My So Called Life 1. Chapter 1

"I'm glad you decided to join us, Miss Chase." Katimski said, hardly pausing while he wrote the name of a sonnet on the blackboard. "Come on now, hurry up and sit down."

Rebecca Chase grimaced a half apologetic smile in the teacher's direction before heading to the nearest empty seat. To the casual observer, Rebecca looked completely unaware of the pair of eyes that glared at her from the back of the room but the girl who glared knew that Rebecca was aware and was just ignoring her like they always ignored each other. Amy Bradley and Rebecca Chase had been painfully aware of each other since they were born but it wasn't until they got to high school that they had been forced to spend every school day in each other's company. The resentment that they had for each other had been inherited from their mothers and over the years it had matured into a silent loathing which sat between them like a brick wall. The wall was so big that, most of the time, they couldn't see each other over it but occasionally they would spy each other through small gaps in the mortar and would be reminded of each other's presence.

"You know, one day your face is going to stick like that." Edward whispered from the seat next to Amy's. "Though that might be a good thing, Amy, 'cause at least we'll be able to spot you in a crowd."

"Who asked you, Chirski?" She replied, turning her glare in his direction. It only took a second for her glare to turn into a smile but her best friend always had that effect on her.

"Amy Bradley. Seeing as I can hear your voice, you've just volunteered to read. Page 14." Katimski said as he turned to face the class.

Knowing it was futile to refuse, Amy tucked her light brown, shoulder length hair behind her ears before standing to read. The class all turned in their seat to watch her as she spoke. To the casual observer she seemed completely unaware of the pair of eyes that glared at her from the front of the class but the girl who glared knew that Amy was aware and was just ignoring her like they always ignored each other.

Amy threw her English books into her locker and began rummaging around for the half finished Bio homework she knew was hiding in there somewhere while other students jostled past on their way to the cafeteria. She was in no such rush to get to the lunch room. As far as her mother as concerned, any where that served vegetarian chilli con carne didn't deserve to the honour of her presence so she was once more brown bagging it.

"Wanna swap? I've got cheese and tomato." Edward asked as he leant against the next locker.

"Yeah ok. Wanna do home work swap too? I'll give you Trig, if you give me Bio?"

"Deal."

Amy and Edward had been friends since before they could remember. Their mothers were best friends so they spent a lot of time in each other's houses when they were children. Somehow their friendship had managed to survive the awkward transition from child to teenager and at fifteen years old they knew that they would be friends for life. They didn't always look like the most compatible duo but somehow it worked. Amy, daughter of Angela Chase and Damon Bradley, took after her mother in appearance and demeanour. She had light brown hair and a slim build which verged on the skinny side and her introspective outlook gave her the tendency to frown as if in deep thought for the majority of the time. However, when she smiled, her eyes sparkled and she had her father's dimples. She had also thankfully inherited his maths skills rather than her mother's. Edward had a tall muscular build. If it wasn't for his addition to rock music he would have been a typical jock. As well as being on the football team, he was also a member of the year book and more than one social committee. He blamed his tendency to join things on his mothers over enthusiasm to sign up to any kind of group activity she could find. In a way he had to. He could hardly put it up to his father's genes when he had never met the man. Sharon Chirski had embarked on a whirlwind romance in her last year of university with a foreign exchange student. By the time she realised she was pregnant, Edwards father had returned home and was seemingly untraceable.

As he leaned back, patiently waiting for Amy to gather her things together, he realised that a very rare thing was happening. Rebecca Chase was walking towards them, in full view of any passing students. She had a slightly annoyed expression on her face and a purposeful stride

"Oh Shit. Incoming, Amy!"

"What?" she asked distractedly, still searching for her homework but the reply she got wasn't what she expected.

"Hey," Rebecca said, stopping just behind Amy and forcing her to turn around. Flicking her long, dark brown curls over her shoulder and looking as if she would prefer to be anywhere else, she continued to speak. "My dad said to tell you to tell your mum that we haven't got enough streamers for the party and can she make some more."

"Why didn't he just tell her himself?"

"That's what I said but he told me to just pass the message on so that's what I'm doing. Like I've really got an overriding wish to speak to you, like, in public." Rebecca replied before turning around and heading down the corridor towards her friends.

Amy just resumed her glare as she watched Rebecca's retreating back.

"You know, it doesn't matter how many evil's you give her. The girl isn't going to go away." Edward chuckled.

"God I wish!" Amy said with a sigh. "I mean, it's just wrong to be in the same school as your grandfather's daughter. Let alone be the same age! I mean, I'm four months and 5 days older than my half aunt. She's a complete airhead slut. Probably takes after her mother."

"She's not that bad." Edwards started only to be met with a disbelieving look. " I mean, we've been sitting on the same bus every day for the last four years and we had to work on that science project thing together in 8th grade. You know, the thing with the mouse? Anyway, I don't really talk to her because she's like your nemesis, or something, but if you two got over this thing you have, I bet you'd actually get on."

"Oh, please! She's a cheerleader."

"So?"

"So what if I don't want my cheers to be lead? What if I just want to cheer to myself, quietly?"

"Cheerleaders are like the entire basis of our culture. We can't get rid of them. Who would footballers mate with?" Edward replied, trying to get at least a grin. Unfortunately, his attempt failed so he decided to change the subject instead. "Anyway, what party and why am I not invited?"

"Believe me, you don't want to be there." Amy shuddered. "It's 20 years since Grandpa's restaurant opened and he want's to have this big celebration. It's going to be a complete nightmare though and I'm only going because Mum said I have to. Grandma's going too."

"Your Grandma is going to your Grandpa's restaurant party?"

"Oh yeah. It's going to be me, my parents, Grandma, Grandpa, Hallie Lowenthall, Rebecca and a load of strangers trapped in the same room for at least four hours. Grandma says she wants to go but she's completely lying. It's like she's completely incapable of owning up to the fact that she can't stand to be within a five mile radius of them." Amy replied as she closed her locker and they made their way down the corridor. " I'm kind of hoping that she drinks too much gin and starts referring to Hallie Lowenthall and Rebecca as 'the home wrecker and her demon spawn' like she did last Christmas. Nothing like a family row when you need an excuse to leave early."

* * *

"Oh, that's going to be perfect." Angela said as she held a simple but elegant black dress against herself and gazed in the mirror.

"You might as well keep it." Sharon replied as she flopped onto the bed. "it was a complete impulse buy. I've only wore it twice and I don't think I could actually get into it anymore. I feel like an ever expanding fat blob."

"You're not fat." Angela said in a practiced tone.

"And you're lying. It's my own fault. I've allowed myself to get addicted to that cookie dough ice cream. In fact, I feel the same way about that ice cream as I used to feel about Brad Pitt."

"I thought he was your one true love?"

"Nah. Since he left Jen and formed Brangelina he doesn't seem so reliable. Leonardo, however, is starting to grow in my esteem," she grinned.

Angela smiled back as she hung the dress up on the back of her wardrobe door. "If you can trade in your one true love, do you think I can trade in mine as well?"

"What's Damon done now?" Sharon asked, used to hearing about the trials and tribulations of her best friend's relationship issues.

"It's nothing really." Angela replied but the frown on her face indicated that it really was something. It only took a pointed look from her best friend to get her talking again. "It's just this stupid party of my dad's. No one is going to have a good time. It's going to be a complete nightmare. I mean, Hallie Lowenthall and my mother in the same room! They are both going to be doing that overly polite, pretend mature thing they do where they end up annoying the hell out of each other and everyone else while Dad and I nod and smile and act like we're all one big happy family when we both know that they really hate each other."

"Sounds like fun."

"Yeah, it'll be a blast. Anyway, Damon knew that the entire thing would drive me insane. Amy didn't want to go so we had the biggest argument and I basically told her that she had to go. During which he said not one word. He just kept his mouth shut. Do you know why? Because this morning he tells me that he won't be able to go. He has to go to some stupid conference for work which he conveniently forgot about and he won't get back in time."

"How did he think he'd get away with that? 'He forgot'? Please!"

"I know! And as soon as Amy hears that he managed to get out of it I'm going to have an argument with her all over again. What are people going to think when I turn up with an AWOL husband and a teenage girl who would very obviously prefer to be hanging out with her friends somewhere else." Angela flopped down on the bed next to Sharon. "Oh god! It's finally happened. I've turned into my mother."

"Why is your mother even going to this thing?"

"God knows. She was here the other weekend and my dad came over to ask me to make those awful streamer things and he asked her. I don't think he actually, like, meant to but it just came out and I think my mother thought he only asked because he knew that she would refuse so she of course said yes. Now, he's too polite to uninvite her and she's too polite to just not turn up."

"Well, I hope you're making Damon suffer for leaving you to referee on your own."

"Wifely duties such as ironing his shirts and cooking have been suspended indefinitely." Angel replied, wondering when she had started to barter household chores for moral support from her husband. She had been married to Damon Bradley for sixteen years and honestly thought that she loved him more than any other living person, apart from their daughter, but the excitement and passion they had for each other when they met in college had calmed over the years. Angela supposed it was just another sign of their descent into their middle ages. She just hoped that they both managed to avoid the kind of midlife crisis which had destroyed her parents marriage. "Do you fancy being my plus one? I might need the moral support."

"I would but I kind of have plans. I sort of have a date." Sharon admitted

"You have a date! Why was this not the first thing you told me when you arrived?" Angel asked excitedly. "Who is it and how did you meet? I want all the details"

"Well, it's someone we already know. We went to high school together." Sharon replied, unsure whether she should say anymore.

"Please tell me it's not Brian Krakow!" Angela joked as she propped herself up on one elbow and took in Sharon's slightly worried expression. "Come on, who is it?"

"It's Shane Wright. I didn't really know him much back then but I think you did because he was a friend of erm…"

"Jordan Catalano"

"Yeah. You're not mad are you? Chase-face?"

"No, I'm not mad" Angela said after a slight pause. "I guess I just haven't thought about Jordan Catalano for a while. It's not like you're going on a date with Jordan and it's been, like, a really long time since high school. I mean, they probably don't even hang out together any more. Right?"

"Yeah. They probably haven't seen each other for years. There're loads of people from high school we never see any more and boys are so much worse than girls when it comes to friendships" Sharon eagerly agreed.

"Yeah, boys are hopeless." Angela said, thinking about one boy in particular. It was strange how hearing his name for the first time in years brought back so many memories that she thought had been forgotten long ago. Practically shaking her head to clear her mind, she turned to her best friend and tried her best to sound enthusiastic at this turn of event. "How the hell did you end up having a date with Shane Wright?"

"I have a leaky tap and it's been driving me nuts with its drip dripping all the time but calling for a plumber for one leaky tap seemed really stupid, you know? I mean, I'm a single mother living in a post-feminist society. You would think I'd be capable of fixing a tap."

"Yeah, sure…." Angela replied giving Sharon a sceptical look.

"Anyway, I went to the hardware store and there were all these tools and I had no idea what I was looking at or what I needed so I just started wandering around trying to find something that looked like it would fix a tap and one of the store employees took pity on me. Turns out Shane works there and he also has a handy man business that he runs on the side and he offered to come over and fix the stupid tap for me. To cut a long story short, after he fixed it I asked him for the bill and he said I could consider it a freebie if I'd agree to go out for dinner with him."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I know. I've got no idea where he's actually taking me out to dinner though. I just hope he's moved on from hanging out at Louie's."

"You never know, you could end up at my dad's restaurant after all." Angela laughed.

* * *

A/N - Thanks for reading. If you're wondering where Jordan Catalano is, I can promise that he will be making an entrace eventually. Anway, hope you enjoyed chapter one. Please R&R


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - Thanks to every one who reviewed - feedback is always appreciated. Sorry it's taken a while to get chapter 2 up but I hope you enjoy it and will try to update a bit quicker with chapter 3.

* * *

Amy spotted Edwards leaning against his locker as soon as she stepped into the corridor. His messy brown hair flopped down in front of his half closed eyes and he looked like he would fall asleep at any minute. She walked towards him with a small grin on her face as she took in his dishevelled appearance. Arriving at his side, Amy coughed to announce her presence.

"What the hell happened to you?" she asked

"Nothing. Just tired I guess." He replied. "You missed a hell of a game last night, by the way."

"Oh yeah. The big away game. Must have been awesome if it's had this effect on you..."

"It isn't the game that's had this effect." Mike commented as he joined the pair. Mike was a mutual friend who also played lead guitar in Edward's band. His black spiky hair, pierced eyebrows and tattood arms helped to give the band the rock appearance that went with their music. The other two members had the same scruffy but slightly jock appearance as Edward. "Eddie here as been busy in the boiler room."

"The boiler room? So that's why you've been cutting Soc. Who is it?" Amy asked.

"No one" Edward protested, clearly lying. "The reason I'm tired is that I stayed up until, like, 2am writing new lyrics for the band."

"Love songs by any chance?" she asked with raised eyebrows while Mike laughed.

"Shut up," Edward replied, unable to stop himself smiling at her teasing. "It's no one. Just some girl and that's all the information you're going to get. Anyway, I really was up late writing. Do you know that club, 'Let's Bolt'? Well, they have an open mike night every weekend and we're going to play. It's going to be huge."

"Don't you have to be 21 to get into Let's Bolt?" Amy asked.

"Well, yeah, but they're going to let us play anyway."

"Yeah," Mike explained. "My Uncle Tino, like, knows the guy who organises the open mike night so they'll let us play, no problem. All we've got to do is promise to stay away from the bar and have an adult with us. Since Tino is going to be there anyway, he agreed to be the required adult supervision andi'm sure he'll buy us some beers. He's even going to let us use his van to get our gear there. "

"So you'll come, right?" Edward asked

"Yeah, definitely." Amy replied. "When is it?"

"Saturday. We're going to be on around nine-ish and we're doing three songs but there'll be loads of other bands there too. They said that if the owner of the club is there we'll have leave right after our set because we're underage but if he doesn't show they'll let us stick around to watch the other bands too."

"What? This Saturday?"

"Yeah. Why?" Edward asked.

"I've got this stupid party at Grandpa's restaurant." she sighed.

"Can't you get out of it?" Mike asked.

"Believe me, if I could I would but my mum's completely obsessing over it. My Dad managed to get out of it so now it's like I have to go to make sure there's enough people from our side of the family, or something. It's like, which ever side has the most people in attendance, is the side that loves Grandpa more. There's no way my mother will let Hallie Lowenthall win. I'm surprised she isn't dragging Sharon along too."

Before they could carry on the conversation further the bell rang signalling the start of 4th period and after a short chorus of grumbled 'catch you later', the trio separated and headed off to their next class.

* * *

Damon pulled into the driveway and couldn't stop himself from throwing worried glances at the old ford parked in front of his house as he made his way inside.

"Hey, I'm home." he yelled as he entered the front door and hung up his jacket. "Angela? Amy?"

"I'm right here. There's no need to yell every time you come in the door…" Angela started but the annoyance in her voice was short lived. Smiling despite herself she crossed the room to her husband of sixteen years. "You got me flowers?"

"I thought it was the least I could do since I'm not going to be here on Saturday."

"You realise you're not completely forgiven right?"

"Does that mean I'm partly forgiven?" he replied with a smile as he pulled Angel to him and kissed her. "What do I have to do to be completely forgiven?"

For a second their kiss deepened but it was soon interrupted by the reality of living in the same house as a teenager. Load music suddenly blared down the stairs, too loud for Angela and Damon to even hear it properly. Wondering when exactly she had lost her youth Angela pulled away. "Just hold that thought until later, ok?" She said before walking to the bottom of the stairs. "Amy, turn that down. People can hear it half way across town."

"Sorry, mum" Amy replied, tone of voice containing no real apology.

"Yeah, sorry Mrs Bradley." two male voices chorused as the volume descended.

"So Edward and Mike are here again" Damon stated. "Upstairs, in our daughter's room."

"They're just friends. It's good that she has friends."

"Oh no, I agree. She should have friends but do they have to be boys? I used to be a teenage boy, you know? I know how they think." he pointed out as he followed Angela into the kitchen. "I mean, Edward I can kind of cope with because we've known him since he was a rug rat but this Mike guy. Who is he? We don't know anything about him and have you seen his tattoos, not to mention that rust bucket of a car he drives?"

"Do you realise that you sound more like my mother than I do?" Angela laughed. "Seriously, they're upstairs in our house. It could be so much worse. They could be out, in his car with it's doors and back seats…."

"Oh , God. Don't even joke about it. I really don't want to think about it."

"I really wouldn't worry. I mean, he wears eyeliner and nail varnish. Maybe he's, like, bi."

"I think that's just called 'emo', or something." Damon replied, gazing up at the ceiling and wondering exactly what was going on upstairs. "Anyway, if either of them put a foot wrong they're getting booted out and she's getting locked in her room until she's forty."

In Amy's room, the teenagers were completely unaware that they were the topic of conversation in the kitchen. They were far too involved in their own discussion.

"So did you guys decide on a name yet? You can't go on stage without one." Amy asked.

"We're going with 'Echelon'." Edwards replied as he lay back on her bed, looking as comfy as he would on his own. "Sounds cool and we've got some great ideas for promo graphics."

"Man, I can't believe I'm going to miss you play. It sucks."

"Yeah, big time." Mike said as he leant out of the window and blew smoke from his cigarette outside. "You should just tell your folks that you don't want to go to this stuffy meal and that you have much more important things to do - like witnessing our rise to superstardom."

"Yeah, good idea! They'll definitely let me go if I tell them that I want to go to a club where there's alcohol and hot, older guys to watch you lot play!" she smirked as she threw the nearest stuffed toy at Mike's head and flopped backwards to lie next to Edward. Elbowing him playfully in the ribs, she continued "I can't believe Sharon's letting you go, anyway. Didn't she flip out?"

"Sharon doesn't know." Edward replied. "Told her I was going to go over to this birthday party for one of the guys on the football team. Turns out she's going on a date or something anyway so I didn't even need to lie. I'm, like, totally going to be home before her. She'll never know."

"Your mum's got a date?" Amy asked in surprise. Hitching herself up on her elbows, she turned to look at him. "So are you cool with it? I mean, do you know who it's with?"

"Yeah, it's ok, I guess… Apparently this dude went to high school with our parents but they didn't really know him that well back then. His name's Shane Wright or White or something. Mum's been going on about how he used to be in a band too as if the fact that he played the drums will give us stuff to bond over, or something."

"Shane Wright?" Mike asked, "If it's the dude I'm thinking of, he's one of Tino's friends. Tino was in the band too. Don't really know him but most of Tino's friends are, like, pretty cool."

"We'll see. Can't be any worse the last scum bag she dated." Edward sighed. Changing the subject, he got up from the bed and looked in Mike's direction. "You ready to go. Steve and Jake'll, like, have a cow if we don't get to practice."

"Sure," Mike took one last drag on his cigarette before blowing the smoke out side and throwing the butt into the garden. "Seeing as you're not going to come on Saturday, do you want to come hear us practice, Amy? You can tell us whether the new lyrics suck or not?"

Making a mental note to go out to the garden and retrieve his cigarette butt before her father found it, Amy shuck her head. "Can't, sorry. I've got to finish that essay on Anne Frank for Katimski. Plus, you know what my mum's like about her 'school night' rule."

Amy escorted her friends to the front door before heading to the kitchen to join her parents. Damon sat at the table, still dressed in his work suit while Angela stood at the stove.

"Can I try?" Amy asked, making a beeline for her mother

"Hi Dad, good to see you. How was your day at work?" Damon interrupted in a high pitched imitation of his daughter causing her to role her eyes and repeat his words back to him playfully on her way across the kitchen.

"That's really good" She said as she sampled the pasta sauce.

"It's the cilantro." Angel explained, glad that she paid attention to her own father in the kitchen all those

years ago. "So, have Eddie and Mike gone home?"

"Yeah, well, no. They've gone to practice. You know, for their band"

"Does Mike have a home?" Damon asked.

"No. He lives in an alley by his wits!" Amy replied. "Of course he has a home."

"Maybe we should ask his parents over to dinner?" Angela suggested

"Why?"

"Well, he's your friend and we've never met his parents or anything…"

"Just because he's my friend doesn't mean you need to be friends with his parents, mum."

"Why do you have to be friends with him at all?" Damon interrupted. "You know what I miss? I miss the days when Rebecca used to come over and you'd play upstairs with you dolls and it was all nice and friendly and there were no boys in your room."

"Rebecca and I were never friendly."

"Of course you were. She used to be over here all the time when you were little."

"Well, if we were it was only because Grandpa brought her here and we were too young to know any better." Amy pointed out. "We are definitely not friends. We exist in, like, two completely different worlds."

"Yeah, well those worlds are going to collide on Saturday night so you had better be at least civil to her. Don't role your eyes. I mean it." Angela said sternly. "You know it upset's Grandpa when you fight with each other."

"Have you warned Grandma to be civil too?"

"Grandma doesn't have to be warned. She's quite capable of being civil."

"Yeah, right" Amy and Damon said in unison

"She is!" Angel protested.

"Well, all I'm saying is make sure her and Hallie Lowenthall are at opposite ends of the table." Damon replied.

"You know what would help me be civil?" Amy asked. "If you would let me skip the party at Grandpa's and go to this, like, birthday party thing that Edward's going to…."

"This like birthday party thing." Angel repeated. "We've talked about this and you are not getting out of it. When I was your age my mother made me go to horrid family events and now I get to make you go. One day you'll be able to torture your own children in the same way."

"Fine." Amy replied, knowing it was a loosing battle. "I'm going upstairs to start on my homework. Shout me when dinner's ready"

* * *

Rebecca pushed open the back door to the kitchen and searched for her father amongst the kitchen staff and steam. The restaurant had started off in a small location a few blocks away but shortly before Rebecca was born they moved to a larger premises with an apartment upstairs. Now, the restaurant was one of the best venues in town and was fully pretty much every night of the week. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish where the business ended and the home began because it seemed as if her parents lived and breathed for the meals they made downstairs.

It didn't take long for her to spot her father, dressed in his chefs whites.

"Dad, there's nothing, like, edible upstairs." she said as she weaved her way between staff and equipment towards her father.

"hey, hunny. How was school?" Graham asked distractedly as he pulled a tray of cooked racks of lamb of out the huge oven and replaced it with another batch.

"School was just school." She replied. "I'm hungry and there's nothing to eat upstairs."

"Oh, Ok. Just pick something off the menu and I'll send it up for you."

"Dad, I've eaten off the menu every night this week.. "

"We've got a full house, Rebecca. I'm kind of busy here. Have you asked your mother to make you something?"

"Yeah but she said she's too busy out front because we're a waitress down. Can't you just make me something? I mean, I'll be eating off the stupid menu again on Saturday for your party. I think I've had every single dish on there about a million times."

"I'm sorry but I'm a chef down here too. There's some kind of flu going around." he replied as he started plating up the food. "Why don't you call for pizza?"

"Pizza? I live above the restaurant my family owns and you want me to call out for pizza?"

"Well, if you don't want anything from the menu…" Graham said as he moved back towards the ovens and started to stir whatever as in the pan on the top of the stove. "Just make sure they deliver to the back door."

"Fine." Rebecca replied as she headed back to the door.

"You know, if you're getting bored up there on your own, you could always come down stairs and give you mum a hand by waiting on."

"Can't, dad. I've got an essay to write on Ann Frank."

"Ann Frank?" Graham asked, seeming to look up from the food he was preparing for the first time. "You know, that was Angela's favourite when she was your age. She loved that book. It's great that you like the same stuff."

"I didn't say I liked it, Dad." Rebecca replied but it was clear that Graham's attention had returned to the food. She let the door swing closed behind her and climbed the stairs to the empty apartment above the restaurant.

* * *

Amy pushed down on the soap dispenser and was completely unsurprised when it proved to be empty. So far, her school day hadn't been going well. Her mother had left early to drive her father to the airport for his conference in Chicago with a warning not to miss the school bus which is exactly what she did. Waiting for the public bus had meant that she was fifteen minutes late for homeroom and earned her an embarrassing telling off in front of the rest of the class. Edwards had skipped Soc again but still had her text book which he had borrowed to catch up on the last class he had missed. Then, during trig, her pen leaked leaving her with a large ink stain on her hand which didn't want to come off with just hot water alone. It was definitely not her day.

Admittedly, being late for home room could have been avoided if she had just called Mike and asked him for a ride to school. She had thought about calling Mike and asking if he could pick her up but something stopped her even though she knew he would probably say yes. She didn't know what it was. After all, they were friends. They had been friends for quite some time. Yet Amy couldn't think of a single situation where she had been alone with him. When she was around him it was always when other people were present, even if it was just Edward. Somehow, having other people present made it easier to, like, know what to say to him and how to act around him because he wasn't the sort of person she would be able to approach on her own. That wasn't to say that they didn't get on because they did. They had a lot in common and shared the same warped sense of humour but Amy was definitely not the sort of person Mike would normally be friends with. If it wasn't for Edward's involvement in the band, she doubted they would have ever spoken to each other in the first place because people expected you to behave in a certain way and only interact with certain people and it was kind of hard to break away from that. Not that she wanted to break away. She was perfectly happy with the group of friends she had, even if it was just a small group.

Before she got the chance to think any deeper on the subject, the bathroom emptied and the sudden quiet revealed the sound of small sobs coming from one of the stalls.

"Hey, is someone in there?" Amy asked tentatively. "Are you ok?"

The crying instantly stopped, as if the occupant of the stall had thought that the bathroom was empty and was now shocked to be found out. The stall door swung open and the occupant walked out with a swish of long brown hair, head held high, feigning composure.

"Oh, it's you." Amy said in surprise. "Were you, like, crying?"

"No," Rebecca replied as she walked towards the sinks, not looking at Amy. "Course not"

"Smudged mascara kind of says different."

"Shit." Rebecca replied, cursing the lack of mirrors in the school restrooms and a started digging around in her bag for her compact. It took a few seconds for her to find it but as she pulled it out from underneath her copy of Ann Frank, she realised that Amy was still standing and watching her. "What? Why are you still here?"

"I don't know" Amy admitted. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not…I was just…oh, like you even care."

"I don't care"

"Good, I don't want you too." Rebecca replied as she wiped under her eyes in an attempt to fix her makeup. "I can't believe I wasted money on this stuff. It's supposed to be waterproof and it's made me look like a panda, or something" she continued in frustration

"Here, try this." Amy said, handing her a tissue.

"Thanks. Why are you being nice?" Rebecca asked in confusion. "Just because you're being nice doesn't mean I'm going to tell you what's up."

"I don't want to know." Amy replied, just as confused by her behaviour. "Don't you have like a million friends you can cry to? Why don't you find one of them. I'm sure they'd be much more interested in whatever saga is going on between you and whoever your boyfriend is this week."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, there are more boys in our year that you have been out with than one's you haven't. The only ones left are the few that have taste."

"Well at least I've had boyfriends! I mean, have you ever even been out on a date? No, you just follow a group of stupid musicians around with puppy dog eyes, pretending they're your friends!" Rebecca shot back. "And what makes you think I'm crying about a boy anyway? How would you know?

"Puppy dog eyes! I don't think so. And of course it's about a boy. Whenever you cry in school it's always because some guy dumped you."

"That's so not true!"

"Paul Jones, George Henderson, Richard Jennings…need I go on?

"I dumped them!" Rebecca protested but received only raised eyebrows in response. "I did! Anyway, it doesn't matter because I'm completely through with boys."

"So it is about a boy" Amy stated

"Well, duh!" Rebecca replied, causing them both to smile as they realised the stupidity of their argument. "It's like he really likes me when we're together and it's just us but he won't admit it to anyone else, even himself. He'd rather walk past me in the halls and act as if I'm not there than tell his friends that we like each other."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter. I called him on it and he pretty much said that he would rather end it than tell his friends he's with me so I told him to shove it. I'm not going to let school turn into this, like, battlefield for my heart, you know?"

"Yeah," Amy agreed, not entire sure that she did understand. Her own love life had yet to enter any kind of field, let alone a battlefield. "You coming to katimski's?"

"Might as well. I've done the stupid homework so I guess I should hand it in." Rebecca replied, inspecting her makeup one last time before putting her compact away.

The girls walked down the corridor side-by-side, conversation suspended for the time being. When they entered English class simultaneously they both received curious glances from their respective friends but they parted without speaking and headed to different sides of the room. Amy, slid into her seat next to Edward seconds before Katimski entered the room.

"What's going on?" Edward whispered, as the class began to settle down. "You hanging out with Rebecca or something?"

"Of course not." Amy replied. "You know we hate each other. Why would I be hanging out with her?"

Edward didn't get the chance to answer. The class fell quiet and Mr Katimski directed them to open their books to chapter seven. They were soon immersed in Nazi Germany and real life was forgotten.

Thanks for reading - Please R&R


	3. Chapter 3

Amy pushed open the door to the hairdressing salon and the old fashioned bell announced her presence to the room. She barely had to take a step further before Rayanne Graff spotted her.

"Hey Amy," She murmured around the hair pins she was holding in her mouth. "Take a seat, I'll be right with you."

Amy did as direct and spent the next ten minutes soaking up the atmosphere while watching Rayanne work. It wasn't your average hairdressing salon but Rayanne Graff wasn't exactly your average kind of person either. The usual smell of hair bleach was masked by the incense sticks that burned along the shelves and the old fashion magazine that one would expect had been replaced by books on spirituality and meditation. Behind the main room there were a series of smaller rooms where you could get a facial or an aromatherapy massage or have your tarot cards read. It was all very new age and it suited it's owner down to the ground. Amy had been coming here with her mother since her first hair cut and she couldn't imagine going anywhere else. She loved watching Rayanne work just as much as she loved getting her hair done because it seemed as if there was nothing Rayanne could not do with a pair of scissors and a few hair pins.

Before long, Rayanne's customer was out of her chair, looking fantastic and feeling fantastic enough to leave a tip.

"Come here and give me a hug, kiddo." Rayanne said with a smile. "Where's Angelica?"

"She said to say hi." Amy replied, "It's Grandpa's party tonight and she's got to help put up streamers or something."

"Oh yeah, the dreaded party." Rayanne had heard all about it over the phone. "I did ask Angel if she wanted me to sneak into the kitchens and spit in Hallie Lowenthall's soup but she declined the offer"

"Rayanne!" Amy giggled. "Actually, can I take you up on that but can you spit in Rebecca's soup too?"

"That can be arranged." Rayanne replied in mock seriousness while she lead Amy to the empty seat. "You two still not friends then?"

"I don't think it's, like, possible for us to be friends. Not with all the family angst and stuff."

"Yeah, I can see that. Too much in common I guess."

"Too much in common? I don't think so. We're so completely different. She's, like, this complete slut and I'm, like, not. Also, she's this super popular cheerleader but it's all so fake. Her friends are so completely plastic."

"Well, forget her." Rayanne said, as she sat Amy in the seat and started to comb her hair. "I want to hear all about you. It's been far too long since you've come down here for a cut and a chat. I want to know all about this Mike guy you've been hanging with."

"Mike? How do you know about Mike?"

"Angela told me he's been hanging out at your house with you and Edward after school and that you're 'just friends'." Rayanne explained. "So, is he cute?"

"We are just friends. He and Edward are in a band together which is the only reason I even know him." Amy replied, blushing slightly. "But, yes he is."

"He is cute? Oh, this is so cool. My little Amy's going to have a boyfriend."

"Rayanne! I'm so not going to have a boyfriend. Not Mike, anyway. I mean, he doesn't see me that way. He's just a friend and he's not going to see me as anything different when I'm not even allowed to, like, have a life."

"Why, what's wrong with your life?"

"Everything!" Amy exclaimed, immediately realising that she was being overly dramatic but it was easy to act that way around Rayanne. "You promise not to tell my mum or Sharon?"

"Cross my heart." Rayanne replied

"You know that club 'Lets Bolt'? Well, Edward, Mike and the other guys are going to be playing there on Saturday night. Eddie told Sharon that he was going to a party for this guy on the football team because if she knew the truth she'd , like, haemorrhage. Anyway, I really want to go but there's no way I'm going to be able to get out of this stupid party at the restaurant. I always miss the cool stuff."

"Lets Bolt? How did they manage that?"

"Mike's uncle Tino knows the guy who runs the open mike night, or something." Amy explained, turning around when Rayanne stopped combing. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just a small world, that's all. Don't worry about it. Kiddo. The only thing we need to concentrate on is how we can get Mike to see how, like, completely brilliant you are in a not just a friend kind of way."

"Good luck."

"When you mum was your age I said something to her and I'm going to say the exact same thing to you."

"What?"

"Your hair is holding you back." Rayanne replied, "I think I know how we can put that right."

Three hours later, Amy was sitting in her bedroom, gazing into the mirror in wonder at her new hairstyle when she heard the sound of her mother arriving home.

"Amy, I'm back" Angela shouted as she climbed stairs. "If you haven't got changed yet, you'd better start. We'll have to leave in about an hour or we'll be late for the party."

"Ok" Amy shouted back from her room as she fingered her hair and wondered what her mother's reaction would be. All in all, it was a cute cut. Rayanne hadn't taken a great deal off the length so it stopped just above her shoulders but the choppy layers and the bangs she had created gave it shape and body. However, whenever she moved her head, the layers also moved to reveal small glimpses of a layer of bright red dye. It was definitely a change and made her old style seem downright boring.

She didn't need to wait long. A few second later, Angela walked down the hallway and popped her head around the door.

"Have you decided what you're wearing because if you want anything ironing I'll have to…Oh my god! I thought you were just going to get a trim?"

"Well, she didn't take that much off…" Amy attempted to explain

"I can't believe Rayanne would change your hair this much without checking with me first. I'm going to kill her."

"She said you might say that and she told me to tell you that at least it isn't all over crimson glow. Anyway, I like it."

"Yeah, well, compared to all over crimson glow I guess it's not that bad." Angela conceded. "You best start getting changed. We've got to pick your grandmother up on the way to the restaurant."

"I already got changed." Amy stated see nothing wrong with her black skinny jeans, vest top and fitted three-quarter length sleeved jacket. Reaching into a pile of beaded necklaces, she added "I just need to do my make up and accessorise to add some colour and then I'm done. I'm thinking red beads to match my hair."

"We're going to a family event not a rock concert. You might want to try something less…skin tight." Angela replied, instantly thinking better or it. Amy had displayed enough reluctance to attend the party already. "You know what, never mind. Just wear what you want."

* * *

Angela pulled into the restaurant car park, full of dread for the evening ahead. On the drive over Amy had sat in the back, barely speaking, while her mother occupied the passenger seat and talked constantly about anything and everything apart from the meal they were about to have. It was a trade mark defence mechanism that Patricia had developed during her divorce and relied upon whenever she came into contact with Graham and his new family. Angela couldn't really blame her but often thought that if her mother didn't concentrate so much on showing that she had moved on with her life that she actually would be able to move on and loose some of the bitterness she felt about the whole situation. The same theory could also be applied to Danielle who still refused to speak to their father and was therefore able to avoid these awkward social events with ease.

Angel wasn't sure why she had been the only one to forgive Graham. Maybe it was because she had been away at university when his affair has been uncovered. She had been distanced from the arguments and recriminations and instead of experiencing the breakdown of her family first hand she had witnessed the majority of it from the other end of the telephone line. That's not to say that she hadn't been hurt by her father's actions but somehow she had been able to forgive him and maintain some semblance of the relationship she had had with him before she left home. Maybe it was also partly because, at one stage in her life, she had kind of expected it. The suspicion had been there ever since the night she and Rayanne had first tried to get into Lets Bolt. It wasn't something she had thought about on a regular basis but it was enough for her to think 'oh, I was right after all' when everything had been revealed. The way she felt about Hallie Lowenthal, however, was slightly different. She would always be the woman who destroyed her parent's marriage which meant that, although she would be tolerated as her father's partner, she would never be liked.

"Well, here we are." She said as she switched off the engine.

"Yes, here we are." Patty replied with the same amount of enthusiasm.

All three of them paused slightly before opening their doors and climbing out of the car. By the time they had reached the entrance to the restaurant they had all managed to plaster fake smiles on their faces but all three smiles faltered as soon as they reached the private function room that the party was being held in.

"Hallie Lowenthal, how are you?"

"Patricia, it's been too long."

Angel and Amy couldn't help rolling their eyes at each other as the older women air kissed and exchanged their insincere greetings.

"Where's my Dad?" Angela asked after having to exchange her own insincere greeting with her father's partner

"Oh, he's here but we had a bit of an emergency in the kitchen." Hallie explained as she ushered them towards the drinks table. "We're now two chefs down due to this flu that's going around and Graham flatly refused to get any temps in from the agency. He just doesn't trust anyone he doesn't know to do the menu justice."

"So who's cooking all the meals tonight?"

"Graham is." Hallie stated, purposefully ignoring their looks of disbelief. "It's the busiest night of the week and the restaurant is fully booked. There was no way we could just shut the doors. I mean, this is a business after all but it's going to be fine. I mean, we are celebrating the restaurant's success anyway, right? And it's all down to Graham's food so what better way that to actually have him cook for us all. I mean, it is what he does best. Right?"

"He always was emotional about food." Patty replied before excusing herself to go to speak with Neil and his on/off girlfriend, Marla."

"So Grandpa isn't even going to be here?"

"He's going to do his best to pop in and out when he gets the chance, Amy. Why don't you two mingle. The entrees should be ready soon." Hallie replied before moving to greet the next guests to arrive.

"I can't believe I'm at a party for someone who isn't even going to be here!"

"Me either." Angela said, fully aware of what her daughter's next question would be." But seeing as I have to stay, so do you."

"That's so not fair. I mean, I could be at that, like, party thing."

"Look, we're stuck here so please try to have a good time. Why don't you go hang out with Rebecca for a bit or something?" Angela suggested, gesturing to her half sister who was standing the other side of the room being bored by an elderly relative and looking every bit as put out as her daughter.

"Yeah, like that would really make the evening any better." Amy replied before following her Grandma.

Glad that she had already had the foresight to book a taxi to take them all home, Angela picked up a large glass of red wine. She had a feeling that it was going to be a long night. Seeing no other choice, she put her fake smile back in pace and headed towards the nearest relative she recognised.

Two hours, and three courses later Graham had still to emerge from the kitchen but the food had been exceptional and the alcohol had helped to keep the conversation flowing amongst the adults. The only people who had seemed to run out of small talk were Amy and Rebecca. The girls had sat close enough to each other to be able to talk but had both refrained from attempting to start any conversation between themselves. As far as they were concerned they had nothing to talk about.

"Look at you two! So beautiful. You could be twins." Hallie's cousin comments, completely unaware of the looks she received in return from the teenagers who thought they couldn't look more different. "You must have so much fun in school together. I bet you both have all the boys running after you."

"More like one of us does all the running." Amy replied under her breath

"And one of us can only wish." Rebecca added.

While the slightly tipsy cousin missed the exchange, Angela, Patty and Hallie were all ears.

"Thank you will suffice." Angela said to Amy while Rebecca received a pointed look from her own mother.

"Seeing as we've eaten and everything, do I really need to stick around? I mean, Grandpa isn't even here and this, like, party…"

"Don't start, Amy. Grandpa will join us as soon as he can."

"Yeah, right." Rebecca muttered, just load enough for them to hear. "He's not leaving that kitchen until the restaurant closes."

For once Amy, was glad of her presence. Anything which added weight to her argument for leaving early so she could watch Echelon play was most appreciated.

"You're missing a friend's party to be here tonight? " Patty asked, "Honey, you should have said. Really, Angela, I would have though you would let her do her own thing."

"Mother!" Angela said, unable to believe what she was hearing. "It's not a friends party. It a 'like party thing' for some unnamed member of the football team."

"It's so unfair. Sharon's letting Edward go."

"And if Sharon let Edwards jump off a cliff do you think I'd do the same?" Angela replied, fully aware of how pathetic and parental she sounded.

"Who's party is it, sweetheart?" Patty asked.

Caught off guard by the question, Amy froze. She knew that Edward had made up the story about a birthday party but had he given Sharon an actual name? If so, had Sharon repeated the story to Angela? She and Edward had been caught out on more than one occasion by underestimating the amount of information their mother's exchanged. She had to give a name but if it was the wrong one, it would be game over. As panic started to set in, rescue came from the other side of the table.

"It's Matthew Harding's party." Rebecca stated "It's a party for urmm.."

"His birthday." Amy finished.

"Aren't you friends with Matthew Harding? You didn't say it was his birthday?" Hallie asked.

"Well, I knew it was daddy's party tonight so I wouldn't be able to go." Rebecca replied. "I'm sure I'll hear all about it on Monday though. I mean, all my friends are going."

Amy could only sit in shock and reluctantly admire the other girl's acting skills. Angela was showing signs of still being unconvinced but Patty and Hallie were definitely getting sucked in.

"Well, if both of you have friends there, I don't see why we should make you hang around here. You should both go do your thing." Patty said while Hallie nodded, not wanting to be seen as the mean one.

"You know what? I give up." Angela said, admitting defeat. "Go to your party."

"Great, I'll just go and grab our jackets." Rebecca smiled, jumping out of her seat. "I'll meet you out front, Amy. Shouldn't take us long to walk to Matthew's house together."

"Sure," Amy replied, wondering exactly what the other girl was up to.

It only took a few minutes for Amy to say goodbye to her relatives but by the time she reached the front of the restaurant, Rebecca was already waiting for her by the door.

"Lets go." Rebecca said, as she handed Amy her jacket and started to walk down the street.

"Where exactly is it you think we're going?"

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to say thanks for the bail out. You totally would have bombed, if I hadn't of dealt with the pressure of providing a name."

"I would have thought of one!" Amy protested. Ignoring the look of disbelief she received, Amy continued. "Why did you say anything anyway? It's not as if you owe me any favours or even know where I'm really going."

"You're going to 'Lets Bolt', right? To see Echelon play?"

"How do you know they're playing?" Amy asked, stopping mid-stride. "How do you even know what they're called?"

"Because I live in the world." Rebecca replied as she continued to walk. "Look do you want to go see the band or do you want to go back to the dullest party ever?"

"Fine," Amy replied as she increased her pace to catch up. "Just don't expect me to, like, hang out with you once we're there."

"Don't worry. I was planning on ditching you as soon as we got in the door."

The girls continued in quick march down the road in silence, both eager to get to their intended destination. Maybe it was a feeling of anticipation for the night ahead or satisfaction at getting away with something they shouldn't or maybe it was a feeling that their lives were somehow figuring out how to get good that quickened their step but had anyone asked either girl they both would have said that at that moment they felt alive, possibly for the first time ever.

* * *

Thanks for reading - Please r&r


	4. Chapter 4

The problem with anticipation is that it makes you picture things in a certain way but sometimes things turn out to be completely different. On the way to Lets Bolt, Amy and Rebecca had been full of excitement about the night ahead but shortly after arriving they had been brought swiftly back to reality.

"Please, Mr Bouncer, let us in. We're, like, friends with one of the bands." Rebecca said in a whiney imitation of Amy. "Like that was really going to work!"

"Well, your plan of waiting until he goes on a break and then sneaking in isn't going much better." Amy replied as she called Edward's mobile phone again only for it to go straight to the answer machine. So far, neither he nor Mike had answered any of her calls. Their phones were either switched off or had no reception inside the night club. From her vantage point between two parked cars, it was clear that the bouncer, who was taking great delight in turning away anyone who didn't have ID, wasn't going to be moving from the doorway anytime soon. "We now been standing in the car park for two hours. This sucks."

"For once I agree with you." Rebecca sighed as she leaned back against the nearest car. Reaching into her coat pocket, she pulled out a half full bottle of liquor and proceeded to unscrew the top and take a swig. "Want some?"

""What is it?" Amy asked, tentatively sniffing the top of the bottle.

"Brandy. I swiped it from the kitchen on the way out."

"Won't Grandpa notice?"

"Nah, he's got loads of the stuff. He uses it to flambé, or something."

"Oh" Amy replied before taking a small sip and instantly regretting it. "God, that tastes awful."

"You kind of get used to it. Well, normal people do. I'm not sure about little goody-two-shoes like you."

"Goody two shoes? I don't think so."

"Oh please. I bet tonight is the most, like, daring thing you've ever done." Rebecca said before claiming the bottle back and taking another swig. "and even this is a complete anticlimax. I don't even know why I wanted to come. I mean, even if they did let us in, well…never mind, you wouldn't get it."

"Get what?"

"Nothing." Rebecca replied, clearly not wanting to share.

"Anyway, I'm not a goody-two-shoes. I've done daring things" Amy protested, taking back the bottle and having another drink for emphasis.

"Oh yeah. Like what?"

"Like…like skipping class and …and…staying out after curfew.. And.."

"Jeez, I take it back. You're a real rebel without a cause." Rebecca smirked. "You know, if you let yourself live a little and actually have some fun you might have a bit more luck with Mike."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you do like him, right? I mean, it's pretty obvious."

"Since when has it been a crime to be friends with a guy? Why do I have to fancy him just because we hang out together?" Amy protested. "Anyway, obvious how?"

"I don't know. It just is. Even Edward's noticed it."

"And who says I have to live a little. I don't see the benefits. I mean, you've dated half the guys in our year and end up crying in a toilet cubicle."

"That was a temporary glitch. I made the mistake of getting my emotions involved but I've made a vow not to go back to that boiler room until I'm completely sure I can handle it." Rebecca replied defensively.

Amy wasn't sure what made her put two and two together but the words 'Edward' and 'boiler room' echoed in her head. "How do you know Edward has noticed anything?" she asked suspiciously.

"What?"

"I said 'how do you know Edward's noticed anything'?"

"He …I…Oh, screw it. He told me, okay." Rebecca admitted. "I'm the mystery girl he's been cutting class to meet in the boiler room. Well, until yesterday anyway."

"Oh my god. I can't believe this. My best friend and you. In the boiler room. Together." Amy replied in disgust. "It's just too icky to think about."

"Why can't you believe it? What's so unbelievable about me and Edward?" asked Rebecca defensively. "If it wasn't for you we'd still be seeing each other."

"Well, I'm glad you're not! And what do you mean 'if it wasn't for me'? I didn't even know about it until now."

"He was all like 'poor Amy would be soooo upset if she found out. She'd be so mad at me and wouldn't want to be my best friend anymore.' You know, 'cause heaven for fend that I would dare to upset you in some way."

"I am mad! I'm mad at him for lying to me and I'm mad that it was you he was seeing. I mean, I thought he hated you just as much as I did. In 5th grade we even had an 'I hate Rebecca club' He was, like' the secretary. I mean, you can't just dislike someone one day and then go and make out with them in some boiler room the next."

"Apparently, he can." Rebecca replied. "I don't care what you say. He did like me. He just didn't have enough backbone to admit it but you don't need to worry because it's, like, over now. I don't know why I even wanted to come and see his stupid band. I hope they forget the chords and get laughed off stage."

"Me too." Amy reluctantly agreed before taking another swig of the brandy and passing it back to Rebecca who took a swig of her own.

The stony silence that descended on the girls was the exact opposite of the atmosphere surrounding Echelon as they made their way out of the night club, still buzzing from their first experience of a real audience. Adrenaline pumped through their bodies and smiles spread across their faces as more than one high five was shared amongst them. It was a pity that they were having to leave but even the fact that the manager was kicking them out before the open mike night had completely finished couldn't dampen their spirits much.

"Good set, guys." One of the other musicians commented as he followed them towards the exit, carrying his own guitar case.

Edward immediately recognised him as the person who had performed before them, giving an intense acoustic set which he had been nervous to follow. Mike however, seemed to know him from somewhere else.

"Thanks, Catalano. You were sounding pretty good yourself. Tino said you were awesome but that was a tough act to follow, dude" Mike smiled. "You heading out already?"

"Yeah, man. Give it half an hour and that place'll be full of dance music and jail bait. When you get to my age it starts to get a bit old, you know?"

"Not really." Mike replied, "Dance music and jail bait sounds pretty good to me."

"Me too," agreed Edward. "I can't believe that manager is kicking us out already. I mean, what if something cool happens and we miss it?"

His band mates nodded in earnest, chorusing a series of grumbled profanities aimed in the manager's direction. Jordan couldn't help but smile. It had been a long time since he had felt such youthful enthusiasm for a night on the town and while he had managed to retain some of his youthful good looks and happy-go-lucky demeanour there was definitely a suggestion of world weariness in his expression.

"Trust me, you won't be missing much." He replied as he pushed open the door and stepped into the car park. He only went a few steps before stopping mid stride. The figure he saw leaning against one of the parked cars made his breath catch in his throat. Suddenly he felt as young as the boys around him. "Angela?" he asked in confusion.

Mike and Edward both turned their heads at the sound of his voice.

"That's not Angela. That's Amy. Angela's her mother." Edwards explained with a groan of dismay, "and that's Angela's sister, Rebecca."

"Man, you are so busted." Mike said suppressing a laugh, fully aware of what Edward had been getting up to in the boiler room

"Oh." Jordan simply replied while he continued to stare at the teenager. Amy was standing at an angle so he couldn't quite see her face but from his view the likeness was uncanny. It was like standing in a time warp and he half expected her to get whisked away in a cop car at any second. Part of him wanted her to turn around so he could see her properly but he couldn't quite work out whether he wanted her to have Angela's face or the face of a stranger. Rebecca was also confusing for him. As far as he could remember, Angela's only sister was called Danielle and she would be much older than the other teenage girl. It had been two decades since he had even seen Angela and he knew that over the years there would have been many changes and events in her life that he had no knowledge of. He couldn't help but wonder if she had changed much over the years or if she was still the same person he remembered. He was soon brought back to reality by the sound of Mike and Edward discussing the girls.

"They haven't seen us yet. Think we can make a quick getaway?" Edward asked

"You're such a pussy, dude!" Mike replied. "You just don't want to get yelled at in stereo."

"Would you? Seriously, I'm, like, a dead man."

"But we can't just leave them here." Mike pointed out. "I've got to drive Tino's van back but there isn't enough room in it for all of us, our equipment and them."

"Fine. Guess I'll have to walk them home or something. If they don't kill me first, that is."

"You need a ride or something?" Jordan asked, taking himself and the boys by surprise

"Uh, sure." Edward replied, not entirely sure he should trusting someone whose full name he didn't know. However, Mike seemed to know him and, so far, all of Tino's friends seemed to be cool for guys in their late thirties.

"So where we goin'?"

"Where ever they want, I guess." Edward said as he started to walk towards the girls with a grim look on his face.

He was only a few paces away from the girls when the sound of his footsteps made them turn towards him.

"Hi." he said tentatively and received two icey glares in response. "Okay, so am I getting, like, the silent treatment or something?"

"You deserve it!" Amy replied. "I mean, off all the girls in school, why did it have to be her? Couldn't you find anyone more sluttier?"

"Hey! I'm right here you know! I can't believe you just called me a slut when I'm standing right in front of you."

"Amy, I'm sorry I lied to you, ok." Edward started, only to have Rebecca jump in again

"You're appologising to her after what she just said about me? Real nice, Chirskie. I'm so glad I dumped you."

"You dumped him? I though he dumped you? I mean, normally it's the dumpee that ends up crying." Amy asked

"No, dumped him. I mean, I deserve better than to be treated the way he was treating me." Rebecca replied before turning back to Edward. "You can't just leave notes in people's lockers asking them to meet you in the boiler room one minute and then the next treat them as if they don't exist."

"You were crying?" Edward asked, voice betraying more concern than intended.

"I was upset, okay." Rebecca admitted, "but only for, like, five minutes because that's how long it took to realise you're a complete jerk and I'm better off without you."

"Look, I'm sorry I was being a jerk. I didn't mean to upset you. I…"

"No, I don't want to hear it," Rebecca interrupted. "I mean, why would I even want to speak with the secretary of the 'I hate Rebecca club'. In fact, I don't think I ever want to speak to you again."

"What? The I hate Rebecca club'? Edward asked in confusion before the memory came back to him. Turning to Amy he continued. "I can't believe you told her about that! I mean, we were like 9 years old!"

While the argument continued, Jordan could only look on with a mixture of amusement and horror. Amusement at the silliness of the situation and horror at the thought that he had been just like the youths in front of him. Having heard enough and wanting to make his way home, Jordan decided to intervene.

"Hey," he tried, attempting to get their attention without raising his voice too much, but they continued to ignore him. In frustration he decided that shouting was the only way forward. "Shut up!"

Edward was grateful for the intervention but also slightly embarrassed at the thought that the older man had witnessed him in such an uncool situation. The reaction for the girls was slightly different. Both were wary of the unknown man but simultaneously were in awe of his attractiveness. They both new that he was old enough to be their father but the only way they could describe him was hot.

"This is uurrmm…" Edwards started , only to realise he hadn't caught the man's name

"Jordan. Catalano." Jordan said, seeming unaware of the admiring looks the girls were giving him. "So, you're like related to Angel Chase?"

"Yeah." Amy replied, "Do you know my mum?"

Jordan paused for a second, unsure exactly how to answer, but the simplest answer seemed best. "I used to. We went to high school together."

"Jordan played in the open mike too. He's offered to give us a lift home. I mean, if you want." Edward said, explaining the adult's presence.

Recognising it as the easiest way to get back, the accepted the offer and followed Jordan to an old, beat up looking car. As it was the closest destination and most of their family was there, they asked Jordan to take them all to the restaurant. On the way the teenagers hardly looked at or talked to each other. The only conversation the entire way was between Edward and Jordan and was music related. For the girls, the short journey dragged but for Edward, they were pulling up outside the restaurant much too soon. He could only hope that he would bump into Jordan again soon so they could finish their discussion on guitar chords and the various open mike nights available in the Three Rivers area.

* * *

"It's such a shame that we haven't been able to speak to Graham much this evening." One of graham's cousins commented. " I mean, we're celebrating the last 20 years of his success and he's not really been here to enjoy it."

"Yes. Tonight's more like a celebration for me, don't you think?" Patty replied. " I mean, I have spent the past twenty years with an absent husband so the evening has just been perfect."

Angela felt her jaw drop at the comment but faced with a the choice of making a comment of her own or ignoring the whole thing she decided to take the cowards way out and left the function room. She crossed the main restaurant as quickly as possible and headed straight to the restrooms, eager for a moment of freedom from the family party from hell. As she checked her makeup in the mirror a familiar face appeared behind her.

"Sharon, I told you you'd end up here! How's it going with Shane?"

"It's actually going quite well." Sharon smiled

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." Sharon's smile broadened even further. "I mean, I didn't know what to expect and I had the plan of when we run out of stuff to talk about we can just reminisce about high school but we've hardly talked about school at all and he's, like, funny and just so different to how I remember him."

"I'm glad one of us is having a good time." Angel replied, genuinely happy for her best friend. "Tonight has been complete hell and I can't wait to get home."

"That bad?"

"Yeah. My dad has hidden away in his kitchen all night. My mother and Hallie Lownthall have spent the evening trading snide remarks and I haven't even got Amy to talk to because her and Rebecca have gone to that birthday party for Matthew Harding that Edward's gone to."

"Don't you mean Jason Williams?"

"What? I mean who?"

"Eddie's gone to Jason Williams birthday party. Who's Matthew Harding"

"But the girl's said…Oh god, they so played us!" Angela replied. "I can't believe I fell for it. I knew there was something they weren't telling me."

"So it's not Jason's birthday?" Sharon asked, receiving a pointed look from her friend. "Oh that boy is so grounded."

"Where do you think they actually are?"

"I dread to think." Sharon replied as she touched u her make up. "Why did he have to do this tonight of all nights, when I'm actually having a good time."

"Hey, don't let this ruin your night. I mean, they're basically good kids. They can't be doing anything worse than the stuff we did at their age. Right?"

"Yeah, you're right. If they got into trouble, or something, they'd call us."

"Exactly," Angela agreed, "Doesn't mean we can't punish them in the morning though. I've got a feeling that Amy will be helping me with all the housework tomorrow."

"Yeah, I think my garden could do with some work as well. It'll be just the job to keep Eddie busy." Sharon smiled. "Guess I better get back out there before he thinks I've done a runner."

"If it's going as well as you said, I doubt he'll think that"

"You should totally come and say hi on your way back to the party."

"Oh, I don't know.."

"No, really, you should. We're sitting over by the far window so you'll have to walk past our table anyway. I'm surprised you didn't see him on your way here."

"Oh, okay then." Angela reluctantly agreed as she followed Sharon out of the restroom. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to see Shane or not because who knew what kinds of memories he would bring back. However, once Sharon got an idea in her head it was kind of hard to get her to change her mind. Also, if Sharon and Shane really hit it off and their date became a regular thing, she would end up coming face to face with him sooner or later anyway.

When they reached the table, Angela was surprised at how similar he looked and yet how familiar he seemed. They had never been what you would term friends in high school but, due to their different relationships with Jordan they had attended all of the same social events for at least the last two years of high school. His hair might be shorter and the grungy look was definitely gone but he still had the same smile and glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Well, well, if it isn't Angela Chase." he said as a Sharon returned to her seat opposite him. "It's been quite a while."

"Yeah. It's Angela Bradley now" Angela replied self-consciously not really sure what to say. "So I hear you run a handy man business."

"Yeah, it's just a side gig at the moment for extra cash, you know. No big deal."

"But he's really good" Sharon jumped in. "Fixed my tap in no time at all. You should give her one of your business cards."

"Yeah, sure. I've got one here somewhere." He said, slightly uncomfortable, as he pulled out his wallet and started to look through it.

Angela could only roll her eyes. She had long since gotten used to the pushy side of Sharon's personality but obviously it was something Shane had yet to confront. As he fumbled with the cards, Angela's gaze wandered to outside the window where a car she thought had long been forgotten pulled up outside the restaurant. There was no mistaking it. She had spent so many hours of her teenage years in the car that it was unmistakable. She had sat in it, laughed in it, made out in it, cried in it. The list of verbs was just too long to share but she knew that she was looking at Red.

"Oh my god." She said, causing the couple to look up at her and then out to the street.

"Hey, it's Catalano." Shane said, oblivious to the expressions the girl's wore. "Can't believe he bought that heap of junk back. I mean, he's been back in town, like, 6 months, all the time bitchin' and moaning about how he needs a decent pair of wheels and then he see's that thing and you'd swear he'd found a long lost friend or something."

Both girls could only stare outside in shock, faces pale, feeling as if they were in a trance.

"Angela…" Sharon began but what ever she was about to say died on her lips as she saw Edward climb out of the front passenger seat. The teenage boy was smiling as he got out. As the back doors started to open he turned back to the car, bumping fists with the driver. "Oh my god!" she repeated, but Angela had already left their table and was pushing the restaurant door open. As soon as she realised her friend had gone, Sharon jumped up and followed her outside. Wondering what the hell was going on and curiosity getting the better of him, Shane also headed to the door.

Amy and Rebecca climbed out of the back seat, still glaring at each other. The last thing they expected to see when they turned around to face the restaurant was Angela, dazed expression on her face, closely followed by a rather flushed looking Sharon and an unknown male.

"Hi mum. We just got a life back from the urmm, party thing." Amy began but trailed off when she realised her mother was looking at the car rather than her. "Mum?"

Before Angel could answer, Sharon was outside and making a beeline for her son. "Edward Chirskie! Where the hell do you think you've been tonight and don't you dare 'party thing' me! Get your butt away from that car and into this restaurant right now!"

"But mum.."

"No, I don't want to hear the excuses. Move it, mister" Sharon commanded.

Edward saw no option but to do as she said, hopefully minimising his embarrassment in front of one of the coolest adults he knew. Jordan had yet to leave the car but Edwards knew he heard every word. When his mother shouted you could hear it halfway across town. Edward stomped through the door, unmindful of the man holding it open and the strange look he gave him. Sharon also missed the enquiring glances Shane threw in her and Edward's direction before following them inside. She was much more concerned with exactly what her son had been up to that night,

Meanwhile, Angela stood outside, oblivious to the confusion in her daughter. Amy had never seen her mother so quiet after being caught in the act of some misdeed.

"Mum?" she tried again but received no response.

"Yo, earth to Angela!" Rebecca shouted, less afraid of attracting public attention.

For some reason, the shout revived Angela from her stupor making her realise where she was and who was present. Turning toward her daughter and younger sister she said. "Both of you get inside. You'd better have a damn good story to explain tonight by the time I get in there."

"But aren't you coming in?" Amy asked

"In a minute." Angela simply replied. She waited until the restaurant door closed before she making the first step towards a car and a person she never thought she would see again.

* * *

A/N - Thanks for reading! It took a while but Jordan has finaly arrived. Hope you are enjoing the story so far. Please R&R ~LJ~


	5. Chapter 5

It only took a few seconds for Angela to walk the distance between the restaurant and his car but she might as well have been moving under water. Her limbs seemed heavy as she forced them to move and everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. Everything, that is, apart from her heart which felt like it was racing and beating so loudly she was sure that Jordan would be able to hear it from inside his car. She remembered the first time she had approached the car in exactly the same way, full of unease and excitement all rolled into one. It was the day he came to Brian Krakow's house to give her a fake ID. The only difference was that on that occasion she had at least been expecting him, had been able to prepare herself. Was it fair of him to suddenly appear in front of her like this? Shouldn't she have at least been given some kind of warning? On the other hand, if someone had told her that she would come face to face with Jordan Catalano again, would she have believed them? Would she have even know how to start preparing herself?

Many years ago, when she had come to terms with the end of their relationship but hadn't quite managed to heal her broken heart she had fantasised about this moment. She had day dreamed about how they would one day meet again, unexpectedly, and fall head over heals in love with each other all over again. She made believe that she was walking down a boulevard in Paris only to turn a corner and bump into him as he came the other way or that she was in New York and they would hale the same cab without realising but decide to share despite the fact that they were going in opposite directions. The were silly, immature dreams taking place in far off, exotic locations but the small hope of happiness they gave her allowed her to heal until she didn't need to rely on them anymore and, once healed and able to move on with her life, she dismissed them as nonsense. Yet here he was, right in front of her for the first time in two decades. On that night at Brian Krakow's she had told Rayanne that she thought she would prefer to have the fantasy than have him and she couldn't help the same thought ringing in her head now. Part of her knew that it would be better to revive those long forgotten fantasies and go back to her father's party but the fact that he was here, that some small part of the fantasy was coming true made it impossible for her to turn around. She had no idea what she was going to say but she leaned down slowly and looked through the car window, feeling fifteen all over again.

"Hey," she said with a nervous smile. "So, you drove the kids back?"

"Yeah" he replied, voice deeper than she remembered.

"So, you bought your car back?" she asked, already knowing the answer but unable to stop the words coming out of her mouth.

"Get in."

"Oh, I…I can't go anywhere…I mean I…I should stay here. It's a really long story."

"I didn't say go anywhere." he replied.

As he spoke the corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a small smile but whether it was because he was remembering similar conversation from the night at Brian's or whether it was because he found her nervousness amusing, Angela had no idea. It didn't really make much difference either way, she still found herself reaching for the door handle anyway. She sat in the passenger seat and pulled the door closed behind her, surprised at how familiar the car felt. Once seated, she turned to look at him properly. To say that the years had been kind would be an understatement. He was leaner than he had been in high school and his face had lost the boyish softness it once had but the effect made his features even more defined and his cobalt eyes seem even larger. The plaid shirts and baggy jeans were gone, replaced by more fitted but still relaxed clothing and his hair, although still long compared to most men his age, was much shorter than it had been when he was eighteen. She couldn't help wandering if it would still be soft in the back.

"Wow, the car looks exactly like it did in high school. I can't believe it still works. I.." She began, not interest in the car at all but unable to think of any other opening. It didn't matter what she said because Jordan had no intention of letting her finish the sentence. Before she realised what had happened Jordan's lips were on hers, pressing urgently. For a second, her body willingly responded with an equal amount of passion before her mind reigned it back under control and pushed him away.

"Hey! Get off me!"

"I…" Jordan began but was unable to finish, unsure of why he had acted so impulsively.

"My God, you can't just do something like that. You can't just kiss someone you haven't even, like, spoken to for so long." Angela continued before adding, almost as an after thought, "I mean, I'm married now."

"You don't act married." Jordan replied before thinking, immediately regretting the words.

"I don't believe this. You don't know me well enough anymore to say how I seem."

"I know you still talk a lot." he said, knowing he was deliberately making it worse but unable to stop himself.

"Coming from the man who disappeared to god knows where without telling anyone, I'll take that a compliment!" Angela practically shouted as she glared in his direction.

For a second Jordan glared back and Angela was sure that they would have a full blown argument but the moment passed. His eyes softened slightly before he turned away from her and gazed out of the front windscreen. "This whole day has been one long thing that makes no sense" he said with a sigh

She had no idea what exactly he meant but the tone of his voice took all of the fight out of her and she found herself giving a sigh of her own before turning her head to stare down the street along with him.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there in silence, side by side, inches away from each other. In reality, it was probably seconds but time seemed to role on into infinity. Angela stole sideway glances at him out of the corner of her eye, as if trying to verify that he was actually sitting next to her, that she was in fact sitting in Jordan Catalano's car. While there was no denying that this was indeed happening, she had no idea what thoughts were running through his head. Was he trying to analyse the situation as she was? Was he thinking about what happened all those years ago?

She didn't know whether it was his own thoughts or the fact that he felt her eyes upon him but Jordan stirred from this thoughts and shifted in his seat. For a second, the sleeve of his leather jacket brushed against her bare arm but the contact was swiftly lost as he leaned across and opened the door for her.

"Well, I gotta go, so…later." He said.

Feeling like she had been dismissed, Angela got out of the car. "Okay, so…later." was the only reply she could make before the door was pulled closed behind her and the car pulled away. Part of her wanted to run, screaming, down the road after him, demanding an apology or at least an explanation for what he had done. Part of her also wanted to kick herself for not demanding those things when she had been sitting next to him. Now the moment was lost and who knew if she would get another chance. Feeling as if everything that had just happened was part of some surreal vision, she made her way back to the restaurant.

"So what did he say?" Sharon asked as soon as she set foot inside.

"Nothing. I mean, we didn't really say a lot." Angela replied

"Well, good" Sharon said as she put on her coat. "he's got no right to, like, even try to talk to you. You so do not need to go there again. I mean, you've got your life just the way you want it with Damian and Amy. You don't need him around confusing things. If I were you I'd just forget you'd even seen him"

Angela found herself nodding in agreement, knowing that Sharon was only thinking of her best interests but would it really be that easy? Was it possible to forget that Jordan was back in town? Why would it be so hard to pretend? After all, she had lived the last twenty years of her life without him in it.

"Do you need a lift because Shane's going to drive Eddie and I home?" Sharon asked, seemingly unaware of her friends confused state.

For the first time since she had come back inside, Angela noticed Shane standing slightly to the side, looking uncomfortable and obviously trying to stay out of the way. Once upon time, he and Jordan had been best friends so it was only natural that he would be uncomfortable while his date talked Jordan down but Angela didn't remember him as being the quiet type. Either he really liked Sharon or he knew more about Jordan's disappearance than he lead her to believe when she quizzed him about it all those years ago. However, now was not the time for 20 questions.

"I'm ok. We've got a taxi booked." She replied, knowing that now was not the time or place to start dredging up the past.

"Ok. Well, I'll call you tomorrow." Sharon said as she hugged Angela goodbye.

Angela watched the three of them file out of the restaurant before forcing her fake smile back in place. Any further contemplation on the night's events would have to wait until she got home. Until then, she had a family event to attend and in true Patty Chase fashion she would at least look as if she were having fun.

* * *

a/n - slightly shorter chapter than normal but I just had to get Angela and Jordan's first meeting written and posted. I know I haven't given much away yet as to what went wrong but more will be revealed in ch 6. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

If there was one thing Rayanne wasn't used to, it was being rudely awoken on a Sunday morning by the sound of the telephone. She was tempted to just stay in bed, hidden under the duvet and let whoever it was call back at a more sociable hour, but after the twentieth ring it was obvious that the caller wasn't going to give up.

Still feeling like it was too early to face daylight, Rayanne reached out and pulled the receiver under the covers. "'Ello'" she murmured, still half asleep

"Oh Rayanne, thank god you're there. You're not going to believe what happened." Angela practically shouted in her ear causing Rayanne to hold the phone away from her head rather than actually answering. "Rayanne, are you there?

"Yeah, I'm here. What time is it?"

"It's, like, 8am."

"Already?" Rayanne asked groggily. "I feel like I only went to bed a few minutes ago. I had the best night. Met this guy called Sam in a bar down town. He was, like, twenty five or something and so hot. Anyway, he took me to this party at a friend of his and I didn't get in until, like, five this morning. I had such a time." This time it was Angela's turn to go silent and Rayanne knew exactly what she was thinking. "Don't worry, Angelika. The only hangover I have this morning is a sugar hangover from all the Pepsi I drank. Why are you calling me so early anyway?"

"Well, it was my father's party last night."

"Oh, yeah. How'd it go?"

"It was awful but that's not what I'm calling about. You are so not going to believe who turned up at the restaurant. I mean, it's just unthinkable."

"Who?" Rayanne asked slightly curious but with the secret suspicion that she knew what Angela was going to say.

"Jordan Catalano!"

"..Jordan Catalano? Really?" Rayanne replied and instantly cringed. She knew that if the delay in her response didn't give away the fact that she knew more than she was letting on then her tone of voice definitely would.

"Why do you sound like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like that." Angela replied as the realisation dawned. "Oh my god, you knew! You knew he was back in town and you didn't tell me! I can't believe this. I can't believe you would keep something like that from me, that you would lie to me."

"Well, you see...the thing is…I didn't tell you because I care about you and I didn't want you to get hurt all over again." Rayanne said with sincerity. "and it wasn't lying really. It was just omitting the fact that I'd bumped into him here and there."

"Here and there! So, you've seen him more than once?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I'm friends with Tino and he's friends with Tino so there's been a few, like, social events where we were both just there."

"I can't believe this.."

"It's not like we've been hanging out together or anything. I mean, it's just been places where people have been, like, together in a bunch. We're definitely not friends. We've hardly even spoken to each other and I haven't known he was back for that long really."

"Did Sharon know as well?" Angela asked

"Sharon? I didn't tell Sharon. Did you?"

"She was at the restaurant last night too."

"Oh." Rayanne replied "Well, what did she say?"

"She said I should forget I've seen him." Angela sighed. "Which is so, like, easy for her to say because she couldn't possibly understand. I mean, she never really liked Jordan to begin with."

"But maybe that's good advice." Rayanne suggested. "You have this life that you're happy with and who is he to just waltz back into it like nothing happened and disturb everything."

"But, am I happy?" Angela asked. "Is it possible for some one to be truly happy when there are so many loose ends?"

"Angela, you're, like, the happiest person I know! Anyway, life is supposed to be full of loose ends. Imagine how boring it would be if everything were all neat and organised. Besides, everything happened all so long ago, what would be the point of dredging it all back up again."

"I'd totally agree if it wasn't for one little thing. I was sitting in his car and he just kissed me. Like, out of nowhere."

"He kissed you? What, like, on the lips?" Rayanne decided to take the rustle she heard from the other side of the phone as Angela nodding the affirmative. "Was it good?"

"It wasn't the kind of kiss you could evaluate. I don't even know if he meant to do it but the fact that he did obviously means something. Don't you think?"

"Like what? I mean, I've kissed plenty of people, and more, without it having any meaning what so ever."

"I don't know. Maybe it means that he has loose ends too and that he wants closure, or something."

"Is that what he wants or what you want?"

Deciding to ignore the question, Angela asked another of her own. "Do you think I should, like, see him again? Like, this afternoon or something, if I can find out where he lives. Maybe I just need to talk to him and then I'll be able to put it all behind me and carry on with my life without obsessing over him."

"You obsessing over Jordan Catalano? Like that would ever happen." Rayanne replied sarcastically. "I can't believe I'm going to help you with your addiction. My AA sponsor would be so disappointed. If you really want to do this, have it out with him or whatever, then he lives on 7th Avenue. He lives in an apartment above a bakery. They do great bagels."

"Thanks Rayanne." Angela replied, grateful for the information even if the thought of knowing where he lived gave her butterflies in her stomach.

"You're welcome. Just do me a favour, okay? Don't sleep with him."

"Rayanne!"

"I'm serious. Also, don't forget to call me after you've spoken to him. I want all the details."

"Okay. I'll have to go, I can hear Amy getting up. I'll speak to you later."

After Angela disconnected, Rayanne extended her arm outside the warmth of her duvet for the few seconds it took to hang up her own phone before swiftly pulling it back in. Although she was far more awake after the conversation she had with Angela, she still wasn't quite ready to face the day. The sense of impending doom she had about the whole situation was also an incentive to stay cocooned up in her bed for as long as possible, thereby avoiding the drama for as long as possible. There had been a time when she was younger that she would have been excited, thinking that everyone running around, being upset while rumours were flying about was like being alive. Now that she was slightly more mature and much more sober, drama wasn't the rush it had once been. These days, she could appreciate a bit of peace and quiet. Unfortunately, avoiding the drama seemed to be an impossibility. No longer than half an hour later, the phone began to ring again and the second caller was just as persistent as the first.

Staying under the duvet once again, Rayanne pulled the receiver to her. "'Ello," she mumbled into the phone, knowing exactly who would be on the other end.

* * *

Sharon took a sip of her coffee, wishing she had decaf in the house. The caffeine wouldn't do anything to help calm her already jittery nerves. However, part of her also felt like she needed the boost to help her wake up. She didn't know how long she had lain in bed last night after she got home, just staring at the ceiling, but the lack of sleep was having an effect this morning. Edward didn't seem to be having the same problem at all. He'd been sent to his room as soon as they got home the previous night and at 8am he had yet to emerge. When she had passed his room on the way downstairs, he had been quietly snoring, oblivious to the world and the significance of the previous nights events. Eventually she would have to wake him up. After all, he did have an appointment with the lawn mower to attend as part of his punishment but for the moment she needed the quiet. It gave her the chance to try to put her thoughts in order before she had to face the world.

To say that she had been shocked by the previous nights events would be a complete understatement and she couldn't help but worry about the effect Jordan Catalano's return would have. Sharon could honestly say that he was the last person she expected to come into contact with ever again. He had left Three Rivers so long ago that she didn't think he would ever return and his presence outside the restaurant just seemed wrong somehow, like he didn't belong there and therefore wasn't real. However, for someone who didn't belong and didn't seem real she knew that he would have a very real effect on the people she loved. With her own mind in turmoil at the mere thought of him being back, she could only guess at the extent to which Angela had been effected after coming face to face with him. She would have loved to have been party to the conversation Angela and Jordan had in the privacy of his car but it had been obvious last night that Angela hadn't been ready to share. No doubt, once Angela had processed the encounter, Sharon would hear all about it, possibly repeatedly depending on how obsessive Angela became, but until then she would have to try not to let her imagination run away with her. From her point of view it was better not to dwell on Jordan Catalano's reappearance and instead concentrate on her son.

Edward had always been interested in music. The fact that he had talent had been apparent since she bought him his first acoustic for his tenth birthday and by the time he was twelve he had already progressed to the electric guitar, much to the annoyance of her neighbours. Sharon may not always like the style of music he played or the volume he and the band could generate but at least he was channelling his energy into something worthwhile rather than getting involved with gangs or drugs. The fact that he was playing in a proper band, in front of people who, if you listened to Edward's version of events, really liked what they heard, filled her with pride. However, the fact that her fifteen year old son was going to bars and lying to her about his whereabouts was definitely a cause for concern.. An outright ban would be impossible to enforce. It would only resulting him sneaking around even more because he was far too passionate about playing in the band to stop completely. At the same time, she wouldn't be able to be with him 24hrs a day. Therefore, once he had finished the gardening they were going to need to have a serious discussion on the importance of honesty and lay down some ground rules for his continuing musical career.

Despite the early hour, Sharon was awoken from her thoughts by the sound of the door bell. When she opened the door she was surprised to find Shane standing on the other side, dressed in much scruffier clothes than he had been wearing the night before, obviously making a pit stop on his way to work. The previous night Sharon had thoroughly enjoyed herself for the first time in ages and for the majority of the evening it seemed as if he felt the same. At first they had both been nervous; Shane because he was obviously trying to impress and Sharon because she couldn't remember the last time she went on a date where the guy actually offered to pay for diner. It hadn't taken them long to both relax and start enjoying each others company and Sharon had had high hopes of a second and third date. That was, however, until Jordan Catalano had arrived and Edward had climbed out of his car. After that, Shane had seemed somewhat subdued. The cheeky smile and witty banter had all but disappeared. She assumed it had been the way in which he had been introduced to Edward and the parental side of her personality. Sharon had been completely upfront about having a teenage son and Shane had seemed completely unphased when she talked about Edward but she would be the first to admit that they hadn't met under the best of circumstances. Her shouting at Edward while he tried to vainly defend his actions was enough to put a saint off the mother and son duo. In her own defence, she would have blamed her slightly over-reactive scolding on the shock she had when she saw Edward with Jordan but trying to explain that fully was a whole world of snakes nests. not that she thought she would get the chnace to explain. She was sure that Shane wouldn't even call, let alone come to her house but here he was and he obviously had something on his mind.

As she invited him into the house, Shane seemed on edge, even more so than the night before. His face looked grim, as if he were about to deliver some bad news but didn't quite know how to form the words and his demeanour also put Sharon on edge, setting off her jittery nerves once more. After ushering him into the living room, Shane accepted her offer of a cup of coffee, allowing Sharon to escape to the kitchen for a few seconds and take a deep breath to try and calm herself. When she came back into the living room she had expected him to be sitting on the sofa but instead he was standing by the fireplace, examining some photos of her and Edward. Sharon watched as he picked up one picture in particular, examining it even closer.

"My mum took that on a trip to the zoo. Edward was eleven and I had really bad hair." She said to announce her presence.

As soon as she spoke, Shane jumped and put the picture back in its place, looking like a child who'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have.

"Here's your coffee" She spoke again, trying to break the tension.

Rather than take the cup she held out to him, Shane looked back to the photos, face unreadable. "He doesn't know, does he? I mean, either of them?"

"Who and what?" Sharon asked, feigning confusion while secret fear made her heart beat rapidly.

"He doesn't know who his father is and his father has no idea he exists at all."

"Well, no," Sharon admitted, "but I told you what happened. Remember?"

"Yeah, you said that Edward's dad was a French foreign exchange student who you met in college but by the time you found out you were pregnant, he had already left the country…That's how the story went wasn't it?" Shane said, looking her in the eye for the first time since he entered the house. "Well, the thing is, I don't think I believe you. I think that Jordan is his dad."

Sharon laughed, a high pitched bark full of panic and surprise. "Why on earth would you think that! Don't be ridiculous. I mean, Jordan Catalano left town twenty years ago not to mention the fact that he used to go out with my best friend!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought as well. I mean, I thought I was just seeing something that wasn't there. You seem like a nice person, you know, and back in high school you were, like, full of morals. How could someone like Sharon Chirskie betray her friend like that and deceive everyone, including her own son for so long? And Jordan did leave town 20 years ago so the maths was all wrong. But the thing is, I pretty much thought about it all night and then I remembered that he did come back. It was only for a few weeks but it was about 16 years ago, when his dad died."

"You're crazy." She replied, unconsciously tightening her grip on the coffee mug until her knuckles turned white. "You can't say something like that based on nothing but the fact that Jordan may have visited 16 years ago. I mean it's just…well, it's just ridiculous, it's"

"He looks like him" Shane interrupted, stopping her in his tracks. "Maybe Edward's got enough of you in him so your friends don't notice it, I mean he's got your eyes, but I've known Jordan since we were both four years old and Edward looks like him. When he climbed out of Jordan's car last night, my first thought was why is Jordan getting out of the passenger seat, why isn't he driving? And then I saw Edwards face and then I saw yours."

"Shane, you have no idea what you're saying. You don't understand what this would do if people heard you saying these things."

"Well, I do know that if I had a kid, I'd want to know. If I was Edward and my dad was living the other side of town, I'd want to know." Shane replied, raising his voice slightly in frustrated anger.

"Sshhh, he's right upstairs, you'll wake him up." Sharon replied, visibly upset but fighting to keep the tears back. "Edward doesn't need to know. It's always been just the two of us and we're fine. We don't need or want anyone else!"

"What about Jordan? What about what he wants?"

"I don't care about what Jordan wants. This has nothing to do with him."

"Then say it."

"Say what?"

"If this really has nothing to do with Jordan, then say it. Say that he's not Edwards father."

"I …He…" Sharon started, unable to complete the sentence now that someone had confronted her with the truth.

"That's what I thought." Shane replied, expressing no joy at having his suspicions confirmed.

"So, are you going to ask me what happened? I mean, between Jordan Catalano and me?" Sharon asked after a moment of silence, her voice strained as if she was about to break down into tears at any second.

"To be honest, I don't think I want to know." Shane said. He obviously had some sympathy for the woman in front of him and didn't want to upset her any more than he had to. When he was a child, it was just him and his mum as well so he knew exactly how hard it was to bring a kid up in a single parent family. Part of him could also understand why she had kept it a secret. Jordan hadn't always made the best of choices in his life and there was no way to tell whether he would have supported Sharon had she have come clean. However, despite his short comings, Jordan was one of his oldest friends and any sympathy he felt for Sharon was counteracted by the loyalty he felt for Jordan. "I'm kind of more interested in what you're going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you've go to tell him.."

"No! I can't!" Sharon jumped in, "Everyone's happy now. If I tell him than it will have so many consequences. I mean, if they all found out that I'd been lying all this time. Edward would be so upset and Angela, god, I just… I can't."

"You have to," Shane replied firmly. "If you don't, then I will."

"What?"

"You heard. I'm not saying that you have to call him this instant, or anything, but you have to tell him and soon because he, like, deserves to know the truth."

Sharon knew from the tone of his voice that he meant that he said and that there would be no getting out of the situation. She had kept the secret for so long, replacing it with the story of a college fling, that some days it seemed like the lie was the real version of events and that what happened between her and Jordan was make believe. She didn't want Jordan in her and Edwards life, she never had done. It was mistake, a stupid, drunken mistake which she had wished she could take back a thousand times. How could she now approach him and tell him that he had a child? How could she tell her son who his father was? It was a big, impossible mess that would change everyone's lives for ever. The enormity of what she would have to do left her speechless.

Now that he had delivered his ultimatum, Shane also seemed to be lost for words. If someone had told him the previous night that he would end up having this conversation with Sharon, he would have thought they were mad. Until Jordan and Edward arrived at the restaurant, the only conversation he'd been planning on having with Sharon today was to tell her what a great time he had had and arrange their next date. Not that that would be happening now. Right now, he was probably her least favourite person on earth.

"Look, here's Jordan's phone number and address." He said as he scribbled the details on the back of one of his own business cards. "I guess, I'd better go."

Sharon made no move to take the card from him or make any response at all so he put the card on the fireplace, next to the photograph he had been looking at and turned to leave. Just before he pulled the front door closed behind him he heard a muffled sob coming from the living room but he had no idea what he could say if he went back inside so he kept going.

For Sharon, this was her worst nightmare. Normally, if something this monumentally bad happened, she would turn to her best friend but that simply wasn't an option here. If Angela found out, or more likely when she found out now that Shane had figured things out, Sharon didn't know what would upset her more - the fact that she had betrayed her or the fact that she had kept the lie going for sixteen years. After calming herself down and stopping the tears, she realised there was only one person she could turn to, only one other person who knew the truth. She grabbed the phone and dialled Rayanne Gaff's number from memory, praying that Rayanne would answer.

* * *

A/N - Thanks for reading! If like Mackiegirl, you were wondering what the deal was with single mother Sharon, well there's the answer! For those who want more details on what exactly happened between Jordan and Angela and an explanation as to how Jordan and Sharon ended up sleeping together, more infomation will be found in chapter 7. Please r&r. ~LJ~


	7. Chapter 7

Angela pushed open the door to her father's kitchen, amazed at how quiet and serene it was when the restaurant was closed. Closed or not, this was the place she knew she could always find her father. If he wasn't cooking meals for the customers, he would be in here experimenting with new dishes or sampling stock from new suppliers. It didn't take her long to spot him, dressed in his daily uniform of chef's whites, stirring something on top of one of the huge stoves.

"Hi, the troops have reported for duty," she informed him, referring to her daughter and younger sister who had been given the task of cleaning the function room as part of their punishment for trying to get into Let's Bolt the night before. "I can't believe how much mess our relatives made. I mean, you'd think it was a frat party rather than a stuffy family event."

"It wasn't stuffy," Graham started to protest but Angela soon cut him off.

"Says the man who didn't even turn up."

"Well, someone had to cook," Graham replied sheepishly, knowing he was guilty of hiding away in his kitchen. He could have easily hired another chef from a temp agency for the night but the thought of a stranger poking around in his kitchen was enough to set him on edge. The fact that it give him the perfect excuse to avoid judgemental relative had also been a bonus. "Here taste this. It's a raspberry reduction for the chocolate roulade. Too tart?"

"Yeah, needs more sugar." Angela agreed. "So, I thought I'd leave Amy here for a bit. I mean, if that's ok with you, because there's this sort of, like, errand I have to go and run. I mean, it probably won't take long. I'll be back before the girls even finish clearing up. Probably."

At first, Graham said nothing. He just repeated what she had just said in his own mind, wondering when he had last heard her ramble in the same way. He poured a small amount of sugar into the pan and looked down as he started to stir the mixture again, hoping to give off an air of nonchalance rather than the fatherly concern he felt as he asked "This sort of, like, errand have anything to do with Jordan?"

"What? You mean Jordan Catalano?"

"Has there ever been any other Jordan?"

"I don't know. You brought it up." she replied, wondering when she had lost the ability to converse with her father like an adult.

"Look, I know he was here last night, that he drove the kids back."

"How do you know? I mean, you hid in here all night."

"Yeah, well a good chef knows what's going on in his restaurant and Sharon has always had a fine set of lungs. I actually felt sorry for Edward at one point." Graham replied. "I guess I just remember how much you felt for him and how much he hurt you and think that maybe it's not such a good idea for you to go out of your way to see him again."

"I'm not going out of my way to speak with him. It's not like I was doing anything this afternoon anyway. Don't you think I deserve, like an explanation at least?"

"Maybe," Graham admitted, "but I just think you should be careful. I mean, he was your first love and part of you will always love him but you have a family now. Things are different now."

"My god, I don't believe this! You think that I'm going to get all, like, obsessed with him all over again. That I would leave my family. That I would just leave them ..."

Graham knew that the end of her sentence, the part that she didn't actually say, were the three words 'like you did'. He couldn't blame her for the accusation. It was true, after all. He did leave his family and that was the reason he had to say what was on his mind. "Angela, of course I don't really think that but I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I did."

"Mistakes?"

"No, not mistakes. That was the wrong word. I mean, I love Rebecca and Hallie and our lives together and I wouldn't change it for the world but there was a big price to pay." He explained, "I mean, I lost Danielle. She just refuses to speak to me, even after all this time, and your mother, well, I kind of lost my best friend. I mean, you make a choice and once it's made it's too late to go back, you know? All I ever wanted was for everyone to be happy but things never work out that way. I just don't want you to have to make the same kind of choices I did or have the same regrets."

"That's not going to happen." Angela replied, surprised at her father's openness. "I just want to speak to him. I mean, I have things to say to him and if I don't then I'll always wonder."

"Ok," Graham said. Having said what was on his mind, he knew that he would have to trust her to do the right thing and follow her heart. "I'll drive Amy home later on if you want."

"Thanks, dad" she replied as she kissed him on the cheek before heading to the exit.

* * *

Angela sat in her parked car across the road from the bakery on 7th Avenue, unsure as to whether she should get out or just switch the engine back on and turn around. Rayanne had provided her with the address so she obviously thought that Angela seeking out Jordan Catalano was worthwhile but Angela couldn't help but think that if she had called Rickie instead she would have been given completely different advice. If she had called Sharon, she knew she would still be the other side of town and as helpful as her father had tried to be, he really had no idea of what she was going through. If she didn't know whether she actually wanted to see him again, how could she possibly guess whether Jordan Catalano wanted to see her? Had she ever really known what it was Jordan Catalano wanted? Did he?

She wasn't quite sure how long she had been there. She might have sat in the car for hours pondering the question of what Jordan wanted for hours more if it wasn't for the fact that he walked right into her line of sight. At the side of the building there was a metal staircase. She wasn't sure whether it was just a fire escape or the actual entrance to his apartment but as she gazed across the street she saw him appear at the top. He stood, slightly bent, arms resting on the railing which surrounded the platform and even though his hair hung over his eyes, hiding his face, she knew that he was deep in thought. She didn't have to see his face. It was his hands that gave him away as they fiddled with a lighter. She couldn't quite believe that after all this time he would still have the same posture and mannerisms but in a way it was comforting, like nothing had really changed after all. He still leaned great. It was this thought that got her moving and before she knew it she was getting out of her car and crossing the street.

By the time she reached the bottom of the staircase, Jordan had used the lighter for its intended purpose and was smoking a cigarette. The scent of it reached her, familiar and alien at the same, taking her back to a time and place which she thought she had forgotten. For all of the warm spring sunshine reigning down, she might as well have been under the shadow of the bleachers at school, hiding away from the rest of the world but searching him out at the same time.

Jordan obviously hadn't seen her cross the street and walk towards him but when she stepped onto the stairway her shoes gave a soft metallic ring, rousing him from whatever he had been day dreaming about.

"Oh, hey." he said, between drags of his cigarette, voice giving away nothing.

"So, you still smoke?" she asked as she started to climb up towards him.

"Yeah" he replied, "Keep meaning to give up but…" His sentence ended in a shrug as he straightened up and turned towards her.

"Yeah. You should. Give up, I mean. It's, like, really bad for you." She said, hating the fact that she was stating the obvious and talking about something so mundane when she had so many questions.

At first, she didn't think he was going to make any reply. He just continued to smoke as he looked at her and she felt like an awkward fifteen year old all over again. Then he started to speak. "I'm sorry. I mean, about last night."

Angele almost laughed. "You're sorry? You're sorry about last night? What about the last twenty years? God, I can't believe I came here. Why are you like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like how you are!" Angela practically shouted, wondering exactly how many times they would have the same conversation over and over but also wondering why , at her age, she even cared. "I mean, you act like you did nothing wrong, like nothing happened. You made me believe that you loved me and then you just left without any warning, without.."

"You left first!" he shouted back, showing real emotion for the first time, before turning away and leaning against the railings once more, new cigarette in hand.

"I didn't leave!" She protested, shocked at his accusation, " I just went to college. It's what people do. I was three hours away."

He didn't turn to look at her, he just continued to smoke, eyes averted. The only indication that he had any feelings about what she said was the tension in his jaw and she couldn't help hating herself for thinking that he looked good, that the way the sunlight fell on his face made his stubble look like it was the perfect length and wouldn't scratch at all against her skin. She couldn't help but hate the fact that he still had power over her and that he could still hurt her just by existing.

"If you didn't want to be with me anymore, you could have just told me. You didn't have to just disappear. No one knew where you were; not your dad, not Shane; not even Tino. I mean, you were supposed to, like, visit me and you just didn't show. Do you know what that felt like? I called every single hospital between here and college worried sick that you'd crashed you car, or something, on the way to see me. I filed a missing persons report with the police! God, did you even stop to think how I'd feel? Did you care at all?" Angela knew that she was starting to rant but she knew that if she didn't speak up now, she never would. "Two months it took for you to contact anyone! Two whole months of me thinking that you could be dead and even then you couldn't get the guts to actually, like, speak to me or explain. No, you got Shane to call me instead. Did you really think that a message of 'I'm ok but don't bother looking for me anymore' would be enough?"

"I did show up." He replied quietly, voice barely more than a whisper.

"What?" She asked, unsure that he had actually spoken at all.

"I said, I did show up." He repeated a little louder. "I got there a day early. I was going to surprise you."

"But, I...you couldn't have."

