to eat! You won’t be disappointed!”

They walked into the kitchen together. Meanwhile, outside, Randy stopped recording the events that have already unfolded.

“Just need a little more dirt, and the next phase of my plan can start!”

He sneaked around to the kitchen window and peered inside. What he saw no one would have believed could have happened. Dee Dee was putting on a chef’s hat and apron, with Nate beside her also dressed in ridiculous getup.

“What’s on the menu, Chef Dee Dee?” Nate said with a smile.

Dee Dee replied with, “Pizza with every topping we can cram into it!”

Nate began to drool with the image of a pizza with every topping on it, steaming and the smell of gooey cheese wafting the air. Nate snapped out of his food fantasy when he realized Dee Dee was talking again.

“Got it Nate?”

“Uh…” Nate began, “I think I got it, but just in case, run that whole thing by me again; I wasn’t listening.”

Dee Dee shook her head with a smile. “Only you, Nate. Okay, here’s what we do first…”

…

“Alright, are we missing anything?” Nate asked as he lined up the last of the ingredients on the counter. Dee Dee did a quick check.

“Nope, looks like we’ve got everything.”

“Alright, let’s make this sucker!” Nate said with a smile.

“You get started on the dough, Nate. I’ll make the sauce,” Dee Dee said while smiling back.

Nate plopped down a huge hunk of dough on a board and got out a rolling pin.

Never done this before, Nate thought, but how hard can this be?

He rolled out the dough, flattened it, and then shaped it into a circle. Now all he had to do was spin it in the air.

So far, so good. Nate thought. He threw the dough into the air and…it got caught in the ceiling fan. The dough went flying and smacked the window that Randy was filming through.

“Nyaahh!!!” Randy screamed as he fell onto his back. “Better pull out while I still can!” Randy took off, as fast as his feet would carry him.

“Nate! What did you do?” Dee Dee asked as Nate walked over to the window and peeled the dough off.

“Had a little trouble with my number one FAN.” Nate replied.

Dee Dee rolled her eyes at the terrible joke.

“Alright, Nate, let me help you with the dough.”

She helped flatten out the dough, and then she and Nate made sure the fan was off before they spun it in the air.

“Cooking was never my strong suit.” Nate said.

“Yeah, you’re too busy with your FANS to learn.” Dee Dee said with a smile.

Nate replied with a fake groan and then laughed.

“Alright, now the sauce!” he exclaimed aloud.

“I forgot about the sauce!” Dee Dee said in a panic as she rushed over and turned off the stove.

“Well, I’m no expert,” Nate said as he peered into the pot, “but I don’t think sauce should be black.”

“Ya think?” Dee Dee said as she picked up the pot by the handle and dumped it into the sink.

“Well, we can start remaking the sauce.” Nate said as Dee Dee cleaned out the pot.

“Yeah,” she replied, “We’ll have to. But I’ll have to change some of the ingredients. Because I don’t think burned tomato sauce is supposed to dissolve food scraps.”

“Wait,” Nate asked, “have you ever made a pizza before?”

“Nope.” Dee Dee said in reply.

“How reassuring.” Nate said with a roll of his eyes. This is going to be a disaster.

“Alright, got all the sauce out.” Dee Dee said.

“Ok, now for the ingredients.” Nate said.

They worked together and soon the sauce was cooking.

“Alright, now to slice the toppings.” Dee Dee said.

Nate grabbed the cheese, pepperoni, ham, and other toppings off the counter and tried to put them near the cutting board. Instead, he slipped on a puddle of brown sauce and all the ingredients went flying. Luckily, it was still in its packaging. But that didn’t stop the block of cheese to hit Dee Dee smack dab on the head.

“OW!” she cried.

“Oh man, Dee Dee, I’m sorry! I slipped!” Nate said as he picked himself up off the floor.

“It’s okay Nate.” Dee Dee said as she picked up the cheese. “I’m fine. How about you?”

“No broken bones, bruises, or injuries.” Nate replied, “Y’know, Dee Dee, maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe we could order…”

“No way!” Dee Dee interrupted. “We are going to make this pizza even if it kills us!”

