"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was worried about you. Are you okay?"

Devon wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "Why? Why would you be worried about me?"

Chet smiled. "Why wouldn't I be? I like you and you were obviously upset by that package. What was with that whole thing anyway?"

Devon sniffled and ruefully accepted the handkerchief Chet awkwardly produced. "You can't like me. No one likes me. I don't want people to like me."

"Well, the person who sent you those roses apparently caught on to that fact." Joe Hardy commented dryly from the doorway. "Any idea who?"

Devon shook her head mutely but Joe wasn't convinced she was telling the complete truth. He wondered why she would lie to him. He sighed. "Look, whatever is going on, my brother and I can help. But you have to level with me."

Devon stood and handed Chet the handkerchief back. She gave Joe her patented "Ice Princess" glare. "I never asked you or your brother for help. Excuse me, I'm going back to class."

Chet glared at Joe once they were alone. "Why can't you give her a break?"

Joe looked at him incredulously. "I'm trying, Chet. Someone sent her black roses and an ominous message. She may be in trouble. No matter how she's acted since she's been here, I'm not going to turn my back on anyone who's in trouble. You know Frank and I better than that."

Chet sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I do know that. Sorry for the way I acted. Come on; we'd better get back to class before Mr. Patterson has a fit."

*****

Devon entered the cafeteria. The large eating area was already half full. Life long friends gathered together, joking and laughing easily as they began to eat. Devon watched them with just a tad of envy. Such easy banter had never come easy to her. Her social skills were practically nonexistent to start with and here she didn't have DeLaney to make the transition easier.

Before her eyes could fill with tears again, she went to a table away from everyone else. She opened her book bag and pulled out the brown paper bag she'd used to pack her lunch. She wasn't hungry; she ate at meal times just because she'd learned years ago that it was better to do what was expected of her than to explain why food held no appeal to her.

Removing her sandwich from its baggy, she tore it in half. She thought about the roses that she'd received as she continued to shred the bread and meat into smaller and smaller pieces. She'd thought she'd be safe in Bayport. She'd somehow managed to convince her paranoid brain that the move was just for her peace of mind and not as protection against any real danger. But now she wasn't so sure.

"I think its dead now." Chet Morton quipped dryly as he sat down across from her.

She looked down at the pieces that had once been her sandwich. Dead - the story of her life. She shrugged. "I wasn't hungry anyway."

Chet nodded. "I guess not. But you'd better be careful. As little as you are, you can't afford to skip many meals. I, on the other hand, don't have to worry about that. I could miss a week of meals and benefit from it."

Devon regarded Chet with detached interest. She knew he was expecting her to continue with this small talk but she was afraid she'd say the wrong thing. "You've lost weight haven't you?"

Chet beamed proudly, glad that she'd noticed. "Actually, yes. Thanks for asking."

"I don't understand you Chet. I've pushed you and everyone else away since I got here. I know what people call me. I have more than earned the name 'Ice Princess.' So why are you being so nice to me?"

Chet blushed slightly. "Maybe I see something others don't. I think deep down you really care. I saw it that day at my sister's memorial service."

Devon remembered the day he was talking about. The service for the teenage girl tragically killed in a car bombing. The whole thing moved her to tears as it forced her to remember another teenager brutally cut down too soon in life. Someone who would be alive right now if it hadn't been for Devon. She stood up abruptly and shoved her sandwich back into a bag. "I have to go."

"Devon, wait." Chet called out but the girl never slowed up.

"Chet, you okay?" Frank joined Chet at the table. "Joe told me what happened to Devon in class. Has something else happened?"

Chet frowned. "I don't know. We were talking and I mentioned Iola and then she freaked. I'm worried about her, Frank. I think she's in over her head but she won't talk about it."

Frank nodded. "Chet, relax. Whatever is going on, we'll get to the bottom of it. Why don't we find her after school and try to talk to her again. Maybe we can make her see that we really want to help her."

Looking to the doorway Devon had just disappeared through, Chet nodded. "Thanks, Frank. I appreciate that."

*****

Devon threw her books in her locker and quickly locked it. She closed her eyes for just a second. She couldn't wait to get home. Her nerves had been on edge since she'd gotten those flowers. She'd been fighting the urge all day to run far away from everything and just throw her hands over her head and close out the rest of the world. But she couldn't do that. Too many people were waiting to say "I told you so" as soon as she showed that much weakness.

"Devon."

She groaned as Chet came closer. With him were the Hardy brothers. In the months she'd been in Bayport she'd tried to avoid seeing them more than she'd avoided everyone else. Part of her was afraid that if she spent any time around them she'd break down and ask them for help - help that would cost her more than she could ever hope to pay.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. An all-too-familiar pounding in her temple signaled the beginning of a monstrous headache. "What is it, Chet?"

"We were worried about you. Frank and Joe might be able to help you. Give us a chance."

"Chet, that's not necessary. I don't need any help. I'm sorry; I have to get home."

Joe shook his head. "Devon, whether you want to admit it or not, you do need our help. Whoever sent you those roses may try something worse next."

"It was just someone's idea of a sick joke. I haven't exactly made a lot of friends here. Like I said, I have to go."

Devon turned on her heel and left the school building. She could hear Chet arguing with Frank and Joe behind her. She hoped they'd leave it alone but she had heard enough about the Hardy brothers' reputations as detectives to know they probably wouldn't rest until she told them what was going on.