"You didn't see me," he started to explain. "You'd told me on the phone that you and your friends would hang out in this, like, coffee house every day after lectures so I knew where you'd be and I went there. I saw you straight away but you were with all these other people and every one was talking and laughing. You looked like you were having a really good time, you know? The closer I got the more I could hear of your conversation, or whatever, and I had no idea what you were all talking about. I must have understood, like, ten words and I just knew."

"Knew what?" she asked.

"I knew that you belonged there and I didn't. I knew that you didn't need me any more, that you could do better."

She could only stand and stare, flabbergasted at his revelation. Jordan took in her silence and look of disbelief and wondered what he could say to make her understand.

"What does your husband do?" he asked, gesturing to her left hand.

"What? Why does that matter?" she asked in confusion, unconsciously fingering the gold band he was looking at. Rather than answer her question he just gave her a look, expecting an answer to his own question, forcing her to reply. "He's an architect."

"Yeah. Guess he must be real smart to be an architect." he said with a small smile, as if he had just proved some point.

"Did I ever say you weren't?"

"Come on, Angela, you didn't have to. I mean, I barely scraped through high school even with you helping me and that Brian kid tutoring me. You went off to college and I was stuck here working a dead end job. Christ, I couldn't even get into community college. My life was going nowhere and deep down we both knew it."

"So, you thought that leaving was the answer? Why didn't you talk to me, tell me how you felt?"

"I dunno." He answered, struggling to put his feelings into words. "It was like, easier that way, I guess."

"Yeah, it was real easy!"

"Look, I know I could have handled things better but I thought you might try to talk me out of it.." he said but trailed off before finishing the sentence. If he was able to be truly honest he would have added that part of him was also too scared to talk to her. What if she had agreed with him and didn't try to talk him out of it at all?

"Of course I would have." she said automatically but at the same time part of her also wondered whether that was true. Thinking back, she could remember the night he was talking about. She had been excited at the thought of him visiting her but it hadn't stopped her from flirting with the guys from her dorm and she had gone to bed with a clear conscious, sure that there was no harm in it when only a coupe of months earlier even the thought of flirting with someone else would have been impossible. Maybe he was right. Maybe she had outgrown him but just not realise it at the time. Who knew? It as all so long ago and so many things had happened since that it was impossible to dwell on the what ifs. Taking a different tract she decided to ask 'where did you go?"

"Seattle at first." he replied, "Came home, sold my car and just bought a bus ticket."

"Seattle?"

"Yeah. Caught the tail end of the grunge scene."

"What happened?"

"Not much. I mean, the Foo Fighters weren't hiring so I stayed there a couple of years. Then New York, then Chicago, then L.A. I moved around a lot, playing in different bands, chasing record deals." He said with a far off look in his eye. " I had dreams, you know? I was going to be a big rock star, be famous. Never quite worked out though."

"So, why'd you come back?"

"I dunno," he replied. "Just felt like the right time, I guess. I mean, I'm going to be, like forty, next year. Figured it was about time I started settling down and here was as good a place as any even if it's not quite the same as it used to be. Only other time I've been back was for my father's funeral."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Nah, it's ok. It was years ago. Only stayed a few weeks to sort stuff out then went back on the road." he said. "Thought about looking you up when I was here but someone told me you were out of town on your honeymoon, or something."

She didn't quite know what to say. She thought that they would have argued more, shouted more, screamed at each other even. Yet here they were, having a relatively calm and reasonable conversation where he seemed to be answering her questions and actually offering up information. Had they ever spoken like this when they were together? Thinking back, she didn't think so. "You ever get married?" she asked.

"Nah," he replied with a smile and a small laugh. "Came close once but…" He shrugged again and shook his head slightly as if the memory was amusing rather than painful.

"What happened?"

"I was playing in this band and we were moving around, playing in different places and we ended up in Los Vegas. Anyway, me and the vocalist had the same birthday. That girl could really sing. Just after the band formed and we found out about our birthdays being the same we made this really stupid pact. Kind of an 'if we're not married by the time we're 30, we'll marry each other' sort of deal, you know? The sort you don't really mean but it seems fun at the time."

Angela just nodded in understanding, not wanting to interrupt.

"So there we were, in Vegas on our 30th birthday, both single, and we got hammered. We dared each other to go through with it. Actually get married. So, we went off to the nearest chapel we could find that had an Elvis impersonator but it turned out that it was, like, really hard to get married while drunk in Vegas. I mean, you've still got to get a license and stuff. Anyway, by the time all the paperwork had been done, we'd both sobered up and changed our minds."

"Really?"

"Yeah," He said, still smiling. "A few months later, she got knocked up by the drummer. They both left the band and bought a chicken farm in Idaho. On kid number four now, I think"

"Lucky escape then," She said, unable to stop herself from smiling along with him.

"Yeah. Don't think I'd have made much of a chicken farmer. So how about you? You some big shot lawyer now?"

"No, I'm not a lawyer," she said in surprise, shocked that he even remembered her old inclination.

"but, that's what you went to college for, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah." She admitted, "but I got pregnant pretty much straight after college. Never sat the bar exam. I mean, I was going to go back but I never got around to it. I was a proper stay at home mum until Amy started high school. Now, I'm a receptionist in a dentist's office."

Now it was Jordan's turn to look surprised, as if he had been sure that what he had imagined would be true and the thought of something so ordinary hadn't even crossed his mind.

"What?" Angela asked defensively. "I happen to enjoy my job. There's nothing wrong with working in a dentist office." Jordan's only reply was to hold his hands up in a 'no offence intended' gesture. "What about you anyway? You back to reform Frozen Embryos?"

"Nah, I'm strictly a solo artist these days. Play in a few open mike nights around town but its just for fun." He said. "Spend more time teaching guitar than performing these days."

"What? Like, for kids, in a school?"

"Just for people who want to learn. There's a music store down the street. We sell and repair guitars and given lessons. Playing is the only thing I was ever half decent at anyway…" he trailed off but any dampening of his mood was short lived and a cheeky smile was soon in place, "You should come over for some lessons. I'll give you a discount."

"Yeah, right." she replied with a smile of her own, "Last time you tried to teach me, it lasted about three hours before you were begging me to give up. What did you say it was like?"

"Like a crime against music." The said in unison, both laughing at their memories of that long ago afternoon spent in the loft together.

"I forgot you look like that."

"Like what?" Angela asked

"That you look so beautiful when you laugh." he replied in a husky tone.

All of a sudden, she realised how close they were standing. The warmth she felt on her skin didn't feel like it was coming from the suns rays anymore. It felt as if it was radiating from him and as much as she knew she should move away, her feet refused to move. She was held in place by his gaze, captivated by his intense blue eyes, unable to move, speak or even breathe. She ached for him to take her in his arms. Despite her father's warning, in that moment she knew that she was lost.

* * *

They had been cleaning the conference room for only ten minutes, but already they were both bored. It was bad enough that they were being punished but both girls thought that the fact that they were being punished together made the task even worse. Since Angela had dropped Amy off at the restaurant, they had hardly said three words to each other and had retreated to different sides of the function room. Unknowingly, they shared the same thought as they started to clear the tables, each wondering how ignoring the other could take so much effort and thought.

She didn't know whether it was the boredom or the realisation that their mutual disregard and scorn was futile, but it was Rebecca who spoke first.

"Who was that?" She asked, as Amy replied to a text message on her mobile.

"What's it to you?." Amy replied automatically but swiftly changed her mind. She had come to the same conclusion as Rebecca. If fate kept pushing them together, the more effort it would take to maintain their animosity. For the time being it seemed easier just to give in and at least be civil. "Actually, it was Edward. He's coming over."

"Oh." Amy replied, unsure why he would come to the restaurant after the previous night. The three of them hadn't exactly been on speaking terms when Edward had been taken home by his mother. "Did he say why?"

Making a conscious effort not to tell her to mind her own business, Amy told her as much as she knew. "He just said that he had something really important he needed to talk to me about."

"Right. Of course he wants to talk to you…I mean, why would he think about coming here, to where I live to actually, like, talk to me."

"Look, I know he's been a complete dick, what with the lying," Amy started

"and the using and having no regard for other peoples' feelings." Rebecca finished for her

"Yeah," Amy agreed, "but he's, like, my best friend. It's impossible to stay mad at him for long. If I didn't speak with him today, I'd just end up speaking to him in school tomorrow anyway, and he obviously wants to see you too or he'd wait until I got home to come see me. "

"You think? Actually, don't answer that." Rebecca replied, "I don't want to think about whether he wants to see me or not. That would just lead to…boiler rooms."

"I've said it once and I'll say it again. Eewww!" Amy said in semi mock disgust.

"Friends or not, you've got to admit that Edward's pretty hot. I suppose it was quite exciting for a while too. I mean, all the sneaking around. Let's just say that not all the heat in that room was coming from the boiler."

"I really don't want to know the details. And, no. Edward's not hot. He's just Edward. I've got no idea why you would be interested in him all of a sudden when you've known him nearly as long as I have."

"Well, I kind of like the way he leans. He leans great. I mean, really great."

Amy just rolled her eyes in response, wondering how such an insignificant detail could be the basis for her interest. Then again, it wasn't all that hard to understand. If someone had asked her how many hours she had spent just thinking about the shape of Mike's broad shoulders she would probably die of embarrassment. Caught up in their own train of thought, the girls both fell silent as they continued to work. This time the mutual silence seemed different. While they still had a fair way to go in terms of being actual friends, the tension between them seemed to have lifted. It was a subtle change but one which made them both feel better, even if they would never admit it to any one else.

Edward arrived a few moments later, slightly confused by the lack of scowls he was expecting the girls to be giving each other but he didn't give much thought to it. He had much more important things on his mind. His world had been turned completely upside down and he no idea what to do. As soon as he entered the function room, both girls could see that he was upset. His eyes were slightly puffy as if he had been crying and he was visibly agitated, whole body tense and face pale.

"Eddie?" Amy asked, unable to imagine what could have such an effect on him. "Are you ok?"

"No, not really." He replied in a strained voice as he sat down at the nearest table, seeming to slump in the seat.

The girls shared a look of confusion and concern, swiftly forgetting the job they were supposed to be completing, and moved to join him.

"What's the matter?" Rebecca asked as she reached across the table to take his hand. Their relationship in the boiler room may not have lasted long but she knew him well enough to realise that whatever was causing his distress had to be something big.

Edward wasn't completely sure where to start. He knew he looked awful and that the girls would probably know that he had cried, just as they knew he would deny it if they asked him. He also knew that he didn't want to cry in front of them. No matter how close he felt to them, his male teenage pride wouldn't allow it. However, he couldn't keep everything to himself. The knowledge was too big; too life altering. Taking a deep breath he decided to get straight to the point. "My mum's been lying to me. She's been lying to everyone. I found out who my dad is today. He lives right here in town and we all met him last night."

"What?" Amy said, not quite believing what she heard. The story of Sharon Chirskie's brief romance with Edward's father was something she had grown up believing, never even thinking to question. It wasn't talked of often but she had always thought that that was due to people not wanting to upset Sharon. How could something so accepted by everyone be anything but the truth?

"I'm not making it up, Amy!" Edward shouted, hearing the disbelief in her voice. In a way, it mirrored his own first reaction but hearing someone else voice their disbelief only served to make him defensive.

"She didn't say you were," Rebecca interjected, realising that tempers could easily get frayed before they got to the bottom of what he was talking about. "What happened, Edward? What did your mum tell you?"

"That's the thing, she hasn't told me anything. She's still lying to me."

"Then how do you know?"

"I know, okay! I heard her! She was on the phone to Rayanne Graff and they were both talking about it but she doesn't know that I heard and I don't know what to do."

"Eddie, just tell us what you heard and we'll help you figure it out." Amy suggested while Rebecca nodded encouragingly.

Taking another deep breath, Edward began to speak. "When I got up this morning, I knew that as soon as I went downstairs my mum would start shouting at me again for sneaking out last night but I was still kind of buzzing from the gig and I didn't want her to, like, bring me down, or whatever, so I decided to give Mike a call first. Anyway, I picked up the phone and I realised straight away that she was already using the one in the kitchen and I would have put it down but her voice sounded really funny. It was like she was trying to speak really quiet but kind of crying at the same time so I listened in…"

The first few sentences came slow, as if he was trying to carefully choose his words, but once he got going it didn't take him long to get the whole story out. He told them how he had heard that Sharon had been given an ultimatum by Shane and that she didn't know what to do, other than panic. He told them that he had found out that his real father had been Angela's boyfriend in high school and they had all unwittingly rode to the restaurant in his car the previous night. He told them that the more he listened to Sharon and Rayanne's conversation, the more they seemed to repeat his father's name so there was no mistaking the fact that he was in fact Jordan Catalano's son. There was also no denying the fact that Rayanne Graff had been the only other person who had known the truth all along and that Jordan had no idea who he was. He told them that the longer he listened, the more betrayed he had felt but hadn't been able to put the phone down. He explained that Rayanne had told Sharon that she should forget about everyone else and speak to Edward first, before she spoke to Jordan or Angela or anyone else. He also explained that for the whole day, Sharon had seemed as if she wanted to tell him but that every time she started to speak she changed her mind and the words that came from her mouth were meaningless, about trivial things, and that the longer he stayed in the house, knowing the truth, while she continued to lie the more it hurt. "…so I just had to get out of there before I, like, snapped or something."

"You should speak to her. Make her explain." Amy said, still shocked at the revelation.

"I don't think I can. I mean, she tried to tell me, like, ten times today but she couldn't and each time I tried to say something to her, to let her know that I already knew the truth, but I just couldn't. I don't think I even want to look at her right now. I'm just too angry with her."

"She must be finding it really hard." Rebecca said

"She's finding it hard! Why are you taking her side? If you haven't noticed, I'm finding this pretty hard too."

"I'm not taking her side. I'm on your side, obviously." Rebecca explained, "It's just that she had to stick to the story for so long and now that she's being forced to come clean, it must be kind of rough. She's going to have to come clean with everyone, not just you."

"Yeah," Amy agreed. "Do you think she'll tell him? I mean, if she can't tell you, do you think she'll be able to tell Jordan?"

"I don't know." Edward admitted

"Well, if you can't talk to Sharon about it, maybe you should speak to him. Tell him yourself."

"I don't know, Amy. I mean, I've met the guy once by complete accident. I don't even know where to find him but, if I did, and I went to see him and told him I was his son, he'd tell me to get lost. He'd think I was completely insane."

"You don't know that."

"Besides, you'll never find out if you don't try." Rebecca added. "You said that Mike knew him, right? Maybe Mike will know where he lives."

"Yeah, maybe…" Edward said, sounding unsure. He didn't know whether speaking to Jordan Catalano would be the best solution or even what it was that he would say to him but the only other options were to confront his mother or do absolutely nothing. Confronting his mother hadn't worked so far and the thought of doing absolutely nothing seemed impossible. Making up his mind, he reached for his mobile phone and started to dial Mike's number.

It only took a few moments for Mike to verify that he did know where Jordan Catalano lived and he easily agreed to pick them up from the restaurant and drive them to Jordan's apartment without Edward having to provide the reason for asking the favour. However, as soon as they got into Mike's car, Edward's appearance was enough to spike his interest.

"Dude, what the hell happened? You look like shit." Mike stated, receiving warning glares from the girls for his lack of tact which he chose to ignore. "Jesus, who died?"

"No one. Just drive, man." Edward replied from the back seat. "We'll explain on the way."

Repeating the story seemed to help calm his nerves as they drove across town but it was obvious that Edward was still very much upset. This time around, Edward concentrated more on the facts rather than how he felt about the situation. Amy supposed it was the addition of another male to the party that changed things but male pride had always been a bit of a mystery to her. Factual or not, Edward's retelling of the story was enough for Rebecca to reach out across the back seat to him. From her position in the passenger seat and the angle of the rear view mirror, Amy had a perfect view of their joined hands and she couldn't help but notice the way they moved closer to each other as they continued towards their destination. Under different circumstances, she may have been annoyed, jealous even, at the thought of Rebecca coming between her and Edward. Now though, she knew that any petty disagreements or grudges they held were insignificant compared to what he was going through. If anything, she was glad that he had another person to rely on for support.

Mike pulled up in an empty parking space just as Edward finished his tale.

"Man, that's really heavy. You sure you want to do this?" Mike asked. Over the past six months, he had met Jordan Catalano a number of times. Tino always seemed to have at least five friends hanging out at his house at any one times. Some of them Mike wasn't too impressed with but Jordan Catalano had seemed like one of the good guys. Still, he was going to get the surprise of his life and Mike couldn't even begin to guess how be would react.

"Yeah, I think so." Edward replied, not sounding quite as convinced as he had hoped.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Amy asked, sensing his uncertainty.

"No, it's ok. I think I need to do this on my own."

"Okay. His place is about 5 stores down, above a bakery. You need to go around the side" Mike said as he pointed down the street.

He got out of the car and started to walk, leaving his friends in nervous silence. He hadn't got very far before Rebecca opened her own door and climbed out of the car.

"Screw this. You guys wait here. I'm going to go and make sure he's ok." she said before running to catch up to him. "You can tell me to go back to the car but I probably won't listen." she said, determined look on her face, as soon as she reached him.

Realising he could actually do with the support, Edward, just smiled and reached for her hand once more before he carried on walking. It didn't take them long to pass the window of the bakery and turn into the wide alley than ran down the side of the building. Edward wasn't sure what he had expected but he didn't expect Jordan Catalano to be right there, standing at the top of a flight of stairs. He also didn't expect for him to be standing next to anyone else. From Rebecca's reaction, neither did she.

"Angela?" She said in surprise, not quite believing what she was seeing. Not only was her older sister at Jordan Catalano's house but they were standing very close together and, unless she was very much mistaken, just about to kiss.

Angela jumped away from him as soon as she heard the familiar voice, aware that the action made her seem even more guilty than she actually was but she was unable to stop herself. She had been taken completely unaware, both by the effect that seeing Jordan Catalano would have on her and by the interruption. Jordan hardly moved at all. He just straightened up slightly. The movement was casual, as if he felt like he didn't have anything to feel guilty for and was completely unphased by what had nearly happened.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked, attempting to recover some form of composure.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Rebecca replied, temporarily forgetting their real purpose at the apartment.

"Don't take that tone with me, Rebecca. You're supposed to be at the restaurant with Amy. Does dad know you've left?" Angela replied, hoping that putting on an air of adult authority would be enough to avoid any awkward questions from the teenagers. "What about you, Edward? Does Sharon know you're here?"

"No, she doesn't know." Edward answered honestly, his voice sounding strange to his own ears. Now that he was face to face with Jordan Catalano, knowing his true identity, it felt surreal. It was like he wasn't really there but was watching it from afar and all the time his eyes were glued to Jordan, unable to focus on anything else.

"You alright, kid?" Jordan asked, remembering the youth from the previous night. He didn't know what was wrong but anybody would have been able to see that there was something wrong. To Jordan, the teenager seemed completely different to the boy who had sat in his car the night before.

"No, not really." Edward replied, forgetting all of the half planned openings he'd thought of using to explain his presence. Instead, he just blurted out the truth. "I think you're my father."

* * *

A/N- oh, the drama! Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

"What?" Jordan asked, unsure that he heard correctly

"I said I think you're my dad." Edward replied, trying to sound slightly more sure of himself. He was still staring at Jordan, searching his face for a sign, something to tell him that Jordan was going to accept the information as truth. Jordan stared right back but his face was unreadable.

"Edward, why would you think that? It's just, well it's just ridiculous." Angela stepped in. She had known Edward all of his life, baby sat for him on countless occasions and viewed him as part of her family rather than just the child of a friend. She knew all of his personality traits and she could tell that he really believed what he was saying but it was preposterous. It had to be because, in her mind, there was just no way that Sharon and Jordan would ever be together in that way. It just wouldn't happen. However, the fact that he was saying it and believing it meant that someone must have put the idea in his head. "Who would say something like that to you?"

"It's true! I heard her say it. I heard my Mum talking on the phone and she said.."

"You must have been mistaken, Eddie. I mean, there's just no way…"

"But, I…"

"No, Edward. Jordan couldn't be your father. He just couldn't ." Angela tried to reason.

"Why don't you let him finish?" Rebecca said, still suspicious of Angela's reason for being there in the first place. For someone who had know Edward since he was born, Rebecca couldn't help but feel that Angela was far to quick to dismiss his claims.

Grateful for Rebecca's support and desperately trying to keep his voice even, Edward found the courage to speak again. "She was on the phone to Rayanne Graff and I heard her say it. She said that Jordan Catalano, that that man right there, was my real father. They both said it."

Although he may have looked calm and collected, inside Jordan's mind was racing, fuelled by a mixture of panic, fear and disbelief. Could it be true? Could this teenager standing in front of him really be his son? He didn't know which was worse - the thought that he might actually be someone's dad or the thought that he had been completely oblivious to the fact that his son even existed for the last fifteen years. He wasn't ready to be a father. He didn't know how to be one. The example his own father had set wasn't exactly one he had ever wanted to repeat and where could he even begin to start being a father to someone who would be an adult in a few years time? As he looked down at the boy, a cold sense of certainty started to seep into his mind but part of him just wasn't ready to accept it and he couldn't help but look for a way out. If it really was true, then why hadn't he known. Surely, you would know if you had a child. Surely, someone would tell you. He had been back in town for just over 6 months now and no one had said anything to him. Back in town…the thought put his brain back in motion. He had been gone a long time and just because Edward had overheard somebody say something didn't mean it was actually true.

"Look, kid, I haven't been living here for twenty years so maybe you did hear wrong." Jordan said, trying to ignore the look of hurt on the boys face as he spoke. "I mean, I left a really long time ago. Too long ago and I've only been back for like 6 months so I've not been here."

It may have seemed like a reasonable argument but it wasn't exactly the vehement denial Angela had been expecting.

"But you were here." Angela said, unable to stop her voice from cracking at the end of the sentence. "You came back for your father's funeral, remember? You would have looked me up but someone told you I was on my honeymoon."

"Angela…I…" As soon as she said it, he knew that he would have no defence. It had happened in a time he had generally avoided thinking about but he remembered the night with near perfect clarity. In such a dark time in his life, that night stood out as something not exactly pure, but as something good. It had been something he needed. Something both he and Sharon had needed, at the time, but it was something he had always tried to push to the back of his mind. After all, if you didn't think about something, you didn't have to feel guilty about it and, after a while, you could fool yourself into forgetting completely. Self denial was an easy option to clear a guilty conscience but there was no way he would be able to deny any of it anymore.

"I got pregnant when I was on my honeymoon. So did Sharon." As she spoke, the corners of her mouth started to collapse and she knew that she was going to cry. There was a time when she thought she couldn't possibly shed any more tears for Jordan Catalano but he had been back in her life for less than twenty four hours and she knew that she had to get out of there because once she started, she wasn't sure if she would be able to stop. "My god, were there any of my friends you didn't sleep with?"

"Angela.."

"No, I..I have to go…" She trailed off as she backed down the stairs and away from him. As soon as her feet touched firm ground, she ran. In seconds, she was climbing into her car and driving out of sight.

"Shit!" Jordan exclaimed in frustration, angry that he didn't do more to stop her from leaving. He felt like punching something. He probably would have, even if it was just the wall he was standing next to, if it hadn't been for the two teenagers who were still standing at the bottom of the stairs, gazing up at him expectantly. "Shit." he repeated again in a lower voice. "Guess you'd better come in, or something"

Edward didn't need any further invitation. He eagerly climbed the metal stairs, pulling Rebecca along behind him, and followed Jordan into the apartment.

"Wow, it smells like warm bread in here." he said as he entered the apartment.

"Yeah, comes up from the bakery. I'm, like, constantly hungry living here." Jordan replied. He knew that he had to say something and a meaningless reply was easier than trying to put his thoughts in order and say something important.

To Edward and Rebecca, it was pretty much what they would expect of a bachelor pad. Three doors, which they could only assume were for the bedrooms and bathroom, led off the main room. There was a general living area with two tired looking sofas and a small kitchen area in one corner. Edward counted no less than six guitars in the room. Some were on stands while others leaned precariously against walls or bits of furniture. It was clear that more effort had been spent on the sound system than on actual home furnishings but, despite a few empty Chinese cartons on top of the kitchen worktop and what looked to be some kind of car engine part resting on the small dining table, it was relatively clean and tidy.

He had hardly sat down when Jordan tossed something in his direction. He caught it reflexively, not really taking in what he was holding until he actually looked at the object.

"Call you mother."

"No way.." Edward started to protest but was soon cut off

"Call your mother now. Tell her where you are." Jordan persisted, trying to put as much authority into his voice as possible. "Or I will."

In reality, the last thing he wanted to do was to call Sharon but he was completely out of his depth and he knew it. Listening to just Edward's side of the conversation, Jordan felt as if he were eavesdropping on something private that was really none of his business despite the fact that they were actually talking about him. It still didn't seem real and he wondered whether it would ever really sink in. Edward ended the call sooner than Jordan had expected but the result was what he did expected.

"She's on her way." Edward said sullenly. He had sought Jordan out because he wanted the truth to be known but now that his mother was coming, it all seemed too much. He didn't have any real plan as to how things would go but he hadn't expected to be forced to confront his mother so soon. He didn't think he had ever been so nervous at the thought of seeing his mum.

From her position on the sofa, Rebecca had a good view of both of them. Any doubt she still had as to Jordan's identity vanished as she looked at them. Neither one realised it but their postures were almost identical. As they sat deep in thought, they both started to chew on their thumb nail. In any other situation she might have found it amusing but their mutual nervousness and uncertainty was so palpable it seemed to make the air heavy around them.

Knowing that it would be torture for all of them to sit in silence while they waited for Sharon to arrive, Rebecca decided to break the ice by saying the first thing that had come into her head when she entered the apartment. "So, how come you have so many guitars? I mean, it's not like you can play more than one at a time."

Edward and Jordan unknowingly rolled their eyes at the same time. Only someone with zero appreciation of the guitar would ever think of asking such a question.

"Some are electric, some are acoustic. Some are made from different types of wood. They all have a different kind of sound" Jordan explained. He picked up the acoustic guitar nearest to him. "This one's a vintage Gibson. Got it last week."

"Vintage?" Edward asked, already admiring the rich colour of the rosewood

"Yeah. It was made in 1967. It's tone has really great depth."

Rebecca was already bored by the conversation but happy to see that it was having the desired effect. She watched with a small smile as Jordan held the guitar out for Edward to take. The awkward silence of a few moments before was soon replaced by the sound of strumming. It was as if the music has somehow allowed Jordan and Edward to forget why they were even in the same room and just be themselves. She didn't even pretend to follow their conversation about notes and chords, she was happy just to sit and watch.

They were still talking about music and Edward was still playing when they heard the knock on the door. Everyone knew that it would be Sharon standing on the other side and the room suddenly seemed full of tension again.

Jordan sighed and closed his eyes for a second before getting up, as if he was trying to mentally prepare himself for what was about to happen. He opened the door and came face to face with Sharon for the first time in sixteen years.

"Hey," he said, not sure how to start

"Hey," she replied automatically, just as nervous if not more so.

Just like him, she had spent the last sixteen year trying not to think about their time together. Even with the living, breathing reminder that her son was, Sharon had still managed to push the thoughts of that time to the back of her mind. However, the memory had been lurking there all along, just as it had for Jordan. As they looked at each other, the forgotten memories came flooding back as if it had all happened yesterday.

*_Flashback*_

_Sharon pulled her denim jacket tighter around herself as she took a step back from her father's grave. She didn't know how many times she had come with flowers since the funeral but it was something that she felt the need to do. Every time she came, she felt cold. Even today, with the July sunshine beaming down, she felt cold and she knew that she wouldn't be able to stay much longer. She never seemed to be able to stay more than five minutes at a time. Maybe that was why she felt the need to come so often. Maybe, when she could stand to look at his grave for more than five minutes she would be able to go a few days without needing to visit. Maybe it was a matter of quality rather than quantity, if you could class staring at the ground quality time. _

_She was half way to the exit when she saw him. At first she didn't recognise him as he stood at the side of a fresh grave. The flowers that were laid on the ground in front of him were the kind that got laid at a funeral rather than the small bunches she brought with her. Whoever was occupying that particular plot had died recently. Once upon a time she would have felt kind of sad for whoever it was and the people they had left behind but since her own father had died she was too numb in her own grief to feel anyone else's._

_As she got closer, she started to realise that the person she was looking at was none other than Jordan Catalano. In a place that must be filled with ghosts it was him that seemed like the phantom. Like some strange spirit that didn't belong. She wanted to run up to him and shout at him. How dare he even think of showing his face in town after what he had done. Who was he to think he could just come and go as he pleased, with no thought for anyone else? Part of her also thought why bother. What was done was done. There was no going back and as much as she thought he should apologise for his actions, it wasn't her that deserved the apology. That was definitely owed to Angela but Sharon didn't know if Angela would even want it anymore. Angela was in love. She had moved on and was celebrating life in a way that Sharon couldn't, past firmly behind her. _

_She might have just walked past him as if he wasn't there if it weren't for what he started to do. As she neared, he pulled a bottle out of a brown paper bag. Even from the slight distance, she recognised it as a bottle of Jack Daniels. That was thanks to her college days and far to many shots at parties. He unscrewed the top and took a large swig of the brown liquid. Then he titled the bottle and poured just as large an amount onto the fresh earth at his feet. To her it seemed wrong, disrespectful even, and she spoke up almost without thinking._

"_Hey! What are you doing?"_

_Jordan Catalano jumped slightly at the sound of her voice, as if he had thought he was alone and was embarrassed to be caught doing something he shouldn't have, but he made no effort to speak or put the top back on the bottle of liquor. _

"_You can't do that." She persisted. "It's, like, totally wrong."_

"_What's it to you, Chirski?" he asked, surprising her by the fact that he had recognised her so quickly. _

"_I don't know. It just seems wrong…" She tried again but there was no strength behind her words. "So, you're, like, crying?"_

_Rather than answer, he just turned away and walked to the nearest bench. As he sat down he took another swig of the whisky. He leaned forward slightly on the bench, arms resting on his knees, hands still gripping the bottle firmly between his knees. Anybody who saw him would sympathise completely but the feeling took Sharon by surprise. She was so used to feeling numb, holding her own emotions at bay, that to feel anything at all was a marvel and she found herself following him and sitting down next to him. For a while they sat there in silence, neither knowing what to say. _

_It was Jordan who spoke first. "It's my dad." he said simply as if that would explain everything. In a way, for Sharon, it did._

"_My dad's just a few rows over." she replied, and when he offered her the bottle he was drinking from she thought, why not? What harm would it really do to have a drink with Jordan Catalano in the cemetery where both their fathers were buried, even if it was the middle of the afternoon? "It's been about a month."_

"_It get any easier?"_

"_Don't know yet." she said truthfully. "People keep saying it will."_

"_So I was thinking…" he started but gave up almost straight away. "Nah, never mind."_

"_What?"_

"_Well, its just...I was kind of wondering whether she would …see me? I mean, if I looked her up while I was in town, if she would even, like, talk to me?"_

_He didn't have to say her name for Sharon to know who he was talking about. Under normal circumstances, Sharon would have shrieked at him for even thinking about Angela, never mind wanting to actually see her. After what he did, he didn't have the right to see her best friend and upset her all over again. However, she didn't have the energy to shout at him so she decided to just tell him the truth. "I don't know if she would see you or not, if she were here, but it's too late. I mean, you're too late. She got married last week. She's on her honeymoon."_

"_Oh," he said, and she couldn't decide if he was surprised or not. "She happy?"_

"_Yeah. I mean, I think so."_

_They lapsed into silence as they passed the bottle back and forth, both caught up in their own thoughts. Sharon wasn't sure what made her look at the contents of the bottle but, in the time they sat there, they had managed to get through over half of it. Normally, when she got drunk she felt it straight away but if she hadn't have looked at the bottle to check how much she had drank, she wouldn't have felt drunk at all. Knowing that she had to do something to slow down her intake of alcohol, she started to speak._

"_What was he like, your dad?"_

"_I dunno." Jordan shrugged_

"_He must have been like something? Tell me something about him?"_

"_What do you want to hear?" Jordan asked, angry at the question and the fact that she was making him think when all he wanted to do was forget. "You want to hear about how he taught me to play guitar and how he bought me my first car. Or do you want to hear about how he was an angry drunk who used to beat the shit out of me when I was a kid? That we've hardly spoke in the last few years. That he didn't care where I was or what I was doing."_

"_I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." She replied, confused at his mixture or harsh tones and obvious grief. He was visibly upset by his loss but it was almost as if he didn't want to be. "I'll go, leave you alone."_

"_No, don't. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you. Me and my dad… we had our rough patches but it wasn't all bad."_

"_It wasn't?" She couldn't imagine either of her parents laying a hand on her in anger. How could that possibly be anything but bad?_

"_Nah. It was just me and him, you know? Most of the time he just kind of let me do my own thing. It was only when he drank that things got tough. He was always sorry after, though. I mean, he'd get so mad at me but then he'd sober up and do something really cool to make up for it. He'd, like, buy me new strings for my guitar or teach me how to use the tools in his garage. Take me fishing or some corny crap like that and things would be really good for a while. Until the next bender, anyway."_

_Sharon didn't know what to say. The kind of home life he was describing was a million miles away from her own upbringing. At some point while he talked, he had lit a cigarette. The image of him smoking seemed timeless. She had never spent much time alone with him when they were in high school but, from the time he and Angela had finally become a proper couple until the time they graduated he was one of the people who always seemed to be around. He had always seemed quite, slightly aloof, like he had been too cool to just offer his opinion on whatever it was they had been talking about. A lot of the time he had just been there, smoking. She had often wondered how Angela could stand being around the smell of nicotene but she'd also sometimes wondered whether he smoked because the simple act of it gave him the excuse to just be quiet and kind of peaceful in the chaos that was high school. He'd certainly given no indication that he had, like, problems at home or anywhere else. Even when he and Angela argued and she obsessed over what had happened to make them fall out, he had always seemed strangely unaffected. Not that she was an expert on Jordan Catalano, or anything. She hadn't exactly put a lot of effort into giving him much thought at the time._

_He had almost finished his cigarette before he started to speak again._

"_You know what's really weird?"_

"_What?"_

"_He stopped knocking me around when I got old enough to, like, fight back. But sometimes I would do something. Stuff that I knew would get him really mad, really piss him off, just to see if I could, like, get a reaction out of him, or something. It was kind of like I was daring him to do it, you know? Because when he stopped knocking me around, he didn't have anything to make up for anymore and all the cool stuff we did together kind of stopped as well. I guess that sounds, like, really messed up."_

_Sharon wasn't sure how to reply at first. It did sound messed up. However, in a way she sort of understood what he meant. "My dad worked in the lumber trade. He was a really great guy, you know? Everyone said so. But he was a workaholic, always too busy to actually spend time with us. I mean, as a family. My mum was always telling him to take time off but he never did. I know it's so completely, like, different but I kind of know how it feels to be, sort of, ignored too."_

_They lapsed into silence again. Jordan wondered why he didn't feel uncomfortable and why he wasn't just getting up and leaving. He'd never been friends with Sharon Chirski. He'd never wanted to be friends. Truthfully, he'd always found her slightly annoying in high school. It had always seemed that whenever he and Angela had an argument, she would end up right in the middle of it. He had known that she had just been trying to protect Angela but it always felt as if she was passing judgement on him and always found him lacking in some way. He didn't know that she had issues or problems of her own. He didn't know that she was capable of just sitting and listening to what he had to say. He didn't know that she was easy to just be with. He knew he couldn't sit in the cemetery forever and he knew that he couldn't get drunk all on his own either. Mirroring his father's behaviour would be a little too close to comfort._

"_You wanna get out of here? Get a beer or something?"_

_She knew that she should make an excuse, that it would be a bad idea to go somewhere with him but she found herself nodding anyway. The need to not be alone was just too strong to give in to sensibility. It was still too early for the local bars to be open so she wasn't sure where he planned on going but when he got up and started to walk to the exit, she followed. It wasn't as if she had anything to do that afternoon and just going with the flow seemed easier than putting her brain in gear._

_Going with the flow was the reason she ended up in Jordan Catalano's house fifteen minutes later. Rather, his father's house._

"_Sorry, it's kind of a mess." Jordan said as he opened the back door and led her into the kitchen._

_Even though his father had died only a short time ago, the house already had an empty feel to it and although Jordan had been staying there, there was nothing to indicate that it had ever been his home. The kitchen and what she could see of the living room were devoid of any personal items and cardboard boxes were dotted around, some still open but the majority sealed up, as if he had been packing everything away. In her house, it was as if nothing had changed. All her mother had had to do was empty the filing cabinet in her father's office and return any important documents to her father's employer but here, it seemed as if an entire life was being erased from the house. Maybe it was better this way. With the house empty, there would be less reminders. There would be less expectation that he would walk through the door as if nothing had happened. _

"_What are you going to do with everything?" she said as she looked for a place to sit. Not wanting to move any of the boxes that were occupying the dining chairs, she decided to perch on the kitchen counter instead._

"_Not sure," he shrugged. As he grabbed two beers out of the fridge and twisted off the tops. "I'm putting it all in storage until I have more time to figure things out." _

_Sharon gratefully accepted the bottle he passed to her. It had been a while since she had drank straight whiskey, certainly the first time she had drank it from the bottle, and her throat burned with the sour taste of it. She knew she really should be asking for a glass of water or a coke instead but she didn't care. If Jordan could quite happily get rip roaring drunk in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, why couldn't she? She unselfconsciously titled her head back and closed her eyes, drinking nearly a quarter of the bottle in one go, thankful for it's refreshingly icy feel. "What?" She asked, as she opened her eyes and realised he was watching her._

"_Nothin', " he replied. In reality, he was thinking that her actions had been captivating in a way he hadn't been expecting. Even in high school, she had possessed curves in all the right places. It was a fact acknowledged by all of the boys in their year, including him, even if he didn't have any interest in her at the time. He was wondering if she realised that sitting on top of the counter had caused the thin fabric of her summer skirt to ride up slightly, exposing her toned and lightly tanned thighs. He was wandering if her skin would feel as soft and smooth as it looked. Deep down he knew that if he acted on any of these thoughts he would be taking advantage of her but the air of vulnerability her grief gave her just made her seem all the more enticing._

_Something about the gruff tone of voice told her he was definitely thinking something and as much as he seemed to be staring her straight in the eye as he spoke, she had the distinct impression that his eyes had been elsewhere while hers were closed. He broke the eye contact to take a drink out of his own bottle. Now that his eyes were averted for a second, her own eyes started to wander. She noticed how the material of his Ramones t-shirt stretched over well defined chest muscles as he moved but still hung loosely at his trim waist. She noticed how his eyelashes seemed long enough to touch his chiselled cheek bones. She felt nervous butterflies in her stomach and a strange sense of anticipation and she wondered if this was what Angela used to feel, once upon a time. Deep down she knew she shouldn't be capable of having these thoughts. He was Angela's, not hers and it was only their mutual grief that had connected them. She knew that if she acted on any of these thoughts she would be taking advantage of him but the air of defencelessness his grief gave him just made him seem all the more alluring. _

_She wasn't quite as good at disguising her roaming eye as he had been and by the time her eyes met his again he was already moving towards her in slow but confident steps. He stopped inches away from her and rather than reaching out to touch her, he rested his hands on the top of the counter either side of her legs, leaning in slightly but not all the way. She knew what he was doing. He was giving her a chance to back out or at least trying to convince himself that he was giving her that chance. Due to the height of the counter she was sitting on, their normal height difference was non-existent, their eyes were level and neither one of them seemed to be able to look away._

"_Hey," he said in a low voice, tilting his head marginally to the side._

"_Hey," she repeated breathlessly. Leaning forward, she closed the gap between them, invading his body space and giving him permission to invade hers_

_They met somewhere in the middle and the first kiss was tentative, testing the waters as if they both expected the other to jump away at any second. The second kiss was deeper, more confident but still more gentle than she had expected. The third kiss was more passionate, their tongues dancing over each other as their bodies moved closer together and from there Sharon lost count. Before she knew it her hands were buried in his hair while his griped her hips, pulling her towards him. Before he knew it, he was pushing her denim jacket of her shoulders while she reached down to pull his t-shirt off. Her t-shirt soon followed his to the floor and she couldn't remember when she had given in to passion in such a way before, so deeply and so completely. Any thought of stopping or even slowing down was completely foreign to her. He could have had her right there, and they both knew it, so when he pulled back Sharon immediately felt the loss of his touch. For a second her world collapsed under the weight of rejection and her eyes searched his questioningly, chest heaving with adrenalin, unable to speak._

_For a moment, his own heaving chest prevented him from speaking and he could only gaze at her intensely. Hands still gripping her hips, he pulled her even closer towards him. "Not here." he panted before lifting her off the kitchen counter as if she weighed nothing at all. Their lips met again as he carried her out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his bedroom. He laid her down just as gently as he had picked her up. They peeled off each other's clothes like a starving man would peel and orange, neither knowing when they had last given in to their carnal instincts with such utter abandon. Slowly, their legs tangled together and they became one being. _

_When Sharon woke up, the room was dark. At some point the afternoon had given way to evening and become night but she had no way to tell what time it was. It seemed as if every muscle in her body ached but in exactly the right way and just thinking about what they had done to cause that ache made her blush. She was lying on her side, the cool air of the room contrasting sharply with the heat of his body behind her. The effects of the alcohol had worn off and she felt the beginnings of a hang over starting to develop but her head hurt much less than she expected it to. As she lay there she wondered whether she should get up and sneak out but looking down the side of the bed she realised that the room was too dark for her to even guess where her clothes might be. As if he somehow sensed that she was awake, Jordan started to stir. He moved closer to her so that his chest rested against back and put his hand onthe curve of her waist. As he started to gently kiss the side of her neck , Sharon released a breath that she didn't even realise she had been holding. _

"_Thinking of going somewhere?" he whispered before nibbling her ear lobe._

"_No," she replied, unable to stop small moan of pleasure from escaping her lips. Any thought of leaving was now impossible. She knew that if she was no longer under the influence of alcohol, then neither was he. Neither of them would have the excuse of drunkenness this time around, but neither of them cared. Neither one thought of the consequences or the guilt they would feel after. Neither one thought at all. They just let their bodies do the thinking for them. If anything, now that they were both sober, it was even better, more passionate, more intense and although they didn't say anything aloud, when they finally collapsed, exhausted and spent, they knew that it was the best sex they had ever had. _

_The next time Sharon woke up, the room was flooded with daylight and his space on the bed next to her was cold. The feeling of hurt she felt at waking up alone took her by surprise and she was uncomfortably conscious of her own nakedness in the strange house. That she had briefly thought about sneaking away in the night was now forgotten and the fact that he had left her alone in his bed after the night they had shared made her feel humiliated. Gripping the sheets close to her chest in a vain effort to preserve whatever dignity she had left, Sharon sat up and looked around, trying to pinpoint the location of at least her underwear._

_She was still looking when Jordan came back into the room. His hair was slightly ruffled and he wore only a pair of jeans, belt hanging loosely, still unbuckled. In one hand he held a cup of coffee and in the other he held her t-shirt which had been left in the kitchen the night before. If he felt any awkwardness at the situation, he didn't show it. _

"_Oh, you're awake. I brought this for you." He said as he handed her the steaming mug. He received an uncomfortable half smile in response. Realising what she had thought when she woke up alone, Jordan tried to explain. "I would have stayed but Tino's going to be here in like an hour. He's letting me use his van to take stuff to the storage place._

"_Oh," Sharon replied. The feeling of humiliated abandonment quickly slipped away but she was still not quite sure what to say now that the real world was invading._

"_Yeah. Anyway, I'll let you get dressed." he said, putting her t-shirt on the bed and pulling one of his own from the wardrobe. "Bathroom's just down the hall if you want a shower, or whatever."_

_After finding all of her things, Sharon decided to take him up on the offer of the shower but tried to be as quick as possible. The last thing she wanted was to still be in the house when Tino arrived. It wasn't that she cared what Tino thought, it was just that she wanted to keep what had happened private. If anyone found out about what she had done then there would be the possibility of Angela finding out but, more importantly, she felt that other people knowing what had happened between them would somehow cheapen the whole thing._

_Sharon walked downstairs and found Jordan in the kitchen, taping up the last of the cardboard boxes._

"_That everything?" she asked._

"_Yeah." he replied. "Should only take a couple of hours to get everything in storage and then Tino's going to drive me to the train station."_

"_Well, I'd better get out of your way." she said with a small, bittersweet smile. "Time to get back to reality, I suppose."_

_She moved to the door, thinking that the conversation was over and that they had nothing left to say to each other, but as she pulled the door open, he spoke. _

"_Hey, Sharon." the sound of his voice made her pause in the doorway and as she turned around to face him he moved towards her. "Thanks."_

"_For what?" she asked, leaning back against the door frame as he raised his arm and placed it on the wooden frame above her head, effectively blocking her route._

"_I dunno. Just for being here last night, I guess."_

"_Your welcome." She managed to say before he leaned forward and they shared one last lingering kiss. It ended with them staring intently into each others eyes, foreheads together, neither one wanting to admit that in another reality what they had could have been so much more. _

_Jordan was the first to look away. He straightened up and took a step back. "Take care of yourself, Chirski."_

"_You too, Catalano". Knowing that the conversation really was over this time, she turned away and walked out into the sunshine. She walked all the way home, not looking back once. _

* * *

A/N - So, there you have the story of Sharon and Jordan. I've left the rating as it was because, personally I don't think there's anything graphic in there - It's mainly left up to you imagination so I guess in your own mind you can make it as smutty as you like lol- however, if I have managed to upset anyones delicate sensibilities, let me know and i'll upgrade it to an 'm'. Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N - Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. I'm sorry I haven't had time to reply to any individually for a while but they are a huge encouragement. I don't think i've ever had so much positive feeback before!

Anyway, new chapter is here finally. I seem to have given myself more characters than I know what to do with and put them all in seperate places which doesn't help so this chapter is broken down into 4 sections but timelinewise (if that's even a word!) it's all, like, happening at the same time. Thanks!

* * *

God, I am so low, Amy thought. Her best and oldest friend was confronting the man he thought was his father and going through what one could only describe as a life changing event but somehow other things had taken over as her main concern. She knew she should be worrying about what Edward was saying to Jordan Catalano and what he was saying back. She knew that it was her rather than Rebecca who should have jumped out of the car and followed Edward to Jordan's apartment. However, for some reason all of that seemed secondary in importance to the fact that she was sitting in Mike's car, alone with him for the first time. She wondered if he knew that part of his shirt sleeve was touching her elbow and she also wondered why she was fixating on something so trivial when what she should be doing was thinking of something to actually say to him. It wasn't as if they were strangers or if she had never spoken to him before. She had had thousands of conversations with him. The problem was that in each conversation there had been at least one other person present to either help get the conversation started or at least keep it flowing when her brain stopped working.

"So, urm, Edward said that it went really well last night. I mean, at Lets Bolt." She managed after what seemed like hours, although in reality it had only been a few seconds since Edward and Rebecca disappeared from sight.

"Yeah, it was awesome." Mike replied with a broad smile. "We were on right after Catalano so we were, like, really nervous. I mean he was doing this acoustic set which was kind of mellow but intense at the same time and the audience was, like, really digging it. Our sound is so different. Well, sort of louder and we weren't sure if they would like it as much. Anyway, we didn't need to worry because by half way through the first song we could tell that we were kicking arse. I mean, they like really liked us."

She smiled back at him, getting the gist of what he was saying but not concentrating completely on the actual words. It was impossible for her to completely focus on what he was saying when his expression was so enthusiastic and joyful. It was as if his eyes lit up at the memory alone. If his description of the set could be so captivating she wondered what she would have felt actually watching him on stage.

Mike didn't seem to notice her distraction while he talked but his last sentence brought her out of her daydream. "You really should have been there," he said, "To, like, watch me… I mean us…the band."

"I know." She said, as she tucked her hair behind ears, slightly embarrassed that she had been stuck in the car park. "We tried, Rebecca and me. The bouncer wouldn't let us in. No ID"

"I don't know why he didn't. I mean, we get in 'cause we're with Tino but girls normally get into places like that so much easier than guys. I mean, they normally let the hot girls in whether they've got ID or not."

Amy wasn't quite sure whether she had heard what she thought she heard. Did Mike just imply that he thought she was hot? The idea of it made her heart hammer away in her chest but she wasn't quite ready to believe that he could reciprocate her feelings in any way. Self doubt made her sure that she had misheard or at least misunderstood. "Yeah. I thought Rebecca would have had no problem getting in but that bouncer was a real hard ass."

"I wasn't talking about Rebecca."

"Oh," she replied. If she thought her heart was hammering in her chest before, now it was going warp speed. She knew that a goofy happy smile would slowly be spreading cross her face and she knew that if she looked at him she would go bright red. Unconsciously, she found herself reaching up to towards her hair, repeating the nervous gesture she had only just finished. Before she could actually touch her hair, something stopped her hand. It took her a second to realise that it was Mike, that he was actually holding her hand in his own.

"You already did that." he said, smiling slightly as he looked at her

"What?" Amy asked, not looking directly at him but looking at their hands instead as if she were being hypnotised by the small circles his thumb made against her skin.

"That thing you do with your hair, where you, like, tuck it back behind your ears, kind of like this" he said inching closer to her. Her breath caught in her throat as he reached out with his other hand. The back of his fingers brushed against her cheek as he repeated the gesture he had watched a thousand times, brushing her hair behind her ear. Rather than being the quick, fluid motion she made, his hand moved slowly, fingers tangling in her hair and stopped at her neck, his thumb resting on the corner of her jaw.

If anyone had asked her she would have said that she couldn't possibly have been inching closer to him at the same time. She felt like some kind of statue or like a rabbit caught in headlights, knowing what was coming but unable to move at all. To her it seemed that time had slowed down and the world outside his car had just faded away but conversely, time had also seemed to speed up somehow inside their own private bubble. She became acutely aware of the coldness of his silver thumb ring against her jaw compared with the heat of his skin and for the first time she saw the small flecks of green in his hazel eyes.

"Yeah, I guess I did…" she replied, voice barley above a whisper.

Before she could finish the sentence, his mouth captured hers in a slow, tender kiss. She didn't mind that she had been interrupted or that anyone walking past the car would be able to see them. In that moment, nothing else existed but the feel of his lips on hers. She had dreamt about this for months and now that it was actually happening she didn't want it to stop. She was so caught up in the moment that she didn't notice her mother's car pass them. Under normal circumstances the thought of her mother even knowing that she spent time thinking about making out with Mike would be bad enough. The thought that her mother might actually see them would be mortifying. However, even if she had have noticed her mother's car, she would have had nothing to worry about. Angela was oblivious to the fact that her daughter was in the same place at the same time. She was far too distracted by the swirl of emotions running through her to notice anything but what was directly ahead of her as she sped away from Jordan Catalano as fast as she could.

Amy wasn't sure when the change began but at some point the kiss had altered. At the start it had been slow and tender, sweet almost. Then it had deepened. He had let go of her hand and moved his own to the small of her back, holding her tightly while their tongues explored each other's mouths. Her own hand rested on the broad shoulders that she had stared longingly at during countless lessons, holding him just as tightly and she felt as if all of her lustful teenage dreams were coming true. Then the kiss deepened even more becoming passionate, urgent even, in its fervency. His hand was still at her back but had found it's way under her t-shirt so that the only thing separating it from her skin was the thin fabric of her bra strap. As he started to move his hand around her rib cage towards the front of her body alarm bells started to ring in Amy's mind. It was all too soon, too quick and the breathless feeling she had while kissing him was turning into one of suffocation

"Hey," she spoke up as she started to pull back. For a second it was as if he hadn't heard her. He just transferred his lips from her mouth to her neck. Torn between feelings of reckless excitement and overwhelming trepidation, she pushed him away. "Quit it!"

Mike returned to his side of the car while Amy straightened her top. Silence descended as they both tried to put their thoughts in order, not quite able to meet each other's eyes.

"I'm sorry.." Amy started, sure that she had ruined everything by rejecting him but also half wondering why it was her that was apologising and not him.

"No...whatever.." Mike interrupted. awkwardly "I mean, I guess I shouldn't have pushed it. It's just, well, I've kind of wanted to kiss you for a while now and it sort of seemed as if you wanted me to as well."

"Kiss, yes. But that, no." Amy replied. "I mean, you have to work up to that. You can't just go from first kiss to groping me in public in, like, two minutes."

"We're not in public. We're in a car." Mike said, risking a small, cheeky smile in her direction, hoping she would see the funny side of it and forgive him. The glare he received in return was enough to tell him that she was not amused. "You know what, just forget it. I knew there was a reason I didn't want to start this in the first place."

"Start what?" she asked, confused about his meaning but also about how her entire being could go from being so elated one second, to so hurt the next. She was sitting there still breathing more heavily than normal while he seemed to have moved as far away as the confines of the car allowed, sullen look on his face, as if it was her that had done something wrong rather than him. She knew that he was more experienced than her and she had known him long enough to know that the rumour about him and Kate Hammer in the orchestra pit during the talent show was one hundred percent true but did he have to make her feel as if she was some child who didn't understand anything?

He turned to look at her, really look at her, and she knew that whatever he was going to say would be important somehow. It would either clear the air completely or cause a rift in their friendship so wide it would be impassable. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the rear door opened and Rebecca climbed in. His words died before they could be uttered and rather than saying what was actually on his mind he just asked. "So, do you guys want a lift back or are we waiting for Edward too?"

"Can you just take us back to the restaurant, please?" Rebecca replied, sure that she had interrupted something but not quite sure what and now that she was sitting on the back seat it was too late for her to leave again. "Sharon's here so I think it's best we just leave them to it, you know?"

"Sharon's here?" Amy said, curiosity helping her to find her voice.

"Yeah. Jordan Catalano made Edward call her." Rebecca said, deciding to keep the fact that Angela had also been at his apartment to herself for the time being.

"So it's true then? I mean, it's like real?"

"Yeah. I guess it is." Rebecca replied. "I'm not sure if I did the right thing by leaving him there because it was really intense, in a strained kind of way, but I kind of figured it was sort of private. Like a family thing. I mean, a really weird family thing."

Mike started the engine and pulled out into the street. "I still can't believe it's Jordan Catalano. I mean, he's Jordan Catalano. He's not like … a dad."

"I guess he is now." Amy said, voice laced with concern for Edward

Rebecca recognised Amy's concern straight away. It matched her own apprehension but neither of them had any control over the situation. That was held firmly by the so-called adults. "He said he would call us, both of us, later tonight to let us know what happened."

The rest of the journey back to the restaurant was spent in silence. When they finally arrived, Rebecca climbed out of the car first while Amy hesitated, unsure if she should say something to Mike. Not that she knew what to say. She had no idea what to say to him at all. She had no idea whether he wanted her to say anything. He just sat, looking ahead through the windscreen. She counted to ten slowly in her mind as she worked up the courage to say something. she found herself tucking her hair behind her ears once again and as she did so he turned to look at her. It was as if the gesture took them both back, reminding them of exactly how their kiss began and how good that beginning felt. In that moment, everything seemed perfect. She felt like it was the perfect time for him to kiss her again, for him to anything her. He leaned towards her and her breath caught in her throat but the moment was broken as he leaned across her and opened her door.

"Well, I gotta go, so…later." He said, seemingly unaware of the thoughts running through her head.

She got out of the car without speaking, feeling as if she could murder him. She didn't even need to turn around to close the door. He just reached over and closed it behind her . In seconds, he was driving down the road and turning the corner.

"So, trouble in paradise already?" Rebecca asked, trying to keep her tone light. It was soon apparent that Amy was not in a jocular mood. "Amy, what happened?"

"Why do guys have to be …like guys?" She asked, rather than answering the question.

"I don't know. It's like sometimes they kind of forget they have an upstairs brain, you know?" Rebecca replied. Both girls knew that they had the ability to open up to each other. They both had the ability to have frank discussion on their feelings and experiences but they had spent so much time and effort maintaining their hostility that any mutual empathy still seemed alien. Their friendship was still in it's early stages, tentative at best, and as much as they both wanted to talk it just seemed too strange. "Guess we'd better finish cleaning up before my dad realises we even left"

"Yeah, guess so." Amy agreed as she followed Rebecca back into the restaurant.

* * *

"Hey, I'm home." Damon yelled as he closed the front door behind him and hung up his jacket. Rather than hearing a return greeting, he was met with silence. "Angela? Amy? Anyone in?" He continued to shout as he dropped his small suitcase at the foot of the stairs and made his way into the kitchen.

It soon became clear that the house was completely empty and he couldn't help but be a little disappointed. He had never liked going away for work conferences but sometimes it was an unfortunate part of the job. In a competitive industry, he just wasn't able to always put his family life above his work commitments. He supposed that he couldn't complain too much that his family was no where to be found. He wasn't expected home for another five hours and if he had phoned ahead to let Angela know that he had changed his flight rather than try to surprise her, she and Amy would have been waiting at home for him. As much as he had been grateful for being able to avoid the restaurant's anniversary party, he had missed his family in the few days that he had been away. The fact that the conference had been one of the most boring events he had ever attended didn't help matters much. Commercial property was definitely where the money was but designing office blocks had never really caught his imagination. Designing innovative residential properties was what he really loved but until he had enough experience and capital to go it alone, he would have to design whatever kind of building his employers were asking for.

Resigned to the fact that he would have to entertain himself until his family arrived home from where ever they were, he headed back to the living room and switched on the TV, sure that there would be a football match he could watch. As he sat, flicking through the channels, he could see the red light of the answer machine blinking in the corner of his eye. He tried to ignore it, not wanting to deal with the world again until Monday morning, but the more he tried to focus on the TV, the more it seemed to distract him. Giving in, he moved to the other side of the sofa and hit the play button.

"Hey, Angelika." Rayanne's familiar voice sounded. "I know I told you earlier that you should talk to him but, well, maybe I was wrong. I mean, it's not like I really ever gave you any good advice about Jordan Catalano. I mean, ever. So, whatever I said, just do the opposite or something. Call me when you get this."

Damon had no idea what Rayanne was talking about. However, it wasn't unusual for him to be completely dumb founded by something his wife's friend did or said. He would have dismissed the message as Rayanne being Rayanne if it weren't for the next message that started to play.

"Hi Angela, it's Sharon. I, urm, I guess you're not in but I really need to speak to you. The thing is… I mean… well, I kind of have to speak to you about Edward and, urm, sort of about Jordan Catalano. Anyway, I just really need to speak to you so call me when you get this message. Please, Chase-face. It's like really important."

Jordan Catalano. Two messages from his wife's two best friends, both mentioning the same person. Damon's interest was piqued but he had no idea why. The name seemed familiar somehow. It was as if he should know who he was but his brain just couldn't make the connection and provide him with a face that went with the name. The more he thought about it the more confused he became. He couldn't for the life of him figure out where he had heard the name before. Who the hell was Jordan Catalano?

* * *

Angela pulled over in an unfamiliar part of town. All she knew was that it was a quiet suburban street somewhere between Jordan Catalano's apartment and her own house. She felt like she should have kept going and driven all of the way home because all she wanted to do was climb into her bed, pull the duvet over her head and pretend that the rest of the world didn't exist for at least a few hours. However, the tears that blurred her vision and the visible shaking of her hands as she gripped the steering wheel forced her to stop.

She had barely switched the engine off before great, wrenching sobs took over her body leaving her slumped in the drivers seat, head resting against the steering wheel, oblivious to the fact that her desperate wail was audible outside of the car. Not that there was any one around to notice. The broad leafy street was quiet and serene. A perfect calm surrounding her private storm. She could remember the last time she had cried like this with perfect clarity. The last time had been when Jordan Catalano had left her all those years ago. Not when he first disappeared and she was still under the delusion that he would come back but later, when he had Shane relay his stupid, insensitive message telling her to stop looking for him. It was then that she had realised that although he may have loved her, he had never loved her in the same way that she had loved him. After talking with him at his apartment, she could kind of understand why he did it. At the time, he probably thought he was doing a noble thing. Pushing her away in order to set her free or something like that. In reality, it was just selfishness. He thought that he was going to lose her so it was easier for him to be the one to end things. He had forced himself to leave her, trying to convince himself that it was for the best so that, if they did eventually grow apart he wouldn't have to deal with the emotional fall out of a messy break up. The thought made her cry even more because, to Angela, it seemed as if twenty years later their messy break up had managed to catch up to them anyway only now it was messier than either of them could possibly have imagined.

She couldn't decide what was making her feel worse; the fact that she had been betrayed or the fact that if Rebecca and Edward hadn't arrived when they did, she would have become the betrayer. When she had gone to see him, her intention had been to discover the truth. She wasn't conscious of any ulterior motive or desire to do anything other than talk or at least that's what she told herself on the drive to 7th Avenue. However, it wasn't the thought of what he would say that got her out of the car it was the thought of how he looked. The way Jordan Catalano looked was what got her interested in him when she was fifteen and he was just as physically attractive now. She didn't need to look back with rose tinted glasses to see how beautiful he was. She couldn't believe that after all this time, she could still fall for it. She couldn't believe that he could still charm her just by being himself and that for a few moments she had forgotten the pain and misery that he caused her or the fact that she was now a happily married woman and mother. There was no denying that, if left uninterrupted, he would have kissed her and there was no denying that she had wanted him to. She had always been faithful and she loved her husband with every fibre of her being but for a few seconds Damon and Amy had ceased to exist. The whole world ceased to exist apart from him and if he had of kissed her, would reality have come flooding back or would she have been consumed, body and soul? Did thinking that succumbing to his advances would have been her fate make her just as bad as him or was the interruption from the teenagers enough to reprieve her guilty conscience? Was this how had Sharon felt?

The thought brought a new wave of tears and Angela's body shook with sobs once more. If there was one person she had always counted on, it had been Sharon. Sharon had always been loyal to her, protective of her even, and the thought that she would betray her in any way had never crossed Angela's mind. The only time they had ever fallen out was when they were fifteen and Angela had abandoned her oldest friend in the struggle to find her own identity. Even then, Sharon had still watched out for her and cared about her. She had easily forgiven her, becoming friends with Rayanne and Rickie in the process. Angela couldn't imagine what Sharon could have been thinking to have done something so atypical, so hurtful It just didn't make sense. Even worse than the act of betrayal was the thought that Sharon had continued to lie for all these years. Had she come clean straight away, Angela would have been hurt but she would have forgiven Sharon. She was sure that she would have been able to come to terms with it. Now, the weight of the lie, the pure size of it, was more than painful. It was agonising. How could she face Sharon again after this? For that matter, how could she face Rayanne? Had Rayanne known from the start? Was it some kind of secret pact they had to hide the truth from her? Angela couldn't help but think that she should have known or at least suspected. She had returned from her honeymoon to fanciful stories of a whirlwind romance which, while not completely out of character for Sharon, had seemed rather vague on the details. That Edward's father had been foreign student from France, in hindsight, seemed to have Rayanne written all over it but at the time she hadn't even thought to question the story. She'd been too happy in her own domestic bliss and, at the time, the fact that her best friend was pregnant at the same time as her and that their children would grow up together made it seem all the more perfect.

If Angela could go back in time she would have. She wanted nothing more than to deny the knowledge and go back into her safe cocoon where everything was familiar and predictable. However, that was impossible. She felt as if nothing would ever be the same again. For the first time in her entire life she felt friendless and alone.

* * *

Edward watched Rebecca leave the apartment and wanted nothing more than to call her back. The atmosphere in the apartment was stifling. It was clear that Jordan and Sharon had no idea what to say to each other but he felt that if someone didn't say something soon he would explode. For the first time in his life, Edward felt like he had a true identity. For the first time he was seeing his mother and his father in the same room. It wasn't that he had felt incomplete in some way before. Sharon hadn't always had the money to give him everything he asked for but she was a good mother. He had always felt loved and secure and he had been happy. He couldn't even say that he had felt different from the other kids in his school because that just wasn't true. Over half of his classmates had parents who were divorced or were never together in the first place so he had never been the odd one out. For Edward, it sort of felt that the last piece of the puzzle was falling into place, as if he could finally say 'I know who I am now'. It felt like an epiphany. However, it seemed as if Sharon and Jordan were far from experiencing the same kind of enlightenment.

They both stood facing each other, bodies tense and uncomfortable, not quite able to look at each other. At some point while Sharon was entering the room and Rebecca was leaving, Edward had passed the Gibson back to Jordan and he now held it across his chest like a shield while Sharon crossed her arms tightly as if she were trying to physically hold herself together.

"He really mine?" Jordan asked, wincing inside at the harshness of his tone but unable to prevent the raw emotion from showing in his voice.

"He has a name. It's Edward." Sharon replied defensively, barely holding her own emotions in check. "and yes. He is yours." Silence descended once more as both Edward and Jordan took in the admission. Edward's expression was expectant, betraying his hope that now that the truth was out they would all be able to move smoothly onwards while Jordan's was inscrutable. For a moment, Sharon was convinced that he was going to deny the past and call her a liar. "If you don't believe me, you can get a paternity test."

Jordan gazed wide-eyed at Sharon as if he was surprised that she would bring it up. It crossed his mind that he should as for one. He was sure that most men in his position was probably demand one but simply breaking eye contact with Sharon to really look at the teenager sitting on his couch for a few seconds, combined with the certainty in her voice was enough to convince him that it would be a waste of everyone's time and money.

"You should have told me." He said, trying to keep as much anger out of his voice as possible

"I didn't know where you were."

"That's a bullshit excuse, Sharon! Did you even try looking?"

"I didn't even know where to start!"

"You could have asked Shane or Tino.."

"Really? Like that worked for Angela when she tried to find you!" Sharon cut him off.

"That was different!" he shouted, "If you'd have told them you were knocked up they would have told you where I was!"

"And what would you have done?" Sharon shouted back. "Would you have come back from where ever it was you were? Given up your dreams of being a musician to come back and play happy families? I don't think so!"

"You don't know what I would have done because you never gave me the chance!" Even if he hadn't been shouting, there was no mistaking the enmity he felt. He was gripping the neck of the guitar so tight that his knuckles were white and his veins stood out against his triceps.

"Oh, come on Jordan! You wouldn't have come back and you know it." Sharon replied, pointing at him for emphasis, as she fought to control her own temper. "We weren't in love. It was just one night. It didn't mean anything. It was just a drunken mistake."

"Geez, thanks mum." Edward said but he may as well not have been there for all the notice the adults were taking of him.

"Right. A drunken mistake. Is that what you've been telling yourself all these years to make you feel better about what happened?"

"Like you think it was anything more!"

"We weren't in love. It was just one night." Jordan agreed. "But you weren't exactly complaining at the time and for a drunken mistake, I don't remember you being in a rush to sneak away once you'd sobered up."

The fact that he was speaking the truth made her all the more angry. She knew that he remembered the night just as she did but after denying the truth to herself for so many years, convincing herself that they didn't really have any connection, it was too much for her to be confronted with the facts. Deep down she knew that she would only be creating more pain for everyone involved but her next words seemed to be involuntary. "I couldn't wait to leave."

His eye's narrowed as he looked at her, unable to believe that she would continue to keep up the pretence. He wasn't offering any declaration of love or expecting one in return. He wasn't making it into something more than it had been but he didn't understand why she couldn't be forthright. Wasn't there too many lies already? Why were they even focusing on stupid recriminations and trying to hurt each other? Couldn't she see that she was the one at fault? With so many warring emotions going through his mind, it was impossible to him to take a step back, to calm down and think things through rationally. He put as much venom as he could behind his next words. "Maybe you should have."

To Edward, the shouting had been horrible but the low, bitter voices they used to utter their last sentences to each other were even worse. Any hope he had had for a good outcome was swiftly running out as they scowled at each other.

"Come on, Edward. We're going home." Sharon said, as if she had suddenly remembered he was even there at all.

Jordan stood to the side, looking at the floor, without saying anything at all, clearing their path to the door. Forlorn and dejected, Edward got up from his seat and followed her out but he knew that it was wrong to leave things in such a way. Now that he had found his father, he didn't want to lose him again before he even got the chance to know him. Before the door could close behind them, he went back inside. Jordan stood in the same position. The only difference was the look of surprise he gave Edward as he walked back into the room.

Without giving him the opportunity to speak, Edward reached for the notepad and pen that had been resting on the sofa he had sat on. He quickly flicked past what looked like scribbled song lyrics to the first blank page and started to write. "That's my mobile number. I mean, if you want to, like, call me or something. You don't have to but …" he trailed off. "Anyway, I gotta go so…later."

Seconds later, the door swung shut leaving Jordan truly alone. "Fuck!" he exclaimed to the empty room as all of the anger and pain he had been feeling fought for release. He only realised that the vintage Gibson he had been so proud of was no longer in his hands when he heard the wood splinter as it connected with the nearest wall. "Fuck!" he repeated in a smaller voice, taking a deep breath and trying to clam himself down. The whole day had been one long thing that made no sense and he no idea how to put any of it right.


	10. Chapter 10

Amy shoved bits of muffin into her mouth as she danced around the kitchen, desperately trying to find all of the things she needed for school. "Where's mum? Where's my lunch?" she asked, pushing text books and bits of home work into her battered backpack.

"She's in bed. She's not feeling well." Damon replied, slurping on his coffee while he also shuffled around the kitchen, pushing various bits of paperwork into his briefcase. "I'll give you some lunch money."

"The only food group the cafeteria serves is lard." Amy replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Well, here's some fruit." Damon pushed the fruit bowl in her direction and ignored the look of disbelief he received.

The pair nearly collided on more than one occasion as they tried to organise themselves in Angela's absence. The morning contrasted sharply with their normal routine. Most mornings were calm and controlled, flowing easily without any rushing or stress. Today, it seemed as if chaos had descended and they were both incapable of getting themselves ready to leave the house on time. If Damon had believed that Angela was really ill, the experience would have served as a reminder for just how much Angela did around the house to make sure their lives ran smoothly. However, today he was just irritated by the inconvenience he felt. He knew that she was faking illness but whatever was causing her malady, she wasn't ready to talk yet.

When Angela had arrived home the previous afternoon it was clear to Damon that she had been crying. As much as she tried to deny that there was anything the matter, her distress was clear in the way she greeted him. She had hugged him tightly, burying her head in his chest. As she clung to him he got the feeling that she was seeking some kind of reassurance or support but when he asked what had happened she just shook her head and gripped him even tighter. She had eventually let go of him but her refusal to talk about what had upset her had been steadfast. She had just changed the subject, asking him how the conference had been but he could tell that her attempt at normality was half hearted and she didn't really listen to his response.

So strange was Angela's behaviour that he almost forgot about the messages that had been left for her but when Damon did eventually remember and played the tape for her, her response only confused him even more. As Rayanne's message played her chin started to wobble and by the time Sharon's voice reached their ears, her mouth started it's telltale collapse. Damon reached out for her once more but before he could make contact, Angela took a deep breath as if she was fighting to stay in control. She composed her features into a blank mask and in an empty, distant voice she told him that she wasn't feeling well and was going to lie down in bed for a while.

A while had turned into all evening and even Amy's arrival home wasn't enough to bring her downstairs. Rayanne called the house once and Sharon called three times but each time the phone rang, Angela's response had been the same. She didn't feel well enough to come to the phone. The last time Sharon called, Damon asked straight out what was going on but her response had been evasive. He had even asked her who Jordan Catalano was but the question was met with a small sob and before he could ask anything else, Sharon had made some excuse to put the phone down and he was left just as bewildered as before. It had briefly crossed his mind to call Rickie to see if he knew what was going on but it seemed like that would feel as if he were going behind his wife's back somehow. If he did that it would be like admitting that his head was full of dark suspicion despite the fact that there was no evidence to suggest any disloyalty on Angela's part.

Amy had been no help in changing the mood of the house. Although she hadn't retreated to her bedroom like her mother, Amy had been quiet and distracted all night, checking her mobile every few minutes in a way that swiftly changed from mildly to acutely annoying, and just as reticent to talk about what was bothering her. Amy's mood seemed to have improved somewhat while she slept but Angela merely switched off her alarm clock, mumbled something about a migraine and then pulled the duvet over her head, refusing to face the day. Damon had no choice but to leave her there.

"Oh, god, I think I'm going to miss the bus." Amy said as she continued to race around the kitchen. "Have you seen my other shoe?"

"Try the dining room." Damon replied, as he continued in his own search for is car keys while worrying about whether he'd be able to make it to his morning meeting on time if he had to take Amy to school first. A quick glance out of the window showed him that he didn't need to worry about being late after all but the solution wasn't one he exactly liked.

"Looks like you don't need to take the bus. Mike's here." he said, trying to keep his disapproval out of his voice, as he watched Mike parking his rusting blue ford outside their house.

"What?" Amy asked, coming to the window herself. One look outside was enough to raise a smile on her face. He had never picked her up for school before and the fact that he had turned up without her even asking him had to mean something. Amy just wasn't sure what it was. Was he there because he wanted to talk to her about what happened the day before? If so, was it because he wanted to apologise for rushing things and ask for a second chance or was it because he thought their kiss was a huge mistake which shouldn't be repeated in any way, shape or form? She watched him turn off the engine with a mixture of fear and excitement before looking down at herself. That morning, she had been far to preoccupied with the fact that Edward had not called her to put into any thought into trivial things like her clothes. She would be the first to admit that she didn't have a great deal of figure to show off but the shapeless grey hoody and baggy jeans she was wearing were doing her no favours. "Oh God, I've got to change. Just tell him I'll be out in a minute."

Damon watched his teenage daughter run up the stairs with more speed and purpose than she had displayed all morning. "Just make sure you're not late for homeroom." He shouted after her before heading out of the front door. The last thing he wanted to think about was his daughter spending time in Mike's car. It was bad enough when he was upstairs in her bedroom but at least there was some adult supervision in the house. Also, he wasn't enjoying the fact that Mike just sat in the passenger seat, listening to rock music that was far too loud for the time of day, as if he was sure that Amy would join him sooner or later. When Damon was his age, he at least had the courtesy to get out of the car and ring the door bell. "Morning Mike." he said as he reached the car, barely ably to hide his annoyance.

"Mr Bradley." Mike nodded, barely audible over the music

"She'll be out in a minute."

"Cool"

With a small shake of his head, Damon climbed into his own car and left them to it. As he drove to work he just tried to remember to focus on his trust in his daughter rather than the complete lack of trust he had in the teenage boy she had decided to have a crush on. He also decided to maintain the belief that it was just a crush because the thought that his little girl was growing up and getting involved with boys was one that he wasn't ready to face, no matter how inevitable it was.

When Amy emerged from the house five minutes later, she had kept the baggy jeans but added a black studded belt and traded the grey hoody for a black fitted t-shirt and red and black striped elbow length gloves. It wasn't exactly a knockout outfit but it had a quirky, punk edge which seemed to suit her new hairstyle. If she hadn't been so full of nerves she may have noticed Mike noticing her but his appreciative gaze was lost on her. Before she could reach the car, he leaned across the passenger seat and opened the door for her.

"Hey."

"Hi. I mean, hey." she said as she fastened her seat belt and sat back.

As Mike started the engine and pulled away, she realised that something was slightly different. She was still as nervous as hell and just as excited to be alone with him but for some reason the pressure to speak, to actually make, like, conversation was absent. However, it was still a slightly uneasy silence that developed between them as he drove them the short distance to school. Taking the direct route rather than the route the bus took meant that they arrived at school earlier than Amy normally got there. Students were starting to arrive in droves though and the car park was quickly filling up. He turned off the engine but kept the ignition on so that the radio still played. The only sign that he thought it was time for them to talk was that he lowered the volume slightly. Surprisingly, it was Mike that started speaking first but the question he asked wasn't quite what she expected, even if it did make sense for him to be curious.

"So, did Eddie call you last night?"

"No. I sent him, like, three text messages but he didn't reply." Amy said. "When I called him, it just went to answer machine. Maybe we'll be able to catch him at his locker before homeroom, or something."

"Yeah, maybe." Mike replied. "So anyway, about yesterday… I mean, I.."

"No, it's okay."

"Yeah? I mean, I thought it through and I can see how you got upset about it."

"No, I wasn't upset." she lied. It wasn't even his actions that had upset her, it was what he said afterwards but how could she explain that to him?

"I mean, some girls wouldn't be but you're not like that so I just wanted to say that I'm, like, sorry."

"No, it's really ok." Fear of rejection or sounding stupid prevented her from finding the words to express herself but if she didn't say something then she felt as if nothing else would ever happen between them. Even after just one make out session, she wasn't sure if she would be capable of going back to being just friends with him. "I mean, when I said that I wanted you to kiss me I was telling the truth but I just…I just don't think that it's something you should rush. I mean…I know that basically nothing happened, not really, but it could have and I just think that that's the kind of stuff you should take your time over so you can, like, appreciate it properly, or something. I mean, in my humble opinion."

"Yeah, I kind of get that…"

"You do?"

"Yeah."

They smiled shyly at each other, knowing that they could be on the edge of something fantastic. The look in his eyes gave Amy butterflies in her stomach and she unconsciously lifted her hand to brush her hair behind her ears. He didn't stop her like he had the previous day but his eyes followed her hand, making her realise what she was doing. When he met her eyes again, his shy smile had turned into a lopsided grin and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

"So, if you wanted me to kiss you, does that mean that you still do? I mean, if I kissed you again, you wouldn't be, like, repulsed or something?"

Amy could feel the warm glow of her blush rising up her cheeks but it didn't stop a small glint of mischief entering her own expression. "Well, not completely repulsed." she replied, surprised at the husky tone her own voice had. Suddenly, it didn't seem to matter that they were in public. Hell, we are in a car after all, she reasoned.

"That's good to know." he said and for a second she thought he was going to lean in but the moment was broken as the bell rang, warning them that homeroom would be starting in ten minutes. "Guess we'd better head in." he continued as he turned the engine off and got out of the car as if nothing had happened. For the second time in twenty-four hours she felt as if she could murder him but she had no choice but to get out of the car as well and follow him inside.

As soon as the reached their lockers, Rebecca joined them.

"You seen Edward? He didn't call me last night."

"No, me either." Amy answered. "You think he's ok? I mean, if it was good news he would have called right?"

"Yeah." Rebecca agreed. "I keep imagining all this horrible stuff. I mean, he has actual personal trauma. He needs his friends. Anyway, I've got to go to homeroom so guess I'll see you in English" She moved back to her normal group of friends and followed them down the corridor, worry etched onto her features.

"Chicks," Mike muttered under his breath. "He'll turn up for school eventually. No way Sharon will let him skip even if he has got personal trauma, or whatever, and you can find out what actually happened instead of, like, obsessing over it."

"We're not obsessing. We're just, like, concerned." Amy said, as she closed her locker and leaned back against it. "I mean, aren't you concerned? Aren't you wondering where he is?"

"I dunno." he replied. In truth, he was concerned but until they actually saw Edward, what was the point in worrying. To his mind it was much easier to concentrate on what was directly in front of him rather than get side tracked by all of the what-ifs. At that moment in time, what was in front of him was Amy, looking sexy despite the worry lines across her forehead. Without pausing to think he, reached out and tilted her chin so that she was looking directly up at him. "Stop worrying." he whispered. Headless of the few students who were still straggling on their way to class, he leaned forward, the weight of his body pushing her back against the lockers, and placed a slow, soft kiss on her lips. Compared to the previous day, it was practically chaste but it was enough to send shivers down her spine and for a few moments any worries or concerns, actually any thoughts at all, disappeared. He pulled away as the second bell rang. "See you in Katimski's." he said before turning away and walking to class.

Despite the fact that she knew she was now going to be late for the second time in a fortnight, Amy didn't care. For a few seconds, all she could do was stand where she was, and try to recover. When she felt able to breath again, she walked to homeroom feeling as if she was in a daze. Who knew that once her hair stopped holding her back, her life would start to get this good?

*****

Edward knew that he looked conspicuous walking down the street surrounded by adults going to work, no where near an actual school but apart from the odd second glance, none of the strangers bothered to question why he was there or what he was doing. It wasn't the first time he had cut class but cutting class generally meant hanging out under the bleachers with Mike and the rest of the band or, more lately, in the boiler room with Rebecca. This was the first time he had dared to leave the school grounds but it was something he felt the need to do. There was far too much stuff on his mind to be able to concentrate on school.

After Sharon had taken him home the previous night, he wasn't sure what to think. He still wasn't. To a degree, Sharon had explained who Jordan Catalano was, the fact that he had been Angela's first love and that their time together was something that had just happened without forethought or any realisation that it would have any consequences. Much to Edward's disappointment, she made no apology for lying to him and everyone else about who his father was. She just maintained that at the time she had thought it was the best thing to do and it was clear that if Jordan Catalano had not come back to town, she would never have told him the truth. To Edward, she seemed more upset that Angela had been at Jordan's apartment and already knew her secret than she did about Edward knowing. She didn't seem to want to talk about what it meant to him to finally know the truth or how Edward could go about forming some sort of relationship with his father. Her opinion was that they were doing ok on their own. They didn't need Jordan to come into their lives. Deep down he knew she was just upset and scared but so was he and she was supposed to be the so-called adult. She was the one who was supposed to show him the way forward but it was as if she wanted to go back in time and stop the truth from coming out. Until a few short hours ago, Edward would have felt the same. They were doing ok on their own and he didn't need a father. However, just because he didn't need a father didn't mean he didn't want to get to know him.

He had spent the whole night expecting Jordan to call him or text him or something but every time his phone rang or beeped it was either Amy or Rebecca trying to reach him. He knew that they would be worrying about him but there were so many different emotions and thoughts running through his head that he couldn't face talking to them quite yet. He felt as if this was something he would need to sort out on his own and that is why he found himself standing outside a small music shop at nine am on a Monday morning when he should have been taking attendance at Liberty High. The sign above the window read Back Alley Music and the instruments on display were all impressive. The sign hanging on the door said 'closed'. The blind behind it prevented him from seeing into the store but the opening hours were on display and he knew that it would open at any second. He'd been in the other music stores across town on numerous occasions and he knew that this store wouldn't be that much different. It would stock the same kind of things and the employees would be more passionate about music than their actual jobs. It was a familiar world but that familiarity did nothing to allay his nerves. What if the reason Jordan had not contacted him was because he didn't want to know him? What if he couldn't care less about the fact that he had a son and just wanted to carry on his life the way it was before? As self doubt started to take over, the sounds of locks being clicked back could be heard from inside the store. It was a fight or flight moment and without being conscious of making any decision, Edward's body chose flight. As the door opened, Edward's feet were already pounding against the pavement, taking him as far away as possible.

By the time he made it back to school, second period was just about to start. He made it to English just as Mr Katimski was about to close the door and start the class. Although his late entrance gained him a rambling explanation on the importance of punctuality, it did mean that he didn't have to explain himself to Rebecca or Amy quite yet. That didn't stop them from gazing questioningly at him or passing notes his way asking him where he had been and what had happened. Luckily, the girls were not as sneaky as they thought and their actions did not go unnoticed.

"Amy Bradley and Rebecca Chase." Mr Katimski. "If you pass any more notes, I'll have to ask you to stand up and …read them… aloud. I don't suppose they'll be as interesting as William.. Urm Shakespeare, though."

One warning was enough to stop the notes flowing in his direction and gave him the perfect excuse not to answer but once the class was over, he made it as far as his locker before they were able to corner him. Even Mike joined them rather than skipping out to take his usual 3rd period smoke break, although he held back slightly, watching the conversation rather than taking part.

"So, what happened?" Rebecca asked, being the first to reach him.

"What do you think happened?" Edward replied, the overcrowded feeling they gave him immediately turning into defensiveness. "They yelled at each other and then my mum made me go home with her."

"But what did he say? I mean did he tell you what he's going to do?"

"Yeah. I mean, you are going to like, see him again, right?" Amy asked.

"I dunno." Edward admitted. "It's all a bit weird, you know? I guess I'll just have to wait and see whether he calls me or something."

"Why don't you just call him?" Amy suggested

"Yeah, right. You should totally call him." Rebecca agreed.

"Look, I don't want to discuss Jordan Catalano right now, Okay."

"Why not?" Amy couldn't imagine anything this big happening to her and not wanting to talk about it. It would be all she could talk about.

"Is he, like, freaking out and not wanting to deal?" Rebecca asked, fearing the worst. "Because if he is, well, who is he? Who is he to treat you like that?"

"Look, I can't just call him ok. It's not that simple." Edward replied, shutting his locker with a bit more force than was necessary, making it clear just how frustrated he was at both the situation and the interrogation he was getting.

Luckily, the bell rang at that moment indicating the start of the next class.

"Guess I'd better get to Spanish." Rebecca said, hoping that Edward would ask her to cut but if the thought crossed his mind he didn't voice it.

"Me too.." Amy's voice displayed just as much enthusiasm as Rebecca's. She knew there was more that Edward wasn't telling her but she didn't know what. "You guy's coming."

"I don't take Spanish." Mike said, speaking up for the first time and ignoring the fact that, although it may not be Spanish, there was a class somewhere that he was supposed to be in.

Edward simply shook his head and leaned back against his locker closing his eyes. Mike waited until the girls were turning the corner at the end of the corridor before he spoke again.

"So where were you this morning, man?"

"Didn't feel like school, I guess." Edward replied. He didn't want to admit that he had gone to see Jordan but had bottled out at the last minute.

Mike just nodded, but whether that was because he believed what Edward had said or that he knew that it wasn't the time to ask any further question, Edward was unsure. "I'm going out for a smoke. You comin'?"

"Yeah, sure." Edwards agreed. He didn't smoke himself but the school seemed far to claustrophobic for him to stay inside. He needed the fresh air, even if it did mean passively smoking Mike's cigarettes because there was no way he was going to make it through the whole day in school.

They walked out of the building in easy silence and neither one spoke until they were under the shade of the bleachers and Mike had lit up.

"So, I sort of kissed Amy." Mike said in an almost casual way.

"You did?" Edward couldn't say he was completely surprised but he thought that it would have been Amy who told him first rather than Mike. "You two, like, an item now?"

"Nah. I mean, I don't know. Maybe. See what happens, I guess."

"Right." Edward replied, inwardly smiling at Mike's uncertainty. It was a sure sign that he liked Amy just as much as she liked him even if he wasn't ready to say it out loud yet. "Just remember, dude, you hurt her and it'll be me that she expects to break your face."

"Like you could, Chirski."

"I could kick you ass, man."

"Yeah. In your dreams"

"Whatever, jerk."

After a few minutes of trading insults, the boys fell into comfortable conversation and spent the rest of the hour discussing their band before heading back inside for the rest of the school day.

***

Jordan sat in Red's front seat staring at the building he had spent all of his teenage years trying to escape. School had always been a struggle for him and he spent so much time at Liberty High not understanding why that he had almost dropped out on a number of occasions. It had taken Angela Chase to make him realise that it was worth sticking at and it had taken Brian Krakow to make him realise that it wasn't his fault that he didn't seem to be able to keep up with the other kids all of the time. His dyslexia was something he would never be able to get rid of but at least now he understood why letters and words seemed all jumbled up and there were things he could do to minimise it's effects. Still, he never thought he'd be actively going back to the place that he had hated so much, even if it was just the car park.

He had had to drive across town to meet with one of Back Alley Music's suppliers and it wasn't exactly going out of his way to drive past the school but it wasn't the most direct route back to the store either. He had tried to tell himself that the fact that he would be passing the school just a few minutes before the final bell was just a coincidence but when he actually pulled over and stopped he had to face that he was there for a reason. Somewhere in that building was his son. Somewhere in that building was a boy he didn't know but who he felt the need to get to know, even though that need scared him to death The problem was he didn't have any idea how to go about it. Edward obviously wanted to get to know him too or he wouldn't have left his mobile number but, despite the number of times he had started to dial, Jordan had not been able to get as far as hitting the call button. He just didn't know what to say or what Edward expected of him. He wasn't used to having these kinds of obligations or responsibilities. He supposed that he should try talking to Sharon again but he wasn't ready to face her. He was still too angry with her and knew that any attempt to converse with her would end up in more shouting. However, he was also aware that, of all people, she would be the one who would have ultimate control of the situation. She was Edward's mother after all.

Sitting in the car, Jordan felt as lost has he had done back in freshman English. All those years ago, he had coped by sitting in the back of the class, feigning boredom over confusion and trying not to get noticed while being secretly terrified that someone would figure him out. Maybe if it had been a different school or a different town he would have been able to take a different approach but old habits died hard.

"Screw this." he said as the bell rang and panic set in. He turned the key and stared to drive. By the time the first students started to exit the building, his red Plymouth was long gone.

* * *

A/N. Thanks for reading, please r&r


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far - here's Chapter 11. Hope you enjoy. ~LJ~

* * *

"Hello," Ricky said after picking up the phone. He felt like it had done nothing but ring for the past few days as Rayanne kept him up to date on everything that was going on at home.

"Hi, it's me."

"Angela, hi. Urm… how are you?"

"Oh, you know, kind of terrible actually," Angela replied. "So, have you spoken to Rayanne recently?"

"Yeah, she called me a few times," Ricky said, letting her know that he knew exactly what was gong on in Pittsburgh. "I didn't know about Sharon and Jordan until Rayanne told me."

"I know." In reality, she hadn't been one hundred percent sure. Her biggest fear was that they had all been in on the secret and that she had been the only one who didn't know, that she had been an innocent twit. It was a relief that she had not been the only one they lied to.

"Well, from what Rayanne told me, which was everything, Sharon's really upset about the whole thing."

"Sharon's upset! What about me, Ricky? I mean, even if it was possible for me to forget that she slept with Jordan Catalano, the fact that she had his child and then lied about it is just completely undefendable. It's all I can think about Ricky. I'm, like, being consumed by it. I could kill them! I'm serious! All three of them…with my bare hands."

"I know but you can't hide from them forever."

"I'm not hiding." Angela lied

"Really? Then why haven't you been taking their calls? Rayanne even went to your office to see you yesterday only to have someone tell her you were ill."

Angel, said nothing. She merely signed into the phone.

"I know, well, I mean I can imagine how you feel, but you see, I can also see it from Sharon's side and Rayanne's side, and from my own side. Not that I have a side." Ricky knew that Angela was suffering and that she had reason to but he was enough removed from the whole situation to be able to take in the bigger picture.

"I'm just so mad at her. Both of them. I mean, if Rayanne can help keep something like this from me then I don't think she was ever really sorry for betraying me herself or that she was ever really my friend. I mean, in my humble opinion."

"Of course Rayanne was your friend. She still is but she's Sharon's friend too." Ricky reasoned. "I haven't spoken to Sharon but it's like Rayanne thought she was doing the right thing. Like she was protecting Sharon, or something."

"Protecting her?"

"Yeah. I think that Rayanne could remember how long it took for you to forgive her after her and Jordan…"He trailed off for a moment, realising that reminding Angela of their friend's past indiscretion would hardly help his argument. "Anyway, my point is she knew what it felt like to not be friends with you and how lonely she had been. She knew that Sharon was scared and that she would need you. So, in some screwed up way, she thought she was doing the right thing by helping Sharon."

"What about Sharon? Did she think she was doing the right thing when she jumped into bed with Jordan?"

"I don't know why Sharon did what she did." Ricky admitted. He had never been as close to Sharon as he had to Rayanne and Angela. "but from what Rayanne said, it wasn't planned or anything. I mean, she didn't intend to hurt you like that."

"Yeah, well she did." Angela said, fighting to remain composed. "God, I must be so stupid. Why didn't I ever see it? I mean, Edward was here last night after school and it was like I was seeing him for the first time. I mean, he looks like Jordan and all I wanted to do was tell him to leave but I couldn't because he's just a kid and none of it is his fault. I mean, I've known him so long he's practically family."

"Oh, Angela…" All Ricky wanted to do was fly home and pull her into a hug but he could only hope that the tone of his voice would be enough to convey his sympathy.

"You know who I feel most sorry for?"

"Who?"  
"Damon. He's just so confused about what's happening and I just don't seem to be able to talk to him about it."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I just never told him about me and Jordan and.."

"You didn't tell him?" Ricky interrupted, "Like ever?"