Oh, brother, Nate thought as he face-palmed himself. “Look, Dee Dee. I don’t think we should keep making the pizza. Maybe we could order some from a pizza place nearby?”

“But Nate!” Dee Dee began. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“If I had to choose between fun and staying alive, I’d probably go with the latter.” Nate replied.

“C’mon, Nate! Sure we’ve had a few hiccups, but nothing REALLY bad.”

“Uh, Dee Dee?” Nate said as he looked past her.

“What?” she asked as she turned around.

…

The pot with the sauce had flames coming out of it.

“AAAAAA!!!!” the two kids screamed.

Nate dove under the kitchen sink and then came up with the fire extinguisher. He doused the flames in no time flat.

“Whew. That was close.” Nate said. He let go of the trigger, but the foam kept coming. “What the? It’s stuck!”

Nate began to panic and began moving to and fro, sending foam everywhere.

“Nate! Let me help!” Dee Dee grabbed for the extinguisher, put got sprayed with foam. She fumbled for the trigger and soon it was unstuck.

“That could have gone better.” Nate said.

\Dee Dee took her glasses and looked for something to wipe them off with.

“Nate, can you find me a clean rag?”

“Uh…” Nate looked around the kitchen. In the span of twenty minutes, they had both ruined the kitchen. The window was greasy from the dough, and about 99% of the kitchen was covered with foam.

Definitely should’ve ordered out, he thought as he went back to the upstairs bathroom to grab a rag for Dee Dee.

How are we ever gonna clean up the mess downstairs? he pondered. The foam was EVERYWHERE in the kitchen. Nate got out the rag and met Dee Dee halfway down the stairs.

“I’m heading up to wash this stuff off.” Dee Dee said. “Then we can clean up the mess.”

“Okay.” Nate said as he handed her the rag.

He proceeded down the stairs and analyzed the situation.

“Might as well start cleaning this up.”

Nate grabbed a mop and started to clean the floor. It didn’t help that foam was dropping from the ceiling, creating more of a mess on the floor.

Nate finally managed to clean up the floor; then proceeded to clean the walls. It wasn’t going to be easy, but Nate gave it his best shot. He mopped the walls, sending gobs of foam to the floor, where he then proceeded to dispose of it. He managed to clean two walls, the floor, and the counter when Dee Dee showed up, her hair wrapped in a towel.

“Wow, you managed to clean up half the mess in the time I was gone? That is incredibly impressive, Nate. Let me help.”

“You sure? You just got cleaned.” Nate said.

“Yeah. It’s my mess as well as yours. Give me the mop.”

Dee Dee got closer to Nate, and he could smell her shampoo. He began to feel that tingly sensation again. Knock it off, knock it off, knock it off! Nate thought to himself.

Dee Dee took the broom from Nate and started working on the rest of the mess. While she did so, Nate went into the living room, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed a number.

“Hi, I would like to place an order for a large pizza…”

After completing the order, Nate walked back into the kitchen. Dee Dee was just about finished with the rest of the foam.

Nate whistled. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”

“Well, what now?” Dee Dee asked.

“I ordered us a pizza while you were cleaning.” Nate said. “It should be here shortly.”

“Well, in the meantime, we can both clean up the grease on the window.” Dee Dee said.

They approached the window with rags and soapy water in a bucket. They both started cleaning the window, and soon it was finished in no time flat. Then the doorbell rang.

“Pizza time!” someone called out from behind the door.

Nate answered it and picked up the pizza. Dee Dee tipped the delivery boy and they set the box down.

“How did you pay for this?” Dee Dee asked.

“I used my dad’s credit card. He always keeps it out in the open. I simply memorized the number.”

“This coming from the guy who thought Africa was in Europe.” Dee Dee said with an eyeroll.

“Shall we watch a movie?” Nate said as he got out the pizza cutter.

“Yeah!” Dee Dee said in response.

Nate began cutting the pizza, as he replied, “As long as I pick.”

“Fine by me.” Dee Dee said.

Soon, they were in the living room eating pizza and watching the Sonic movie.

“Man, I love this movie.” Nate said. And it’s even better watching it with Dee Dee.

…