A Series of One-Shots

Riddle School: Control

Warning: Explicitly hinted at Smiley x Phil & subtle hint at Phred x Zack

Zack groaned as his brown, grown out hair set on fire once again. Phred, Smiley, and Phil also let out similar groans as they flopped onto the grass beneath them. Zack would've done the same, but he would've caused the grass to set on fire. They had been trying for over an hour to get Zack to control his fire so that he wouldn't accidentally burst into flames.

Of course, it didn't really matter at all that his hair was on fire at Riddle School. However, the school year was over and they were moving to a normal middle school. Yep, you heard that right. A normal middle school. That means that having your hair on fire wasn't going to be a great impression when going into school now.

Smiley's face was pulled into a rare frown as she tried to think of another way to get Zack's problem under control. Phred and Phil were both agitated, shown more by their eyes rather than their nonexistent mouths. Zack rubbed his temples as he also tried to think of something that would cure his problem. Or at least get it under control.

"We're not getting anywhere with this! It's already been at least an hour, we should just give up on this problem. Besides, isn't there a Riddle Middle School or something? If I remember correctly, there was a Riddle High School."

Phred threw his hands up to the sky after sitting up swiftly, sounding extremely exasperated.

Zack glanced apologetically at him, and patted his back in a sort of comfort. Smiley also sat up and let out a soft sigh before saying, "We're not giving up just yet. School has yet to come, so we have plenty of time to cure Zack's problem. That Riddle High school was seen only in our dreams you know. I already tried looking for any alternative schools he could go to, but I couldn't find any. Besides, his parents probably won't allow him to change schools."

Phil also sat up and stretched next to Smiley. His arms fell back down, and his hand grasped Smiley's. There was a light blush on both of their faces, and the other pair of children looked on in confusion. Their lovesick daze was broken when Phred awkwardly coughed strangely loud, before crossing his arms.

"We still have a problem here." He motioned to Zack, who sweat-dropped and rubbed the back of his head. It had been months since they saved the world, yet somehow the two lovebirds hadn't managed to figure their feelings out.

Both of them were geniuses, yet they couldn't figure out the puzzle of love.

The two separated their hands, and started focusing on the task at hand. The gears turned in their heads as they thought of other ways to get Zack's flames to go away. Of course, the fact that their friend could basically use fire to smite anything in his way was pretty cool.

However, by social standards, it was outcast and weird to everyone else. If only other people knew the nightmare they had to go through.

Smiley hummed thoughtfully for a moment before exclaiming loudly, "I've got it!!" She jumped up at her revelation, a literal lightbulb going off right next to her head. She quickly realized her overzealous excitement and sat back down, bashful but still enthusiastic.

"Maybe if you think of something specific it'll help to isolate the fire and make it go away! Of course that's only a hypothesis." She made quick hand movements as she explained her idea. Zack considered her idea for a moment, pondering if it would actually work. However, his his thoughts were halted by a ring from his back pocket.

Pulling the phone out his pocket he saw a text message from his parents, telling him to go home. He let out a small huff of annoyance at the fact their gathering had been cut short by his parents. He looked up at his friends and gave them a deadpan look, seeing their faces fall into expressions matching his.

He got up from the grass and brushed himself off, walking towards the direction of his house. He felt his hair and flame whip in the breeze. Perhaps Smiley was right in her judgement. He hoped that it would work.

---

The face he wore the next day spoke volumes as he sat with his friends the next day, as well as the now annoying crackling of the fire atop of his head. The results disappointed everyone, and Phred seemed especially exasperated. "I really wish we could find a solution to this soon. School starts in, like, a month!"

Smiley was lost in her thoughts, possibly thinking of different ways to solve their continuing situation. She snapped her finger and said, "Maybe the problem is that you're not thinking of the specific thing. Or perhaps that's not the solution at all. Either one could be a possibility."

"But what exactly should he be thinking," Phil asked, bringing up an excellent point. Zack thought back to last night, images of the climactic ending their crazy alien adventure ended on as well as his family popping into his head.

Yet nothing seemed to have worked last night. He turned his attention back towards the other three of the group, and thought about all the times they had actually bonded throughout their trip when a sudden gasp pulled him back into reality.

He saw Smiley's eyes seemingly light up with excitement while the other two boys stared at him in fascination. His eyes swept over the group, confused at the sudden change in demeanor. Smiley squealed in enthusiasm.

"You're hair... It's out!" He heard Phred murmur those words and instantly went to pat his hair, where there was no sign of the overly warm flame. His eyes turned up into a gleeful smile, feeling content.

"We did it! You did it! Yes, finally! Now none of us have to carry around a fire extinguisher," Phil proclaimed, almost sounding exasperated. He then paused and squinted his eyes at Zane, before questioning, "What did you think about anyway?"

Zane knew he was going to sound cheesy if he said what he was really thinking about, but they went through months of trying to chase away the fire previously on his head, so he decided that they were enough of good friends. 

"To be fair, I was thinking about our time together while on our adventure of crazy aliens and all of those sorts. I know, it sounds cheesy, but seriously I do hold you guys close to my heart and everything so..., yeah I guess that's what happened."

Phil looked at him amusingly, Smiley smiled cheerfully, and even Phred seemed content with that fact. Zane smiled at them back, and the cold that still lay dormant in his heart melted away through the warmth of his friends.

Bonus:

Zane, later in the school year, found himself thinking about his friends much more. Especially Phred. Once he finally figured things out, he gracefully combusted into flames in the cafeteria with almost everyone else in the school.

It was chaotic, both the students and his thoughts.