"No," Angela admitted. "I loved Jordan Catalano so much and talked about him so much it was like he lived inside me, like he had possession of my soul or something. Even after he left, it took me so long to put everything behind me that I promised myself that I would never think or talk about him ever again just so I could feel completely free. So whenever Damon asked about past boyfriends, I just didn't tell him. It felt like, if I did tell him about Jordan Catalano, then it would be a permanent shadow, or something, on our relationship."

"I never realised. I mean, you always said that Damon was perfect because you got sex and conversation all in the same person. I thought you talked about everything."

"We do but just not about this. I mean, I've always been able to talk to him about anything else but when it comes to this it's like I'm incapable of doing anything but shutting him out. He knows there is something seriously wrong and I know that the way I'm behaving is hurting him and that's the last thing I want to do."

"You should speak to him. You should speak to all of them."

"I can't. It's too soon, too raw."

"What are you going to do then?"

"I don't know. Try to find something to distract me from having to keep thinking about it until I am, like, capable of having a rational thought about the whole thing." Angela knew she was taking the cowards way out but she just didn't see an alternative that she would be able to cope with. There was so much more she could say to make Ricky understand her need to keep it at a distance but letting him know that she still held feelings for Jordan Catalano, that she had almost kissed him, however fleeting that attraction had been, was another conversation she just wasn't ready to face. "Look, can you just tell Rayanne not to call for a while. Sharon too. I just need some time, you know?"

"Ok, I'll pass the message on, "Ricky agreed reluctantly. He didn't think it really a solution but he couldn't make her face them if she didn't want to. "Anyway, I've got to go or I'll be late for work. I'll speak to you soon.

"Ok. Bye, Ricky."

* * *

When Shane had given Sharon the ultimatum to tell Jordan about Edward, he had thought it was the right thing to do. Now, however, he realised that he had made a mistake by not giving her a time limit or asking her to let him know once she had spoken to Jordan. Since Sunday he had just been waiting, not knowing what was happening or whether she had taken any action. When he did try to phone her, she refused to speak to him at all and, so far, he had been avoiding Jordan because he didn't want to tell him before she did. However, he couldn't wait any longer. He simply had to know whether Jordan knew the truth. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to bring up the subject but he had to at least try. Deciding there was no time like the present, he drove to the Jordan's store as soon as he finished work.

"Just sort it out, Jordan!" a pretty, smartly dressed, petite African-American woman shouted as she pushed past Shane on her way out of Back Alley Music. Whatever Jordan said in response was mumbled under his breath but he was looking far from happy as he stood behind the counter.

"Do I know her? She looks kind of familiar." Shane asked as he watched the woman leave, grateful that there didn't seem to be any customers hanging around.

"Yeah, that's Abyssinia. She was in school with us."

"So are you and her…?"

"Nah, man. Get your mind out of the gutter." Jordan said with a small smile. "She's my accountant. Think she's single though. You want her number?"

"Sure, why not?" Shane replied as he took the offered business card, figuring that the chances of Sharon agreeing to go out with him again were slim to none. "She sounded kind of pissed off for an accountant."

"Yeah, well she doesn't like my filing system." Jordan gestured to the two cardboard boxes on the counter which contained all of his business invoices and receipts. "It's not like I lost anything. I mean, it's all in there."

"Yeah, just not in any order known to man," Shane said as he looked through the first couple of layers of paperwork in the box closest to him. "You need a hand sorting it out?"

"It's ok. I'm going to, like, get it started now seeing as business is pretty slow today. Should be able to finish it tonight."

"Ok but the offer's there, man." Shane had a feeling it would take Jordan a lot longer than one night to reorganise his system but he'd known Jordan long enough to know when not to push.

"So, I take it the hot date you had on the weekend didn't go so well." Jordan said, reminding Shane of why he was there. "I mean, if you're going to ask Abyssinia out too?"

"Started off well but then kind of went down hill." Shane admitted. "Did I, urm.. Did I tell you who I was going out with on Saturday?"

"No, you just said you were taking some chick out and that's why you wouldn't be at Lets Bolt for open mike. Why?"

So far, nothing Jordan had done or said indicated that he knew about Edward. However, Shane knew that that didn't necessarily mean he was still in the dark. Jordan had always been the kind of person who, if asked a direct question, would tell you the truth but he wasn't exactly known for being chatty and he had always kept a lot of things to himself. That was especially true of anything he was having problems dealing with. However, if he didn't know, Shane didn't want to be the one to tell him. He still thought that it should come from Sharon. The only solution he could think of was to say her name and see what reaction he got. "It was Sharon. Sharon Cherski."

"Oh," Jordan said

Seeing as he didn't continue, Shane had no choice but to try again. "Yeah, we were at that restaurant. You know, the one you dropped those kids off at."

"Oh," Jordan repeated. He hadn't realised that Shane had been there but at the time the only person he had really been looking at was Angela. Shane looked at his friend, frustrated at Jordan's response and his blank expression. For a moment he didn't think that Jordan was going to say anything else but slowly he began to speak. "About Sharon.. see I kind of found out something. You know that one of those kids is hers, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well…I found out that her kid…Edward…he's, like, mine."

Both men gave a sigh of relief. Jordan had not confided in anyone and keeping the knowledge to himself while he tried to figure out what to do had been driving him insane. It felt good to actually say it aloud. Shane was grateful that Jordan already knew. He hadn't been looking forward to confronting Sharon and pressuring her to come clean again.

"So, you and Sharon, huh? I wouldn't have asked her out if I knew I was stepping on anyone's toes."

"No, it's not like that. I mean, it was just this one time thing. We never had any real interest in each other before but it just sort of happened and now everything's all messed up."

"What happened?"

"I blew it, man. Sharon hates me and Edward probably hates me too." Jordan leaned against the counter looking morose. "Angela Chase definitely hates me."

"What's it got to do with Angela?" Shane asked, receiving a pointed look in answer. "Well, I know you two have a past and everything but that was like high school, man. Also, she's Angela Bradley now so I think she's moved on. You should too."

"I know. I mean, I have but its like we've got unfinished business, or whatever. She came to see me on Sunday."

"She did?"

"Yeah."

"So? I mean did you and her, you know?"

"No. Nothing happened." Jordan replied. It was true, even if it wasn't the whole truth. Just because nothing had happened in actuality, didn't mean they hadn't both wanted something to happen in their hearts. When they had been talking he had come to the realisation that she would still sleep with him and part of him would have done anything, he wanted her so much. But how could he explain that to Shane when he was having such a difficult time rationalising it himself? It wasn't as if he had spent the past two decades pining away for her. Why did she still have this hold over him even through they hadn't been in contact with each other for so long? Not that they would come into contact again. He couldn't imagine her ever wanted to be in the same room as him again, let alone the same bed. "Nothing's going to happen. Edward turned up at my place while she was still there so she, like, knows. Then Sharon came over and we, kind of yelled at each other and that's pretty much it."

"So, what now?

"I don't know. I mean, Edward left his phone number but I haven't called him yet."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. It's, like, hard to know what to say to him." Jordan admitted.

Shane didn't really know what advice to offer. He had never been in a similar situation and he would be the first to concede that he was no agony aunt. All he could think of was to suggest they find some common ground. "Well, he plays guitar, right? Just talk to him about music and stuff"

Jordan nodded, thinking back to the conversations he had already had with Edward. When he had given the kids a ride, he and Edward had talked the whole way about different bands and when Edward had been in his apartment waiting for Sharon to arrive, their conversation about guitars almost made him forgot the gravity of the situation.

"Just call him. The longer you leave it the harder it'll be." Shane proposed. "And don't let the whole Angela thing get in the way. I mean, it's like two completely separate things"

"Yeah, I will call him, like, tonight."

"Great," Shane said with a smile, feeling like he had done his good deed for the day. "Anyway, I've got to split. I was supposed to be at Tino's, like half an hour ago."

"Ok, Later, dude." Jordan was grateful for Shane's suggestion but he was still uncertain about how to go about it. It wasn't as if he could dial the number and just start talking about guitars or something. There would have to be an opening line, something to get the conversation started, and that was what he was having trouble with. It was ironic really. He had made countless phone calls in the past where he didn't really know what he was going to say before he actually spoke. The difference was that in the past it had always been some girl that he had been calling. Now that it was his son, it seemed harder somehow. Jordan pulled one of the boxes of jumbled invoices closer to him and started going through them, thinking that by the time he had put it in some sort of recognisable order he would be able to come up with something to say to Edward.

Hours later, Jordan had made less progress than he had hoped. He had only managed to sort through half of one box and he still didn't feel ready to pick up the phone. The more he thought about what to say to Edward and the more he tried to make some sort of plan, the less certain he was that Shane's idea had been a good one after all. What if he called Edward and he didn't want to talk to him? What if Edward had decided that he was better off not getting to know him? Self doubt took over and he just couldn't bring himself to reach for the phone.

* * *

"Hi" Rebecca said as she stopped by Amy's locker. Over the past 3 days it had become the meeting place for their small group by unconscious but unanimous decision.

"Hi," Amy replied. "Mike and Edward are coming over to mine to hang out for a bit. You coming too?"

"Sure. Hey, did you see that?"

"See what?" Amy asked as she closed her locker and turned around. All she saw was a quickly emptying corridor as the other students headed home. As far as she could tell there was nothing even remotely interesting happening.

"That look that Stacey Hargrove just gave us. Like we've done something to offend her or something. I mean, she was giving us proper evils."

"Oh, well yeah. I mean, we've both been getting some funny looks the past few days."

"We have?"

"Yeah" Amy explained. "Its like we agreed to have a certain personality or something. For no reason. Just to make it easier for everyone and now that we're not behaving like they think we should they're, like, all put out, or something."

"You put, like, actual thought into this?" Rebecca asked but just received a shrug in response. "Kind of makes sense I guess, though why anyone would care that we've started hanging out together is beyond me. You know what Natasha Vinovich said to me today?"

"Isn't she that cheerleader with the really small nose stud?"

"Yeah, but that's besides the point. She came up to me in the 3rd floor toilets and accused me of forgetting who my real friends are just because I've not been sitting with the rest of the cheerleaders for lunch this week. Apparently, you're going to do to me what you did to Marcy Barsh."

"What did I do to Marcy Barsh? I don't even, like, know her!" Amy protested. "Natasha Vinovich is such a bitch. Make that jealous bitch. I never thought I would actually say this but you are such an improvement."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, her and Edward used to, like, um.." Amy trailed off as she took in the look of surprise on Rebecca's face. "You must have known about that, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Totally." Rebecca said, vainly trying to cover up her shock at the information. "I guess I must have just forgotten about Natasha Vinovich, or something"

"So, I take it you and Edward haven't ummed yet." Amy said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"That is completely none of your business." Rebecca replied caught off guard by the question. "Why? Have you and Mike…ummed?"

"That is completely none of your business," Amy repeated, imitating the Rebecca and causing the other girl to smile. "Seriously, I have no idea what is happening with me an Mike at the moment."

"Oh, please! Has he or has he not driven you to school and home again every day this week? I've seen you guys making out in his car before home room."

"So? We might make out in his car but when are alone we barely talk. I mean, it kind of makes anything you do say seem kind of meaningful, even though it really isn't, but it kind of leaves you wondering where you stand. I mean is it kissing for kissing's sake or is it leading somewhere. Well, I know where he wants it to lead but I'm so not having sex in his car. Especially when I don't even know if we're like a boyfriend/girlfriend thing or just a thing thing. Not that I, like, expect him to parade me up and down the corridors holding hands or anything."

"What's wrong with kissing for kissing's sake?" Rebecca asked with a dreamy look on her face. "But, I'm with you on the whole where they want it to lead it issue. I mean, making out in the boiler room is one thing but if Edward thinks we're doing it in there he'd better think again. And what's wrong with the occasional hand holding parade? I think it's nice."

"What's nice?" Mike asked as he and Edward finally arrived and caught the tail end of her sentence.

"Nothing," Amy replied. She was sure that Mike wouldn't get the whole hand holding thing. It just didn't seem like a very Mike sort of thing to do. However, she couldn't help but feel a little bit of jealousy as she watched Rebecca and Edward walk towards the exit in front of her, hands already entwined while Mike's hands remained in his pockets

By the time they reached the Bradley household, any dampening of Amy spirits was well and truly forgotten thanks to a bout of Wayne's World style head banging to an old Queen track on the journey. The teenagers practically burst though the door, a riot of noise and energy, shattering the peaceful and quiet atmosphere of the house. Amy and Edward were aware that their mothers were still not speaking but they had been determined not to let it effect their own friendship. However, it was clear that Edward didn't feel as comfortable in the house as he had once done. Amy also knew her mother well enough to know that there was some underlying tension even though she tried to hide it so the less they actually came face to face the better.

"Why don't you guy's go up? I'll go grab some drinks." Amy said. The other teens hardly paused before heading upstairs to her bedroom while Amy headed into the kitchen.

"Hi. How was school?" Angela asked, barely looking up from the leaflets she was reading at the breakfast bar.

"Oh, you know, school. What you looking at?"

"Night courses. I'm thinking of maybe doing one."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Just for something to, like, do." Angela replied. "Why are you standing with the fridge door open?"

"I'm looking for drinks."

"They're at the back somewhere. Was that Mike and Jordan I heard stomping upstairs?" Angela asked distractedly, still paying more attention to the course information than her daughter

"Don't you mean Mike and Edward?"

"Why? What did I say?" Angela asked in a confused voice, oblivious to the mistake she had made.

"Never mind. Yeah, they're here. Rebecca too." Amy didn't see the point in repeating her mother's words. It had been made clear over the past few days that Angela didn't want to discuss the situation in anyway, no matter how evident it was that she was quietly obsessing over it. Pulling four cans of coke out of the fridge, Amy left the room wondering how it was possible that the only people who seemed willing to actually talk about what was happening were the teenagers while all of the adults had some how completely lost the ability to communicate with each other.

When she entered her room, Edward and Rebecca were both sitting on her bed, comfortably leaning against each other while Mike sat in the chair by her desk, searching her CD collection for a suitable album to play. The topic of conversation was predictably the same person her mother was pretending not to think about downstairs.

"I can't believe he hasn't called you yet." Rebecca said. The more she got to know Edward and the more she saw how much rejection he felt, the less she thought of Jordan Catalano.

"He's probably got other stuff on his mind."

"Don't make excuses for him, Eddie," Amy jumped in as she passed out the drinks. When she reached Mike, he pulled her down onto the chair where she settled comfortable in his lap, trying not to think about how frustrating his mixed signals could be. "How come you get to be the one sitting around, analysing him in microscopic detail while he gets to be the one with other things on his mind?"

"She kind of has a point," Rebecca said. "But how do we know he has got other stuff on his mind? I mean, you're sitting here waiting for him to contact you but for all we know he could be waiting for you to contact him again."

"You think?"

"Maybe. I mean, the only reason he even knows you exist is pure coincidence. If he didn't offer to give us a lift back from Lets Bolt and your mum wasn't on a date with that Shane guy, then neither of you would have found out about each other. He's probably still in shock or something."

"You know what we need?" Amy asked, "Another coincidental meeting where you just both happen to be in the same place at the same time again."

"What do you mean?" Edward could see that she was trying to form some kind of plan to help him move forward and stop obsessing but he had no idea what. It wasn't as if you could force a coincidence.

"Well, if you call him and ask him to meet you somewhere he might feel pressured or something. Like he's got obligations or something. But if he goes somewhere and you just happen to be there too, then it would feel kind of natural in a sort of whatever happens, happens kind of a way." She explained.

"That would be a great plan if it weren't for the small question of how do we get Jordan Catalano to go the place that Edward just happens to be?" Rebecca pointed out.

"Oh, yeah. Maybe that plan needs a bit of a rework," Amy frowned. "I didn't say it was a fully formed plan."

"No, it's a good plan. You just need to think about it the other way round," Mike said. The other three looked at him in confusion. "I mean, Edward will just have to go to where ever Catalano happens to be."

"But how do I find out where he's going to be?" Edward asked.

"You know that place called Vertigo? Jordan Catalano's going to be there." Mike explained. "I mean, not right now but tomorrow night. Shane was over at Tino's last night and I overheard them taking about Catalano and they said he's got a gig there."

"Isn't that a coffee house downtown? I thought it closed down." Rebecca asked.

"It reopened as a bar a few week ago. They've just started doing live music and we need to go there anyway to see if they'll let us play sometime. What do you say, Edward?"

"Oh, I don't know. I mean, what if he know we planned it?"

"How would he know? It's perfect because we can all go and as far as he'll know we're just there to listen to the music. Complete coincidence."

"What about your mum's school night rule, Amy?" Edward still wasn't convinced that the plan would work but he had the feeling that if he did go he would need his friends with him or he would lose his nerve.

"She can say that she's working on something for school with me and that we have to do it at the restaurant," Rebecca replied, offering Amy the perfect excuse. "My parents will be working so they won't even realise we've gone out."

It was clear to Edward they all thought the plan would be foolproof . Edward wasn't quite so sure but it was the only plan they had managed to come up with in the last few days and he had to do something to break the stalemate before he went insane. The thought that they had any kind of plan seemed to take the weight of his shoulders, and even though he wasn't convinced that it would work, it did make him feel better. "Ok. Lets do it," he agreed and for the first time all week a genuinely happy smile spread across his face.

* * *

Damon walked languidly to his car. For the most part he enjoyed his job but, like the majority people, he also normally looked forward to the end of the working day. However, over the past few days he had found himself lingering at work, completing tasks that he would normally have left for the next morning. The rush to get home and spend time with his family was slowly being eroded by the growing tension that was developing between him and Angela. It felt like they were drifting apart and the longer he let her continue her silence over whatever she and Sharon had fallen out about, the wider the space between then grew.

Over the past three days, the most he had been able to learn was that the mysterious Jordan Catalano was someone from Angela's past and that he had also been revealed as Edward's real father. The scant information he agained had to be practically forced from Angela. It only served to make him more frustrated by the lack of detail while Angela became more withdrawn. While he couldn't deny that the revelation of Edward's paternity was a surprise, he had no way to appreciate why Angela would not speak to her best friends because of it. It was as if she had been acting on auto pilot, just going through the motions while she kept everything bottled up inside and for the first time in their marriage, he had no idea how to get her to open up. For the first time, he felt like he was loosing her to something he didn't comprehend and he didn't know where to turn to find the solution.

Damon climbed into his car and pulled out of the parking bay only to stop again a few yards later. Leaving the engine running, he got out again and pulled the flyer out of his windscreen wipers. He didn't know what was more annoying. The fact that people had started to put flyers on his car window every single Wednesday or the fact that he never noticed them until after he had started to drive. Normally, he would have screwed the thing up and tossed it into the nearest bin but this week something caught his eye.

The flyer itself was cheaply produced on thin paper with ink that would run in the rain but he recognised the name of the trendy bar that it was advertising. It was only a few blocks away from his office and until a few weeks ago it had been his favourite coffee shop when he felt the need to get out of the air conditioned atmosphere he worked in. Now, Vertigo was being advertised as a bar and club. Under the main logo, black ink proclaimed it as the hottest venue for local live music on a Thursday night. Below that there was a list of four acts already confirmed to be playing this week. Second from the top, the name Jordan Catalano jumped out at him and for a few seconds all he could do was stand and stare. He wasn't sure how long he stood next to his car while the engine purred quietly but the only thing that roused him was the sound of a car horn being pounded. Realising that he was blocking the way out, Damon jumped back in his car. He quickly folded the flyer and put it inside his inside suit pocket before putting the car in gear and driving home.

* * *

Thanks for reading ~LJ~


	12. Chapter 12

"You're still here?" Angela asked as she shut the front door behind her

"Mike hasn't arrived yet," Amy replied. She was sitting on the porch step and had been waiting there for over fifteen minutes. She didn't know where he was or why he was late but it was starting to seem as if he wasn't going to show up. "I thought he was coming to pick me up again but maybe I got it wrong or something."

"Did he say he was going to pick you up?"

"Not in actual words but it was, like, very clearly implied." His exact parting words the previous night had simply been 'see you tomorrow' but the kiss which accompanied them made her sure that he would pick her up as he had been doing all week. Just thinking back to the previous night gave her goose bumps and she could only hope that she wasn't starting to blush in front of her mother. After Edward and Rebecca had gone home, Mike had stayed behind and, although he had been in her room hundreds of times before, it was completely different. It felt as if her bedroom was their whole world and everything was new and exciting. The way his lips felt against hers, the way his hands felt against her skin, the weight of his body against hers. It was exhilarating and scary and delightful all at the same time and part of her never wanted it to end. If it hadn't been for the sound of her father's shout as he announced his arrival home, she doubted she would have stopped but it was probably a good thing that his presence in the house had brought her back down to earth. As much as she didn't want their first time to be in the back of Mike's car, doing it in her bedroom while her parents were right downstairs wasn't really a better option, in her opinion . When she had pulled away it was clear that he didn't want to stop, that he wanted to go further, but it had seemed as if he understood. Now, however, she was sitting alone on a cold concrete step unsure whether he was going to pick her up at all. She wished there was some way she could get a glimpse inside his mind and find out what he was truly thinking.

"Well, you need to get to school or you'll be late. There're state laws, you know?"

"I kind of missed the bus too."

"Of course you did. Get in the car and I'll drive you." Angela replied. A diversion to Liberty High on her way to work would leave her running slightly behind her own schedule but at least it would give her a bit of time alone with her daughter to find out exactly what was going on between her an Mike. She waited until they were both buckled in and the engine was purring before she started probing. "So you and Mike, huh?"

"What about Mike?"

"Your Dad and I have noticed that he's been picking you up in the mornings, that you've been spending more time with him."

"So?" Amy asked.

"So, I was kind of wondering if he's, like, your boyfriend now because is he is… if you and Mike are..well, if you're going to, you know…" Angela stuttered, suddenly wishing she hadn't decided to have this conversation.

"Oh, my god, Mum, please."

"Amy, I can accept that you have a boyfriend.."

"He's not my boyfriend," Amy replied, hoping it would put an end to the discussion. She didn't consider it to be a lie. Whatever was going on between them was still undefined and she had no idea whether he was anywhere close to thinking of her as a girlfriend or if they were just friends who happened to make out. The fact that she wanted him to be her boyfriend, that she needed him to think of her as his girlfriend more than she needed air, was left unspoken.

"My point is, I don't want you to have some secret life completely apart from your father and I. Believe it nor not, I do remember what it was like to be fifteen." The events of the past week had been a sharp reminder of the teen angst she had gone through at Amy's age. "I mean , if there's someone who really means something to you then you should be able to talk about it."

"Mum, please."

"Look, I'm your mother and I know that you're going to have boyfriends but when it some to sex I don't think you're ready. I mean, in my humble opinion."

"We're not having sex."

"I just don't want you to feel pressured or.."

"I don't feel pressured, mum. Really."

"Oh, ok. That's good, I'm glad. I just want you to remember that if there's anything you want to talk about then I'm here for you."

"Ok," Amy replied as the school came into view. She didn't think she had been so relieved to see Liberty High before in her life but anything that helped to stop the conversation would have been gratefully accepted. She could talk about boys and sex with her friends but having the same conversation with an adult, especially her mother, was just mortifyingly embarrassing. In her humble opinion, there was no way that her mother could possibly understand what she was going through.

When she arrived at her locker, Mike was still no where to be seen. Edward and Rebecca were already there, arms wrapped around each other, oblivious to the stares their public display of affection was getting from the passing students.

"You two seriously need to get a room," Amy stated as she searched for her copy of Ann Frank.

"What's wrong with you?" Rebecca asked, taking her eyes of Edward for long enough to notice Amy's frown.

"My mother tried to have a serious discussion with me on the way to school. It's, like, completely thrown my entire day."

"Mike didn't give you a ride?"

"No, he didn't show. I thought he was going to but I guess he was, like, busy or something."

"Oh," Rebecca replied, guessing that that was the real reason for Amy's ill mood but not sure what she should say.

"I mean, it's ok if he was. Busy, I mean. I just think that he could have called or something. If you start doing something, like giving a person a ride every day, it becomes a pattern and it's kind of assumed that you'll keep doing it and if you can't, then you should tell the other person. I mean in terms of, like, common courtesy, you should let them know that you can't." Amy said, but what she really wanted to say as that when you start doing something like kissing a person, it become a pattern and it's kind of assumed that you'll keep doing it and if you can't, like, stop giving mixed messages, then you should tell the other person that you don't want to be with them before hearts started to break.

"But he's still giving us a ride tonight, right? To Vertigo?" Edward asked, ignorant of any deeper thoughts she had. Their whole plan of a faux coincidental meeting with Jordan wouldn't be possible if they didn't have an actual way to get there.

"I don't know. It was mostly his idea to go there so I assume so but that didn't work so well this morning so maybe you'd better ask him."

"I'm sure he will." Rebecca said. "It's not as if we can ask any of our parents to give us a ride, is it?"

"Yeah. They'd like, haemorrhage." Amy agreed.

"Oh, I got to tell you the latest on Sharon's attempt at pretending nothing is going on." Edward said, his tone wavering between amusement and disgust at his mother's refusal to deal with reality. " She's throwing me a birthday party! To which you are invited by the way, and when I say invited, I mean your attendance is compulsory to stop me from going insane.."

"A party? I thought we were going to go bowling?" Amy asked in confusion.

"We are still bowling on my actual birthday but she's decided that we're going to have a barbecue on Sunday. Her actual words were 'family barbecue' and she didn't even see the irony. It's like she thinks everything will be ok between us if we all eat enough cake or something."

"This whole thing is getting so weird. Especially with your mum and my mum still not talking."

They all knew that Angel and Jordan had been couple in high school but Edward and Amy couldn't understand why it would cause so much friction now. It was hard enough for them to imagine their parents as teenagers let alone still being affected by their teen angst. Rebecca, however, had a suspicion that the angst didn't all come from their high school era. She hadn't said anything to Amy and it seemed as if Edward had forgotten but the image of Angela and Jordan nearly kissing was something she was having trouble ignoring. She knew that she needed to say something to Angela because the thought that she might be having an affair was too much to deal with but she had no idea how to go about it. Technically they were sisters but the age gap had always made her think Angela as an older relative. More like an aunt than a sister, really, so she had no idea how to broach the subject. Also, she wasn't sure if she did want to find out the truth. If Angela was having an affair but asked her to keep it secret, how would she ever be able to look at Amy again. If she then added in the fact that Jordan Catalano was Edward's long lost father, it became so complicated it made her head hurt. "It's beyond weird. Its actually bordering on Kafkaesque." Rebecca said aloud, receiving bemused glances from her friends. "What? I do pay attention in English occasionally, you know."

"Yeah, right"

"I do!" Rebecca protested, unable to stop a smile reaching her lips as the Edward and Amy continued to tease her.

"What's so funny?" Mike asked as he joined the trio and nonchalantly leaned back against the lockers.

"Nothing, man. You kind of had to be there." Edward replied, his smile fading as the atmosphere suddenly turned cold. Amy had gone quiet and seemed to be looking everywhere apart from in Mike's direction while Rebecca looked at Mike with an expectant expression which quickly turned into a scowl when he didn't take the hint.

"I'm going to home room." Amy said after a moments silence and left without saying anything else.

Rebecca gave Mike one more glare before hurrying after the other girl.

"What's up with those two?" Mike asked.

"I think it's got something to do with the fact that you didn't pick her up this morning."

"Oh" Mike replied in confusion.

"Yeah, I guess she figured why didn't you call or something." Edward explained, trying to remember exactly what Amy had said. She had been rambling slightly at the time and he'd been looking at Rebecca rather than actually listening properly to what she had been saying.

"Yeah, that make sense." Mike said. He hadn't actually said he would pick her up but he hadn't actually said it any day that week so he could kind of see how she would expect him to. However, he didn't really see what the problem was. She had gotten to school without him after all. "I crashed at Tino's last night and then overslept so I didn't, like, have time."

"Tino's? How come?"

"Mark's being a complete asshole again." Mike replied, referring to his mother's boyfriend but not going not any further detail. Edward just nodded in response, not sure what to say. Mike always said that Mark was too afraid of Tino to ever start throwing his weight around and getting physical but it was common knowledge that they did not see eye to eye at all. Edward had only met the man a few times but had the distinct impression that he was more than unfriendly. "It not like I intentionally decided not to pick her up. I just figured she'd already be on the bus because I was late. I mean, she just makes too big a deal out of everything. Makes everything too complicated."

Edward shrugged. "What can I say? She's a product of a two parent family." he joked

"Yeah," Mike replied with a small smile just as the bell started to ring. Even if Edward was making light of the situation he knew that he was going to have to do something to put things right between them. He pulled a blank piece of paper out of his binder and scribbled a note on it to push into her locker before following Edward down the corridor.

A few hours later, Amy gripped the note as she walked across the deserted car park towards Mike's car. On one hand she was happy that he asked her to meet him but on the other, she found the fact that she was actually going kind of nauseating. Not only had he failed to pick her up but it seemed as if he didn't think anything was wrong when he arrived at school. He just joined their group without even offering any kind of greeting or explanation but still thought he had the right to leave her notes. She had no idea how he could kiss her with such passion when they were alone but then act as if there were no more than friends when there were other people around. The entire thing was getting beyond frustrating for her and she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of Edward and Rebecca whose relationship seem so simple in comparison. Everyone knew they were together, there was no confusion or obsessing over what the other person was thinking. Why couldn't her and Mike be like that? When she reached his car expecting to see him sitting in the driver's seat, she realised he wasn't even there.

"Bloody typical," she said aloud, even though there was no one to hear her, but as she turned around she saw him walking towards her, weaving his way between the other cars from the direction of the bleachers. Annoyance turned to anticipation and she wondered how he was able to have such control over her. Why wasn't she able to stay annoyed with him? Why did her heart seem to melt with every step he took towards her? Any further contemplation was impossible because as soon as he reached her, he pulled her towards him. The feel of his lips on hers made her incapable of thought and when they did finally part her lips felt all used, but in a good way. I would be so easy to just kiss him again, forget all of the doubts she had about he wanted an actually relationship or not but, as good as it felt to be kissing him she had to know where she stood. "Don't say hello or anything," she said as she leant back against his car, widening the distance between them.

"Hello," he replied after a small pause, making her think that he believed a kiss would be enough to placate her when really he was just trying to find the right words.

"I can't believe I came here. Why did you ask me to come here?" She wanted to ask him why his was like this but the question died before she could speak it.

"I asked you to come here so I could say sorry for not, like, calling you to say I couldn't pick you up today."

"Oh," she replied, not expecting the apology.

"So, were, like cool now. Right?" He asked, annoying her by his simplistic attitude to things.

"No, not really." She admitted honestly. "Not completely."

"God, I said I was sorry." he said as he crossed his arms and took a step back of his own, starting to get annoyed himself. "Why are you like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like how you are!"

"Why are you like how you are? Why can't you just admit it?"

"Admit what?"

"That all this happened. That you have emotions. That you can't just treat me one way and then act as if nothing is going on between us when other people are around. I mean, would it kill you to acknowledge what's happening between us. Would it kill you to occasionally hold my hand when we walk down the corridor?"

"You mad at me because we don't hold hands?" he asked in confusion

"No," Amy replied, realising how stupid that sounded even if it was partly the reason. "I just saying that I have no idea where I stand with you. I have no idea if you're really interested in me as, like, a girlfriend or if you're just interested in making out with me because you don't have any thing better to do, or something."

"Look, I like you okay?" Mike said, struggling to find the right words when he wasn't used to talking about his feelings. "I mean, I'm not just interested in you because we make out. Although that is pretty great, I admit. But it's not the whole reason."

"So what's the whole reason?" she asked.

"Well, because you're smart, and funny…and when you smile, you have these really cute dimples… and you're usually in a good mood, unlike now" he replied, moving towards her again, sensing that the worst was over. "Also, I kind of thought that you liked me."

"I did. I mean I do." she said and when he leaned down to kiss her, she kissed back, only stopping when the sound of the fourth period bell brought them back to reality.

"Guess we'd better head back in. Learner's threatening to have me kicked out if I keep skipping trig." Mike said after letting her go. He took a few steps away from her before stopping. Giving her a lopsided grin, he held his hand out for her to take. "You coming or what?"

She grinned back, knowing the gesture was partly to humour her, and stepped forward, allowing his hand to envelope hers. He didn't let go until they reached their seats inside the math class and by the time they sat down, Amy knew she as grinning like a Cheshire cat but couldn't help it. Rebecca had been wrong. Holding hands was not just nice. It was fantastic.

* * *

Amy was still wearing the same grin hours later when her mother dropped her off at the restaurant. Amy had been worried that he mother would stick stubbornly to her school night rule but, in the end, it had been surprisingly easy to get her to agree. She wondered what other school projects she could invent to improve her social life during the week.

"I take it you and Mike kissed and made up, then? You've been smiling all afternoon." Rebecca said as Amy entered her bedroom, receiving an even bigger smile a response. "That lipstick looks great on you. You should think about having your lips frosted permanently."

"They feel like they were." Amy replied dreamily.

"Is Angela still here? I kind of need to ask her something?"

"Yeah, I thinks so. I mean she was saying hi to Granddad when I came up. Why, what's up?"

"Nothing. It's my dad's birthday next month so I was wondering if she had any ideas for presents." Rebecca lied, coming up with the best excuse she could think of on the spot. "I'll be back in a minute."

She managed to catch up with Angela just as she was about to climb into her car and her resolve almost wavered but she decided that it was better to know the truth even if the truth turned out to be really bad.

"Hi Rebecca. Did Amy leave something in the car?" Angela asked, seeing no other reason for her youngest sister to be outside.

"No, I just kind of wanted to ask you something." Angela looked at her expectantly and Rebecca decided the best way forward was to just blurt it out and see what response she received. "It's just that when I saw you on Sunday at Jordan Catalano's apartment it kind of looked like you were going to kiss and I don't know if you were or not but if you're having, like, an affair with him then that would be really bad. So, I guess I'm asking if you are, you know, having an affair."

Angela's jaw dropped. At the beginning of the week she had spent hours thinking about what had happened, or rather nearly happened, that day but she never once considered the suspicions it would create in Rebecca's mind. "Oh my god, you haven't said anything to Amy, have you? I mean, if she thought…"

"I haven't said anything to her. So, are you?"

"No! I'm definitely not having an affair with Jordan Catalano." Angela stated. "I don't even know him anymore. I don't know if I ever really did."

"So why were you there?" Rebecca asked. As strong as Angela's denial was, she knew what she had seen.

"I just went there to talk to him." Angela explained. "A long time ago we meant a lot to each other. We were in love but then he left and he kind of broke my heart. I didn't even know he was back in town until last Saturday and I just wanted, like, an explanation or something from him."

"Why did you kiss him then?"

"We didn't kiss, we just …nearly kissed." Angela replied, knowing it was best to stick to the facts of what happened that afternoon. If Rebecca already had suspicions, she wasn't going to increase them by admitting that Jordan had actually kissed her the night before. "It's not going to happen again."

"Good, because if you and Damon got a divorce-"

"Shut up. No one is getting a divorce." Angela said, shocked that Rebecca would even think that. "I love Damon and I am not going to hurt him by having an affair, let alone asking for a divorce. I would never leave my family like that." When she said the words she knew that she meant them, Just speaking them helped her come to the realisation that she had been dealing with the whole situation in the wrong way. It was time for her to stop obsessing about what had happened and get on with her life because she had no intention of seeing him ever again. She had obviously been wrong in the past when she thought she had completely gotten over Jordan Catalano but now she knew that she could put him behind her once and for all because her family was more important to her that he had ever been.

"Ok," Rebecca nodded, accepting what Angela said and confident that her sister meant what she said. As she watched Angela drive away, she felt as if a great weight had been taken of her shoulders. The situation with Jordan Catalano was by no means straight forward but at least there was one potential complication she didn't have to worry about any more. With her mind at easy, she hurried back upstairs. Mike and Edward would be arriving in a couple of hours and her and Amy still need to eat and then get dressed for the night ahead.

* * *

"I'm home" Damon announced, simultaneously dumping his briefcase on the couch and loosening his tie. "Angela? Amy?"

"I'm in here," Angela shouted back from the kitchen.

As soon as he entered the smell of the food she was making hit him and his stomach rumbled in response. He was suddenly feeling very hungry indeed. The combination of good food and his wife standing with an actual smile on her face made him glad to be home for the first time that week. It wasn't the biggest smile he had ever seen on Angela's face but it was the most genuine smile he had seen in a while. Just the sight of her looking almost happy made him think the atmosphere in the house seemed nearly normal. It was so normal that, as he cross the kitchen, he started to have second thoughts about his plans for the evening. Everything would be so much easier if they just talked about it but Angela had made it clear that she did not want to open up to him. Sneaking out of the house to go to a bar where Jordan Catalano was playing seemed so underhanded somehow. He still wasn't sure what excuse he was going to use to be able to go out without her suspecting him of something. Damon didn't even know whether he was even going to speak to him or not and he did speak to him, he had no idea what he would say but he didn't feel like he had any other choice. The curiosity was driving him mad.

"Hey you," he said as he stood behind her, hand resting comfortable on her hips, and kissed her neck.

Angela leaned back into him, smiled widening slightly at the feel of his lips. "Hey you," she repeated a she continued to stir the contents of the pan. "So, I've decided which evening class I'm going to take."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Creative writing," she replied. "I mean, I used to enjoy English in school, you know? And it's really quite reasonable priced. It's an intermediary course."

"Intermediary?"

"Yeah, I know. What's intermediary, right? What if I'm not intermediary enough? But then I thought, if I don't try, I'll never know and maybe throwing myself in at the deep end will be good. It's going to be challenge but I figure it will wake me up and it will be good to meet new people, maybe make some new friends. It will be character building, or something."

Damon knew that the waffling was an attempt to disguise her nervousness but he had faith in her. "I think it sounds fantastic." he said before reaching around her to dip a finger into the creamy sauce she was stirring. "Something's wrong."

"What?" she said, throwing a look of disbelief over her shoulder before reaching for the spoon to have a taste herself.

"Not the sauce. It's actually fantastic. I was referring to the lack of Marilyn Manson's voice screaming down the stairs, or whoever it is she's listening to these days."

"Oh, Amy's not here. She's over at my dad's. Her and Rebecca are working on some project for school together," Angela explained.

"You let her out? On a school night?" Damon asked in mock horror.

"I figured it would be ok. I mean she's at her Grandfather's house, not partying with Axel Rose. Beside's, letting her out wasn't completely selfless."

"Why not? I thought we agreed on the whole locking her in her room thing?"

"I just figured that her and Rebecca seem to be friends at the moment and if we can help keep that going then all future family events will be so much easier. Also, it means we get to spend sometime alone together. We haven't spent time at home with just us for ages." She turned to face him, doing her best to give him a come hither look. It turned out that her best was good enough and the were soon locked in a passionate kiss. Rather then feeling as if she was an adult who's daughter had gone out for the evening, she felt like a teenager who's parents were out of the house. It felt good. This was exactly what she needed to remind her of how good her life was and get her back on track. Unfortunately, the moment was broken by the sounds of the pan bubbling over. "Shit!" she said, breaking their kiss and turning back to the stove.

"Does this mean we're calling for takeout? Pizza in bed maybe?" Damon asked, thinking back to their college days and what they could do while they waited for the delivery.

"I think I can save it." Angela replied. As temping as his suggestion was, she felt that they had both outgrown sleeping in beds with crumbs. As much as she wanted a night of romance, her idea of the notion had changed while she grew older while he was still a typical man. Thinking of youthful romance reminded her of the school run conversation she had had with Amy. "Oh, I spoke to Amy today about Mike. She said he's not her boyfriend and they're not having sex."

"Thank god for that." Damon replied, "Wait a minute. Do we believe her?"

"Of course we believe her. I mean, don't we?" Angela asked, receiving a shrug in reply.

"Did you tell your mother when you started having sex because I know I didn't."

Of course the answer was a resounding no but it wasn't something Angela wanted to think about. "Well, I'm not asking her again. Neither of us have fully recover from the sex talk I had to give her when she was twelve. It's you turn."

"No. No way. If I could talk to her about that kind of stuff I would but I can't. There's a reason it's called girl talk, you know?" he replied, moving to pour them both a glass of wine.

"Anyway, with us having the house to ourselves tonight I was thinking that we could have a nice romantic night in." Angela said, "Good food, good wine and early to bed for both of us."

To Damon, it sounded like a very tempting offer and he very nearly agreed but curiosity was still getting the better of him. However, he wasn't sure who was more surprised by his words when he made a split decision. "I've got a better idea. Let's go out."

"What?"

"When was the last time we went out? We used to go out all the time. It'll be fun. We can pretend we're on a date or something."

"Where do you want to go?" Angela asked

"There's this bar I'm thinking of. It's supposed to be the hottest venue in town."

"Oh really?" Going out had been the last thing on Angela's mind and she knew for a fact that Damon had no idea which were the hottest venues in town. They hadn't been out to bars since before Amy started high school so she had no idea what made him want to start again now. However, he did seem eager to go and Angela knew she hadn't been the easiest person to live with lately so if it would make him happy, then why not. "You going to tell me where your taking me or is it a surprise?"

"Oh, it's going to be a surprise alright." Damon replied, unsure whether he was doing the right thing but if he wanted to find out what was going on in his wife's head, he thought this was the most likely thing to get a response.

An hour later, part of the surprise was revealed as Angela looked up at the new neon sign above Vertigo's entrance. She hadn't been there since she left high school but apart from the neon lights the outside looked exactly the same. She had no idea why Damon would think it was now considered the hot place to be. As if sensing her reservation, Damon tugged gently on her hand, leading her inside and to an empty table in a dimly lit corner of the bar. Angela couldn't help but feel a little awkward as she took off her coat. She felt that her and Damon looked completely out of place in the smoky bar. The other patrons seemed to form two groups. There was the young twenty something crowd who seemed to exude a youthful energy and then there was the artistic looking crowd who, although closer to her and Damon in age, seemed to have a certain coolness about them. She was so busy trying to take in the atmosphere that she didn't realise a waitress had arrived to take their order until Damon asked for some drinks.

"Cool place, isn't it?" he asked. While he would still miss the calm coffee shop when he was having a stressful day at work, he was actually pleasantly surprised.

"I guess." Angela replied, sounding less certain.

Luckily the waitress arrived with their drinks so she didn't need to make any further comment. After setting their drinks down the waitress also put a flyer on the table. Damon recognised it instantly as the same flyer that had been placed on his car the night before.

"Here's a line up of some of the acts we have playing tonight. It's open mike too so if you'd like to sign up just go to the bar." The waitress smiled before heading to the next table.

Damon watched as Angela pulled the flyer towards her and started to read. It only took a few seconds for her to spot Jordan Catalano's name and he knew exactly when it happened because her eyes went wide and the colour drained from her face.

"I..I think we should go." she said, voice barely above a whisper.

"Why?" Damn asked, trying to keep his voice as level as possible

"Because Jordan Catalano is here. I don't want to talk about it but I think we should leave." Angela replied, knowing her response was pathetic and that Damon deserved more.

"Well, I think we should stay." Damon said, the tone of his voice telling her that he also though he deserved more of an explanation.

Before she could say anything else, a woman took to the stage and the background noise and chit chat fell away. It was the same woman who had waited on their table, Damon noticed, as she gripped the mike confidently and gave the crowd the same smile she had given him she delivered their drinks. "Good evening folks. Welcome to open mike at Vertigo. I've promised our first guest one plug, and one plug only, for his business so here it goes." She paused slightly for dramatic effect before putting on a huskier voice and purring "Back Ally Music - the place to go for all your musical needs." Her voice returned to normal but her smile widened as she continued to speak. "Please welcome to the stage Jordan Catalano!"

Polite applause filled the room and Angela joined in automatically but it felt as if her hands weren't connected to the rest of her body. She knew that Damon was watching her, waiting for a reaction or for her to say something but all she could do was stare at the stage. She watched as Jordan Catalano appeared from some where near the bar, guitar strapped across his chest, and walked confidently across the stage. He was smiling and shaking his head at the woman on stage as if he was amused at the way she had introduced him and they said something to each other as they passed each other. Angela was too far away to hear what they said but she saw the way the woman touched his arm in a familiar manner before she exited the stage and Angela found herself wondering who she was and what relationship she had to Jordan. She also wondered why it even mattered to her. Why did she care about anything to do with Jordan Catalano when she was sitting next to the man she loved?

She continued to watch as Jordan sat on a stool in front of the mike and started to adjust the height slightly. She knew she was trapped. If she stood up and left now, there was no way he would not see her. The place was as near to silent as a bar could get and no one else seemed to be moving around at all. She could only hope that the dim lighting around their table would hide her and Damon from the stage and its occupant. If she had known that her daughter and her friends were standing over the other side of the room it would have given her the ideal excuse to leave but she had no idea. They were completely hidden from view.

"How you all doing out there?" Jordan said when he was happy with the mike set up, seeming perfectly at ease despite every eye in the house being on him. "I've been thinking about the past lately so I thought I'd start with one of the first songs I ever wrote."

She thought that she had forgotten the song completely but when he started to strum it came flooding back. She knew exactly when he would start singing and the words he would use.

"I was going nowhere, going no where fast, drowning in my memories, living in the past…"

His voice filled the room and it was so different to how she remembered it. Time had given him a richer, deeper sound which help to hint at hidden meanings she knew the song didn't really have. The song had so many forgotten memories attached to it, so many different associations from that long ago time but, for Angela, it was the perfect song for him to sing. It was as if it flipped some kind of switch in her mind and suddenly she didn't feel trapped any more. Suddenly, she felt free and a small laugh escaped her before she turned to look at Damon. "Once, I actually thought this song was about me." she said with a self depreciating smile before reaching across to take his hand in hers. She shuffled her chair closer to his and in hushed tones she started to speak. She found the words easily and by the time Jordan was started singing his fifth song, she had told Damon everything he needed to know to understand why she had been so effected by Jordan's return to Three Rivers and his and Sharon's betrayal. She left out some of the details such as Jordan unrepentantly kissing her in his car or her nearly kissing him at his apartment because she didn't want to anger or hurt Damon but she told him enough to feel as if she finally had a clear conscience. It was almost cathartic and by the time she finished speaking she knew that she was with the right man.

* * *

A/N - Sorry about the wait but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Originally, this was going to include all of the events at Vertigo but it was getting a bit mamouth so I've decided to split it into two chapters and will endevour to update the next part as soon as possible. Thanks for reading. ~LJ~


	13. Chapter 13

A/N - I don't normally put music in my fics because I'm not much of song writer but this chapter called for one so I have borrowed one by 30 Seconds to Mars. Just incase there are any MSCL fans who don't recognise the song but want to now what it sound like, I'm going to try to put a link in my profile page for my favourite acoustic version from YouTube but I just wanted to let you know that i'm not responsible for posting the vid there - quite frankly I wouldn't even know how and i'm not sure whether the link will work anyway but hey ho.

Hope you enjoy...

* * *

Edward, Rebecca, Mike and Amy slowly pushed through the throng of people in the bar. Although there was no way they were going to get any where near the stage, they wanted to be able to at least have a decent view. Edward was sort of glad that it was so busy. It meant that if he bottled out, there would be a good chance that he could leave before Jordan actually saw him. Not that he thought he would, but it was good to have an escape plan just in case. He felt like he had come too far to bottle out again like he had when he went to Jordan's store, especially when they had gotten inside. All four of them had been nervous about whether they would even be able to get into the bar at all. Amy and Rebecca certainly remembered what it felt like to be stuck outside, away from all of the action and the last thing they wanted was for tonight to be a repeat of the time they tried to get into Lets Bolt. Luckily, the fake ids Mike had managed to procure for them had held up to scrutiny, although in truth the bouncer had barely glanced at them.

"See, I told you. You've just got to put your thumb over the picture." Mike said, as they finally found an empty spot big enough for them all to stand in, fake bravado hiding any concern that he might have had.

Edward just nodded and tightened his grip on Rebecca's hand. Now that they were actually inside, he had to face the real reason for his nervousness. Jordan Catalano was here in the same room and for all he knew it was going to be a complete disaster. What if Jordan Catalano saw him and told him to go home? Even worse, what if he saw him and just ignored him? He didn't think he had ever been so scared in his life. Unfortunately, any thought he had of escaping was quashed as a good looking, twenty something brunette took to the stage. The noise level in the room quickly descended as she introduced the man himself and Edward knew there was no way that he would be able to leave without drawing attention to him and his friends. He could only hope that the crowd of people between him and the stage was enough to hide him from Jordan until he had worked up a bit more courage.

"So, not to shock you or anything, but your dad's attractive," Amy whispered as they watched Jordan cross the stage and prepare to start his performance.

"Hey!" Mike said, arm circling her waist and pulling her towards him as if to remind her that she was his girl.

"This is possibly the most stressful night of my life and that's all you can think about?" Edward asked in disbelief.

"Not that I'd attack him or anything." Amy replied, secretly enjoying the possessive hold Mike had her in.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't leave us alone with him either." Rebecca added, thinking that Sharon and Angela had both had extremely good taste back in the day.

"Hey!" This time it was Edward's turn to take offence.

"Don't worry," Rebecca assured him, "you definitely inherited his good looks."

"Gee, thanks. That makes me feel so much better."

Any further conversation was halted as Jordan started to speak into the microphone and from his first words, all Edward could do was try to search for their meaning. 'Thinking about the past' did that mean he was thinking about what happened between him and Sharon? Was he thinking about it with regret or happiness? Or was he thinking about something else entirely? Edward had no way of knowing. Listening to the songs Jordan played, Edward tried to remember whether he had heard them the previous Saturday at Lets Bolt. If he played a song that he wrote before he even knew that Edward existed then it could have nothing to do with him but if Jordan played something that was new, then maybe it was about him. Maybe it would help him figure out what Jordan was thinking. By the fourth song, Edward realised that he had no way of telling what was new material and what wasn't but it was impossible to switch off his analysis and just enjoy the music for what it was. The other three didn't seem to be having that problem. Rebecca and Amy were even swaying slightly to the melodies as they stood and watched.

After each song the applause got louder. The polite applause the audience gave when Jordan first took to the stage had been replaced by an honest appreciation for what he was creating and after each song he would gaze out into the audience with a small smile before launching into the next. Each time, Edward felt his breath catch in his throat wondering if they would make eye contact but Jordan's gaze always moved on, seemingly unfocused on any particular person in the sea of faces watching him.

After the fourth song, Jordan spoke into the mike for the first time since he had started his set. "Ok, this is something new I've been working on. It's called "A Modern Myth." This time when he started to sing, he made his voice softer but it soon increase in both depth and volume, hitting the notes with perfect clarity. His eyes went from unfocused to almost closed and Edward felt as if the whole room was holding their breath along with him.

"_Do we create a modern myth_

_Do we imagine half of it _

_What happened then, a thought for now_

_Save yourself, save yourself_

_The secret is out._

_The secret is out"_

"Oh my god, Edward! The secret is out." Rebecca whispered, "It's about you."

Edward glanced at her quickly, confirming that he thought so too, before turning back to the stage. This is what he had been waiting for, the insight he desperately needed and his eyes were riveted on the stage as his father continued to sing, pouring raw emotion into each word.

"_To buy the truth and sell a lie_

_The last mistake before you die_

_So don't forget to breathe tonight_

_Tonight's the last s say goodbye._

_The secret is out. The secret is out_

_Goodbye. Goodbye_

_Goodbye. Goodbye_

_Goodbye."_

As the last note died, there was a second of perfect silence before the room erupted into the loudest applause so far. Edward thought he was the only one in the entire place who didn't bring his hands together. It wasn't that he didn't think the song deserved applause, it's just that he was still trying to figure out what it meant. Was it really about him? Yes, his existence had been one huge, big secret but 'goodbye'? What the hell did that mean? Would he ever get the guts to ask? Rather than playing another song, Jordan started to speak again.

"That's it from me for now. I'll be back a bit later on. Thanks." Jordan said before standing and leaving the stage.

Edward watched as he walked to the bar where Shane was standing with the woman who had introduced him. Shane and Jordan bumped fists while the woman decided to congratulate Jordan on a set well played in a less macho way by pulling him into a quick hug and kissing his cheek before talking to the stage again herself to introduce the next act. Edward wondered if the girl was Jordan's girlfriend and the question reminded him of how little he really knew about his father or the life he lead. He had no idea that over the other side of the room, Angela was wondering the exact same thing but for Angela the spark of curiosity was also accompanied by a small feeling of jealousy. She hated herself for feeling it. She had just spent the last twenty minutes baring her soul to her husband, talking about things she had kept from him for so long in an effort to reaffirm her loyalty to him and all it took for her to take a step backwards was the sight of Jordan Catalano being hugged by a pretty, much younger woman.

"You ready to go?" Damon asked, not entirely oblivious to the look his wife was directing towards Jordan Catalano but feeling a little more secure about the state of his marriage than he had at the start of the evening.

She nodded in response, still watching Jordan Catalano, somehow unable to avert her eyes as they both stood. As she watched, Shane pointed at something over the other side of the room, drawing Jordan's attention to something and her eyes were drawn involuntary along at the same time.

"Oh my god." She said, able to see the teenagers for the first time now that she was standing. "What the hell are they doing here?"

"You let her leave the house like that?" Damon asked, his initial shock focusing more on the clothes his daughter was wearing than the fact that she had lied to her mother in order to come to the bar. "She looks like a cross between a grunge era Courtney Love and …Rayanne."

"Oh, she wasn't wearing that when I left her at the restaurant." Angela assured him. "I seem to remember Rebecca's outfit having a whole lot more material as well. I can't believe they played me again."

"So much for just friends, too!" Damon exclaimed as he took in Mike's arms around Amy. "That's it, we're taking them home right now and if she thinks I'm joking when I say I'm going to lock her in her room, she's got a surprise coming.."

"Wait," Angela said, reaching out to hold his arm and pull him back.

"What for?"

"Just wait a minute." She was just as unhappy with Amy's behaviour as Damon but she knew that she had to hold him back at least for a few minutes. The teenagers were still oblivious of their presence. Even though Angela was too far away from them to hear what they were saying, it was obvious that they were encouraging Edward to go and speak to Jordan. Edward looked unsure, almost reluctant to make the first move and Angela knew exactly how he was feeling. It was the same way she had felt all those years ago at the Buffalo Tom concert. At that time she had been terrified. Each step she had taken towards him was filled with the cold dread of rejection and a yearning hope that he would welcome her in the same way that he did when she met him in the boiler room. It had been the first time she had been truly hurt by something Jordan Catalano did. On that occasion her worst expectations were realised and she could only silently pray that it would be different for Edward. Jordan was just as unreadable as he had been on that night. It was as if his face was a mask, devoid of any emotion. Part of her wanted to intervene, to stop Edward from being rejected by Jordan Catalano as she had been but she also knew that this was something she had no right in preventing. She knew that Edward wouldn't be there if he didn't want to have some kind of relationship with Jordan. She was mentally crossing her fingers that he had changed, that he wouldn't dismiss Edward as he had dismissed her but if he hadn't changed or grown as a person, at least Edward would know. As painful as it would be for the young boy, he would know. He wouldn't be walking around with false expectations, holding Jordan up on some kind of pedestal like she had done for about a thousand years too long.

It seemed as if it took years for Edward to reach Jordan and until the very last second she was sure it would end in disaster. Jordan still had a blank expression right up until Edward stopped inches away from him. As she watched, Jordan licked his lips. It was an old familiar gesture and the only sign that betrayed any nervousness he might have felt. She didn't care that she and Damon were blocking the view of the stage for the people sitting behind them or that the new act who were starting to play thought of them as rude. For Angela, it felt as if the stage no longer existed or if it did, Jordan and Edward were the ones standing on it. As she watched, a slow smile spread across Jordan's face and he pulled Edward into a kind of half handshake/ half hug.

Angela found a smile reaching her own lips and she knew it would be echoed by her daughter and Edward's other friends. Angela was still furious with Jordan and Sharon. It still felt like she had been betrayed by them both but it was good to see him do the right thing. As mad as she still was with him, it meant that the love she used to feel for him wasn't completely misplaced. Damon, however, couldn't seem to find the joy in the situation. Like Angela and Amy, he had known Edward since he was born. He knew the significance of Jordan coming into his life and he knew how happy Edward would feel by Jordan's show of acceptance but that didn't mean that he had to like it. Admittedly, he had only received Angela's side of the story but he information she gave on Jordan Catalano, the effect he had on her teenage years, the pain he caused her by his disappearance and his subsequent return made it impossible for him to see Jordan Catalano in a good light. The simple fact was that he did not want him in their lives. Even though Angela had finally come clean about their past and the events of the last weekend, deep down he knew that she was holding some things back. Maybe it was just small details, things she thought might upset him but he was her husband. She was the one person who he shared everything with and until that week he thought she had felt exactly the same way. Watching her watching him, made Damon wonder if anyone really got over their first love. It made him wonder how someone could hurt you by their actions so many years later if you didn't still hold some of those old feelings. All he could do was hold onto his own love of Angela and hope that that would be enough for her too.

He turned back towards Jordan and Edward in time to see Edward wave the other teenagers over to join them. Like Angela, he was too far away to hear what they were saying to each other but he saw clearly when Mike pulled out a packet of cigarettes and said something to Jordan who thought nothing of providing the boy with a light. As he continued to watch, Jordan turned to the bar where he was quickly served by the now familiar looking brunette. When he turned back around, he gave Damon a clear view of the bottles of beer which were then distributed to the teenagers. Angela gave a small groan when Amy and Rebecca gratefully accepted the offered drinks, knowing that Damon would not react well.

"That's it, I've seen enough." Damon stated through gritted teeth before quickly weaving his way towards the group. This time Angela was unable to stop him from moving and all she could do was follow.

"I don't think so, young lady." Damon said forcefully, as he grabbed Amy's bottle away from her just before it reached her lips.

"Hey, what's your problem, man?" Jordan asked. Having no idea who Damon was, all he saw was an older man raising his voice to a young girl, rather than fatherly concern.

"What's my problem? My problem is you giving my fifteen year old daughter and her friends alcohol." Damon replied, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"This really your dad?" Jordan asked Amy who could only nod grimly

"Don't you talk to her. I think you've done enough, don't you?"

"Hey man, chill out."

"Chill out?" Damon repeated his word back to him, unable to believe what he was hearing. Damon hadn't been in a bar fight since he was in college but he hadn't felt such animosity towards one person since then either and he could feel his hands forming fists.

"Yeah, chill out." Jordan said again, aware that his words where probably doing more to infuriate the man in front of him and that a simple apology would do more to diffuse the situation.

Angela arrived and pushed herself between the two men before Damon could throw the first punch. Trying to ignore the hostile vibe from the men and wide eyed looks of mortification the children where giving each other, she focused on keeping her voice calm. "Put those drinks down. It's time for us all to leave."

"Angela.."

"No, Jordan. I don't want to hear it. I just want us all to leave. They're underage and they shouldn't be here"

"Jesus, it's one beer. Like you never had a drink when you were their age."

"That has nothing to do with it." Angela protested. "The only beer I even drank when I was their age was what you gave me at parties but at least I'm grown up enough now to realise how stupid it was."

"Whatever."

"They're just kids, Jordan, who need guidance not booze. They're not adults. Although, I can see how you'd get confused when your girlfriend is hardly more than a few years older than them!" Angela shouted, wondering where the statement came from and whether it would contain as much of a jealous tone to the ears of the people around her as it did to her own.

"Girlfriend? What girlfriend?" Jordan asked in confusion. It was only when Angela's eyes flicked towards the bar that he knew who she meant. A quick look over his shoulder confirmed that the younger girl was too busy serving customers to be taking part the their heated discussion but She was definitely within ear shot and Shane, who was still leaning against the bar behind him was suddenly taking a bit more interest. "Do you mean Jenny? She is not my girlfriend. That's Shane's little sister and apart from the fact that he would kick my ass she's only twenty-three so, yeah, she is too young for me."

"Wow. You actually think about who you can and can't sleep with now? I guess you must have grown up after all."

"Oh, just go to hell." Jordan said, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "What is it to you anyway? Who are you to just, like, assume stuff about me when we don't even know each other any more? Why do you care who I may or may not be sleeping with?"

"Believe me, I am way past caring."

"Really? Because it seems like you care an awful lot to me. Or maybe you just care about the fact that I'm not sleeping with you." As soon as the words left his mouth, Jordan expected to receive the business end of Damon's right hook but the punch never came.

"Hey, Amy-cakes. What's going on?" Rayanne asked, giving the younger a girl a quick hug regardless of the fact that it was probably the least opportune time to interrupt. She had arrived literally seconds before and the scene at the bar was too much for her to resist. Damon and Jordan were glaring at each other with clenched jaws while Angela looked stony faced and the kids seemed to be doing their best to disappear into the background. As far as she was concerned a Jordan v Damon celebrity death match style bar brawl might be just the thing they all needed to get the whole love triangle stuff sorted out but she doubted anyone else would agree.

"Oh great, you here." Angela said, clearly not happy to have another witness to the scene.

"Well, yeah. It's Jam night and I do have a life, you know?" Rayanne said, as if that would explain her presence. "But, I'm not here with him." she continued, pointing at Jordan who just rolled his eyes at her in response. "I'm, like, with Tino."

"Really?" Angela asked, looking around the bar to emphasis Tino's absence.

"He saw some guy in the car park who owes him money. He'll be in in a minute. Also I'm kind of hoping that guy, Steve, who I met last Saturday will show up later."

"I thought you said his name was Sam?" Angela asked, not quite able to believe that Rayanne was just rambling on as if they hadn't fallen out or that their conversation was taking place in what was essentially the middle of an argument. She also couldn't quite believe that she was actually responding.

"Steve. Sam. Whatever." Rayanne shrugged.

Despite her bad timing, Rayanne's arrival and typical Rayanne behaviour had managed to dissolve some of the tension in the group and Damon was starting to realise just how much attention they were getting from the rest of the bar's occupants. "Look, Angela's right. Lets just go. Come on, kids."

Amy, Rebecca and Edward stood up a bit straighter with resigned faces, preparing to leave but Mike leaned back against the bar and folded his arms, taking them all by surprise. "Sorry Mr Bradley, but if Tino's here I'm staying."

"And how exactly do you know Tino?" Damon asked. He had never met the man himself but he had heard plenty of stories from Rayanne, most involving shady if not down right illegal circumstances.

"He's my uncle." Mike replied.

It wasn't the best explanation Damon had heard because he couldn't see any association that would make him view his daughter's apparent boyfriend in a better light but it could have been worse. At least he wasn't saying that Tino was his dealer or something. "Uncle or not, I still don't think that a bar is the right place for you to be hanging out."

"If he wants to stay, he can stay." Jordan said, looking more at Edward than Damon or Mike.

Angela saw the look that Jordan gave Edward and the thoughtful expression the younger boy wore. Until now, her husband had been the closet thing to a father figure that Edward had and, if she had to guess what Edward was thinking, she would say that he was deciding whether to defy Damon as Mike had done and side with Jordan or not. Before the issue could descend into some kind of male pissing contest between Jordan and Damon, she decided to play the only card she had to get Edward to leave with them.

"Edward, does your mother know that you're here?"

"No," Edward admitted.

"I didn't think so. Sharon would be very upset if she knew you were here so I think you had better just let us drive you home."

Damon moved back from the group, happy to see that Amy and Rebecca moved to follow him. It was clear that Edward was still undecided but Damon was done arguing for the night. He nodded his head in the direction of the door to let Angela know that he would meet her outside and escorted the girls to the car.

"Edward, I know you know that your mum and me aren't speaking right now but I can't allow you to stay here. If you don't leave with us she will come and get you as soon as she knows where you are." Angela tried once last time, trying to convince herself that she was acting in the boy's best interests and not just trying to score points over Jordan.

Edward knew it was hopeless. He would have told the Bradley's that he was staying I Angela hadn't brought his mother into it. The thought of his Sharon storming in and her and Jordan repeating their argument from the previous Sunday was too much. "I guess I should…I mean I have to …go," he stammered.

To Angela it was clear that he wanted to be doing the exact opposite but it seemed as if Jordan didn't see the same reluctance. All he heard were the words Edward said and not the emotion behind them. All week he had known that he should contact Edward but something had made him hold back and the last thing he had expected was for Edward to turn up at Vertigo but he had been happy to see him. Now that Edward was leaving, he couldn't help but feel rejected in some way and it hurt more than he expected it to. "So go," he said, arranging his feature into the same blank mask he had worn earlier, and he watched them both walk away.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N - Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed. It's great to know that people are getting as much entertainment from reading this as I am from writing it. Anyway, here's chapter 14...

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The atmosphere in the car was so thick with tension you could practically cut it with a knife and, for a car with five passengers, the silence was deafening. It was getting to the stage where Amy just wanted the yelling to start so she could get it over with. She felt certain that the longer her parents maintained their silence, the worse it would be when they got home. Although, after the fight her parents had with Jordan Catalano, she wasn't entirely sure whether all of her father's shouting would be directed at her.

They reached Edward's house first. The teenagers shared a look of mutual sympathy as he pushed open the door and started to get out. He was already half wondering if he would be able to get away with not telling Sharon where he had really been that night but any such hope was soon dashed.

"You'd better walk him to the door. Make sure his Sharon knows what was going on." Damon said Angela. For a second looked as if she were going to say no but she got out of the car without saying anything and followed Edward to the door.

"Is that you, Edward? I thought you were going to be at band practice until 10? What are you doing back a whole twenty minutes before curfew?" Sharon said, from the sofa when she heard the door open. She got no response from her son but the sound of a second pair of foot steps entering the house behind him made her turn around. "Angela, what are you doing here? What's going on?"

The light tone Sharon had when she was asking Edward why he was home early was a sharp contrast the to way she looked. Angela didn't know when she had last seen Sharon look so pale and drawn. The bags under her eyes indicated that she could do with a good night's sleep and Angela found herself feeling a little sympathy towards her old friend, despite the feelings of betrayal she still held. "Damon and I found the kids at Vertigo. They went to see Jordan Catalano."

"What?" Sharon asked in disbelief, rising from her seat and walking towards them both.

"Look, I just wanted to talk to him." Edward jumped in. "You can't keep ignoring this and pretending it's all going to go away Mum!"

"Edward, we will talk about this later but now you will go up to your room."

"But you won't talk about it later, will you? You've spent all week talking about everything except what I want to talk about."

"Just go to your room, please."

"You're sending me to my room just because I wanted to talk to him? Just because I wanted to talk to my own father?"

"No, I'm sending you to your room because you lied to me about where you were going tonight."

"I lied? You're such a hypocrite!" He shouted, pure frustration propelling him in the direction of the stairs. He continued to shout as he climbed them two at a time "I can't even, like, look at you. I hate you!"

For a second, it seemed as if Sharon was frozen but as soon as his door slammed loudly above them, she started to sob, pulling her arms around herself as if to try to support herself.

"He doesn't mean it" Angela said

"Yes, he does, "Sharon replied, not quite meeting her eye. "but it's what I deserve, right? I brought it all on myself, right? "

Angela couldn't bring herself to say no, no matter how upset Sharon looked. "Yeah, you sort of did. So why did you do it? Why Jordan Catalano? Tell me what I did to deserve that? I mean, I would really like to know."

"Nothing. You didn't do anything to deserve that. It wasn't about you, Angela and it's not something I think I could explain."

"So you just betray your oldest friend for no reason? Tell me why you did it?" Angela's voice cracked at the end of the sentence and her eyes started to well up. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the tears would overspill but now that the conversation had started she knew she wouldn't be able to walk away until she had gotten some answers.

"There wasn't just one reason. It wasn't like that."

"So you were just going to lie to me about it for ever. Real mature, Sharon."

"No, I wanted to tell you. I just didn't know how and I needed you, Angela." Now that Sharon had started to talk about it, it was as if the floodgates had opened and she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop until she had said everything. "I was a mess. My father had just died and I was in pieces. And you were so happy. You were getting married and your life was just perfect."

"I offered to postpone the wedding for you but you told me not to. I didn't know what else to do and it seemed as if I was the last person you wanted to deal with."

"You were the only person I wanted to deal with but I knew what a special time it was for you and Damon and I didn't want to wreck that for you. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. I mean I had no idea what I was doing and Jordan Catalano was…he was just there."

"Oh, so you just used him?"

"No, it wasn't like that." Sharon protested. "He was hurting too. We didn't plan for anything to happen but we just started talking and it seemed as if things didn't hurt so much. I'm sorry that you feel betrayed and I'm sorry that I lied to you, to everyone, for all this time but I can't be sorry it happened because he gave me the greatest thing in my life. I'll never be sorry for having Edward."

"I wouldn't want you to be sorry for that. I just wish that you had told me. I mean, when I think about everything I did to help you, all the times I looked after him for you, and all that time I was looking after Jordan Catalano's baby"

"How could I tell you? When I found out I was pregnant I was so scared that I would be completely alone. You have no idea what it was like having to maintain this lie and having to be grateful when you baby sat for me and gave me your cast offs when all along I was so jealous of you for having what you had."

"What did I have?"

"You had a husband who loved you and provided for you. You didn't have to go out to work, pretending that you wanted to be a career woman. You didn't have to leave your baby with friends or family and miss their first words, their first steps, just so you could land an account because you were worried that if you didn't you wouldn't be able to put a roof over their head. I couldn't have coped all on my own. I just couldn't."

"Do you know how many times I was jealous of you?" Angela asked, "I love my family more than anything else but I always felt like some kind of failure because I stayed at home. I put so much time and passion into the law and then I just gave it all up."

"Well, this makes sense." Sharon said, as they both wiped their eyes. "You know what hurts even more?"

"What?"

"The thought that you won't be my friend any more because I've really missed you this week. I know I don't have any right to ask for your forgiveness or expect you to forget but I don't want us to never speak again."

"I missed you too," Angela replied, realising that it was the truth. She held her hand out to Sharon "Squeeze me hand as hard as it hurts."

Sharon took the offered hand eagerly, new tears falling down her cheeks. Rather than squeezing with all her might as she would have done in her youth, she pulled Angela into a hug.

"You should talk to him, you know?" Angela said, when they broke the hug a few moment later.

"I know. Edward deserves more of an explanation."

"I didn't mean Edward." Angela thought that this was the last thing she would suggest to Sharon but , deep don she knew that it was the right thing to do. "You should talk to Jordan. I'm the one with the tendency to shut people out, not you, remember?"

"I just don't know what to say to him" Sharon admitted "but you're right. I should talk to him."

"I should get going. Damon and the girls are waiting in the car outside."

"Okay. Listen, we're having a barbecue on Sunday. I think Edward's already invited Amy but I'd really like it if you and Damon came as well."

Angela's first instinct was to say no. They may have cried and hugged but it was too soon for them to behave as if nothing at all had happened. However, she knew that saying no would not help them rebuild their friendship which is what she ultimately wanted to do, even if it did take time. "Okay, we'll come."

After walking Angela to the door, Sharon climbed the stairs and stopped at the top, sitting next to her son.

"You keep listening in on my conversations and I'll have to get you a bell or something."

"I'm sorry about what I said." Edward started, hating that he had made her cry.

"I'm sorry too." she replied, putting an arm around his shoulders and kissing the top of his head. "About everything."

She wasn't sure how long they sat there but when they did finally get up, her legs were full of pins and needles. It didn't matter though. All that mattered was that they had finally taken a step in the right direction for getting their lives back on track.

Amy opened the fridge, hoping that there would be some sort of snack she could eat. Although she had eaten dinner in the apartment above her granddad's restaurant she had been far too nervous about how the evening would go to do more than pick at her food. Now that she was home, and the evening events had proved to be even worse than she had imagined, her appetite had returned with a vengeance. She found some left over pasta at the back of the fridge and decided that would have to do.

The first time she heard a noise she thought it was just the sound of the plate turning in the microwave and dismissed it almost instantly. The second time she heard the scuffing noise she realised it was coming from outside. The rest of the house was quiet and as much as she wanted to wake her parents, she held back. She had been shouted at and lectured enough for one night. She didn't need another lecture on thinking about her actions if she screamed the house down over a stray cat. However, the fifth time the scuffing sound reached her ears, she realised it was progressing along the outside wall and the closer it got to the kitchen door, the more it sounded like footsteps. She couldn't just stand there and do nothing. What if it was a prowler and they tried to get in? Trying to keep her nerves at a manageable level she approached the door and lifted the blind back to peek out of the window.

What she saw made her release a breath of relief followed immediately by a breath of happy surprise. Rather than a stray cat or unknown prowler, it was Mike walking towards her. She opened the door slowly, sighing in relief as he slipped through the gap without the hinges squeaking. The microwave started to ping just as she eased the door shut, making her jump but he seemed perfectly at ease as he crossed the kitchen and retrieved the steaming bowl.

"Wow, food." he said, grabbing a fork and helping himself.

"What are you doing here? It's late. My parents are right upstairs."

"They are?" he asked, holding the fork out towards her, offering her some of the food he had obviously claimed as his.

"Well they do live here." she replied, as she moved closer to take a bite while there was still some left. "Seriously, you have to go."

"Okay," he said, putting down the nearly empty bowl, but instead of moving to leave he pulled her closer towards him, drawing her into a kiss. "So, you know how I don't really get on with my mum's boyfriend? Well, I was telling Tino how much of a jerk he is and Tino has given me a spare key to his house so I can just crash there whenever I want."

"Sshh.. wait a minute," convinced that she could hear one of her parents moving about upstairs.

"Well, Tino's hardly even in, especially on the weekends." Mike lowered his voice to barely above a whisper, "Which means we can have a place, to like go. So do you want to, like, go on Saturday night?"

"What, just sneak in without him, like, knowing? Wouldn't that feel like breaking and entering?"

He trailed a finger down her neck and across her collarbone, "Just entering. So we can, you know, be somewhere."

His breath felt warm against her skin and she felt light headed. If he had asked her to go with him there and then she would have said yes but a creaking noise from the top of the stairs brought her back to reality.

"Amy? What are you doing down there? It's nearly midnight?" Angela shouted down.

"I'm just getting something to eat, mum" Amy replied, hoping that her mother wouldn't come down the stairs because there was no way she wouldn't see Mike.

"Well, don't leave a mess down there for me to clean up. Oh, and don't forget what we talked about tonight about you and Mike. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You like Mike. I have no problem with that. I just don't want you to think that you have to sneak around."

"Okay, Mum." Any cringed, as she watched the smile spread across Mikes face. Thankfully, he waited until they heard the sound of her mother walking back along the hall and closing her bedroom door before he made any comment.

"So, you like me?"

"Oh, shut up."

"You mother say's you like me."

"Shut, up!" She repeated, trying not to laugh as he wrapped his arms around her again.

"So, Saturday night?"

"My dad say's I'm grounded. Maybe I can get him to change his mind."

"You'll have to lie about who you're going to be with or he'll never change his mind. I mean, I don't think he likes me very much."

"Of course he doesn't like you," Amy replied, tying her best to adopt a wide eyed, innocent look. "Don't you know you're leading me astray?"

"You sure that's not the other way around?" he asked playfully, before leaning in for one last kiss. "Ok, I'd better go. See you tomorrow."

"Okay." She locked the door behind him and walked to her bedroom feeling as if she were walking on clouds. Her stomach was so full of butterflies she thought it would take hours of her to get to sleep. However, within minutes of her head hitting the pillow, she drifted off to pleasant dreams.

"Catalano," Rayanne said in greeting as she slid onto the empty bar stool next to his. While there had been standing room only a few hours before, most of the tables were now empty and she had a feeling it wouldn't be long before all of the stragglers got kicked out.

"Graff," he replied, barely looking in her direction as he emptied the shot glass in front of him and signalled to Jenny to get him another. "You want a drink?"

"Nope. I'm squeaky clean these days. Like a rubber ducky. Like, for real." Her statement received no response from him and it was actually refreshing. Most people who knew her from high school and remembered how she had been in her wild days took her declaration of sobriety with more than a grain of salt and she could always see the disbelief in their eyes. It was good to have someone just accept what she said and not question it. However, refreshing soon turned into awkward silence and she found herself continuing to speak just to fill it. "I'm so clean you could, like, eat off me. So, Tino said you were supposed to be doing another set but it looks like they're closing up soon?" She continued as she pulled a brightly coloured lollipop from her bag.

A fresh drink appeared in front of him but rather than pick it up and down it as she expected he just stared at it before folding his arms on the bar and silently leaning over to rest his head on top of them. Rayanne decided to give up and leave him alone to drink himself into oblivion, or not. It really wasn't like she could do much about it either way. However, just as she started to move he spoke.

"I blew it," he said dejectedly, staring down at his drink on the wooden bar, chin still resting on his hands rather than looking up at her.

"The set? How? It's not like you've ever frozen on stage or forgotten when to start singing like some people we know," she replied, referring to her own short and still embarrassing musical career.

"Forget the set. I can't think about some crappy set. My life sucks too much."

"So, you had a fight with Angela and now she's not talking to you? Join the club but you don't see me hitting the bottle do you?"

"Not Angela," he replied, looking at her for the first time. "Edward. He left."

"Oh," Rayanne said as the realisation dawned on her. She had automatically assumed that his melancholy was due to Angela because, historically, it was the right assumption to make. In a way it would have been easier if her assumption was right. At least she would have past experience to draw advice from. Seeing as she had decided to stick her nose into his business, she felt duty bound to at least try to come up with something. "Well, yeah. I mean, he was here without his mother's permission. He couldn't really stay."

"I didn't expect him to, like, be here and when I saw him coming over, I thought…I dunno…I guess I thought that at any minute he was going to change his mind and just turn around but he didn't. I'm glad he was here. I am. I just thought he would have, like, stayed. At least for a bit. I mean, Mike stayed."

"Mike doesn't have to face the wrath of Sharon. She's into that whole active parenting deal. You know, kind of the opposite of what our parents did." Rayanne pointed out. "and buying the kids a round of beers probably wasn't the best way to for you to get on her good side. Damon's either. He looked seriously pissed off."

"I know." Jordan replied. In all honesty, he knew it wasn't the smartest thing he could have done but he remembered what it was like to be fifteen and want to be accepted in an adult world. He remembered what it was like to want his own father to view him as a man and not a boy. "Do you remember when you were a kid and you started going to bars and stuff? Not just sneaking beers into Louie's or getting trashed in Lets Bolt where the music was so loud you couldn't hear anything, but proper bars? Me and Shane used to go to these different jam nights around town and at first no one talked to us. It was like they thought we were little kids just because we had to use fake ids to get in."

"Yeah. at one point I, like, collected them." Rayanne didn't want to point out that the reason they had the fake id's was because they were just kids. She felt like she was getting a rare glimpse into the mind of Jordan Catalano and she didn't want to put him off sharing.

"There was this one bar that had the best music so we just kept going back every week and, after a while, all the older guys kind of got used to us hanging around and they sort of stopped treating us like kids. Anyway, there was one old guy. He probably wasn't even that old. Hell, he was probably younger than I am now but he used to buy us beers sometimes and after the music stopped we used to sit with him by the bar and talk about the different bands, like he was interested in our opinions and stuff. I always used to think how cool that was, you know? And I used to kind of wish that I was sitting with my dad instead of some random dude. That we could have a drink and just talk, like equals or something."

"I get it."

"You do?"

"Yeah," Rayanne replied. What Jordan was really saying was that he wanted Edward to like him. He wanted Edward to think he was cool so that maybe Edward would keep coming back. As far as she was concerned it was a good sign, even if it was slightly misguided. "But maybe you should try to find some common ground with him away from the pub. I mean, underage drinking didn't exactly do us any favours and Sharon was always part of the good girl group in school. Well, mostly. I mean, she had her moments but I guess you'd know more about that than me."

"Yeah, Sharon," he said, ignoring the joke she had tried to make. It was clear from his tone of voice that he was not looking forward to the reaction he thought she would have to the nights events. "She's definitely not my number one fan. She'll probably never let me see him again."

"If we were still in high school I'd be sending you off to find Brian Krakow so you could ask him to write an apology letter for you." Rayanne smirked, trying to lighten the mood again but the look she got in reply clearly indicated that he was not amused. "Maybe you should just try talking to her. You know, like, as in actual communication? Anyway, I've got to go. Tino's waiting for me outside to give me a ride home and he'll leave without me if I don't get my ass out there. Later, Catalano."

"Later," he replied as he watched her skip towards the door, lollipop still in hand. In her own way she was still as crazy as she'd been in high school and he wasn't sure whether it was her sobriety or his inebriation but , for once, he actually thought Rayanne Graff was right about something. He needed to talk to Sharon and there was no way he could keep putting it off. He reached for his phone without thinking about the lateness of the hour. He almost hung up when the answer machine kicked in but decided it was now or never. "Hi Sharon. It's me. Jordan Catalano…we kind of need to talk so, I don't know, give me a call or come over to the store or something…so we can, you know, talk…bye." He couldn't help cringe at his phone after he hung up, wondering why he hadn't thought of something less pathetic to say but at least it was done. No one could say that he hadn't at least tried and now the ball was in her court.

"Hey, Catalano. We're calling time." Jenny said as she stacked the last of the dirty glasses behind the bar. "You drinking that or what?"

Jordan looked at the full shot glass that was still sitting on the bar. He had never been one to waste good whisky but when he picked it up he realised he didn't feel like it any more and put it down again within her easy reach. "Nah. Where's Shane?"

"He left over an hour ago. He's got work tomorrow." She distinctly remembered her brother saying goodbye his best friend before he left. Obviously, Jordan had already forgotten that part of the evening. "Why? You need a ride home?"

"I'm ok.." he started but the sight of her picking up his shot glass and tossing it's contents into a nearby sink reminded him of exactly how much he had had to drink that night. It had taken him long enough to get Red back in good working order to know that the last thing he wanted to do was wrap her around a lamp post on the way home. "Actually, yeah. I could do with a ride."

It didn't take much longer for her to finish cleaning up and collect her tips for the evening and, as they walked out together, Jenny was glad that Jordan seemed capable of walking in a straight line and carrying his guitar without knocking the case into any furniture. Either he was starting to sober up or he hadn't drank as much as she first thought. She had acted as chauffeur for her brother's drunken friends on many an occasion and there was always one sure way to tell just how drunk they were. Although she had known them all pretty much since she was born and they spent most of her youth ignoring her, finally getting her drivers license and breasts resulted in them realising that she was an actual girl and not just some mild annoyance. As she walked to the car in front of him she opened a couple more buttons on her black work shirt, revealing slightly more cleavage than she liked to show while she was working. When she reached the car, she turned to face him and paused, pulling her hair from it's pony tail and shaking it out so that it fell in caramel waves around her shoulders, before opening the rear door so he could put his guitar on the back seat. His eyes lingered on her a little longer than normal as she moved but he tried to hide it from her rather than blatantly staring. On a scale of one to ten he's about a seven she decided. Drunk but not drunk enough to pass out or puke up on the way home.

It didn't take long for her to drive over to his apartment but they passed the time in silence, deep in their own thoughts. When she pulled up outside the bakery and switched the engine off they both sat still for a moment, neither one sure whether they should ask the other what was on their mind.

It was Jenny who spoke first. "So, that was your son then? At Vertigo?"

"I guess so. I mean, yeah. That was him."

"It's not that bad. I mean, lots of people don't know their father. Shane never knew his and I don't really see mine very often. But at least you can-"

"Let's not talk about this."

"-get to know him now. Sorry, I didn't mean.."

"Nah, it's ok." Jordan shrugged, knowing she was only trying to help.

"So, that woman who was there thought I was your girlfriend, huh?"

"Angela, yeah. Look, I didn't tell her that you were or anything, because I'm not like that."

"No, I know."

"I don't know why she thought that." Jordan, said still sort of angry at Angela's assumption.

"No, me either." Jenny replied, although in reality she could guess. When she had been growing up, her brother's friends had been a constant source of crushes and lustful obsessions. Jordan had visited town for just a few weeks when she was nine years old and he had made such an impression that she spent months answering the phone before anyone else just in case it was him calling so she would be able to hear his voice. Since he had come back her crush had also returned with a vengeance. She knew she took every opportunity to flirt with him and found any excuse to touch him and, Jordan being Jordan, he sometimes flirted back but never in a serious way. Obviously Angela had see enough to make her pick up on the fact that there was something going on even if it was one sided. "It's weird though. I mean, people think we're doing it because of what she said."

"They do?" No one had said anything to him but he had spent the majority of the evening sitting by the bar on his own and brooding.

"Yeah," she said, suddenly feeling as if this was a now or never moment. She had spent most of the evening trying to convince Shane that nothing was going on between her and Jordan, mainly because Tino had taken great delight in trying to convince Shane that she was lying, but secretly she wanted to be lying to them all. She lent in towards him and it seemed as if he responded in kind. "It's like we might as well have done it anyway at this point."

"Oh"

"I mean, if everybody's talking about it already maybe we…I mean, not to make too much of deal out of it."

"Out of what?" he asked, knowing exactly what she was trying to say and wondering if he would be able to resist temptation, as they both leant further in.

"Out of anything. I mean, if everybody's already assuming it maybe we should just…" His lips met hers and for a moment she felt as if she was in ecstasy but just as she started to deepen the kiss he backed away.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have …"

"Yeah. I'm Shane's little sister. Officially off limits to any man he's ever so much as spoken to." Jenny said, unable to hide her disappointment.

"No, it's not that."

"What then? I'm too young for you?" She said, repeating his words from earlier in the evening.

"No. It's just…if I do this, it means she's right about me. Angela, I mean. If this was happening a week ago, we'd probably be upstairs by now and you're great. I mean, like, really great but now I just can't. It's like I've got responsibility for the first time in my life and everyone's expecting me to fuck it up, even worse than I already have, and for the first time in my life I want to prove them all wrong."

"She's not his mother, right?" Jenny asked.

"No, she's not. It would be simpler if she was. Actually, it really wouldn't but I kind of think I have something to prove to Sharon too. I'm just not sure what it is yet."

"Okay," she replied, realising she had received as much as she was going to get. "Probably for the best anyway. Apart from the fact that Shane really would kick your ass, you're nearly forty so you're, like, too old for me."

"Hey, less of the old" he replied, matching her small smile. "We cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool"

He got out of the car and, after pulling his guitar out of the back, he watched her drive away until her tail lights became small red lights in the distance. Part of him thought himself a fool for letting her just go but another part of him knew that he had done the right thing. 'Who would have thought going home alone could make you feel this good?' he thought as he lit his last cigarette of the night and walked slowly upstairs to his apartment.

* * *

Thanks for reading! ~LJ~


	15. Chapter 15

A/N - thanks for the great reviews. This chapter is a bit shorter than normal but, seeing as I've had so much positive feedback about my next generation OCs I thoght I'd try a chapter just for the kids (mostly).

* * *

"So Cherski, what punishment did you get?" Amy asked loudly, effectively interrupting Edward and Rebecca mid kiss. As far as she could see, ignoring the moment they were sharing and rudely raising her voice to get their attention was the only way she would be able to retrieve her text books. She knew that Rebecca thought he leaned great, but did he really need to lean against her locker when they were making out? What was wrong with leaning against his own locker, or Rebecca's for that matter?

"Nothing," he replied, releasing Rebecca from the kiss but keeping his arms around her waist. "Sharon was actually ok. Well, not completely ok but after some initial shouting when your mum dropped me off she kind of stopped freaking out. We actually, like, talked about stuff."

"What?" Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "We wouldn't have even been there if we weren't trying to support you in your hour of need, yet we're the ones who get grounded and have their allowance's withheld while you get off scott free?"

"I'm more than grounded," Rebecca complained, "My mum say's she's putting me on washing up duty in the restaurant all Saturday afternoon."

"What can I say? It's a cruel, cruel world."

"You could at least show us a bit of sympathy!" Rebecca replied, playfully swatting his shoulder, faking annoyance.

"Oh really? How about this for sympathy?" Edward grinned evilly before tickling her in retaliation.

Amy watched with raised eyebrows as Rebecca screeched in high pitched giggles and struggled in his hold. Although not enough to actually break free, she noticed. She wondered how they could be so tactile with one another, acting as if none of the other students in the busy hallway could see them or hear them. It was kind of cute but in a slightly annoying sort of way, especially at 8.45 in the morning. "Ugh," she said aloud, giving the couple a small shove so she could get closer to her locker while they continued to muck around. "I think I preferred it when you were swapping spit. At least then you were both quiet."

She turned to her locker and started to reach for the combination but before her hand reached it, a larger hand covered the lock and started to twist the dial.

"Hey," Mike whispered in her ear as his other hand circled her waist.

"Hey," Amy replied as she leant back against him, wondering how his breath could feel so warm against her ear but still make her shiver.

"I, like, thought about you all night," he continued, voice low enough for only her to hear. In that moment, the world around them ceased to exist. She no longer heard Rebecca's playful shrieks as Edward continued to tease her or the conversations of the other students around them. Her entire existence was caught up in the closeness of their bodies and the way his hand rested on the waistband of her jeans, one thumb hooked under her top to stroke her stomach. She could have stood like that for hours, days even, completely hypnotised by him but his next words brought reality flooding back. "Did you do the reading for Katimski's?"

"What? Oh, no. Well, some… I haven't finished it yet. I mean, I only read like a few paragraphs so.." She stammered wondering if it would always be this hard to hold a normal conversation when he was touching her.

"Ok. Well, anyway, I've got to go and find Steve and Jake before homeroom," he said, referring to the other members of Echelon. "We seriously need to arrange some practice tonight. Edward, you coming, man?"

"Sure," he replied, spinning Rebecca around to deposit her next to Amy, leaving her smiling and breathless.

The girls watched their beaus saunter away down the corridor, both wondering when their brains would start working again.

"I seriously need to talk to you." Amy said after a moment, tugging on Rebecca's sleeve to get her moving towards the direction of the nearest bathroom.

At first glance, the room looked empty but there were always people hiding out or ditching class so Amy leant down to check under the stall doors before she spoke, much to Rebecca's amusement.

"Something amazing happened last night." Amy began as soon as she was sure they were alone, "and I think it's going to completely change everything. Everything."

"How can getting yelled at by your parents and my parents be amazing?" Rebecca asked in confusion.

"Well, obviously that part of the night completely sucked but after… God, it was just…"

"Amazing?" Rebecca offered, wondering what the hell she was going on about.

"Yes, amazing." She lowered her voice, as if to deliver some profound secret. "Mike came to my house last night, like, really late last night."

"And?"

"I was making a snack and my mum and dad were upstairs and he kind of snuck in. All the time he was there, it felt like it was some kind of dream. I mean, I've had that dream before… just without the pasta."

"I'm still not seeing what your point is?"

"My point is he came to tell me that his uncle, that Tino guy, has given him a spare key to his house so now we have a place to like go if we want to be, you know, alone."

"You want to have sex with him." It came out as a statement rather than a question and in normal volume rather than the hushed tones Amy had been using, causing her check under the stall door once again. "Come on, there's no one else here so you can tell me. I am right, right?"

"Yeah, I think so." Amy nodded as she tucked her hair behind her ears, blushing slightly but smiling at the same time.

"Aaahhh! I knew it!" Rebecca squealed, displaying all of the excitement Amy felt. "You and Mike are actually happening."

"I know. This morning I was a bit worried about it because he sent me a text to say he was running late and couldn't pick me up and I thought maybe he'd changed his mind or something, about the whole thing. Like, changed his mind about me and was trying to avoid me but I was basically worrying about nothing."

"If he thinks you're going to sleep with him, he won't be avoiding you, believe me. He probably just didn't want to risk running into your dad after talking back to him last night." Rebecca pointed out. "But on the plus side, at least he sent you a message this time rather than just leaving you waiting for him."

"Yeah. I don't think I could have survived another school run interrogation from my mother if I missed the bus again." Amy grimaced at the memory. "So, do you have any pearls of wisdom?"

"What?"

"You know, some sage advice. I mean, out of the two of us, you're the one that's actually done this before."

Rebecca turned away s if to check her make up in the mirror, suddenly not meeting Amy's eye anymore. "Actually, I kind of haven't." she admitted after a moment, receiving a look of surprise for the other girl. "What?"

