HG AU Normal

Angel sighed, and she took his hand. "Maybe we can stay optimistic. Maybe he really does like her," she said, and she looked to the ground. He probably didn't believe that at all. He hated Maddox, and he would never trust him. Not even if his life was on the line. Maddox looked down at Annalise, and he took her hand. "It's a long story, and I'll tell you later, but I managed to get Drake to let me date you," he said, and he kisses her lightly. He was too happy about that.

Drake merely shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh. "I wouldn't count on it," he muttered in response. There was no way that Maddox had a sudden change of heart. At the end of the day, he was still someone who he hated. He stood and mumbled, "I going to the lunch line." Annalise rose a brow at that and kissed him back before she pulled away and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now how did you manage to do that."

Angel bit her lip, but she kissed his cheek. "You always need to be optimistic, even when the odds are against you," she said, and she grabbed a tray. "I'll keep an eye on him for you," she said. Maddox smirked lightly. "Well, you see, your brother and i have a common enemy. I agreed to buy him some time if he would let me date you," he said, and he kissed her head. "So here I am."

Drake sighed as he grabbed a tray and picked out random stuff. He didn't really plan on eating anyway. Why couldn't he have one really good day? It just seemed impossible at that point. "I still don't trust him," he said with a long sigh. He never would. He paid for his food before he made his way back to the table. Annalise frowned slightly as she thought it over. "Just that easy?" she asked; that sure didn't sound like Drake. He was pretty stubborn.

Angel looked up at him, and she kissed him lightly before she paid for her food and followed Drake to the table. Maddox sighed, and he nodded in agreement. "I know. I think he only did it because everything is falling apart for him. He only did it with me and so easily because he's desperate," he said, and he looked up as Drake came over. "So, any ideas on what to do with Derek?" he asked. "Or should we just leave it alone? It seems that when we fight fire with fire, we get burned," he said.

Annalise sighed and dropped her gaze to the ground. "Yeah, he has lost a lot lately, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better," she whispered. She glanced up when Drake came back over. Drake plopped down in his seat and let out a frustrated sigh. "No. I want to get some hardcore proof. What if he really didn't do it?" he muttered; there was a possibility, even if it was slim. It was still possible.

Maddox gave Drake an odd look at his words. "Who else could it possibly be? It sure as heck wasn't Brandon, even though he said it was," he said, and he began to think of anyone that was friends with Derek and hated Drake and Angel. It was pretty hard since Angel was hard to hate. She was always so nice. Well, at least if you weren't a jerk to her like Derek was. "Derek is the only option," he said.

Drake stared down at his uneaten food. Even though Maddox had a point, he couldn't shake the feeling that something fishy was going on. "I have to get to the bottom of this," he muttered finally. He tried to mull all the options over. If it wasn't Derek, then he knew it had to be one of two people. When the bell rang, he sprung up and grabbed his tray.

Maddox watched him as he quickly got up. "Should I get us a van and call it the Mystery Machine while we are at it?" he called with a small smirk. He put an arm around Annalise, and he sighed. "I hope your brother doesn't dig himself into this like he always does," he said. Angel raced after him, and she took his hand. "Drake, who do you think it was?" she asked him curiously. She was going to help him.

Drake didn't reply; he just threw his tray away and glanced at Angel as she caught up to him. The more he even thought about it the more it made sense. "Someone who probably still loves that jerk. Someone who is jealous," he muttered, clenching his fists. "Or, it could be Zack." He was really rooting for Zack, because he could easily confront Zack. "But let's just hope it is Derek," he continued, but he had his doubts.

Angel thought about his idea more and more, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized he could be right. "But who would the second person be? The principal did say that two people broke in," she said, and she tried to think of it the best she could. Did Zack have a girlfriend that hated Drake equally as much for some reason? She was going to have to find out herself.

Drake shook his head and muttered, "I have no clue." He would have to look into that himself. First, they would need to confront Derek. It seemed to be the most logical method. "We should head to class," he muttered, taking Angel's hand and leading the way. It would be so much easier if it was just Derek. The temptation to skip school was growing by the second.

Angel sighed, and she nodded in agreement. She grabbed her things from her locker and walked to history with Drake by her side. The class, again was boring, and she didn't listen at all. She jumped when she heard the bell, but she grabbed her things and looked over at Drake. This was going to be a very long next few days.

Drake was writing down notes, but he wasn't writing down what was on the board. He was listing all possible targets. There had to be someone. Once the bell rang, he grabbed his things and gave Angel a quick hug. "I will see you later," he mumbled before he bolted to his last class. He was still tempted to skip, but he needed to stay. Just one more period.

Angel was a bit shocked by the brief goodbye that he spoke, but she sighed, and she nodded. "Bye," she said in return, and she went on to her next class. She sat down in her normal seat, and like every other class that day, she didn't pay attention in the slightest. She just sat and pretended to take her notes like she always would.

During class, Drake tried to rule out the ones it could not be. He nearly jumped when the bell rang. He sighed and tried to calm his racing heart. He hurried out of class and to his locker. He felt on edge, and he knew he shouldn't. He quickly glanced around the halls for Angel; she made everything better. She always did.

Angel gathered her things as quickly as she could when she heard the bell ring. She had to get out of there without anyway catching her. She raced off and soon came to her locker. She opened it and grabbed the things that she needed. "Did you find anything else out?" she asked him. He probably spend the whole class trying to figure out who it was. She didn't want him to do that to himself, but they needed to know.

Drake pulled out his small list of people. "These are the only people I could think of," he replied, sighing as he handed the list over. His ex was among the few other names. He knew they had to find out who, for Brandon's benefit. He shouldn't have jumped into their problem. He was already going through enough as it was.

Angel took the list in her hand, and she read over the names. "Somehow we need to get a look at that security tape," she said, and she tried to come up with anyone that could get into the office but yet not be against them. "Who does the principal trust other than his son?" she asked herself, trying to think.

Drake nodded in agreement. That would help their case, and it may make things a whole lot easier. Her next question made him pause for a moment. "Well...," he began, then trailed. "There was this one girl, but she wouldn't be much help. She moved a long time ago," he said with a long sigh. There had to be someone else they could turn to.

Angel listened to him for a moment, and she took his hand. "It's worth a try. Anything right now is worth a try, and if she's friends with you, I bet she would help," she said, and she started to put her things in her bag. "Right now we are just grabbing at ideas. Anything that can possibly help, we need to do it," she told him, and she kissed him lightly.

Drake sent a crooked smile Angel's way and gave her hand a small squeeze. "Yeah, I guess you are right. I might give her a call," he agreed after a moment. He aimlessly grabbed his own things, but school was the last thing on his mind at the moment. Too much was happening to be focusing on school, which was going to make his father mad because if he made horrible grades....he was benched from football.

Angel nodded, and she kissed him lightly. "I have to go. Hannah made the team so I have to take her to practice," she said, and she kissed him lightly. She hugged him before grabbing her bag. "I'll see you tonight," she said with a wink before going off to get Hannah so he wouldn't have time to ask questions.

"Yeah, okay," Drake agreed, then paused as he realized what she said. "Wait...what?" he called after her, but she had already left. He let out a long sigh and shook his head. This should be interesting, but not in the comforting way. He closed his locker and quickly headed out to his car. He just needed to get home, which was the first time he had ever wanted to be home.

{timeskip?