i need some LAN-ish help!

depends...

if that cable is a crossover cable, which i doubt it is, you can.

if it is not, the easiest way is to buy a cheap hub, and plug both of them in

where did the cable come from?

crossovers are normally used to connect two switches, or something similar...which is why you *probably* don't have one. (you probably have a standard ethernet cable)

*shrug* not really, just visit your store and see what they have...you can get them really cheap now ($40CAD for an 8port)

They come in all colors Ari, so that doesn't help much. But go down to your local comp store, you should be able to get a hub and a second cable for $50 or so. Maybe less maybe more, I'm not sure.

Shouldn't your custom status be: "Dog-like?"

check the LAN advice at PU/OsX -- it's about LANning a Mac, but it's relevant to PCs too.
I'm guessing from your IP thread you want to find out what you & yr friend's IP is -- you don't need to. For a LAN, YOU tell the PC what ip you want it to be.
check yr Network control panel. get the properties for yr Ethernet card up -- under the Bindings tab make sure that TCP/IP is checked.
(go to www.grc.com for a really good explanation of what all those things are & what bindings are)

Under win98 you'll get an item in the main Network panel list called:
TCP/IP -> {name of yr ethernet card}

go to the properties for this item & set your IP there.