"Well, I.. I just thought...I mean you've had lots of boyfriends so I just kind of assumed…"

"Well, you assumed wrong."

"What about Steve Jones?"

"Just because someone writes a stupid note saying I did it with him in his car outside Louie's doesn't mean I actually, like, did. Just because people say things about people doesn't mean it's always true. I don't even know who would write that kind of note without, like, checking the facts."

"You write notes like that all the time."

"I write notes that are true." Rebecca said defensively. "And don't even mention that stupid poll created by those jock assholes last term. I may have been voted most slut potential but the key word there is potential."

"So, you really haven't?" Amy asked, still not quite able to believe it.

"No." Rebecca replied, feeling the need to explain further. "I know that I've dated some guys. Ok, maybe more than a few and I've done…some stuff… which was like, really fun and everything but things always ended before they got that far. I mean, I made a solemn promise to myself that I wouldn't go all the way until I was ready and I've like stuck to that."

"Oh." Amy could respect the fact that Rebecca had beliefs but it came as a shock that those beliefs actually existed. It made her wonder whether she should have beliefs too. When it really came down to it, how did she know that she was ready? She thought she felt ready but what if she was wrong? Was it better to do something and maybe regret it afterwards or always regret not doing something? Was she turning it into a bigger deal than it really was? On the other hand, shouldn't being so intimate with someone for the first time be a big deal? The sound of the bell roused her from her thoughts enough to follow Rebecca out of the bathroom and towards her classroom but her mind wasn't fully focused on what she was doing. She had the feeling that no matter how much she tried to concentrate on school, her mind was going to be on something else all day.

****

"So, what happened at Vertigo after we left?" Edward asked as he and Mike walked down the corridor.

"Not much. Everyone just kind of sat around and listened to the music. There were a couple of dodgy acts but most of them were really cool. We should see if they'll let us play one night."

"Did he say anything about me?"

Mike didn't need any clues as to who Edward was talking about. "Nah but I was with Tino and his mates most of the night. Jordan Catalano kind of stayed by the bar and kept to himself. He was supposed to do another set, or something, but he didn't. Don't know why. "

"Oh," Edward replied, not sure of what to read into the information

"You know the girl from behind the bar? The one Amy's mum thought was Catalano's girlfriend?" Mike asked, continuing when he received a nod from Edward. "She really is Shane's sister. Tino spent most of the night trying to mess with his head, telling him that Catalano was doing her. She completely denied it though. Shame really."

"Why?"

"Think about it, dude. If they were together she'd be, like, your step-mother or something. We'd be talking major milf."

"Ah, man!" Edward replied, punching the other teen on the shoulder. "You're, like, sick."

"But I'm right though." Mike smirked. Edward shook his head in response but couldn't help his own smirk from spreading across his face. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Mike continued. "So, you going to go see him again?"

"I don't know. He left a message on our machine last night saying he needed to talk to my mum. Sharon said she was going to speak to him, like, today so I suppose it depends on what happens," he shrugged. He was glad that his mother was finally starting to open up about what happened and accept the fact that Jordan was back in town but the whole situation made him feel helpless. Whatever Jordan and Sharon said to each other would directly effect him but it was as if he had no control over his own life. Not wanting to dwell on what could happen, he decided to change the subject. "I can't believe Rebecca and Amy got in so much trouble over this. They're both, like, grounded for life. We're not even allowed to go over to Amy's house to hand out after school."

"Yeah, I know. Me and Amy sort of made plans for Saturday night anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Mike replied, with a smile, trying not to let his excited anticipation show too much. He knew what he wanted to happen but he also knew that there would be no guarantee that it would actually happen so he didn't want to make a big deal about it. "Tino's given me a spare key to his house. We're just going to go there and hang out."

"Oh, really? I take it Tino is going to be elsewhere." Edward said, with raised eyebrows, guessing what 'hang out' actually meant. He was happy for them but he couldn't help but feel a little envious. He wasn't jealous of the couple. Amy had never been more than a friend to him. It was more a jealousy of the fact that they had somewhere to go while he and Rebecca didn't have anywhere to be alone apart from the boiler room. Not that he didn't like the boiler room. Quite the opposite. It was quickly becoming his favourite room in the whole school. He just couldn't help but feel that his relationship with Rebecca needed to move out of the boiler room and into something more. He vaguely wondered whether Mike would let him have use of that spare key but before the question could be voiced, they met the other members of their band. After the customary swapping of high fives, the conversation turned from girls to band practice and, for the time being, any thoughts of their girlfriends were suspended.

*****

It was dark and dusty. There were certain pipes that you had to be careful not to touch because they were so hot and every so often the boiler would make a strange clunking sound as if it was going to break down or explode from the pressure. Everyone knew about the boiler room in the basement near the north exit and everyone knew that there was only one reason why you would go there. For the people who did go there, it didn't matter that it was a bit grimy and a bit too warm to be completely comfortable. All that mattered was who you were with.

Rebecca hadn't understood that before. Until the day Edward left her a note asking her to meet him there she didn't think she was the kind of girl who went to the boiler room. It was no secret that she had dated more than her fair share of freshmen guys. Amy had been right about that but just because she dated them didn't mean she was some kind of slut. She was just part of the popular crowd and that's what the popular girls did. It was partly why they were popular. The popular crowd didn't go to places like the boiler room. It was like it was beneath them, like their reputations wouldn't allow it, even if they spread rumours about the girls who did go there. That first time if felt as if she was trespassing somehow. It was as if she was breaking some unwritten law because there were certain places that were, like, reserved for certain people but over the past couple of weeks she couldn't have stayed away if she tried.

He didn't even leave her notes anymore. He didn't need to. They just both went there, pulled by gravity, and some days she didn't want to leave again. On this particular day she arrived before him and, after settling down on one of the crates she opened her geometry text book. She might have been looking at gibberish for all the sense it made but at least it gave her something to try to focus on. It didn't work. All she could think of was him and as soon as she heard his footsteps on the stairs, her heart began to hammer away in her chest.

As Edward rounded the corner and came into sight she could see her anticipation mirrored in his eye. It took seconds for him reach her and neither one noticed as her geometry book fell to the floor. They didn't say hello. They let their lips do the talking for them, kissing with such an urgency that any one who managed to spot them would have through they had been parted for an eternity rather than a few hours.

"I'm missing my geometry review," Rebecca panted, using the words as an excuse to take a breath rather than actually feeling the need to speak. "Luckily, it's optional."

Edward just smiled slightly before covering her mouth with hers once more, burying his hands in her brown curls. Rebecca felt as if each caress of his tongue was caressing her soul and when he turned his attention to her neck, nibbling and sucking on the sensitive skin, she thought she would die. She didn't care if he left any marks and the small moan that involuntary escaped her lips, spurred him on even more. His hands danced over her body, making their way under her t-shirt. It didn't matter that the wire railing that she was leaning on was digging into her back or that one of the too hot pipes was millimetres away from shoulder. All she felt was the heat of his skin against hers and a previously unfelt warm sensation in the pit of her stomach. As he kissed her, her words from earlier in the day came back to her. You want to have sex with him. In her heart, it was delivered in the same way she delivered the sentence to Amy. A statement. A fact. But I her head it was followed by the question, do you really think you're ready? Even if she was ready, she wasn't ready enough to just do it there and then so when his hands moved and eased open the top button of her jeans, reality came flooding back.

"Wait, someone might come down here." she said breathlessly, stopping his hand on her zip with her own.

"No one ever comes down here 4th period apart from us," he replied just as breathlessly and clearly not wanting to stop, but when her hand didn't release his he got the message and leaned back slightly.

As soon as Edward moved, she realised just how much of his body weight had been pressed against her and part of her immediately wanted to pull him back but if she did that she wasn't sure if she would be able to push him away again. For a second , when she looked at him he seemed to look away but then her caught her eyes in an intense stare.

He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand and leaned in slight for a slow, gentle kiss before asking. "How long are we supposed to keep doing this?"

"I know…I mean. what do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, well…what do you want me to do? I mean I know what you want me to do but.." she trailed off, not sure how to explain how she was feeling when he was looking at her with big brown eyes she wanted to melt in.

"Look, cant we just…"

"Just what? Just do it? Right here in school?"

"We're not in school. We're in a boiler room," he said, corners of his mouth turning up in a cheek smile. "Why where do you want to do it?"

She smiled back despite herself, "Oh, I don't know. How about above the restaurant while my parents are working downstairs? We'll have to be quiet though." As soon as she finished the sentence she realised that he hadn't been completely joking as she was. "What? You actually expect me to choose a place?"

"Well, yeah," he replied honestly before kissing her once more.

Her body responded automatically, kissing him back, while her mind was a whirl of thoughts and emotions. She was almost glad when the bell rang. It gave her a chance to pull away without seeming as if she was pushing him away.

"I've really got to go to Bio. We're supposed to start dissecting out pig hearts today." she said grimly. Sure that in an alternative dimension there was a pot belly with a scalpel poised above hers.

***

Mrs Learner looked at the students milling around the corridor and wondered just how many she had taught over the years. Being a math teacher she supposed she should be able to work it out but the sheer size of the number would make her feel even older. The truth was, she was finally exhausted by teaching and she couldn't wait for her last day to come around. She thought that showing her replacement around the school would make her feel nostalgic and sorry to be leaving but it was having the opposite effect. It felt good to be passing the responsibility to someone else.

"I'm so glad they finally hired you. I retire in exactly one week and I thought they weren't going to find anyone in time. Richard Katimski was terrified that they'd stick him with my classes like the time they made me take over two English classes. I was never even any good in English."

The new male teacher nodded politely, biting back the words 'I know' but before he could say anything in response, a passing student caught the attention of Mrs Learner and he couldn't help but stare, wondering for the hundred time that day whether he had done the right thing by accepting the job.

"Rebecca Chase! Why weren't you in geometry review?"

"Oh, I thought it.."

"Rebecca, you need this. How are you going to pass your midterms?"

"Um, yeah. I thought it was optional." Rebecca replied, wishing she could disappear. It felt like every other student in the hallway was looking at her and her mind was still too involved with what had just happened in the basement to string a proper sentence together. To make matters worse, Edward chose that exact time to walk past her, close enough to touch, and gave her a look. It was a look which said he knew exactly why she hadn't been in geometry review and why she probably wouldn't be in the next one either. As much as she wanted to act normal, she couldn't help be distracted by his presence. "I'll definitely…yeah, you know…" she trailed off, backing away down the corridor in the direction he had been heading.

"It just break my heart, some of these girls." Mrs Learner shook her head as she watched Rebecca walk away. "I mean they're just so smart and yet…are you ok?"

"What?" he asked, still staring down the corridor distractedly. "Oh, yes. Sorry. It's just déjà vu, I guess."

"That's to be expected I suppose. I mean, coming to teach in the place you went to high school. It must bring back lots of memories, Brian. Oh, silly me. I should be calling you Mr Krakow now, at least in front of the students."

Brian smiled politely again, not sure what to say. It seemed as if Mrs Learner wasn't the only one having problems with his transition from student to teacher. It felt so strange to be back. The place seemed smaller somehow but everything else, from the educational posters on the walls to the strange smell outside the chemistry labs, was exactly the same. Chase girls were still skipping geometry reviews and he would put money on the fact that the boiler room in the basement by the north exit still didn't have a lock on the door. The timelessness of it all was reassuring but sort of annoying. Also annoying were the theories his parents had come up with to explain why he moved back to Three Rivers and took the job at Liberty high. However, it was too late to back out now. The contracts had been signed and insanity was not an option.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please R&R


	16. Chapter 16

Jordan had hoped for a nice quiet day in the store where he would be able to amuse himself by rearranging stock, making sure all the guitars were properly tuned and listening to the local classic rock station at a low volume. Unfortunately, fate had other ideas and from when he opened up at 9am, he had had to deal with a steady stream of customer queries. If they weren't coming in, they were calling up to question whether he had what they wanted in stock. He was grateful for the business and the fact that it kept his mind off wondering whether Sharon would contact him but his hang over wasn't really doing much to help his customer service skills. He hadn't even had time to nip outside for a cigarette break and the only lunch he'd managed to grab was some left over Chinese that he hoped hadn't been sitting in the fridge for too long.

Thankfully, by 2am the last remnant of his headache had disappeared and there was a lull in the store activity as the lunch time browsers went back to their day jobs. He wasn't alone for long though, even if the next person who come in wasn't classed as an actual paying customer.

"You cheered up yet or are you still being a moody bastard?" Shane asked as soon as he closed the door behind him.

Jordan bit back a sarcastic reply as the phone rang once more. "Back Alley Music," he spoke into the hand set instead, using his free hand to throw a one fingered salute in Shane's direction. "Uh huh… yeah… $820... ok, I can hold it until Monday…" he continued as Shane tuned out the discussion and jumped up to sit on top of the counter and leafed through a near by music magazine. "You buying that, dude?" he asked after putting the phone down.

"No," Shane replied truthfully. "I'm jut checking out the hot chicks with guitars. What time did you end up leaving Vertigo last night?"

"Don't know. Whatever time they closed up. My car's still there." Jordan said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on top of the counter. "Next time just drag my ass out when you leave."

"Don't blame me. I suggested you leave when I did but you said no in a less than polite way. You were doing some major brooding. Seriously, man." Shane flicked to the next page and turned the whole magazine sideways. "What kind of a shop are you running here? This isn't a music mag. It's more like soft porn."

Jordan straightened up slightly to be able to look over Shane's shoulder and take in the poster. "Yeah, they look good but they can't play their instruments for shit."

"When they look like that, I don't care how they play." Shane leered, finally getting a small smile from his friend. "What do you mean your car's still at Vertigo? You hook up with someone or something?"

"Nah, I was just too wasted to drive. Jenny gave me a ride instead."

For a moment, Shane scowled at him, full of suspicion. It wasn't that he didn't want his little sister to be happy but being so much older than her he had always felt rather protective and, as much as he loved Jordan, he wasn't the kind of guy he wanted Jenny to be sleeping around with. He knew both of them far too well to know that any relationship between the two of them wouldn't end well, especially with everything that was going on in Jordan's life at the moment. As far as Shane was concerned, she was too immature and he had way too much baggage. However, he realised that he also knew Jordan well enough to know that if anything had happened, he wouldn't have even mentioned her name, never mind the fact that she drove him home so he didn't have to kill him just yet. "You better hope your car's still there. That can be a tough neighbourhood at night. Not that I can actually imagine anyone wanting to nick a rust bucket like that."

"Hey, don't disrespect the car." Jordan warned, but his mellow tone indicated he was well used to his friends joking about Red's virtues. "Oh, by the way, it's arrived."

"Really?" Shane asked excitedly, not even needing to query what 'it' was.

"Yeah," Jordan replied, amused by his friends enthusiasm. He unlocked the hatch on the counter, releasing himself from the employees only side and started for the back of the store, Shane following close behind. He had a feeling that he was going to regret introducing Shane to his new best friend so soon after getting rid of his hang over but it would be cruel to keep the man waiting. He stopped by the back corner of the store where a dust sheet covered a large piece of equipment and pulled it back with a dramatic flourish.

"That is a beautiful, beautiful thing." Shane said in awe as he looked at the Sonar drum kit with black shells and gleaming chrome. The images of scantily clad, wannabe rock chicks were instantly forgotten.

"You sure you want this instead of cash?" Jordan asked, still unsure as to whether the drum kit would be fair payment for the work Shane was putting in on the recording studio they were building in the loft space above the store. It was an impressive kit but not so useful when it came to paying bills.

"Hell, yeah." He tapped one of the cymbals and the ringing sound it produced was literally music to his ears. "Was talking to Tino last night while you were propping up the bar and he said he thinks he knows a guy who can get hold of a V-Studio 700 mixing board for, like, half the price."

"I don't know. Something like that falls off the back of a lorry and then I start advertising recording space," Jordan shrugged, "Might be more trouble than it's worth. Also, if I want to write it off as a legit business expense I'm probably going to need a receipt."

"That's what I said you would probably say and he said, if you did, to tell you that running this place is turning you into a pussy. So I told him to piss off on your behalf. "

"You should have told him to get himself a proper job instead. It would have been more of an insult." Jordan smiled, imagining how their conversation had gone.

"Yeah, like that would ever happen. Anyway, enough chit chat. Give me some sticks so I can give this baby a work out."

Jordan obliged and the shop was soon filed with the pounding of the drums, which increased in speed and intensity as Shane progressed from warm up rhythms to full out rock beats.

"You're like Animal, dude!" Jordan laughed but after 20 minutes of listening to Shane's drum solo he couldn't resist joining in any longer.

He pulled one of the electrics guitars off the wall and plugged it into the closest amp. It didn't matter how old they got or that they were in a supposed place of business. The instant they started to play they felt seventeen all over again, as if they were hanging out at the loft without a care in the world. The sound they created wasn't exactly perfect. It had been a while since they had jammed together and they didn't have a bass to fill out the sound but they remembered the old songs they used to play and, whether it was tunes from the Ramones to the Stone Temple Pilots they were trying to recreate, they would be recognisable to anyone who knew the tracks.

Shane didn't know how long they had been playing when his eye caught a flicker of movement over Jordan's shoulder. As he realised who it was his concentration lapsed and he lost the rhythm, slowly grinding to a halt. Jordan looked at him quizzically, wondering what the problem was before turning to follow his gaze.

"Hi," Sharon said, feeling very much out of place. Her smart pin-stripe suit, briefcase and stiletto shoes contrasted sharply to their faded jeans and t-shirts and she had clearly interrupted them when they were having fun which made her feel as if she was sucking all of the joy out of the room just by breathing. Originally she had intended to call him but after coming over to this side of town for a meeting only to find that her client had cancelled, she decided to stop by on the spur of the moment. Now she wasn't sure that it was the best idea she had ever had. Nervousness started to make her babble. "Was that a Buffalo Tom song? I used to really like them. I shouted. A couple of times actually but I guess you didn't hear me. Boys and their toys, right? You should be more careful, you know. Anyone could have come in. I could be, like, robbing the till or something…like right now…"

"Not without the key." Jordan said with a frown, indicating towards the key chain attached to his belt loop. He remembered saying in his message for her to call or come over but it was still a surprise to see her standing there without any warning. "Urm…hi.."

"Hi," Sharon repeated, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, not quite looking directly at them.

Jordan unconsciously mirrored her pose, suddenly seeming just as uncomfortable as her in his own shop and as Shane looked at each of them he felt like banging their heads together, though he seriously doubted that would help to improve their communication skills. "Hi," he said, repeating the greeting once more as he got up from his seat for lack of anything more inspired to say. "So, I guess I'm going to get going and leave you guys to talk or whatever."

Jordan nodded as he disconnected the amp and pulled the guitar strap over his head . "Ok, later."

"Later," he said, moving quickly around the kit. When he walked towards Sharon it seemed as if she was going to stop him, like she wasn't quite ready to be alone with Jordan, but she took a deep breath instead and moved to the side to allow him to pass. He was glad. As far as he was concerned, they needed to sort this mess out on their own and if it went badly he didn't want to be forced into the position of referee. He pulled the door open and started to step out just as an unsuspecting member of the public was about to enter. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you. It's closed." he said, blocking the doorway and giving the potential customer his best glare until they turned around and turned tail. Before closing the door he reached under the blind to flip the 'open' sign around and flicked the switch on the latch, making sure that when it closed behind him it locked firmly.

They stood in silence for a few seconds after the door closed, neither knowing where to start. Jordan ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head slightly while she fidgeted with the hem of her jacket.

"I could use a cup of coffee." he said, in an attempt to break the ice.

"Yeah, a coffee would be good." she agreed.

He showed her into a small room at the back of the shop which was used for giving guitar lessons and doubled up as a small staff room. Not that he had much in the way of actual staff. Two college kids who were scheduled to pick up two shifts a week each but were more likely to turn up when they felt like it rather than when they were expected didn't exactly make a workforce. Sharon sat gingerly on the old leather couch trying not to let her distaste for her surroundings show. The room was a complete contrast to the clean, corporate world she was used to and, although all of the instruments in the shop were spotless, she seriously doubted whether anyone had thought to dust or vacuum this back room since the shop had opened. However, the sink area, cups and coffee machine looked safe enough so she supposed it could be worse and while he busied himself with the drinks she tried to force herself to relax.

"You take sugar?" he asked

"No, thanks" she replied, while she watched him put three generous spoonfuls into one of the cups and wondered how he could drink something that sweet. "I'll take some cream though or milk."

"Oh, I…I don't have any. I take it black… I could go get some …"

"No, no. Black will be fine."

"Okay," he replied but continued after passing her the steaming cup. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Really." She took a sip of the hot liquid for emphasis, not quite able to believe that now they were actually together all they had managed to talk about was something as trivial as coffee. "So, we kind of need to, like, talk."

"Yeah." he agreed, wishing he knew how to start or at least make this easier for both of them.

He took a seat next to her and they turned to each other but almost immediately turned away again to stare straight ahead at the opposite wall. After a moment, they began to take furtive looks at each other out of the corner of their eyes as if they were trying to figure out what the other was thinking. It was Sharon who found the courage to speak first.

She shifted in her seat, turning towards him. "Look, I know that you hate me right now-"

"I don't-" he started to speak but she didn't let him finish.

"and, okay, I'll admit that maybe I should have at least tried to contact you when I found out I was pregnant but I can't change what happened and if you're going to leave town again-"

"Who said I was leaving?" Jordan interrupted again, clearly confused.

"Well, Edward said…he's got it into his head that you might leave because of what's happened. It was something to do with a song you sang about a big lie being revealed, and the word goodbye being repeated over and over… and I'm not here to try and tell you what to do, or anything, but I need to know because he needs to know."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh." she replied, surprised at how relieved she felt but now it was her turn for her brow to crease in confusion

"That song wasn't…I didn't mean it that way." Jordan tried to explain. "I guess I was saying goodbye to certain, like, ideas I had about my life, you know? Ideas I had about stuff that happened, about who I am, about the future. I'm not actually leaving."

"Oh, I see." Sharon said, not entirely understanding but the explanation was enough to know that he was sticking around. A small part of her had been hoping that he wouldn't deny it and would actually confirm that he was going to go away. It was the part of her that wanted to go back to the relative simplicity of her life before the truth came out, even if deep down she knew that that could never happen. There was no going back. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about Edward blaming her for driving him away or, worse still, wanting to go with him. "Edward will be glad."

"He seems like a good kid."

"Yeah, he is," she smiled, unable to hide her pride in her son, but her expression soon turned earnest again. "He wants for you to get to know each other. Is that something you could, like, picture doing?"

"I guess."

"You guess?" Sharon repeated. It wasn't exactly the confident answer she had been hoping for. "You can't just say I guess. This isn't the kind of deal where you get a trial period. You're either in or you're out because I will not have you mess him around. I can't have him running around chasing after you, lying to me about where he is, if you're not interested. I mean, he deserve more than that, he-"

"Okay!…Just… okay." Jordan said, stopping her mid rant. He closed his eyes for a moment as if it would help him organise his thoughts. When he opened them again his cobalt eyes met her brown in an intense stare. "I want to get to know him too. I do. I just…I don't know how. I mean, this whole thing scares me shitless. I haven't got a clue how I'm supposed to act."

"You think I wasn't scared when I had him or that I instantly knew how to be a mother? You think I know what the hell I'm doing right now?"

"But I bet you had some good examples to follow, huh? I mean, you grew up in a good family, right? The only example I've got is good old Tony Catalano and you don't want that for your son."

For a second she could see a shadow of the hurt that had filled his eyes all those years ago when they had met in the cemetery, each mourning their loss. She wanted to reach out to him but she couldn't. Whatever unresolved issues he had with his father, he needed to work them out on his own. "You're not him, Jordan." She said simply. "You're not like him." She remembered what Jordan had told her about his father but the idea that Jordan might be the same had never crossed her mind. The Jordan she remembered from high school was laid back and placid. The Jordan she remembered from that night was gentle, tender even. She knew he would never raise his fists in anger even if he didn't know that himself.

"I just don't want to fuck this up."

"So don't." she replied. "He's not a little kid. He doesn't need babysitting. He just wants to see you, talk to you, just hang out. He's curious, you know?"

"Me too." Jordan admitted. He had so many questions it was practically impossible to know where to start. After a moments contemplation, he decided to ask the hardest question first. "He like school?"

"I don't know about actually liking it but he does ok. As in music. Bs in pretty much everything else when he puts the effort in. Cs when he doesn't."

"That's good. I always wish I could have done better in school. Tried harder or something." Jordan shrugged, aiming for cool when he was secretly revealed. He didn't think dyslexia was hereditary but it wasn't something he'd ever thought to check. The thought that Edward might be struggling as he had was something he had been privately fearing. The next question was easier to ask but, for some reason, nearly as important to him. "Who taught him to play?"

"Well, I used to play the clarinet so I started to teach him when he was nine. He completely hated it but that's how he learnt to read music. Then one of his friends got a guitar and he went on and on about how much cooler that was so I gave in and bought him one for his tenth birthday. He learnt the basics from books and videos, picked stuff up from his friends. It was like he could just do it, like it was natural or something."

"He's good."

"I know." She nodded and her voice took on a bitter sweet tone. "I guess he takes after his dad."

"I would have come back, you know? If I'd have known."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I think so." he replied, not quite meeting her eye. In truth, he wasn't entirely sure if he would have. At the time he had been busy embracing the true spirit of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, using all of the old clichés as an excuse to run from his own personal demons, but he wanted to believe that he would have done the right thing. With hindsight, it would have been the perfect wakeup call.

"I didn't think you would but I kind of didn't…" she trailed of, not sure how he would react.

"What?"

"I didn't want you to tell you because part of me sort of didn't want you to come back."

"Oh," he replied, not sure what to make of the statement and trying not to let it anger him until she had explained herself.

If he thought he was fooling her with his neutral voice he was mistaken. His body language gave away the fact that he was reigning his emotions in, holding them in check. As she tried to form the words in her mind in a way that would make sense to him, he reached for his cigarettes. Rather than light up as she expected, he tapped the end of one against the box a couple of times before putting it back.

"I don't mind if you want to smoke," she offered, misunderstanding his actions.

"I don't smoke in the shop." he replied tensely, the combination of his familiar craving and what he saw as her trying to change the subject making his jaw clench in annoyance. "Why didn't you want me to know? Was I too messed up, too much of a fuck up? What was it?"

"No, none of those," she protested, the combination of her memories and the harshness of his words bringing unexpected tears to her eyes. "It's so hard to explain because it's not going to sound right. It wasn't you, it was me. I was the mess. I…after my dad died it was like I was just going through the motions, like I wasn't really living. When I realised I was pregnant, God, I was so scared but it woke me up again. It was like I had to join the human race again because there was one growing inside me and it felt like it was me and him against the rest of the world. I needed him. I needed him to need me and I didn't want to share that with anyone. I'm sorry if that was selfish of me but that's how I felt. Part of me still feels that way. You have no idea how hard it is, seeing how much he wants you, because it make me feel like I was never enough after all." She wiped her eyes as he silently rose from the sofa and rather than watch him leave she closed her eyes in an effort to stem the tears. When she opened them a few seconds later she expected the room to be empty but he was standing in front of her, looking down silently while holding out a piece of kitchen paper in his hand.

"Haven't got any tissues," he shrugged as she reached up to take the offered paper. "Guess we were both pretty messed up back then."

"Yeah."

He gave her a moment to compose herself before he spoke again. "There's one thing I still don't get though?"

"What?" she asked with trepidation. It was hard for her to believe that he would just accept her explanation so easily and she dreaded the hundreds of difficult questions she could imagine him asking.

"Where did the story about the French dude come from?"

She was so taken aback by the question that she gave a short snort of laughter before answering. Of all the things he could want to know, he decided to ask that? At least the answer was relatively simple. "That was Rayanne Graff's idea. God knows why I thought that was a good cover story. It must have been the hormones or something."

"Rayanne, huh? Should have guessed." He said but continued when she gave him a quizzical look. "She once told me that Angela was from France."

"She told you that Angela Chase was French? No way!"

"She did. I believed her for, like, three whole days," he smiled at his juvenile gullibility while Sharon gave another snort of laughter. It wasn't even funny but his smile broadened anyway and some of the tension in the room seemed to lift. "I'm glad I amuse you."

She wiped under her eyes, removing the last smudges of mascara while he leaned back against the wall and watched her as their smiles began to fade. She felt the need to say something before the atmosphere became heavy again but he beat her to it.

"So, what happens now?" he asked.

She took a deep breath, trying to figure out the best way forward. "It's Edwards birthday next week."

"It is?"

"Yeah, Wednesday. He's got plans with his friends for that night but I'm having a barbecue on Sunday. You don't have to if you don't want to. I mean, there'll be family and stuff there but I think he might like it if you came."

"Okay," he said, hardly pausing to think about it.

"You sure?" she asked. She remembered Angela often complaining in their high school days of Jordan being incapable of making or sticking to any plans. If she was going to tell Edward that he had been invited, she wanted to be certain that he would actually show up.

"I'll be there." he replied, seeing how important it was for her to believe him. "I used to have this philosophy."

"You had a philosophy?"

"Yeah. It was 'whatever happens, happens'. I realised a while ago that it was a really stupid philosophy. So, my new philosophy is 'if you say you're going to do something, then do it'."

"I have to say I really respect that." she nodded in the realisation that had managed to at least form some kind of truce, even if it was still early days.

She wrote down her address before he walked her to the door. He held it open for her and they both paused not quite sure how to say goodbye. The last time they had parted it had been after words of bitter recrimination. The time before that it had been after a passionate farewell kiss, not really expecting for their paths to cross again. Now they were in unchartered territory, neither knowing how to define their relationship to one another let alone decide what social etiquette called for.

Feeling awkward and slightly stupid, Sharon stuck her hand out. "So, I'll see you on Sunday at about 2pm?"

He looked at her hand for half a second, as if trying to remember what the expected response was before he reached out to take her hand in his for the customary shake. "Deal," he replied, making sure to look her straight in the eye as he spoke to let her know that he meant it.

The eye contact and the contact of their palms lasted longer than was strictly necessary. Definitely longer than either had intended and it brought back memories and feelings they hadn't expected to surface. They both simultaneously realised that the hand shake was more of a hand hold and let go at the same time, both suddenly feeling awkward again but for a completely different reason than they had when Sharon first arrived.

"Okay.. So, I'm going to go." Sharon said, quickly stepping out of the door way hoping that he wouldn't see the blush that was slowly creeping across her cheeks. "Later."

"Yeah, later." He replied, pushing the door closed behind her. Repeating the mantra 'don't even think about it, Catalano' in his head, he made his way behind the counter, trying to thing of something to distract him from his thoughts.

When the door closed behind her, she released a breath . Rather than moving straight away, she leaned back against the door frame and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to compose her thoughts. "Don't even go there, Cherski." she said aloud, unaware that there was anyone within earshot until she heard someone clear their throat. When she opened her eyes, she saw Shane standing next to her and his smirk brought a scowl to her face. "I thought you left?"

"I did. I came back," he stated the obvious, not wanting to admit that he hadn't actually gone very far. A combination of curiosity about what was happening and desire to get his hands on his new drum kit again had kept him close enough to the store to see when she left.

"I've got to get back to work," she replied, trying to keep her voice neutral, undecided about whether she still blamed Shane or whether she had forgiven him for forcing the truth to come out.

He watched her walk away for a second before opening the door and entering Back Alley music for the second time that day. The sight of Jordan leaning with his elbows on the counter, head in his hands, humming to himself, made him smirk even more. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to remember the chords to Freebird." Jordan replied, Shane's amused tone causing him to look at his friend. "Why? What's up with you?"

"Nothin', dude." Shane said, trying to rearrange his feature into a less mocking expression. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on and he was betting that Jordan wouldn't be forthcoming with all the details but next time he saw Tino he had the feeling he wouldn't be able to resist suggesting a little wager. If the odds were right and Tino was in a gambling mood, Shane would be puttting money on the fact that it wouldn't be long before Jordan and Sharon were sharing more than just a handshake.

* * *

Thanks for reading - sorry it took a while to update but that chapter was a little harder to write than I thought it would be - any feeback would be most appreciated so please R&R ~LJ~


	17. Chapter 17

"Thank you so much for doing this, Damon"

"It's really no problem, Patty" Damon replied for what felt like the hundred time as he climbed the ladder to inspect the loose guttering. "I think I can see what the problem is. Shouldn't take too long to fix."

"Well, I just want you to know that I appreciate you giving up your Saturday afternoon to help me with this. I mean, sometimes I feel as if the house is falling down around me. I really should have worked some clause into the divorce settlement where I could retain the use of Graham's DIY skills."

Damon gave a non-committal shrug, not wanting to get pulled into a discussion on the circumstance of his in laws marriage breakdown. It was bad enough worrying about the state of his own marriage. Luckily, Patty was distracted by some neighbours before she could continue.

"Oh, look it's little Sarah Krakow."

From his angle on the ladder, Damon got a glimpse of a bright pink bicycle helmet with a shock of blond curls sticking out from underneath it before the young girl sped off down the street.

"Turn around before you get to the corner" her father shouted after her before turning towards the Chase house. "Afternoon, Mrs Chase."

"Hello Brian. Bernice told me you were moving back to Pittsburgh but I didn't realise you had already. You remember Damon, right? Angela's husband? Damon, you remember Brian Krakow?"

Damon couldn't help but smile a little at Patty's introduction. Of course they remembered each other even if it had been a while since they had come face to face. The last time he remembered seeing Brian was definitely when Sarah Krakow was just a baby but Angela still included the Krakows' in the Christmas card list, or more accurately the Happy Holiday card list. "Hi"

"Hey. I mean, hi." Brian replied with a small wave.

"She's just adorable, Brian." Patty said as they watched his daughter peddling back and forth. "How old is she now?"

"She's five." he replied, clearly beaming with pride.

"If there's any way you can freeze her at this age then do it." Damon commented. "Believe me, after they hit their teenage years, they drive you insane. You'll want to throttle them on pretty much a daily basis."

"He doesn't mean that," Patty laughed, turning to Brian and unable to see Damon silently mouth 'yes I do' behind her back. "Well, it's lovely to see you again Brian but I can't stop to chat. Camille Cherski's inside and were going through our donations for the clothing drive."

She retreated into the house leaving Damon to continue the DIY and Brian to continue supervising his daughter. It wasn't until Damon dropped his hammer that the conversation continued.

"Hey, you want to give me a hand with this?"

"Oh, sure." Brian replied, picking up the dropped tool. He awkwardly climbed a couple of steps before reaching up to hand it back.

"So, urm, you knew Angela pretty well back in high school, huh?"

"Well, yeah. I mean we've known each other since we were six years old. I guess you could say we were, like, friends."

"So you knew all of her friends? I mean, they were your friends too?"

"Yes, sort of." Brian replied, not sure what Damon was trying to get at. "Some more than others. I mean, we all just kind of hung out together sometimes, like, in a bunch."

"So, did you know Jordan Catalano?" Damon asked, knowing he wasn't quite reaching the casual tone he was aiming for.

"Jordan Catalano? I knew him then but I've not even, like spoken to him since I went to college. Why?"

"He moved back to Three Rivers."

"Oh. Wow. I mean, he kind of just disappeared after high school. Does Angela know he's back? Well, of course she knows. It would be impossible for her not to know. You wouldn't be asking if she didn't know, right?" Brian spluttered, unaware that his words were adding to Damon's anxiety. "Shouldn't you be asking Angela about him rather than me?"

"It's kind of complicated." Damon admitted. "So what do you know about him, or remember?"

"I didn't like him at first." Brian started, trying to think back to his teenage years and wondering just how much information he should share. With a shrug, he decided that honesty was the best policy even if it did mean having to admit to his own teenage crush. " You see, there was a time when Angela was somewhat obsessed with Jordan Catalano and I was somewhat obsessed with Angela so I had, like, zero respect for him. I thought he was a complete idiot and that the only reason girls threw themselves at his feet was because he played guitar and drove a red convertible… and I suppose if you think about it in terms of general aesthetics he was considered to be, you know, good looking or whatever, even if there didn't seem to be much substance in terms of actual intelligence."

"He still plays guitar and drives a red convertible." Damon replied with a frown, not having contemplated the aesthetic value of Jordan Catalano but assuming that it was another thing which was also still the same.

"Oh," Brian replied, not sure if that meant Jordan hadn't grown up since high school or whether he just happened to realise what worked for him at an earlier age than most. "Anyway, I got to know him a bit better because I was his tutor for English and he turned out not to be as dumb as I thought he was. Not dumb at all really, just not very academic. He still did some amazingly stupid things and I was sort of bitter for a while about the whole Angela thing, but I realised that he wasn't actually that bad."

"He wasn't?"

"I was kind of a geek in school. I'm talking president of the chess club kind of geek."

"Really? The Chess club, Brian? I never would have guessed." Damon said, trying to hide a smile. Everything about Brian from his formal shirt to his awkward mannerisms still screamed chess club.

If Brian noticed any sarcasm in Damon's tone he didn't comment on it. He just continued with his story. "Jordan Catalano was the opposite of me. He was part of the cool crowd. The only time most of those guys ever acknowledged my existence was when they tried to trip me up in the cafeteria but Jordan wasn't like that. He always treated me as an equal I guess. I mean, we weren't exactly friends or anything, but we weren't not friends either."

"Oh," Damon said with a frown. Brian wasn't exactly being the font of knowledge he had been hoping for. However, one of the comments he made did have some potential. "What kind of stupid things did he do?"

"Well, sleeping with her best friend wasn't the brightest idea he ever."

"Yeah. Someone who sleeps with his high school sweet hearts's best friend twice isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the box."

"No, he only slept with Rayanne once." Brian corrected. "And he knew it was, like, a completely undefendable thing and Angela did forgive both of them eventually. So, after a while it stopped being an issue, I guess and, well, once everything kind of calmed down they always just seemed perfect for each other. " He decided to skip the part about his letter being one of the main reasons Angela forgave Jordan and the fact that perfect had also meant puke inducing until he managed to get over it. At the time the whole situation had been mortifying but now, when he looked back he did so with slight embarrassment at the folly of his youth more than anything else.

"I'm not talking about just Rayanne. I meant Sharon too."

"Sharon? Sharon Cherski and Jordan Catalano? When? I mean, really?" Brian practically fell off the ladder with surprise. Like Angela, Sharon had also stayed in touch with Brian over the years and had never so much as hinted that anything had happened. Mind you, it wasn't the kind of thing you could really put in a greetings card. Rayanne sleeping with Jordan was more than plausible considering how utterly insane she was, video evidence not withstanding, but he couldn't imagine Sharon over stooping that low. "That's like perverted, or something."

"Oh, it get's worse." Damon replied, unable to stop himself from enjoying Brian's incredulity.

"How could it be worse?" Brian asked but almost immediately answered his own question. The previous afternoon he had recognised both Rebecca Chase and Edward Cherski in the school corridor. At the time he had put his déjà vu down to just Rebecca Chase reminding him of Angela but he now realised there was more to it as he began to comprehend jut how much Edward actually reminded him of Jordan. "Oh my god, Edward! He's not, is he?"

"Oh yes. I told you it was complicated."

"Wow. That's just…wow." Brian frowned. "I can't believe Sharon would do that to Angela. Or that Jordan would do that either. I mean, Jordan and Angela were, like, this thing that was just meant to be. Like fate, or something."

Damon didn't reply exactly but the breath he exhaled made Brian realise what he had just said.

"Well, not fate as in forever fate. I just meant at that particular time or whatever." Brian stammered, trying to cover his tracks. "I guess I'm just surprised."

They didn't know it but the exact same words were being voiced inside the house as Patty and Camille also discussed the same subject matter.

"Surprised doesn't even cover it." Camille exclaimed. "I mean, I thought I brought her up better than that, you know? I mean what kind of insensitive, self centred person would sleep with their friend's boyfriend, even if he was an ex. I just can't get my head around it and I really don't know how Angela has managed to forgive her."

"Well, you forgave me, right?" Patty pointed out as she opened another box of old clothes she had been storing for god knows how long.

"Oh please! That was completely different. We were in college and I'd been out with the guy on a couple of dates. It was hardly young love. We hadn't even gotten to second base. I think the only reason I took it so badly was the shock of Tracey Koppell of all people being the one to tell me. She was just so smug about it."

Patty's jaw dropped at the blaze attitude Camille now had to the event. She could still remember the weeks of agony she endured before Camille found it in her heart to forgive her. "She always did have the biggest mouth."

"And that's another thing that's upsetting me. I just can't believe Sharon lied to me for all of these years. It just breaks my heart but what can I do? I feel like I should be on Oprah or something. We'd make a great special on dysfunctional families."

"Wouldn't we all." Patty joked as she started to pull items out of the box. It wasn't long before she came across Angela's old brown and red plaid shirt causing memories of a simpler, happier times to come flooding back. "Oh, would you look at this. Angela used to live in this thing when she was fifteen."

"I can't believe you've still got that." Camille could also remember the shirt and as she thought about it a clear image came into her head of the morning of Sharon's sixteen birthday. It was the one time she remembered ever meeting Jordan Catalano. Angela had been wearing the shirt when she practically dragged Jordan into her house with her when they arrived to give Sharon her present. He had been in her house for all of five minutes and she couldn't remember whether he had even spoken. "So anyway, it turns out that now I have to meet him."

"What?" Patty asked, distracted by her own memories.

"Jordan Catalano. Apparently, he's coming to this barbecue Sharon's having tomorrow. She invited him. I said she should have left well enough alone but what do I know? I'm only her mother." Camille shrugged. "Do you think he'll even turn up?"

"I honestly don't know. "

"But out of the pair of us, you're the one who knows him. I mean, is he likely to show?"

"I don't know him. I mean, he was just a kid and no one expected him to leave town like he did. It was all so long ago…" She trailed off, still not sure how she felt about the whole thing herself, let alone feeling able to make an informed decision on what action Jordan may or may not take.

"Well, just tell me what he was like. You know, help me form some kind of opinion because lord knows Sharon hasn't been very forthcoming on the actual details."

Patty caught the determined edge to Camille's voice. She was like a dog with a bone when she got fixated on something and Patty knew that she wouldn't drop the conversation until she felt satisfied. "Well, I ..I guess he was always fairly out of it. Not unintelligent but sort of, um, stray puppy." If anyone had told her that she would be quoting Hallie Lowenthall, she would have said they were mad but it was the best description she could come up with at short notice. "I always got the impression that he didn't have a fantastic home life and it always gave me the urge to feed him when he was here, which was practically every afternoon after school so he pretty much ate me out of house and home. At the time, he really seemed to care about Angela but I always knew he would be trouble. Way to gorgeous. He sort of reminded me of Tony Poole."

"Tony Pool?" Camille replied with a look that bordered on disdain. "Well there's a great example of the male species."

"What's that supposed to mean? I liked Tony Poole and he's very respectable now. He's done well for himself."

"Maybe, but when you were going out with him he wasn't exactly reliable, was he?"

"He was eighteen. Who's reliable when they're eighteen?" Patty replied, knowing that Camille had a point but wanting to keep her rose tinted glasses on a little bit longer.

"Well, I hope Jordan has developed some reliability over the years. For Edward's sake if nothing else."

****

"Angela? Amy? I'm home." Damon shouted as he closed the door behind him.

"Hey," Angela replied from the sofa. "Guttering all fixed?"

"Yeah." he replied, still thinking of the reaction Brian had and the words he had used rather than the actual DIY. He decided to change the subject to try to keep his mind occupied. "Where's Amy?"

"Oh, she, urm, she went out." Angela said, putting down her magazine in preparation for his response.

"What? You let her out?" His expression grew stony and rather than waiting for her answer he stomped though the dining room towards the kitchen, dumping his coat over the back of one of the dining chairs on his way.

The tension had been building between them since Thursday night. After getting home from Vertigo, she had expected them to argue or at least have a heated discussion on what Jordan Catalan had said but it hadn't happened. It had just been left brewing between them and it was getting to the stage where she wanted to have a fight with him about something, anything, just to clear the air a bit. Judging from his reaction it seemed as if she was going to get her wish. She waited a moment before getting up and following him. By the time she caught up with him he was washing his hands in the kitchen sink, the ferocity of his scrubbing and hunch of his shoulder doing more to express his anger than actual words. Before she could say anything he started to speak again.

"I can't believe you sometimes. You just let her out when we agreed that she was grounded. Where do you expect her to be right now? I'll tell you where she's going to be. She's going to be with that juvenile delinquent, probably sniffing floor wax or something." He paused for the second it took to pick up a towel and the breath he took helped to calm him slightly but his next sentence was still delivered in an angry tone. "I mean, how do you expect her to have any respect for me?"

"God, she respects you!" Angela replied, unconsciously raising her voice to match his. "I'm the one who had to stay here with her all afternoon, listening to her moan. If you had been here to listen to it you would have wanted her out of the house for a few hours as well."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You were stuck at home all afternoon, doing whatever it is you do, while I was obviously out on the town having fun and not doing favours for your mother." He replied, biting back a sarcastic comment on the enjoyment he experienced at hearing how perfect she and her ex had been together while he worked.

"You didn't have to do it if you didn't want to."

Rather than reply to her comment, Damon asked another question. "God, why do I have to be the mean one? Why can't you been the mean one sometimes?"

"I can be!" Angela protested.

"But you never are!" He shouted, throwing the towel he had been using to dry his hand onto the kitchen counter with enough force to knock over a jar of utensils. As they spilled onto the floor, he took another deep breath. "I'm calm, okay? But you can't keep letting her have her own way. She's going to be out of control."

"She's not going to be out of control." Angela replied, neither of them moving to pick up the various wooden spoons and spatulas. "She's gone to see a film. She not sniffing floor wax or whatever the hell it was you said."

"With Mike?"

"Yes, with Mike." Angela replied. "Look, I know you don't like him but he's really not as bad as you think and if we ban her from seeing him it'll only be worse."

"Worse how? He smokes, he drinks, he hangs out in bars with his Uncle Tino." Damon counted off Mikes faults. "You really want our daughter running around with someone like that?"

"I trust her."

"Right, because she's been so trust worthy lately."

"She knows that she will not be doing any drinking and I made her promise on a stack of bibles that if he ever drinks she will not let him drive her home."

"Oh please, she'd agree to anything to be able to go out. She completely snowballed you and you know it."

Angela knew that she should have been more strict and not given in so easily when Amy pleaded to be released for the night but she couldn't explain her reasons to Damon for allowing her out. It would be far too hard for him to understand that when she looked at her daughter she saw herself at fifteen. When Amy's eyes lit up at the mention of Mike's name or when they glazed over as she daydreamed, Angela realised that Amy was feeling the same exact way she had felt about her first love. She remembered how if felt to have her entire world revolve around that one special person until he became her whole world. Even if she wasn't entirely comfortable with the fact that her daughter was growing up, or that her choice of boyfriend was a bit too similar to her own first love, she wanted Amy to have these experiences and enjoy them to the full like she had. There was no way she could explain that to Damon though. How could she explain the importance of first love to a fifteen year old girl when the explanation would mean discussing how important Jordan Catalano had been to her at that age? Instead she opted for an easier response. "Well, maybe she did but letting her out is better than the alternative. Unless you'd prefer them to be sneaking around, thinking they're Pittsburgh's answer to Romeo and Juliet. Besides, what difference does it make when she's going to see him tomorrow at Sharon's house anyway."

"I don't think we should even let her be going to that! Grounded should mean grounded."

"Like we could really go out and leave her here alone"

"I'd be more than happy staying here with her."

"Oh no!" Angela shook her head forcefully. As much as they were mad at each other now she wasn't going to let him get out of yet another social event. Although she and Sharon had agreed to try to heal their friendship, it was still early days and she had the feeling that she would need at least some moral support from her husband. "You're the one who said I should go and talk to Sharon. There is no way I'm going to her barbecue on my own."

"She's your friend." Damon pointed out. "If you want to go, I'm not going to stop you but don't expect me to be standing next to you pretending everything's fine between us when we both know it's not!"

"God, I can't believe you sometimes! Can't you see that I need a little bit of support here?"

"Support for what exactly?" Damon asked, sick of pussy footing around the subject. "He left you twenty God damn years ago but, in case you haven't noticed, I'm the one you married. I can't keep on ignoring the fact that you're moping around after him like you just broke up yesterday and I can't keep listening to how perfect you were for each other when I'm the one you're supposed to love. I'm sorry I'm not him. I'm sorry I can't be the person you think he is. I thought I knew you. I thought you knew yourself but I guess I was wrong."

The force behind his words, the exasperation and annoyance in his expression, shocked her so much it was like a slap to the face. She wanted to say something, respond in someway, let him know that it was him that she loved but it was like she was frozen. Having said his piece, he seemed to run out of steam and as he walked past her, his voice lacked all of its previous power and volume.

"I'm tired. I'm going to go get a shower." He barely looked at her as he walked out of the room and she didn't know what to do to stop him from walking away.

'Great, so much for clearing the air.' she thought as she put her utensils back in their rightful place. All their argument had done was increase the tension between them and make things even worse. She couldn't help but wonder how they had managed to be together for so long and be so bad at communicating with each other when it really mattered. Not that they had ever felt the pressure to communicate so much in the past. It had all been easy somehow when her life had been neatly compartmentalised into before and after breaking up with Jordan Catalano. Even that thought made her feel worse. Damon was right. He was the one she married. Shouldn't she be thinking in terms of life before and after meeting Damon Bradley? The only thing she was sure of was at that second she didn't even want to contemplate thinking of life in terms of before and after breaking up with Damon. The thought finally got her moving and she followed her husband out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

She could hear the shower running before she even opened the bathroom door and the sound of the water masked her entrance. Steam had started to coat the glass walls of the shower cubicle and surrounded the outline of his broad shoulders and toned back in a hazy mist. She had intended to talk to him but suddenly words weren't enough. Running on instinct, she began to quietly undress. As the shower door clicked open, he turned his head slightly and she registered the surprise in his eyes but before he could speak she closed it again behind her and stepped forward. She wrapped one arm around his waist while the other circled his chest so that her hand came to rest lightly over his heart and she kissed his shoulder before standing on tiptoes to speak into his ear.

"I love you and I'm sorry." The words may have been simple but she meant them. For a moment, she wasn't sure if it would be enough but as she tightened her hold he sighed and moved his hands to rest on top of hers.

"I'm sorry too." he said before turning around to face her. He looked at her, taking in the way that the warm water was starting to make her pale skin glisten and darkening her hair and eyelashes to make her big brown eyes seem even larger. A slow smile started to spread along his face as he reached up to tuck some of her wet hair behind her ear, his hand coming to a stop at the back of her neck.

"What?" she asked, wondering if he was thinking the same thing she was.

"I was just remembering that the last time we took a shower together was the last time Amy went away for the girl scout camping trip."

"That long, huh?" Angela replied, a slow smile of her own making it's way across her features as he confirmed he was on exactly the same wavelength as her.

Rather than answer, he pulled her towards him and kissed her firmly as the water poured down on them both.

****

Her father's reaction to her going out for the night, or the argument between her parents and subsequent making up it would cause, was the furthest thing from Amy's mind. The only thing that held her attention was Mike and the thought of what was going to happen that night. She was nervous. There was no way to deny it but she was excited too and the growing sense of anticipation made her feel as if she had butterflies in her stomach. She was so nervous and excited that it made it hard for her to keep up her end of the conversation as Mike drove them across town to his uncles house. It was located in what her parents thought of as the bad part of town and therefore somewhere she wouldn't normally go to, even if it was only a five or ten minute drive away from her own home, but it didn't seem any more run down than the parts of town she was more familiar with. Tino's house was actually quite nice once they got inside, not containing any obvious evidence of the dodgy lifestyle he reportedly lived, and Mike seemed quite at home as he let them both in.

She supposed that it was normal for him to feel at home. He told her that he had stayed over so much that both he and Tino had started to refer to the spare room as his but the fact that she had never been there before, that he had brought her over for only one reason, served to highlight how unfamiliar the whole situation was to her. She found herself becoming even more tongue tied, not wanting to say the wrong thing or sound stupid and waited for him to take the lead. So, when he pulled her into the living room rather than up the stairs and started to ask her which DVD she felt like watching confusion quickly replaced the excitement she felt. She didn't really take in which film he loaded into the machine and the screen might as well have been blank for the amount of attention she was paying to it. Even though he put his arm around her and pulled her close as they sat on the sofa she couldn't help feeling rejected in some way. The thought that he was trying to tell her that he had changed his mind swirled around her head and the longer she thought about it the more distracted and tense she became.

Her distracted fidgeting eventually became so obvious that he could ignore it no longer. "You ok?"

"I guess I'm just not in the mood for this film." she replied, not quite sure how to bring up what was on her mind.

"Oh, I thought you liked this one. We can watch something else. I mean, if you want?" he asked uncertainly.

For the first time she saw a trace of nervousness in his behaviour as well and it made her feel slightly better. She somehow found the courage to speak. "I'm kind of confused. I mean, I know I told my mum that we were going to be watching a film but I kind of had to tell her something and, well, I sort of thought that the whole point of us coming here was so we would have somewhere to… be."

"Well, yeah," he admitted, glad that she had brought it up. "but I just…I mean, you seemed kind of quiet on the way over and I wasn't sure if maybe you felt, like, pressured or something. I just thought we could chill out and what ever was going to happen would happen…or not. I mean, it's ok if you've changed your mind."

"I haven't changed my mind." she interrupted, "I..I thought you changed your mind about me."

"What? Why would I change my mind about you?" Mike asked, unable to believe that she could ever think such a thing. "You're fantastic."

Before she could reply, he reached out to tilt her chin upwards before leaning down and kissing her softly. She responded eagerly and the kiss deepened. Their tongues danced together as their hands explored, each emboldened by the knowledge that they both wanted the same thing. Mike was the first to break away, panting for breath and eager for more. Her own ragged breathing and glazed expression was almost as much as a turn on to him as the feel of her lips on his but he knew he it would only be so long before they would start peeling each other's clothes off and, although the chances of Tino coming home this early on a Saturday night were slim, being interrupted would not be good. It was definitely time to move somewhere a bit more private.

"Come on," he said, holding his hand out as he stood up.

She didn't trust herself to speak so she just nodded instead and took his hand. He led her up the stairs, walking a step ahead but stealing glances over his shoulder every so often as if he needed more than the feel of her palm in his to make him believe that she was really following. His bedroom door was barely closed behind them when his lips sought hers once more and as far as she was concerned it wasn't soon enough. The fact that they had only gone so far before, that no one had seen her completely naked, that she hadn't seen anyone else completely naked before, everything she had been so concerned about, no longer seemed to matter. The only thing she wanted to do was devour him with her eyes, lips and hands as he was devouring her and savour every minute of it. They became an unstoppable, burning furnace of desire.

Amy woke up feeling disorientated, unsure of the time, where she was or what had woken her up but the warm arm that wrapped around her served as an almost instant reminder of what had happened. She leant back against him as he kissed her neck and she knew that she was grinning like a fool.

"Hey," Mike whispered sleepily in her ear as his hand stroked her stomach.

She wanted to babble, tell him how happy she was, how good she felt, ask him if he felt the same way but it didn't seem like the time to talk. It felt like this should be a quite moment so she forced herself to just say a simple 'Hey' back before turning to face him. The only light in the room was coming through the window from a street lamp outside and, despite his features being in shadow, she could clearly see the smile he wore and that his expression matched her own euphoria. If she was forced to choose just one word to describe how she felt about what had happened it would be 'perfect'.

He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear before moving his hand back to the small swell of her hips. "You ok?"

"I'm more than ok. I-" she started but a sudden noise from downstairs stopped her mid sentence.

They both sat up slightly, looking towards the bedroom door as the sounds of conversation taking place downstairs .reached their ears. She realised it must have been a similar noise that woke her in the first place. Mike was the first to relax, recognising the voices.

"It's just Tino and some of his mates." he explained.

"They won't come in here, will they?" she asked, gripping the duvet tight to her body, suddenly feeling very exposed. "Wait, you said they wouldn't be back for hours. What time is it?"

He reached over the side of the bed to find his jeans and pulled his mobile out of one of the pockets. The screen was brighter than either of them expected in the dimly lit room and they both blinked a few times before they were able to read the display. Her eyes widened as she realised she had just fifteen minutes left before her curfew.

"Oh, my god!" She practically jumped out of the bed, the need to find her clothes overtaking everything else. The cool air of the room against her skin reminded her quickly of her nakedness and she became conscious of his he eyes on her but it wasn't like he hadn't seen everything already, she reasoned. Any attempt to cover up while she searched for her things would be nothing more than false modesty.

"Hey, come back here." Mike said. As much as he liked watching her, he had been enjoying the feel of her curled up next to him and now that she was gone the bed felt much colder. "You can stay a bit longer. It's not like you're going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight or something."

"No, but I only just managed to talk my mother into letting me out so if I'm late, I really will be grounded for ever." She replied as she hastily pulled on her knickers. She picked up what looked like a t-shirt off the floor but quickly dismissed it as his and threw it in his direction while she searched for her own clothing. "You want me to be able to come back here again, don't you?" The question was asked teasing tone, as she intended, but as soon as the word left her mouth she realised that her entire future happiness was dependent on his answer. What if he said no? What if he said that once was enough, that she wasn't any good so the evening wasn't worth repeating?

As if sensing the cracks in her confidence, he grudgingly got out of bed. "I'd prefer it if you didn't have to leave at all," he said as he pulled her towards him.

He had intended for the kiss to be light and reassuring but the feel of her still exposed breasts against his bare chest and the feel of her ass through her thin cotton panties got his hormones raging just as much as they had earlier on. The kiss quickly increased in passion on both their sides. Amy could feel his arousal growing as their bodies pressed together and she was surprised but also strangely proud that she could have this effect on him again so soon. She was also surprised at the feelings of desire that were quickly building within her. Earlier, she had been worried that it would hurt and had been pleasantly relieved when it hadn't but from the moment she awoke she had been conscious of a sort of slightly uncomfortable, dull ache which she had never felt before. However, as he kissed her the dull ache was a swiftly being replaced by a throbbing need and she wanted nothing more than to feel him moving inside her again. Her curfew would have been forgotten if it wasn't for another burst of conversation and a bark of laughter from below them. The intruding noise brought them swiftly back to reality and she reluctantly pulled away

"I really do have to go." she moaned, not really wanting him to let her out of his tight embrace.

"Fine, you win." His own reluctance to release her evident in his husky tone. " I'll drive you home but you are definitely coming back."

It only took a few more minutes for them to pull on the rest of their clothes and they were soon walking down the stairs hand in hand, him a step in front as if mirroring the earlier climb up. When they reached the bottom she paused slightly, realising that they would have to walk through the living room and past it's occupants to get to the front door. She hadn't been able to hear the actual words they were saying but from the deep timbre of the voices inside, she guessed there were at least four men inside. At first he wasn't sure why she hesitated. He had grown up around Tino and his friends so didn't see how they could be thought of as intimidating by anyone. However, he had listened in on many of their conversations. They would be able to guess what he and Amy had been up to upstairs and he could imagine the sort of humourless, crude comments they would make.

"Come on, this way." he said, leading her towards the kitchen instead and out of the back door.

They walked quickly around the side of the house and out to the street where his car was parked. As soon as they sat down, just the two of them, she felt at ease again. She was glad they had left when they did. As Mike started the engine and pulled the car out into the road, two more men carrying cans of beer under their arms started to approach the house. She couldn't be one hundred percent sure but she thought it may have been Jordan Catalano and his friend Shane. Just the thought of all of those people being in the house while they were in Mike's room making love was enough to make her blush. The blush was quickly replaced by a smile though as she repeated the term 'making love' in her head. She had the feeling that making love was going to become one of her favourite hobbies.

"What?" Mike asked, making her realise that she had actually giggled aloud

"Nothing." She replied, leaning over quickly to kiss his cheek.

They spent the rest of the car journey in contented silence. Thanks to the lack of traffic on the road at the late hour and Mike's heavy foot on the gas peddle they reached her house only a couple of minutes after midnight. Unless her mum and dad were feeling particularly pedantic she thought she would be able to get away with it. After one last parting kiss, she climbed out of the car and watched him drive away. With a happy sigh, she turned towards the house and danced her way towards the front door, pirouetting with a grace she normally didn't possess, knowing that finally her life was beginning to get good. Like, really good.

* * *

A/N- Hope you enjoyed. Please R&R. Ta very much


	18. Chapter 18

"What's going on? I thought you said this would be a small gathering?" Rayanne asked in confusion as she took in the number of people occupying Sharon's back garden.

"I panicked, okay!" Sharon replied defensively.

"Why? I thought you loved paying hostess and, lets face it, people always show up when there's free food so it's not like it was ever going to be a bust."

"Yeah, right, what could I possibly have to panic about? I mean, having my son's estranged father, my mother and also my best friend who happens to be the high school sweet heart of said father in the same place at the same time isn't anything to panic about at all. It'll be a breeze."

"Jeez, Cherski. Just try some deep breaths or maybe some muscle relaxant and it will all be fine"

"That's easy for you to say."

"You don't see Edward panicking do you?"

"Of course he's not panicking. He's ecstatic about the fact that Jordan Catalano agreed to come."

"Where as you look less than ecstatic. What gives?" Rayanne asked. She could see how the situation may be slightly stressful but this seemed like an over reaction, even by Sharon's standards.

"Look, I just thought that the more people there were here, the less likely it would be that certain people would get stuck having awkward conversations with other certain people."

"You mean like Jordan and Angela or Jordan and Damon for instance."

"Exactly," Sharon said, aiming for a smile but producing more of a grimace. "Or Jordan and my mother. Or Jordan and me, for example."

"I thought you went to sort stuff out with him. I mean, wasn't that the whole point of inviting him in the first place?"

"You promise not to say anything to Angela?"

"Cross my heart." Rayanne replied gleefully, always happy to be the recipient of whispered gossip.

"Well, when I left Jordan's store the other day we kind of had….a moment."

"What sort of moment?" Rayanne smirked, imagining all sorts of scandal.

"Not what your thinking!" Shannon replied. "It was just a tiny second, nothing really, but one minute we were just saying goodbye and then the next it was like the air was electrically charged or something. Nothing happened but it's like we have this intense connection that I didn't realise was there and was so not expecting to feel. It seemed like he felt it too and we were both just sort of embarrassed. At least, I think we were. I know I was."

"And now you don't want to face him again?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't feel like that about him. I don't want to feel like that. I think I'm just…confused or something. You know, because of the whole situation."

"Just don't sleep with him again and everything will be fine." Rayanne replied. "I can't believe I just said that."

"You think I should sleep with him!" Sharon shrieked in horrified shock, receiving some surprised looks from a few of her guests who were within earshot.

"No, of course not." Rayanne replied, rolling her eyes. "It's just that I spend most of my time convincing people that they should have sex with each other, or me, but you're the second person I've told this week to not sleep with Jordan Catalano. It's like I've been taken over by aliens or something."

"I don't need three guesses to know who the other person was."

"Yeah, talk about unresolved issues and unfinished business. Not that she's, like, talking to me about it or anything." Rayanne sighed. While they may all be trying to rebuild their friendship, she knew it would be a long time before Angela would be confiding in her again or partaking in their normal girlie chats and gossip. She decided to change the topic to something a bit more fun, even if it was still related. "Aren't you curious, though?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean about Jordan Catalano."

"Rayanne! I'm trying not to think about it."

"So you are curious! Thought so. I know I am." Rayanne said with a cheeky grin. "Oh come on, don't look at me like that. I'm not going to actually do anything to satisfy my curiosity."

"Good!"

"But if you think about it-"

"I told you I don't want to think about it." Sharon interrupted

"I was just going to say that he's like Jack Nicholson to our Witches of Eastwick." Rayanne's analogy was met with a look of confusion and she realised she would have to explain further. "I mean, we've all had him. With me and him it was a drunken mistake. The details are kind of fuzzy but I remember having a good time, you know, at the time. With Angela, they were in love. No doubt about it and, if you remember, when they did finally do it she couldn't keep her hands off him so there's no chance that it was in any way bad. Now with you, I believe your words when you 'fessed up to me were 'best one night stand ever'."

"And your point is?"

"Well, they say practice makes perfect and I get the impression he's had plenty of practice over the years. I mean, if he was that good back then, just imagine the possibilities now."

For a second a sly smile started to spread over Sharon's face as she did indeed imagine the possibilities but she soon got her thoughts back under control and her expression turned serious. "You're not helping, you know. I'm not going to talk about this with you anymore apart from saying that there is no way that I am going to allow myself to sleep with Jordan Catalano ever again."

"Yeah. I've heard that before." Rayanne mocked

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Kyle Vinovich for example."

"Oh please!" Sharon exclaimed, not seeing the connection at all. "I was fifteen."

"And sixteen and seventeen."

"Oh, shut up. I think I have more control over my hormones than I did then. Besides, there wasn't anyone else to worry about getting hurt other than Kyle back then. I've got Edward to consider now so I'm going to keep things completely, like, platonic. Its not going to be an issue because I'm banishing all non-platonic thoughts from my head."

"Spoil sport." Rayanne grumbled.

As far as she was concerned, just because she didn't think that neither Sharon nor Angela should sleep with Jordan again and she had no intention of doing so herself, didn't mean they shouldn't make the most of looking. However, any further comment she felt like making would have to be postponed. Angela chose that moment to arrive with her family and if Sharon wasn't ready to discuss Jordan Catalano in that way, she had a feeling that Angela wouldn't be either. Especially with Damon looking on.

Amy hugged Rayanne and Sharon quickly before eagerly running off to join Mike, Edward and Rebecca over the other side of the garden. Although Angela greeted her friends with a hug as well it didn't quite contain the same amount of enthusiasm and, to Sharon, her stiffness indicated that everything wasn't forgiven and forgotten quite yet even if she was trying to make an effort. She just hoped Angela didn't react too badly when she realised Jordan was also going to be attending the barbecue. They stood awkwardly for a second, each trying to think of the best way to open the conversation.

"Glad you could make it." Sharon said eventually.

"Thanks for the invite." Damon replied, hoping that his tone didn't give away the fact that he would rather be at home with his feet up on the sofa and a good book to read.

There was a pause in the conversation once the pleasantries were over and if someone didn't fill it soon it risked turning into an awkward silence. Luckily, Edward came to their rescue by striding across the lawn to join them.

"Mum, we can't get the stupid barbecue lit." Edward complained. "Mike even poured some lighter fluid on it but it still won't catch."

"He what?" Sharon asked, suddenly realising that letting teenage boys play with fire may not be the best idea she ever had.

"We're getting hungry. Is there anything else we can use to light it?" Edward asked

"Why don't I see if I can get it going?" Damon suggested, glad for the excuse to leave the girls to it.

"So, urm, bigger turn out than I expected." Angela said as she watched him walk away.

"Yeah, well. You know how it is." Sharon said, trying to be causal.

"Don't listen to her. She's overcompensating." Rayanne said, receiving a glare from Sharon in return.

"Over compensating for what?" Angela asked.

"Okay, just don't freak out or anything.." Sharon began but was soon interrupted.

"Jordan Catalano's coming."

"Rayanne!" Sharon shouted, unable to believe that she would just blurt it out like that, before turning to Angela to explain. "Edward wants to get to know him and I just thought that this afternoon would be a good place to start but when I asked him to come I wasn't really thinking about who else I'd invited. I'll completely understand if you want to leave but I'd really like you to stay."

Angela took a deep breath before answering. Part of her did feel like running away but if she didn't come face to face with him again now, she knew that it would only happen eventually. Sharon and Edward were part of her life and it seemed as if Jordan was going to part of their lives so there was no way their paths wouldn't cross sooner or later. "No, It's ok. I mean, I can be in the same place as him without, you know, imploding or something." She just hoped that Damon would also be able to cope. She didn't want a repeat of the argument they had had the night before.

"Good. Great." Sharon smiled in relief

"Yeah," Rayanne agreed, slightly more sceptically. "But if you want to avoid him there are enough random guest for you to distract yourself with."

Angela's eyes followed the sweep of Rayanne's arm around the garden but stopped about three quarters of the way around when she spotted a familiar figure. "Is that Brian Krakow?"

"Yeah. I bumped into him in the supermarket last night. It was really weird. He just kept looking at me with this weird kind of grin while we were talking and then he asked how Edward was and I ended up inviting him as well." Sharon replied. "You knew he was moving back, right? He's got a job teaching at Liberty High."

Angela nodded in response but before she could say anything, Rayanne spoke, wonder clear in her voice. "Who's the blond with him?"

"That's his wife. They met in college." Sharon explained, while all three of them took in the tall, beautiful, long haired woman.

"Wow. Who'd have thought big Bri had it in him?" Rayanne asked, not quite able to believe that the Brian Krakow she remembered from high school would be able to find a wife who looked like that. "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's wrong with her!" Sharon said in her defence. "She seems nice."

"Yeah, just don't try having a conversation with her." Angela scoffed.

"Why? Does she stutter? Or have some kind of hideous lisp?"

"No. It's just that when she speaks it's kind of hard to follow." Angela started to explain but the sentence only produced a look of confusion on Rayanne's face.

"She's some kind of uber intelligent physicist. Her language is not our language." Sharon shrugged. "They're, like, perfect for each other."

"Well, way to go Bri." Rayanne replied, surprising Angela and Sharon, who had both been expecting some kind of catty comment, with her genuine tone.

Any further contemplation was stopped as two distinct voices reached their ears.

"Oh God, my mother's here." Sharon and Angela said simultaneously

"Now we just need Amber and the party will really get started." Rayanne laughed as they watched Camille and Patty walk up the garden path towards them. "Hey Patty, how's it hangin'?"

"Hello, Rayanne. Delightful as ever, I see." Patricia said in an amused tone before greeting Angela and Sharon.

"Well, I do try." Rayanne smiled back.

Although Camille had long ago accepted Rayanne as Sharon's friend she had never warmed to the younger woman like Patricia had and she had little patience for playing nice when she had more important things on her mind. Ignoring the others, she made a beeline for Sharon. "Well, where is he?"

"He's not here yet." Sharon replied, knowing exactly who she meant.

"See, I knew it. I said he wouldn't show up. Didn't I Patty?"

"He's only a few minutes late, mum." Sharon said, not giving Patricia the chance to respond. "You've only just got here yourself."

Patty was grateful to be let of the hook. She didn't really think it was appropriate for her to get too involved and judging from the small frown on Angela's face, her daughter thought the same.

Although Angela knew she would not be able to avoid him for ever, she felt that it was best if she kept herself distanced from the whole thing as much as possible so, as Camille and Sharon continued to bicker, she let her attention wander. She took in the sight of Brian Krakow playing some kind of hide and seek game with his little girl and couldn't help but smile. She didn't think Brian had a playful bone in his body but his five year old obviously brought out his fun side. Her smile broadened as her gaze moved to the barbecue where Damon seemed to be bonding with Mike and Edward over the manly task of lighting the barbecue while Rebecca and Amy look on. She let her gaze linger on her family for a moment but then, for no discernable reason, something seemed to pull her attention towards the front of the house. When she was a teenager she had had some kind of sixth sense. When Jordan Catalano was around, her whole body knew and it seemed as if old instincts were starting to kick in again because as she looked out towards the street a familiar red convertible pulled up on the opposite side.

"He's here." she said simply and the conversation taking place around her stopped instantly.

All five of them stared across the road and watched him switch off the engine. They expected him to get out of the car but he just sat there, not even looking towards the house.

"What's he doing?" Camille asked with a mixture of confusion and suspicion.

"I don't know." Sharon shrugged. "but having us all standing and gawking at him isn't going to help."

"Maybe someone should go out there." Camille suggested

Angela immediately felt Sharon's eyes upon her but was determined not to give into her expectant look. "Oh, no, don't look at me. You're the one that invited him."

"Don't look at me either." Rayanne put in. "I made a promise when we were all fifteen to never get in Jordan Catalano's car ever again. I don't see why I should break it now."

Angela, Patty and Sharon all rolled their eyes, not quite able to believe that Rayanne would bring that incident up when they were all stressed enough as it was.

"It's ok, I'll go." Patty said,

"You will?" Camille and Angela asked at the some time, neither one exactly grateful for the offer. Camille was of the opinion that Sharon should sort this mess out on her own and if anyone was going to haul his ass inside it should be her. Angela thought that this was something her mother should stay out of, just on principle, because if there was going to be actual sides in this whole mess, shouldn't her mother be on hers? The thought of Jordan and her mother actually conversing about the whole thing was just too bizarre.

"Sure," Patricia replied. "Why don't you all go mingle, have fun, and I'll be back in a minute."

Before anyone could protest, she walked away, heading in the direct of Red.

Rayanne took in the worried faces of the women around her and couldn't believe that she was the only one who thought that Patricia Chase was the best person to handle a situation like this. On the other hand, Rayanne was the only person present to have their life saved by the lady in question and she was the only one who had ever phoned the Chase residence when she was one drink away from falling off the wagon. Something like that tended to make you have faith in a person's abilities.

"Come on, girls." She said looping her arms through Sharon and Angela's. "We can't leave the boys in charge of the grill. They might think they own the barbecue but, lets face it, testosterone and the ability to cook are not the same thing."

A small tug was enough to get them moving and Camille felt no option but to follow.

**********

Patricia opened the passenger door and sat down without saying a thing. They both just sat there for a moment, staring through the windscreen at nothing in particular.

"Hi, Mrs Chase." Jordan said, breaking first

"I thought I told you to call me Patty."

"Yeah, you did." Jordan shrugged, "but that was a long time ago."

"Not so long really, in the great scheme of things." Patty shrugged back. "So…there're some people over there who still aren't entirely sure you're going to show up."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"I think to be classed as officially here, you're going to have to get out of the car." She said. He just frowned in response, making no move to leave. She could practically hear the cogs turning in his head but she had no idea what he was thinking. However, the sight of a blue envelope on his dash board gave her hope. "Is that a birthday card?"

"Yeah." Jordan admitted, still looking straight ahead. He lit a cigarette and then rolled his window down, remembering that she had never approved of his smoking, choosing to blow the smoke away rather than put it out. "I got him a present too but it's kind of lame."

"Why, what did you get?"

"It's a voucher for, like, time. I've go a music shop and we're building a recording studio above it. Me and Shane. You remember Shane, right?"

"Yes." Patricia replied, not entirely sure if she did or not but the name seemed somehow .familiar

"It's not, like, completely finished yet but nearly. I just…I thought…I mean, it's not technically costing me anything so maybe it's not a real present but I just thought that if I gave him recording time, then he could, like, come over without needing an excuse or something. I could show him how to use the equipment and, if they wanted to, his band could record some demos, or whatever."

"That sounds like a really thoughtful present." She said.

"You think?" He asked, looking at her for the first time.

"Yes, I do. But you can't give it to him from here." She continued to look at him as he looked away. It was so strange to look at him. If she closed her eyes the vision she saw of Jordan Catalano was a boy, sitting in her kitchen and eating her food, giving her glimpses of her daughters adolescent life that she would never have known but making her wanting to mother him at the same time. Now he was a man. He was different and yet still the same. He had life experiences, he had matured, but she could still see the child within. She sat back and waited. After a while be began to speak again.

"I never expected…I didn't, like, know about him and I thought that I was fine on my own. I thought it was better that way and that I didn't need anyone, that I was safe. But the thing I didn't realise was that I was wrong. He's here and I want to know him. I need to…but everyone else is here as well."

"Did you ever hear of a karass?"

"A what?"

"A karass. it's a group of people who kind of get mixed up in each other's lives in order to do God's will." Patty explained. "I think we're all part of the same karass. You, Edward, Sharon, Angela, Rayanne.."

"I don't believe in god."

"You don't have to." She replied. "I don't know about you but I'm getting hungry. Seeing as you're here you might as well stay long enough to eat something."

She got out of the car and closed the door behind her. She walked back towards the house without looking back. As she heard his card door open and close behind her, a self satisfied smile crept across her face

**********

Rayanne made her way over to the corner of the garden where Any and Rebecca seemed deep in conversation. Part of her was curious as to what the girl could be discussing so secretly but she also had a plate of burgers that needed to be eaten and there was no way she would be able to get through them on her own.

"Hey, grubs up" she said as she put the plate on the grass and sat down.

The girls eagerly tucked in, conversation stopping instantly as soon as the food arrived, much to her disappointment.

"How's the dye holding up?" Rayanne asked between mouthfuls With her free hand she reached out to inspect Amy's hair and ran her hand through the different layers. Amy's eyes widened and as soon as Rayanne saw her neck she knew why. Rayanne had the feeling that if Amy didn't have a burger in one hand and a drink in the other she would have been swatting Rayannes hands away before anything had been revealed. "What the hell is that? I thought I told you never to let a guy brand you."

"It's just a hickey, Rayanne." Amy replied, cheeks pinking up slightly. She turned around to make sure her parents weren't within earshot as she shrugged out of Rayanne's hold. She hadn't noticed the bruise until that morning and had been doing her best to hide it from view all day. "Anyway, I don't think he, like, meant to leave a mark. It was all kind of in the heat of the moment."

"Heat of the moment? Does that mean…?" Rayanne asked. Amy nodded her head coyly in response inciting an excited shriek from the older woman. "Aarrgghh! That's so fantastic. I mean you liked him for so long and now, wham bam, it's finally happening!"

Amy's smile widened and all Rebecca could do was sit there in shocked silence. Not only was Amy confessing having sex to an actual grown up, the grown up wasn't shouting or lecturing. If anything Rayanne seemed happy for Amy. She seriously doubted that Angela would be having the same reaction if she knew and hoped for Amy's sake that Rayanne didn't have a big mouth.

Although she didn't sense Rebecca's confusion, Rayanne suddenly turned serious. "Please tell me you used protection."

"Rayanne!" Amy looked around again, fearful that Rayanne's voice would carry to the other adults.

"I've always told you that if you're going to sleep with some one you have to make sure they wear a condom."

"Rayanne, ssshhh! Of course we used a condom." Amy replied in hushed tones, knowing that her face would be going from slightly flushed to bright red. Suddenly, she wasn't concerned that just her parents would hear their conversation. If Mike heard her discussing him with Rayannes, it would be equally mortifying. Luckily, he was still over the other side of the garden talking with Edward and Jordan Catalano.

"Just checking." Rayanne said, her serious expression replaced with a smile once more. "So, was it good?"

"It was beyond." Amy said, dreamy expression on her face. "Have you ever looked into a person's eyes and, like, gone all the way in. To their soul."

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so happy for you." Rayanne exclaimed, leaning over to give Amy a kiss on the cheek before turning to Rebecca. "So, what about you and Edward?"

"Oh, I..urm.." Rebecca stammered. It had been weird listening to Amy and Rayanne's conversation but now that it had turned towards her it was even weirder. She wasn't really sure what she should say or if she should even say anything at all.

"It's ok." Amy reassured. "Rayanne's not like a normal grown up. You can, like, actually tell her stuff."

"It's true. You can say anything to me. I'm unshockable and I promise my lips are sealed."

"There's really nothing to say." Rebecca protested and for a moment she thought she was off the hook as their little chat was interrupted.

"Hey, Amy." Mike shouted from the other side of the garden. Edward and Jordan had disappeared and he was beckoned her over to join him.

"Go on, you know you want to." Rayanne smiled. Amy just smiled back before jumping up and going to join him. Rayanne turned her attention back to Rebecca. "So, you're seeing Edward, right? How's it going? You and Eddie all loved up too?"

"I don't know." Rebecca shrugged. She couldn't imagine her parents asking the same question. She couldn't even imagine Angela asking but, she thought that maybe it was time she talked to someone. By hanging out with Amy she had somehow managed to distance herself from her usual friends, even if she never intended to do that, so she felt like she couldn't turn to them for advice. At the same time, she didn't think she could turn to Amy either but she there were things she needed to talk about before thinking about them took over her whole life. She swallowed her fears and decided to trust Rayanne as Amy seemed to do. "There's this, like, dividing line between girls who've had sex and girls who haven't. Amy and I are on opposite sides."

"Oh. So you haven't?"

"No. I mean, I think about it, like all the time. Part of me really wants to but another part just isn't ready for that much…freedom, I guess. Sometimes it just feels like… it just feels like all he cares about it getting me into bed, or something."

"Honey, that's the only thing most blokes care about."

"Yeah, I know. Normally, when a guy starts to push and I don't feel like I want to, I find an excuse to end things. So they won't hold it against me, if my name ever comes up, you know? But I don't want to end things with Edward. Maybe I should just do it. I mean, it would be so simple."

"No, it's not simple." Rayanne replied with a shake of her head. "When I was your age , I thought it was. I thought I was having fun at the time but I'm, like, the poster child for too much too young. My friend Rickie…Do you know Rickie? He's Angela's friend too."

"No, I don't think so."

"Well he used to say that sex should be like a miracle. That it should make you see the other person's perfectness. I used to laugh at him but I was wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you do it before you're ready then you're not going to be able to see the other person's perfectness. You'll just feel sort of numb." Rayanne said. "What I'm saying is that sometimes I wish I had waited longer because maybe I wasn't completely ready and, once you've done it , there's no going back. It becomes, like, expected."

"So, you're saying I shouldn't do it?"

"No, I'm saying that you should do it but only when you're ready." Rayanne replied. "Don't let some guy tell you when you should be ready. You tell him."

"But.."

"There is no but. You're in charge of you and no one else. It doesn't matter what he's done in the past or who with. It doesn't matter whether Amy and Mike are at it like bunnies. If he really like you he'll wait."

"You think?"

"Yeah," Rayanne smiled. It was another conversation that felt a bit out of character for her but she knew she was giving the teen the right advice. When she had been a teen herself she would have been saying the opposite and she couldn't help wonder what her life would have been like if she had known then what she knew now. However, she didn't want to put the girl off for ever. Even if she wished she had waited a bit longer herself, her libido was alive and kicking. "and when you are ready, it will blow your mind. Like, completely."

******

Angela paused slightly as she made her way from the bathroom to the stairs. So far, she had managed to avoid any sort of direct contact with Jordan Catalano, choosing to stay by her husband's side as much as possible. Still, in the two hours that Jordan had been there, she couldn't help glancing in his direction every so often and it seemed like he was doing the same thing as on more than one occasion their eyes had met for the briefest of seconds before they both looked away. It would have been easier if she knew what Jordan and her mother had discussed in his car but when she had asked Patty had only replied with an infuriating 'This and that. Nothing you need to worry about'. She tried to convince herself that it was just curiosity that was making her aware of his movements around the garden but deep down she knew that mere curiosity didn't really justify how hyper-aware she was of him. She also tried to reason that it was her anger towards him that kept her focused on him but that wasn't really an excuse either. If she wasn't angry at Sharon anymore, how could she be angry at him?

She wasn't sure if Damon had noticed how much attention she was trying not to pay to Jordan but, so far, he hadn't said anything. She supposed that, due to fact that she had not moved more than two foot away from him, Damon had no cause to comment. She was being the perfect wife. Loyal , steadfast, starting conversations with people he would be able to converse with, laughing at his jokes, touching him lovingly or kissing him when he said something particularly charming. It was exhausting. She knew that she didn't normally behave this way. She was trying to hard to appear happy; she was being too attentive. She knew that he knew, or at least had an idea but, just like Sharon, she couldn't help overcompensating.

Eventually she had decided to come inside, using the bathroom as an excuse even though she didn't really need to go, just to be able to be alone for a few minutes. While she had been hiding in the bathroom, it seemed as if Jordan had come inside and he was now in Edwards room. She guessed the teen had wanted to show Jordan his room or something and as she neared Edwards door, she could hear Jordan commenting on his CD and computer game collection.

She started to move again, trying to not make any noise, but the sound of her sister's name reached her ears and she paused once more.

"So, Rebecca's your girlfriend? Jordan asked, oblivious to the fact that Angela was listening in. "She seems nice."

"She's ok." Edward shrugged, just as oblivious of Angela's presence in the hallway.

"Just ok?" Jordan queried, feeling a bit out of his depth. He wasn't entirely sure that it was any of his business. His own father had never taken any interest in his love life but it seemed like the kind of question a normal parent would ask and he wasn't used to talking to teenagers for any length of time so anything that helped keep the conversation going was a plus.

"Yeah. She's…ok." Edward replied.

He liked her a lot but things between them weren't exactly as he had imagined they would be. When they first started sneaking around and meeting in the boiler room it had been exciting and fun. The possibility of getting caught had given them both a sense of danger which added to the thrill. Now that their relationship was out in the open, he had expected the thrill of sneaking around to be replaced with something else. Now that Rebecca was officially his girlfriend, he had expected the thrill to come from them becoming closer physically but that just wasn't happening. As much as he loved spending time with her, he was growing increasingly frustrated with her unwillingness to do much more than kiss, especially when his two best friends were now having sex. The fact that Amy and Mike were sleeping together also made him feel like he couldn't talk to either of them about it because he didn't think they would understand. He watched Jordan flick through some of his CDs and the thought occurred to him that maybe he would be able to help, even if it was slightly embarrassing.

"Have you ever, urm…" he started but trailed off not sure how to explain himself.

"What?" Jordan asked, grateful that Edward was starting to fill the short silence that had started to develop.

"Well…did you ever had a girlfriend who didn't want to…you know?"

"Rebecca not putting out?" Jordan asked, unable to stop a small wry smile from reaching his lips at Edwards reluctance to say exactly what he meant.

"I thought… I kind of thought that she had done it before. See, there were some rumours around school about her and this guy but it turns out they were completely untrue. I was wrong about her. Not that I started this whole thing because I thought she was a like that or anything. I guess I was just kind of expecting…more." Edward replied, "I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, she says she likes me too and it's what you're supposed to do. It's accepted but she doesn't, like, understand or something."

"Yeah, well, I had a girl like that once."

"You did? What did you do?"

"Well, we kind of broke up over it." Jordan admitted

"Oh," Edward replied dejectedly

Jordan could see that he was wondering whether he and Rebecca would have the same fate and he didn't

exactly look happy at the prospect. "But we stayed friends and, after, I realised that I'd made a mistake."

"So, what happened?"

"After a while we got back together," he replied, deciding to skip the events that took place in between. "It was still a big deal to her so she still made me wait and, at the time, it seemed like I was waiting forever but I just had to be, like, patient. I kind of learnt that some things are worth the wait…that she was worth the wait."

"So you're saying I should wait too?"

"Maybe. I guess I'm saying that you've got to decide whether Rebecca is worth the wait 'cause only you can decide that." Jordan said, remembering some of the stick he received from his friends and how Angela meant more than trying to save face. "And if you decide that she is worth it, then you have to, like, talk to her about it. You've got to let her know that there's no pressure or whatever, so she'll, like, trust you."

"So, if I decide I can wait, if I think she's worth waiting for, I've just got to talk to her, get her to trust me and then if I'm lucky I might eventually get laid?"

"Yeah," Jordan laughed aloud. "Not exactly rocket science or a quick fix solution but it's the best I can do. Besides, as far as women go, it's a sort of one theory fits all piece of advice. Some are just more …trusting than others." From Edward's frown he could tell that the teenager had been hoping for something more. "Look at it this way, she's not going to join a convent or anything so either you wait for her or some other guy will. If you want her to be yours, you've just got to take your time. Sometimes it'll feel like she's driving you crazy but if you stop when she says stop and don't get mad at her, you'll get to the stage where she won't say stop anymore. She'll let you know when she's ready, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. Thanks, I think." he replied. It wasn't exactly a magic spell for getting Rebecca into bed as soon as possible but he supposed it was better than nothing. He was glad that he had brought up the subject but now that it was over he began to realise the weirdness of their conversation. He didn't know anyone else who discussed their sex life with their father and he wasn't sure whether knowing Jordan for only a couple of weeks made the whole thing worse or not. He felt it was time to bring the conversation around to some safer ground. "So, you still hungry?"

"Sure. Always room for more"

They exited his room and started to walk towards the stairs. Jordan had only gone a couple of steps when something made him turn around. He wasn't sure why he did but as soon as he saw her, he guessed it was because he had felt her eyes on his back. Edward carried on down the stairs, the thought of food more important than checking to see whether Jordan was still following.

"Hey," Angela said, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping.

"Hey," Jordan replied, taking a step towards her. The blush she was trying to hide made him sure that she had heard the majority of his and Edward's conversation, if not all of it. Edward may have been talking about Rebecca but he knew that she knew he was really talking about her.

"So, urm, that was good advice you gave." Angela said, suddenly feeling slightly claustrophobic in the narrow hallway as he continued to walk towards her. "I mean, not the patented Jordan Catalano formula for getting sex. The no pressure, waiting thing."

"I was just telling the truth," he replied, stopping when he was directly in front of her. Since he had arrived, his concentration had been split between spending time with Edward and avoiding Angela and her husband. He didn't know whether it was because they were suddenly and unexpectedly alone or because he had been reminded of the way she used to make him feel when they were together but he found himself leaning forward, pushing her back against the wall without actually touching her. He rested his hands either side of her head and looked at her before speaking again. "It was worth the wait"

"I know. I remember." She replied and when she spoke her voice was barely above a whisper.

She knew that she should move, break free, but it was impossible. She was lost in the blueness of his eyes and the closeness of his body. He moved one of his hands to stroke the side of her neck and the breath she released came out as an involuntary sigh. When she was fifteen and he touched her like that, her eyes would close as well but now she was wide eyed, unable to look away or think about anything apart from the texture of his skin against hers. Even the thought of how his calloused, guitarists fingers felt so different to Damon's soft, architect hands wasn't enough to get her moving.

As he looked at her, her eyes seemed to convey the same mixture of innocence and longing they used have when she was a teenager and it was drawing him in in exactly the same way. He expected her to push him away, say that what he was doing was inappropriate and unwanted but she didn't. She just stood there, gazing up at him, and he wanted to be touching more than just the soft creamy skin of her neck.

"Why are you like this?" he asked in a low, husky voice as his fingers moved lower to trace the shape of her collar bone.

"Like what?" she asked, almost automatically

"Like how you are." he replied, moving his hand again so that his fingers followed the shape of the neckline of her dress, brushing her skin just above the curve of the thin cotton.

The closeness of his body and the feel of his hands millimetres away from the top of her breasts made her heart race and she took deep breaths to try an calm herself. The corner of his lips twitched upward and she realised that her actions were having the opposite effect to what she intended. Her heart was still racing and her now heaving bosom was giving away just how much of an effect he was having on her while simultaneously inviting him to continue.

"What about you?" She asked, voice wavering ever so slightly. "What happened to giving people space to feel comfortable?"

"Tell me to stop and I'll stop." he countered.

When he heard no reply, he leant down intending to kiss her neck. She knew she should say stop. She knew that as soon as she uttered to word, he would. However, she didn't seem capable of forming the one simple syllable and when she felt his breath on her skin, she tilted her head, allowing him better access.

"Jordan, we're putting a new batch of burgers on the grill. You coming or what?" Edward shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

They knew that Edward would not be able to see them from where they stood but the moment was broken and Jordan straightened up again without his lips making contact. Without saying a word, he backed away towards the stairs. Within seconds he had disappeared from view and her legs no longer seemed able to support her. She slid down the wall, until she sat cross legged on the floor, still in shock about what had happened, what she had almost let happen.

After a few seconds she managed to find her voice again. "Stop." she said but the hallway was empty and there was no one there to hear her speak.

A/N - Thanks for reading!


	19. Chapter 19

Jordan stood and watched as Angela walked out of the house. Her face looked blank, feature's perfectly composed, and there was no way for him to guess what she was thinking. He knew he had behaved badly and that he had pushed things too far. She was married. She didn't belong to him anymore. She hadn't belonged to him for a very long time. But, for some unknown reason, it didn't seem to matter to him when they were alone. Hell, he would have pushed it further if they hadn't been interrupted and he had the feeling that she would have let him. She walked across the patio, passing no more than three feet away from him but she didn't look at him or acknowledge him at all. She kept her eyes on her husband and didn't stop walking until she was at his side.

