"L A B E L S"

Episode 20

Nick's standing by his locker on Friday, waiting for Nicole's friends to leave so he can approach her. "Hey, Nicole."

She smiles at Nick with heavy flirtation and drops her hand from her locker. They weren't good friends but they knew each other because of their labels; they were both popular and they both had an unreasonable need to flirt with anyone of the opposite sex. "Hey."

"So, I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

Nicole looks at him in curiosity. "Maybe...depends, what kind of favor?"

"You are the one that starts most of the school's rumors, right?"

"You mean well-known facts that just so happen to be scandalous?"

He smirks and nods. "Exactly."

"Then, yeah, that's me. Why?"

"Exactly how fast can you get a rumor throughout the whole school?"

"I have 423 student numbers on my phone. One simple message could easily supply over half the school with the rumor first hand, after that it's a simple matter of people thinking it's juicy enough to actually talk about. The fastest rumor that spread throughout the school would have to be the one about Evan the Escort." She smiles and begins talking with excitement. "That rumor started with me at eight in the morning and by lunch that whole think was busted wide open."

"What if I told you I had some information?"

"Is it interesting?"

"Beyond." 

He smirks deviously and she shuts her locker, smiling at him with intrigue. "I'm listening." 

~~~ 

Dani walks into the cafeteria at lunch and sees Joe sitting by himself at a table. She walks over to him and sits down beside him. "Hey."

He barely glances up from his notebook. "Hey." He continues writing in his notebook at a near lightening speed as Dani tries to sneak a peak in curiosity. "What are you writing?"

"Lyrics."

She smiles and leans forward. "You're writing songs again?"

"This one just kind of came to me."

"That's great. What's it about?"

"A girl."

Her heart jumps to her throat and she has to remind herself to stop daydreaming.

He closes his notebook and stands up. "I gotta go. Talk to you later?"

"Adam, its lunch. Where are you going?"

"It's too loud in here. I'm just going to go find a place to write." He turns to walk off but shouts over his shoulder, "see you later, Dani!"

She stares after him in sadness and it's as if the cafeteria falls silent so the only thing Dani can focus on is Joe moving farther and farther away with each passing second. "Landon. It's 'see you later, Landon', she whispers as he exits the cafeteria and the noise of rambunctious teens fill her ears once again.

~~~

Scarlett's walking down the hall to the cafeteria. She has a smile on her face but it slowly begins to fade as she sees more and more people whispering and looking at her. She sees some girls giving her strange looks and a few guys that look like they want to jump her bones. She cringes and feels sudden relief when she spots Mia up ahead. She picks up speed and begins walking beside her. "Mia?"

She turns to Scarlett with a smile. "Hey, Scar."

Scarlett looks around at the people in the hall and Mia begins to notice how everyone seems to be gossiping and whispering while looking at Scarlett. "Uh...Scar? Did you suddenly turn into a superstar within the last 2 hours?"