Jordan watched as she wrapped her arm around her husband's waist and he responded by draping an arm over her shoulder. It looked casual and familiar. It was a gesture that said they belonged to each other and everyone should know without needing to question it, including him. So far, no one had tried to introduce him and Damon to each other and he hoped that things stayed that way. He didn't want to know him. Their brief exchange at Vertigo had been enough to tell him that Damon wasn't the kind of guy he was likely to be friends with, even if Angela hadn't been a factor. Arguing with him in front of everyone would not be a smart move. Still, first impressions weren't always correct. What if they got talking and found some common ground? What if Damon turned out to be an ok bloke after all? No, it was definitely better for them to keep their distance. That way they could carry on not liking each other, like, on principle. Jordan just wished it was easier to not be so aware of the couple; of her. It was stupid. He felt stupid. He felt like he was seventeen all over again, feeling jealous because he's seen her talking to that Corey person. For the past twenty years he had know she was married and it had never bothered him. He didn't even think about. He was living his life and she was living hers. He couldn't understand why it bothered him now that their lives had gotten all mixed up again, now that they were all part of a karass or whatever it was her mother had said. Shane was right. He needed to just let it go. Making an effort to look away, he tuned back into the conversation that was happening around him.

It had taken Angela five whole minutes to pick her self up and head back outside. The only reason she had even moved was because she knew that if she didn't Damon would come looking for her and know that something was wrong. She didn't want to be questioned. She didn't want to have to lie or, worse still, admit what had happened. Therefore, she concentrated on acting normal. She concentrated on acting as if Jordan Catalano wasn't there at all, watching her as she walked back to Damon. She concentrated on acting like she couldn't feel his eyes upon her as she tried to resist looking at him. Unfortunately, tried was the operative word and her gaze was drawn to him eventually. Fortunately, it was just after he had turned away so at least he didn't see her staring.

As she watched, a whirlwind of blond curls and childish giggles ran across the garden towards him, carrying a flower held high like some kind of prize. Sarah Krakow skidded to a stop as she reached Jordan and tugged on his jeans leg to get his attention. He looked down at her and smiled uncertainly in the way that men who know they need to be nice to kids but really have idea of how to behave around them tend to do. She looked up adoringly and held out the flower making it clear that it was some kind of gift.

"Erm, thanks?" Jordan said as he accepted her offering. His response was enough to create a new bought of giggles before the girl ran off again.

'God', Angela thought as she looked on, 'even five year olds aren't immune to the charms of Jordan Catalano' and the snort of disbelief which threatened to escape her was enough to make herself turn away again.

If Angela and Jordan thought that they were without an audience they were wrong. Rayanne had seen Jordan leave the house and, although she couldn't pin it down there was something about the way he moved which was positively shifty. When Angela had left the house five minutes later, her body language was also off somehow. To most people she would look perfectly normal but, when she looked at Angela the thought that came to Rayanne's mind was 'faking'. The question was, faking what? Wondering if she was the only person who noticed anything, Rayanne's eyes swept over the garden, searching for Sharon. Sharon, however, seemed deep in conversation with Camille and was looking in completely the opposite direct, so it wasn't her attention she caught. Instead, her eyes locked with Patricia and her raised eyebrows seemed to be asking 'Is it just me or is something going on?' Rayanne could only shrug back in a 'who knows?' kind of way, suddenly feeling as if she was as young as the teenage girl she was sitting with and not wanting to get her best friend into trouble.

The rest of the afternoon passed without incident and as the food started to run out, the guests made their way home. Assuming their positions as part of the clean up crew, Angela and Rayanne helped Sharon to collect the glasses and plates that were dotted around the garden before taking them to the kitchen where a mountain of washing up was starting to form.

"So, what's the deal?" Rayanne asked, as she began to fill the sink with water.

"With what?"

"You know what." Rayanne gave her a pointed look. "With Jordan Catalano?"

"There is no deal." Angela replied, ignoring Rayanne to inspect the growing piles of crockery. "I can't believe we used this much stuff. I mean, someone must have gotten at least half of this stuff greasy just to mess with our heads."

"Quit stalling."

"I'm not stalling, I…there's just nothing to say because nothing happened."

"Then why is your aura so dark?"

"Rayanne, you can't see my aura."

"Maybe, maybe not. But I've been reading a book about it, which says that when someone is hiding something their aura is, like, black. Hence, for you I sense darkness."

"I'm not hiding anything because there is nothing to hide. I mean, okay, maybe we had one conversation but it was over in, like, seconds."

"Conversation about what?"

"About…about nothing." Angela replied, frustration at the interrogation clear in her voice. "We said, like five whole sentences to each other, if that, the entire day. It really isn't worth repeating, in my humble opinion. We're not discussing Jordan Catalano."

"We're not? Rayanne asked, disappointed not to be getting all the juicy details.

"No, we're not." Angela replied emphatically. However, the curiosity on Rayanne's face made her sure that the questions weren't completely over. Without waiting for Rayanne to speak again, she turned around and walked out into the garden, nearly knocking to Sharon who was on her way back inside.

"What's up with her?" Sharon asked after taking in Angela's cloudy expression

"She's stressing," Rayanne replied. "Or obsessing. Possibly even both."

"About what? I mean, we all knew it wouldn't be great but we all survived, right? I think it went ok, especially seeing as we weren't sure whether Jordan was even going to show. Oh." Sharon replied with a frown, as her own words clicked into place. "What did he do?"

"Well, according to Angela, nothing happened." Rayanne stated. "But I'm guessing that, from the point of view of, say, reality, they probably had…a moment."

"Oh." Sharon looked out of the kitchen window, taking in her own and Angela's family. "Well then, I have to say there are lots of people who could really get hurt here."

"Tell me something I don't know." Rayanne replied.

*********

"Oh, come on." Angela pleaded as she turned the key once more. Like the last five times she tried, her car gave the same response by emitting a noise that sounded positively painful rather than starting. She had lingered after her writing class to speak with their lecturer about their new assignment so everyone she knew from the course had already left and her mobile phone had decided to run out of battery. She was essentially stranded and she knew that when she did manage to get home, Damon would say I told you so. He'd been telling her for over a month to get her car serviced but she just kept forgetting to book it in and now she was paying the price.

She was just about to try again when someone tapped on her door window. The unexpected noise made her jump and when she realised that there was a man standing outside her car she mentally crossed her fingers, praying that this was someone who was going to try to help rather than someone who preyed on lone women in dark car parks. However, when he lent down to look through the glass and she saw his face, she immediately recognised him. She was torn between feeling grateful that is was someone who knew about cars and wishing it wasn't him at all. A stranger, while possibly more dangerous but for completely different reaons, would have been a whole lot easier to deal with than coming face to face with Jordan Catalano again. It had been two weeks since the barbecue. It had been two whole weeks since he had caught her alone. It wasn't as if she had nothing to occupy her in that time. On top of her day to day life, Amy's birthday had come and gone, Danielle had visited from New York with her new boyfriend in tow and she had enrolled in adult learning. Still, it had been two whole weeks of her trying to forget about it.

He tapped on the glass again and when she made no move to roll the window down he reached for the handle, opening the door himself. "Hey." he said as he leant one shoulder against the side of her car and held the door open with his other arm.

She looked at him, suddenly angry that he could just say 'hey' so causally. Who was he to assume that she wanted his help? Who was he to just open her car door? She glared for a moment before turning her attention to her car again. She turned the key in the ignition, hoping that fate would step in to rescue her.

"I don't think she's going to start." He winced as her engine screeched once more. "You keep doing that without knowing what the problem is and you might even make it worse."

She had to admit that the noise seemed to be getting louder and more high pitched but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right. Rather than look at him she put her hands on the steering wheel and leaned forward to rest her head against them. "What are you even doing here?"

"An Introduction to Bookkeeping for Small Business." He replied defensively. Abyssinia had mention it to him the last time she had been working on his accounts. The only reason he had agreed to enrol was because she said that knowing the basics would save him money in the long run. It would make her job easier and therefore, he wouldn't have to pay her for as many hours work. It may not have been his idea and he wasn't exactly having fun but he didn't like the way Angela's question seemed to imply that he didn't belong on the college grounds. "I can learn new stuff, you know?"

"I know. I didn't mean it like that," she replied, realising how her question would have sounded to him and instantly feeling guilty.

"Whatever," he shrugged, not wanting to get into an argument with her over it. "Pop the hood and I'll see if I can fix it. You got a torch?"

She stayed slumped over the steering wheel with her hair flopped down to block most of him from her vision . She could still see his feet though and watched out of the corner of her eye as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. It was a clear sign that he was starting to get pissed off.

"Look, you want my help or not? Angela, I'm trying to be nice here, you know?"

"I know," she sighed before straightening up and, after a few seconds of scrabbling around in the glove compartment, she managed to find the small torch Damon made her put there for emergencies like this one.

"Thanks," she said as she passed it to him, trying to sound genuinely grateful for the help rather sounding shocked at seeing him.

He took it without speaking and went to the front of her car where he disappeared from view behind the raised bonnet. She took the opportunity to take a deep breath and closed her eyes. She ignored the tinkering noise he made against her engine and tried to pretend that it was someone else who was coming to her aid.

"Ok, try to start it now." He shouted, the unmistakable sound of his voice bringing her back to reality

She turned the key once more and, while the noise the engine made didn't seem quite so horrific, it failed start as it should.

"Ok, turn it off. Off!" he shouted and as he made his way back to her door, she knew the diagnosis would not be good. "You're going to need to get it towed."

"Great." she sighed.

"You want me to explain what the problem is?"

"No, not really." she replied, knowing she wouldn't understand and didn't really care. All she cared about was getting it sorted and getting home but she suddenly realised that that might be more of a challenge than she thought. "Oh, crap."

"What? No breakdown cover?"

"I have cover. The number is saved in my phone so I don't lose it." She groaned, waving a small silver mobile in his direction before throwing it into her bag. "No battery."

Jordan couldn't help laughing for a second before taking pity on her once more. "Don't worry. I know a guy."

"You know a guy?" Angela asked, sounding more than a little sceptical.

"Yeah, I know a guy," he smiled, not taking offence at her lack of faith. "I can call him. He'll come and get the car and take her back to his garage. He's a good mechanic. Unless you know your own guy?"

It went without saying that she did not know a guy. As much as she didn't want to be accepting favours from him, she really didn't see any other option but to reluctantly give in. "Fine. Call your guy."

He pulled out his own phone and after a quick conversation, he turned back to her. "Ok, he's coming but he's got a couple of other pick ups he needs to do first. It's going to be at least an hour." She just nodded grimly in response. He knew that his role as knight in shining armour was over but he didn't like the idea of leaving her alone while she waited. "So, urm… there's a café just down the road. We could go get some coffee, or something, while he's on his way."

"Oh, it's ok. I'll just wait here," She replied, surprised at his suggestion. She wanted to say yes but she knew she shouldn't. She was better off staying exactly where she was. "Thanks for your help though."

"Look, I'm not going to leave you here to get axe murdered while you're waiting for him to show." Despite his better judgement, Jordan wanted to just get in the car with her. He knew it would be wrong but he also knew what he could make happen. He knew that trying any thing on with her again would be a mistake but the thought was born anyway. He fought against temptation and continued to speak. "We can either go to a nice, brightly lit place and just talk or we could both wait in your car. You know…parked…alone."

She gave a small nervous cough as she realised what he was implying. Once she had made that realisation, her head was filled with thoughts and images that should not belong to a woman of her age, let alone a married one, and she suddenly felt very warm. She knew she would be blushing and hoped that the growing darkness around them was enough to hide it from him. "Yeah. Maybe a coffee would be good."

She climbed out of the car and followed him towards the exit. As they walked down the street, they unknowingly shared the same thought. When ever they had walked somewhere together as teenagers, he had always taken her hand. As if fighting against the urge to do that again, Jordan shoved his hands inside his pockets while she crossed her arms. It only took them a few minutes to reach the café but they struggled for something to say to each other and they were both thankful when they reached their destination.

They took a table near the window, sitting opposite each other rather than side by side. After being provided with steaming cups of coffee, Angela watch as he poured three sugars into his drink. She expected him to add a fourth but he reached for a spoon instead.

"Just three sugars?" she asked as she helped herself some milk.

"Yeah. I've cut down," he smiled, racking his brains for something to talk about that would be safe ground for both of them. "So, you taking a course or something? At the college?"

"Creative writing. Only started last week but it seems to be going well so far. The lecturer kind of reminds me of Mr Racine. You remember him, right?" Jordan nodded and she continued. "It's not though, they just look alike."

"So no toothpicks then?"

"No, no toothpicks," She laughed. "or odd socks. No obscene poetry either."

"Yeah, I hear they only do the obscene poetry at the end of the course," he replied, keeping his voice serious.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. They use it as, like, an incentive to stick with it," he nodded. "You do the obscene poetry first and everyone just drops out early."

"Well, I'll have to make sure I don't drop out then, won't I?" She tried to keep her voice and expression as deadpan as his but the harder she tried the more her lips wanted to curl up into a smile. Eventually she gave in, giving a snort of laughter as well when he started to smile back.

It was a stupid conversation but it helped to break the ice and they both started to relax a bit. If asked, she wouldn't be able to tell what exactly they talked about. They didn't talk about anything important or noteworthy but their conversation flowed easily, only touching one subject briefly before jumping to the next. Before she knew it, Jordan's phone was ringing. His guy had found her car and wanted to know where the hell they were.

Although Jordan's guy, who's name turned out to be Ralph according to his work shirt, seemed friendly enough his services weren't quite up to those she would receive from her normal breakdown company. Rather than sitting in the comfortable cab of the breakdown rig, knowing that she would be safely deposited at her home on the way to the garage, she stood in the car park and watched as his rig pulled away with her car firmly secured on the back. The only piece of information she had which even told her where her car was headed was a business card with a company name she didn't recognise and an address in a part of town she never went to. She knew that she wasn't stranded in the same way she had been previously but she didn't feel any better about it. She knew that Jordan was going to offer her a ride and she knew that she would have to say yes because she didn't have any other way to get there. She also knew that the last time she got in his car he had kissed her and, at the time, she had been shocked, almost appalled but now she wasn't sure if her reaction would be the same if he tried it again. Why did he have to be nice to her? It would be so much easier if she could stay mad at him.

"Don't worry. He'll get her fixed for you." Jordan said, as if sensing her apprehension but not fully understanding it.

"Why do men always refer to cars as girls?" she asked, speaking to cover up her nervousness. The question echoed in her brain, sounding stupider and stupider and she had to say something else just to make it stop. "I mean, why can't cars be boys as well."

"I dunno," he shrugged as he started to walk. He turned around when he didn't hear her following. "Come on, Red's parked over this way."

She hesitated once more and he walked back towards her. He didn't really think about what he was doing. Now that the practicalities of getting her car towed had been dealt with, his mind was on what he was supposed to be doing. He should have been in Vertigo with Shane and Tino at least half an hour ago. So, when he took her hand and pulled her gently forwards his only intention had been to get her moving so he could get her home and then get to where he was supposed to be. It took him a few seconds to realise that he was actually doing what he had earlier tried to avoid. He was holding her hand and even though he expected her to pull away, she didn't.

Angela moved when he tugged her forward and, just like him, it took a moment to realise that they were walking hand in hand. She knew that she should pull free but it just seemed so natural. Even after all this time, their hands just fit together and her entire being became focused on the feel of her palm next to his. It only took a couple of minutes to reach his car. When he opened the door of her, her first instinct was to think the gesture was romantic and gentlemanly. When had someone last opened a car door for her? Then she realised it was because Red was so old he needed to actually put a key in the lock rather than just pressing a button. She almost laughed aloud at how silly and school girlish she was behaving. She was a woman for Christ's sake. It should take more than hand holding and necessary old fashioned manners for her to feel like he was trying to woo her. Still, there was something charming about it and as she sat back against Red's leather seats she felt more relaxed than she thought she would or should.

They passed the journey in a sort of comfortable silence, only speaking when he needed directions to the neighbourhood she lived in but the closer she got to home, the more anxious she began to feel again. It wasn't Jordan that was making her feel nervous this time. It was the thought of what Damon would say if he saw her getting out of Jordan Catalano's car, no matter how innocent her excuse.

"You can stop just by this corner here," Angela said. "I can walk the last block."

"What?"

"I know that you've helped me tonight and I'm grateful. I really am. But I just think it would be better if …" She tried to explained, "I mean, it would be better if you, like, didn't come all the way to my house."

"Why?"

"Well, Damon. He wouldn't … understand."

"Oh, right." He pulled over where she indicated. "You sure you want to walk?"

"Yeah. It's literally just around the corner and this is a safe neighbourhood. We've got neighbourhood watch and everything," She assured him. "Thanks though."

"You're welcome." Jordan replied. He had places to be but he found himself speaking again just to keep her there a few seconds longer. "If he tries to charge you more than $400 for the repair, call me. I mean he's basically an honest guy so I'm sure you'll be fine but, just in case."

"Sure…Ok, I'm going to go now."

"Okay." He angled his body towards her slightly as she reached towards the handle. When her hand paused above it rather than pull to open the passenger side door, his arm came to rest along the top of the seats and he knew that she had more to say. He just didn't know what.

"Thanks again." she said, turning her head to look at him again.

"You're, like, welcome"

"So, do you think he'll…do you think he'll take long to fix it. The car, I mean, because it sounded really bad?" She stammered, wondering why her body was refusing to move. "Do you think it'll be finished by the end of the weekend or …will it take longer?"

"Nah." he replied, smiling slightly as she babbled. "Two days. Maybe three if he has to order the part in."

"Oh, good. That's good to know."

As she nodded, her hair moved and brushed against his hand. He moved slightly towards her, capturing some of the strands between his fingers and twisting them. For a moment, she was frozen. It was Sharon's hallway all over her again. She couldn't believe she had let herself get into this situation. What was she thinking? What was he thinking? Well, she knew what he was thinking and he confirmed it when he leaned towards her. This time there was no teenage boy interrupting them, though she doubted she would hear even if there were. Her sensed where limited to the confines of his car. The only sound she heard was the radio, tuned to the local rock station. The only thing she could smell was a mixture of tobacco and his cologne. The only thing she could see was him. His lips pressed gently against hers in one solitary kiss that tugged on her lower lip slightly as he pulled away. It was both heaven and hell.

"So, later." he said, running his hand through her hair, before he reached over her to open the door.

"Yeah…later." she replied, head dizzy and thoughts muddled, not quite sure if he stopped because he knew it was wrong or if he was just playing with her, as if it was some kind of game.

She climbed out of the car and watched as he pulled away and turned the corner, going in the opposite direction to the one she would take. She started to walk but had only taken a few steps when a voice interrupted her thought.

"Hey, Chase!" Brian shouted as he jogged towards her, using her maiden name out of habit.

"Hi Brian," She replied, not in the least bit surprised to see him. It seemed as if fate had stepped in to make them neighbours again and the house he had just bought was only a couple of streets away from her own. Over the past few weeks, the sight of him jogging past her driveway had become a familiar sight and who else but Brian Krakow was capable of turning up at the least opportune and most confusing moment?

He stopped when he reached her, slightly out of breath but still capable of talking. "So, was that Jordan Catalano?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "That was his car right? I mean, did you, like, go somewhere with him?"

"God, Brian. No, not like you're thinking anyway." She glared in annoyance at him before turning away and starting to walk again.

"Why were you getting out of his car around the corner from your house? Why didn't he just drive you all the way home, I mean if you weren't doing anything?"

"Why do you even care, Krakow? What business is it of yours?"

"Well, if I see something, I just…I just think I have the right to know what's going on."

"You haven't seen anything because nothing happened." she replied, becoming frustrated with him sticking his nose in just like he used to when they were teenagers. "He helped me, ok? My car broke down and he drove me home. That's it."

"But then why-" Brian started only to have her interrupt him.

"If you don't know why then you don't understand people, Brian." Angela jumped in. "People can't tell the truth all the time. It's just not that simple. Sometimes, it's better for every one if they just believe what they want to believe."

"So, you're just going to lie? Put on some kind of an act?"

"Everyone's an act, Brian," she replied, as she turned into her driveway. "Even you."

"What did I do?" he asked, but she just walked away and as she opened her front door, he felt no choice but to start running again.

* * *

A/N - Ok, i'm not sure if that little jump forward in time really works or not but I couldn't think of another way of doing it without the whole fic going off on a tagent and never coming back again. So, as always, I'd be most greatful if you let me know what you think. Ta! ~LJ~


	20. Chapter 20

A/N - I thought it would take me longer to get this posted but, thanks to a day off work where the rain has stopped me from doing anything fun outdoors and me being too skint to hit the shoe shops, Chapter 20 is complete. What can I say? Writing this was more fun than tackling the ever increasing housework lol.

Anyway, I'm hoping this will fill in some of the blanks of the missing two weeks and be a stronger chapter than the last and, although I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, I want to say a big thank you to Goodnightgirl23 and Luvjordan for their contructive crit.

Hope you enjoy, ~LJ~

* * *

"Can I have five bucks for lunch?" Edward asked, knowing it was a futile effort but feeling as if he should at least give it a go anyway.

"I don't think so." Sharon replied, instantly holding out a packed lunch for him instead. He took it without complaint and as he gathered up his school bag, she took the opportunity to catch up with him. Between, his band, his friends and Jordan Catalano, she felt like she'd hardly spent any time with him in the last couple of weeks. Work wasn't helping. She'd been so rushed off her feet the day before that by the time he had gotten home, she was already dozing on the sofa. "So, how was practice last night?"

"It sucked."

"What? Why?" His response was not what she would normally expect to hear.

"Mike and Jake had this huge argument." Edward explained, planning his words carefully because he would not be able to repeat the words the guys had used to each other in front of his mother. "It basically started out by Mike telling Jake that his timing was off."

"Jake's the bassist, right?"

"No, the drummer."

"Ok, I knew that." Sharon replied, trying to give an expression that said 'I do listen really, I promise."

"Well, anyway Mike was right. Jake was going too fast but Mike wasn't exactly polite about it so Jake got really pis...peed off and basically started yelling back at Mike about how it was his fault."

"Why would it be Mike's fault?"

"Because Mike keeps showing up late which mean we haven't had as much practice time as normal."

"Why's Mike being late? I mean, he still likes being in the band right? He's not loosing interest or something, is he?"

"Nah. It's just…You know he's sort of living with is uncle now, right?" He asked.

Sharon nodded in response, recalling something that Edward had mentioned to her before even if the details were a bit hazy.

"Well, I guess his uncle's asked him to run errands or something after school. Anyway, Steve-"

"He's the bassist?"

"Right, mum." Edward rolled his eyes before continuing. "Steve's going to ask if his parents will extend his curfew on practice nights so we can start later and that should hopefully solve the problem."

"Speaking of curfews, don't you dare try 'I haven't got one' on Jordan again. I want you back by 10pm on the dot, mister." Sharon wagged her finger at Edward, producing a sheepish look from the teen. She had been pleasantly surprised at the amount of effort Jordan been putting in so far but he had a lot to learn. Edward had been taking full advantage of his inexperience when it came to parental control and setting boundaries. "So, what have you two got planned for tonight?"

"I dunno. We're just going to sort of hang out."

"At his apartment or the store?"

"The store. He said the recording studio got finished on the weekend so he's going to start showing me how it all works and stuff."

"Ok, just make sure that he gets you something proper for dinner."

"Mum, he's hardly going to let me starve." Edward grinned as he shouldered his back pack and started to leave.

"You know what I mean." Sharon replied, pulling him back by his sleeve. "Big Guy Burger does not equal proper food. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good. I'll see you later." She kissed the top of his head before releasing him and within seconds he was out of the door and running for the school bus. Fighting the urge to call Jordan and reiterate her instructions re curfews and food, she grabbed her own bag and headed out to face the day.

The morning routine was progressing in a similar manner at the Bradley household as they all got ready for their school or work day.

"Amy, Mike's here!" Angela shouted up the stairs as his blue ford pulled up outside the house.

"He's not here. He's out there." Damon grumbled as he fiddled with his tie. "He can't show any actual manners by coming to the door because he's too busy picturing her naked."

"Damon!" Angela chided as she swatted his fingers away and took over straightening his tie for him. "She'll be mortified if she hears you. I thought you said you'd try to be nicer about him?"

"Did I really say that?"

"You know you did." Angela replied. "You said that anyone who could sit through two family dinners without complaining mustn't be all that bad after all."

As well as celebrating her birthday with her friends, Amy had also dragged Mike along to her family celebrations. Unfortunately, due to Danielle still flatly refusing to speak to Graham that meant that the teenager had to sit through one dinner at the restaurant meeting one side of the family and then repeat the whole thing the next night at Patricia's house, meeting the other side. Damon had actually been quite impressed with the amount of torture the boy seemed willing to endure for his daughter. Still, he wouldn't go so far to say that he actually approved of their relationship so rather than making an actual reply he decided to go with a non committal 'Hhuummm' instead.

"Amy!" Angela yelled again and this time her shout resulted in the stomping of feet as the young girl flew down the stairs.

"You want to go find a skirt to go with that belt you're wearing?" Damon asked, appalled at the outfit his daughter thought suitable for school.

"Ha ha, dad. Very funny" Amy replied, as Angela wordlessly handed over her backpack. Amy saw nothign wrong with the short denim skirt she was wearing "See you later."

"You're not going to say anything to her?"

"I've given up on fighting with her this early in the morning." Angela shrugged. If Amy hadn't been wearing thick black tights under the skirt she may have shared his opinion but, compared to some outfits Amy had tried to get away with recently, it wasn't all that bad. She was sure it couldn't be any worse than some of the stuff she had worn with when she was fifteen. "Besides, you've got to drive me to work and then you to work so unless you want to be late, I'd let it go."

They danced around each other in a familiar pattern as they collected all of the things they would need for the day. It wasn't quite as organised as a normal morning but they managed to get into his car on schedule and without getting in each other's way too much.

"Have you got that card? For the garage, so you can, like, call them?" Damon asked as he started to drive.

"Yeah," Angela replied, glad that most of his concentration was centred on the road ahead. "I'll call them later."

"I don't know why you didn't just get the woman from your course to let you use her phone to call me so I could call the breakdown people. Then your car could be at a garage we know and trust rather than god knows where."

"I guess I just wasn't thinking." Angela said, sure that she was making the understatement of the year.

When she had arrived home the previous night, she had to say something to explain why her car was absent. She had kept the details down to a minimum, saying that someone from college had helped her. Technically that part wasn't a lie but from there her story became somewhat separated from the truth. She hated lying to him but it was easier than she thought it would be. When he assumed that the 'someone from college' was a person on her course, it was simple to go along with it and supply the name of the woman she had been sitting next to that night. Giving any name, any name at all, was better than saying Jordan Catalano's name. She felt as if just admitting that Jordan had been the one to help her would mean that Damon would instantly know everything else as well. Not that there was all that much to tell. It was a kiss, that's all. It wasn't as if they had had complete sex in his car or anything.

"This could be some kind of chop shop for all we know." Damon continued, oblivious to the thoughts whirling around Angela's head. "When you call them see if you can get a time for when it's going to be fixed and I'll go collect it for you. Or I can call them if you want?"

"No, no. It's ok. I'm a big girl. I can sort it out on my own" She replied, hoping that her voice didn't sound as panicked as she felt. What if he insisted? What if he went to the garage and Ralph remembered that it had been Jordan Catalano and not Damon who had been with her when the car was towed?

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It'll be fine. Really"

"Ok then"

A few minutes later he pulled up outside the dental practice where she worked. The engine idled quietly as they sat there. She looked at him expectantly but he just looked back.

"What?" he asked

"Nothing. It doesn't matter. Never mind." She replied, even though it did sort of matter.

"Wait, what?"

"Nothing. It's just you don't kiss me goodbye in the mornings anymore." Most of the time it didn't bother her. Most of the time it didn't even cross her mind. She was normally in just as much of a rush to get out of the house and to work on time as he was but this morning felt different. Maybe it was because he was driving her to work or maybe it was because she wanted to spend the day thinking about kissing her husband rather than thinking about kissing Jordan Catalano. Maybe she just needed some kind of reassurance that her marriage wasn't headed towards some kind of melt down.

"Well, we never have time to start anything in the mornings."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot a kiss must result in intercourse." Her sarcasm was directed just as much at herself as it was at him. She didn't think she had obsessed over a mere kiss this much since she was in high school.

"Well, it's a law in this state." Damon smiled, still oblivious to what she was actually thinking.

"You know, we shouldn't fight this early in the morning either."

"This isn't a fight. This is goodbye," he replied before leaning over and capturing her mouth with his own.

He may not have understood all of the sub context but he knew how to kiss her in a way that would make her knees weak and her brain feel like mush. It was a kiss which made her feel like her world made sense again. It was a kiss she would be able to think about all day without a guilty conscience.

*******

"You're a good kid, ok. Just give me the Ipod, please?" Brian asked, trying to make it sound like a command rather than a plea. It was times like these that he hated his job and he silently cursed the person who came up with the stupid rule of no MP3 players in school. He really didn't care whether the kid had an Ipod or not as long as it wasn't being played during his class but rules were rules and, being the new guy, it was important to show that he wasn't a walk over.

"I don't have an Ipod." Edward Cherski replied, sounding innocent despite the fact that both he and Brian knew he was lying.

"You do. All right, I'll give it back to you after school. Just give me the Ipod."

"Cherski, just give Brain the stupid Ipod!" Amy giggled as she skipped past on her way to the girls bathroom

Brian took a deep breath and pretended he hadn't heard. He felt like he could kill Jordan Catalano. At Sharon's barbecue, he had hardly noticed when Jordan called him Brain. It was just something that Jordan had always done. When he was a teenager he found it sort of flattering, even if he never admitted it at the time, because it was the only nickname he had ever been given. Unfortunately, he wasn't a teenager anymore. He was a teacher and the teens at Sharon's barbecue had been most amused. By the second day of teaching at Liberty High, it seemed as if the nickname had been adopted by half of the student body. All of his teaching manuals gave the same advice. He was supposed to ignore it and eventually the kids wouldn't find it so funny. Rather than turn the other cheek, Brian had chosen to take revenge. The kids didn't know it, but they were in for a surprise. The surprise came in the shape of a pad lock which was sitting in his desk draw, waiting to be attached to the boiler room doors.

Fighting to keep his voice and expression stern, Brian continued to speak. "The Ipod, Edward. Hand it over."

"Yeah, Eddie! Hand it over." Rebecca added as she followed Amy to the girls room. "God, some people are so rude."

They pushed open the door, not interested in finding out whether it would be Edward or Brian who cracked first. The bathroom was crowded but that was to be expected at break time. They squeezed through and found a bit of standing room at the back to check their hair and make up.

"Will you stop playing with that thing?" Rebecca asked as Amy fiddled with the necklace Mike had given her for her birthday yet again. "You're going to rub some of the shiny off."

"I don't think you can rub the shiny off gold." Amy replied as she rubbed the heart shaped pendent once more before letting it fall. Her birthday had been the week before and she hadn't really expected much. After all they hadn't officially been going out for very long. He had seemed almost shy when he gave it too her as if he was worried that she wouldn't like it but she loved it. It was her favourite present by far.

"Real gold, no. Gold plate, ya hah."

"It's not gold plate." Amy said. "It's got a hallmark."

"What? No way." Rebecca couldn't hide the disbelief in her voice but it was quickly replaced by surprise as she inspected the necklace a bit closer. "Oh, my god. It is real. How much did it cost him?"

"I don't know. When someone gives you a present, you don't ask how much it cost." In truth she hadn't really thought about the actual value of the jewellery. She wouldn't have minded if it was gold plate. Hell, it could have been plastic and she wouldn't have cared. All she cared about was the fact that he had given it to her. "Why? You think it was expensive?"

"I didn't but I do now. If there's one thing I've learnt from my mother, it's the value of bling." Rebecca replied. "The boy must have it bad for you."

Amy smiled as she thought of Mike and how he made her feel. Deciding to sleep with him had been the best decision she had ever made but, even though it was hard for them to keep their hands off each other when they were alone, it felt like their relationship was about more than just sex. It was deeper than that. She was sure it was only a matter of time before one of them uttered the 'L' word. She just wasn't sure which one of them would be brave enough to say it first. "I'd say it's more like we have it bad for each other."

"Aawww! Isn't young lust cute!" Rebecca teased.

"Like you can talk! You and Edward are just the same."

"Not quite the same." Rebecca pointed out. "I mean, we still haven't, you know, done the deed yet."

"But you will."

"Yeah" Rebecca couldn't help smiling shyly. "We will when, like, the time's right."

For the past couple of weeks, things had definitely been heading in that direction. Rebecca still didn't feel ready. It was hard to explain how she did feel but the way she had explained it to Edward was that she was starting to feel ready to feel ready. She had expected him to laugh or to get bored waiting but since the barbecue things had changes somehow. It was strange but good. He still made it perfectly clear that he wanted to them to do it but he didn't seem to be pushing in the same way he had before. He seemed more relaxed about it all and that made her feel more relaxed. Relaxed enough to go further with him than she had ever done with anyone else anyway and it felt amazing. He made her feel amazing. It was like he knew just how to touch her to make her feel like her whole body was on fire and when she started to get scared or overwhelmed it was like he could sense that too and he didn't get mad or sulk, even when she knew he was frustrated. When she had asked him why he seemed to be so understanding all of a sudden, his response had been that someone had pointed out to him that some things were worth waiting for. Rebecca didn't know who that someone was but she would be eternally grateful.

"You and Edward coming over to my place after school?" Amy asked. "Danielle's gone back to New York so she's not going to, like, be there."

Before Amy and Rebecca had been friends, their family feud hadn't seemed like such a big deal. It was just something that existed. It was just how things were. Now that they were friends, it had suddenly become something that they thought about and wished was different. Although Danielle had been staying with Patricia for the duration of her visit, she had also spent a lot of time at the Bradley house. While Amy had been spoilt rotten by her aunt and lapped up the attention, Rebecca had pretty much been ignored. It was if Danielle refused to acknowledge her existence and Rebecca responded in kind, believing that any other response would be a betrayal to Graham and Hallie. If anyone had said that Danielle, who worked in fashion in the Big Apple seemed glamorous to her or that she was jealous of the relationship Amy had with her, Rebecca would have denied it, just on principle. The whole thing had been more than stressful but somehow their friendship had survived.

"I can come over. I think Edward said he was hanging out with Jordan Catalano tonight though."

"Great. We'll have another day tomorrow of listening about how fabulous Jordan Catalano is." Amy's response might have sounded like a moan but her expression showed that she was happy for her friend and the way things seemed to be going well.

"Yeah. So what if he's cool and good looking and owns more guitars than you can shake a stick at." Rebecca replied in a playful tone, sharing Amy's thoughts. "I mean get over it, already!"

"That would be impossible. Maybe we should just give him a list of synonyms for the word 'cool' and at least then the conversation will have a little bit of variation." Amy laughed.

Rebecca laughed as well for a moment before turning back to Amy with a serious expression. "Do you think we'd be able to convince Katimski to give us extra credit for that?"

*****

"Sorry, sorry." Sharon said as she slid into her seat in the crowded diner. "Work's been hectic. I could hardly get away"

"Don't worry, I just got here myself." Angela replied. Without her car, she had had to take the bus to get there and it had taken longer than she had expected. She still hadn't decided whether to say anything about her car being in the garage or not. Sure, she could just say that her car was in the shop and leave it at that but Rayanne had an annoying habit of knowing when there was more to a story.

The diner was roughly located at the mid point between the dental practice, Rayanne's hairdressing salon and Sharon's office. They had been going there regularly for lunch time chats for quite sometime although this was their first meeting since Edward's paternity had been revealed. Damon had once said that he imagined their lunches as resembling something from Sex ad the City. At the time it had created an extensive discussion on which character the three women would be. The only thing they had managed to decide was that Rayanne was definitely Samantha.

"Where as I have been waiting for you two for fifteen minutes. Who would have thought I'd be the punctual one when I could have used that time for smooching with Matt?" Rayanne said.

"Who's Matt?" Angela and Sharon asked simultaneously.

"He's one of the builders renovating the building next to the salon. You should see his ass." Rayanne replied before turning to Angela. "You haven't said why you're late anyway. Was there like a mad rush on dental floss or something?"

"Oh, dental floss!" Sharon said, pulling a shopping list out of her bag and adding the item to the bottom, giving Angela the opportunity to dodge the question. "A mad rush on dental floss would be so much better than what I'm having to deal with. As well as doing my normal job, someone has decided that, seeing as I did such a great job with the Christmas party, I'm now in charge of retirement parties as well."

"Sharon, you're like the party queen. If they picked someone else to do it, you'd be, like, devastated." Rayanne pointed out.

"But I'm just so over extended. The guy who's retiring has already stopped caring about deadlines so I'm picking up half of the stuff he's supposed to do but I've still got to throw this fantastic party for him," She complained, "And I've got to do it all with a smile on my face and make sure the VPs know that it's all my hard work."

"This is why I stick to hairdressing. Much less stress."

"Maybe you should try some delegation, or something. You know, spread the load." Angela suggested

"No can do. When this guy leaves, I've got to be the only one who deserves his office." Sharon replied. "I mean, you should see the view."

Angela and Rayanne rolled their eyes. Sharon had always been the same in talking on more things than she could handle without stressing out. However, they would both bet on her pulling it off somehow and getting what she wanted. They talked about work a bit longer with Rayanne regaling them with stories of her more amusing clients and what happens when someone mislabels perming solutions but, after the waitress had brought their food, the conversation turned to the subject of Jordan Catalano.

Angela had been dreading this moment but she knew it was inevitable. She'd already been putting it off for too long. A few days after the barbecue, Rayanne had even accused her of avoiding her best friends so she wouldn't need to hear any of the details and pretend her head was still buried in the sand. Rayanne had been right and her accusation had made Angela face reality. This situation was not something that was going to just go away so, rather than avoid her friends, Angela decided to just get on with her life as she had before and accept the fact that there would be the occasional conversation that she would find difficult. She had decided to just avoid Jordan Catalano instead. Just because she would have to listen to other people talk about him, didn't mean she would have to see him. She thought it would be easy because he'd been back in town for 6 months without her seeing him even once. They didn't live near each other and didn't go to the same places. Until the previous night, she thought it had been mission accomplished but now she knew different. Now it wasn't just a case of listening to conversations about Jordan Catalano. She was capable of having her own conversation about Jordan Catalano and the content of that conversation would be completely different to the one her friends had started.

"So, is Catalano still playing nice?" Rayanne asked

"Yeah, I guess." Sharon replied, put off from giving full answers by the frown on Angela's face at the mention of his name.

Rayanne, however, chose to ignore the uncomfortable looks her friends wore and plough ahead regardless. "What do you mean 'I guess'? What happened?"

"Nothing happened. He's still making an effort. Edward's going to hang out with him tonight."

"So…?"

"So, it's fine. Everything's fine." Sharon protested. The look she received from Rayanne let her know that she was fooling no one. "Ok, I'm just a bit worried. It's like it's going too well. I know it's only been a couple of weeks but I'm just waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Rayanne asked

"I don't know. For the novelty to wear off, I guess."

"Oh, I see." Rayanne nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. "When I was a kid my dad would come over, make a fuss, buy me things. Amber was always telling me to enjoy it while it lasted because it never, like, did. He'd always get bored after a while. Eventually he stopped coming at all. Still sent me cash occasionally though."

"What happens when Jordan gets bored? I mean, Eddie's impressionable and he's not going to get bored. Jordan Catalano's like a god to him or something at the moment…I just don't want him to get hurt again."

"I don't think that'll happen." Angela said, surprising herself as much as the others by her participation in the conversation. While she didn't want to admit that she had seen Jordan, it occurred to her that he might mention something to Edward. Not about the kiss but just about him helping her with her car. If it then got back to Sharon, she may have more questions about why Angela didn't say anything than she would if she told them what happened, or at least part of it. As mush as she wanted to carry on ignoring it, this was a good opportunity to say something. "I kind of bumped into him last night at the college."

"You did?"

"Yeah. He didn't say much about Edward but he seemed sort of happy about things." Angela said truthfully. When they had been in the café, he had mentioned Edward a couple of times. They were nothing more fleeting remarks really because they'd both tried to keep the conversation on safe, neutral topics but she saw the way his eyes lit up at the sound of the boy's name. "Jordan never really had much of a family so I think he wants to try and make it work."

"My dad was a low life so you can't use him as like, the example." Rayanne added, recognising that Sharon needed some positive vibes. "I'm not saying Catalano's shit don't stink but, from what I've heard from Tino, I think Angela's right."

"Maybe you should talk to him about it though." Angela said, "I mean, if you're really that worried."

"We don't really talk." Sharon admitted. "Apart from me yelling at him the other night for bringing Edward home two hours late our conversations are pretty short. We're like divorcees, you know? The kind who only speak to each other when they're handing over parental supervision duty? We just skipped the actual being married bit. Or being in any kind of a relationship bit."

"But on the plus side, you really made a saving on the divorce lawyer fees." Rayanne smiled. "I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. There's no point in worrying that there's a problem until there actually, like, is."

"I suppose." Sharon conceded.

Before anyone could say anything else, the ringing of a mobile phone caused them all to reach for their bags

"Oh, it's me." Sharon smiled as she pulled her phone out but she was soon groaning. "It's the office. I have to get this."

Sharon's conversation didn't last long but by the time she was finished, it was clear that she was going to have to get back to work. She dropped enough cash on the table to cover her part of the bill and promised to call the others soon before heading out of the door, leaving Angela and Rayanne alone.

"So, you just bumped into Jordan Catalano, huh?" Rayanne asked, barely allowing enough time for Sharon to be out of earshot.

"Yes. At the college. That course I told you about, the creative writing course, has started. It's going really well so far. I have to say that I'm really enjoying it."

"Are you really taking a college course?"

"Yes, of course I am. Why would you think I was making that up?"

"Because the idea of Jordan Catalano taking a creative writing course where you would also happen to be is just wrong somehow." Rayanne said, taking Angela's look of surprise to mean that she was on the right track. "I mean, if you're meeting Jordan Catalano in secret, you're going to need a better cover story."

"Rayanne! I'm not… We weren't…Look, I am enrolled in creative writing. He was there for some kind of book keeping course which I didn't even know about until my car broke down and he helped me get it towed." Angela replied. "That is the first and only time I've even spoken to him in the last two weeks and I'm definitely not going to be meeting him anywhere."

"So you're still going with the theory that nothing happened between you and him at Sharon's house?"

"Nothing happened at Sharon's house."

"Does that mean something did happen last night?"

"No! God, will you just drop it. Nothing has happened between me and Jordan Catalano."

"I think someone's nose is growing longer." Rayanne replied. "I can always tell when you lie. Your eyes get bigger and you try not to fidget as much. You might as well just tell me. You know you'll feel better if you do."

Knowing that Rayanne would wear her down eventually, Angela started to explain what had happened starting with their encounter in Sharon's hallway and ending with the semi lie she had told Damon about who had helped her with her car. It came out as a painful, rambling mess with Rayanne having to ask more than one question to understand all of the details and it served to highlight just how confused she was feeling about the whole thing. However, Rayanne was right. It did feel better having everything off her chest, even if she didn't know what it all meant or what she should do.

"So, what do you think?" She asked uncertainly, when it was all out.

"I have to say that I think it would be a mistake for you to have an affair. You would not be able to cope with the pressure."

"I'm not having an affair, Rayanne." Angela replied. "Anyway, why wouldn't I be able to cope with the pressure? I mean, you did."

"Well, yeah." Rayanne admitted, thinking back to her one and only dalliance with a married man. "But this is different. As I've stated a hundred time, I don't go getting my emotions involved. I didn't care that after he'd finished fucking me, he'd go home and fuck his wife. Could you really fuck Jordan and then go home to fuck Damon?"

"I'm not fucking anyone!"

"Then I'm surprised that Damon hasn't divorced you already." She replied sarcastically. "Seriously Angela, when have you ever been able to separate sex and love? And who has more to lose here? Jordan's not married. You are."

"I know. I know this." Angela said, holding her head in her hands. "I've got to stop thinking about it. I've got to stop letting Jordan Catalano control me. Again."

"Good because I'm starting to sound like friggin Jiminy Cricket over here. It doesn't suit me." Rayanne replied. "Speaking of doesn't suit, I've got a 1 o'clock appointment to get to. I've got to rescue some poor girl from the worst bangs I've seen this year."

"Ok. I'll see you soon."

"Later. I'll call you." Rayanne said before heading to the door. She looked back before she opened it and Angela was still sitting at their table, looking deep in thought. Rayanne could guess who she was thinking about. Rather than step outside, she tiptoed back to Angela, stopping just behind her. Leaning down, she whispered in Angela's ear, "Don't sleep with him."

Angela jumped in surprise, feeling like she had a heart attack. By the time she had recovered Rayanne, had already ran back to the door, laughing all the way.

"Hey, Angela," She said as she paused by the door once again. "I'm a bitch!"

**********

"Hey, man. I'm driving Amy and Rebecca over to Amy's place. You want a ride too?" Mike asked as Edward joined him by Amy's locker. The final bell had rung over five minutes ago but there was still no sign of either girl.

"No, I'm going over to Jordan's. It's, like, in the opposite direction so I'll just jump on the bus." Edward replied. "I need to get my note book from your car first though. You know, the one with our songs in?"

Although they still played a lot of covers, Echelon were starting to come up with their own music and most of it sounded pretty good but the last song they had tried didn't seem to be coming together properly. None of them could decide whether it was the chord changes, the lyrics or both which caused it to suck but Edward thought that getting a fresh opinion from Jordan might help.

"Yeah, ok." Mike replied, knowing which book Edward meant. He handed over the keys. "Here you go. It's on the back seat. I'll go round the girls up and meet you outside."

The boys headed off in different directions. Edward stepped into the warm afternoon sunlight and smiled at the state of the car park. Everyone was so eager to get away that the area didn't resemble a car park anymore. It was now just one giant traffic jam inching slowly towards the school gates. Luckily, his bus was stuck somewhere towards the back so even if it took a few minutes for the others to get outside, he wouldn't miss it.

The door of Mike's rusting blue ford opened with it's usual creaking noise and Edward peered in. He had been in the car more times than he could remember, getting in and out without a thought, but as he started to look for his notebook he began to realise just how disgusting the car was. Cds were everywhere, the floor was covered in chocolate wrappers, empty drinks bottles and cigarette packets. There were jackets and hoodies he had never noticed before and a library book that was way past due. The only thing he couldn't see was the notebook he wanted so he kept searching, convinced that if his mother saw the contents of the car she would no longer complain about the state of his room. The front seats were stained with spilt sodas and he didn't even want to think about what the marks on the back seat could be, although the empty condom wrapper on the floor under the drivers seat was enough to confirm any suspicions he had as well as make him vow to always call shot gun in future.

He almost gave up when he realise he hadn't checked the glove box. At first, it didn't want to let him in but after jiggling the latch it opened with a creak nearly as loud as the door. As soon as he looked inside, he wished he hadn't. The notebook wasn't there either but the contents of the glove box was ten times more worrying than the other things he had found in the car. Amongst a jumble of more Cds, spare guitar strings and ice scrapers he found three bags of small white tablets. Edward wasn't stupid or naïve. He may never have taken any himself but he had been offered things at enough parties to make him know what he was looking at. As far as he was aware, Mike had always declined what was offered as well, preferring to stick to cigarettes and alcohol. To Edward it just didn't make sense. If Mike didn't take drugs, what was he doing with three bags of E in his car? What was he doing with a pile of drugs probably worth more than the car three times over?

The familiar sound of Amy's laughter reached his ears causing him to shove the narcotics back in the glove box and push the door shut. As his friends made there way towards him. It only took a second for Mike, Amy and Rebecca to reach the car but they were all smiling and joking around. Mike was acting as if nothing was wrong at all. He had his arm around Amy was acting perfectly normal, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Edward wondered whether Amy knew but surely she would have told him, if she did?

"You ok, bro?" Mike asked

Edward realised that all three of them were staring at him in confusion, wondering why he hadn't returned their greeting. "Yeah. I…I couldn't find it. The notebook, I mean."

"It will have just fallen down the side of the seat. I'm always losing stuff down there." Mike opened the car door and after a few seconds of fishing around down the side of the cushion, he produced what Edward had been looking for. "Let me know what Catalano thinks. The guy knows what he's talking about."

"Yeah, sure." Edward said as he took the book from Mike. His voice sounded strange to his ears but no one else seemed to notice. "I guess I should get going."

"You've got a lucky escape, Eddie. Amy and me are going to have a girly night and watch Dirty Dancing followed by Twilight." Rebecca smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing his cheek.

"You not hanging out at Amy's, Mike?"

"Nah. I'm just dropping them off and then I've got to go do something for Tino. Even if I didn't have places to be, there's no way I'd sit through that shit. Once was more than enough."

"You know you liked it." Amy said, poking him in the stomach.

"No, I didn't." Mike replied, "You said it was a vampire movie. I was expecting The Lost Boys not some poser going around saying woe is me."

"He's not a poser, he's hot."

"No, you're hot." Mike said before pulling her close and kissing her.

Edward could only watch, feeling confused and angry and protective all at the same time. He had thought that he liked his two best friends being together. He thought that he knew Mike. Now he wasn't so sure about either.

"Hey, you ok?" Rebecca asked

"Yeah. I've just got to go." Edward replied. He pulled her to the side slightly even though he didn't really need to because Mike and Amy weren't paying them the slightest bit of attention. He suddenly didn't want his girlfriend and his oldest friend to be riding in Mike's car, even if he couldn't explain why to them. "Do me a favour, ok? Just watch out for Amy and be careful."

"Yeah. Ok. "Rebecca's confusion was evident on her face. "I mean, what do you mean?"

"Nothing. I'll explain later." Edward replied. Now was not the time to confront Mike. It was best to save it for the next day, when they were alone and he could really find out what was going on.

He kissed her goodbye as he normally would, trying to put her and himself at ease before he walked away. Still, as he took his seat on the bus, he couldn't help watching Mike's car as it manouvered into the queue in front. He didn't like it. He didn't like it one little bit.

* * *

Well, there you go. Please R&R.


	21. Chapter 21

Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. This is the first chapter of the entire story to have been bete'd so i'm hoping that you agree when I say it's better for it. Big thanks to GoodniteGirl23 for doing the honors. Hope you all enjoy but either way, please R&R. Ta x

* * *

"Thank so much for your help," the girl said with a flirtatious glint in her eye as she watched Jordan snap shut the guitar case, covering the acoustic she had just purchased. She had no real interest in the instrument. The guitar was just a birthday present for her father and seeing as she knew nothing about guitars, she had been dreading even stepping foot in a shop like this. However, as present buying trips went she thought that this would definitely be the most memorable. The service she had received was almost enough to make her want to learn to play herself and it had not escaped her notice that the shop advertised personal lessons. He had even tuned it for her and watching him had been fascinating. What was it about musicians that gave them instant sex appeal?

"My pleasure," Jordan replied with a lazy smile, as he handed her the receipt and her credit card. "You think of anything else you need, just come right back."

A blush crept across her cheeks as she contemplated the kinds of things she could need from him. "I might just do that." she said with a smile before lifting the guitar off the counter and sauntering towards the exit with a sexy swing in her hips.

Jordan couldn't help his eyes lingering on her as she walked to the door. When most of his customers were male twenty something wannabes or aging rockers with a beer gut, he felt that it was only fair that he took the time to appreciate his limited female clientele, especially when they wore jeans as tight and low slung as that one had. As far as he was concerned there was no harm in it. It was a win, win situation. The girl had left the shop with a better instrument than she might have other wise purchased, he had made a bit more money by helping her with her selection and the monotony of a quite day in the store had been lifted for a few minutes.

A cough brought his attention back to the store and he realised that he had an audience.

"Oh, hey." Jordan said.

"You always flirt that much with the customers?" Jenny asked with raised eyebrows.

"Just the hot ones." he replied, knowing that she wouldn't take him too seriously

After the night she drove him home from Vertigo and he turned down her advances, they had both wondered whether things would change between them but their relationship was just the same as it had always been. He still viewed her as both his best friend's sister and an actual friend in her own right while she didn't hold any hard feelings and was happy to continue their own playful flirting with the knowledge that it was nothing more than a bit of fun.

"I brought girl scout cookies." She said, dropping a box on the counter.

"Aren't you a bit old for girl scouts?" Jordan asked with a cheeky smile as he helped himself. "Not that a teeny tiny uniform wouldn't be a good look for you."

"Ha ha. My nine year old neighbor bullied me into buying them. I mean, she just wore me down. I didn't even have any cash on me. I actually owe her the money." Jenny replied. "Anyway, I've got a couple of hours to kill before I need to get to work. Do you still want me to do those vocals or are you too busy?"

"Nah, it's been a pretty slow day so we might as well get started." he said before leading the way to the studio.

Although Jenny acted as host for Vertigo's open mike night, she was often too busy working to actually perform herself but occasionally, when it wasn't busy and she was feeling brave, she did join Jordan on the stage to provide backing vocals. Also, on her nights off she was the undisputed queen of their local karaoke bar after she had a few drinks in her. Now that Jordan and Shane had finished installing the recording equipment in Back Alley Music's studio, Jordan had been ironing out all of the kinks by recoding his own material and somehow she had ended up being roped in. She wasn't quite sure how it happened. The previous Sunday she had only stopped by to see her brother. One minute she was trying to persuade Shane to lend her some money and the next she was standing in a sound proof booth, hoping she was hitting all of the right notes. She had never considered herself to be good enough for anything more than messing around but, even she had to admit that what they played back wasn't half bad and it had been surprisingly fun. So, when Jordan asked her to sing lead vocal on a song he had written, she jumped at the chance.

"You got much interest yet?" She asked as Jordan started flicking switches to turn everything on, including a couple of monitors which would give him a view of the store and any new customers that happened to wander in.

"Some. A couple of guys I know from the local bars have booked some time in for next week and those chicks who play on the corner of Madison and 9th, the ones with the violins, have asked for some time too. Turns out they make quite a killing from people's spare change." He shrugged. The ad he had placed in the local paper wouldn't run until the weekend edition and the studio had only been open for business for two day so, for word of mouth, it wasn't going too badly. He still remained optimistic about recovering the build costs by the end of the year and until things picked up, he got to enjoy being able to use the space as he wanted. "Edward's coming over later. I'm going to show him how it all works. Band he's in is pretty good so I bet they'll want to record something too."

"Sounds good. He seen this place since it's been finished?"

Jordan shook his head. Edward had hung out at the store with him after school but Jordan hadn't let him upstairs while the studio was still being built. Jordan could remember the awe he felt the first time he went to a professional studio. It had been fantastic. Granted, it had been a much larger studio than the one he had built and was probably more state of the art as well but music was the one thing he and Edward seemed to share a passion for so he wanted the teen to be just as awed as he had been. Seeing the place when it looked half built with trailing wires and the guts of all the electrical equipment exposed wouldn't have been nearly as magical.

"I bet he's going to love it." Jenny replied, showing all of the enthusiasm that Jordan felt. "Shane said things seem to be going well with you two."

"Yeah, he's cool. He's a cool kid." A smile stretched across his face as he spoke.

Although it had only been a few weeks since he found out about Edward, his initial reaction of panic and fear at the thought of fatherhood had been forgotten. That wasn't to say that things were easy. They were still getting to know each other and the responsibility of being a parent was still something he was getting used to but Jordan thought they were making progress. He wasn't quite sure that he had found the right balance between acting like a friend and acting like a father but so far there had been no major dramas and at least he was starting to recognise when the teen was trying to push the boundaries and test how much he could get away with. For the most part, Sharon was letting them work things out on their own and Jordan was glad. It felt good to know that she was prepared to put some faith in him and he knew that things would be a lot more strained if he felt that Sharon was constantly looking over his shoulder. Still, when in doubt over something he should do or say in Edward's presence, he would silently ask himself the same question - 'What would Sharon think?'

Admittedly, Jordan knew she would probably like him to ask that question a little more often than he did. Rayanne Graff was right when she said that Sharon was into active parenting. Neither he nor any of his friends had had their social life timetabled by their mothers in the way that Edward had. The thought of having a curfew had been an alien concept to him until Sharon was shouting at him about bringing Edward home late on a school night. As arguments went, it was extinguished pretty quickly and it was sort of good to know that small disagreements between him and Sharon wouldn't have a lasting effect on his relationship with Edward. Also, the fact that Edward had a schedule for the week seemed to make things easier, as strange as that sounded. Edward had certain nights reserved for band practice and Jordan had nights reserved for playing in various bars in town plus his evening classes. Their schedules had forced them to find mutually convenient times to meet up which had made it easy for them to fall into a sort of routine that worked for them both. It was just about as far as you could get from a 'whatever happens, happens' philosophy but Jordan found himself quite liking it.

As far as the spark of attraction he and Sharon felt for each other the first time she had come to see him at the store went, it seemed to have been felt on only that occasion. They weren't exactly going out of their way to spend time with each other but they weren't avoiding each other either. To Jordan it seemed as if they were trying to keep things on an even keel, concentrating on Edward and not letting anything else complicate matters. Maybe their civility would one day develop into more of a friendship but until then, Jordan was just as happy as Sharon seemed to be to avoid any further physical contact, even just handshakes. It was better that way, simpler even. Besides, he had enough confusing thoughts in his head about women, or more accurately one particular woman, without throwing Sharon into the mix as well.

"So, is Sharon still ok with everything? I mean, are you getting along and stuff?" Jenny asked unaware of what was running through his mind and hoping to make the question sound relaxed. In reality, she was fishing for information. Shane had told her and Tino about the moment he witnessed between Sharon and Jordan when Sharon had been at the store. She might have told Shane and Tino to grow up if it hadn't been so amusing but, if they wanted to make stupid bets with their own money who was she to stop them. Shane had bet Tino fifty bucks that Jordan and Sharon would be revisiting their one night stand sometime soon and Tino had bet otherwise. Their attempts at giving Jordan the third degree had all failed miserably and their growing frustration at the lack of information Jordan was providing had been just as funny as their drunken attempts at questioning techniques. Tino wanted to declare himself the winner but Shane had managed to avoid paying out so far by pointing out Jordan's tendency to play his cards close to his chest. Neither one wanted to actually ask Jordan whether he and Sharon were more than friends because the answer would run the risk of having to cough up the cash. As far as Jenny knew, Jordan was completely unaware of their wager so probably wouldn't offer up the needed information any time soon but their gossiping like old women was starting to get a little annoying.

"Yeah, we're getting along ok." Jordan replied simply before turning around and handing her some ear phones. "Ok, I got the main guitar track down yesterday so we're good to go. You want to take a lyric sheet in there with you?"

"I think I'm ok." she replied, excitement outweighing the frustration of his short answer to her question. "As long as I remember where to come in, I should be fine."

"Don't worry. When you screw up we'll just start again."

"Geez, the faith you have is just overwhelming." She rolled her eyes sarcastically but she was still smiling as she donned the earphones and stepped up to the microphone.

Jenny didn't know how many times she repeated the same verses but she was having the time of her life. If they were actually paying for the recoding time, she had a feeling that Jordan would have much less patience with her bum notes, botched lyrics and bought of giggles but eventually it started coming together. Jordan even managed to add a base line before they got interrupted and he had to go back downstairs to the shop. As she sat upstairs, listening to herself sounding better than she had ever imagined she could, she gazed at the CCTV monitors and wondered who the customer could be. She wasn't one to stereotype but the curly haired man adorned in a button-down shirt and slacks did not look like any guitarist she had ever met. She was even more confused when Jordan greeted the man as if he knew him. She didn't know it but she was looking at Brian Krakow and she wasn't the only one to think that he didn't quite belong.

Edward arrived moments later and he couldn't believe it. It was impossible and yet it was still happening. He had walked into Back Alley Music expecting to find Jordan Catalano leaning against the counter, possibly a customer, maybe even two. He didn't expect to come face to face with Brian 'Brain' Krakow, the same person who had confiscated his ipod just hours before and would also be marking his trigonometry homework in due course. Edward could only hope that he didn't notice the striking resemblance his answers had to Amy's who had thankfully let him copy at the last minute.

Two worlds were colliding and, with his head still trying to process what he had found in Mike's car, it was all a bit too much. His step faltered and his brow creased into a frown as he walked into the store. It was weird enough having his math teacher invited to a family barbecue by his mother before he really even knew that he was his teacher but, to have him here in Jordan's shop as well was just too bizarre. He'd seen them talk at the barbecue but it was for only ten minutes. Edward hadn't paid any more attention to their conversation than it took to pick up on Brian's old nickname. He didn't realize they actually knew each other anymore and he had no idea how to behave in front of two adults who knew him in such completely different ways.

While Edwards struggled to develop some kind of combination him on the spot, Brian and Jordan seemed to be coping slightly better.

"Hi." Brian said, seeming perfectly at ease.

"Hey." Edward replied hesitantly as he skirted around Brian and ducked under the counter rather than lift the hatch to join Jordan on the staff only side.

Jordan had the phone to one ear, obviously listening to whoever was on the other side so their greeting was limited to a silent bumping of their fists which was becoming a familiar gesture for them both. Unfortunately, the lack of conversation between the adults only served to highlight the growing silence as the teen observed his math teacher, contemplating what kind of hidden life could bring him to the store.

Deciding to try to break the silence, Brian turned towards Edward. "I guess you're wondering what I'm doing here." The only indication that Edward heard was a slight raise of his eyebrows but it was enough for Brian to continue. "I play the saxophone…and the flute too. You should think about learning a second instrument, you know? Colleges really like it if you can play more than one."

"You have to play them both at once or…"

Brian smiled in a way that showed he wasn't offended by the teen's attempt at humor but wasn't exactly impressed either. "It got lost in the move...I mean, the sax. Not the flute"

"Oh," Edward replied, still not sure what Brian was doing at Back Alley Music where the walls were lined with guitars but there wasn't a woodwind instrument in sight.

In reality, Brian knew that Jordan wouldn't have that kind of instrument in stock and would have to order in what he wanted. He knew that there was a music store across town that specialize in woodwind and brass instruments. He also knew that he could probably order what he wanted over the internet and get it delivered directly to his house. The real reason he had come was curiosity. It was curiosity that made him accept Sharon's invitation two weeks before. After hearing about all the drama from Damon, there was no way he had been able to decline. As much as he thought he had put high school behind him, it was all too tempting to step into the alternative dimension his friends now seemed to inhabit.

At the barbecue, he had been pleasantly surprised. Despite what had happened over the years, everyone seemed pretty much the same, just a bit older though not necessarily wiser. It was reassuring and also kind of annoying and, even though he hadn't talked with Jordan much, his curiosity was satisfied. Or at least, it had been satisfied. Seeing Angela get out of Jordan's car and the subsequent conversation they shared had piqued his interest once more. Alternative dimension or not, it seemed impossible that there was a world where Angela Chase was not obsessed with Jordan Catalano. The question now was whether Jordan Catalano was obsessed with Angela Chase.

"Okay," Jordan said as he hung up the phone. "It'll be here by the weekend."

"Great. Just got to tell the wife now." Brian replied. "I think Emma's the one who paid the moving people to lose my old one in the first place."

"She not a jazz fan?"

"No, definitely not." Brian replied but his affection for his wife was clear in his voice.

"How'd you guys meet anyway?" Jordan asked, just as curious about Brian as Brian was about him. It hadn't escaped his notice that Brian seemed to have made quiet a catch.

"In college."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I was in the library and she, like, asked if she could borrow my eraser so I asked her for her number."

"Like, without warning?"

"Yeah."

Edward had no idea what was funny but both men started to grin. In seconds the grins had stretched across their features and they both started to laugh. If he didn't know better, he would call it more of a giggle. He didn't even know that Brian Krakow could giggle, let alone Jordan. It was most disturbing and he nearly made an excuse to escape upstairs but, when they had finally stopped laughing, Brian's next words were enough to keep his feet rooted to the spot. He'd long ago learnt that it was easy to listen in on grown up's conversations. All he had to do was pretend that he was interested in something else and the music magazines on the counter provided the perfect prop. As he leafed through, pretending to look at the pictures and read the articles, Brain and Jordan continued their conversation.

"So, um…I saw your car last night."

"Oh." Jordan replied

"Yeah, it was just around the corner from where I live. I was jogging." Brian said. He wondered why he was explaining himself when he wanted Jordan to be the one explaining but he couldn't help himself. "I have, like, a circuit I do around the neighborhood. Three times a week. Anyway, I saw Angela Chase. She said you helped her out?"

"Yeah, her car broke down." Jordan replied, wondering how much Brian had actually seen and not wanting to give anything away. Not that there was anything to give away. It had been one kiss. He didn't even know why he had done it. There was just something about having Angela Chase in his car that made him act like he was seventeen all over again. No, that wasn't exactly true. There was something about just being in the same place as her that made him feel seventeen again. Maybe it was the way she babbled or maybe it was the way her hair still smelled like oranges. Maybe it was just because of who she was and who he was and what they used to mean to each other. He didn't know. All he knew was that he had the urge to kiss her so he did. Did he regret it? No not at all. Would he do it again? Probably, if he thought she would let him. Did he really think he would get another chance? No, no way in hell, because not only was she was a married woman who was probably mad at him for putting her in that position, he was the person who broke her heart and slept with both of her best friends. Did that realization stop him from thinking about her all day and how he wished it was more than just one kiss? Absolutely not. Could he say any of this to Brian Krakow? No fucking way. "I gave her a ride home and then met up with Shane and Tino for a drink. You remember those guys, right?"

"Yeah, I remember." Brian said, recognizing Jordan's attempt to change the subject and not falling for it. "So her car broke down, huh?"

"Yeah, it wouldn't start so I looked under the hood."

"You looked under Angela Chase's hood?"

Jordan ignored the small smile on Brian's lips and the double meaning he was trying to give to the words. "Well, I just couldn't leave her there." In his opinion, she shouldn't have been driving the car in the first place. His friends might joke about how old Red was but at least Red had a decent engine, even if he had to rebuild it himself. Angela Chase's engine was held together by string, literally.

"So, then what happened?"

"I couldn't fix it so it got towed and I drove her home. Why, what did she say happened?"

"Nothing," Brian said, a little too quickly. "I mean, that's what she said too."

"Good."

"Good." Brian repeated but the word sounded much more uncertain coming from his lips. Angela may have said nothing happened and Jordan may have reiterated that but he had a nagging suspicion that it wasn't the truth or, at least not the whole truth. Deep down he knew it was none of his business but he couldn't help wanting to know anyway. Maybe there just wasn't a world where it was possible for him not to obsess over Angela Chase and Jordan Catalano.

"So, I'll call you and let you know when you can come get the sax." Jordan said

"Ok…so bye," Brain replied, still curious but understanding that he wasn't going to be getting any further information. He turned to Edward just before he left, as if realizing that he was still there. "See you in school, Edward."

"Yeah, later." Edward muttered as he watched his math teacher leave. He wanted to ask Jordan what was going on but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. It didn't take a genius to realise that there was something Brian was trying to get at and something Jordan wasn't admitting. The cogs in his brain started turning as he digested the words they had said. When he had confronted Jordan for the first time, he had been nervous and emotional. It had all happened so fast that some of it seemed like a blur but for the first time in weeks a clear image came to his mind. It was a memory of Jordan and Angela standing very close together at the entrance to Jordan's apartment. But Rebecca had seen the exact same thing and she didn't seem to be worried about it or at least not worried enough to say anything to him. Besides, it was Amy's mother they were talking about. Angela was the closest thing he had to an aunt and her and Damon always seemed pretty happy. There was too much conflicting information and too many things that were implied rather than stated for him to reach any conclusion except that he was probably jumping to the wrong ones. Still, he was curious as to what was going on but before he could ask, Jordan spoke.

"So, you ready to record some songs?"

"Um…yeah, ok." He followed Jordan upstairs and by the time he got to the studio door, he had been completely distracted from his current train of thought by the sound of the music that could be heard. It wasn't until he got into the room that he realised it was already occupied and he recognized Jenny straight away. "Wow. Was that you?" he asked as his eyes darted around the room, trying to take everything in at once.

"Yeah, so?" Jenny asked. She may have looked at home leaning back in the seat with her feet resting on the counter between two of the mixing decks but having someone other than Jordan and Shane hear her sing something she had put effort into made her suddenly nervous.

"Nothing, it's just you have a decent voice." Edward replied, trying not to sound surprised.

"So, in your opinion I can sing, like, in front of people?"

Edward nodded while Jordan laughed.

"My opinion not good enough for you anymore?" Jordan asked, "You think I'd let you sing my song if you weren't any good? And get your feet down. You break it, you buy it."

"Eddie, your dad used to be cool but all these shiny new toys are turning him into a neat freak." Jenny replied but she put her feet down anyway.

Edward smiled in response, both at her use of his nickname and the fact that she called Jordan his dad. The title was something he hadn't been able to use himself. It still didn't feel right to call Jordan anything other than Jordan but the more other people said it the happier it seemed to make him.

"Anyway, I've got to be getting to work so I'll leave you two boys to have fun." Jenny continued as she grabbed her bag together. "Let me know when you have everything finished, Catalano. I definitely want a copy on disk."

On her way out the door, she paused to kiss Jordan goodbye and it would have raised new suspicions in Edwards mind that there was something going on between them if she hadn't also delivered an identical kiss on his cheek before she disappeared. He may be going out with Rebecca but he'd be lying if he said he didn't notice how attractive the twenty-three year old was. It may have only been an innocent peck on the cheek but he could feel himself starting to get a little red.

"Ignore her. She's got, like, no sense of personal space." Jordan said, sensing the teens discomfort "So, you want to try playing around with some of this stuff?"

"Oh yeah." Edward replied, quickly taking the seat Jenny had vacated. He couldn't believe how professional it all looked and if there was ever a time he needed a distraction it was now. It seemed that whenever his brain stopped focusing on what was directly in front of him, all he could think about was Mike and the drugs he had found in his car

Although Jordan didn't know what was bothering Edward, he could sense that something was wrong. Although Edward was showing enthusiasm, it seemed forced and that wasn't what Jordan had been expecting. He was used to the teen being impressed by him, hanging off his every word so on the night when he unveiled the new studio, Jordan has been expecting something more and he couldn't help but be a little disappointed. Edward seemed to be asking all of the right questions about the equipment. He oohed and aahed in the right places but it was as if his mind wasn't fully on the task at hand.

"You sure you're having fun?" Jordan asked eventually. "I mean, we can do something else if you want."

"No. I am having fun. This is all really cool."

"If you want to go hang out with your friends instead, that's ok. You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

"No I want to be here, really."

"Well, you could always give Mike a call, ask him to come over. I bet he'd get a kick out of this sort of stuff too." Jordan tried.

"Nah, I think Mike's busy tonight."

"Oh," Jordan said, having no other ideas on how to brighten the teen's mood.

"Yeah, he's doing something for his uncle Tino or whatever." Edward said. Jordan mentioning Mikes name had reminded him that Jordan also knew Tino, that they were old friends. The knowledge made him wonder how much Jordan knew. "You've known Tino for a while, right?"

"Yeah since, like, forever."

"So what does he do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, for a living, as a job?"

"I don't know," Jordan replied, not sure how to explain Tino's existence to Edward. "I guess he does a lot of things… I know Mike's been having some problems at home but you don't need to worry. Tino will let him stay as long as he needs to. He's not going to kick him out on the street or anything."

"You know Mike's living with Tino?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, he's been there when I've been over there."

It was Edwards turn to say "Oh". Jordan's answer about Tino's choice of profession wasn't exactly revealing and the thought that Jordan spent time with Tino was extremely worrying to Edward. He didn't know whether Jordan knew about what Mike was doing or not and he couldn't think of a way broach the subject. As much as he needed advice, Mike was still his friend. He didn't want to get him in trouble by telling Jordan if Jordan didn't already know. At the same time, if Jordan did know and wasn't disturbed about the situation then Edward was going to have to do some major re-evaluating as to who Jordan was. Neither choice was particularly appealing so for the time being it was better to do nothing. Edward decided that the best way forward would be to speak with Mike in school and see what explanation he gave before he let his imagination run away with him.

Making a conscious effort to put thoughts of his friend on the back burner, he turned back to the equipment in front of him and tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible. "So what does this one do again?"

****

Edward walked out to the bleachers, still trying to figure out what exactly he was going to say. He nearly ducked underneath, expecting Mike to be standing in the shadows but a flash of color drew his attention to the top steps. It seemed as if Mike had decided to take advantage of the sunshine for a change and, as Edward climbed towards him, he couldn't blame him. The cloudless sky was an azure blue and the sun was warm. It was the kind of weather that said the summer was on its way. It was the kind of weather for them to be planning the fun things they would do over the summer vacation. It wasn't the kind of weather to be having a serious discussion but Edward couldn't put it off any longer. He had to know what was going on.

"Hey," Mike said in greeting as he lit a cigarette.

"Hey," Edward replied, leaning against the back railing rather than taking a seat next to his friend.

He didn't know how many times he had sat outside while Mike took his regular 3rd period smoke break. Sometimes they talked constantly. Other times they were quiet but it was a different sort of quiet to the one that developed between them this time. It was usually comfortable and familiar. The quiet they had now was tense and strange. Edward searched his mind for a way to say what he wanted to say but rejected the words almost as soon as he thought of them. It was Mike who eventually broke the silence.

"You saw them, didn't you? The pills?" he asked, "And now you're freaking out, aren't you?"

"Wouldn't you be freaking out if you found out your friend was on drugs?"

"I'm not taking any of that crap."

"So, you're just dealing. Oh, that's fine, much better!"

"I'm not dealing." Mike protested. "I just… All I'm doing…Look, sometimes Tino gives me something and asks me to go deliver it. That's it. That's all I do. Just take stuff from point A to point B, collect the money and keep my mouth shut."

"Sounds like dealing to me." Edward said but Mike just looked away rather than answering. "Does Amy know what you're doing?"

"No, and you're not going to tell her either. Amy's all, like, innocent, you know? She doesn't need to know about this shit. She wouldn't understand."

"I don't understand," Edward replied. It was clear from Mike's body language that he wasn't proud of what he was doing but he wasn't exactly making any apologies either. "You know this is really dumb, don't you?"

"Yeah maybe."

"Maybe? If you're driving around with a load of Class A's all the time, it's only a matter of time before you get pulled over and arrested."

"It's not all the time. And it's not always drugs." Mike replied, as if that somehow made it better.

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes it's other stuff." Mike shrugged. "Do you remember when Jake was being an ass about that Wii his dad bought for him? He wouldn't shut up about it and he was driving everyone fucking nuts? All I wanted to do was drag his butt out to the parking lot, just to see the look on his face when he saw I had seven of the stupid things in the trunk of my car."

"Really?" Edward asked. He remembered exactly what Mike was talking about and couldn't help smiling at the thought of Jake being taken down a peg or two. He had been annoyed at Jake's showing off as well but part of his annoyance also stemmed from jealousy. He was almost tempted to ask whether Mike had any of the consoles left before he remembered that he wasn't supposed to be encouraging his friend in his criminal activities.

"Yeah, sometimes it's just stuff like that. Things that have fallen off the back of a lorry, fake Rolexes, counterfeit DVDs. No harm, no foul, right?" Mike smiled. He took a drag of his cigarette and as he exhaled his expression turned dour again. When he spoke again, all of the humor disappeared from his voice and he looked away as if he didn't know how to look Edward in the eye. "Sometimes it's serious stuff though. A couple of times it's been a gun…but it's ok. I mean, Tino says he knows guys who've been arrested with guns more than once and nothing ever happened to them."

For the first time ever, Edward wished he smoked. It would have given him something to do other than sit there with his mouth open staring at Mike as if he were mad. Drugs were bad enough. People accidentally overdosed or had unexpected reactions that could hurt them rather than just get them high but, as long as people didn't get addicted, there was usually no long lasting effects. Guns were something different altogether. They had no other purpose but to kill. "You're bringing guns into school?"

"Not actually into school. Metal detectors dude, remember?"

"You know what I mean." Edward replied. "What if someone saw or broke into your car or something?"

"Why would anyone break into my car? It's a wreck, parked next to a bunch of other wrecks. No one would ever guess there was anything worth stealing in there. No one's ever going to see anything."

"I saw."

"Only because I gave you the key and then you went poking around enough to bust the lock on the glove box."

"Is that how you knew I knew?" Edward asked. He didn't think he'd jiggled the latch that much but he supposed it was just another thing on Mike's car that was falling apart.

"Yeah," Mike replied, throwing his cigarette stub away. "And you've been looking at me like I killed your dog or something all morning. You seriously need to work on your poker face."

"I wouldn't have to have a poker face if you weren't doing what you're doing." Edward pointed out. "I still don't get why. I know you're always saying we need to think of ways to make money but isn't this a bit extreme?"

"It's not about the money. Well, not completely." Mike replied. Granted, he liked having cash in his pocket, gas in his car and the ability to buy Amy a nice birthday gift but he would probably still do what he was doing even if Tino didn't give him a cut. "Its just Tino's always doing me so many favors, especially since he let me move in with him. Sometimes I feel like I'm wearing him thin, you know? So if he asks me to do something, I figure I'm just paying him back. I owe him."

"Why don't you just go home?"

"I'm not going home until Mark leaves." Mike said, referring to his mother's boyfriend. "But at the moment my mom prefers having him around to me. The more time I spend with him, the more I want to deck him and the feeling's mutual. She thinks the sun shines out of his ass though so she's not going to kick him out any time soon."

Edward wasn't sure what else to suggest. He couldn't imagine Sharon moving any guy into the house let alone a guy he didn't like. While he wanted her to be happy and have someone to share her life with once he'd grown up and moved out, he knew that she would never let a man come between them like Mike's mother seemed to be doing.

As if reading his mind, Mike continued. "You're lucky to have Sharon, you know? She's, like, there for you. Even if she wasn't, I think Jordan would be. God knows where my dad is. Last number I had for him got disconnected over a year ago. Not that it matters. He wasn't much use when he was around anyway."

Again, Edward didn't know what to say. He couldn't understand how Mike, who was normally so laid back and happy-go-lucky, could have been hiding so much. What was even worse is that he didn't sound overly upset about it. He said it all so matter of fact, as if this was how the world really was and he was already resigned to his fate. The only thing he could do was ask more questions and hopefully get a few more answers about what had been bothering him.

"So, does Jordan know about this? I mean, him and Tino are friends so I was sort of wondering if he's involved too."

"Nah, he's not involved." Mike said, alleviating some of Edward's fears. He shrugged as he continued. "Not much anyway. I'm not sure how much he knows about though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Tino offered to supply some stock for his shop and Catalano said no. But I know for a fact that some of the parts in his car are hot. It's an old car, hard to get parts sometimes and Tino has a way of acquiring things. So, he's mostly legit but not completely."

"Oh." Edward replied uncertainly, trying to evaluate what he thought about the information.

"I don't think he knows about the guns." Mike said. "Some of Tino's friends - Jordan, Shane, even Rayanne Graff - they don't really ask too many questions. I mean, they're not stupid but it sort of feels like they don't want to know the details, you know?"

"Oh." Edward repeated.

Mike paused for a moment, not sure how much he should really be sharing with his Edward. If Tino knew how much he had already told, he would be severely pissed off but it felt good to be getting some of this stuff off his chest. "Tino doesn't keep drugs in the house often but a couple of weekends ago, Jordan and Shane were there with some other guys, drinking beers. After while Tino and one of the other guys started smoking pot and passing it around. Jordan didn't say anything but he left pretty much after they sparked up. So, I guess he knows something about the drugs even if he doesn't know how deep Tino's in. He doesn't, like, condone it but he doesn't condemn it either. Shane left at the same time so I guess he feels the same way."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing, I just went upstairs and played my guitar." Mike replied. It had been the night that he had taken Amy to Tino's house for the first time. He had been disappointed that she had to get home for her curfew but as soon as he got back from dropping her off, he was glad that he had taken her home when he did. He still took her to Tino's house because it was the only place he had to take her where they could be alone but he made sure that they always snuck out the back if Tino came home early. On the one rare night Tino had decided not to go out, he and Amy had just driven around town instead until they found somewhere quiet to park. It had been just as much fun but it wasn't quite the same as having her in his bed. As far as he was concerned Amy was better than the back of his car. She deserved more. He couldn't wait until he was old enough to get his own place where he didn't need to worry about what she might see or hear and he didn't want to contemplate the way it would make him feel if she found out and ended their relationship.. "Sometimes I think the only things keeping me sane are Amy and the band. We're starting to sound really good, you know? Echelon could be our meal ticket to bigger and better things…"

"Yeah, until you land your ass in jail."

"I'm not going to end up in jail. I'm still a kid as far as the legal system is concerned and I've got no priors. If they catch me all I'll get is a slap on the wrist and some community service." Mike replied but it sounded rehearsed to his own ears. He knew that to Edward it would sound like he was reading a script provided by Tino. He took a deep breath and when he spoke again his voice sounded more normal. "I was planning on talking to Tino anyway cutting back on the stuff I do for him. We're going to need more practice time if we want to win."

"Win what?" Edward asked, trying to ignore Mike's use of the words 'cutting back' over the word stop.

Mike pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Edward. Edward unfolded it to reveal a poster advertising a battle of the bands competition being held in Pike Street in four weeks time. It would be a bigger stage than they had ever played on before and, considering the reputation of the venue, he already knew that competition would be fierce. "You think we could get ready in time?"

"Hell yeah… All we got to do is decide what songs we're going to play and practice 'til our fingers bleed and Jake can keep time properly. We'll kick ass."

"We'll more than kick ass. We'll absolutely rule." Edward replied, smiling for the first time since he came outside. Mike may not be saying that he was going to stop what he was doing completely but at least Edward knew what was going on now. He didn't feel great about it, far from it in fact, but he sort of understood. He also understood that Mike was invested in the band just as much as he was, if not more. He couldn't think of a better way of trying to keep Mike on the straight and narrow than spending every spare second practicing for the competition. Even if they came last and got booed off the stage, they were going to have such a time.


	22. Chapter 22

Happy New Year! I know it's been far too long since I've updated this fic but Chapter 22 is finally here. Big thanks to Goodnitegril23 for all of her support as well as her keen eye for spelling mistakes, typos and my British colloquialisms.

* * *

"You sure you can't come in for a bit?" Amy asked Mike as he pulled up outside her house

"No, he can't." Edward replied before Mike had chance to open his mouth. Since signing up for the competition at Pike Street, Echelon had had three practice sessions during which they had done nothing but argue about which songs they wanted to play. Edward was determined that on this practice session they would make a final decision and stick to it. The last thing he needed was Jake shouting at him and Mike about their lack of punctuality. It would only hinder, if not completely stop, the progress he was determined to make.

"You could always come with us instead? It's been, like, forever since you heard us play." Mike suggested.

Amy clearly wanted to but shook her head in a resigned fashion. "Can't. It's a school night."

"God, your parent's rules suck big time." Rebecca chimed in, ever grateful that Graham and Hallie took a much more relaxed approach.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"So, does that mean you're coming?" Edward asked Rebecca hopefully. He wanted to show off for his girlfriend just as much as Mike did.

"And listen to you guys bitch about each others mistakes between playing the same song over and over? I don't think so."

"We don't play the same song over and over." Edward protested.

"And we don't bitch." Mike added

"Yeah, you kind of do. It's enough to drive a sane person crazy."

Amy had also attended their practice sessions and had to admit that, most of the time, Rebecca's description would be spot on when they were learning something new but she had also witnessed the eureka moments where everything just clicked into place. The spine tingling sensation she got when they sounded and looked like a real band rather than a bunch of kids messing around was definitely worth the torture of listening to them get there. She would love to be able to go and watch them but her parents had both been sticking to the rules pedantically since she lied about going to Rebecca's to study and then got caught in Vertigo.

It was particularly annoying when she knew that Angela wouldn't even be at home that evening. She would be attending her creative writing class. Amy had tried to persuade Angela and Damon that Angela going out on a work night was just the same as her going out on a school night but they had stubbornly refused to see the double standard. At least she was able to invite her friends over for a couple of hours after school, although why her parents thought that was any different to going out was beyond her. "I'm thinking we should combine Chemistry homework with a Supernatural marathon. That way we can help each other get the right answers without, like, dying of boredom." Amy suggested.

"Ooh, I like that idea." Rebecca replied, thoughts of the band instantly replaced by thoughts of the Winchester brothers

Mike and Edward rolled their eyes at each other and tuned out the start of what would be yet another lengthy debate about whether Dean or Sam was hotter. The girls may think their practice was repetitious but had no idea what they also had to cope with. After saying goodbye, the girls headed into the house while Mike turned the car in the direction of Jake's house and sped off.

So far Echelon had been unable to find a permanent practice space and were forced to make use of either Sharon's or Jake's parent's garage, swapping between the two every few weeks. Moving all of their equipment on a regular basis wasn't exactly convenient but it helped to minimize the complaints from neighbors who didn't like their style of music or the volume that they played at. Jordan had told Edward that he had a similar problem when he was in high school which was only solved when they found a loft space to practice in. Seeing as Back Alley Music's loft space was being used for the recording studio, it wasn't an option but Jordan had said he would keep an eye out and would let Edward know if he heard of anywhere that might be suitable. Edward hoped they would find something soon but he wasn't going to hold his breath. Loft spaces that came cheap or, more ideally, free were few and far between.

Jake and Steve were waiting in the garage when Mike pulled into the driveway. Steve was already busy replacing one of the strings on his bass while Jake was working through some warm up rhythms. A Chorus of hi's filled the space as Mike pulled the garage door shut behind him, closing them all in and muffling the sound that would be heard outside by the slightest of margins.

"So, we've agreed that we should do a cover first and then one of our own songs next. Does anyone know what cover they want to play yet?" Edward asked as he and Mike tuned their guitars.

"It's got to be something people will instantly recognize but nothing too predictable." Mike said, mentally running through all of the songs they already knew how to play and discounting most of them.

"Yeah," Jake agreed, "but it's got to be something to get the girls dancing too."

"Who cares whether girls dance or not? I'm more interested in what the judges think."

"You and Edward have got girlfriends already. Steve and I are still on the market. We want to see the girls dance. Aren't hot chicks supposed to be the main perk of being in a band?" Jake replied, not bothering to check whether Steve actually shared his opinion or not.

"Some of us are in it for more than just picking up sleazy groupies" Mike replied with a glare

Ignoring their comments, Edward's voice took on a musing tone. "Maybe we should play something Rebecca and Amy will like."

"Why? You want to sing a love song?" Jake said teasingly. "If you want to tell Rebecca how you really feel about her maybe we should just do 'Closer'. You never know it might just do the trick and she'll finally let you feel her from the inside."

Jake smirked, obviously finding humor in his own attempt at a joke. Edward, however, did not see the funny side and added his own glare to Mike's.

"That's actually not such a bad idea." Steve said hesitantly. As he expected, Edward's glare turned in his direction so he decided to explain his reasoning as quickly as possible. "I just mean it's a good song. People know it and it always gets a reaction from the audience."

Edward's glare softened as he realized that Steve wasn't trying to be a smart ass like Jake and what he said about the song was true. Still, it was not one that Edward was willing to add to their set list. "No way. As much as I respect Trent Reznor and think Nine Inch Nails rule, I cannot sing those lyrics in front of my mother."

"Your mother's going to be there?" Jake asked in disbelief. "That's definitely uncool, man."

"Stop being a dick, Jake." Mike said, anticipating another stupid remark from the drummer.

"We don't need someone's mom there to hold our hands. That's all I'm saying." Jake replied, now glaring back at Mike.

"We might not need her there but parental supervision is Sharon's condition for letting me play at Pike Street so get used to it." Edward said. He'd been so excited about the competition that he had told her about it immediately. Now he wished he had thought before speaking because as soon as Sharon realized which venue the competition was taking place at she had started laying ground rules. "That song is out."

"What about a Guns 'n' Roses cover?" Steve suggested. "You know, something from when they were still good?

"Sweet Child of Mine!" Mike and Jake said simultaneously

Edward could only shake his head in wonder as the pair seemingly forgot their bickering and shared a high five with smiles on their faces. "Finally! We have progress."

"Yeah, now we've just got to learn how to play it." Steve pointed out but his smile showed that he was just as happy with this selection as Mike and Jake seemed to be.

****************

As she had anticipated, Rebecca's decision to forgo band practice in favor of hanging out at the Bradley residence was a wise decision. She was having much more fun than she would have sitting in a corner of Jake's garage, pretending to pay attention to whatever the boys decided to play. As much as she liked Edward and was proud of the success the band seemed to be finding, she would never be a rock chick and belonged firmly in the pop princess world, right down to the cheesy dance moves and bubble gum lyrics. It was just another reason in a long list why her and Amy should not get along at all. It still took other people by surprise when they walked down the halls together and Amy's ever increasing punk look made them seem all the more incongruous. Somehow, though, the more they got to know each other the more they regretted how antagonistic they had been to each other in the past. Neither one had said anything directly but they had both come to the mutual understanding that, going forward, whatever happened between their families or with their boyfriends, they would always be friends.

"Oh my god. He's got, like, the perfect body." Rebecca groaned as she gazed, wide eyed at the TV screen. The chemistry text book in front of her was all but forgotten. "They should have a shirtless Sam in every episode. I mean, seriously. Their ratings would go through the roof."

"I can't say I'm not partial to a bit of shirtless Sam but give me a brooding, semi naked Dean any day. He wouldn't need to even talk or act. Just standing there would be fine." Amy replied, just in much awe of the actors on screen as the other teen. "Speaking of shirtless, is there any progress to report yet?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rebecca replied coyly, trying not to blush as she looked straight ahead and concentrated on the TV. If she thought she was fooling anyone, she was seriously mistaken.

"So, there is progress!" Amy smiled with a sly grin, thoughts of the Winchester brothers quickly taking a backseat. "So? Come on, you can tell me. I've told you everything about Mike and I. Well, nearly everything."

"I've already heard more than I want to know about you and Mike!" Rebecca replied. In her opinion, Amy had over shared on more than one occasion. Rebecca was only just getting used to the more physical aspects of being in a serious relationship. Talking about things she had only just started to do in any kind of detail was still beyond her and she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever feel as comfortable about it all as Amy seemed to be. "Anyway, I thought it freaked you out to hear me talk about Eddie in that way. I mean, he is your best and oldest friend after all."

Until Rebecca's and Edwards relationship had come out of the boiler room, so to speak, Amy had never really been friends with any of his girlfriends. Until now, she had never had to think of him in a sexual way or contemplate any of his male urges. Despite being such a typical teenage boy in so many ways, she had come to realize that in her head he had stayed the pre-pubescent, androgynous child she had grown up with. Part of her didn't want to think of him as becoming an actual man, just as she was sure that he didn't want to think of her as an actual woman but that was what they were becoming and sometimes you just needed to face reality. Besides, the curiosity was killing her.

"Well, yeah it is kind of icky so I don't need a second by second description but you can at least tell me whether the shirts have started coming off yet." She prompted. She didn't receive a verbal response but the pinking of Rebecca's cheeks was enough to confirm her suspicions. "Your shirt or his shirt? Both?"

"Amy!" Rebecca leant forward and buried her head in Amy's pillows in an effort to hide her blushing. She went red when she thought about it when she was all on her own so she knew she would be as bright as a beetroot now that she had an audience.

"I'll take that answer to mean both." Amy grinned, chuckling slightly at her friends behavior. "So, if the shirts are coming off does that mean the jeans are too?"

"Aarggh." Rebecca screamed in frustration into the pillow, knowing that Amy was not going to give up until she had learned everything there was to learn. The effect of the scream was muffled somewhat and didn't have the effect intended, producing just another laugh from Amy. Rebecca flipped over on to her back and looked up at the ceiling rather than at the other teen. "Ok, the shirts have come off. As far as the rest goes, well, he… I…God this is so embarrassing! Lets just say that zippers have been unzipped but the jeans have yet to come off. Okay? Happy now?"

"Yeah," Amy replied, trying not to laugh anymore at Amy's discomfort. If anyone had told her they would be having this kind of conversation a couple of months ago she wouldn't have believed them or she would have at least expected their roles to be reversed. Who could have imagined that she, the supposed quiet, shy one would be the voice of sexual experience when Rebecca, the outgoing, popular one would be innocent, or at least relatively innocent? It just didn't make any sense and Amy found her thoughts turning slightly more serious. "So, if zippers are getting unzipped and everything, I mean, don't you want to just keep going?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." Rebecca said, still staring at the ceiling as if searching for a way to organize her thoughts. "Sometimes I really want to but it feels like it's too much, too soon or something. I mean, I know it's not too soon. He doesn't think it's too soon, anyway. He's being really nice about it and everything but we've reached this …wall."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you can only go so far before you reach the point of, like, no return, where you have to take that one last step. Every time we're alone it feels like he's asking me for permission, or something, even if he doesn't actually say it, and sometimes I really want to say yes but other times I don't and I just keep thinking that maybe I shouldn't say yes until I'm like one hundred percent doubt free. But if I keep saying no, maybe that's like pushing him away, or something, and you can only push people so far before they, like, leave."

"You could always say yes when you want to and no when you don't. I mean, I've lost count of how many times I've slept with Mike but we don't do it all the time." Amy said, trying to alleviate some of the other girls fears.

"You don't?"

"No. Just because we've had sex doesn't mean that it stops mattering if I, like, want to do it or not. You can still say no if you want to."

"Then what's the frown for?" Rebecca asked. Amy might have sounded confident but her expression was far from trouble free. "He doesn't put pressure on you or something, does he? I mean, when you tell him you're not in the mood, or whatever?"

"No, of course not. It's just…" Amy ground to a halt, not sure how to voice her own concerns now that the focus had shifted to her. Deciding that it wasn't fair to hold back after bullying Rebecca into answering her questions, she managed to find her voice. "It's not the sex stuff that's bothering me. It's just sometimes Mike acts a bit strange. I mean, he says he has stuff to do for his uncle, or whatever, but when I ask him about it he's always really evasive. Even though he's living with his uncle and he takes me over their all the time, I've never actually met Tino. Not even once. That's odd, right?"

Rebecca shrugged in a non-committal sort of way. Both her and Edward had know each others parents for ever thanks to Angela's and Sharon's friendship so she could hardly draw a comparison. However, she had met most of her previous boyfriend's parents as well, even if the relationships were not serious and didn't last very long.

"Anyway, I've got two theories. Neither of which are appealing, by the way." Amy continued, trying but failing to keep her tone light. "Either he's seeing someone else behind my back and doesn't want Tino to give the game away or he's, like, too ashamed of me or something to introduce me to his family."

For a second, Rebecca could only gape at the other girl. In her opinion, both theories were ridiculous. "There's no way he's seeing someone else! First of all, Edward would never let him get away with it and, secondly, he's, like, completely obsessed with you. As for your other theory, maybe it's more like the other way around."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I just get the impression… I mean, I know no one in our family is rich or anything but I was just thinking, the other day when he was wearing that plaid shirt with the frayed collar that maybe he's from a poor family or something."

"He bought it like that. I was with him. It's vintage" Amy replied as her eyebrows knitted together. On one hand, she wanted to accept Rebecca's explanation as truth but, on the other, it didn't sit right with her. Maybe there was a difference in the amount of disposable cash their families had but it had never been an issue as far as she was concerned and she couldn't imagine something as mundane as social standing being important to him. Also, when Mike talked about Tino it was sometimes akin to hero worship. If he looked up to Tino so much and was as obsessed with her as Rebecca said, why didn't he want the two of them to meet? Maybe she should just ask to meet Tino. Maybe the next time she and Mike were at his house and Tino came home she should ask to be introduced to him rather than letting Mike sneak her out of the house. However, when she was at Mike's house there would be a good chance that they would be sleeping with each other. Could she really sit and make polite small talk with his uncle after just having had sex in Mike's room upstairs? She wasn't so sure that she could. Not without severe embarrassment anyway. Maybe she needed to come up with another plan.

"Ooh, Sodium." Rebecca exclaimed, rousing Amy from her musings

"What?"

"Number 9. The answer's sodium." Rebecca replied, writing it down in her exercise book and receiving a confused look from Amy in silent questioning of where the sudden inspiration came from. The teen gestured towards the TV. "They're pouring salt to demon proof a room. Salt, sodium.."

"So Supernatural is educational after all! Told you it would help us with our homework." Amy smiled, making a conscious effort to forget about her worrying and concentrate on the TV and chemistry homework once more.

****************

As Amy and Rebecca tackled their homework, Angela was handing hers in. When she was a teenager, homework was a common occurrence, part of the routine, but it had always seemed like a chore. It was something to be done as quickly as possible in order to limit the amount of her precious free time it took up. Now, she thought the opposite. It wasn't a chore anymore. It was a joy. She couldn't believe how much fun she was having on her creative writing course. She had only signed up because she needed something to get her mind off all the drama and revealed secrets but it was getting to the point where she was spending more and more time thinking about her assignments. She had even zoned out in work a few times, planning plotline and dialogue rather than concentrating on which clients were sitting in the waiting room, ready for their dentist appointments.

The only part she didn't like about being enrolled in the course was the knowledge that Jordan Catalano was somewhere in the building, enrolled in a class of his own. The feeling she had as she sat there wondering if he was sitting in the classroom above or whether she would see him in the corridors was like reliving high school all over again. Not that she really expected to bump into him again. No, this week she would not loiter after class. She would go straight to her car which would start and she would drive right home. She would be gone before he even reached the parking lot. There would be no conversations. There would be no cups of coffee and there would definitely be no goodbye kisses in his car. Singular or plural. At least that was the plan.

Like all good plans, she soon discovered it had a flaw. The class came to an end all too soon. She gathered her things together as quickly as possible and walked as hastily as she could to the exit. As soon as she opened the door, she saw him. He was standing at the bottom of the short flight of concrete steps with his back to her, shoulders hunched slightly, in the process of lighting a cigarette. She didn't need to see his face to know it was him. She knew just from the way he stood. She knew from the way the light brown hair that reached the collar of his jacket looked so soft, so touchable. She also knew that the noise of the door opening was going to make him turn around.

When he did turn around, he looked surprised to see her. It made her think that he had forgotten that she would be in college this night. However, that was not the case. He had remembered. He had been just as aware that she was in the building somewhere as she had been of his presence but he hadn't expected to see her either. If anything, he had expected her to avoid him.

He closed his lighter with a snap and took a drag on his cigarette, using the seconds it took to think of something to say. Words failed him and he could only say a simple "Hey", wondering how she could still reduce him to the monosyllabic boy he had once been

"Hey," Angela repeated as she let the door swing closed behind her and slowly began to descend the steps towards him.

She paused as she reached him and they just looked at each other, neither knowing what to say. If it was anyone else, Angela would think them rude because it was rude to just stand and stare at someone and not say anything. It was rude to capture someone in your gaze and make them feel as if there was no possibility of release even if they knew they should look away. It was rude and it was such typical Jordan Catalano behavior. Well, her mother had raised her better than that. In true Patty Chase style, she decided to ignore the awkwardness she felt, to deny the memory of his lips on hers, and just be civil. All she needed to do was make polite conversation for a moment and then they would both be able to leave.

"How was your class?" she asked

"Boring," he replied. "Book keeping is really dull."

"Oh." she said, thrown off course by the honesty of the answer. Anyone else would have given a non-committal 'fine'. It was what the rules of polite conversation dictated. She shouldn't have been surprised though. When had Jordan ever done polite conversation? "Well, I…I should go."

"Yeah, me too."

When they moved, they both stepped in the same direction causing them to look at each other quizzically. The look only lasted a second. They both realized at the same time that of course they would be going in the same direction. Their cars were both in the college parking lot. They fell into step as they walked side by side down the narrow path.

"So did you hear that they're talking about charging people for parking here?" Angela asked. He might seem comfortable enough walking in silence but she felt the need to say something, anything, just to feel less on edge.

"I didn't hear that." he replied, before flicking his cigarette butt away.

"It's just something people are obsessing about. It's like sometimes people fill their minds with all these stupid things, you know? To keep them selves from thinking about what's really important, or something. I mean, they're only going to charge $1 but there's going to be this protest about it. I mean it's so stupid." Now that his hand wasn't occupied, his arm hung at his side, swaying slightly as he walked. As she babbled, her attention became increasingly focused on that hand and the way the arm of his jacket would brush against hers every few steps. Last time she had walked with him he had taken her hand in his own and she wondered if he would do the same again. Part of her didn't want him to because she knew she would have to push him away but another part of her was fighting the urge to reach out to him.

"There's going to be a protest over car parking charges?"

"Well, yeah. There's like 500 hundred posters around the college about it."

"Ahh, right," he replied, vaguely remembering seeing something.

"Yeah…" She trailed off. Had it always been this hard to converse with him? Last week, when they had been sitting together in the café, they had seemed to manage just fine but that was before he drove her home. She supposed it would be easier if she could ask the questions that were really on her mind. Why did he kiss her? What did it mean? Why did he stop at just one kiss? Had he been thinking about that one, solitary kiss as much as she had, even though just to think about it was so wrong? But she couldn't find the right words so she asked another question instead. "So, did your class finish early today or something?"

"Nah. It over ran last week." he explained. "Good thing it finished on time this week. Jenny will kill me if I'm late getting to Vertigo."

"Oh." she said with a small frown, remembering that Jenny was the person she had mistakenly thought was his girlfriend. Had something changed since then? Was he meeting her specifically? Why would she care if he was late?

He didn't need to look at her to know she would be trying to analyze his words. He could tell by the tone of her voice and it made him want to explain even though he knew he shouldn't care what she thought. "I normally only play there on open mike nights but the band she had booked for tonight canceled at the last minute. There was no one else who could, like, fill the spot."

"So, do they have live music there every night?" she asked, not interested in the answer but needing to at least try to keep the conversation flowing.

"Yeah, pretty much." he replied before they lapsed into silence again.

A few silent steps later, her car came into view and it felt as if they both gave a sigh of relief. He reached the car just a second before her and stepped in front of her as she pressed the button on the key that would unlock the doors. Rather than just walking away, his left hand pulled on the door handle as he stepped past and he turned to face her as he held it open for her. It was the second time in two weeks that he had opened a car door of her and it was the second time she tried not to think of it as a chivalrous action. She stepped into the space, glad of the physical barrier the door created as they stood on either side of it. It was the moment for them to say goodbye but, to Angela, it seemed as if the conversation wasn't over even if she didn't have the slightest idea what to say. Her hand came to rest on the top of the door millimeters away from his and although her hand looked steady it felt as if her fingers were twitching with the need to touch him.

"You sounded different to how I remembered. You know, when I heard you play at Vertigo? I mean, it was still good but just different…" It seemed as if her mind didn't even know what she was saying until she heard his reply.

"Well, that's cigarettes for you. According to some people my voice gets worse every time I light up. Other people say it gets better the more I smoke. Maybe you should come back one night, let me know what you think." As he spoke, he released his grip on the top of the door and ran his fingers over the back of her hand and over the ridges of her knuckles. He continued to trace a feather light pattern across the base of her fingers which was only halted when he came into contact with her wedding band. His fingers lingered for a second, rubbing the gold ring, before his eyes narrowed and he swiftly took his hand away. Within moments his hands were buried in his jacket pockets and he was backing away. "Or, you know, whatever. I've…I've got to go. Later."

"Yeah. Later." she replied to his retreating back as she released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

****************

They had listened to the MP3, they had found the guitar tabs online and some close up drum covers on YouTube. They should have all the necessary information to be able to reproduce the song. Edward knew they had the skills but, maddeningly, something wasn't quite right. They were all getting frustrated and Edward knew it was only a matter of time before tempers started to fray.

"Hey, Steve, turn your amp down." Jake shouted over the sound of his drums, as if on cue

"You think my bass is too loud?" Steve asked, clearly of a different opinion.

The band ground to a halt for what seemed like the thousand time.

"The bass is not too loud." Mike stated

"Well, I think it is but at least it's not out of tune."

"You're telling me I'm out of tune?" Mike's disbelief was evident in his voice. "You're the drummer, man. You don't know anything about who's out of tune."

"I know when something sounds like crap." Jake challenged, standing up behind his drum kit, gripping his sticks tightly and jabbing them in Mike's direction for emphasis.

"Maybe it wouldn't sound like crap if you could keep a beat!" Mike countered. The hold he had on his Fender as he stepped toward Jake made the guitar look more like a weapon than an instrument.

They argued constantly but it had never escalated enough to turn into an actual fist fight. Still, there was a first time for everything and Edward decided it was best for him to intervene before one of them threw the first punch. "Alright!" he shouted loud enough to get their attention. He took a deep breath and when he spoke again his voice was a more normal level. "Let's just take a break for five minutes or something. Okay?"

"Yeah, whatever. I need a smoke anyway" Mike said before stomping towards the yard.

"Yeah, and I need a drink." Jake said, stomping just as forcefully towards the house.

Steve breathed a sigh of relief as the tension in the room dropped. Edward breathed his own sigh of relief when Jake came back into the room with cans of soda for everyone, including Mike. It was a sure sign that this disagreement would blow over just as quickly as the last. Edward could only hope that there would be no more. At least, not in this practice.

For the first time since they had arrived, the garage was silent and the sound of Edward's cell phone ringing took them all by surprise. When he managed to fish the phone out of his backpack, he saw that he already had two missed calls from his mother and the caller ID told him it was her on the other end again. .

"Hello?" Edward asked uncertainly. He couldn't think of any reason why his mother would be trying to reach him. The clock display showed that they had been practicing for a lot longer than he had realized but he was still well within curfew and when he tried to think of anything he might have done to get himself in trouble, he came up blank.

"Eddie! Thank god" Sharon shouted, panic clear in her voice. "I've been trying to reach you."

"Why? What's the matter?"

"We've got a leak!" Sharon replied as if that would explain everything. When she had left for work that morning everything had been fine but at some point during the day something had gone very wrong. Typically, it had happened on the day she decided to work late in the office. If she had come home at the normal time, she guessed the situation wouldn't be half so bad. She had returned home to find a large puddle of water on her kitchen floor and an increasing patch of damp, discolored plaster on the ceiling above. So far all she had managed to do was find her largest pan to collect some of the dripping water and throw some old towels on the floor in a futile attempt to try to soak up what was already there, ruining a pair of very expensive suede shoes in the process. Rather than receiving the help she had been hoping for, Edward's side of the line was silent. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"How do I fix it?"

"You're asking me?" Edward asked, truly confused as to why his mother thought he would know.

"Well, you take shop right?"

"Yeah, I take shop and if you had a bird feeder related emergency I'd be happy to help but they haven't started teaching us about household plumbing yet." he rolled his eyes and a smile started to spread across his face but it's progress was halted by a small whimpering sound. He didn't know it but that was Sharon's response to the dripping doubling in speed and her realization that the pan was not going to be big enough. He really didn't have a clue as to what Sharon expected him to do. It wasn't as if he had any experience with household repairs or even owned any tools. However, he realized that he knew someone who did. "Why don't you try calling Jordan?"

"What? Why?" Sharon asked. Over the past few weeks, Jordan and Edward had been getting closer and Sharon was slowly getting used to the fact that he was part of their lives now but the thought of calling him hadn't even crossed her mind.

"He's always fixing cars and stuff. Maybe he'd know what to do. Or at least have more of a clue than you or me." Edward shrugged. Mike chose that moment to come back inside and although he looked a lot calmer, the less time he and Jake had to chat the less likely it was that they would argue again. "Look, we're in the middle of practice. I've really got to go. Just call him."

Sharon looked at her phone in disbelief as the dial tone replaced Edward's voice. On reflection, the thought that her sixteen year old son would know how to handle this domestic emergency when she, a woman who was closer to forty than she liked to admit, didn't know what to do was a little unrealistic. She was supposed to be the adult in their little family, after all. Also, Edward had a point. Jordan was the kind of guy who was practical and could fix things. He was the kind of guy she needed to help her. She didn't really want to be asking him for favors when his involvement in their lives was still very much in the early days but Jordan wanted to act like a father. What was more fatherly than providing safe shelter for your offspring, right? She quickly started to dial.

It only rang for a second before he answered. "Hi Sharon," he said wondering what she wanted. He had just been about to switch his phone off as he got ready to take to the stage but he felt that he couldn't ignore her call. He hoped that whatever she wanted would be quick. However, the response he received was the last thing he expected.

"Jordan, I need a man!"

"Excuse me?" he coughed in reply

"I have a leak. There's water everywhere. I'm a girl. A really girly girl and I don't know what to do. Edward told me to call you."

"Oh, I see." Jordan said in relief. When he decided to get to know Edward, he didn't realize he'd signed up to provide handyman services as well but he was glad to know there was an explanation for her opening statement that differed from his first interpretation. "Have you turned off the main water line?"

"No. Where would I find that?"

"Urm…the basement?" He guessed. It was as likely a place as any but, seeing as it wasn't his house and he had only been inside on a few brief occasions, he didn't know how she expected him to know where it was.

"I don't have a basement."

"Try the closet under the stairs then."

"I don't have one of those either!" Sharon shrieked as she watched the level of water rising towards the top of the pan. "Can't you come over here? I need help!"

"Sharon, I can't just leave," Jordan protested. Jenny was already giving him a look which said to hurry up and get his ass out there and there was nothing he wanted more than to switch his mind off and just get lost in the music. "I'm about to go on stage"

"And I'm about to drown in my own kitchen!" Sharon shouted

Even though he knew she was exaggerating he could hear the alarm in her voice and he realized he was going to have to do something. Jenny was going to kill him for leaving her in the lurch at the last minute but he didn't think he had a choice. "Ok, just ok..." he signed

"You'll come?"

He was just about to say yes but the sight of Shane walking into Vertigo gave him an idea as to how the problem could be solved to everyone's satisfaction and he quickly revised his next words. "Help will be on its way."

For the second time in that evening, Sharon was left listening to the dial tone but at least she now had the assurance that help was coming. It made her feel as if the sky wasn't falling in after all. In fact, she knew she would be completely embarrassed by what was sure to be an enormous over reaction but she would deal with that later.

Sooner than she had expected, there was a knock on the door and she ran to answer it with a smile. As soon as she pulled the door open, the smile faltered. Rather than coming face to face with Jordan, the person who came to her aid was one of the last people she expected to see. They hadn't exactly parted as friends the last time he had been at her house and, from the look on Shane's face, she guessed that he was just about as happy to be there as she was to see him. Although she thought he had potential on their one and only date, in the domestic mess that followed, it had been easy to blame him for everything. After all, he was the one who saw the truth when no one else did. He was the one who had forced her to come clean with everyone. As for Shane, he couldn't believe Jordan had actually talked him into helping when he knew that he wasn't anywhere near Sharon's list of favorite people. If she had wanted him to help her, she would have called him herself.

They silently regarded one another for a moment, neither sure what to say in greeting, but Shane had never been one to tip toe around and, as far as he was concerned awkward silences where just a waste of time. Without waiting for an invitation he stepped over the threshold and Sharon had no choice but to open the door wider and allow him entrance.

"So, Jordan said you have a leak. You want to show me where 'cause the quicker I fix it, the quicker I can get out of your hair and back to the bar?"

"In the kitchen." Sharon replied but before she could turn to lead the way, he moved past her obviously remembering his way around the house.

She found herself following along behind him and as soon as they stepped into the kitchen her gaze was instantly drawn to the water dripping from the ceiling. He only gave it a perfunctory glance before striding over to the kitchen sink and opening the cupboard underneath.

"How did you know the switch off for the mains was there?" Sharon asked as the dripping water started to slow.

"I've worked here before, remember? Fixed your faucet?"

"Oh yeah." Sharon replied, hoping that she sounded like she had only just remembered. "Well, thanks. For coming over at such short notice, I mean. I really, like, appreciate it."

"Whatever." Shane replied, sure that her thanks were not sincere. "I mean, you don't have to fake gratitude or anything. I'm here as a favor to Jordan and we both know you'd prefer he was here rather than me even if he doesn't know shit about plumbing."

"What?" Sharon asked, taken aback by his view of the situation and his quick assessment of her initial response when she opened the door.

"Guitars, cars and women. Those are Jordan's areas of expertise." Shane replied, deliberately misinterpreting her question. "Though not necessarily in that order."

"That wasn't what I meant."

"Yeah, well…if you wanted me to come and fix it, you would have just called me. I mean, you've got one of my business cards, right?" He wasn't even sure why it bothered him. Not long ago he had made a bet with Tino that Sharon and Jordan would hook up and now he was actually feeling jealous that it was Jordan who she had looked to for help rather than him.

Sharon looked away for a moment, feeling awkward and embarrassed. If she had been thinking sensibly then of course she would have called Shane first. He was an actual handyman, after all. However, she no longer had his business cards and his number had long been deleted from her phone. "Not so much. I sort of ripped it up." she admitted

"You ripped it up?"

"Look, I was angry, ok? You came in here, gave me ultimatums about my own son. Did it ever occur to you what would happen? My life, Edward's life, have completely changed. So many people were hurt. I almost lost my best friend. I think I deserved to be a little bit mad at you, okay."

Shane shrugged in response. When he thought about it like that, he couldn't fault her for laying the blame at his feet but he had acted with the best of intentions. He couldn't just ignore the fact that his best friend had a son he knew nothing about. Anyway, it all seemed to have worked out so far. "So are you still mad at me?"

"No," Sharon admitted after a moment. She had never been one to hold a grudge for long and her initial anger with Shane had dissipated as soon as she had gotten used to Jordan's involvement in her and Edward's life. The fact that Angela was speaking to her again had also helped. The last thing she wanted to do was argue with Shane and get angry with him all over again. Besides, he had come to help her when he didn't have to and she was genuinely grateful for that. Doing her best to lighten the mood, she gave him a small smile. "I'm not mad at you anymore. In fact, the way I feel at the moment is that if you manage to fix my leaky pipe, or whatever the hell the problem is, you might just be one of my favorite people on earth."

"I'd better get to work then." He returned her smile with one of his own and set about doing just that.

An hour later, Sharon had just about finished drying the kitchen floor when Shane came down the stairs. He had had to lift up half of the floor boards in the spare bedroom to get to the offending pipe and what he had found in the process was not good.

"You want the good news or the bad news first?" he asked

"I'll go with the good." Sharon replied

"Pipe's been replaced so no more leak and once the plaster has dried out, the ceiling might only need a coat of paint to cover the bad spot. If not, it won't cost much to re-plaster."

"And the bad news?" Sharon asked

"You've got some serious corrosion going on. If I were you I'd start replacing all of the other pipes too or that's going to be the first of many leaks."

"That sounds expensive." she groaned

"Depends on how you want to do it." Shane said, not sure whether Sharon had fully forgiven him or would want him hanging around her house to complete the work. "I could get the materials at trade prices for you and do the job on my days off from the hardware store if you don't mind it taking a while. Alternatively, I can give you the number for a guy I know who'll have the job done in a couple of days but won't be as willing to give you the friendly discount as I am

As he talked, he pulled his t-shirt over his head and proceeded to wring out the water that soaked it into the kitchen sink. He wasn't really thinking about what he was doing. He was only concerned with making the cold, wet material a bit more comfortable and Sharon was grateful that he wasn't looking at her while she took in the sight. If Sharon believed Rayanne's philosophy of the rules of dating, she was getting a glimpse of what she would have seen had her and Shane made it to their third date and she was most impressed with what she saw. When she had referred to him as having potential she had been talking about his personality but if the toned stomach and muscular shoulders were an indication of the rest of his body, he definitely wasn't lacking potential in any other areas.

"Friendly discounts sound good." Sharon replied, any lingering feelings of acrimony she had disappearing instantly. After the good look she just had, she had the feeling she would quite enjoy him coming over to work on her house, discounted price or not. "Here, let me dry that for you properly before you leave."

"Don't worry about it." Shane said before moving to put the still damp t-shirt back on.

"Oh no. I insist." Sharon replied, taking the garment from him while trying to hide just how much she was staring. It will only take a few minutes and you can go over the figures and give me a quote while you wait."

"Sure, okay." While he was grateful for not having to drive home in wet clothing, he was a little surprised at the offer. When he first arrived at the house, he thought she would want him to leave as soon as possible. He was also confused at the look she gave him as he relinquished the T-shirt to her. He didn't know how to put it into words but if anyone had asked him he would have said he was sure that she wasn't just looking at him. She was _looking_ at him. For some reason, that thought brought a cheeky smile to his lips.

****************

Edward stomped into the house with a scowl that matched his dark mood. He wanted to slam the door behind him as loud as possible but venting his rage in such a way would only result in his mother scolding him and making him feel even worse so he managed to resist the urge. He was in a bad enough mood already. As he hung up his coat, the sound of his mother's laugh reached his ears. While it was unmistakeably her, it sounded different somehow, almost girlish. If it had been anyone else he would have described it as flirtatious but the thought of his mother flirting with anyone was weird at the best of times. When he was in a foul mood it was down right annoying and just wrong.

However, when he heard the rumble of a deep male voice, his mother's phone calls came back to him and he remembered about her domestic emergency. He remembered telling her to call Jordan and the thought that he was sitting in the kitchen lifted his mood slightly. Although Sharon and Jordan seemed to be trying to get along for his sake, there often seemed to be an underlying strain to their conversations. It was as if they hadn't quite figured out how to act towards each other yet. Edward wanted them to be friends. If he was honest, he would say that he wanted them to be a real family. He knew they were a long way away from the conventional 2.5 kids, white picket fence and pet dog but for the first time, thanks to the sound of his mother's laughter, he thought that maybe there was the possibility of Jordan and Sharon reigniting what ever spark they had when they conceived him. While, like all children, he didn't want to think of that particular moment in too much detail, the thought of his parents being together as a real couple who loved each other was an attractive one. So what if Jordan wasn't perfect and associated with people like Tino? He was about a billion times better than any other man his mother had dated. Suddenly, the evening didn't seem so bad after all and the fact that Sharon's flirtatious laughter was aimed at Jordan made that seem less annoying as well. He could also think of another plus side to Jordan being in the house. While Sharon did her best to take an interest in his life, she really wouldn't understand how he was feeling at this point in time. Jordan, however, was a musician. He'd been in lots of different bands and would therefore understand completely.

Edward pushed open the door to the kitchen but his greeting died before it could be voiced due to his surprise at seeing Shane rather than his father sitting at the kitchen table.

"Where's Jordan?" he asked, scowl deepening into a glare

"He's playing at Vertigo. Shane came over and helped me instead." Sharon explained, grateful that Edward had returned after Shane's clothing had been dried and put back in place. Although nothing had happened, Sharon had the feeling that whatever was bothering her son would have been made a hundred times worse if he'd come home to find her ogling a semi naked man. Her son's return also made her realize just how late it was getting and how long she had been talking to Shane. It turned out he was just as distracting fully clothed as he was when he was shirtless.

"Hi Edward." Shane tried but got a grunt in reply as the teen moved to the refrigerator and started to pull out left overs. Sharon was right when she said it would only take a few minutes to dry his t-shirt but rather than leave right away, he had taken an offered cup of coffee and had felt very comfortable indeed chatting with her. Now he had the feeling that Edward thought he had outstayed his welcome. Edward was definitely being less talkative than he was when he was at the store with Jordan but Shane couldn't figure out whether his animosity was directed at him or just the world in general. Testing the waters he decided to ask what he thought would be a safe question. "Your mom said you were at band practice. How's it going?"

"There is no band!" Edward exclaimed, swinging the refrigerator door closed with more force than necessary.

"Edward, what happened?" Sharon asked, her voice a mixture of parental concern and rebuke at his rude behavior.

"Jake quit Echelon!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie." Sharon replied. Her sympathy may have helped to appease his distemper if weren't for her next words. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find another bass player soon."

"As I've told you a thousand times, Jake's the drummer, mom!" Edward shouted as he stomped out of the kitchen. He paused in the doorway to throw a look of utter contempt at Sharon and Shane before biting out his closing remarks. "I hate everyone."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please R&R ~LJ~


	23. Chapter 23

"Is that the last of it?" Sharon asked hopefully as she watched Mike carry yet another amp from his uncles van to her garage. The band's equipment was taking up half of her garage once again and she knew there was no way she would be able to use it for It's actual purpose. Her car was going to have to be parked on the driveway for the foreseeable future.

"Yes," Edward huffed, still sour over the demise of the band. His mother's question was viewed as nothing more than a reminder of the big gaping hole that had replaced Jake and his drum kit. As a rock band, they really weren't going to get very far without percussion.

"Well, just make sure that you keep the volume as low as possible. Lets see whether we can make it to a whole week before the neighbors start complaining this time, okay?"

"Sure, Mom." he replied as Sharon made her way into the house. He was sure that noise was not going to be so much of an issue this time. Jake stubbornly refused to rejoin the band, even though he and Steve had practically begged. The only person who hadn't tried to convince the drummer to return was Mike. Edward was convinced that all it would take was an apology from Mike and the band would be whole again. Mike, however, was being just as stubborn in his refusal to offer one.

While Mike and Edward had unloaded their equipment, Rebecca and Amy had set up some old folding chairs they had spotted in a corner of the garage and were now lounging in the morning sunshine with their t-shirts pulled up to show their stomachs and jeans legs folded up to their knees. Both of them sat with their faces turned towards the sun and their eyes closed. If anyone had asked, Edward would have said they looked ridiculous. It was a sunny day but the temperature hadn't quite reached sunbathing levels just yet.

"Aren't you guys cold?" he asked as he sat on the ground in front of them.

"It's never too early to start working on your tan." Rebecca replied while Amy nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. You won't be so skeptical when we're a lovely golden brown and you're still pasty white."

"If working on your tan involves showing any more skin, I'm all for it." Mike said with a cheeky smile as he joined them. "Bring on the bikinis!"

If anything, his joviality only served to worsen Edward's already bad mood.

"This is all your fault, you know." Edward said to him for the hundred time. "If you hadn't gone and punched Jake, he wouldn't have quit."

"He was being a dick."

"You broke his nose!"

"He was being a dick!" Mike repeated a little more loudly, smile replaced with a scowl. Maybe he had put a bit more force than necessary behind the punch but he still thought he had good reason to take a swing and he was damned if he was going to apologize first.

"You still haven't told us what you were arguing about." Rebecca said. After two days of listening to them moan, she and Amy were more than a little curious about what had really happened but neither boy had been forthcoming when it came to the actual details.

"Yeah," Amy chimed in. "if you tell us what the problem is we might be able to help you find a solution." She tried to look helpful but her suggestion was far from selfless. Like Rebecca, she was getting tired of their moping about. She wanted to be enjoying her weekend, not spend it vainly trying to boost their spirits.

Edward and Mike's eyes met in silent agreement that the girls did not need to know.

"Just artistic differences babe." Mike said as he pulled Amy out of her chair before settling in it himself and pulling her into his lap.

"Yeah, artistic differences." Edward repeated, grimly.

Edward had just about been able to rise above Jake's taunts regarding the state of his relationship with Rebecca and the fact that she was still holding out on him. However, when he turned his attention to joking about how different Amy's attitude was to sex, Jake had made a big mistake. All it took to push Mike over the edge was a few choice phrases regarding Amy's virtue and, within minutes, the band was no more and Jake was on his way to the ER. Even though he did blame Mike for the break up of the band, he supposed that if Jake had been saying the same crude things about Rebecca, he would have been tempted to take a swing too. Not that he would have let Jake get away with talking Amy down. She was his oldest friend so it wasn't as if he would just let other people insult her. If Mike hadn't been there, Edward would have defended her. He just thought that his response would probably have been more vocal and less violent but it had all happened so fast that he hardly had time to speak up. If Mike hadn't reacted so swiftly, Edward was sure that he would have been able to let Jake know exactly how stupid and vulgar he was being without breaking up the band for good. As it was, Mike was lucky that Jake's parents weren't pressing charges and the most annoying thing was that Mike felt he wasn't able to justify his actions to the girls. He had pointed out to Edward that if the girls knew what Jake had said about either of them they would both be upset. As far as Mike was concerned even sitting through a lecture from Amy about not using violence to solve an argument was better than the thought of her crying. As for Rebecca, Edward was doing his best to not put any pressure on her but he still wasn't happy about their situation. He was more frustrated than she realized and knew that they would have to have a serious discussion sometime soon. However, telling her their situation had now become the subject of his friend's jokes was just too much. He was afraid it would have the effect of pushing her away rather than helping to bring them closer.

Deciding that a change of topic was needed, Edward turned their attention to their plans for that night. It was soon decided that the four of them would go to the movies and the ensuing debate of Rom Com vs. action thriller was only interrupted by the sound of Mike's cell phone.

"Tino wants his van back." Mike said after reviewing his text message. "I've got to split."

Within seconds he was on his feet, ready to leave, while Amy found herself sitting back in the chair rather than in his lap. This time it was Rebecca's and Amy's turn to share a look. Amy would have stayed seated as Mike walked towards the van but Rebecca jerked her head in Mike's direction, giving a silent indication that she thought Amy should follow. Amy did just that, rushing to catch up to him before he could drive away. She caught him just as he was opening the van door.

"Hey, I could come with you. I mean, if you want?" she asked nervously.

"Nah, it's okay. You should stay."

"It's not like we're actually, like, doing anything here."

"Seriously, you should stay." Mike said. As if sensing her nervousness, his arm slid around her waist and his hand rubbed small circles on her back. "He's not even at our house. He's at a friends place right over on the other side of town. Knowing Tino, it'll take all afternoon to get him to give us a ride back. It'll be really boring."

"So, am I ever going to actually meet Tino?" Amy pouted.

"Yeah, of course you will." Mike replied. He just didn't add that if he had his way, it wouldn't be anytime soon and Tino would be warned to be on his best behavior. Mike wanted to keep his two worlds as separated as possible for as long as possible. If it was as simple as just handing the van back to Tino, he'd be happy to take Amy with him but Tino hadn't said why he wanted the van back. There was no way for him to know what Tino was up to until he reached him. As he tried to convince himself that withholding information wasn't the same as lying, Mike smiled down at his girlfriend and tucked her hair behind her ears with his free hand before leaning in to kiss her. "I'll come and pick you up tonight, okay?"

"Yeah. Okay." Amy agreed, sensing there was no point in arguing.

As Mike drove away, she trudged back towards Rebecca and Edward and tried not to dwell on the fact that Mike was being just as evasive as ever about his uncle.

*****

The next day, Sharon was happily reviewing the Sunday morning papers in quiet solitude when she heard a knock at her back door. Before she could even get up from her seat at the kitchen table to answer it, the door swung open and Rayanne Graff walked in.

Sharon's first instinct was to query when she had started wearing her eyeliner smudged and why her hair looking a bit disheveled but the question that actually left her lips was "Why are you here?"

"Why are you here?" Rayanne countered playfully, hoping she sounded like Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club.

"I live here," Sharon's eyes narrowed in confusion as the pop culture reference went over her head. "It's Sunday morning. I thought you had a policy of, like, not doing them. Shouldn't you still be in bed?"

"Until half an hour ago I was in bed, just not my own." Rayanne grinned. "Oh, don't look at me like that!"

"Like what?"

"Like all judgmental. It's not as if you've never done the walk of shame. Besides, you should be grateful your house is on the way because I brought you French doughnuts for breakfast. I couldn't believe how hungry I was this morning. I must have burned like a gazzillion calories last night. I mean, who needs the gym when you've got a gorgeous guy with a hot body and a filthy mind?"

Sharon eyed the bag of croissants for a second, thinking of their fat content, before her will power deserted her and she reached for one. She was pleasantly surprised to find they were still warm. "So, who is he? What does he do and when are you going to see him again?"

"His name is Frankie. He's an artist and, as for seeing him again, I'd say it's doubtful."

"Why?" From what she had said and the huge grin she was wearing, Sharon was under the impression that Rayanne had had a pretty good time. Also, seeing as Rayanne didn't drink, she couldn't have woken up to find that she had been wearing beer goggles the night before. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing's wrong with him. He's just a free spirit as am I and we don't feel the need to conform to your cultural norms."

"But one night stands? I mean, really? If you're in college, fine but when you get to our age, don't you think they're just a bit…well, tacky?"

"I've given up booze and drugs. Sex is only thing I have left. If I give that up, I might as well be dead!" Rayanne replied, perfectly serious for a moment before a mischievous glint reached her eyes. "Besides, who said he was our age?"

"Older or younger?"

"Younger. I'm going through a boy toy phase and it's so much more fun than the sugar daddy phase I had last year."

"How much younger?" Sharon asked, not sure whether she should be outraged or jealous.

"Just call me Mrs Robinson." Rayanne winked. "He was really cute too. Kind of had a retro Kurt Cobain look. I think grunge might actually be coming back."

"Maybe, he'll call you. I mean, it's a possibility, right?"

"Again doubtful. We did that thing, you know, where the guy lies in bed and pretends to be asleep even though you both know he isn't and the girl tip toes around, acting like she's trying to be quiet, so she won't wake him up even though he already is. It was so funny. I couldn't wait to get out of there just so I could laugh out loud." From the look she received in reply, Rayanne could tell that Sharon did not see the funny side. "Jeez, maybe you need a one night stand of your own. It might help you loosen up a bit."

"Oh, I think I learnt my lesson about one night stands quite a while ago. It came in the shape of a son."

"Speaking of dear Eddie, where is he? I thought he had, like, a sixth sense when it came to smelling food."

"I think you'll find that's one of the usual five senses." Sharon pointed out. "Jordan turned up at the crack of dawn and took him off to some record sale in that flea market across town."

"I take it everything's still hunky dory then?"

"So far so good. I'm actually glad he's taken Eddie out of the house for a few hours. That boy has done nothing but mope around the past few days."

"You've probably got genetics to thank for that." Rayanne said as she opened Sharon's fridge and started to poke around. "When the hell did you start labeling your leftovers? You do realise that you're supposed to turn into your own mother and not Patty, don't you?"

"I'm not turning into Patty Chase, or my on mother." Sharon protested. "And what do you mean I've got genetics to thank? I never moped around like Edward when I was his age."

"No, you were positively perky." Rayanne rolled her eyes as she sat down and started to slather cream cheese on her pastry. "Jordan on the other hand, well, he sort of perfected the lean back and brood pose. It was partly why Angela was so obsessed with him in the first place. Don't you remember her 'I just love the way he leans' thing?"

"This is more than just brooding. If you had to listen to him you'd swear the world was ending. I'm kind of hoping Jordan will help snap him out of it." Sharon started but before she could make any further comment on Edward's recent behavior or the progression of his relationship with Jordan her attention was drawn to the ceiling by a loud banging noise coming from above.

"If Eddie's out, who's that?" Rayanne asked

"That's Shane."

"Well, well, well. Here you are judging me when you've got a one night stand of your own still upstairs!" Rayanne grinned salaciously.

"What? I… he…Shane is not a one night stand!" Sharon protested, aiming to look shocked and appalled by Rayanne's suggestion. "He's here to work on my plumbing."

"Your plumbing?" Rayanne asked eyebrows raised with innuendo, unable to resist temptation.

"Oh, shut up." Sharon replied but she couldn't help smiling. "Not everything is about sex, you know?"

"Everything is always about sex. Trust me." Rayanne smiled back

"Whatever." Sharon said.

She would have dismissed Rayanne's comment as preposterous or at least tried to form a rational argument as to why Rayanne was wrong but the subject of their conversation happened to walk in just at that moment and for a second, Sharon thought that maybe Rayanne had a point after all. Sharon was surrounded by men in suits all day and normally liked a man who dressed sharply and had good taste in cologne but, for some reason, she was finding Shane with his scruffy appearance and worn work clothes increasingly attractive. She couldn't help but stare.

As he walked across the room to recover some tools he had left under the sink earlier on, Shane seemed oblivious to the look Sharon was giving him but Rayanne saw everything and took it as confirmation that she was right.

"So Shane," She grinned devilishly. "Sharon tells me you're here to work on her plumbing."

She received a glare from Sharon as well as a warning kick under the table

"Graff," Shane nodded back in greeting, unaware of the double meaning she was giving to the words. "Yeah, the pipes are shot."

Rayanne gave a bark of barely contained laughter but Sharon's pointed look stopped her from continuing the conversation along the same theme. Still, it was enough to draw Shane's full attention to the two women who looked for all the world like a pair of giggling teenagers. Either they were weird, both of them, or he was definitely missing something. Trying not to let his curiosity get the better of him, he headed back out of the room. "Found what I was looking for." He said, holding up a tool neither girl could identify. "Should be able to finish this section in the next hour or so and then I'll be able to turn you on again."

"Ok. Thanks Shane." Sharon replied, attempting to keep her voice sounding as normal as possible.

"Yeah, thanks Shane!" Rayanne repeated, making no such attempt.

Her laughter followed Shane as he headed back upstairs, but Sharon was of the opinion that that was a good thing. At least it prevented her from speaking until Shane was out of earshot again.

"So, he's planning to turn you on. Again!"

"He meant the water." Sharon rolled her eyes.

"Did he?" Rayanne asked before stating, "You want to have sex with him."

"I do not."

"Do too" Rayanne smiled. "You were paying far too much attention to his ass to not want to sleep with him."

Rayanne knew her far too well for Sharon to keep up any pretence. "Ok, so maybe I've, like, thought about it but I'm under a ton of pressure here, okay? With Edward, Jordan, work, and the billion and one other things I have to deal with, I just don't think I have time for any more complications right now. Besides, with everything that's happened, I don't even know if he has any real interest in me any more."

"I think he's definitely, like, semi interested." Rayanne shrugged. "Best way to find out for certain is just throw yourself at him and see what happens."

"I don't want to look like I'm throwing myself at him!"

"That never stopped you before." Rayanne joked but she could see Sharon's patience was wearing thin. Adopting a more contemplative look, she continued. "Seriously, you could do a lot worse. I mean, he's got his shit together. Steady job, owns his own house, generally a decent kind of guy."

"You sure you don't want to date him?" Sharon asked. It was very rare for Rayanne's descriptions of the opposite sex to go beyond their physical appearance.

"He's so not my type. I don't do decent kind of guys. I tend to stick to the love 'em and leave 'em ones." Rayanne replied. "But if you're really not interested, I wouldn't say no if I got the chance to go a few rounds in the bedroom with him. He's one of the few guys I've known since, like, forever that I haven't gotten around to test driving yet. Always thought he's quite cute though. I think it's his arms. They're just so toned. Of course in my experience, drummers always have great arms. Also, there's something to be said for a bit of scruff and that working class hero look he's got going is really working for him."

"I didn't say I wasn't interested. I just said that it would be complicated." Sharon said before the rest of Rayanne's words sank in. "Wait a minute, what did you just say?"

"That I've never slept with him. Though there was this one time in our junior year when we sort of fooled around a bit in the boiler room." Rayanne smiled at the memory for a second before realizing that this may not be the kind of information Sharon would appreciate. Her eyes went wide as she tried to adopt an innocent expression. "It doesn't really count though. I mean we didn't get through that many of the bases. I doubt he even remembers. I'd completely forgotten about it until now."

"No, not the part about never sleeping with him, after that."

"He's looking good?"

"No. Before that, about his arms!"

"They're nice…?" Rayanne said confusion now evident in her voice. Sharon made a circling motion with her hand, prompting her to continue. Rayanne tried to remember exactly what she said but the best she could come up with was a summary "but drummers normally have nice arms…?"

"Yes!" Sharon felt like she could kick herself. For days, she had been listening to Edward complain about Jake's departure from the band. She had heard, at length, about how he was the only person in the entire high school that even owned a drum kit and would be impossible to replace. She had commiserated and sympathized and vainly tried to lift her son's black mood. All along the solution was right under her nose. She had even seen Shane playing the drums at Jordan's store! Admittedly, it had been a bit of a stressful time for her and she had had other things on her mind but she couldn't believe she had forgotten. She felt like an idiot. "Rayanne, you're a genius!"

"I know." Rayanne replied. "I mean, what do you mean?"

"It's perfect. I can't believe I didn't think of it. Now we just need to figure out how to get him to do it."

"Again, I say huh?"

Sharon told Rayanne about the break up of Echelon and the ill humor that Edward had displayed ever since. It was a well known fact that teenagers could be unsociable and moody but Sharon had come to realize that until now she had gotten off lightly when it came to her son. She was reaching the end of her tether and knew that the only thing which would restore him to his usual contentment would be a new drummer for the band. As far as she was concerned, Shane was the perfect candidate. Well, he was the only candidate, but beggars couldn't be choosers and she had a good feeling about it.

"So, do you think he'll do it?"

"Play with a bunch of kids in front of a live audience? I don't know. He might take some convincing." Rayanne said. "But on the positive side, it does give you the perfect excuse to throw yourself at him. There's nothing like the promise of sex to get a guy wrapped around your little finger. "

"I'm not going to throw myself at him."

"Well, in that case I suggest you seek help from one of the only two people I know who have ever been able to convince Shane to do something he doesn't want to do; his little sister or Jordan Catalano. Anyway, I'm going to split. I think I'm in serious need of a shower and then I have to call Rickie and tell him about last night's adventure. He's going to be so jealous when I tell him about Frankie's abs"

"Ok. Say hi to Rickie for me." Sharon replied as Rayanne waltzed out as quickly as she had waltzed in.

Seeing as Sharon didn't know Shane's little sister but did know Jordan Catalano, she took the first opportunity to pounce on him when he brought Edward home a little later. Jordan's initial reaction at seeing her striding toward his car with a purposeful look on her face was to wonder what he had done wrong. They had been making efforts to keep everything strictly business so there was no reason for her to want to speak with him if it didn't involve Edward and for all of the easy stuff they tended to use him as a go between. Obviously on the same train of thought, Edward took one look at his mother and made a beeline for the house, getting out of the way of the firing line as quickly as possible. Rather than starting up his car and driving away as he was tempted to do, Jordan got out of the car and leant back against his closed door, reaching for his cigarettes as soon as he was settled. He waited for the rant to start and was rather surprised when Sharon gave him an awkward smile instead.

"I kind of need your help with something." Sharon started. Rather than enquire as to her dilemma, Jordan just gave what she interpreted as a blank look. It was the same kind of look she received from Edward whenever she enquired as to the last time he had cleaned his room. Maybe Rayanne was right about the genetics idea after all. "You've heard about the band, right? I mean, Edward must have told you about it. It's all he's been talking about for days."

"Yeah, he told me." Jordan had heard about Edward's woes at length but, apart from offering sympathy, the only practical solution he had found so far was putting up a 'drummer wanted' advertisement in his shop window. "I guess he's pretty down about it."

"Pretty down about it?" Sharon repeated with incredulity at Jordan's understatement. "If I took him to a shrink they'd probably say he was experiencing actual depression, or whatever."

"I tried to tell him these things happen. I mean, I've been in a ton of bands that lost drummers like Spinal Tap. Though none of them choked to death on someone else's vomit." Jordan aimed for a mixture of reassurance and humor but from the look of disgust on Sharon's face he could see that she was not impressed. "Not as far as I can remember anyway."

Ignoring his comment, Sharon continued. "So, listen. I've thought of a replacement. I mean, it's probably a really stupid idea but would Shane ever agree to, like, play with Echelon?"

"Shane? Wright?" Now it was Jordan's turn to sound incredulous. It wasn't that he doubted Shane's musical ability. More the fact that he didn't think the teens would want to play with someone so much older than them. They were bound to think an adult would cramp their style. "I don't know if Shane's the kind of drummer they're looking for."

"Why not? I mean, he can play? He's good, right? "

"Well, yeah but…"

"Well, why would they possibly not want him?" She interrupted. "All you've got to do is explain how good they are and how much they need his help and I'm sure Shane will say yes."

"I thought you said it was probably a stupid idea?" Jordan said, unable to reconcile her previous words with the determination she was showing.

"Coming from me, he'd probably think it's a stupid idea," Sharon agreed. "But if you ask him, I'm sure you could convince him. I mean, you want Edward to be, like, happy again, don't you? I can't be the only one sick of his moping. He so wants to compete in this competition. They all do."

"I don't know…." He didn't know if it was the thought of making Edward happy or the puppy dog eyes Sharon was giving him, possibly it was a combination of the two, but he felt himself giving in. "Okay, I'll try."

"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you." Sharon jumped in excitement before throwing her arms around his neck.

Jordan froze at the unexpected contact but he soon realised that her action was simply a thoughtless reaction to his having agreed to help her and her infectious enthusiasm caused his own arms to wrap around her too. The hug only lasted a second but in that moment both breathed an internal sigh of relief. There was no spark, no flame, no burning desire. It was probably the most platonic hug either had ever shared with an ex lover and the absence of any awkwardness was a weight off their chests. They actually felt sort of normal with one another and it felt fantastic.

"So what are you going to say to convince him?" Sharon asked

"Good question." Jordan replied.

The plan, when it was finally formed was relatively simple and, to be honest he was going to make most of it up as he went along. It mainly involved getting them all together at the same time and sort of bullying them into it. Jordan had had so much interest in Shane's drum kit before Shane moved it from the store to his own home that he had ordered another right away. It was due to be delivered the next day and Jordan knew he would have no problem in getting Shane to help him assemble it. It wasn't exactly a two man job but he had a feeling that Shane would be unable to resist being the first to try it out.

It turned out that his feeling was exactly right. Shane arrived at Back Alley Music the next afternoon, eager to get to work on the kit. It was pretty much the same kit that he already had at home but that didn't seem to matter. It was still new and shiny. Before long they were both jamming along to the stereo and it was clear to Jordan that Shane had been putting some practice in at home. He had always been good but before he had requested his drum kit in lieu of actual money for helping Jordan with the recording studio, he had been sounding a little bit rusty. Not bad, but just not as sharp or as loud. To Jordan's ears there was a noticeable improvement in both precision and power. He didn't just sound good now. He sounded damn good. It had been something he had been banking on. It wasn't only Shane that he would need to convince. Echelon was very much a teenage band and Shane, being the same age as Jordan, was literally old enough to be their father. Jordan just hoped that the way Shane played would be enough to overcome any concerns the boys had about image.

"Sounds like you've been putting some hours in, man." Jordan said as they took a break between songs

"After a hard day's work, hitting things with sticks is strangely relaxing." Shane smiled.

"You ever think about joining a band?" Jordan asked, trying to sound natural. "It's just I know some guys who're looking for a drummer."

"I don't know. I haven't played in a band for years. Besides, I don't think I'd have the time."

"Sure you do. You spend most nights just hanging out at Vertigo. It's hardly a busy schedule."

"Yeah, well that's where all the cool kids are these days." Shane replied in confusion. Jordan was there with him more often than not. "Is there a point to this or are you just dissing my social life for fun?"

"I'm just saying that you should think about joining a band." Jordan tried again. "You obviously enjoy playing and you've got to remember what it feels like; The adrenaline rush, the buzz…nothing better than being up on that stage, dude. You remember what it was like when we started out as Embryos."

"Yeah, " Shane smiled at the memory. Since getting his new kit, he had been tempted to find other people to practice with. He and Jordan didn't get chance to jam often enough and playing was always more fun when it was other people. However, he'd been thinking along the lines of a few guys hanging out in someone's garage with a few beers. It had been a long time since he had played seriously, even longer since he had played in front of anyone who he didn't consider a friend. "That was a long time ago though."

"Would you at least think about it?" Jordan asked as he selected some more tracks for them to play along to, taking care to include some of Shane's favorites.

"Sure,. Whatever."

As Jordan and Shane continued to fool around, Mike's drove himself , Edward and Steve over the to store. It wasn't long before the car pulled up outside Back Alley Music and the members of Echelon climbed out eagerly.

"I can't believe someone responded to the ad so quickly." Steve said

"I told you we'd find a replacement." Edward's despondency was all but forgotten in his enthusiasm.

So far, Jordan hadn't revealed the identity of their potential new band mate or how he had found him so it was easy for Edward and the other boys to assume that someone had spotted the want ad Jordan had put in the window of the guitar shop. They didn't even need to open the shop door to hear that the drummer had skill. The sound could be heard quite clearly on the street and it was already enough for them to know the percussionist was ten times better than Jake had ever been. They stood outside for a few minutes, listening in, and by mutual agreement they knew that this was the drummer they needed.

Edward was the first to open the door and step inside with the others following closely behind. He moved at a fast pace, eager to get the introductions over with so, when he came to a sudden halt the other boys collided straight into his back.

"What the fuck, dude?" Mike asked, shoving Edward out of the way so he could see what he was gawking at. When he saw Shane, his face scrunched in confusion as he struggled to comprehend that what his ears were hearing and his eyes were seeing were the same thing. Yes, it sounded good but surely Jordan couldn't have Shane in mind?

"Oh, hey guys." Jordan smiled as he and Shane ground to a halt

"Hi." Edward replied, still not quite believing either. "So, you said you'd found us a drummer?"

"Yeah. Shane'll do it." Jordan replied with a smile, as if it was already a done deal.

Shane just looked at Jordan as if he were mad, too shocked for the moment to actually say anything.

"But we can't have Shane…" Edward started. He would have left it there if Jordan hadn't looked at him, silently asking for a further explanation. He had more than one reason why he didn't want to be playing with Shane, least of all the fact that he'd seen the looks Sharon and Shane kept giving each other. In his opinion, Shane was already spending enough time at his house. However, he didn't know how to explain that in front of everyone so he voiced what he thought was the most obvious point. "He's like…old."

"You know what? Edward's right. I am old and they're little kids and you're crazy if you think this is a good idea." Shane said, waving a drum stick in Jordan's direction

"You're the same age as me and I'm not old." Jordan said

"And we're not little kids." Mike chimed in with a look of contempt.

"Look, you need a drummer, right? If you don't find one, like, now there's no way you'll be ready for the competition, right?" Jordan said to the teens who all nodded reluctantly. "Shane is a drummer."

"But.." Edward started to protest but was cut off when Jordan turned to Shane, not giving him the opportunity to finish the sentence.

"And you said you'd think about joining a band. They're a band and they're good."

Shane was going to protest that he had only said that thirty minutes ago which was not enough time to put serious thought into anything but Jordan didn't give him chance to speak. He just continued, addressing them all. "Why don't you just grab some guitars and give it a try? You might surprise yourselves and sound half way decent. Start with the track you were going to open with at Pike Street."

"So what exactly were you planning on playing?" Shane asked, still not entirely sure that agreeing to help would be the best thing to do but thrown off balance by the authoritative air Jordan had uncharacteristically developed. Since he had gotten his new drum kit, he'd been practicing more and more and the thought of playing in a band was kind of exciting but did he really want to play with a bunch of teenagers in a competition when he hadn't been on a stage in years?

"We're going to start with Sweet Child of Mine." Edward shrugged, just as unsure. He didn't know whether Shane would be a help or a hindrance but he could see the forty year old was the only option they had and Jordan seemed pretty convinced that it would work.

"Oooh, that's an awfully big song for little punks like you." Shane replied, lack of faith evident in both his expression and his voice.

"Why? You scared you can't keep up, old man?" Mike challenged. He shared Edward's opinion when it came to Shane's age and he resented being called a kid, especially by one of Tino's friends.

"Hell, no. I was playing the beats to that track when you were still in diapers. I'm just worried that you've got delusions of Slash, kid."

Rather than reply, Mike just smirked and picked up the guitar that Jordan had been using minutes before. As he produced a near perfect imitation of the intro to the song, Shane and Jordan shared a look. To anyone else, their silent communication would have been undetectable but to Shane, Jordan's raised eyebrow was a clear, unspoken 'I told you they were good' and to Jordan, Shane's wide eyes said 'God damn, I think you might be right.'

"Ok, I'll admit it's not bad but I wouldn't go starting a hat collection just yet." Shane said after a few moments, not willing to let the teen see how impressed he was. "I wanna see whether Axle and Duff over here can hold their end up."

"We can hold our own." Steve said, speaking for the first time since they had arrived and contrasting greatly with Mike and Edward's almost cocky attitude. His was a softly spoken voice of confidence with just the smallest hint of a smile that did more to convince Shane of the band's talent than any amount of showing off would.

Wanting to give them no more time for excuses, Jordan handed Edward and Steve a guitar and bass which he just happened to have tuned and in easy reach. After a few false starts, they managed to get through the whole song. The performance was one which would never win any awards but, seeing as it was the first time they had played together and on borrowed instruments, it wasn't bad. Jordan knew that all it would take to get them sounding like a legitimate band was a few practice sessions and from the grins the boys were exchanging, it looked like they thought the same. Now, they just needed Shane to say yes.

"So, are you in or out?" Mike asked, trying not to sound like he was bothered either way. The confidence of youth had had him convinced that they would be able to run circles around Shane but now he realized there was something to be said for experience. If anything, Shane had run circles around them.

"Yeah. We need to know, like, now because the competition's in two weeks and without a drummer we're screwed." Edward interjected, just as impressed as Mike but less concerned about sounding needy. "You're, like, our only hope."

"Shit. Okay, fine I'll do it." Shane conceded, instantly wondering what he had gotten himself into. "Just don't start calling me Obi Wan."

The whoops and cheers the three teens gave were almost enough to make him change his mind but he let the excitement he felt take over and suddenly he didn't feel old at all.

*******

Damon perused the plans in front of him, desperately searching for any errors that he could correct while he still had the chance. The senior partners hadn't said anything to him directly but it was widely understood that this was his big chance to prove himself. This was the project that would either put him on the fast track to partnership or imprison him in middle management mediocrity for the rest of his career. Long gone was the time when he had any perspective as to the quality of his work and he could only hope that his superiors would appreciate the building he had designed. In terms of function and practicality, the building fulfilled the clients brief but some of the materials he had selected were more innovative and cutting edge than his firm normally recommended. As for the look of the building, it could probably be described as the most visually exciting design to come out of the firm for decades. He was very far indeed from playing it safe and, if he was honest, slightly scared that he had wandered further from his comfort zone than was wise. Not for the first time, he thought that he would be more sure of himself if he had managed to view the actual proposed construction site in person but, as the clients were based in Kansas, all he had was a few photographs and his imagination.

Stressed did not even come close to describing his state of mind so when the door to his office swung open and the new secretary danced in, the look she received in way of greeting was far from welcoming. She had only been working at the firm for a few days, but her presence served to remind him of how much he missed her predecessor who knew him well enough to know when not to disturb him or at least had the politeness to knock first. The new girl, Delia Fisher, was a plump, jolly looking woman in her late thirties with a shock of curls that bounced when she walked. General consensus in the office so far was that she was super nice. For Damon, super nice translated as slightly annoying. Although she had lived in the Three Rivers areas for most of her life, Damon had the feeling that she was originally from one of those small towns where everyone smiled at you for no reason. He hated those types of towns.

"Hi, I've got your mail." Delia said cheerfully, either unaware of or simply ignoring Damon's expression.

"Thanks." Damon said through gritted teeth as she placed a stack of large envelopes directly on top of his work. His heart rate practically doubled as he thought of the creases it might cause and he wanted to snatch them up right away but her hands lingered on them.

"Anything else I can get you?" she asked, smile becoming perkier by the second

"No, th-" He started but was almost instantly interrupted.

"Tea, coffee? I've got some cookies on my desk. Baked them myself. They're delicious."

"No, thank you." Damon replied. From the way her smile faltered, he knew that he had sounder sharper than intended.

"Oh Gosh, I'm trying too hard aren't I?"

For a second Damon was tempted to ignore the doe eyed look and tell her truthfully that she was indeed trying too hard but two things stopped him. Firstly, his firm employed a policy of 360 degree feedback. At a time when he was doing his best to impress, it would hardly go down well if those below him in the chain of command provided his superiors with negative comments. Secondly, he remembered what it was like being the new guy and trying to fit in. Sometimes it was hard to find your footing in an unfamiliar environment. He just hoped that once Delia had found her feet she would calm down a bit.

"No, it's fine." He tried to reassure her. "That's very nice of you to offer, Delia. Maybe if there're any left this afternoon I'll take you up on that. The thing is, I'm sort of busy at the moment. Really busy actually but what would really help is if you could take this mail and just put it on top of the bookcase over there and I'll get to it later."

"Oh, ok." Delia's frown turned upside-down in nano seconds and she gave the impression of being overjoyed at being burdened with such a small task as she crossed his office.

"If you could just put any mail I have over there every day, that would be great." Damon said, sighing in relief when he saw that his blueprints were unmarked.

Rather than an acknowledgment to his request, the response he received was a small squeal of delight. The only thing he could compare it to was the sound Amy used to make when ever she saw a baby animal at the zoo. However, in this instance the noise Delia emitted was caused by nothing more than a picture of Amy and Angela that he had taken the previous Christmas.

"Is this Angela? Angela Chase? It is, isn't it? Oh my gosh; Angela Chase!" Delia practically jumped with joy a she took the picture from it's shelf on the bookcase and waved it in his direction. "I haven't seen her for so long. Please tell me I'm not wrong. I'm not, am I? I can't be."

"No, no, you're not wrong." Damon said as soon as he had recovered from her unexpected outburst. "That's my wife, Angela and our daughter, Amy."

"Angela looks just the same as she did in high school and Amy's as cute as a button. You have a beautiful family."

"Thank you." Damon replied, wondering just how many more of his wife's high school friends were going to come crawling out of the wood work. The knowledge obviously filled Delia with a sense of some kind of connection and rather than making her exit she stood smiling at him, obviously expecting the conversation to continue. " Erm, do you have any family here in town?" he managed after a moment

"Just an ex husband." The only indication that it was not an amicable separation was the disappearance of Delia's dimples for a few seconds. "It was long ago and it happened before we had children, thankfully. I mean, those things are always worse when there's children involved, don't you think?"

"Yes, I guess so." Damon smiled politely, not wanting to admit that he had put any thought into what might happen should he and Angela separate.

It wasn't something he wanted, far from it in fact, but he couldn't deny that he and Angela seemed to be going through some sort of rough patch. They had had rough patches before. All marriages had their ups and downs, after all. It was just that this rough patch seemed to be harder to shake than the others and neither one of them wanted to examine the cause too closely. For him it was the fear of opening Pandora's Box but, for the first time in a long while, he could only guess at Angela reluctance to openly communicate about the problems they were having. He was sure that they would work through it eventually but deep down there was a small fear of what would happen if they didn't.

The shrill sound of ringing rescued him from any further attempts at conversation. He pointed at his phone and gave what he hoped looked like an apologetic smile. "I have to get this."

"Oh of course." Delia replied as she backed towards the door. She paused on her way out of the office to wink in his direction. "Don't worry; I'll make sure I save one of those cookies especially for you!"

************

"So what did Brain want?" Amy asked as Mike threw his text books into his locker and slammed the door shut.

Their trigonometry class was right before lunch but when the bell rang and the class was dismissed, Brian Krakow had asked Mike to stay behind. Amy and Edward had had no choice but to leave him in the class and wait by his locker where they had been joined by Rebecca. The trio had been waiting for over ten minutes for Mike to be dismissed and it was clear from the scowl on his face that whatever Brian Krakow had wanted to talk about was not pleasant.

"I thought that once Learner left I wouldn't have any one else on my back but Krakow's even worse than the old bag." Mike replied, unable to use the teachers nickname. What had started as joke to annoy the latest faculty member of Liberty High had soon turned into an affectionate term of endearment as the majority of the student body realised that he was actually pretty okay. Mike was one of the few that completely disagreed.

"He's not threatening to kick your ass out for ditching too, is he?" Edward asked, unable to imagine the threat being made by his mother's old school friend

"No, it's worse than that. He's trying to get me to do stuff for extra credit to make up for the pop quiz's I've missed and enrol in some extra tutoring" Mike moaned. In his opinion, trig was enough of a drag when he did bother to turn up. He wouldn't be taking on any extra work if he didn't have to but he also didn't want to fail and have to repeat the class. He knew he was walking a fine line but part of him just didn't care. When he had so much other stuff to worry about he couldn't help but think that when you've seen one triangle, you've seen them all.

"Well, maybe if you turned up to a few more lesson's he wouldn't be on your back so much." Rebecca pointed out.

"She's right." Amy agreed as she snaked an arm around his waist. "It's practically painless. I promise. I'll help you with the extra credit stuff too, if you want?"

"You'd better do more than think about turning up for class. Brain has his tutoring sessions after school and we don't need more of your after school activities eating into our practice time." Edward said thoughtlessly, referring to the errands Mike was still running for Tino.

Mike gave Edward a warning glance, fearful that Amy and Rebecca would query which activities he was taking part in but they didn't seem to pick up on the comment so he steered the conversation onto safer ground. "Is Shane bringing his drum kit over to your place tonight?"

"Yes He's going to get there about 6ish so don't be late." Edward replied. Their jam session at Jordan's store the night before had turned into a three hour long practice but there was still a lot of work to do and Edward couldn't quite bring himself to think of it as their first practice session. It still didn't seem real that Shane was actually going to play with them. Not that he wasn't grateful for the help. Of course he was because they didn't know anyone else who could play like Shane could. However, Jordan had been there, egging them on, letting them know what sounded good but also letting them know what needed work. Tonight, Jordan was playing in a bar across town and with out his presence, Edward wasn't sure whether it would feel the same. What if Shane suddenly decided that, as he was the only adult, he was in charge? Edward had always been the driving force in the band. He had always been the one to organize practice sessions and until recently he had been the one to settle any disagreements. As much as he knew they needed help he didn't want any of that to be taken away from him either. Also, Sharon was being far too over enthusiastic about the whole thing so another concern was that she would try to take Jordan's place, sitting in on their practice to give what was sure to be far less constructive criticism. The last thing he needed was to watch his mother's attempts at flirting.

Mike, on the other hand, didn't seem to share any of Edward's concerns. "We are so going to rock this competition." He grinned. "Tino knows a guy who works at Pike Street and he thinks he can get us a list of the different acts. You know, give us a heads up on the competition."

At the mention of Tino's name, Rebecca cleared her throat and caught Amy's eye before giving a just perceptible nod in Mike's direction.

"So, is Tino, like going to be there? I mean, at Pike Street for the competition?" Amy asked

"Uh yeah, he's going. Why?"

"No reason." Amy replied but a pointed look from Rebecca spurred her into continuing. "It's just maybe you could, like, introduce us, or something. I mean, if we're both going to be there."

"Yeah, sure." Mike replied after a moment.

Amy wasn't sure whether anyone else noticed his slight delay but to her it seemed to last for eons. The feeling it gave her in the pit of her stomach was only countermanded by the feel of his hand as he ran his fingers though her hair and rubbed the back of her neck. She didn't think she would ever be able to understand how she could feel so good and so bad at the same time but as he pulled her closer the good feelings started to win. When he whispered "You want to go somewhere?" in her ear any residual bad feeling she had disappeared and she found herself nodding in reply.

Edward and Rebecca smirked at each other as the other couple made a hasty retreat to the nearest exit.

"Don't need three guesses to tell you where they're headed," Edward said, slightly grossed out but also sort of jealous at the thought of the make out session his two best friends would soon be having in Mike's car. If he had his own car, he'd be dragging Rebecca there at every opportunity. "You're still coming to Pike Street, right? To watch us?"

"Of course I am. I wouldn't miss it."

"Good because it wouldn't be the same without you there." Edward replied, pulling her closer and leaning down to kiss her.

For a moment, Rebecca got lost in his embrace and on the feel of his lips upon hers. Her heart raced and her head became dizzy. It was heaven and part of her never wanted it to end but it was a heaven that was short lived. A noise from further down the corridor brought her back to her senses and she started to pull away. It was then that she realised that, at some point during their kiss, he had turned her around so that her back was to the locker and his body pressed against hers, exciting but claustrophobic at the same time. She wasn't sure whether he sensed her trepidation or not but Edward straightened up slightly, allowing her a few more millimetres of breathing space and she started to relax again.

"My mom was talking to Rayanne on the phone last night. Sharon doesn't, like, trust me to go to Pike Street on my own but Rayanne's trying to talk her into some big girlie night out where they come to the competition and then on to a club ending in a sort of sleep over at Rayanne's apartment."

"Sounds like fun." Rebecca smiled

"Yeah," Edward shrugged, "But I was thinking of asking Sharon if I could have like an after show party or something at our house."

"That sounds like fun too" Rebecca replied as she gazed into his eye, wondering how his lashes could be so long and look so soft.

"But then I thought that if she's going to be out all night, I'll have the house to myself so maybe we could have, like, a private party or something. Just you and me." Edward said, leaning in to kiss her softly. "So we can, you know, be alone."

Rebecca knew that he was hoping for a repeat of 'that sounds like fun' but her mouth couldn't seem to form the words. "Oh…yeah…we could do that. Yeah…totally." she stammered, suddenly more nervous than she had felt around him for a long time.

Edward tried to not feel his disappointment as her apprehension became apparent. It was so frustrating. No, it was beyond frustrating. It was torture. She was his girlfriend. She wanted to be with him and she made that clear in so many ways but she was still holding back. It was obvious she liked him but why didn't she like him enough? What was she scared of? It made him angry to think that she didn't consider him as worthy or that she thought he would hurt her in some way but he still wanted her so much.

Trying to hide his emotions, Edward stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Just think about it, okay?"

"Okay." she said and she knew she would but just not here. She needed fresh air, room to breath , and she needed it now. "Lets's go out. We might as well get some sunshine before Bio."

Edward took a step back, allowing her the space she need to move and when she reached for his hand he allowed her to take it but, as they walked towards the exit he couldn't help but think that there's was a conversation that was far from over.

************

Angela looked at her watch for the fifth time, wondering what could have happened to Rayanne. She was originally supposed to meet both Rayanne and Sharon for lunch in their usual diner but Sharon had sent her an apology text a couple of hours earlier saying she wouldn't be able to make it due to some kind of work related emergency and, so far, Rayanne was just a no show. She had never been known for her punctuality but being fifteen minus late when they only had an hour lunch break was pushing it just a bit. She had ordered a cappuccino to appease the waitress but the diner was starting to get busy and she knew that if she didn't order food soon, she would be expected to vacate the table. Fed up of waiting but not sure whether she should just leave, Angela reached for her phone and called the salon.

"Where are you?" Angela asked as soon as Rayanne picked up.

"I'm working. Why? Where are you?" Rayanne replied.

"I'm waiting for you. We're supposed to be having lunch."

"That's tomorrow." Rayanne said, balancing the phone between her cheek and her shoulder as she continued to cut the hair of her latest client.

"No, it was supposed to be today." Angela groaned.

"No, it's definitely tomorrow. Today's my senior citizen discount day. I told you this, remember? I said you should give Patty one of my promotional vouchers but then I realised she would get all offended if I, like, called her an OAP."

Angela had no memory of the conversation about a discount but she could distinctly remember Rayanne agreeing to join them. "So, you're not coming?"

"Angela-food, I'm up to my elbows in old lady and blue rinse." Rayanne replied, pausing to mutter 'no offence' to the person occupying her styling chair. "Rain check?"

"Sure," Angela sighed realising she was left with two options. Either she could eat alone or she could walk the five blocks to Damon's office and see whether he was free for lunch. She doubted he would be though. Today was his big presentation. Like Sharon, he would probably be working through lunch, making sure that every last detail was checked. She knew he was nervous about the project so a little visit from her might help to boost his confidence level. However, she also knew that he didn't like to be distracted when he was in the zone. She was debating on what to do when a movement in front of her brought her attention back to the diner.

"Hey," Jordan said as he slid into the seat opposite her. He had only come into the diner to grab a quick bite by the counter but when he saw her, he wanted to say hello. Well, maybe not just hello but something, just to acknowledge that they were both here, in the same place at the same time. It was what friends did. Not that they were friends, exactly. He didn't know what they were. He didn't even know if there was a label that existed for what they were. He just knew that he couldn't ignore her and when he realised she was alone, saying hello had somehow turned into sitting down.

"Hey," she replied, surprised at seeing him. It seemed like when ever she was on her own, she would turn around and there he would be. Each time she saw him she felt guilty but she couldn't explain why. She hadn't done anything wrong, not really. After all, nothing had actually happened between them yet. The automatic inclusion of that one little world 'yet' made her feel even more guilty. Her own thoughts betrayed her by implying that something was going to happen, that she was anticipating it even though she knew she shouldn't.

"Is this seat free? I mean, it sort of sounded like you'd been stood up." It hadn't crossed his mind to ask before sitting down but now that she was staring at him he suddenly felt like he was invading her space, or something.

"Not stood up really. I mean, I was supposed to be meeting Sharon and Rayanne but Sharon's been held up at work and Rayanne's sort of … changeable."

Seeing Angela finally joined by another person, the Waitress came back to the table, order pad in hand and pencil poised, barely giving Jordan a chance to open the menu before she asked what they wanted.

"Nothing for me, thanks" Angela said. Her appetite was suddenly gone. She just wanted to drink the rest of her cappuccino and leave. It was too much to be having lunch with him as if they were just ordinary friends, with no kind of warning. This was the kind of situation she needed to prepare for and not have blindly forced upon her.

"It's lunch time." Jordan stated the obvious. "You've got to eat something."

"No, really. I'm fine." Angela replied but Jordan wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"She'll have the chilli fries." He said to the waitress. Now that he had invaded her space and she hadn't asked him to leave he found that he didn't want her to leave either.

"Chilli fries?" Angela asked, wondering where that idea had come from and why he felt the need to order for her.

"They used to be your favourite, didn't they?"

"Yeah, when I was seventeen."

"Chilli fries never get old. When was the last time you ate chilli fries?"

"I couldn't say."

"Then you need chilli fries."

"I don't want chilli fries." She glared at him.

For a second he glared back but a shuffling of the waitresses feet and the tapping of her pencil against the notepad made them realise they had an audience.

"Ok, well I'll have the chilli fries and a cheeseburger." Jordan said to the woman with a small smile before turning back to Angela. "And you'll have…?"

"Fine, I'll have the Caesar salad." Angela said through gritted teeth, forcing a smile of her own at the waitress who didn't bother to smile in return.

"Why are you here?" Angela asked as soon as the waitress left them

"Hungry." was his simple answer.

"No, I mean what are you doing here? This place is no where near your shop."

"I had a meeting at the bank." he explained, nodding his head in the direction of the Bank of America branch across the street.

At least that explained his outfit, she thought with a small frown. The only other time she had seen Jordan Catalano wear a suit was the night of their high school prom. On that night she had thought he looked dashing and the description was one that still fit. On that night, he had said he thought he looked stupid and he would never feel comfortable in anything but jeans and a t-shirt. As the memory surfaced in her mind, he shrugged out of the jacket, hanging it on the back of his chair, before loosening his tie and rolling up his shirt sleeves. It was the exact same thing he had done all of those years ago. She found herself staring, fascinated by sameness of him, and her annoyance at his unexpected presence melted away. As he made himself comfortable, she tried to do the same by relaxing her shoulders and leaning back in her seat rather than sitting up stiffly. As well as her annoyance, the knot of tension she felt in her stomach also started to melt away. I can do this, she thought as she glanced around quickly at the other diners. None of them were looking or taking any notice of her table. None of them cared that she, Angela Bradley, was having lunch with Jordan Catalano. If every one else thought it was an insignificant thing, couldn't she try to look at it in the same way? It wasn't as if they had planned to meet. It wasn't as if it was some sort of date. It's wasn't as if the thought of it being like a date excited her in any way, was it?

"They lent me, like, a shit load of money to build the studio at Back Alley but now it's like they're scared I'm going to turn into one of those sub people," he continued as soon as he was settled.

"Sub people?"

"Yeah. You know, one of those people who don't pay back their debts." Jordan replied, his mind searching for the right term.

"Oh sub-prime." Angela said

"Yeah, sub-prime." He smiled, remembering how she always had a knack for helping him find the right words.

"So, are things not going to plan? With the store, I mean?" She wasn't sure if that was too personal a question but the thought occurred to her that if things weren't working out he may leave town again. Maybe that would be better for everyone, she thought, but she would be lying if she said that the idea didn't create an irrational fear within her. She had no idea what she wanted but she knew that she didn't want him to just disappear again like he had before.

"No, things are going to plan," Jordan replied. "but the plan is for me to be completely broke for most of this year. Studio'll start paying for itself eventually. "

For a moment, she was taken aback by the fact that he had a plan at all but then she wondered why anyone would plan on being broke, even for a short time. It didn't make sense to her. She was far from rich but Angela knew that her financial situation would be described as quite comfortable, thanks more to Damon's job than her own. Just the thought of having to worry about money scared her but he looked calm. "You don't sound too worried about it."

"I've been broke worse than this before." Jordan shrugged, "Always managed to pay back my debts one way or another."

She wanted to ask what he meant but he changed the subject and his statement became just another Jordan Catalano mystery. She remembered how much of a puzzle it had been trying to figure him out when she was fifteen. When she found out about his reading problems, it felt like an epiphany. She had thought that she understood him in a way she didn't even know existed but she soon found out it wasn't true. Every day of their relationship, once they finally became a couple, turned into a journey of discovery. Now that he was back and she knew so little about where he had been and what he had done, it felt like she was at the start of a new journey but she didn't know if she could allow herself to take the first step.

"Did you hear about Edward's band? Shane's going to help them out and be their drummer."

"I know. Sharon told me." Angela nodded, grateful for what would be a relatively safe topic. It was getting easier to ignore the ache in her heart that came with every reminder of Jordan's and Edward's relationship. "Do you think Echelon will be ready for the competition?"

"Sure. But they're not called Echelon now."

"They're not?"

"No. See, Jake kind of helped them come up with the name so they don't want to use it any more."

"So what are they called?"

"They're sort of between names at the moment."

Conversation was temporarily halted when the waitress arrived with their food. Angela's salad looked very nice but when the smell of his chilli fries hit her she realised that he had been right. It had been far, far too long since she had last had them. Noticing her eyeing up his food, Jordan pushed his plate towards her.

"You know you want one." he said before taking a bite of his cheeseburger.

"No I don't. They're unhealthy." Angela replied, trying to concentrate on her own food while knowing that she was fooling no one.

"That's why they're so nice." Jordan said, giving the plate another small shove in her direction. "The stuff that's bad for you is always the best. That's why you want it even though you know you shouldn't."

Angela wondered whether he was talking just about food. The way he was looking at her made her think that he was talking about more but she didn't know how to ask him what he meant without letting him know that she wasn't just thinking about food. She was thinking about him. She nearly laughed aloud as she realised that she was comparing Jordan Catalano to chilli fries like they were the same thing. As if having a chilli fry and having Jordan Catalano could ever be put in the same category on a list of things that were bad for you. When she thought about it like that, one chilli fry didn't seen so bad after all.

Giving in to temptation, she reached across and took one of the fries. "God, these are delicious." she said, immediately reaching for another.

"Told you." Jordan replied, reaching for a chilli fry of his own.

**********

Delia Fisher hurried down the street, gripping on to her dry cleaning bag for dear life as she negotiated the busy sidewalk. She didn't know why she had chosen to collect her clothes on her lunch hour. The dry cleaning store had been further away from her office than she realised and she was still far too new to be able to get away with being late back. Everyone seemed nice enough but it wouldn't do to make a bad impression when she was still getting to know them. She checked her watch anxiously as she walked, taking her eyes off the direction she was walking for the smallest of moments. So, when she collided with another person, dropping her garment bag as well as her purse, she couldn't really say who was to blame. Still, she thought as she collected her things, it would have been nice for them to stay and help her pick everything up rather than just keep on walking.

After collecting all of her things, she turned to the window of the diner she was standing outside, intending to use it to check her reflection and make sure her hair wasn't out of place. However, her eye was drawn inside when she realised she could see two familiar faces amongst the patrons inside. There was no mistaking them, especially after she had seen Angela Chase's picture earlier that day. She was tempted to run inside just for a second to say hi but another glance at her watch told her she really didn't have enough time. She made a mental note to tell Damon once she got back to the office anyway. Who would have thought that she would find out she was working with Angela Chase's husband and see Angela Chase for the first time in years on the same day? She smiled at the coincidence and wondered whether she would get any more blasts from the past as she started walking again.

Once she was back at the office she was glad she had made the effort to rush. Her homemade cookies had proved very popular with her colleagues and there was only one left. She scooped it up and headed straight to Damon's office.

"Here's that cookie I promised to save for you." Delia smiled, depositing the treat on Damon's desk next to his cup of coffee. "You'll never guess who I saw when I went out at lunch time!"

"Urm, thanks." Damon replied, only half listening to what she was saying. His presentation was due to take place in just ten minutes and he really had more important things on his mind than what happened during lunch.

"I saw Angela!" Delia exclaimed. "She didn't see me though. At least, I don't think she did. She was having lunch at a diner a few blocks away and I was just passing by. I would have gone in and said hello but I just didn't have the time. I wanted to be here at 1.30 on the dot and not a minute late."

"Yes, she meets her friends for lunch every so often." Damon said, knowing which diner Delia was referring to and secretly wishing the secretary would just go away and do some filing or something. He was too stressed to be able to deal with idle chit chat.

"Well, that's just great. I mean, there are so many people you lose touch with over the years. There are so many high school friends I'd love to reconnect with. And of course it's so much harder to stay in touch when it comes to old boyfriends. I mean when relationships end it's not always possible to keep them as friends, is it?"

"No, I guess not." Damon replied, concentrating more on the artistic model of his building than what she was actually saying. Her next sentence got his full attention though.

"Well, I think it's fantastic that Angela and Jordan Catalano can still be friends and do things like have lunch together."

"Did...urm…did you see Sharon and Rayanne there too?" Damon's voice sounded strange to his own ears but Delia didn't seem to notice the change in his tone.

"No, I didn't. Gosh, I haven't seen them in years. Rayanne and I never really saw eye to eye but Sharon was a real friend." Delia smiled. If she had seen Sharon she would have gone in and risked being late. "I really should get back in touch with her. Would you get her number for me?"

"Yeah sure." Damon replied distractedly. This time it wasn't work that filled his head. He was remembering the conversation he had had with Angela over breakfast. He could clearly remember her saying that she would be having lunch with Sharon and Rayanne today. Why was she having lunch with Jordan Catalano instead? Why had she lied to him?

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he barely heard Delia's parting comment before she left his office. As much as she got on his nerves, he felt like calling her back and asking her exactly what she saw. Whatever information she gave would be better than leaving it to his imagination. Trying to refocus on his work, he took a deep breath. Speculation wouldn't help. There was bound to be a reasonable explanation. All he needed to do was ask Angela how her lunch was when he got home and she would tell him what had happened. Damon clutched onto that thought and repeated it in his head like a mantra. He hoped that if he repeated it enough, his darker thoughts full of suspicion and fear would disappear.

* * *

Big thanks to GoodnightGirl23 for her bete skills. Please R&R, ta!


	24. Chapter 24

So, here's Chapter 24. Big thanks as always to GNG23 for all her help.

I did intend for this chapter to shorter than the last but it's actually worked out slightly longer so thanks in advance for taking the time to read it! Also, sorry for any confusion if you noticed the chapter getting posted and then disappearing - for some reason my page breaks disappeared the first time I posted it :)

* * *

Damon pushed open the front door to his house and entered without his usual hearty greeting. All he had been able to think about all day was the fact that Angela, his wife, had had lunch with another man. Not just any other man but the only man besides himself that she had ever truly loved. The only man from her past that he could ever be jealous of, simply because he was the first one to have her heart. It angered him and hurt him and made him completely incapable of shouting 'Hi honey, I'm home' with a smile on his face. The truth was he didn't know what to say. He wished he could just not say anything at all. He wished he could let his faith in his wife, in the strength of their marriage, overcome all of his fears but that was impossible. He needed to know, even if his worst fears were confirmed, because he just had to.

"Oh hi," Angela said as he entered the kitchen. "I didn't hear you come in. Guess I was more engrossed in this than I thought."

She looked so normal sitting there with her hair tucked behind her ears and books spread out over the table in front of her that he suddenly felt stupid. All of the scenarios he had imagined during the day suddenly seemed ludicrous and the fact that he had doubted her seemed foolish. The feeling helped to dissolve his anger but there was still some masochistic curiosity which made him know he wouldn't be able to just let it go. If only he knew how to ask her without sounding like he was already accusing her of something. "What are you doing?" he asked instead

"I'm just reviewing some terms for my class this week, so I can follow what's going on. We're discussing poetry. There's a lot of technical language."

"There is?"

"Yeah. Metaphors, similes, iambic pentameter…"

"Oh." Damon replied as the words she used brought back memories of high school English lessons. If memory served, he had found them particularly dull and confusing and would not want to repeat them but as she spoke, Angela's face was full of happy enthusiasm.

"Dinner's nearly ready." She said, turning back to her books as if she expected him to go upstairs to get changed but he found that he was unable to move. If he left the room now he would never find the courage to say something.

"So, how was your lunch?" he edged, trying to maintain a light, conversational tone. He felt like he was testing her and he hated it but it was the only way he could think of starting the conversation. "Did Rayanne regale you and Sharon with tales of her latest exploits?"

"They didn't show." Angela replied, wishing that he had not asked. She had done nothing but think about her lunch all day. No, she had done nothing but think about Jordan Catalano all day, analyzing his words over and over, interpreting them in a hundred different ways until they lost all context and slowly drove her insane. "Sharon got caught up with work and Rayanne mixed up the dates or something so she was stuck at work too."

"So did you, like, eat on your own?" he persisted

Angela paused for a second, unsure how to answer. Should she just outright lie or would it be better to skim over the details and leave it as vague as possible? But if she lied, or even omitted anything, would that make her feel as if she had done something wrong? She didn't want to feel guilty for lying to him and she didn't want to feel guilty for having lunch with Jordan Catalano. Technically, she hadn't done anything to feel guilty for so why shouldn't she just tell the truth? "No, actually. I …urm…I had lunch with Jordan Catalano."

Angela looked down at her books while she spoke, not sure why she wasn't able to meet his eye, but the silence that filled the room made her lift her head and when she looked at him she was at a loss as to how to interpret his expression. On one hand, Damon felt relief that she had told him the truth because he had been so scared that she would have tried to deceive him. On the other hand, the fact that Angela had had lunch with Jordan Catalano still grated on his nerves and hearing the words coming from her rather than Delia Fisher made it seem that much more real.

As the silence lengthened, Angela felt the need to offer some kind of explanation. "He came into the diner and saw me sitting alone. It was really busy. I think he just didn't want to have to wait for a table of his own, or something." Okay, where did that come from? Angela thought as soon as the words left her lips. Yes, the diner had been busy but it hadn't been that busy. What had happened to just telling the truth?

"So what did you talk about?"

"What?"

"Come on, you didn't both sit there in silence. There must have been at least one topic of conversation."

"I …we…nothing really" For all of her obsessing over his words, she was suddenly at a loss to explain what it was they had actually talked about. "We talked about Edward and his band. We talked about food. Nothing important, really. No topics."

"You had lunch together and all you talked about was Edward's band and food?" Damon asked, unable to stop himself from pushing even though it was painfully obvious that they were both finding the conversation difficult.

"We were together for less than 30 minutes. It was a really short lunch." Angela replied in exasperation, wishing that he would just drop the subject. She knew it would help if she gave him more details but she wasn't capable. At this stage, the only thing she could clearly remember was Jordan's parting words. His sentence of 'see you at school' kept repeating itself in her head. She knew it was probably just a figure of speech. He probably didn't mean that she'd actually see him. He was just being polite because when they left, they had to say something in the way of a goodbye. He just meant that they'd be at the same place but not actually together, right? So what if they had seen each other there before? It was just a coincidence. It didn't mean that they would see each other every week. It didn't mean that he was planning on seeing her, did it? She certainly wasn't planning on seeing him. Ok, maybe the thought had occurred to her that when you go somewhere and someone you know is there, it's sort of natural. So, if they did just happen to run into each other at the college again, it wouldn't be because they had, like, an obligation to meet. It would just be because fate had already decided that they would. It would be completely beyond her control. However, she couldn't say any of this to Damon or explain it to him because if he was peeved at the thought of them randomly having lunch together, he'd be down right pissed off at the thought of her having seen Jordan before and not telling him. In fact, she'd completely lied to him by telling him that it was someone else who helped her when her car broke down. So, in summary, the less said about Jordan Catalano the better, in her humble opinion. But if she took that stance, wasn't she contradicting herself? Hadn't she just decided that it was better to tell the whole truth because she had nothing to be guilty for? 'God,' thought Angela, 'I'm starting to ramble in my own head. I have to stop this before I go insane.' She turned to Damon once more and attempted to put her thoughts into a coherent response but it was impossible. "What can I say?"

"Nothing." Damon replied, still far from happy. "There's nothing to say."

The tone of his voice was enough to tell her that he was in a foul mood but she really didn't know what else to say to placate him. Just as she opened her mouth to attempt to form some kind of response, she was literally save by the bell.

"I need to check on the chicken." She said as soon as the ringing of the kitchen timer ceased. Without further ado, she got up from her seat and concentrated on her task in the kitchen because it was so much easier than concentrating on anything else.

"I guess I'll go get changed." Damon said to her retreating back.

Angela gave a distracted nod in response but it became clear to Damon within a few seconds that that was the only response he was going to receive. His frown deepened as silence grew between them once more and he headed up stairs with a heavy heart.

If Amy noticed the strain between her parents over dinner, she didn't say anything but it seemed to Angela that she did little more than push the food around her plate and she gave an audible sigh of relief when she was finally excused. It was sort of like looking in a really warped mirror. Angela could remember when she was fifteen and couldn't bring herself to eat a well balanced meal in front of her mother because it felt like it meant to much to her. Back then, it was her own teenage angst that put such foolish notions in her head. Was Amy suffering a similar teenage angst of her own or was it Angela's adult angst affecting her appetite? Did she want to ask? What would be worse? A look of contempt for having the audacity of asking her daughter about her life or a look of accusation when her daughter confirmed that yes, it really was all her fault?

Before she could even make up her mind, Amy had disappeared to her disaster of a bedroom and Angela was left downstairs with Damon, going though the motions of normalcy while their mutual agitation grew around them but remained stubbornly ignored. It was only when she switched off her bed side light some hours later, that she realized she had forgotten to ask him how his presentation had gone but when she turned to him, his back was to her and he already had that slow, steady breathing of someone who was just falling asleep. She almost reached out to shake him awake again but thought better of it. Sometimes, it was just better to sleep on things, let them be until the next day. Instead, trying not to wake him, she gently wrapped an arm around his waist and rolled a little closer to him. He patted her arm sleepily and muttered something unintelligible before he slipped off into a deep slumber. Angela was left staring into the shadows of her bedroom, wondering exactly when her life would stop feeling like it was set on self destruct.

* * *

Sharon straightened her blouse and ran a hand through her hair before picking up a tray of drinks and crossing the kitchen to the interior door which allowed access to the garage. She didn't know why she was fussing with her appearance. In fact, she didn't know why she was providing refreshments. It wasn't as if the boys normally got this treatment when they were practicing. Normally, she retreated to her bedroom with a good book and a pair of ear plugs and left them alone until practice was over. She had long ago learnt that until her son got through his teenage years, he would view her presence as nothing but an embarrassment when he was in the company of his peers. On practice nights she was usually happy to humor him but tonight curiosity was getting the better of her.

She had yet another crazy day in the office and had been forced to stay late so, by the time she got home, Shane had already arrived and the noise coming from her garage was proof that practice was in full swing. She had resisted temptation long enough to grab some dinner but she could resist no longer. She just had to know how they were getting along. After all, her future sanity depended on the success of this band. If things did not go well, or if Shane changed his mind and backed out, Edward as going to be a pain is the ass to live with again. It was bad enough the first time. A repeat might be enough to tip her over the edge. Besides, it would be rude not to speak to Shane while he was in the house. He'd been so helpful when it came to her household repairs and was going to be putting so much time and effort into drumming for the band that she felt the need to show her appreciation. The fact that he was easy on the eyes was a bonus, she would admit, and seeing as there had been a lull in the racket they were making for nearly ten minutes, it felt like an opportune moment for her to interrupt.

When she entered the garage she expected to be looking at the inside of the white roll up door but her eye was immediately drawn to a view of her street.

"Please tell me you haven't been playing with the door open?" she groaned, instantly thinking of the complaints she would receive.

"Nah, we just opened them to let some fresh air in, help us cool down" Shane replied. "We'll close them before we start playing again."

He wasn't aware but his reply earned him a look of respect from Edward. Although it had been Shane's suggestion to keep the door open while they took a break, it had originally been opened by Mike when he stepped outside for a cigarette. While Shane did not smoke himself, he had made no attempt to lecture Mike on the dangers of smoking or say that it was not permitted as Sharon would have done. By not mentioning it at all, he was unknowingly helping to align himself with the teens rather than the other adult in the house in Edward's eyes. It was only a small thing but it was another point in Shane's favor and, since practice had started, Edward had to admit that Shane was racking up points quite rapidly.

They had only been practicing for a couple of hours but, so far, there had been no arguments or tantrums. Edward couldn't remember when a practice had been so relaxed and stress free. There were still things that the band members disagreed on but, rather than the issues degenerating into shouting matches as had often happened in the past, they found themselves having reasonable discussions as to possible solutions. Sentences starting with 'You did that wrong' were being replaced with 'I think it might sound better if' and 'can we try'. They weren't just playing anymore. They were experimenting and the end result was better than Edward had been expecting or even hoping for. Edward couldn't believe that he had been worried that Shane would try to take over. Of course Shane had opinions and was happy to voice them, but he wasn't pushy and didn't stubbornly stick to the opinion that he was right. In fact, he had even said 'No, you're right. Your way does sound better' on more than one occasion which Jake would never have done even if it was true.

Until his mother had walked into the garage, Edward had practically forgotten that Shane was an adult. However, Sharon's smile aimed in Shane's direction, was enough to confirm to him that at least one of his fears was going to come true. He could only hope that Sharon would keep her interference and her flirtatiousness to a minimum.

"Just make sure you do. Old Mrs. Stark across the street is as deaf as a post but even she was complaining at the last neighborhood watch meeting I went to." Sharon replied to Shane.

While Sharon's smile didn't falter as far as Shane was concerned, Edward was sure that when she glanced in his direction she gave him her patented 'I'm your mother and that is an order, son' look. He responded with an eye roll of indignation as she turned her attention back to Shane.

"Anyway, I thought you might all like some drinks." She said, passing Shane a bottle of beer. She tried to not stare at the way his arm muscles flexed as he twisted off the cap but it was impossible. She could curse Rayanne for bringing just how nice they were to her attention. If she was that enthralled by something as small as the removal of a bottle cap, she couldn't think of how captivated she would be if those same arms were wrapped around her. The thought made her cheeks grow warm and she knew she was in danger of blushing like a school girl. "I guess it is a bit warm in here." She said, fanning herself with her free hand.

Shane wasn't sure whether the wafting of her perfume in his direction was intentional or not but he knew he liked it and his own smile soon matched hers.

"Cool. Thanks Mrs. C." Mike said, coming back inside just in time to see Shane take a swig of his beer. His hopes of receiving the same were soon dashed, however, when he saw that Sharon's tray contained nothing else stronger than diet coke. If he wasn't going to get alcohol, he at least expected something with sugar and caffeine but he seriously doubted Sharon would see the validity of that argument. With the barest hint of disappointment, he accepted the offered beverages on behalf of himself and the other boys, before joining Edward and Steve over the other side of the room.

By the time Sharon looked back in Shane's direction, his gaze had been drawn towards the bare brick walls of the garage. "You should get some egg boxes." He stated with a small nod.

"Excuse me?"

"Cardboard egg boxes. It sounds stupid but they make great, cheap sound proofing." He explained, still looking at the walls and mentally trying to figure out how many boxes it would take to cover them. His best guesstimate was a lot.

"Right," Sharon replied, sounding less than convinced. Even if it did work, which she seriously doubted, she was sure it would look far from pretty. It might only be the garage, but still, she had standards.

"Haven't done it since high school but, seriously, it really works." Shane replied. "They're real easy to stick up too. Last time I did it, we just raided the art department's glue supply."

"That was you?" Sharon replied with disbelief and just a touch of old annoyance. "Do you realize that completely ruined the art club's collage project? The parent-teacher committee was convinced that someone was sniffing it under the bleachers at lunch time. I can't believe that was you."

"Yeah. Me, Catalano, Tino and Graff. She was our look out. As far as sniffing it under the bleachers goes, I think Graff was the only one who tried it. She gave up when she barfed on her Dr Martins and had to go lie down in the back of Tino's van for the rest of the day. " Shane grinned.

"I was on student council. I had to spend hours on a solvent abuse awareness campaign just to shut them up! I made posters! There was a dance! Rayanne came to it!"

"I know. So did the rest of us. Tino spiked the punch." Shane's grin turned into a laugh. "I'll go and turn myself in if it'll make you feel better. Doubt Mr. Foster will be glad to see me back in detention though and it could seriously reduce our practice time."

Sharon tried to keep her scowl in place but it was impossible. The corners of her mouth curled up into a smile despite her best efforts. "I think I'll let you off this time," she replied. "but only in the interest of keeping this band in the competition. After that, I'd better not hear of any other misdemeanors. I expect nothing but your best behavior."

"Best behavior, check." Shane said with a wink that made Sharon wish she had just asked for the opposite. For some reason, she had a feeling that she would rather enjoy the naughty side of Shane.

"So, any progress on the new name for the band yet?" she asked.

"We've been throwing a few ideas around but nothing seems to fit so far." Shane replied, absentmindedly reaching for his drum sticks and twirling them through his fingers as he spoke. "Any ideas will be gratefully accepted so get your thinking cap on."

Sharon's eyes were drawn to the sticks as he twirled them so fast they began to blur. "Where'd you learn party tricks like that?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised at what these digits can do." He replied with a lopsided grin and a twitch of his eyebrows.

He spoke in a playful way, meaning the words as a joke but as soon as the words left his mouth he realized that maybe he should have thought before he spoke. It was only once the words were released that he realized just how flirtatious they sounded and the widening of Sharon's eyes confirmed that she had interpreted them in the most prurient way possible. For a second he worried that he had overstepped the mark but rather than scold him for his bawdiness, a small cheeky grin graced her own features before she looked away, feigning embarrassment while biting her lower lip slightly in what he considered to be the sexiest expression he had ever seen her wear. It was that thought that made him certain he really had overstepped the mark. Sure, he had once asked her out and, for the majority of the evening they had had a really good time, but that was before he knew about Jordan. Shane was a lot of things but one thing he prided himself on being was a good friend. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on with Jordan and Sharon but he doubted that the definition of 'good friend' would be someone who made advances on the mother of his best friend's son, no matter how tempting the thought might be, or how often he had had it. No, it was definitely time to get back to friendly, not suggestive in any way, polite conversation. He just wished he could think of something to say that wouldn't sound stupid.

After a few seconds of them grinning at each other in an embarrassed but sort of interested way, their silence was broken by the sound of some serious feedback coming from Mike's amp, followed by the sound of laughter from the three teens.

"Guess that's my cue to get back to work." Shane said once he had stopped wincing from the high pitched screech.

"Yeah. Well, I'll leave you boys to it." Sharon replied heading back towards her kitchen.

Rather than reach for her ear plugs, she chose to listen in to the ever so slightly muffled sounds that come through the wall. Although she was proud of Edward, she wasn't really listening to the actual music. What she was listening for was the silence that would come when they took another break. It would be the ideal opportunity to make another refreshment delivery.

* * *

Edward sighed in frustration as he pulled Amy and Rebecca towards the school exit. The previous night's practice had gone better than he ever imagined, even with the regular interruptions from his mother, so tonight he wanted to get home and start working on their songs again as soon as possible. Mike felt exactly the same and was already waiting for them in the parking lot. He just needed to get the girls moving in the right direction and at a speed that had some kind of forward momentum. He didn't know how their inclination to dawdle had never come to his attention before but today he could swear that they were doing it just to get on his nerves.

"That's it," he said, letting go of their shirt sleeves, "I'm not dragging your asses out there any more but if you're not by the car at the same time as me, you'll be walking home."

"Yeah, right Eddie. Mike's really going to leave his loving girlfriend stranded without a ride home." Amy replied sarcastically, seeing nothing wrong with the speed at which her and Rebecca were walking.

"Normally, I'd agree but right now, the band comes before girlfriends." Edward said with a smirk.

"Hey, standing right here, buddy!" Rebecca rewarded his attempt at humor with a not so light punch on the arm and a smirk of her own as he attempted what he hoped would be an apologetic smile.

"I don't think so." Amy said, voice full of bravado "I've got Mike so whipped he wouldn't think about leaving without me."

"Oh really?"

Amy nodded emphatically while Rebecca tried to keep a straight face and an even voice. "It's true. If he were here right now, you'd see him wrapped around her little finger."

"Oh really?" Edward repeated, coming up with the perfect way to get them moving. "I wonder if Mike would agree?"

Before the girls could stop him, he took off down the corridor, shouting Mike's name as soon as he pushed open the heavy double doors that led to the parking lot. Rebecca and Amy took one look at each other before they started to run after him and all three weaved between students and cars as fast as they could. When they finally did reach Mike, they were all giggling breathlessly but Mike wasn't taking the slightest bit of notice to the commotion they were making. He was preoccupied with the rear bumper of his car and the task of pulling shards of glass out of the rear break light casement.

"Dude, what happened to your car?" Edward asked, between hiccups as he tried to bring his laughter under control.

The sight was enough to subdue Amy's high spirits. She had seen the dint in the bumper and the broken light before but looking at it a second time made her feel guilty all over again.

"I'm really sorry." she said with a grimace. "I told you I couldn't drive. It was only, like, my second time behind the wheel."

"You crashed his car? Seriously?" Edward asked, laughter bubbling to the surface again while Rebecca put a hand to her mouth in an attempt not to join him.

"I couldn't find the brake." Amy explained.

Her pathetic response was enough to tip Edward and Rebecca over the edge and the air was filled with the sound of their mirth once more. Mike was obviously less amused but, seeing as it was him who talked Amy into the impromptu driving lesson against her better judgment, he reasoned that he only had himself to blame.

"Honestly, don't worry about it." he smiled, pulling her in for a hug and trying to make her feel better. "It's fixable. I'll be able to do it myself, really."

Without further ado, they climbed into the car. The engine spluttered once, as if in protest of its recent treatment, before it roared to life and they filed into the traffic. They had hardly left the school grounds before Edward took control of the CD player, inserting a new disk.

"Oh God. Do we you have to listen to this again?" Rebecca moaned, recognizing the disk right away. "Can't you put something else on? I've got the Pussycat Dolls in my bag."

"No way," Mike replied. "Rules are driver chooses the music, passengers shut their mouths and I choose this over the Pussycat Dolls any day."

"What is it?" Amy asked, not recognizing the beginning of the first track.

"You haven't heard this yet? It's all he's been playing lately. He's had it on auto repeat for ever and it's starting to drive me insane!" Rebecca said but Amy was still at a loss.

Edward was more than happy to fill her in. "It's an album that Jordan released, like, a decade ago."

"No way!" She exclaimed as a bass heavy guitar riff filled the car followed by roaring vocals that were a million miles away from the chilled out acoustic set she'd heard him play at Vertigo.

"Yes way!" Edward replied, leaning back to hand her the CD case. "We went to a record fair across town last weekend and it was just there. He said it wasn't worth buying but he didn't even have a copy of it himself so I went back and got it when he was haggling over some old vinyls."

Edward considered it to be a successful shopping trip but he still hadn't told Jordan that he'd bought it and he couldn't explain why. They had both been happily browsing when Jordan had picked up the CD and at the time he had seemed to freeze where he stood as if in shock. He had explained it as a blast from the past that took him by surprise but when Edward realized that it was something that Jordan had actually been a part of, Jordan had been reticent to talk about it. He had practically dismissed it as rubbish, as if he was embarrassed by it, but Edward's curiosity had taken over and had been more than satisfied. It wasn't exactly polished to perfection but all of the tracks had a certain something. The only surprising thing about it was that it was the only thing the band had ever released. He'd searched high and low for any signs of a second album but found nothing. The only information he'd found was a page on Wikipedia that proclaimed the band had earned a small cult following before disappearing into obscurity. It was a few lines of text that gave no further information and he had yet to get up the courage to question Jordan more.

"Wow." Amy said as she examined the front cover.

A black and white image showed three men leaning casually against the side of a heavily grafittied building. It was taken at a strange angle with a wide lens, as if the photographer was focusing on the street rather than on the band, but the person on the left was unmistakably a youthful Jordan Catalano. Amy eagerly pulled out the booklet and the few pages it contained provided further evidence that Edward was telling the truth with their display of less arty snapshots of the band on stage or practicing. As she examined them more closely, she came to the conclusion that he was cuter in real life than he was on the album. There was no denying that it was him but compared to the man she knew, the one she saw was scrawny and in the few close-ups where he was looking directly into the camera, he looked sort of drawn and tired. He didn't look as if he could produce the kind of energy the songs required but clearly he must have. The only explanation she could come up with was that the shots must have been taken when he was having a rough day and the artwork budget hadn't stretched to airbrushing.

It was obvious from the way Edward was looking at her that he expected more of a reaction from her but she wasn't sure what to say. "He looks … young." she settled on finally.

"He would have been about 26ish, I think." Edward replied, seemingly satisfied with her response. "I know it's a bit post grunge, but they sound amazing. Don't they sound amazing?""

Amy nodded, not having to fake enthusiasm as far as the music went. She might not go as far as amazing in her description but she was impressed by the raw quality of the rock tracks and the simple, almost angry sounding lyrics that somehow managed to be catchy at the same time. The only one who didn't seem impressed was Rebecca but she kept her opinion to herself, knowing it was futile to argue when she was so outnumbered. Instead, she gazed out the window at the passing scenery and tuned out the sound of the music and their conversation.

It wasn't that she completely hated the music but it would never make it onto her play list. She supposed that the real problem was the fact that she was sick and tired of conversations that revolved around the band, Jordan Catalano or music in general. It seemed as if they were the only topics of conversation Edward was capable of lately. It was understandable, up to a point. Meeting your father for the first time would be important to anyone and when Jordan turned out to be someone Edward was so in awe of, it was bound to be something he would want to talk about. She had wondered more than once whether, if meeting her own father for the first time, she would be endlessly impressed by his culinary skills rather than waiting with baited breath for the day he changed the menu and cooked something different for her. It was the same with the band. Edward was investing a lot of time and energy into it and she was sort of proud that he was able to get up on stage and perform but she wished that he had other interests he wanted to talk about, just occasionally. She would even be willing to listen to conversations about football and computer games from time to time, just to vary it up a bit. At the other end of the scale, there were the times when he didn't want to talk at all; times when they were alone. Those times were sort of hard to explain because while she enjoyed them, it was still only up until a certain point and she didn't know why she couldn't just let go and relax. In some ways, she was lucky that he was so wrapped up in the band because it took the pressure of her but once the competition was over, she had a feeling that his interest would take a turn towards her and she still wasn't sure if she was ready.

Rebecca spent the ride to Amy's house in quiet contemplation while the other three teens continued their conversation around her, hardly seeming to notice her lack of input. It wasn't too long before they reached their destination and the girls headed inside while the boys sped off to their all important practice. They had been there no longer than five minutes before Damon arrived home to find them poking around in the kitchen, trying to find something to eat

"Hey, how's school?" He asked as he entered the kitchen but gave up expecting an actual reply when Amy just looked at him as if he'd asked her 'how was that drive by shooting?' or something equally ridiculous.

"Where's mom?" she asked instead.

"It's her class tonight, remember?" Damon replied, not sure whether he was happy that she was out or not. The fact that she wasn't there reduced some of the tension that had seemed to be filling the house but, as much as he wanted to trust her he would rather her be here. It was easier to trust her when she was standing right in front of him. He didn't need to concentrate on dismissing his suspicions that she was no where near a writing class that way.

"So, what's for dinner? I told Rebecca she could stay."

"If that's, like, ok with you?" Rebecca asked.

"Course you can stay." Damon replied, much happier with her presence in the house than he ever was with Mike's. "But we're fending for ourselves so its either whatever we can find in the freezer or calling for Pizza."

Amy pulled the freezer door open and started to rummage around. It didn't take her long to find something she liked the look of. "Ooh, chili fries."

"I thought your mother banned them from the house in the great diet of '05?"

"Well, looks like she's given them a reprieve." Amy replied, holding the bag aloft as proof.

"She must have bought them by mistake, or something."

"Well, they're here so we might as well enjoy, right? Who knows when she'll buy them again?"

"Chili fries, it is." Damon agreed.

Across town, Angela was wishing she had fixed her own snack before she had left home. At the time, she hadn't been hungry but now her stomach was starting to rumble in an annoying and also sort of embarrassing way, as she waited for her class to start.

"Well, this is a great start to this week's class, isn't it? What with the teacher being fifteen minutes late!"

Angela wasn't surprised that it was Ruth Walker who spoke up. She was one of those obnoxiously loud people who always said what they thought at a volume where everyone could hear, whether they wanted to or not. She was the class' resident show off, always more than happy to read her work aloud while the others suffered varying degrees of stage fright. In high school, the teacher being fifteen minutes late was just an invitation for the kids to act as if they had another recess and generally create as much chaos as they could. Here in adult learning, it was slightly different. The ten people who made up the class all sat either in silence or making polite small talk to who ever was sitting next to them. All except Ruth Walker, that is, who was now taking great delight at producing a very expensive looking Blackberry and loudly proclaiming that she had their teacher's personal telephone number stored, ready for an event such as this. She was the kind of annoying person who always had everything.

Angela turned to the woman on her right and they rolled their eyes at each other. Maria Roberts understood exactly what Angela was thinking and shared her opinion 100%. Although seats were not allocated, they had ended up sitting next to each other for the past few weeks and had seemed to see eye to eye on just about everything. Well, everything you could talk about in the few minutes they normally had before class got started. Admittedly, it wasn't much but Angela knew that she would take Maria Roberts over Ruth Walker any day.

It only took a few moments for Ruth to contact their lecturer and, just from overhearing her side of the conversation, only a few moments more for the class to learn that today's lesson had been cancelled. Supposedly, they should have all been contacted and told that he was incapacitated by a serious case of food poisoning but the chain of communication had obviously broken down at some critical juncture. Ruth Walker was still bellowing into her cell phone as everyone else started to pack up, keeping their own comments to quiet grumblings.

"There goes my one night of freedom from the kids." Maria said, as she stuffed pens and paper into her worn tote bag.

"Yeah." Angela replied, glancing at her watch. "It's my one school night out a week too."

The statement must have come out sounding more pitiful than she intended and earned her a look of condolence she didn't deserve. She had been looking forward to the class and had spent a lot of time preparing for it, so obviously she was annoyed that it wasn't going ahead, and it was true that she didn't exactly have a busy social life, but her disappointment was more to do with the fact that she would be leaving the building 45 minutes earlier than Jordan Catalano. She had got it into her head that if they happened to meet on campus, it would just be fate. It would be unavoidable serendipity. However, fate had made other plans and it annoyed her just as much as the realization that she had wanted to see him annoyed her.

"Listen, it's a shame to go right away. How does coffee and cake sound?" Maria asked

"Oh, I don't know. I don't want to keep you."

"The babysitter's already paid for. I might as well get my money's worth."

For a moment Angela hesitated but then she realized how stupid she was being. Part of the whole reason for enrolling in a night class was to make new friends, expand her social horizons. Also, it would be a good way of filling the hole in her stomach. Trying to adopt a more sociable frame of mind, she nodded. "Sure, ok."

"Great. There's a café just down the road that is nice and quiet so we can talk. Did you do the homework, by the way? I tried but have come to the conclusion that my poetry is goddamn awful."

"I don't think my attempt is much better." Angela admitted as they made their way to the exit. "Bring back prose, is what I say."

They ended up sitting in the same little café that Jordan had taken Angela to a few weeks before. Over good coffee and rich chocolate cake, Angela learned that Maria's poetry was indeed god awful to the point that Angela now felt quite proud of her own effort, even if that also left a lot to be desired. She also learned that an interest in increasing her writing ability was not the only reason for Maria joining the course. Like Angela, she had been looking to make new friends and increase her social circle. She was five years younger than Angela and, since relocating to Three Rivers two months ago, her social interaction was limited to her husband who worked long shifts at the local hospital, their three year old twin boys, and their seventeen year old babysitter.

"Seriously, if I don't drastically increase the number of my daily adult conversations soon, my vocabulary's going to be reduced to that of a Sesame Street Character."

"Do they still have Luis?" Angela asked, remembering Rayanne's inexplicable teenage crush.

"Oh, yeah. He's still fixing toasters on a regular basis. They still have celebrity guests too. Last week I watched Ricky Gervais sing Elmo a lullaby. It was very moving. Bert and Ernie are still in the closet though." Maria smiled before something over Angela's shoulder caught her eye. "Hey, there's a guy just sat down a few tables away who's looking at us, or at you, I think."

"What?"

"Yeah. He's definitely looking."

"What does he look like?" Angela asked, fighting the urge to turn around herself. She knew the answer without needing confirmation but Maria confirmed it anyway.

"About as yummy as that chocolate cake I just ate. If I was still single, I'd definitely want me a big piece of that."

Well, that's the same problem I have, Angela thought, except I keep forgetting the 'if I was still single' part. I guess you'd say I want to have my cake and eat it which is something I can absolutely, positively not allow myself to do. Instead, I'm stuck looking through the shop window and leaving the sugary treats where they are to go home to a healthy, well balanced but suddenly less satisfying meal.

Staring down at the remains of her own chocolate cake, she lost her appetite and could do nothing but stab it ineffectually with her fork as her thoughts continued to whirl. One minute they were destined to meet, then they weren't and now fate put him in the same place as her anyway. She wanted to curse fate for its contrariness as much as she wanted to curse herself for not being content with either option. To stick with Maria's metaphor, to actually have Jordan Catalano as hers would be gluttony of the worst kind; to deny herself would be starvation, like anorexia of the heart. So instead, she was stuck walking the middle ground, wanting to see him because she felt like she just had to, but not wanting to see him because it would just lead to more want. Not to mention the guilt.

However, the longer she sat there, looking straight ahead, the more she felt his eyes on her back. The look that Maria was giving her alternated between expectancy and curiosity and Angela realized that if she didn't turn around to at least acknowledge his presence, she was in danger of ruining her new friendship before it had actually began by convincing Maria that she was either socially stunted or just weird. So, she turned in her seat and tried to remember how to breathe as she looked into his bright blue eyes. He gave a broad smile and lifted his coffee cup in greeting but just as she opened her mouth to shout hi across the tables that separated them, he did what she hadn't expected. He looked away, dropping his gaze from her to the text book open on the table in front of him.

Angela felt her mouth open and close as she looked at him and he continued to look down. She only turned around again when she realized that she probably looked like a goldfish and that Maria was still watching her.

"So, friend or foe?" Maria asked in hushed tones.

Good question thought Angela a she resisted the urge to ask whether he was looking at her again. She wanted to say friend but that wouldn't be correct. They had never exactly been friends. They had never really been foes either "High school boyfriend." she said eventually, feeling that the description was woefully inadequate but unable to think of anything more fitting.

"Aah." Maria said, as she nodded in understanding. "First love?"

"Yeah."

"I had one of those back in Phoenix. Great guy, doing really well for himself, and like your guy over there, he's still hot. I hate him. Don't you just hate how guys get more desirable and more attractive the older they get?"

"You mean while we become less and less attractive in the eye of the world? More and more expendable as we grow older?" Angela asked.

"Yep. But at least we can take comfort in the fact that they'll die sooner."

"There is that." Angela smiled.

They continued to talk as they finished their drinks, keeping it light and man free, but Angela's mind wasn't completely on their conversation. A good deal of it was spent alternatively trying to stop the itching between her shoulder blades that started whenever she wondered if he was watching her or wishing she had eyes in the back of her head so she could see what he was doing. She felt sort of bad for being so distracted but Maria didn't seem to mind and when it came time for them to pay the bill, rather than call the waitress over, she suggested Angela go say Hi to Jordan while she settled it at the counter. She got up before Angela could protest but as soon as she was gone, Angela realized that she wouldn't be able to just sit there. She had to say something to him, even though she wasn't sure what it was

"Hi," she said as she stopped by his table.

"Hey." he replied, unconsciously fingering the books in front of him, drawing her eyes to them.

"What are you doing?" The last time Angela had seen him studying was when they had been cramming for finals but he had never been a willing participant. It was strange to see him actually working when no one was pushing him to it.

"I'm just trying to get some of this stuff to sink in. I'm not so bad with numbers but accounting isn't just addition and subtraction, you know? There's, like, a lot of theory behind it."

"You always come here to study?" she asked, still surprised that he studied at all.

"Nah. But studying at home's not really working for me, too many guitars waiting to be played." If he was honest, studying at the café wasn't working too well for him either. He might not have a guitar to pick up but Angela's presence was distraction enough. The only thing that had stopped him from ditching his study plan completely and actually going to sit with her was the fact that she had company.

"Oh, right. Well, I helped my mom with the books for the printers when she wasn't well last year so… I mean, I don't mind helping you…if you want me to?" Angela couldn't believe what she was saying but the words were coming out of her own mouth so she couldn't deny it.

"It's not so bad." Jordan replied with a small shrug. "It's not like school. It, like, has a use in the real world."

"Oh, okay." she replied, more disappointed than she wanted to admit.

Jordan saw her small frown, just as he heard the disappointment in her voice, and he could curse himself for speaking honestly. He should have said yes. He should have said that he needed her help just so he could spend time with her, even if studying wasn't exactly what he would want to do with that time. Throwing caution to the wind, he replied " You could have sex with me though, if you really want to help."

She gave a bark of shocked laughter, not able to believe what she was hearing. Jordan Catalano had just told her he wanted to have sex with her. He said it out loud. He wanted her. It wasn't just all in her head. He actually wanted her and all she could do was laugh because she was too shocked, too frightened, too excited to do anything else. She was still sort of chuckling when Maria appeared at her elbow and it was only once she was outside in the fresh air that she was able to get her breathing under control.

Jordan's eyes followed them to the exit and it was only when the door close behind them that he spoke again.

"I guess that's a no." he sighed, before shaking his head as if to get rid of the thoughts and turning back to his text book.

* * *

"Hey," Jordan said, as Sharon opened the door and ushered him inside.

"I thought you were supposed to get here earlier." She replied, as she opened the fridge and handed him a cold beer.

"I had school tonight." he explained, "Sort of lost track of time going over my notes afterwards."

"Edward and the boys have really been putting the effort in so be honest but, you know, tactful. I mean, when they're playing don't talk or interrupt but, like, afterwards applaud but not too much. You know, sincerely and when you give them feedback it's important not to be too negative. You have to give positive comments too. Be constructive."

Jordan let her ramble for a moment, not quite believing that she was explaining to him how to give his opinion correctly. When her words stopped and she looked up at him, he could see she was nervous for them but only just. The majority of her worry lines were hidden behind countless layers of cosmetics. "You always wear this much makeup?"

"Um.. Well, I just…Ok, maybe I went a bit overboard." Sharon admitted as she headed to the nearest mirror and attempted to rub some of her blush away.

Jordan watched her for a moment, wondering how to raise a topic that had been on his mind for a while, before he decided to just spit it out. "I've kind of been thinking….I mean my cash flow isn't all that great at the moment. Everything's pretty much tied up in Back Alley."

"Oh?" asked Sharon, still trying to tame her cosmetics and wondering where this was going,

"Yeah, well…if I'd been here, I mean if I was around when he was a kid, then I would have paid, like maintenance, or whatever. Now that I am here, I just think that I should… contribute…or something."

"I don't need your money." Sharon said, suddenly defensive at his offer when she had half been expecting him to hit her up for a loan.

"I know you don't need it." Jordan replied, "and I don't really have much spare at the moment but I'm trying to do the right thing here."

"I know but we do okay on our own." Sharon had worked her ass off to make sure that they were fine on their own to the point where she was fiercely independent. Even now that Jordan was becoming a part of their lives it was hard for her to think that she wasn't alone when it came to parental responsibility. Her own mother had told her on more than one occasion that a smarter woman would take Jordan for every penny he had, now that he was here but Sharon didn't like the thought of being reliant on anyone else.

"Look, just think about it, Okay?" Jordan said. It was the reaction he had been expecting but he hoped that, once she came around to the idea, they would be able to come to some kind of arrangement. He'd been putting his newly acquired accounting skills into practice, going over figures in his head and weighing up all of his outgoings and, each time he did, he felt more and more guilty. Even before he knew he had a son, he had always said that he had little respect for guys who fathered children and then didn't take any responsibility for them, financial or otherwise. He didn't want to be one of those guys.

"Okay, I'll think about it" Sharon agreed.

"Okay." Jordan smiled "I guess I'll go see how they're doing."

"Tell them I'll bring in drinks when they have a break."

When he entered the garage, the band were rocking out and sounding great. There was no way he could stop the grin from spreading over his face but the strength of the pride he felt still took him by surprise. He wondered whether his own father had ever felt the same way at hearing him play but he doubted it. Maybe when he was really young and his dad was still mainly sober but the majority of times he heard Jordan play at home, the only reaction he gave was to yell about turning down the noise.

The song ended and they all looked at him, expectant expressions on their faces.

"That was awesome." he said honestly and the smile on Edward's face did justice to his pride.

"Damn right that sounded awesome." Shane replied, reaching for a nearby towel which he pressed against his face. "But I'm definitely too old for this shit. Time for a break."

The teens looked like they could go some more but they pulled their guitar straps over their heads and joined Jordan in the corner where they all perched on a mismatched array of wooden crates and lawn furniture.

"Do you think we'll be ready?" Steve asked.

"Sure, just keep practicing every chance you get. It's really coming together." Jordan replied. "You just need to iron out the last few kinks."

"Like what?" Edward asked

"Well, for one, you need to watch out for those high notes. You're hitting them most of the time but all of the time is better. It's not a biggie if you don't quite get there though." Jordan explained before turning to Shane. "And you should stick to the John Bonham philosophy of drumming, save your energy for when it counts."

"Less is more." Shane replied with a mock salute.

"Well, sometimes." Jordan replied, turning his attention to Steve. He was the quietest of the three boys and, although Jordan couldn't fault his musical technique, he felt that some feedback was needed in terms of showmanship. "Steve…try looking like you're having fun, you know? Loosen up a bit."

The suggestion was met with an earnest nod but Jordan was sure that it would take more than that for Steve to actually look like he enjoyed being on stage. Unfortunately, other than suggesting the kid watch School of Rock, he wasn't sure how he could help him increase his stage presence. It wasn't really the kind of thing you could learn. Not quickly anyway. You either had it or you didn't. Luckily, Mike was more than happy to play up to any attention thrown his way so there would be enough life onstage even if Steve chose to hang back.

"What? No critique for moi?" Mike asked, right on cue.

"Yeah. Don't get cocky." Jordan replied. "But guys, you're nearly there. You will be ready."

"We'll be more than ready! We are so going to rock at Pike Street" Mike said, "Do you think there'll be agents there? Record labels?"

"Maybe." Jordan replied

"Hell, yeah! If we play well enough, we could get signed. Forget school. We'll be talking international tours, fame, fortune and more groupies than we can handle!" Edward said, earning high fives from Mike and Steve while Jordan and Shane just looked at each other.

Jordan could remember similar words leaving his own mouth. He could remember having the same overconfident attitude and thinking that nothing would stand in his way but he had been wrong and he had paid the price in ways the younger generation could not even imagine. They were still young so there was still time for them to change their minds, find other occupations and hobbies, but Jordan saw the passion in their eyes. It was the same passion he had when he was young and there was no denying that they had talent to equal it, just as he had. He hadn't made it though. He wasn't living the life of international tours, fame, fortune and groupies and the only person he could blame was himself. His own father had told him he was living a dream more times than he could remember and Jordan knew that, in the end, he had proved him right but he didn't want to say the same things to Edward. He knew that if they did it different, if they did it right, these boys could really be something. They just needed to understand which roads to avoid.

"When you think about going on tour, you think big tour buses, huge stadiums packed with people…but it's not like that. When you're just starting out, no one knows who you are. No one cares. You end up playing in little places, constantly travelling in search of gigs, just trying to get noticed by the right people. It's, like, hard work."

"Travelling around and playing in loads of different places?" Mike queried. "That doesn't sound like hard work. That just sounds like fun."

"Not when your tour bus is a transit van and the money you earned from the last gig only just covers the gas to get to the next one. You end up sleeping in the back of it, squashed in next to your equipment, eating crap from roadside diners. Believe me, it gets old very quickly." Jordan replied. He wanted to give them a realistic view of how it was but thinking back to his earlier days, when everything was all still new, had a certain nostalgia. Even the memory of the stench created by four guys living out of the back of a van for weeks on end wasn't enough to prevent a small smile from gracing his lips. "But you keep doing it because when you finally get to the gig and get up on stage, it feels like it's all worth it. When you start getting interest from agents and record labels taking about signing deals it's the best feeling in the world."

"So, what happened? I mean, if you had labels offering you recording deals shouldn't you be famous, or something?" Mike asked

"It just never worked out. Sometimes it was, like, wrong time, wrong place."

"But you did get a recording deal." Steve pointed out. "Edward burnt your album for me."

"You went back for it, huh?"

Edward nodded guiltily, worried that Jordan would be cross with him for buying it when he told him not too. It instantly became apparent that he was worrying needlessly. Jordan's expression didn't hold a hint of mild rebuke, let alone anger. He just looked uncomfortable, giving Edward the impression that there was a long story lurking in his past.

"So, what happened?" Mike asked, voicing the question that Edward was eager to hear answered

"I guess I only have myself to blame." Jordan said, smile replaced by a small frown as his fingers pulled nervously at the label on his beer bottle. "I was kind of self destructive for a while, messed up. By the time I came out the other side, I didn't have as many friends in the music business as I started with."

"What do you mean?" Edward asked, dissatisfied by the vagueness of his answer. He had never seen Jordan like this before. Jordan was always so cool and confident, so happy-go-lucky. Edward wasn't used to seeing him looking apprehensive or shifting uncomfortably in his chair. For someone who took to the stage on a regular basis, playing for hundreds of people at a time, he looked extremely uneasy under the gaze of the teens.

For a second, Jordan looked to Shane as if he were seeking some assistance with the answer. Shane simply shrugged silently telling Jordan that it was his story and it was up to him how much of it he told.

Jordan cleared his throat, trying to find the words to explain what had happened but there was no good way to say it so he just blurted it out. "A teacher in school once said that what we should do is follow our hearts and veer away from heroin. I should have listened."

The statement was met with shocked silence as the teens tried to process what he had just said. The only one who didn't act surprised was Shane but he had heard it all before, had seen some of it first hand, and yet still managed to be his friend. Suddenly, Jordan wanted to be anywhere but there. It was all so long ago that he thought he was past being judged for it, thought he was past caring what other people thought, but Edward's wide eyed stare brought back all of the feelings of shame and guilt he had. He couldn't leave without giving some kind of explanation.

"I never intended to, like, get hooked …" he started but immediately realized the stupidity of the sentence. As if anyone would ever intend to get hooked on drugs. His fingers worried the edge of label on his beer bottle again and he found himself looking down at its ragged edge, as if it was the most interesting thing in the room. It was easier than looking at the disappointment in his son's eyes. He cleared his throat again and tried once more to explain. "Started out with just small stuff. I'd come off stage feeling all buzzed, sort of invincible, and when someone offered me some pills that would make the feeling last a bit longer, I'd take them. We all did. But the constant travelling meant that you'd get really tired so you start taking something before the gig too because the boost will help you get through the set. Then you're so wired you can't sleep so you take some downers…half the time I didn't even know what I was taking but, at the time, I thought I had it all under control."

"So, did the label find out and freak?" Edward guessed but Jordan shook his head.

"They knew," he explained, "but as long as we showed up to the studio on time and gave a decent performance at the gigs, they turned a blind eye. They didn't care how hard we partied as long as we weren't losing them money Anyway, we were sort of based in New York for a while. One night I was at this party where people were doing H so I decided to try it as, like, an experiment and it felt good… too good…so I did it again… It's surprising how long you can, like, keep functioning, but things started going downhill after a while."

He took a swig of his beer, trying to organize his thoughts as hazy memories of those crazy days swirled round his head. "We'd just started working on the second album when Nick, the bassist, got arrested with enough junk to get him some jail time. Label couldn't ignore it any longer so they said to find a new bassist and get our shit together or we'd be dropped… but cold turkey's a bitch so end of record deal."

"But you don't do that anymore, do you?" Edward asked, voice sounding uncertain and fearful of the answer.

"No," Jordan replied emphatically, looking up for the first time since he had started talking, desperate for Edward to see the honesty in his eyes. "I don't do that anymore.

He wanted to say more make Edward understand what had happened and why he had done the things he had done but he didn't want to sound as if he were trying to rationalize his actions. There could never be an explanation that would make it all ok. However, before he could say anything else the door to the house was pushed open to reveal Sharon standing in the doorway and from the look on her face it seemed as if she had heard everything.

"Jordan, can I speak to you for a moment? In, like private?"

Rather than waiting for his reply, Sharon just turned around and walked back into the kitchen where the tray of drinks she was carrying was dropped on the kitchen table with enough force to cause the liquid to slosh over the sides of the glasses. Jordan set his beer bottle down and got up with a sigh. He knew this was going to be far from fun but he had little choice but to follow her. Sharon continued through to the living room, trying to get as much distance between them and the ears of the teenagers as possible. As soon as she heard him enter the room behind her she turned to face him but, after overhearing his unexpected revelation, she realized she had no idea what to say to him. Instead, all she could do was stare at him and try to figure out who he really was while he shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

After what seemed like eons, she managed to speak. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"They wanted to know, so I told them." Jordan replied, crossing his arms nervously before raising a hand to chew on his thumb nail.

"Yeah, you told them all right!" she replied, "They're impressionable kids who need guidance not someone who's going to glamorize drug use."

"I wasn't glamorizing anything. I-"

"They look up to you and you just told them that taking drugs before getting on stage would help them get through their set! You told them that record labels will let them take stuff as long as they turn up to work on time! 'Cold turkey's a bitch'? I mean, come on!"

Jordan had to bite his tongue to stop a petulant 'well, it is' from slipping out. "I wasn't telling them to do that stuff, I was trying to warn them. They've got talent. They could make it and opening their eyes to what it's really like in the music industry-"

"Oh yes, because all musicians take drugs." Sharon rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I said," Jordan replied, fighting to keep hold of his temper as Sharon was obviously losing hers. "But for the ones who want it, for the ones stupid enough to take it, it's there and it's available."

"I can't believe that you actually, like, did that? Took drugs, injected stuff?"

"Yeah, I actually, like, did."

"Were you doing that when you and I slept together?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level despite the fact that her head was spinning.

"No, it was after."

"My god, how could you get involved in something like that? Why didn't you tell me?" she continued, losing the battle to remain rational and raising her voice. "Don't you think I should have known about that before I let you be a part of Edward's life? I mean, you actually took heroin. Do you know how dangerous that is? Apart from what that does to your body, you can get all kinds of diseases. You could have hepatitis, HIV, A-"

"Jesus, I don't have fucking AIDS, Sharon!" Jordan shouted in an effort to interrupt her tirade. He took a deep breath before continuing, hoping that she would do the same. "I got all that kind of stuff checked out. I'm healthy, ok."

"So, do you go to the NA meetings in the town hall?" Sharon knew that Rayanne attended AA on a regular basis and occasionally would stay for the NA meeting that followed but she had never mentioned seeing Jordan there. Sharon wasn't sure whether that was due to the whole anonymous thing or Rayanne's ability to keep other people's secrets but she would have thought that Rayanne would have told her something this big if she knew.

"No." was his maddeningly simple answer.

"What do you mean no?"

"I don't go."

"But you have to go. You need some kind of support system, you-"

"Don't tell me what I need, Sharon. You don't know anything about it." Jordan replied, unable to stop his defensiveness turning to anger. "I don't need a support system. I've got friends."

"But Rayanne Graff-"

"I'm not Rayanne Graff!" He shouted. If all their leaflets and their propaganda worked for her, then great, but sitting around with a bunch of ex junkies all talking about their feelings had never been his idea of support.

"When was the last time you took drugs?"

"Why does it matter when?"

"I need to know!"

"It was years ago, okay! I've been clean for years."

"Exactly how long have you been clean?" She asked again, stubborn in her need for knowledge.

"You know what? I don't need this." Jordan replied, heading for the door. Talking with Edward and his friends was one thing, but dealing with Sharon's questions was just too much.

"But we need to talk about this." Sharon protested, "You can't just leave."

"Watch me." he said, and with that he was gone leaving Sharon shaking with a mixture of anger, confusion and hurt.

"Seven years, six months and 5 days, give or take"

Sharon jumped at the sound of the new voice, and turned to see Shane standing in the door way. She had no idea how long he had been there or how much he had overheard and in her confusion, his words didn't sink in. "What?"

"That's how long it's been since he asked me to lend him the money for rehab." Shane replied. "He hasn't used anything since, as far as I know. Paid me back every cent too."

"You knew about this?"

"Well, yeah."

"And you didn't think to tell me? You didn't think that you should, you know, mention it in passing, when you were laying down ultimatums to me about my son?" She asked, transferring her anger to Shane now that he was the only other one in the room.

Torn between understanding her fears and loyalty to his best friend, it was loyalty that won out but, rather than get angry and shout back, Shane tried to keep a level head. "It's all in the past. Don't you think you're overreacting just a bit?"

"Overreacting? I'm overreacting? How the hell am I supposed to react when I find out about something like this? All I've heard from Edward for weeks is how great he thinks Jordan is, how cool! How he wants to be just like him!"

"But he's not."

"What?"

"Edward's not like Jordan." Shane said, "I mean, yeah, they've got stuff in common and they sort of look alike, which is kind of freaky because it's like Jordan's got a mini-me, but they're, like, two completely different people, mainly because Edward's got you."

She wanted to shout something back but as his calm tone and the truth of what he said sank in, she seemed to loose steam. Edward was her son. He had been brought up with her morals and her beliefs and she had to have faith in him and that he'd follow the right path. The question was, could she have any faith in Jordan?

"Jordan knows he fucked up big time and it's not going to happen again." Shane tried to assure her.

"You can't know that."

"But I know him." Shane persisted. "If he wanted to get back into that shit, he knows the right people to go to to get what he wants but he doesn't. He stays away from all of that. I mean, if we're somewhere and he so much as sees someone roll a spliff, he's out of there."

"That's just great. He's a drug addict who still hangs out with drug dealers and other addicts. Fantastic."

"Rayanne hangs out with some of the same people. In bars too. Doesn't mean she's going to be drinking and drugging."

"That's different."

"Is it? Weren't you just comparing them a minute ago?"

"Rayanne goes to AA. She has a system in place to stop her falling off the wagon." Sharon persisted. "Jordan doesn't have support like that."

"Sure, he does. He's got me" Shane said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood when he felt anything but light. It was an old guilt that lay heavy on his shoulders. Guilt that he hadn't done more to stop it, guilt that he had never realised just how bad things had gotten until it was too late. He knew that none of it was his fault. He had stayed at home while Jordan had moved away and for a long time their only contact had been via telephone and the occasional road trip. Even if he had have been with Jordan the whole time, he doubted it would have been any different. At the time, it had seemed that Jordan was hell bent on self destruction and it was only once he had gotten past whatever issues had driven him to it that he was able to pull himself back together. Still, Shane was determined that it was never going to happen again and the more people he had to help him with that the better. "Now, he's got Edward and you too."

"I don't know if I can trust him." She admitted. "It scares the hell out of me. What do I do? Do I just not let Edward see him anymore? Would that even work?"

"No, don't do that." Shane said, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulling her close "If you don't trust him, please just trust me."

"Actually, I do." Sharon replied. "But if he ever takes drugs around Edward, it'll be the last time he sees him and you can tell him I said that."

When Sharon had daydreamed about being in Shane's arms, it had been under entirely different circumstances but, despite the worry and fear in her mind, she was glad he was there. If there was anytime she needed a hug, it was now.

Edward walked towards Jordan's apartment feeling just as nervous as he had the first time he had walked that same street. When he had left, his mother had been shouting at Shane and he vaguely wondered whether they had realized he was no longer there. The shouting had been enough for Mike and Steve to want to bail and Edward really couldn't blame them. That was why he left with them but none of them had had much fun hanging out and cruising around town. It hadn't taken a lot for Edward to convince Mike to drop him off down the road from Jordan's place but now he wasn't so sure that he was doing the right thing. Just like the first time he had confronted Jordan, he was thinking about what he should say, trying out opening lines in his head so that the words would come out right. He wanted to say that it didn't matter that Jordan had failed as a professional musician. He wanted to say that it didn't matter that his past was less than glowing and that nothing had changed but that wasn't completely true and he thought that they would both know it.

It wasn't that Jordan had changed. Jordan was still the same person as when Edward had met him. He was still the same person that Edward had been getting to know in the relatively short time since then. What had really changed was Edward or rather Edward's perception of the father he had come to like, to even sort of love. He supposed that he'd put Jordan on some kind of pedestal and rather than pushing him off, Jordan had taken a leap back down to earth. He'd demonstrated in the most indisputable way that he wasn't some kind of god after all. He had, like, flaws that ran deeper than anything Edward could have imagined. Yet, despite all of that Edward didn't want to walk away and he didn't want Jordan to walk away either. The problem was how to explain that in actual sentences that would make sense.

He rounded the corner of the bakery and Jordan was standing in the exact same spot as when Edward had first visited him, leaning against the railing at the top of the steps with a signature Marlborough in hand. Just like that time, all of his half planned openings were forgotten and he could only stare upwards in silence.

"Hey," Jordan said, breaking the awkward silence that threatened to develop.

"Hey," Edward replied, as he climbed the stairs and tried to put his thoughts into some recognizable order. He thought it would be up to him to continue speaking but, as he struggled, it was Jordan who broke the silence once more.

"Does Sharon, like, know you're here?"

"No," Edward replied truthfully, "but I've still got an hour or so before curfew so…"

He allowed the sentence to trail off and shrugged before he leaned forward against the cold metal railing, unconsciously mirroring Jordan's pose. They stood side by side, gazing into the dusk filled street, each trying to decide whether this was a conversation they really wanted to have or whether circumstances would force it upon them regardless. This time the silence that stood between them was only filled by the strains of Kashmir flowing through the open door of Jordan's apartment.

"Zeppelin rule." Edward said as the second verse kicked in.

"Yeah, they rock."

"So…urm… do you, like, have the chords?"

"Not written down," Jordan replied, with a shake of his head before turning to look at Edward. "But I could, like, show you… I mean, if you want?"

Although his expression was a mask of neutrality, Edward thought he saw a glimmer of what he could only describe as hope in Jordan's eyes

"Yeah. Okay" he said in a voice just as neutral as Jordan's while the corners of his mouth curled up ever so slightly.

It wasn't quite a smile but it was enough for Jordan to flick the remains of his cigarette into the street below and turn to head inside. Edward followed a step behind, breathing a sigh of relief at the apparent ease of it all. If his mother had been there, she wouldn't have been able to drop the subject without running it into the ground. Maybe some people would argue that they hadn't picked up the subject at all but Edward didn't mind. Yes, things were different and, yes, maybe one day they would talk about it more but for the moment it didn't matter. It was what it was. The past couldn't be changed but, seeing as Jordan seemed to want to draw line under it and move on, Edward was happy to oblige because, for some reason, he had the feeling that everything would be ok in the end.

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Thanks for reading! Please R&R


	25. Chapter 25

Angela was just about to reach for her phone to find out where the hell Rayanne was this time, when her attention was drawn to the street outside the diner by the deep growling of the motorcycle that pulled up outside. Her jaw dropped and a single glance at Sharon confirmed that she was wearing a similar expression. They were still sitting open mouthed when Rayanne skipped across the room and deposited herself breathlessly in the seat opposite them, bike helmet still in hand.

"What?" Rayanne asked as she took a seat and noticed their shocked expressions, before shaking out her long, wavy locks. "Do I have helmet hair?"

"Who was that?" Angela asked, referring to the leather clad driver of the motorcycle which had already weaved back into the passing traffic and disappeared from view.

"That was Frankie."

"I thought he was an artist, not a Hell's Angel?" Sharon asked. "Not to mention a one night stand?"

"Last night was officially our fourth one night stand." Rayanne smiled. "Anyway, he is an artist. He makes sculptures by welding things together. Think Flashdance without leg warmers or 80s inspired montage dancing and a whole lot more sex. Plus, he looks great in leather and so do I."

"How can it be a one night stand if there's been more than one?" Angela queried in confusion.

"One night stand? Casual, no strings sex? Fuck buddies? What's the diff?" Rayanne replied. "I mean, we're definitely not dating. We just happen to bump into each other around town occasionally and, when we do, one thing tends to lead to another."

"But isn't that a little on the empty side?" Sharon asked. "I mean, if you like him, why don't you actually date him or something?"

"And if they're just one night stands, why did you keep the bike helmet?" Angela pointed out.

"One night stands one to four were, like, wow. I mean, really. It's like we have this animalistic attraction and just can't control ourselves. I figure, why not give him an excuse to come over for round five." Rayanne shrugged.

"Sounds like more than casual, no strings sex to me." Sharon challenged but Rayanne just rolled her eyes

"If it makes you happy, I promise I'll make him buy me dinner if we ever make it to our tenth one night stand, okay? I'll even tell him I'm not really 32." Rayanne smirked. "Anyway, last night I was hanging out with Tino at Vertigo and that's where I bumped into him. Frankie, I mean, but Jordan Catalano was there too."

"Oh?"

To Angela, Sharon's tone of voice displayed equal measures of curiosity and desire to stop this topic of conversation before it even got started. It mirrored exactly the way she was feeling. She had, of course, heard everything from Sharon and she was just as bewildered as her and also sort of hurt in a weird way that was hard to define. It wasn't as if Jordan Catalano had done drugs when he had been part of her life, so she had no right to be hurt by his actions. She supposed it was disappointment more than anything else but there was also some anger mixed in with her feelings. When they had been together, he was always so responsible. Sure, he used to drink at parties but he had always seemed like he was in control. He never took it to excess like some of his friends did and she had never had to carry him home like she had done with Rayanne on more than one occasion. He always said that he knew too much about the crazy stuff people did when they got too drunk, he knew about how they hurt the people they were supposed to love the most. It didn't take a genius to realize that he was referring to the way his father often behaved and, even though she knew that he would never physically hurt her, it had been comforting to know that he wanted to protect her. How could some one with that attitude go on to do something so reckless as experiment with illegal substances? You certainly couldn't tell just by looking at him and she had to admit, even if it was just to herself, that she had been looking a lot.

"Yeah. He played a set of angst ridden, melancholy tunes, which the audience seemed to dig for some reason, and then sat by the bar nursing a beer for a couple of hours. He was…not much fun, actually." Rayanne continued

"And you're telling me this because?" Sharon asked while Angela tried to not look as interested in the answer as she was.

"Because I thought you might want to know. I tried talking to him about my AA and NA groups but he wasn't exactly enthusiastic or, well, interested at all."

"I still can't believe it." Sharon said. "One minute he's offering me actual money, telling me he wants to contribute financially to Edward's upbringing and the next he's telling the kids about drugs. I mean, the thought of it is just wrong. Urgh, I hate shots! I could never do that to myself."

"Flu shots and getting the best high of your life are not exactly the same thing. Not that I'd know, or anything. I might have partied too hard in my wild days but I never partied that hard. But, if you think about it, it's not that surprising. Musicians and drugs go together like…two things that go together. Take, for instance, Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain…I could go on."

"Rayanne, they're all dead!" Sharon pointed out.

"Fine, you want living examples, how about Scott Welland, Steve Tyler, Amy friggin' Winehouse?"

"Aren't they all still battling their addictions?"

"Whatever. My point is, it's not unheard of and, if you take everything into consideration, Jordan Catalano is a walking wet dream for any sociology major in need of a case study for their final paper."

Angela wouldn't have put it in those words but she supposed Rayanne had a point. Jordan grew up in a single parent household with an alcoholic, sometimes abusive father and suffered from literacy problems for his whole school career. In terms of statistics, he was probably lucky not to be a burnt out greaser with no teeth and a parole officer. However, she still couldn't reconcile the Jordan Catalano she knew with the images she saw of drug addicts in movies or on TV. In some ways, she now had the perfect reason to stay away from him because what he had done was just not nice. It was beyond distasteful. She would even go as far as to call it seedy. However, in other ways, it seemed to add to his attractiveness, which she knew was so completely wrong but she couldn't help it. It was like he was some kind of tortured soul in need of understanding and nurturing. She couldn't believe she was trying to put some kind of romantic spin on it but that was what she was doing and all she was achieving was more confusion within herself.

"Anyway, how much money are we talking?" Rayanne asked, bringing Angela out of her thoughts to tune back into the conversation again.

"We didn't get as far as the particulars. It was just a general, unspecified offer he wanted me to consider and we haven't really talked about it since."

"Why not?" Angela asked, deciding it was time for her to actively participate rather than just listen in.

"We're back to doing that faux divorcee thing where we're incapable of communicating with each other beyond me making it clear that I am not impressed and him making it clear that he doesn't give two hoots what I think." Sharon explained. "He's still, like, making an effort to spend time with Edward though. Not that I'm entirely convinced at this point that that's a good thing."

"How's Edward taking it?"

"Oh, he's great. I'm the basket case."

"Amy and Rebecca are just the same." Angela had sat them both down to have a discussion on the dangers of drugs but it had gone down just as well as her attempts to talk to them about sex and she still wasn't sure whether they had actually listened to anything she said or not.

" Of course they're great. They've got other things on their minds." Rayanne chipped in. "If I were Amy and Rebecca, running around with Mike and Eddie, I wouldn't be worrying about Jordan Catalano's capricious youth either. "

"The only thing they've got on their mind at the moment is the competition at Pike Street. Shane has been an absolute godsend when it comes to the band. I don't know what the boys would have done without him. Apart from drive me insane, that is. He's been really good with all this stuff with Jordan too." Sharon admitted. "He's always trying to make me feel better about it. Like, reassure me everything's all ok, or something. So, of course, I've repaid him by taking complete advantage of him."

"Ooh, this sounds juicy." Rayanne smiled in delight. "Just how would one take advantage of Shane Wright?"

"Not like you're thinking! I just meant that I've been using him as a way of communicating with Jordan. He's basically piggy in the middle of our little domestic insanity which cannot be a fun place to be."

"He wouldn't be doing it if he didn't want to." Angela pointed out.

"I suppose," Sharon shrugged. She was grateful he was there but she was worried that he would think she was trying to make him choose a side. She was even more worried that he would choose Jordan's. The truth was, she was kind of getting used to him hanging around the house and she liked that he was there. Once the competition was over, he may well decide that his obligations to the band were over and she was beginning to think that, if that happened, she would sort of miss him. A few weeks ago, if someone had said to her that she would soon be thinking of Shane as someone she could depend upon, as her rock, she would have called them mad but that was what was happening and she had no idea how to tell him just how much she appreciated him being there for her and Edward. "You guys are still coming to Pike Street, right? To help me cheer them on?"

"Of course," Rayanne replied. "And I still say we should make a night of it. Clubbing, sleep over at my place, the whole nine yards."

"I don't know." Angela said, torn between wanting to keep an eye on the girls and feeling too old for rock concerts and clubbing. "I don't have anything to wear to a place like Pike Street anymore, let alone night clubs."

"Well, I'll lend you something." Rayanne responded, knowing that she would be able to talk Angela into attending. "You're up for a girls night, aren't you, Sharon?"

"Edward's been hinting at throwing some kind of after show party at the house but he's giving pretty big hints that he'd prefer to have the place to himself."

"Like I said, you can stay at my place. It'll be like old times."

"It's not like I'm leaving him for a quiet night home alone. He's going to be all hyper after playing at Pike Street. They all will. I keep having nightmares that I'll come home and the house will be trashed." Sharron replied.

"Really? What's the worst that could happen?" Rayanne asked.

"One of them could handcuff themselves to Sharon's bed." Angela dryly suggested.

"Yeah, like Sharon even owns handcuffs" Rayanne scoffed. She expected Sharon to sneer at her attempt at humor but her comment was met with an awkward half laugh. "Oh my god, you own handcuffs?"

"They don't belong to me, technically." Sharon replied, unable to believe that she was trying to explain herself. "You remember that guy, Thomas, who I used to date? He had a fetish."

"Didn't you date him, like, five years ago?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So why do you still have them?"

"Just because it was his fetish doesn't mean it wasn't fun occasionally." Sharon shrugged. "Waste not, want not?"

"Well, if you really wanted to take advantage of Shane, I think you've got the perfect tools." Rayanne laughed. "If all else fails, just tie him down and tell him to think of his happy place!"

"Maybe being handcuffed to Sharon's bed would be his happy place." Angela added with a chuckle of her own as Sharon started to blush.

They were still teasing her when the waitress finally arrived to take their order.

* * *

"Hey," Amy smiled as she felt Mike's familiar arm wrap around her waist. She didn't need to even turn from her locker to know it was him. She knew it from the way he smelled and the way his body seemed to mould itself to hers.

"Hey," he repeated back, pulling her closer and using his free hand to brush her hair away from her neck before leaning down to kiss her in the spot that always seemed to make her breath catch in her throat. The way she sighed and leaned back into him confirmed he was having the desired effect.

Amy was surprised that her brain was working at all but somehow she managed to string a coherent sentence together. "Did you talk to Edward?"

"Sure," Mike murmured into her ear has he transferred his lips from her neck to her ear lobe.

"What did he say?" she asked quickly, before her brain became completely addled.

"Urm, about what?" he softly replied, trailing kisses back down her neck

"About Jordan Catalano."

"Oh…yeah."

"I thought you said you talked to him!" Amy said, turning around in time to catch his sheepish expression.

"I did talk to him." he protested, soon realizing from the look that she was giving him that it was a lost cause. "…about the band."

"You were supposed to talk to him about Jordan Catalano, like I asked you to."

"The subject didn't come up. Come on, babe, what did you expect? It's not like we were going to have a deep and meaningful talk and cry or anything. That's, like, girl territory."

"But he needs to talk to someone because he's not talking to me or Rebecca about it. He just keeps saying that everything's fine."

"Maybe that's because everything is fine." Mike shrugged, taking full advantage of the fact that she was now facing him to capture her mouth with his.

For a moment, Amy was incapable of doing anything but kissing him eagerly back but, as much as she wanted to continue doing that, she eventually managed to pull away. "It's not fine. All he has talked about for weeks on end is Jordan Catalano this and Jordan Catalano that. Now that something huge has happened, we get nothing. Sharon's freaking out, my Mom's been making 'just say no' speeches but Edward's hardly talked about it. It's not normal."

"Since when was Edward normal?" Mike joked, leaning in for another kiss only to have his advances spurned.

"I'm being serious." Amy replied, leaning back to prevent him from kissing her again. She knew that once he did, this conversation would be over. "I'm, like, concerned. So is Rebecca."

"You're both worrying about nothing."

"Look, they're coming now." Amy said as Rebecca and Edward came into view walking hand in hand down the corridor towards Edward's locker. "Please just talk to him."

"Now?" Mike asked, cupping her ass and squeezing slightly, making it clear that he'd rather be not talking with her somewhere more private.

"Yes, now." Any rolled her eyes before reaching behind her to grab his wrists and remove his hands from her body.

Mike groaned as she stared to pull him towards the other couple but there was nothing he could do to change her mind. It was clearly already made up so he would just have to put his naughty thoughts on hold and try his luck again later, after he had had the required talk with Edward. He just hoped said talk would be over quickly.

Forgoing any form of greeting, Amy stopped in front of Rebecca. "You need to come to the girl's room with me. Like, right now"

"What?" Rebecca asked in confusion. From Edward's expression, she knew he had no idea what was going on and as Mike leaned back against the lockers, his expression was unreadable. He was giving off hints of boredom but was also looking at Amy like she was doing something to amuse him. "What's going on."

"Nothing." Amy replied a little too quickly. "Nothing at all. I just need to speak to you. You know, about that thing….that thing you wanted to talk about."

Rebecca's face started to scrunch in even more confusion but some serious wide-eyed shakes of Amy's head in Edward's and Mike's direction helped the penny to drop. "Oh! Right, that thing!"

"What thing?" Edward asked.

"Nothing." Rebecca said, aiming for a reassuring smile but producing something more like a grimace. "Just…girl stuff."

"Yeah, girl stuff." Amy agreed. "We've got to go and talk about girl stuff."

"Remind me at some point to teach Amy the meaning of the word subtlety." Mike said as he watched the girls hightail it to the nearest restroom

"What's going on?" Edward asked as soon as the girls had disappeared from view.

"They want me to talk to you about Jordan Catalano. Apparently, you've not been sharing your feelings enough, or whatever, and now they're all, like, concerned."

"Everything's fine."

"That's what I said but you know what chicks are like." Mike shrugged. "I guess they just think you should be talking about it more, or something."

"What's there to talk about? I mean, if he was still doing all of that stuff then, yes. There would be something to talk about but he isn't so it's just not an issue. Besides, how can I be stressed out about stuff that happened before I even knew him?"

"Are you sure?" Mike asked, uncertainly. Edward's frown and the set of his jaw didn't exactly look stress free. Until Amy started wigging out he'd been quite happy to accept Edward's line of 'everything's fine' and not think about it any further but maybe she had a point after all.

"What do you want to me say? That I'm pissed off? That I'm…"Edward shook his head and continued to throw text books into his locker, each one landing with a load thud, rather than finish the sentence. He didn't want to finish it because to do so would be to admit his fears aloud and the last thing he wanted to do was admit he was scared that Jordan would relapse. His fears were partly his own fault. They were the result of too much curiosity and an overactive imagination but that didn't make them any less real.

He and Jordan had talked about things and, while it wasn't exactly easy, he'd soon come to realize that Jordan would answer any question he asked without trying to put an kind of spin of it. He had come to realize that Jordan didn't lie. So, when he said that he didn't do that any more, Edward believed him. But it turned out that Edward liked Jordan's honesty a little too much because he kept asking questions and Jordan kept answering them until Edward understood the meaning of the phrase 'too much information' all too well. He knew about the good times and the bad times; he knew about crazy stuff Jordan had done to fund his habit; he knew about Jordan becoming so strung out that he couldn't get up on stage and perform, let alone write music; he knew what withdrawal felt like; and he knew about Jordan's stint in rehab. Some of the things Jordan told him actually made him glad that Jordan hadn't been part of his life at that time, which was a complete contrast to the way he had been feeling the last few weeks. Rather than wishing that he had known Jordan all of his life, he was now sort of relieved that he hadn't had to witness all of the bad stuff first hand.

After rehab, Jordan had never touched drugs again but that didn't mean he hadn't been tempted. Jordan freely admitted that there were times when he had nearly lost it but, somehow, he had managed to hold it together. Edward supposed that was what having an addiction meant, always craving something but having to master the art of self denial. The only person he could think to compare Jordan to was Rayanne but that didn't really help put things into perspective. Alcohol and drugs weren't quite the same thing but they both could destroy lives if taken to the extreme. Rayanne may have been sober for a long time now but it was no secret that over the years she had fallen off the wagon on numerous occasions and she still used the phrase 'once a drunk, always a drunk' to describe her situation. But he had grown up thinking of her as a sort of crazy aunt. Falling off the wagon every now and then was part of who she was. By age eight both he and Amy knew the signs that meant she was drinking again just as well as their parents did and she always seemed to pull herself back together before things got too bad. The phrase 'once a junkie, always a junkie' didn't sit as easy with him, especially when he was applying it to his father. The thought that Jordan might one day give in to his temptations, just as Rayanne occasionally gave into hers, was eating away at him. He had no idea what signs to look out for when it came to Jordan and he didn't even want to think about what would happen if Jordan did relapse but couldn't pull it back like Rayanne always managed to.

The girls were right when they said he should be talking more but who could he talk to? It wasn't as if he and Amy really had any alone time anymore. When they were together, Mike and Rebecca were invariably there as well or at least not far away. When it came to Rebecca, alone time meant he usually had other things on his mind and given a choice of having an angst filled conversation about something he had no control over or making out, he knew which option he would chose. He couldn't talk to Sharon about it because she was freaking out enough as it was. Shane probably knew more about it than anyone else but whenever he was at the house, the rest of the band was there too. Even after practice, it was impossible to speak to him privately because Sharon was always there, practically fawning over him. As for Mike, he was the last person Edward wanted to have this conversation with because, if his worst fears did come true and Jordan did give into temptation, Edward had a pretty good idea who he'd turn to to get his fix.

"I know it's, like, unexpected but it's all in the past. I mean, he's not into that scene anymore." Mike tried, hoping to sound reassuring. "It's not a big deal."

"Yeah. You would say that."

The sudden anger in Edward's voice and the fact that it was directed at him took Mike by surprise but after a second he managed to speak. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, a drug dealer would think it's not a big deal, right?"

"I'm not a -" Mike started to protest but Edward cut in.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot. You're not a dealer. You just deliver things for Tino."

"Keep your voice down, dude" Mike replied, eyes darting up and down the corridor to check if anyone had overheard.

Edward ignored him though and continued regardless. "You ever think about what happens to the shit you peddle? Who takes it? What it does to them and their families? I mean, who knows how many strung out people in the tri country area are waiting for your next delivery."

Mike would have had to admit that no, he didn't think of any of that stuff because it was easier not to. However, he didn't get the chance to reply before Edward continued.

"You probably don't even care. You just go along with whatever Tino says." Edward said, banging his locker shut. He knew none of it was really Mike's fault but now that he had focused his anger and frustration at something it was impossible for him to stop. "I bet Tino would be glad if Jordan did start taking drugs again. One more person to make money off of. Hell, I bet he'd have you deliver the stuff to Jordan personally."

With one last glare at Mike, he stomped off down the corridor, leaving his friend staring in shock at his retreating back.

"Shit." Mike said as he closed his eyes and leaned back against the locker, intentionally bumping it with the back of his head in frustration. To say that that conversation hadn't gone as expected would be the understatement of the year. He was still leaning when a semi authoritative voice reached his ears.

"Everything ok, Michael?" Brian asked

Mike looked at him for a moment, trying to decide if he had been eavesdropping all along, but the look of mildest concern on Brian's face convinced him otherwise. If Brian had heard anything, he doubted he would have stopped to chat. He'd just have frog marched him down to the Principle's office instead. Still, he wasn't in the mood to play nice. "Uh, people don't call me Michael, except like my Grandmother, and she's dead."

"Oh, okay. I'll try to…"Brian started but trailed off awkwardly when he realized the teen wasn't really listening to his response. It seemed as if Michael, no Mike, was one of the few students he hadn't been able to win over with what his wife called his mixture of adult authority and geek boy charm. Trying to remember the advice Mrs. Learner gave about reaching out to the kids even if they don't take the next step, he offered what he hoped sounded like encouragement. "Anyway, I'm glad you changed your mind."

"About what?"

"About the extra credit assignment." Brian's smile faltered as he took in Mike's look of incomprehension. "Remember, we talked about it?"

"Yeah, and I said I wasn't interested."

"But you changed your mind." Brian replied, trying to make it sound more like a statement than a question.

"I'm positive I didn't." Mike replied, wondering what planet his math teacher was on.

"Well, here's the signup sheet." Brian said, producing a piece of paper with names scrawled on it with a flourish." I mean, that's your name right there, isn't it?"

True enough, his name was right there. It was written in Amy's unmistakable scruffy handwriting just above her own name. He couldn't believe she had signed him up without asking him. He couldn't believe that Krakow actually expected him to, like, attend.

"We're having the first meeting today after school so I guess I'll see you there." Brian said with funny looking, triumphant sort of grin on his face.

Before Mike could protest further, Brian had stepped around him and disappeared into the flow of students heading towards the cafeteria.

"I cannot believe they let people like that teach." Mike said but the few students still loitering in the hallway either didn't hear or weren't taking any notice. So far, his day was going from bad to worse and he didn't like it one bit.

* * *

Damon got out of his car and looked at the gifts he was baring with trepidation. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. He figured he'd do something nice that Angela would appreciate. Flowers always got a smile from her and a chilled glass of her favorite Pinot Grigio waiting for her with a candle lit bubble bath was bound to be appreciated when she got home from her night class. However, instead of arriving home to an empty driveway, her car was parked in front of the garage and his idea suddenly seemed stupid. As if attempting to put the romance back in their marriage was going to have any affect what so ever. He hated the expression, even. It made it sound as if romance was this thing you misplace when really all it is was glossing. The flowers might look nice and the wine would taste great but neither would be a magic wand. It wouldn't actually fix anything, even if he could identify what exactly needed fixing in their relationship. Also, he knew that she would see straight through it. For at least the past decade, the purchasing of flowers meant only one thing; he had done something she wouldn't like and was trying to make up for it. Technically, he hadn't actually done anything this time but he was thinking about it and his pre-emptive apology would not change the fact that Angela would not be impressed. Hell, he wasn't impressed. If it had come at any other time he would have been jumping at the bit but it was the worst timing possible.

"Hey, I'm home." Damon shouted as he opened the front door. "Angela, Amy?"

"In here," Angela shouted from the kitchen, continuing when she heard his footsteps heading in her direction. "Amy will be home soon. She stayed late at school for an extra credit assignment for trigonometry."

"Extra credit? Didn't she end up in a bar last time she used that story?"

"Oh, I checked. Brian Krakow tried to, like, explain the purpose of whatever it is they're doing to me. It's definitely legit this time." She replied, as she flicked through her cook book. Her eyes were still down, looking at the ingredients list when she felt his arms go around her waist. Rather than pull her into a hug as she expected, his arms continued to extend until the red tulips and wine he had bought were all she could see in front of her. She gasped in happy surprise but when she spoke, her voice contained more than a pinch of suspicion. "What did you do?"

"What? Can't a guy surprise his beautiful wife without having an ulterior motive?" He replied, kissing her neck

"Not in this state." she replied, but she couldn't help smiling and turning in his arms to be able to kiss him back.

"What are you doing home anyway? I thought you had class tonight."

"It was cancelled again." Angela frowned. On the one hand, she was glad she had received the message before she had driven all the way to the college but, on the other, she was disappointed and she knew that not all of her disappointment came from the fact that the class was not going ahead. It came from the fact that she was not going to be anywhere near the vicinity of the campus. She couldn't even pretend that she had a 'whatever happens, happens' attitude or that it was all up to fate because it was a complete non-starter. The funny thing was, she wasn't even completely sure that she wanted to see him, and by 'him' she of course meant Jordan Catalano. What would she even say to him, knowing what she now knew about him? What polite conversation could she possibly make with him when she had spent a great deal of her lunch hour discussing him with Sharon and Rayanne? But, until she saw him, how could she be certain that she forgave him? Not that she was sure forgive was actually the right word. It wasn't like he actually owed her an apology and she didn't really expect him to offer one. Also, if they did meet, she doubted their conversation would be polite. After all, last time he spoke to her, he asked her to have sex with him and, even though she had sort of convinced herself that he had not been serious, she was kind of curious as to whether he would ask again and what her response would be. She knew that the response should be a loud and definite 'no' but she had the feeling that she would be unable to manage nothing more than a repeat of her shocked cackle. Mentally shaking herself, she decided to concentrate on the man in front of her and no one else. "It's nice we're both home a little earlier. We can spend some time before Amy get's home."

"I like the sound of that." Damon smiled.

"I still want to know what the surprise is in aid of though." Angela smiled back, rather than allowing him to pull her in for another kiss.

"It's a celebration…of sorts." Damon replied, producing another questioning look from his wife. "I landed the account."

"The Kansas City building?"

"They're going to call it the Sprint Center." Damon nodded.

"Damon, that's fantastic! You worked so hard." Angela exclaimed but it soon became apparent that his enthusiasm didn't reach the expected levels. "I don't understand."

"When they told me, I couldn't believe it. Landing it means that I'm really doing this. This is my job, this is my life! I mean, this project was bigger than anything I'd ever done and, for that moment it was all that mattered. I thought there was no way they couldn't make me an offer now. I thought for sure that would get me promotion. I mean, in that one deal I brought in more revenue than the rest of the office has all year."

"So, they didn't offer you promotion?" She asked. She knew exactly how hard he had been working and just how disappointed he would be.

"No. They've offered me a temporary position covering for one of the senior partners while he takes a sabbatical. I guess they want to see how well I cope with the pressure before they commit to anything permanent."

"But that's still good, right? I mean, so what if they get to try before they buy? You know you'll do more than just cope." She didn't understand why he wasn't jumping for joy. It might not be exactly what he was hoping for but it sounded like a pretty big step in the right direction. Unfortunately, his next words explained everything.

"It's in the Memphis office."

For a second, she could only stare at him in disbelief. "Memphis? As in Memphis, Tennessee?"

"Yeah."

"As in country music and Graceland?"

"Yeah."

"But that's miles away! Memphis? What are they thinking? You can't just go to Memphis!"

"I told them I'd think about it. If I say yes, I'll have fly out at the end of the week."

"The end of the week! It's Wednesday tomorrow!"

"Yeah, they want an answer in the morning."

"How long for?"

"A month. Maybe two."

"I can't believe you're going to Memphis. I mean, really!"

"Nothing's decided yet."

"Of course it's decided. You bought the damn flowers, didn't you?" Angela replied angrily as she pushed her way out of his arms and stomped in the direction of the stairs.

"Oh honey, come on" he pleaded as he followed her out

"Damon!"

"Honey! It's what I've been working towards for years." Damon replied but she just glared at him. "So, you don't want me to go?"

Part of him was secretly happy that she was putting up resistance to the idea. Things couldn't be that wrong between them if she didn't want him to go work away for a while. The more insecure part of him wanted her to beg him to stay and proclaim that she couldn't cope without him for that long. He may not be getting quite that reaction but her anger and annoyance put him at ease much more than eager compliance would. However, another part of him was longing for her blessing because it really was what he had been working towards since he had joined the firm. If he passed up on this opportunity, who knew if he would ever be given a second chance? However, he didn't get a chance to hear her reply. Amy chose that moment to burst in the front door followed closely by Mike.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Ask your father." Angela answered through gritted teeth before fleeing up the stairs and slamming her bedroom door firmly behind her.

"Nothing, sweetheart." Damon placated. " I just might be going away on Friday for work. Just for a little while."

"Bummer," Amy replied, with a shrug. "You're going to miss the band play at Pike street."

Damon watched open mouthed as his daughter walked past him, following the path of her mother to the top of the stairs before deviating into her own room. Her boyfriend trailed closely behind, giving a slight nod and a murmured 'Yo, Mr B." as he passed but that was the extent of the reaction he received from the juvenile population. Of course, they had other things on their minds.

* * *

Mike stayed at Amy's house for as long as he could but he had to leave eventually. Staying any longer would have raised more question from Amy than he would be able to answer about why he was missing band practice. Even with the stupid extra credit assignment she had roped him into acting as a distraction, it had been hard enough avoiding her questions about what he and Edward had discussed when they had their talk and he didn't want to raise any suspicions that there was something wrong. Well, any more suspicions than she already had. He was sure she believed his line of 'everything's fine' just as much as she believed Edward.

However, as he parked his car outside the Cherski residence, he wasn't sure that he was doing the right thing. Since their little hallway chat, Edward had hardly looked at him and hadn't spoken to him at all, not even in shop class where they normally partnered up. No, that afternoon Edward had bypassed Mike's work bench in favor of Jake's over the other side of the room. As far as Mike was concerned Jake was still the biggest jerk in school and until then he thought that Edward shared his opinion. Edward must have been severely pissed off to take choose Jake over him. If he was too pissed off to share a work bench, Mike doubted that his presence would be welcome in Edwards home. The thought hurt him more than he expected, not that he would admit that to Edward, but he didn't like being at odds with his best friend. He had enough stress in his life without falling out with Edward adding to it. So, rather than think about that, he took the easier route and got mad instead. Edward might not agree with the way he lived and the jobs he did for Tino but that was nothing to do with the band. They were two completely different things and the band was just as much his as it was Edward's so if Edward didn't want him to be there, it was tough luck.

"You're late." Edward growled as soon as Mike stepped into the garage.

Rather than reply, Mike gave him a one figured salute as he walked across the room and picked up his guitar. In itself, that wouldn't exactly be an uncommon occurrence but the happy smirk he would normally be wearing to show that it was in jest was replaced with a scowl to match Edward's.

If either thought that the frostiness between them had gone unnoticed, they were mistaken. Shane looked at them in confusion before turning to Steve, only to find the same look of confusion mirrored in his features, and the teen could only shrug to indicate that he had no idea what was going on between the other boys. Deciding that the best course of action was to ignore it and just get on with practice, Shane picked up his sticks and sat down behind his kit.

"Ok, let's run through the whole set. From the top, ready on four?" he asked.

The replies he received where less enthusiastic than he had become used to but when he counted them in, the boys started playing and they got off to a pretty good start. However, the music failed to heal whatever breach had developed between Edward and Mike and it wasn't long before the bitching and moaning started. What started out as eye rolling and huffing at the slightest wobble soon degenerated into verbal insults which the boys didn't even try to hide under their breath. Unsurprisingly, as tempers started to fray, small wobbles started to turn into actual mistakes, the insults got more personal and Shane started to reach the end of his tether.

"That's it. I'm out of here." Shane said after some particularly colorful choice phrases where shouted across the room.

It took a second for Mike and Edward to realize that he had gotten up and was making his way to the door but when they did, they both seemed surprised, as if they hadn't noticed the effect their behavior was having on the rest of the band.

"Hey, where're you going?" Mike asked

"Yeah, we're not done yet. We've only been practicing for an hour." Edward said.

"This isn't practicing. This is you two acting like dicks." Shane replied, not concerned about holding back either. "I didn't sign up to baby-sit brats squabbling like first graders."

"So, what? You're just going to quit? You're going to quit the band?"

"Did I say I was quitting the band?" Shane asked rhetorically, "No. I'm going to go where the grown up people are, have a few beers and relax where I don't have to listen to little kids yell at each other. I'm probably insane but I will be back tomorrow and you guys had better get your act together by then or maybe I will quit."

It was a false threat but he thought the teens looked suitably mollified as he turned to leave. Even though he knew the boys would find a more suitable drummer sooner or later, one closer to their own age anyway, he was having far too much fun to drop out now. He was actually looking forward to the competition but if Edward and Mike continued to argue, there was no way they would play as well as they were capable of, if they made it there at all. He couldn't think of a more suitable kick up the behind then the threat of him ditching on them. The only drawback was that he wouldn't be able to say goodbye to Sharon on his way out, which he felt was kind of rude on his behalf. However, the thought only occurred to him after he had started storming out and it wouldn't have nearly as much effect if he turned around again.

"It's your fault." Edward said sullenly as the garage door swung shut.

"You're the one who started it." Mike replied, just as churlish.

"Dick for brains."

"Fuckwad."

"For God's sake," Steve interrupted, fed up of watching them bicker as well. "Shane's right. You're both acting like cretins. I'm out of here too. Please kiss and make up before tomorrow or I'll kill you both."

They watched their bassist leave just as swiftly as their drummer and an awkward silence descended on them as they each avoided eye contact and bit back recriminations.

"Do you think he's going to go where the grown up people are too?" Edward asked after a moment.

"Nah. They'd only let him in if they're mentally retarded." Mike replied, pretending not to notice the twitch of a smile on Edward's face before he got his scowl in place again. "A few beers sound good though. I bet Shane'll end up in Vertigo."

"Yeah, probably. Maybe Jordan'll be there too."

"I heard he played a really good set there last night. Tino said…" Mike let the sentence drift off as he remembered how they had come to argue in the first place. For the next minute, it seemed as if the strings on his guitar became the most interesting things in the universe and his fingers busied themselves making minute adjustments as he tried to figure out what to say next. "I wouldn't, you know?"

"Wouldn't what?"

"In this hypothetical scenario you've cooked up to drive yourself insane, if Tino asked me to take anything to Jordan, I wouldn't."

"Why not?"

"Just…Just because."

"Hypothetically, you wouldn't." Edward replied. "But what if he really asked you?"

"Dude, I just said I wouldn't!" Mike said. "What makes you think it's ever going to happen, anyway?"

"I dunno." Edward shrugged, unsure how to explain his worries. "I mean, I trust him…I do… but how well do I know him? I mean, if he ever, you know hypothetically, how would I know?"

"You'd know." Mike replied with grim surety. He had seen a lot of things since he started to work for his uncle and it was definitely not a glamorous job. Rather than get into any of that, he tried to refocus on the subject at hand. "Do you remember that day when we were sitting up on the bleachers and you asked if Jordan knew about some of the stuff Tino does?"

"Yeah."

"And I told you that when those guys started smoking pot, Jordan left?" Mike waited for Edward to nod before he carried on. "He left, man. Pot's nothing. I mean, how many stoners do we know in our year alone? But he doesn't want to be around even that so you've got nothing to worry about."

"I guess." Edward replied, feeling slightly more reassured. "But if there's ever a time when he's at Tino's place and he doesn't, like, leave, you'd tell me right?"

"Yeah. I've got your back, bro." Mike agreed. "So, we're cool?"

"We'd be cooler if you stopped being Tino's goafer." Edward tried, but the look he received in response was enough for him to admit defeat on that point, for now. "Yeah, we're cool. So, when they ask what this was all about what are we going to say?"

"Well, you obviously did something stupid, acted like douche bag. But it's ok, I forgive you."

"Oh, really?"

"You cried like a baby, begged my forgiveness. It was pitiful really. You may have even bared your soul."

"Yeah, it's been emotional." Edward replied with a roll of his eyes and a crooked smile as he wondered what embellishments Mike's imagination was giving to their little disagreement. "Wait a minute, we didn't have to hug, did we?"

"No," Mike said, looking at Edward as if he were mad. "Dude, we don't hug."

"Who doesn't hug?" Sharon asked as she pushed open the door from the kitchen and stepped into the garage. She hadn't taken more than a few steps before she stopped in her tracks, confusion growing by the lack of band members in attendance. "Where's Shane?…and Steve? I mean, where did everyone go?"

Edward might have been worried about whether his mother overheard more than Mike's last remark if he wasn't so busy trying not to notice that Shane's whereabouts seemed to be her top priority.

"He left."

"Yeah, he had to go." Mike added, "But he'll be back tomorrow, Mrs. C."

"Oh…Okay." Sharon replied, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice. Band practice normally went on for at least a couple more hours and pretty much every night Shane made a point of saying goodbye to her before he left. She kind of liked their goodnight conversations, especially the way they seemed to be lasting that little bit longer each time. Making an effort to appear normal, she handed the drinks over to the boys, successfully sideswiping Mike's attempt to grab what would have been Shane's beer instead of the soda intended for him, and made her way back to the kitchen. "Remember to switch everything off in here when you finish up."

"Yes, ma'am." Mike replied with mock salute as they watched the door swing shut behind her. As soon as the latch clicked, he turned to Edward with an amused smile. "Ha ha, your mom has got it so bad for Shane."

"Bite me."

Unfortunately, Edward's response only served to increase Mike's amusement. "Shane and Sharon sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-"

"Dude, don't go there. Seriously." Edward interrupted, throwing his guitar pick at Mike's chest.

"-i-n-g." Mike finished regardless, adding a smooching noise effect at the end as he flicked the guitar pick back.

"You are so dead." Edward replied, launching it right back along with the spare he had in his pocket, as he fought a smile.

"You and who's army, Cherski?" Mike asked, wearing a smirk of his own as he dodged the projectiles. "You throw like a girl."

"At least I don't look like one."

This kind of banter, as childish as it was, was a one hundred percent improvement on any real argument they might get into and both boys gave an internal sigh of relief as they realised that normal relations had resumed.

* * *

"Can someone get that?" Angela shouted as the shrill ring of the telephone filled the house but, after a few more rings, it became apparent that no one was going to. She huffed as she looked at her cookie dough covered hands before gingerly prizing the kitchen phone off the wall and trying to minimize the spread of sticky fingerprints.

"Hello?" she asked briskly, sure that it would be some kind of marketing call. People were always trying to sell her stuff when she was too busy to actually listen to whatever script they were following.

"Hey."

For a moment she stood in silence, too shocked at hearing the sound of his voice when she least expected it. "…Hi…" she managed at last, suddenly glad that neither her husband nor her daughter had answered the phone.

As he leaned against his own kitchen counter, Jordan's thoughts unknowingly took a similar theme. He didn't know what he would have done if Damon had answered. Hang up without saying anything, most likely. He might have even done the same if it was Amy who answered, but she hadn't. Angela had been the one to pick up the call and he really wasn't doing much better. 'Hey' hardly constituted starting a conversation. He knew that this was a bad idea. He knew that he shouldn't have called but it had been impossible to deny the urge. Now he just had to figure out what the hell to say. "So, urm…you weren't at school tonight? I mean, I didn't see you there and I normally, like, do?"

"No, my class was cancelled again. Our teacher is still sick."

Jordan breathed a sigh of relief. He expected her to say that she was there but she hadn't wanted to see him. Not that they actually arranged to meet, or anything. They just did. It had become a weekly occurrence. Somewhere on, or close to, the college campus they would meet. They would have a meaningless conversation, full of awkward pauses and agonizing half truths, neither one saying what they were actually thinking. When she hadn't been there this week, he had thought that it was because she knew about him. She knew about his past and the things he had done and he thought that it was enough to put her off seeing him ever again. It was weird. He couldn't care less what Sharon thought when Sharon could have stopped him from seeing Edward but, when it came to Angela, it mattered to him and he couldn't explain why. And now that he knew she wasn't avoiding him on purpose, he didn't want to raise the topic with her. He didn't want to have to try to explain himself to her or hear the disappointment in her voice but he had to say something to fill the silence that was starting to develop. "I thought maybe you were having car trouble again," he murmured. It wasn't a lie, technically. It was one of the reasons he had thought of that might explain her absence, but he had dismissed it almost right away. Still, it was something to say.

"Oh no, the car's running fine. I haven't had any problems with it since that night it had to be towed." Angela replied, "I'm glad you called though. I mean this is the first time you've called me…on the phone."

Angela closed her eyes and cringed as she realized how stupid that sounded but when he didn't fill the silence from his end she just had to keep going. "I mean, I know you've called me before because you used to call me all the time when we were…well, you know… and what I meant was you haven't called me recently. Not that I was expecting you to or anything…I just mean…"

"Yeah…I know…" Jordan sighed.

Silence started to stretch out again and she knew it was her turn to say something but what could she say? She could ask what he wanted but she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer. Deep down she knew he was calling to enquire about more than the state of her car engine but for him to actually say it would make it all too real. It was practically too real now. He was calling her even though she had never given him her number. He had actually taken the time to drag out the phone book, find her number in the countless Bradley's listed and call her, for no apparent reason. She remembered when she was younger , before she and Damon had moved in together. He used to call her all the time and, sometimes, when she was sleepy he would tell her not to hang up just so he could listen to her breathing as she drifted off. She used to think it was stupid. How could he possibly be so fascinated with the sound of her breathing in and out? But, as the silence seemed to stretch into infinity, all she could hear was the soft sound of inhale and exhale and it suddenly became as fascinating as any other sound Jordan could have made.

"Well, I've gotta go." he said.

Just like that it was over. Whatever it was. She was left standing in her kitchen, staring at the phone and listening to the dial tone.

"Who was it?" Damon asked as he walked into the room.

"No one. I mean, just Telemarketers," Angela lied as she put the handset back in its cradle.

She scowled at Damon as he leaned back against the kitchen counter. She was still mad at him. He was leaving for one, maybe two, months and she did not like it. She was pissed off, truth be told, but there was nothing she could to about it and, if it panned out as Damon hoped, she and her family would be reaping the rewards. Still, she didn't want him to leave. If he was here, she was grounded. It didn't matter what flights of fancy occupied her mind, she had a husband to come home to every night. She had a husband she loved with every fiber of her being but she really didn't want to test the theory of 'distance makes the heart grow fonder'. She wanted him here, not because she didn't trust him but because she didn't trust herself.

* * *

Thanks for reading! and big thanks to GoodnightGirl for all of her helpful suggestions and bete skills. ~LJ~


	26. Chapter 26

So, chapter 26 is finally here and about time too! Sorry it's been so long since I last updated but I hope you guys think it's worth the wait. As always, please r&R :)

* * *

"Would you quit fidgeting?" Rayanne said as they shuffled forward in the line, inching slowly towards the entrance to Pike Street. "You look so tough. This is going to be an amazing night."

Angela stopped pulling at the hemline of her dress but still looked skeptical at Rayanne's assessment. She wasn't entirely convinced that she did look tough and she was even less convinced that she wanted to. When Rayanne said that she would lend her something to wear for the competition, Angela had been expecting something a little more daring than she would normally choose but the red dress Rayanne had provided was brighter, tighter and much shorter than anything she had imagined. She couldn't quite believe that Rayanne and the girls had talked her out of getting changed into something more appropriate for a mother approaching her forties but it was too late to go back now.

"I should have brought you that dress on Thursday instead." Rayanne continued. "If you'd worn that to your goodbye dinner with Damon, he wouldn't have been so eager to get on the plane Friday morning. It would have completely blown his mind. Or his wad but with most men that's usually the same thing."

"Rayanne!" Angela hissed, gesturing to the teenage girls standing in front of them in the line. She had no wish for Amy or Rebecca to be thinking about her and Damon's sex life and she had a feeling that they would feel the exact same way. Luckily, it seemed that both girls were too involved in their own relatively innocent conversation to take notice of what the grownups were saying.

"I hope you made it clear to him that we would be out having fun while he gets to spend a very boring evening alone in some hotel room, staring at nothing but beige walls and an inoffensively bland watercolor."

Angela knew that Rayanne was trying to be supportive. She was letting her know that she was on her side and would be happy to deride Damon for as long as Angela was mad at him but, since he had left, her annoyance had subsided. It wasn't that she was happy that he was gone. Far from it; but what would be the point of staying mad at someone who wasn't around to see it? Besides, it wasn't as bad as she first thought. He had some meeting with clients in Pittsburgh that he would be coming home for in a few weeks so he would be able to spend at least a few days with his family before he went back to the Memphis office for the rest of his secondment. Also, she might not have had Rayanne's red crushed velvet but their goodbye meal had been followed by some very satisfying goodbye sex that had her looking forward to the hello sex she'd get when he returned. Was it possible that his working away was actually helping to put the romance back into their marriage or was that just hopeful thinking on her part?

"Rayanne, its fine. Really."

"Sure." Rayanne replied dubiously.

Before Angela could respond they were at the front of the line and were soon herded inside. Angela didn't even have time to look appalled at the fact that the teens were let in without the bouncers bothering to check whether they were underage or chaperoned. One minute they were outside and the next they were pushed into a hot press of bodies. The air was practically buzzing with excitement already and none of the bands had even performed yet.

"I can't believe how many people are here. We're going to have such a time." Rayanne smiled.

"I know." Amy eagerly replied. "We have to get as close to the front as we can for when they're on stage."

"It looks a little crowded up there. Won't we get squashed?" Rebecca asked as she eyed the audience with trepidation. The first few rows were tightly packed and seemed to be full of large, tattooed, scary looking rockers. "I don't want to get caught up in a mosh pit or anything."

"Jumping around in mosh pits is sometimes half the fun." Rayanne pointed out. "But if we stick to the side of the stage instead of the middle, we should be able to avoid most of it."

"Wait, shouldn't we find Sharon first?" Angela asked. "We should let her know that we're here and tell her where we're going to be."

"But how are we going to find her?" Amy asked. "She could be anywhere."

"Oh, I think I see someone who might know." Rayanne replied, as she stood on tiptoes and surveyed the crowd.

Within seconds, Angela spotted the same person. She had known that he would be there and she thought that she had prepared herself for seeing him but as she looked at him her heart rate quickened with nervous anticipation. She didn't even know what it was that she was anticipating. The most that would happen is that they would potentially come face to face and have some kind of conversation. She had had conversations with him before, it was nothing new and so she couldn't rationalize why she was suddenly so nervous. Maybe it was because their conversations had always been when they were alone. She wasn't sure what kind of conversation she would be capable of with Rayanne there to analyze her words. She wasn't sure how to act around him when her daughter and Rebecca were there, watching and listening. What kind of combination her could she develop on the spot to appear perfectly normal to everyone? Maybe it was better that she just stayed away from him completely. He hadn't seen them yet and there were enough people there to hide amongst without it seeming like she was avoiding him on purpose. However, before she could suggest they find another way of locating Sharon, Rayanne started to move.

"Yo, Catalano." Rayanne shouted, pushing her way through the audience toward him with Amy and Rebecca following closely, giving Angela no choice but to trail behind.

"Graff" Jordan grunted in acknowledgement, making no effort to find out she she was shouting his name.

"Hi Mr. Catalano." Rebecca said, while both she and Amy smiled shyly at him.

"...Hi." Jordan replied after a moment, as if he couldn't quite believe that someone was addressing him as Mr.

His eyes were only on them for a second before Angela joined them and when he saw her, his breath caught in his throat. She always dressed well in a conservative sort of way but the outfit she had on now was far from conservative and showed off her body in the best possible way. When she was younger she had been almost too skinny, all right angles and bones, draped in baggy plaid shirts that had seemed so fashionable in the grunge era. Now, she had curves. Her shape was softer, hips rounder, breasts fuller. He had a suspicion that that was the case; he'd spent more hours contemplating it than he would like to admit, but that red dress confirmed everything and now the only thing he could think about was what she would look like out of it. Realizing that he was staring, he forced his eyes away and took a swig of his beer.

Ignoring the uncomfortable atmosphere that started to develop, Rayanne asked the question she needed answering with her usual brashness. "Where the hell is Cherski?"

"She's backstage with the guys."

"Why aren't you back stage?"

"Because I'm here." he replied.

He didn't want to get into a discussion on how he and Sharon were still spending as little time in each others company as possible. Part of him wished he was back stage, helping Edward and the boys get set up but the last thing they needed was any kind of tension before they got up to perform. Besides, Shane was with them so he knew they were in good hands.

"Do you think we'll be able to get backstage?" Amy asked.

"Don't know." Jordan shrugged. "Gate for backstage is over there but they've got some muscle on it."

Rayanne craned her neck to take in the bouncers he was referring to and a sly grin spread across her face. "I know that bouncer. I charmed him once; maybe I can do it again. Come on, girls."

She headed off in the right direction, agilely weaving between the milling crowd, and the girls followed eagerly behind leaving Angela and Jordan alone, or as alone as they could be in the middle of a room full of strangers.

"You look…" He started but couldn't decide how to finish the sentence. Good? Sexy? Unbelievably fuckable?

"I wouldn't really dress like this normally." She replied, unable to stop her hands from futilely tugging at her hemline again. "I feel like I'm wearing a costume. Like I'm going to a Halloween party as my fifteen year old daughter, or something…not that I'd let her dress like this…and if my husband saw her wearing something like this, she wouldn't make it past the front door."

Even her embarrassed, awkward babbling didn't distract from the way she looked. "If I was your husband, I wouldn't let you past the front door either."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jordan knew that it was the wrong thing to say. It put neither of them at ease. The way he said it and the way he looked at her made it clear that he wanted her but the words only served to highlight that she wasn't his to have. She belonged to another and no matter how flustered she became under his gaze or how much she looked at him like she might want him too, he couldn't change that. A smarter guy would just walk away but he couldn't. His feet were rooted to the spot, waiting to see what she would say or do. So, of course, she did the smart thing.

"I guess…I guess I'd better go after them." she stammered as she backed off, colliding with more than one person in her haste to get away.

Jordan groaned at his own stupidity before lifting his bottle to his lips again. He had a feeling that they would be bumping into each other all evening and that each encounter would be just as bad, but resolved next time to just leave his smart ass comments to himself. It would help if he had something to distract him. Another girl on his arm would do just the trick and there were plenty around to choose from but he found that he wasn't in the mood or whatever. What would be the point of being with someone else when all he could think of was her? It hadn't helped when he was seventeen so he knew that it wouldn't help now. Conversely, he wasn't seventeen anymore and neither was Angela. A lot had changed since then; he had changed. He didn't know why he was being so pathetic. He'd had plenty of other girlfriends and he definitely had plenty of ex's but Angela was the only one he had really come into contact with. Maybe that was what was throwing him for a loop. Most of his relationships ended when he decided he was bored of living where ever it was he lived and skipped town, so he never really had to deal with bumping into old girlfriends before. None of those other girls had been enough to keep him settled in one spot and none of them had cared enough about him to say they wanted to leave with him. It went without saying that he had never thought to invite them along but he couldn't keep living his life like that. The whole point of him coming back to Three Rivers was to get his life figured out, once and for all. Marriage and 2.4 kids had never been part of the plan but there had been a vague notion of finding someone he could be with, someone who got him. One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to find her by moping after an old flame. As he mulled the idea over in his mind he remembered that Tino had been playing pool with some of the old guys and there had been a group of girls watching. Was it possible that one of them would help get him in the mood? Maybe it was time he put the theory to the test.

* * *

"Wow. The stage looks so much smaller from back here than it does out there." Amy said as she watched some of Pike Street's staff taping down the final trailing wires and starting the sound checks.

"You think?" Mike asked. "It looks pretty big to me and that crowd looks fucking huge."

Amy gazed out at the sea of people around the stage and couldn't help but agree. It seemed as if the only places you could stand and breath at the same time was a thin strip of floor space, equal distance from the stage and the bar, and the area at the back where people were shooting pool.

"You're not nervous are you? I mean, it's okay if you are." Amy reassured, thinking of only him and not even registering the fact that he had said the 'f' word when her mother was standing right behind them.

"Are you kidding? The more people here, the more people who get to hear how much we rock." Mike said, full of bravado.

"Is your Uncle Tino here? You said he was coming, right?"

"Yeah, he's here. He's playing pool." Mike replied, gesturing in vaguely the right direction, while really paying more attention to what the stage crew was doing.

"Where? Point him out to me." Amy insisted, causing Mike to look out across the room and squint with the effort of picking one face out of the crowd.

"He was there a minute ago." he finally shrugged.

"Well, where did he go?"

"I don't know. I can see Catalano and some of the other guys down there so he couldn't have gone far."

"But, I will meet him right?"

"Yeah, sure. Later, definitely." Mike said, "You want to come and meet some of the other musicians?"

Amy wasn't sure if it was just an attempt to distract her or not but, rather than pouting, she found herself smiling enthusiastically. She was caught up in the excitement of all the activity going on around her and more than happy to let Mike show her around every part of the backstage area. Still, she made a mental note to remind him of his promise later on.

"Best we don't tell Tino he's so much in demand. The last thing he needs is an ego boost." Rayanne grinned, but it soon became apparent that Angela hadn't heard a word that she said. She was too busy gazing out over the crowd like her daughter had just been doing. "Didn't know you were a pool fan."

Rather than make any denial of who she was looking at, Angela just rolled her eyes and turned her back on the view. "So, he's with someone…"

"Yeah, looks like." Rayanne replied, taking in the blonde who, even from a distance, seemed to be standing very close to Jordan Catalano. As Rayanne watched, she laughed at something Jordan said and ran her hand down his arm. Jordan's reaction, however, was hard to judge. "She really needs to get her roots done. You okay?"

"Yeah. I just didn't know that Jordan was um…"

"As far as I know, Jordan isn't umming anyone. I don't even know who she is so maybe they're not, like, a thing…yet. I mean, if he was umming her already, I'd have seen her around Vertigo or something."

"It's okay. I mean, he's a free agent. He can um whoever he wants to." Angela said, "It's no big deal. I just didn't realize that he was umming anyone, which is like really stupid because why wouldn't he? So, now I know. And I can't believe that we still use the word 'um' like it's an actual verb. Like 'to um' is in the dictionary, or whatever. I mean, we are adults now, we-"

"Angela," Rayanne interrupted. "Just breath, or something."

"Yeah," she exhaled. "I need a drink."

"Don't we all." Rayanne replied as she watched, Angela walk quickly to the drinks table and pour herself a large shot of something clear.

Rebecca was wishing she could copy her older sister and reach for a drink to steady her nerves but that would have to wait until she could get away from the eyes of the adults. Until then she would have to concentrate on showing as much enthusiasm and interest as possible as Edward showed her around the back stage area. It was sort of exciting to be getting a glimpse of what went on behind the scenes but she could not muster even half of the awe that Amy was displaying. She was far too distracted by thoughts of what would be happening later on that night to concentrate on the here and now.

As much as she tried to concentrate on what Edward was showing her and saying, he couldn't help but notice how preoccupied she was.

"Are you ok?" He asked as he steered her towards a quiet corner.

"Yeah. Sure." She replied, doing her best to make her smile look genuine. He was so happy and excited the last thing she wanted to do was bring him down before his moment in the spot light.

If his head hadn't been so full of the upcoming performance and what he had planned for later on, Edward may have recognized her apprehension but he just couldn't see how tense she was.

"You look beautiful." he said earnestly, as he buried his hands in her hair and pulled her closer. "Everything's set for tonight. It's going to be perfect. Just you and me."

As he whispered the words in her ear, Rebecca was torn between desire and fear. She had no idea which feeling would win out but when he leaned in to kiss her, she found herself responding. It was impossible not to. He was just so God damn good at it, which made her even more frustrated with herself. Kissing him turned her on. There was no way she could deny it. She may have limited experience but so far he'd been pretty good at everything else too so why did that one last step seem so daunting to her? As their kiss deepened, she reached the conclusion that, deep down, some part of her must want to take that final step and go all of the way. If she didn't, she would have put a stop to his plans. She would have said something before he actually expected her to go through with it. He was right. Everything was set, plans had been made and it was too late to back out.

* * *

Sharon looked on helplessly as the stage crew escorted Rayanne, Angela and the girls towards the exit. Her official backstage pass was the golden ticket that let her stay behind but, now that her friends were leaving despite Rayanne's very vocal protestations, she felt very much out of place. While conversation seemed to be flowing freely between the musicians, she wasn't a member of their club and so far all of her attempts to participate in the banter had failed. Edward and the boys hadn't outright stated that she was cramping their style but she knew it was far from cool for them to have a mom tagging along. Therefore, she was trying her hardest not to hover and give them their space but it left her alone with no one to talk to. Trying her best not to look awkward, she searched the room for a quiet corner she could stand in where she wouldn't be in anyone's way but instead she finally saw someone she hoped would be happy to talk to her and made a bee line for him.

"What are you doing?" Sharon asked as she watched Shane's hands twitch in some sort of subdued air drumming while he leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed.

"Trying to remember what the hell I'm supposed to do when we get out there." he replied, adding some foot tapping into his movements as he mentally ran through their opening track. "Shouldn't you be making your way to the front row with the rest of them?"

"I told Edward I'd watch from back here, just in case he needed some moral support before he goes on stage. I think I'm worrying for nothing though. Those boys seem as happy as pigs in mud. How are you feeling?"

"Honestly?" he asked, opening his eyes to look at her. "At the moment I'm fluctuating between feeling more excited than I have in years and wanting to puke."

"Well, I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"I wouldn't have picked you as someone who suffered from performance anxiety."

"This isn't anxiety. This is just me not wanting to make a complete dick out of myself." He replied as the band on stage came to the end of their set. "The first few bands were okay but that last one was amazing. It sounded like they've been playing together for years. We really should have done, like, a dress rehearsal or something. You know, the whole set, in front of actual people."

"You've done the whole set in front of me."

"You don't count."

"Why not?" she asked indignantly

"You just don't." he said with a smile.

She had heard their set countless times and offered nothing but encouragement but, with her son acting as lead man, hers was hardly an unbiased opinion. Shane was completely comfortable playing in front of her and it in no way compared to playing in front of a large crowd of strangers. However, it was nice to know that there would be one person backstage cheering for them when they finished. It was more than nice really and he was looking forward to seeing her smiling when they got off stage, even if he thought the smiles were more likely to be directed at the boys than him.

Sharon huffed in reply, not quite sure what to make of what he said or how he said it. Before she could ask for further explanation, one of the stage crew walked past and informed Shane that the band had five minutes to get ready.

"Guess I'd better go round them up and make sure they remember what the hell they're supposed to do too." Shane said.

The more he thought about what he was about to do, the more his nerves started to win out. Deep down he knew they sounded good and that they knew the songs by heart. There was no way they could possibly have practiced any harder. However, the more he thought about it, the more he remembered the stupid mistakes they all made at some point during those practices and the more he dreaded them being repeated on stage. The last thing he wanted to do was let the boys down by repeating his own mistakes.

"You're going to be awesome." Sharon said, trying to put as much of the confidence she felt for him into her words but he shrugged in response.

"Maybe. With a little luck."

Almost without thinking, Sharon took a step towards him.

"Well then, this is for luck." she said as she placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

He looked at her, wide-eyed as if he couldn't quite believe she had done that and Sharon instantly felt stupid, like she had overstepped some line in their friendship with what she intended as an innocent gesture of support. However, as she was about to step away, his expression shifted and she felt his hands at her hips, pulling her closer.

"We're going to need more luck than that." he grinned before delivering a kiss on her lips that was decidedly not innocent.

For a second, Sharon stood in shock, too surprised to respond, but once it sank in that he was actually kissing her, that something she had fantasized about was coming true, she opened her mouth to him and kissed eagerly back. For Shane, the feel of her lips on his became his whole world. Any nerves about the upcoming performance were forgotten. In fact, the idea that he would soon have to get on stage became a distant memory. It had been a snap decision but Shane was infinitely glad that he had finally gotten the guts to make some kind of a move. Sharon was equally as happy and the feeling of being in his arms was better than she had ever imagined. She felt like she didn't want the moment to end but their personal bubble was invaded all too soon..

"Ewww, gross! Mom!" Edward exclaimed, obviously horrified by what he had just observed, while Mike and Steve tried not to laugh as they stood behind him.

"Edward! Hi…"Sharon said as she practically jumped away from Shane. "I was just saying good luck to Shane."

"That's one term for it." Mike sniggered, earning himself a warning glance from both Shane and Edward while Sharon just stood there, red faced and unable to think of what to say next.

They were rescued from the awkward situation when the stage crew called their names and told them it was time for them to do their stuff. Despite what he had seen, Edward's mind instantly turned towards the stage and their upcoming performance and Shane found that his nerves had miraculously disappeared. The boys filed towards the stage entrance and Shane followed but before he took the last step, he turned around to face Sharon.

"Just so you know, I've wanted to do that for a while now." he said, giving her a cheeky wink.

Sharon watched as he turned and joined the rest of the band. She knew that she should have eyes only for her son in the first professional performance of his that she had witnessed but, before they even started to play, she knew that she would have difficulty keeping her eyes off her favorite drummer.

* * *

Amy had been severely disappointed when the stage manager had cleared out the backstage area of anyone who didn't have an official pass and she hadn't quite believed Mike when he said she would have a better time standing with the rest of the audience but now that she felt the atmosphere around her she thought that maybe he had been right after all. People were standing tightly packed together but somehow Rayanne kept finding the small gaps in between or creating space where there was none before so that they could get as close to the stage as possible. Amy followed with Rebecca, who had a vice like grip on her hand in fear of getting left behind, and Angela brought up the rear, muttering apologies to the people who gave them disgruntled looks as they pushed their way through.

"So, what are they called again? They're not Echelon anymore, right?" Rayanne asked as she came to a stop, two rows from the front and slightly stage left.

"They were between names for, like, ever but they finally settled on Year Zero." Amy replied as she pulled one of the promotional flyers out of her bag. "Look, their name's printed and everything!"

"This is so exciting! I can hardly wait." Rayanne screeched, sounding more like the teenagers than an actual adult to Angela's ears.

"I know!" Amy exclaimed and she was practically giddy with the thrill of it all.

She felt like all of her birthdays and Christmas' had come at once. She didn't know if it was because this was only the second concert she had ever been to, and the first one hardly counted since it had been some awful pop band Danielle had taken her to see when she was ten, or if it was because it was her boyfriend that would be on stage. She wondered how many girls after their performance would swear blind that Mike was looking right at them when he played. She wondered how many would be crushing on him, at least until the next band came on and they found a new boy to idolize. She knew that no matter how many other girls gazed adoringly at the stage, when he looked out into the crowd, he would be looking at only her.

Rebecca did her best to smile along with them but she knew she didn't feel half the excitement Rayanne and Amy felt. She was looking forward to hearing them play, there was no doubt about that, but she didn't feel comfortable in the prime position Rayanne had found for them. There were just too many people, standing far too close together for her liking. Even though the last band had vacated the stage and the stage crew were the only people who occupied it as they swapped equipment over, it was still noisy. All she could hear was the unintelligible chatter of the people around her and the occasional holler as people screamed a mixture of praise and derogatory remarks at the stage. The air was hot and clammy and it seemed as if the people in front of her had been standing in it for far too long because there was a distinct smell of body odor wafting back from them. As she crinkled her nose in disgust, she felt a trickle of her own sweat run down her back and suddenly she could no longer wait for the boys to get on stage either because the sooner they did, the sooner they would be finished and the sooner she could get some fresh air and cool down. On second thought, the sooner they finished, the sooner the night would reach what she decided had to be its inevitable conclusion. She might be able to get rid of the claustrophobia she felt standing there but it would only be replaced with a myriad of other churning emotions. As Angela came to a stop behind them, she too was full of churning emotions and was doing her best not to analyze them. She might be the most introspective person she knew but, for tonight, she had a feeling that thinking too deeply would be overrated. Instead, she tried to look as if she was having fun and kept her thoughts on the small things, like her footwear. The shoes she was wearing may match Rayanne's dress but they were defiantly not suitable attire for a rock concert. Thinking about how the balls of her feet were already aching and trying to balance on the spiked heels in the constantly shuffling crowd was a welcome alternative to thinking about what was really on her mind.

No matter what they were thinking of, when the lights dimmed and the boys came out on stage, Rebecca's and Angela's attention turned to the stage just as Rayanne's and Amy's did. Angela overheard more than one comment about how young they looked compared to the other bands that had performed and even their own drummer. Amy heard the same comments and while they irritated her she knew that once the band started playing, whoever had spoken would be silenced by their obvious talent. Age had nothing to do with it. They may look young but they also looked confident and cool. They looked like they belonged up there. It seemed as if the majority of the audience agreed because, as they took their places, the crowd hushed in expectation.

As rehearsed, the band allowed their opening track to form their introduction, with Mike's easily recognizable guitar solo carrying to the furthest reaches of the building before the others joined in starting with Shane's drums, closely followed by Steve's bass and Edward's supporting guitar. As Edward's vocals kicked in, Amy was happy to see appreciative nods and hear more than one person add their own voices to the familiar Guns'n'Roses lyrics, but the attention she gave the people around her was minimal. All of her attention was focused on one person and she had never thought he looked so attractive. If she wasn't already sleeping with Mike, she knew she would definitely want to be. However, it wasn't just lustful thoughts his performance was awakening. As she swayed with crowd, she was filled with admiration and pride so deep she was amazed by the strength of it.

Pride was also a big theme for Rebecca. She was so amazed by Edward's performance that the people around her who had seemed uncomfortably close moments earlier, faded away to nothing. She had heard the lyrics a million times, never once thinking of the actual words or meaning more than to acknowledge a general liking for it but when she saw him up on stage, looking at her as he sang, it seemed as if the song was written for her. When he sang "Sweet child of mine, sweet love of mine" he was singing to her and about her and she felt her insides melt. If Amy was surprised by the depth of her pride, Rebecca was surprised by the depth of her yearning. As hot and bothered as he could make her when they made out, she had never felt such a want or need to have him, to possess him as her own, body and soul. As her teenage hormones surged, all of her fears and doubts seemed foolish and she prayed that she would be able to remember how she was feeling at that moment instead of letting her uncertainly take control.

It seemed as if Year Zero had made a smart move by playing a well loved rock anthem as their opening track. By the time the song ended and it was time for Edward to introduce the band, they had already won over a large portion of the audience who were subsequently willing to listen to their second, original track with open minds. Not everyone appreciated their punk/garage band combo as much but even the skeptics gave them a grudging respect for playing well in the genre they had chosen by the time they got to their third track. The people making up the mosh pit showed that respect in the energy they gave into jumping around and generally causing mayhem in their immediate vicinity but the same could be said for the majority of bands who had performed. It really was hard to judge how Year Zero were doing in comparison but Amy and Rebecca were having the best night of their lives and the boys looked as if they were too as they played. For their fourth and final song, they reverted back to doing a cover version. Again, it was one that they knew would be well known and well loved by the audience and they responded even more than they did to the opening track. As Edward sang 'I wanna be sedated' for the final time, it sounded as if the whole room was singing along with him and the band could not be more elated by how their performance had gone. They left the stage to more applause than they had hoped for and with enough adrenaline pumping through their system to give them a natural high to last the whole night.

As soon as Edward was off the stage, Sharon wrapped her arms around him and hugged with all of her might. Edward allowed himself a few seconds to delight in her praise before squirming out of her reach to avoid the hair ruffling he knew was coming. Some of the other musicians backstage gave them nods of appreciation and commented on a job well done but Shane was the only one with enough presence of mind to acknowledge them. The younger boys were too caught up in what they had just done to focus on anything but themselves and became a riot of noise and energy as they animatedly recounted their experience of the stage to one another, second by second, chord by chord. They were so loud and exultant that it was almost a relief to the other artists when they fled the backstage area in order to rejoice their achievement with their girlfriends and biggest fans.

"Wow." Sharon said as she watched the teens practically bounce their way out of the room. "I don't think I've seen Edward this happy since…well, forever."

"He performed really well. They all did." Shane replied.

Now that the teens had gone and he was starting to come down from his own adrenaline high, he started to remember what he had done and said before he took to the stage and an altogether different set of nerves started to swirl in his stomach. It had been a spur of the moment thing and, from what he could remember, Sharon had been surprised but pleasantly so. However, he didn't exactly stick around to get her full reaction once the kiss was over. She knew he'd been experiencing a small bought of stage fright. What if she thought he was just using her as a distraction? It was sort of true but he had also been telling the truth when he said he'd wanted to kiss her for a while.

Sharon watched him fold and unfold his arms as he shifted nervously in front of her and she could hardly believe that he was the same person who had swept her off her feet twenty minutes before.

"You didn't do too bad yourself. It would be a shame if your luck ran out now." She said, coming to his rescue while doing her best to give him a seductive look.

"Yeah. Maybe I could do with a top up before they decide who's through to the next round." He replied, recovering the cheeky glint in his eye that she found so charming. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone who might be able to help me with that would you?"

"Yeah, I think I might." She smiled.

* * *

As soon as Year Zero's set ended, the girls pushed their way out of the crowd and back towards the backstage gate. This time, the bouncers were under strict instructions not to let anyone without an official pass in and even Rayanne's powers of persuasion faltered. It wasn't long before the boys emerged though and Amy and Rebecca were able to give their boyfriends the congratulation they had earned.

Angela was appalled to see the ardor that Amy in particular showed towards her boyfriend and the passion with which they greeted each other. She would never dream of giving such a public display of affection in front of her parents at her own age. At Amy's age, she would have died of embarrassment if Patty had caught her kissing in even the most chaste of ways. As she realized that she was living in denial by assuming her daughter was still completely innocent, parental disapproval started to build towards anger and she was just about to step forward and burst their bubble when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Just…give them a minute." Rayanne said with a wry smile. "Like you never behaved exactly like that?"

"I never-" Angela started to protest but as Rayanne just stared at her she knew it was impossible to deny the truth of Rayanne's statement. "Not in front of my mother anyway. And not when I'd just turned sixteen."

"Oh, my bad. You waited until you were at least sixteen and a half before flinging yourself at Jordan like he was sex on legs when he got off stage."

"I never flung myself at Jordan Catalano like he was sex on legs!"

"You sort of did, Chase. I had actual photographic evidence." piped up a new voice. "But it wasn't like I was watching you or anything. I was year book photographer. It was, like, my job."

"You're here?" Angela said as she turned to look at Brian Krakow, face scrunched in surprised disgust.

"Not by choice."

"Then why?"

"Yeah, Bri. Shouldn't you be at some clever chess club meeting rather than hanging with the cool kids?" Rayanne teased.

"Chess club was last night." he replied in all seriousness. "Year Zero is the only band in school, apart from, you know, the woodwind one so we thought it would be good to have some live shots for year book. Not that I'm photographer anymore. I just oversee in my capacity as teacher. Only the kid who is photographer couldn't get his parents to sign the permission slip and the school will only give their camera to kids who can be trusted so I, like, had to come instead. But I brought my own camera because it's, you know, better. So, that's why I'm here."

"My god, you really haven't changed at all, have you?" Rayanne gawked, open mouthed.

"What do you mean?" he asked but, rather than receive a reply to his question, Rayanne's and Angela's attention was drawn back to the teens or rather the adult that had joined them.

Angela tried not to react as she watched Jordan Catalano congratulate the boys on their performance but inside she was praying that he had not overheard Rayanne and Brian. It would be far too embarrassing if he knew that she had ever flung herself at him, which she basically had. Rayanne and Brian hadn't been wrong about that. Jordan's presence incited another excitable description from the band of their onstage experience and Jordan was just as animated in giving his praise. To Angela, he actually looked happy. In all of the times she had seen him since his return to Three Rivers, she couldn't remember him smiling so much and the thought made her kind of sad. She knew it was stupid but she wished that he would smile that way for her. She wished that when they met on the college campus or bumped into each other around town, things would not be so strained, so tense; that they could be as happy in each others company as he seemed to be in Edward's. The way he smiled made him look care free and younger somehow. Not all that different to how he used to look when Residue finished their set and he would come off stage, full of joy, wrap her in his arms and kiss her until she thought she would faint.

She didn't know whether he was thinking the same things, replaying the same memories, but when he looked at her and their eyes met, his smile faded into an intense expression that could only be described as sultry. Angela instinctively knew that Rayanne and Brian were watching and analyzing but it was impossible for her to do anything but stare back at him. She felt that if she moved at all, her body would take over from her mind and fling itself at him just as she used to all of those years ago. So, she just stood there and stared and he stared right back until a question was directed at him, causing him to turn away.

"Hey Catalano, where's Tino?" Mike asked, trying not to sound disappointed that his uncle was not there to congratulate the band on their performance as well.

"He's at the bar." Jordan replied, "He said to tell you that you guys sounded tight and he'll catch up with you later."

Mike just nodded in reply but Jordan's words had roused Amy's interest in the elusive Tino once more. Standing on tip toes, she strained to peer over the crowd but it was impossible for her to figure out who she should be looking for.

"What does he look like?" She asked.

"Kind of like an older version of me," Mike replied, "but with more tattoos and minus the spiked hair and eyeliner."

As far as she could see, none of the men in view had even a passing resemblance to Mike.

"I don't see him." she pouted, causing Mike to take a look for himself.

"Me either." he shrugged after a moment. "I guess he must be somewhere else."

"He better not be somewhere else," Jordan joked. "He owes me a beer."

Angela watched as he fell back into easy conversation with the teens and wondered how he was able to do it. How could he be looking at her with such intensity one second and the next seem perfectly normal? How was he able to form actual sentences when she was held immobile? She had no idea that he was grateful for the diversion or that he needed to be talking in order to control his own urges before they took control of him. It seemed infinitely unfair to her that she was the one who was obsessing while he, yet again, had other things on his mind. She wrenched her eyes away in frustration only for them to fall on a stranger standing with their group. She stood slightly apart looking a little out of place but, at the same time, it was clear that she was with them. Or more accurately, that she was with Jordan and was waiting for him despite the fact that he had not introduced her and that no one had acknowledged her. It seemed as if by noticing her, Angela drew attention to the woman and she was noticed for the first time by Brian and Rayanne as well.

"Hi." Brian said aiming for friendliness but sounding as awkward as he usually did.

"Hey." the woman replied.

Silence descended amongst them once more causing Rayanne to step in. "So, have you known Jordan long, urm..?"

Angela found her lips curling into a smile that Patty would have been proud of as she waited for the answer. It felt more like a grimace and she knew that if she had to keep it up for long her cheeks would start aching but it was the only response she could give. Speech was beyond her and if she let the mask drop for even an instant she risked showing the jealous knot that was beginning to form in her stomach.

"Morgan. We just met tonight." She supplied.

Angela recognized her as the girl Jordan had been talking to by the pool tables but she had no idea whether to be relieved or not at the shortness of their acquaintance.

"How nice for you both." Rayanne rolled her eyes.

"urm…thanks." Morgan replied, unsure of how to interpret Rayanne's tone of voice or the way she seemed to be sizing her up. She looked to Jordan for assistance but he seemed oblivious to the interchange as he talked guitar riffs with the boys. Trying not to be daunted by the feeling of inspection she was under, Morgan tried her best to make amiable conversation. "I couldn't believe it when Jordan said it was his son on stage. He just doesn't look old enough to have a teenager."

"Believe me, it was kind of a shock for most people." Rayanne replied sarcastically, before plastering a smile on her face that was just as genuine as Angela's.

"That's a really nice dress." Angela said, trying to make polite chit chat while feeling increasingly inferior. It wasn't that different from what she was wearing herself. It was black rather red but the cut was basically the same. The biggest difference was that Morgan looked completely at ease, as if it was the kind of thing she wore all of the time, while Angela felt increasingly uncomfortable and anything but chic in her own outfit.

"Oh thanks. I got it at-" Morgan began but was swiftly cut off by Rayanne.

"It's a shame about the hair though. I'd think of visiting a salon if I were you, or finding a new one."

"What?" Morgan asked uncertainly as she fingered the ends of her shoulder length blonde locks.

"Ha Ha" Angel barked, trying to make it sound like a joke, while throwing warning glances in Rayanne's direction. "She's kidding, really."

"No, I'm not." Rayanne deadpanned. "The high lights are too light and your roots are too dark."

"But I only had my roots done last week."

"I rest my case."

"Rayanne!" Angela hissed though clenched teeth as her smile grew larger.

Rayanne, however, ignored her best friend and continued regardless, becoming louder and more flamboyant with every word. "I'm a hairdresser so it's my duty to tell you that this look is doing nothing for you. The color is wrong and the style, well, it's just all wrong."

Before Rayanne could say anything else, Angela attempted to intervene again but this time her words stuck in her throat as Jordan appeared at Morgan's side. Jordan must have heard at least part of what Rayanne had said but even if he had not, it was obvious that something had occurred by the shocked expression on Morgan's face. It seemed as if she could not quite believe that someone had been so rude directly to her face but that disbelief could easily turn to anger or tears. Angela felt like she should apologize or reassure the girl that there was nothing wrong with her hair, which would basically be the truth, but by placing his hand at the small of Morgan's back, Jordan seemed to have the situation covered himself and it made her blood boil.

"Come on, lets go track Tino down. He owes you a beer too." Jordan said to Morgan as he glared at Rayanne.

"Yeah, sure." Morgan replied as she allowed him to start steering her away.

After taking a few steps, Jordan turned and Angela thought his expression softened slightly as he looked at her. For a moment, she thought he was going to say something but he just shook his head slightly before turning away once more and the couple started to disappear in the crowd.

"Why did you say that?" Angela turned on Rayanne as soon as they were out of earshot.

"What?" Rayanne replied, feigning innocence.

"You know what! You were horrible to her, for like no reason."

"No reason? Oh, please." Rayanne scoffed. "She's obviously his entertainment for the night, or whatever, so I was only doing what a best friend should do."

"You were being a bitch."

"It's not being a bitch if you're telling the truth. Her roots do need redoing. I could have said worse. I mean, did you see those boobs? Boobs that look that firm are never real. She's this close to being a walking Barbie doll."

"I thought she looked nice." Brian chipped in, reminding them of his presence.

"Shut up, Krakow. No one asked you." Rayanne replied before turning back to Angela. "Look, he's your ex so you can't be a bitch. You have to rise above it, or whatever. As your best friend, I don't have to worry about looking petty. I'm supposed to be a bitch. It's, like, my job."

Angela could not see the logic but didn't think it was worth arguing about. Instead she just sighed and decided to forget the whole thing. "Whatever. I'm going to see if I can find Sharon."

"I think she's still backstage." Rayanne replied but Angela either didn't hear or chose to ignore her and stomped off in the opposite direction to Jordan.

* * *

"I can't believe how hot Mike is tonight. I mean, wow." Amy said as she gazed into the restroom mirror and vainly tried to fix her makeup. What had been carefully applied just hours before had now practically disappeared thanks to her enthusiastic dancing in the sticky heat of the crowded venue. "He's always been hot, like, majorly but seeing him up on stage has given me a whole new perspective. I keep wondering if I'm going to have a better time when we're, you know. Not that I'm not having a great time already but it's like I see this whole new side to him or something."

Rebecca quickly scanned the restroom to make sure that no one was paying them any attention before she pulled Amy into the corner and reached into her bag.

"What about you?" Amy continued. "Do you think Edward's hotter now? I've never seen what the attraction was with Edward because he's like my oldest friend but I have to admit he was looking pretty good on that stage. I think it's effecting the older generation too. Mike said they caught Sharon making out with Shane back stage and that was before they even played. Has Edward said anything about it to you because seeing your mom making out with your drummer could be kind of disturbing? But I suppose he can't be that disturbed and still go on stage as if nothing happened. I guess the music is, like, more important or something. It's going to be so amazing if they get to play again. "

"Want some?" Rebecca asked, producing a bottle of her father's restaurant brandy and effectively cutting off Amy's constant stream of chatter.

"Oh my God, my mother's here!" Amy replied as she watched Rebecca pour a large measure into her half empty coke can. Even though she knew her mother was somewhere outside, she couldn't help sweeping the room again just to make sure they were still unwatched.

"So?"

"So she'll haemorrhage if she sees you drinking. You're crazy if you think getting drunk in front of actual adults is a good idea."

"She'll never know." Rebecca replied, not commenting on the fact that Angela seemed to be knocking back her fair share of the drinks anyway. "Besides, I'm not going to get drunk… This is just a bit of liquid courage, that's all."

"Why do you need courage, liquid or otherwise?"

"You know this party Edward's having tonight?"

"Hardly a party. It's just going to be the band, minus Shane of course, and us." Amy said. "It's more like an intimate soirée."

"Yeah. Intimate's the right word." Rebecca said with a frown." You see, the thing is, this party is, well it's just not."

"Not what?"

"Not happening."

"What? Why?" Amy didn't care if there was a limited guest list. She was looking forward to celebrating with her favorite boys after the competition.

"Before we get to Edward's house, Mike is going to ask you to go over to his place instead and I'm supposed to encourage you to say yes. I'm not sure what Steve is supposed to say but Edward assures me he'll get the message that he has to be elsewhere. So it's just going to be me and him… alone… for like the whole night. Edward's got it all planned."

"Rebecca, that's so cool. That's…" Amy trailed off as her excitement dwindled. "You don't look like you think it's cool."

"No, it is. It is cool. I just… I guess I'm nervous. But, I'm allowed to be nervous, right? I mean, it's just first time jitters. A bit more liquid courage and I'll hardly feel them. Besides, I've come to the conclusion that it's tragic to make such a big deal over this thing that's probably going to be over in, like, three seconds."

"Rebecca…"

"Really, it's fine. I can do this. I can. I want to do this." Rebecca could see that her words were doing as little to convince Amy as they were herself so decided that a change of subject was in order. "So, you met Tino? I can't believe I missed him. What's he like?"

"He seems…I mean, what does meeting someone prove, right?" Amy replied.

Mike had finally managed to track his uncle down but she had only met him for a few minutes so, in her humble opinion, it wasn't enough time to form a full assessment. However, Tino had not been what she was expecting. For all intents and purposes, he was basically Mike's father figure but he didn't come across as fatherly. He was nice enough to her, or he wasn't rude at least, and he seemed genuine when he praised Mike's guitar playing but she couldn't imagine him ever asking how school was or enquiring whether Mike had finished his homework. She couldn't imagine him cooking family meals or doing fatherly things like going to ball games and he didn't look like a dad at all. However, her boyfriend clearly adored the older man and she trusted him so she decided to defer her judgment for the time being. Also, she could see what Rebecca was trying to do and was determined not to be sidetracked.

"So, if Edward's got everything planned, how come I haven't heard about it until now?" Amy asked

"Because he didn't want to give the game away. If Sharon knew what was really going to be happening in her house tonight, she wouldn't be staying at Rayanne's."

"Oh please, like I would go and tell Sharon!"

"He didn't tell Mike either until earlier tonight. I asked him not to." Rebecca explained. "It's embarrassing enough knowing that people will know without my virginity being up for public debate."

" It doesn't have to happen, I mean, if you're not ready, or whatever." Amy tried. "Maybe you should talk to Edward."

"We have talked…sort of."

"Well, I can talk to him, if you want? I mean, if you're feeling pressured or something."

"I'm not feeling pressured." Rebecca lied. "I've decide to do it so I'm just going to. There's really nothing else to talk about. Besides, I made this whole big deal about how no one should know but us because it's, like, private stuff so I shouldn't really have said anything to you at all."

"But-"

"No, really. It's fine. You don't need to talk to him about it." Rebecca interrupted. She made sure that her stolen alcohol was safely stowed in her bag and moved towards the door. "Come on. We'd better get back out there. They'll be announcing which bands are in the Final soon."

Amy wanted to say more but it was obvious that Rebecca considered the conversation over and she felt no choice but to follow her back out into the crowd.

By the time they returned the group, Shane and Sharon had joined Rayanne and the boys but Angela was still nowhere to be seen. Before Amy could ask where her mother had gone, a lone man took to the stage. The crowd heckled and jeered but Year Zero fell silent for the first time that night. As the noise level in the room slowly started to descend, the man on stage began to speak into his microphone.

"Okay, the judges have made their final decision and the results are in." He started, only for the audience to erupt once more, causing him to pause for a few minutes until they had settled down again. "As you all know, only three bands are going to be asked back on stage to perform again and only one of those bands will be crowned winner."

Amy groaned as his words created another cacophony of noise as people began to scream the names of their favorite band towards the stage. It was impossible to say whether anyone was screaming Year Zero's name amongst all the clamor but, to Amy, it didn't matter. She just wanted them all to shut the hell up so the man on stage could get on with it and from the set of Mike's jaw she knew that he was thinking exactly the same thing. The seconds that it took for order to be restored seemed to last for hours as the band shifted nervously, trying and failing to look as if what the man was about to say wasn't the single most important thing to them at that moment.

"Now, before we announce our top three, we have a tradition here at Pike Street, of announcing the band that came so near but just didn't quite make it; the band that would be in fourth place, if we had a fourth place. This year there were a lot of great acts but our honorary fourth place can only go to one of them and the act we've chosen is one to watch out for. We expect good things from these guys in the next few years and definitely want to see them back here. A round of applause please for…Year Zero!"

Amy hardly registered the applause that filled the air. Her face fell as the realization that they hadn't gotten into the final sank in. The boys had pinned their hopes on doing well in the competition only to have them dashed and Amy wasn't the only one to be looking at them with concern. Rebecca, Sharon and Rayanne looked just as worried as to how the boys would react. It seemed as if it took a moment for the announcement to sink in for the boys as well because, while the audience screamed and shouted their praise around them, the boys were silent. When they did react, rather than the scowls and disappointment the girls expected, they burst into triumphant whoops and hollers.

"Forth place. Hell yeah!" Edward shouted as they traded high fives and before she knew what was happening, Rebecca was swept up in his arms and twirled around only to be deposited seconds later next to a smiling Amy.

"I don't get it." Sharon said to Shane as she stepped out of the way of the boys as they jumped around with an energy that only teenagers can possess. "They're not in the final. Where are the tears and the tantrums?"

"We came in fourth! Out of ten bands we came in fourth!" Shane smiled. He may not have been jumping around like the younger boys but their jubilant excitement was infectious and, almost without thinking, he pulled Sharon towards him and delivered a kiss to rival the ones they had shared backstage.

They had only come up for air for a few seconds when Shane was reluctantly pulled away by the boys to join them in some group photographs that Brian was taking. Sharon knew she was grinning like a fool but she didn't care. She just hoped that once all of the excitement had died down, Shane would still want to kiss her in exactly the same way.

* * *

Jordan stepped away from the bar, glass of Jack Daniels in both hands, and realized that he could not face going back to his friends. As the testing of theories went, his attempt had mixed results. He couldn't believe that he thought picking up a girl would be the solution to his problems. Not that there was anything wrong with her. She was as physically perfect as it was possible to get, the kind of woman who stopped traffic, and she smelled amazing, though that was probably just her perfume or something. So, in one sense his experiment had been a complete success. However, in another sense, it was a complete failure because now he'd gotten the girl, he found that he didn't really desire her all that much. She just didn't hold his interest to the point where he'd already forgotten what her name was. It began with an M but that was as much as he could remember and he felt guilty because she actually seemed like a genuinely nice person. He should never have let her follow him when he went to see Edward after Year Zero's set. He hadn't heard everything that Rayanne had said but he got the general gist and it was enough to turn the girl from bright and bubbly to slightly paranoid and now she was just trying too hard; or maybe he wasn't trying hard enough.

The only conclusion he could come to was that he had finally gone completely insane; that Angela Chase had driven him insane. When this beautiful woman babbled nervously in an attempt to fill the lull in their conversation and keep his attention, all he could think was that it wasn't so annoying when Angela did it, that sometimes it was even sort of cute. When she lifted her hand to her hair, he waited with baited breath for her to tuck it behind her ears and was disappointed when she merely flicked it over her shoulder. When she brushed against him, giving out every signal possible that he was on to a sure thing without jumping his bones then and there, he couldn't help but wish that her lips were not quite so full and that her eyes, lovely as they were, were just a slightly different color. She was pretty and fun and, most importantly, single but he found that what he really desired was what he had desired all those years ago. What he really wanted was Angela Chase and every single one of her flaws.

The more she drank, the harder she was trying and the more he drank, the more irritable he was becoming so getting them both a refill probably wasn't the best idea he ever had but it was a good excuse to get away for a moment. His intention had been to mentally pull himself together, tell himself to stop obsessing over Angela and get back in the zone. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was pick women up in bars but the more he thought about it the more he realized that there wasn't really much point if the woman you left with wasn't the one you wanted. Besides, he felt guilty for approaching her in the first place and didn't want to use her. He already knew that if he allowed the evening to reach its inevitable, predictable ending, he would only end up deleting her number from his cell phone without calling. She probably already knew that he wouldn't call but she would still go home with him if he asked and she would still leave her number because that was just the way it was done. That was the ritual, it was what was expected. It was certainly what his friends and her friends expected. It might even earn them kudos from those with less pulling power but, in reality, they would just be using each other for instant gratification that probably wouldn't be that good and would certainly be forgotten seconds later. It was just all so pointless but, as Jordan reflected on the hundreds of Saturday nights already past, it seemed as if one night stands were all he was good for and the thought left him with a sour taste in his mouth.

Looking for an escape route, Jordan saw a familiar, friendly face in one of the few quite spots left in Pike Street. He downed what would have been the girl's drink, deposited the glass on a nearby table and started to walk in a much more welcome direction.

"Hey," Jordan said as he leaned against the wall next to Jenny and lit a cigarette. It was quiet enough in the far corner that he didn't have to shout but he could still feel the vibration of the bass in the wall behind him

"Hey," she replied. "You got a spare one of those?"

"I thought you quit." he said but he handed her the cigarette anyway and reached into the pack to pull another one out for himself.

"I did but I have, like, actual depression. Wallowing in self pity really brings out my nicotine craving." Rather than ask what the problem was, Jordan just looked at her with raised eyebrows forcing her to explain. "I was supposed to be meeting a guy here tonight."

"What guy?"

Sometimes she wished she could detect a hint of jealousy when he asked questions like that but it had become pretty obvious to her that he asked for an entirely different purpose. Jordan was getting just as bad as Shane when it came to doing the over protective big brother thing.

"Just a guy." Jenny replied with a wry smile."It doesn't matter. He didn't show. Hence the wallowing. What's your excuse?"

"I'm not wallowing." Jordan protested, taking a large gulp of his JD.

"No, you've just found the quietest possible corner of the building in which to drown your sorrows. Hardly the life and soul of the party."

Jordan ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "Have you ever felt like… I mean it just seems that I belong with no one. That I don't… fit. At least not with anything more than a quick, meaningless lay… and that's getting kind of old."

"Wow, I suddenly feel shallow. I'm moaning about some guy who I didn't even like that much to begin with and you're having a full on existential crisis."

"A what?" Jordan asked

"You know, a questioning the meaning of life kind of crisis. The answer's 42, by the way." She tried to joke but when he looked at her in confusion she shook her head. "Never mind."

They stood in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts, while they smoked. One of the things he appreciated about Jenny was her ability to just be there without filling the silence with meaningless words. Shane could be the same way so maybe it ran in the genes or something. However, the longer they stood there, just leaning, the more he realized that maybe he wanted to talk. Maybe he needed to. He wouldn't have said anything existential if he didn't want to talk about it, or rather, talk about her. Maybe if he talked about her he would be able to stop thinking about her.

"If it makes you feel better, my crisis isn't about numbers. It's sort of about a girl."

Well, duh squared, she thought before speaking. "Sharon?"

"Nah," He replied. "Things with Sharon are complicated. We've got stuff we need to figure out but we're not, like, interested in each other. Not like that."

"So who?" She asked, bumping his hip with her own teasingly. "The blond I saw you talking to?"

"No," he replied with a self mocking snort. "Definitely not…I want to say Megan but I've got no idea."

"Good. If you can't remember their name, it generally means you can do better." Jenny said. "You going to tell me who before this turns into twenty questions?"

For a moment she thought he wasn't going to answer and when he did finally speak, he didn't look at her, choosing to concentrate on flicking his cigarette butt on the floor and grinding it out with his boot.

"Angela Chase… she was at Vertigo that one time, remember?"

"Yeah. I remember her husband being there too." Jenny pointed out. "What if he finds out?"

"He's not going to find out. I mean, there's nothing to find out because nothing's, like, happened."

"No offence, but you can do better than being the other man too. I've seen the crowd in Vertigo when you play. Not a dry pair of panties in the place by the time you get off stage. You could take your pick."

"Maybe I don't deserve to," he sighed. "I've done some really shitty things in my life so maybe this is like, my punishment, you know? This place is packed with pretty girls. There's nothing wrong with them at all. Even Megan or whatever her name is, you know? But it's just not enough any more…they're not, like, real to me. Angela Chase might not be perfect but she's real and I can't get her out of my head."

"It's okay. I understand."

"No, you don't understand. I mean, you don't understand because - you don't - you couldn't!"

Oh, you're right Jordan, she thought. I couldn't possibly understand having an obsession for a person I have zero hope of ever becoming involved with. But she couldn't say that out loud. Not to him and not when he was so obviously hurting because he was in love with someone else, whether he realized his feelings went that deep or not. So instead, she did the only thing she could, which was to wrap her arms around his neck and rest her head on his shoulder.

"We're hopeless." she muttered and although he didn't say anything, she felt him nod slightly as he hugged her back, seeking nothing more than the innocent comfort she was offering.

The moment was broken when a figure stumbled upon their isolated corner, causing them both to look up and take a step apart. It seemed that Angela Chase was just as surprised to see them as they were to see her and she turned around almost immediately. However, rather than stepping back into the crowd and disappearing she hovered at it's edge, not looking at them but not quite ignoring them either.

Jenny didn't know what was going through Jordan's mind and she didn't know whether she was doing the right thing but, one way or another, whatever was going on between him and Angela had to play itself out and the sooner the better for everyone involved; possibly even including her.

"It's okay." Shre said but rather than reply Jordan just looked at her. She titled her head in Angela's direction. "Really. Go."

Jordan took a deep breath and walked towards her, trying to figure out what his opening line should be. When he reached her, it was Angela that spoke first.

"I've lost everyone. I …urm …I guess I just need to find Amy or Rayanne. You haven't seen any of them have you?"

The last time he had seen Amy was just after Edward came off stage and, as for Rayanne, he was pretty sure that the last time he saw her, she was wrapped around some biker.

"Not for a while." He replied.

"Oh…" Angela started only to trail off awkwardly.

She was just about to open her mouth to speak again when the crowd moved behind her, pushing her from behind unexpectedly and sending her tottering forward on Rayanne's killer heels. Jordan caught her before she toppled but she was just as embarrassed as she would have been if she had hit the floor.

"These aren't my shoes…"

Despite the fact that she was steady on her feet once more, Jordan's arm remained around her, holding her close to him. She was so close that she could feel his breath on her skin and his normally captivating eyes could not hold her attention. When she looked up at him, all she could see was the shape of his lips centimeters away from her own. For a brief moment she didn't care where Amy or Rayanne were. She didn't care that she had had a bit too much to drink and wasn't completely in control of herself. She didn't care about anything but what it would feel like to have his lips on hers. It seemed as if Jordan only cared for the exact same thing because he titled his head towards hers and she felt her eyelids start to drop in expectation at the same time as her lips opened slightly in anticipation. It wasn't until he was tantalizingly close that he spoke.

"Why am I like this?" he whispered gruffly, only just loud enough for her to hear.

"Like what?" She replied breathlessly

"Like how I am."

"How are you?" she asked in the same hushed tones but he had already released her and was moving away. She raised her voice over the sound of the music and shouted. "How are you?" but he didn't turn around to answer. He just kept walking and once again she was left alone, completely dumbfounded by something that Jordan Catalano had done.

* * *

Angela circled the room for what felt like the thousand time but it wasn't surprising that she was having difficulty finding her group. Her mind wasn't exactly on the task at hand. It was too preoccupied with trying to figure out what just happened and why but to figure that out she would have to understand the inner workings of Jordan Catalano's mind and that seemed like an impossibility, especially when she had had more than her fair share of vodka and tonics and things were starting to get a little blurred around the edges. The more she thought about it, the more her head ached. The volume of the music wasn't helping and it felt as if she had gone from slightly drunk straight to hung over, skipping the passing out that was supposed to come in between.

"Angelika!" Rayanne shouted, bringing Angela out of her thoughts.

Rayanne waved to make sure she had her attention and made some 'don't move' hand signals, turned to the man whose arms she was in and gave him a quick kiss before bounding over.

"Where have you been? You missed, like, everything!"

"Who's that?" Angela asked, gesturing in the man's direction. She was aiming for discreet but failed miserably. Luckily, Rayanne didn't seem to mind

"That's Frankie." Rayanne replied with a self satisfied smile, blatantly looking him up and down. "Told you he looked good."

"He looks young."

"He's 27 and he acts like it too. The sex is still amazing. I'm actually in danger of having to keep my promise to Sharon and make him buy me dinner."

"Where is Sharon?"

"She's backstage. She said she was going to help Shane pack up all of the band's equipment but I'd bet a hundred bucks they're really just making out."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Big time." Rayanne grinned. "It's about time too. I think she's invited him to Let's Bolt so we'll have to wait until we're back at my place for her to dish the dirt."

"So if you're with Frankie and Sharon's back stage, who's watching the kids?"

"Relax. They're just dancing over there." Rayanne replied, pointing over to the dance floor. "I've been keeping an eye on them."

"Oh…thanks." Angela said guiltily.

It should have been her keeping an eye on the kids rather than wandering around and being almost kissed by Jordan Catalano. Having said that, watching them jump around to the sound of the very loud band on stage wasn't doing anything to improve her disposition. In fact, the only thing that she would think of that would make her feel worse was having to take to a dance floor herself.

"Listen, Rayanne, about Let's Bolt. I think I'm going to have to pass."

"What? Why? Is this about Jordan Catalano and that girl he picked up because I doubt they're even going to be there."

"No, it's not about him," Angela lied. "I guess I just feel a little sick."

"Uh huh." Rayanne replied, tone of voice showing that she didn't believe Angela at all.

"So, I think I'm going to go, like now." Angela continued. "Can you, like, watch the girls for me? I mean, they're having such a good time and it would be a shame to spoil their night but they can't stay here unsupervised. I mean…"

"Don't worry, I've got it covered. I'm like the only sober adult in this place, which is a something our high school guidance teacher probably thought I would never say, so a bit of passive babysitting will be a breeze."

"Great. Thanks. I'll call you tomorrow." Angela said, giving Rayanne a quick peck on the cheek before heading for the exit. She made it about half way before nearly going sprawling on her killer heels once more. "Jesus, Krakow, what are you doing?"

"I was putting my camera away." Brian replied as he crouched over his bag and finished zipping it up. "Ever thought to look where you're going?"

"Whatever." She threw in his direction before starting to stomp off but after a few steps she stopped and turned around again. "So are you, like, leaving now?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sort of leaving too so, seeing as we're like neighbors, it would be sort of convenient…I mean if there was any way that I could go along. Not to your place, obviously. I mean to mine, you know, if you could just drop me off on your way?"

Brian rolled his eyes. Some things never changed. Angela Chase was still asking him to do stuff for her and he was still unable to say no.

Brian's car turned out to be some kind of Volvo. Something as safe and predictable as its owner. As Angela sank into the passenger seat, her headache started to subside only to be replaced by a slight nausea and she began to really regret her last five or so drinks. In an effort to distract herself from the sickly feeling in her stomach, she decided that conversation was needed but Brian beat her to it.

"So why are you leaving early? Aren't you supposed to be going to Let's Bolt?" he asked

"I just don't feel so good. I guess I'm not in the mood, or whatever."

"Yeah, you don't look so good. Try not to puke in my car."

"God, why do you have to say things like that!"

"Why do you have to..." Brian began but the end of his question was left unspoken.

"Why, do I what, Brian?"

"Never mind." He replied with a shake of his head and they fell into silence for half a mile or so before he spoke again. "Does this involve Jordan Catalano?"

"Why would this have anything to do with Jordan Catalano?"

"I don't know. I just thought-" He started only for her to interrupt him.

"We are not talking about Jordan Catalano…ever again."

"We're not?" He asked but Angela just scowled out of the window rather than answering. "Ok, we're not."

Another mile passed in silence and Angela grew increasingly guilty for her behavior. When she was a teenager she was always asking Brian Krakow for favors and then being rude to him rather than grateful. As an adult, she thought she should know better but, now that Brian Krakow was back in her life, she was treating him as she always used to. It wasn't fair and she resolved to treat him better. Trying for easy conversation and an amiable tone, she decided to break the silence.

"So, have you and Emma finished redecorating your new house?"

"Almost," Brian replied. "There are still a few rooms that Emma's thinking about repapering though."

"Oh."

"Yeah… and you know, with wallpaper, there's like hundreds of patterns and whatever you choose you have to live with for a long time, or whatever."

"Yeah, I guess."

"And maybe there's nothing wrong with the wallpaper you already have. I mean, maybe it's been there for a long time and maybe it's not as new as it used to be but that doesn't mean that you can just get rid of it, because maybe it's, like, not that simple."

"You can just rent one of those steam things." Angela said. "It makes it so much easier."

"Yeah..." Brian sighed. "but my point is, the new paper might look really good for a while… maybe it even reminds you of paper you used to have years ago… but what happens if later on you realize that you did prefer the paper that was already there and now there's, like, no way you can get it back. I mean, what do you do then? You just have to live with it and let it destroy you."

"Brian, it's just wallpaper." Angela replied, as he pulled up outside her house "You're thinking about it way too deeply, in my humble opinion. Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime." he frowned as he watched her walk to her door and let herself in.

Rather than pull away when the door shut behind her, Brian reached behind his seat and pulled his camera case onto his lap. The small digital screen seemed unbelievably bright in the dark interior of the car when he switched it on and, despite the lighting in Pike Street leaving a lot to be desired, it was impossible to deny who the figures he had captured were. The thing that had attracted him to photography many years ago was the idea that he would be able to watch life without having to be part of it but sometimes you become a part of it anyway. By taking the picture, you become burdened with unwanted knowledge and even though the people in the frame are oblivious to your existence, you feel like you're standing right next to them.

He tried to evaluate the picture from a purely artistic point of view. The sharpness of the two figures contrasted nicely with the blurred people behind them. He liked the way that what little light there was fell across their faces, capturing the intense passion in his eyes and the heavy lidded desire in hers. However, he couldn't convince himself that the subjects were just models, posing for a photo shoot, or something. He'd stopped clicking and turned away before anything really happened but the photo's existence was enough proof to him that it actually had. When two people looked at each other like that, it seemed impossible to him that nothing could happen. He cursed his bad luck. Why was it always him pointing his camera in the wrong direction at the wrong time? Why was it always him seeing things he didn't want to see? Why was he incapable of confronting Angela Chase and only able to babble on about wallpaper when she had no knowledge of that long ago conversation with Mr. Chase that seemed so enlightening at the time but was obviously meaningless now? He felt like he should talk to her about it because that is what a friend would do but he just hadn't been able to find the words. Maybe he should talk to Jordan instead because they were sort of friends too, in a way, but then what about Damon? Wasn't he sort of his friend as well? Faced with such a moral dilemma, Brian reasoned that the only thing he could do was stay out of it. He may not agree with what was happening, he may feel concerned for everyone involved but, at the end of the day, it really was none of his business.

Brian's finger hovered over the delete button for a few seconds before stabbing down decisively. He thought he would feel better about the whole thing once the evidence had been destroyed but he quickly realized that wasn't the case. Deleting the photo couldn't undo what had happened; removing it from existence wouldn't erase what he had seen from his memory.

* * *

"Ok, now remember the rules. Edward, are you listening to me?" Sharon said, after pulling him away from his friends. Their evening at Pike Street had come to an end and before the kids escaped, she wanted to make sure that she wouldn't be walking into a trashed house the following morning.

"Yeah." he replied.

"Don't let things get out of control. I want you to have fun but don't get too loud because if anyone complains to that tight ass neighbourhod watch, they're not going to be so understanding about the noise you make during practice. And there is to be absolutely no drinking in my house. Okay?"

"Yeah, I get it."

"Good. We're just going to Let's Bolt. I've got my cell phone with me so if there're any problems you can just call me."

Even if he was throwing the after show party Sharon thought he was throwing, he would have thought she was worrying needlessly. He rolled his eyes and was about to tell her to chill out but was sidetracked when he saw who Rayanne was standing with in the taxi line.

"Is Shane going to Let's Bolt too?" he asked sullenly.

"I thought you liked Shane?"

"I did until a few hours ago."

"You still do." Sharon replied but continued when she got no response. "You might think you'd prefer it if I was some kind of Amish mom who didn't dance, didn't sing, didn't have any fun at all but then you'd be an Amish boy and that would suck."

"It wouldn't be so bad." He said, "I could be Amish. I'd just have to go acoustic."

"You wouldn't last a week without your amp and you know it." Sharon smiled, taking his sarcastic reply as a sign that he wasn't completely opposed to the idea of her and Shane. "The way I see it, we have two choices. We can either enjoy what's left of a fantastic night and discuss this in the morning or we can go home and discuss it now."

"No," Edward swiftly replied, "We don't have to discuss it tonight. Really."

"Okay. I really was proud of you tonight, you know?" Sharon said, settling for a small tug of his sleeve rather than trying to hug him again. He was a teenage boy after all. Receiving even well deserved hugs from his mother in front of his friends had been the epitome of embarrassment since he hit puberty and she had reached her quota for the evening, or probably the whole year, quite a few hours earlier.

Before he could respond, the air was filled with the sound of Rayanne calling her name from the front of the taxi line. Once she was sure that she had Sharon's attention, she dived into the waiting cab but Shane remained standing, holding the door open and waiting for her. She requested one more quick promise of good behavior before leaving her son and going to join them. She passed Jordan on her way and they shared a tense nod of acknowledgement as they headed in different directions. It was the most contact she had had with him all evening and the realization made her pause for a second. She felt as if she should say something to him, share a moment of parental pride in their son, but she couldn't think of the right words to use when they were becoming so accustomed to ignoring each other as much as possible. So, she let him walk away knowing that he was walking in Edward's direction. Things between her and Jordan were far from good but at least father and son relations were still progressing.

"Hey." Jordan said in his customary greeting.

It was the first time Edward had seen Jordan for hours and he was desperate to ask whether the results of the competition had swayed Jordan's opinion of their performance. Did he think they should have made the final? Was he disappointed that they hadn't? Did he still think they played the best set they possibly could have? However, when he realized that Jordan was alone, it was another question that he asked.

"Where is she?"

"Who?"

"The girl." Edward struggled with how to describe her because all his teenage hormones remembered was blond hair, boobs and hotness so he was grateful when her name popped into his head. "Morgan?"

"Oh, yeah. Morgan." Jordan replied, sounding as if he'd just been reminded of the name of a long lost acquaintance. It only took a second for the remembrance to fade to guilt at the way he had treated her. Her friends certainly seemed to think he was the lowest of the low and gave him a dirty look he no doubt deserved as he passed them on the way out. "I, err …I think she left already."

"She left? I thought you and her, you know, were like going to leave together?"

Jordan ran his hands through his hair as he thought of a reply that wouldn't be so complicated that it would lead to a thousand other question.

"I guess I just wasn't feeling it. We didn't, like, connect or something." He finally managed.

"Oh," Edward replied, thinking that if he didn't have Rebecca and was in Jordan's shoes he would have had no problem connecting whatsoever. "So are you going to Let's Bolt?

"Nah, there's an afterhours staff party at Vertigo."

"You don't work at Vertigo."

"No, but he has friends in high places. I will definitely be telling my boss all about the amazing set you guy's played. I'm sure we can find a spot for you on our stage too." Jenny replied for Jordan as she joined them and gave Edward the hug his mother thought would have been one to many. Strangely enough Edward didn't seem to mind this time around. "Don't suppose either of you've seen my big bro?"

"Not for hours. Last time was before the competition started." Jordan shrugged.

"Me too. If I didn't know any better I'd think he was avoiding us, which is a shame because I wanted to borrow 50 bucks."

"I think he's just been…busy." Edward said, not really wanting to go into who he had been busy with. "He went to Let's Bolt."

"Okay, we're going to split too." Jordan said, raising his fist for it to be bumped by Edward in what could be deemed their own macho version of a hug. "You did good, kid."

By the time Edward rejoined his friends, Steve had disappeared. As they piled into Tino's van which Mike had borrowed for the evening, Amy was the only one who questioned his absence. Edward hardly listened to the explanation Mike provided. He didn't really care where their bass player had gone or what he was up to. All he cared about was that things were going according to plan. They had all had a fantastic night and now things were due to get even better. It was finally going to happen. Not that it hadn't happened before with other people but this time it felt different. Before, he'd always thought that sex was just this thing that people had. The girls that he had been with had just offered it up with no hesitation or discussion. Rebecca was the only one who had made him wait and wait, to the point where there wasn't even a word to describe how frustrated he was. Now, the waiting was finally over. After the night he had had, he didn't think it was possible to feel excited about anything else. He thought he had used it all up before getting up on stage but it seemed as if his body had an endless supply. He just hoped that when it came to the actual act, he wouldn't get too excited. Or at least not too excited, too quickly. With the surety that Sharon would not be coming home, he wanted to take his time, make it last as long as possible. He wanted to show her exactly what she had been missing out on and he also wanted to make it nice, for lack of a better word. Girls like their first time to be nice, or so he'd heard somewhere. He had also heard that taking a girls virginity was supposed to be a turn on. He'd never been with a virgin before and rather than turning him on, it made him sort of nervous because he wasn't entirely sure what to expect and he didn't want to, like, hurt her. However, the nerves he felt couldn't compare with how much he wanted it to happen. Just the thought of it brought a smile to his face. He looked over to Rebecca expecting to see a similar expression of anticipation on her face but there was no smile to match his own. She was just staring off into space, lost in her own thoughts.

"You okay?" he asked, nudging her foot with his own to get her attention.

"Yeah." She replied. "I'm just not sure if this is a safe way to travel. I mean we must be breaking like a million transportation laws."

Personally, Edward had no problem leaving the front seat to Mike and Amy while he and Rebecca sat on the floor in the back but as they hit a small bump in the road and the equipment stacked up around them rattled, he could sort of see her point. He scooted closer and put a protective arm around her but rather than relax against him as he expected she remained tense. Knowing that Amy and Mike were paying them no attention from the front seat, Edward did the only thing he knew which relaxed her completely, which was to stroke her neck softly with his fingers before applying his lips to the same sensitive skin. It didn't take long for him to be rewarded with a barely audible sigh as she leaned into him, causing him to transfer his lips to her own. His arms tightened around her, pulling her as close as he could but as he attempted to deepen the kiss, she pulled away.

"What's the matter?" he asked, only for her to gesture towards the other couple in response. "They're not even paying attention to us."

Edward didn't understand her coyness because he was sure they'd put on larger public displays of affection in the school hallways, never once caring who could see. A glance in the direction of the front of the van confirmed that that didn't have an audience. Mike had his eyes on the road and Amy was busy with the CD player.

"But they're sitting right there." Rebecca whispered.

For a fleeting second Edward felt the familiar frustration that he had become accustomed too but rather than scowl in annoyance, his smile was soon back in place. Sure, he'd love to be making out with her right then. He'd love to be making out with her every second of every day but knowing that they would soon be alone, he reasoned that he could wait. It wasn't as if the kiss would actually lead anywhere while they were riding in the back of the van. He knew they would soon be back at his house where they could pick up exactly where they left off so there was no pointing pushing the issue now. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her once more, holding her close and stroking her hair while she slowly relaxed against him once more.

They were soon pulling up outside the Cherski residence and right on cue, Mike gave an exaggerated yawn.

"Man, I'm beat. Do you mind if I call it a night? I just want to go home and crash."

"Whatever, dude. No problem." Edward replied, hoping they sounded more natural than he thought they did.

"Party pooper." Amy pouted from the front of the cab before turning around to face Edward and Rebecca. "Looks like it's just us three then. I vote for cheesy DVDs and lots of popcorn."

She almost snorted at the look of pure panic on Edward's face before Mike came to his rescue. "Why don't you come with me? Tino's going to be out all night so we'll have the place to our selves."

"But I thought you were just going to crash." Amy replied, "Where's the fun in that?"

Edward didn't see Rebecca silently mouth 'what are you doing?' in Amy's direction or the look she received in return. He was too busy trying to think of something to say to get his plans back on track.

"Well I'm, like, tired too. It's been a big night. I guess performing on an actual stage, in front of, you know, people, really takes it out of you. You should go with Mike because I'll probably just crash too." He said.

"Well then, maybe Rebecca and I should just go back to my place and have girly sleepover."

"No! …I mean, your mom went home forever ago. You'll just wake her up or something." Edward protested, wishing he could just tell Amy the truth.

It would be so much easier if he could just say 'I want you to go away because I want to have sex with my girlfriend' but Rebecca had made a point of wanting to keep it between themselves and had been less than impressed when he had told Mike so he could hardly tell anyone else, even if it was just Amy. Looking for assistance, he nudged Rebecca and was very grateful when she started to speak.

"Yeah. You should totally go with Mike."

"Are you sure?" Amy asked.

"Yeah …totally." Rebecca replied

"Really? Amy persisted. "Because you know you don't have to right? I mean we could just hang and do girlie stuff. We could-"

"Jeez, she said she was sure." Edward said sharply, losing patience with his best friend in his eagerness to get the alone time he was looking forward to. He pulled open the van door and agilely bounced out. He turned around to grab his guitar and once it was securely strapped against his back he held his hand out to Rebecca.

"Come on." he beckoned.

For a second, she sat still, making no other movement than to look at Amy and Edward felt his irritation start to grow once more at what he viewed as another unwanted delay. It was short lived though. As soon as Rebecca spoke, his vexation was replaced with happiness.

"I'll…call you in the morning… or something." she said to Amy before scooting towards the door and hopping out.

As soon as her feet were planted on firm ground, she took the hand that he offered and he was unable to stop a triumphant smile spread across his face as he swung the van door shut behind her. Mike pulled away and the sound of the van faded as they started to walk toward the door. The rest of the neighborhood was still and their footsteps echoed as they walked up the path to his front door, emphasizing the silence between them. For the first time ever, Edward was lost for words. He had never been at a loss for stuff to talk about with her before. It made him realize that despite his past sexual experience he was sort of nervous. They weren't bad nerves. They were definitely good nerves but they made it impossible to think of the nerves she might have been feeling so, when his thumb rubbed comforting circles against the palm of her hand it was as much for his benefit as it was for hers. When they did finally reach the door, he half expected to fumble the key in the lock but it clicked effortlessly back into place and before they knew it they were inside.

Edward let go of her hand and unstrapped his guitar and as he leaned it carefully against the wall, he was happy to discover that his hands weren't shaking and his palms were not sweaty. Outwardly, he looked calm and confident and that knowledge gave him the confidence to still his nerves and take control of the situation. He turned towards her and pulled her into his arms. As Rebecca gazed up at him, wide eyed, he was struck by just how beautiful she was and how much he needed her.

"So, here we are." he whispered as he brushed her hair away from her face.

"Yeah-" she stated to whisper breathlessly back before his lips descended on hers.

* * *

Thanks for reading! ~LJ~


	27. Chapter 27

It's been far too long but Chapter 27 is finally here :) I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed or added this to their Favs so far and an even bigger thank you to GoodniteGirl23 for being a fabulous beta.

Hope you enjoy - please R&R

~LJ~

* * *

Despite Rebecca's apparent determination to go through with it, Amy had a very bad feeling about the whole thing. The further Mike drove away from Edward's house, the more her feeling of foreboding increased but what could she do? It was Rebecca's choice and if she said she was ready, who was Amy to argue? The problem was, Amy wasn't entirely convinced that she was ready. She was so distracted by the worrying thoughts that swirled through her mind that the drive to Tino's house went by in a blur and before she knew it, Mike had unbuckled his seatbelt and was looking at her expectantly.

"You coming or what?" he asked, making Amy realize that she had been sitting there, staring out of the windshield, long after the engine had died.

"Urm…yeah."

Amy got out and followed him to the front door but her steps contained none of the enthusiasm Mike was expecting. They had never had the chance to spend the whole night together before so he couldn't understand why she was dragging her feet or why she was so quiet.

"You ok, babe?" he asked as they reached the top of the stairs.

"I'm fine." She nodded in response but when they got to his bedroom door, she pulled back. "Bathroom."

Trying to convince herself that all she needed was a few minutes alone to clear her head, she disappeared down the hall with more speed than she had displayed since they arrived but Mike didn't give it a second thought. His mind was too busy replaying the feeling of being on stage in front of a huge audience and thinking about how the night was going to have a perfect ending to take her answer at anything but face value. So, when she eventually came into the room, he was quite surprised when she shrugged out of his arms as he tried to pull her in for a kiss.

"Ok, what's going on?" he asked, finally realizing that all was not well.

"Nothing." Amy replied before changing her mind and letting her true thoughts come out. "I just can't believe how stupid you boys are sometimes!"

"What did I do?"

"Like you don't know!"

"If I knew I wouldn't be asking, would I?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about Edward's stupid plan! He's basically pressuring Rebecca into having sex with him and you're, like, totally helping him!"

"What? No I'm not. I mean, she's his girlfriend. It's what she's supposed to do."

"Supposed to do?"

"Well yeah." Mike continued, unable to see the hole he was digging for himself. "Unless she's like abnormal or something."

"Abnormal?"

"I just mean it's accepted, ok? She's been holding out on him for months and it's not like he's just going to wait around for her forever."

"So what you're saying is that girls are just supposed to have sex. That there's some kind of timetable that you have to stick to and if you don't it means you're abnormal, like some kind of freak, and the guy is just basically wasting his time!"

"That's not what I said. I just meant-" he started to back-peddle but she cut him off.

"That's totally what you meant! So what time limit did you give me? If we didn't start having sex when we did, how long would it have been until you got bored of waiting? How long would it have been until you dumped me?" Amy asked.

"Amy, come on!"

"No, answer the question."

"I'm not going to answer some stupid question about some hypothetical situation that never even became, like, an issue for us."

"So it would have become an issue. Sex really is all guys care about." She replied, turning to leave. "I'm going home."

"Amy, it's after two in the morning."

"So?"

"So it's too late to be driving you half way across frigging town."

"I'll walk." she said stubbornly.

The last thing he was going to let her do was walk home at this time of night, especially through his neighborhood but he didn't want to convince her to stay by apologizing. As far as he was concerned, he'd done nothing to apologize for. Instead, he said the only thing he could think of that might stop her from leaving. "You can't go home. Your mother thinks you're at a party at Edward's house. If you wake her up she'll want to know what the hell's going on."

"Fine," Amy spat out, knowing that what he said was true even if she didn't like it. "but if you think I'm sleeping in the same bed as you, you can think again."

"You're really that mad at me, you want to sleep on the floor?" Mike asked incredulously as he watched her move over to the bed and throw one of his pillows down.

"No. I'll take the bed because I'm the guest. You can sleep on the floor." she replied before kicking off her shoes and pulling off her jeans in a way she hoped he wouldn't find the least bit sexy. Choosing to sleep in the rest of her clothes she crawled under the blanket and turned away from him.

"I don't believe this."

"Believe it."

Mike watched open mouthed as she scrunched her eyes closed in a poor imitation of sleep. Deciding on a policy of 'don't get mad, get even', Mike did what he felt was only fair and whipped the blanket away, producing a sharp intake of breath from his girlfriend.

"Hey, if you're kicking me out of my own bed, I'm taking the covers, unless you're suddenly in a sharing kind of mood?"

"I'd rather freeze!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Silence descended on them as Amy hugged the pillow in a vain attempt to keep warm and Mike tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position on the carpet.

"I really can't believe this." Mike said after a few minutes, finally accepting that he was in for a restless night. "If I knew that helping Eddie to get laid would mean I wouldn't, I really wouldn't have bothered."

Understandably, his statement didn't help to improve Amy's opinion of her boyfriend at that particular moment in time. "I guess it's what you might call ironic," she replied quietly before turning her back on him even more.

Like Amy, Edward was also lying alone in bed, trying to figure out where it all went wrong. Unlike Amy, his other half wasn't lying a few feet away on the floor. She was long gone. She had fled into the night and he had been too hurt and angry and confused to try and make her stay. He hadn't been paying enough attention in Katimski's for the word 'ironic' to come to mind but he was distinctly aware of the component of weirdness in the situation. He had waited for so long that he had surpassed his own expectations of patience. He had coped with more frustration than he thought possible. Then, finally, the moment had arrived where his ultimate goal was within reach and he had let it go. Deep down he knew he had done the right thing. He was sort of glad that they hadn't had sex even though it was sort of killing him right now. However, the fact that it was him and not her that stopped it from happening made it all seem worse somehow.

To the casual observer, Rebecca was loud and confident. When people saw them making out in the hallway at school they automatically assumed that they were having sex because when she kissed him, she made it seem as if she was reaching ecstasy, which made him want her to reach ecstasy even more. What people didn't know, and Edward had slowly come to understand, was that inside Rebecca wasn't loud and confident at all. She was actually sort of shy and had all of these inhibitions that he hadn't expected but he thought they had been making progress. They had been taking their time, going at her pace and she was starting to relax and get comfortable with all that stuff. She was more than comfortable. She made him hot and she knew it. It seemed like, one day, Rebecca woke up and realized that she had this power over him, that she was the one in control because she was the one who said when, where and how far. So, he reacted in the only way he knew how. It wasn't even a conscious decision, or if it was, it was one his balls made rather than his brain. He started to push for more.

It wasn't the fact that he had been pushing for more that was really worrying him. He was a teenage boy after all. He had hormones he wasn't exactly in control of and, like Mike, he was of the opinion that sex was sort of expected to happen at some point and the sooner the better. What was worrying him was how far things had gotten that night before he realized that Rebecca wasn't having fun. What was worrying him even more was the fact that she didn't say anything. She would have let him, and God did he want to, because at no time was the word no uttered by her, but she wasn't exactly saying yes either.

Things had started off well. At least, he thought they had. They had both been a bit nervous but it didn't take long for his nerves to disappear and he thought it was the same for her. They'd been fooling around for months so he knew what she liked, what turned her on and what kind of breathless moans he could generate because he was quite certain that they were the sexiest sounds she or any girl could ever make. And she had been making those sounds but at some point she had stopped and gone sort of quiet. Worse still, she had stopped everything else as well. When he kissed her, he expected her to kiss him back. When he touched her, he expected her to touch him back but she wasn't doing that either. Rebecca was just sort of lying there with her face set in an expression of grim determination as if she was waiting for him to just do it so she could get it over with. That wasn't how it was supposed to be. When he thought about them having sex, which he had done an awful lot, she wasn't just there. She was, you know, participating.

He had never felt like this before. In truth, he didn't know what to feel. There were too many conflicting emotions. He was so angry with her but he felt guilty too, like it was his fault for pushing things too much. He was worried about her because she was the one who had fled into the night with tears streaming down her face but he felt like he was the one who had been rejected and it hurt more than he thought was possible. Unable to decide which feeling to go with, his brain settled on numb and, like Amy, he eventually fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

Angela couldn't remember the last time she spent her Sunday morning feeling hung over. It would not have been so bad if she had gotten a good night's sleep or at least the kind of blissful oblivion too much alcohol usually brought, but she had spent the night tossing and turning, replaying the evening over and over. She had been going over Jordan Catalano's words so much, wondering what exactly they meant and what she should have said or done differently, that she wasn't entirely sure her headache was just alcohol induced. Maybe it was just the result of thinking too hard and too long about something she knew she should really be trying to forget.

Amy had returned home earlier than Angela expected. She had gone straight up to her room rather than join her in the kitchen and had announced her arrival with the music that emanated from her room seconds after the door shut behind her. It wasn't loud enough for Angela to hear the vocals properly but she could hear the melody as it floated through the ceiling. On any other day, Angela would have thought it was pretty. She may even have wished for Amy to turn it up a bit because it was a million times better than the hard rock her daughter seemed to be favoring lately, but today any noise was too much noise. However, one purpose it did serve was to provide a distraction from what was on Angela's mind but Angela didn't think of the distraction as an improvement. Slowly but surely Angela's thoughts about Jordan Catalano were replaced with the memory of her daughter's behavior the night before.

The public display of affection Amy and Mike had provided made her both angry and scared at the same time. She was angry because, as far as she was concerned, there was no way her sixteen year old daughter should be taking part in such a spectacle. She was also scared because she was 99.9% sure that her sixteen year old daughter was actually having underage sex. Her baby, her little girl, was having sex with a boy; and not some nice, sweet, boy next door type either. No, her daughter had chosen a rough looking boy who had a car with back seats and doors. She had chosen a musician who smoked and drank and swore. She had chosen a guitarist who was also still a child but obviously considered himself a man. The problem was, she wasn't sure what she could do to change the situation. She sincerely doubted that telling Amy that she wasn't allowed to have sex would turn her daughter into a paragon of virtue and far as telling her that she wasn't allowed to see Mike any more went, that would only result in them sneaking around even more than they already were. It wasn't so long ago that Amy was denying the fact that Mike was even her boyfriend. She may never have admitted it if her and Damon hadn't caught them in Vertigo. Who knew how long it had been going on for or what else she was keeping from them? However, there was only one thing scarier than believing that her sixteen year old daughter was sexually active and that was the thought of her sixteen year old daughter becoming pregnant.

They were obviously going to have to have a conversation about responsibility and being careful. They were going to have to have the same kind of conversation her mother used to attempt to have with her about Jordan. It was going to be horrible for both of them and for the first time Angela realized how Patty must have felt all those years ago but she reasoned that the sooner she got it over with the better.

She was still trying to decide on the right way to raise her concerns when she pushed Amy's bedroom door open ten minutes later. With all barriers removed, even the sound of softly strummed acoustic guitar was too much for her fragile head to take and she automatically reached for the volume control.

"Mind if I?" she asked almost as an afterthought.

"You might as well turn it off." Amy replied, not moving from where she lay sprawled across her bed.

"No. I like it." Or at least, she did now that it was quieter.

"Really?" Amy asked, lifting her head off her pillow for the first time since Angela entered the room.

"Yeah sure." Angela found her eyes wandering as she struggled to find the right words. They landed on the line of stuffed animals that sat across the top of Amy's wardrobe. They were a reminder of just how young her daughter was but Angela couldn't help wondering when they had been moved from Amy's bed. They were no longer lovingly cuddled but just sat neglected, gathering dust, and would someday get thrown away. If she were in an analytical mood, she would take them as a metaphor for her daughter's innocence but Amy's voice stopped her thoughts from getting that far.

"Edward made it for me. He's been helping Jordan Catalano in his studio, learning how to use the equipment and stuff. Some of them have a girl singing but the tracks where it's just Jordan are the best. I mean, in my humble opinion." Amy wasn't putting much thought into what she was saying. She was too busy wondering when Rebecca was going to call her. Thinking or talking in any kind of detail about Edward and Rebecca's sex life was something she generally tried to avoid because it was just way too weird but she was dying to know what had happened. Besides, thinking about that was better than thinking about what a jerk her boyfriend was. She was still mad at Mike and, after sneaking out of his house at first light, she was also wondering when he was going to call to beg her forgiveness but she wouldn't put it past him to still be snoring. Anyway, with her head wrapped up in other things, she was completely unaware of the effect her words had on her mother.

For Angela, the last person she expected her daughter to be talking about was Jordan, the very person she was trying to stop obsessing over. How typical that it was his music that she could half hear down in her kitchen, how ironic that just minutes ago she was thinking that on a better day she would really rather like to listen to more. When his voice joined the melody, soft but infinitely masculine and unmistakably him now that she could hear it properly, her brain was rendered incompetent of all thought. All she could do was feel the notes as they caressed her soul and made her spine tingle. She couldn't remember the last time live music had such an effect on her, never mind a simple CD.

"Mom…MOM?" Amy asked, bringing Angela out of her daze as the song came to an end. "Was there

something you wanted?"

"What? Oh, urm…never mind." Angela replied as she started to kick start her brain. "I, err..just wanted to say hi."

"Hi?"

"Yeah. Hi. So…bye."

"Bye?" Amy asked as she watched Angela back out of the room but her mother made no reply.

It was only when she was back in the kitchen that Angela remembered why she went upstairs in the first place and realized that she hadn't even attempted to have the much needed, very important conversation with Amy. Holding her head in her hands, she groaned in frustration. She seriously needed help.

* * *

"Hi. I'm home." Sharon called as she entered her house. She had expected to be met with a mess of empty soda bottles, chip bags and chocolate wrappers but the house was spotless. There was not one thing out of place and the teenage boys who should have been occupying her sofas were missing. As she made her way upstairs, the open door of the guest bedroom proved that it was also vacant and held not a trace of the girls who were supposed to be sleeping in there. Something seemed wrong because teenagers were never that tidy but she couldn't put her finger on it. With growing confusion she continued down the hallway and stopped outside her son's room.

"Eddie?" She called as she knocked softly. "Eddie, are you in there?"

Taking the grunt that she heard from within as an affirmative, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. She caught a quick glimpse of Edward's hair before the duvet was pulled up over his head and she was left talking to his toes.

"Morning Sweetie. Has everyone gone home already?" She asked, only for her question to be met with silence. Her next question of "Did you all have a good time?" was met with the same response.

As the silence continued, Sharon's temper started to rise but she had no suspicion of the real cause of Edward's lack of communication. Instead, she jumped to the only conclusion she could think of.

"Is this about Shane?" She asked. "Edward, I like him, Okay? He's a nice, decent guy and you can give me the silent treatment and sulk all you want but that's not going to change my mind."

There was a slight movement under the duvet but that was the extent of the response she got.

"He asked me out to dinner tomorrow night. I said yes." she tried once more but she might as well have been talking to herself. Giving up, she started to back out of the room. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to at least try to be happy for me about this."

Edward waited until he heard the door click shut behind her before sitting up in bed. With everything that had happened the previous night, he had forgotten all about his mother and Shane but he was glad Sharon had decided to leave rather than pursue the matter. She was obviously mad at him for not acknowledging her but Edward was not ready for that conversation just yet. It was just too weird to have a conversation with Sharon about her love life when his was basically self destructing. When he thought about Rebecca, he was tempted to lie back in bed and avoid the world for as long as possible but his head and his heart ached too much to do that. He wasn't ready for a conversation with Rebecca either really but he knew he needed to see her. He also knew that whatever conversation they had could possibly be their last because they were going to break up, if they hadn't already. He just couldn't see any other way around it.

With a melancholy sigh, he headed towards the bathroom, praying that he would be able to make it out of the house before his mother cornered him.

He thought a shower might make him feel better but as he stood under the hot water his mind didn't focus on the task of getting clean. Instead, his mind went into overdrive, analyzing the night before and trying to find some kind of reason to explain what had happened. He'd never really thought about the way he looked before but he found himself questioning whether there was something wrong with him. Did Rebecca not want to have sex with him because she was repulsed by him? Was the sight of his naked body that hideous to look at? But, trying to appraise himself with a critical eye, he couldn't see anything that was that wrong. Sure, he didn't have huge muscles or a six pack to die for but he wasn't flabby and he wasn't too skinny either. As for the part of him that she seemed so afraid of, well, he didn't think he had any issues there either. It wasn't as if he had really compared himself to other guys before. The only place he ever saw guys naked was in the less than private locker room at the school gym but there was an unspoken rule that no one actually looked too closely at anyone else's junk. He just knew that he'd never felt worried about whether he measured up. Besides, it wasn't as if Rebecca had much previous experience to measure him against.

However, if it wasn't the way he looked that had caused the problem, maybe it was a question of technique. He had been pretty confident that when it came to girls, he knew what he was doing. There might have been a period of trial and error when he first started fooling around with girls but he thought he'd caught on pretty quick as to what worked and what didn't. The womens' magazines his mother left lying around the house had also helped quite a bit. They were a treasure trove of invaluable information compared to the dull, clinical sex ed classes he had had to sit through and, unlike Rebecca, he had had sex before. Not just with one person either. Admittedly, his first time wasn't his greatest performance ever but who's was? Also admittedly, the two girls he'd had sex with weren't exactly classed as girlfriends but neither one had been a one-time only deal. They had both been intimate with him on multiple occasions and they wouldn't have done that if he was no good, right? He wasn't so sure anymore. What if he'd been wrong all along? What if those other girls hadn't been having a good time either and he just hadn't noticed? For all he knew it could have been that way. Maybe he'd just been deluding himself or they'd been better actresses than Rebecca. By the time he had finished his shower, his thoughts were no clearer. He now had self doubt and feelings of inadequacy to add to his confusion. The worst feeling in the world for Edward at that moment was to think that he had no idea at all about girls and that, in the past when he thought he had, he'd been a fool.

He managed to escape the house without bumping into his mother by shouting a quick 'going out' in the direction of the kitchen seconds before pulling the front door closed behind him but the quick get away was the most energetic part of his journey to the restaurant. He dragged his feet all of the way there and was still of two minds as to whether he had made the right decision in wanting to see Rebecca so soon by the time he arrived. When he passed the large windows at the front of the restaurant, he half hoped to see her working inside. It was far from unheard of for her to waitress during the Sunday lunch time rush and it would give him the excuse to turn tail and go back home. Unfortunately, he was out of luck. The lunch time rush was yet to start, most of the tables were still empty and Rebecca was nowhere to be seen. He plodded around the back of the building and still might have changed his mind if it wasn't for the appearance of Grahame Chase struggling with a large pile of empty cardboard boxes.

"Hey, you want to give me hand with this?" Graham asked as he tried but failed to keep the lid of the large dumpster open long enough to throw the trash away.

"Oh sure." Edward replied, stepping forward to hold the offending lid open while thinking that if Graham knew why he was there it would be him rather than the boxes that would be getting thrown inside.

Within seconds the task was finished and they made their way into the building.

"I miss the days when you could just throw things away and not think about them. I mean, recycling is good and all, but it makes you wonder what going to happen to them, you know? Am I going to get the same cardboard back next month, made up into a brand new box or is it destined for bigger and better things? Does this box aspire to greatness or is it happy to just be another piece of food packaging? It really makes you think, doesn't it?" Graham said, but it soon became clear that the Edward was neither listening to nor interested in his musings on the fate of cardboard. "I guess that's just me then. Rebecca's upstairs."

Edward hardly noticed as Graham disappeared through the double doors that led to the restaurant's kitchen. All of his attention was focused on the set of stairs that led up to the apartment. Talking a deep breath, he started to climb up them but he only got halfway before the door at the top opened and Rebecca stepped out.

"Oh…I mean, hey." She said as she looked down at him.

"Hey." Edward replied.

He felt as if his feet were suddenly glued in place so it was a good thing that she started to descend towards him but when she stopped in front of him and silently leaned against the banister it became clear to him that she was out of bravery and if there was going to be any sort of conversation he was the one who would have to speak first. His mouth felt dry and his stomach had that empty, sick sort of feeling but he couldn't just turn around and leave. He wanted to say that he was sorry. He wanted to tell her it was all her fault. He wanted to beg forgiveness, tell her that he could change, be a better boyfriend but he also wanted to tell her that she needed to change, be a better girlfriend. It was hopeless and he knew it. She knew it too.

When he did manage to find his voice, he was surprised to hear that it sounded almost normal rather than the emotion choked croak he was expecting. "So are we supposed to say something? Like official because-"

"You don't have to say anything." Rebecca said.

Her voice cracked slightly on the last word, making him want to pull her into his arms but he couldn't. He wasn't, like technically allowed to do that anymore if she wasn't his girlfriend, right?

"You could have told me. If you didn't want to, you just had to say. You didn't have to, I dunno, pretend or something."

"I wasn't pretending."

"That's what it seems like."

"I wasn't. I just… God. It's just so hard to explain. I don't know what you want me to do. Well, I know what you want me to do but… I mean, I've thought about having sex with you but I…It's just…"

"It's a big deal." Edward provided as she struggled to find the right words.

"Yeah," she nodded sadly. "It is a big deal… it's a big deal for you too but in, like, the opposite way."

"Yeah." he agreed, "I'm sorry."

"Me too."

Edward knew that he should leave, that he should just go but instead he searched for something to say that would delay the inevitable even for a few seconds more. "Well, at least you got to broadened your musical horizons."

"Yeah."

"Just… don't forget to listen to new stuff every once in a while. I'm sure you won't."

"Your eyes, like, the way they look just at me when you're on stage. I'm really going to miss that." Rebecca replied as the tears that welled up in her eyes threatened to fall.

"Yeah."

"Well I guess this is it so…goodbye."

"Bye." That one small word signaled the end of their relationship but Edward hated the finality of it. It made his heart break just that little bit more and he didn't want that to be the last thing that they ever said to each other. "See you tomorrow."

She didn't say anything else but when he leaned towards her she leaned in as well. The kiss was slow and soft and sad. It was full of heavy hearted remorse and it was the first goodbye kiss that either had shared. When it ended, they both knew that their relationship was officially over. There was nothing more to be said and so Edward retreated the way he had came while Rebecca turned and retreated back to her apartment.

Neither of them noticed the slightly ajar door to the kitchen swing soundlessly closed as they went their separate ways but ten minutes later Graham was still standing the other side of it, trying to decide whether to go to his daughter knowing that he would have nothing to say that could possibly make her feel better, or give her the time and space to deal with the agony of first love's demise. But that was what it was like to raise a girl. As a father he found he was always walking on eggshells. It had been the same when Angela and Danielle has been teenagers. He had never known what to do for the best and was always afraid that somehow, he would be he one to blame. He couldn't help comparing his youngest daughter's conversation to the one he overheard many moons ago when Angela and Jordan Catalano broke up for the first time. Both girls seemed so much like their mothers at times and yet they were so similar. The only conclusion he could come up with was that maybe it was him. He was the only common denominator so maybe it was his personality that they were drawing from when it came to their relationships with boys. As a father he was infinitely happy that his youngest daughter was abstaining from sexual relations but it was obvious that it was not an easy decision for her. Both Patricia and Hallie had both had sex in high school while he had waited nearly a whole year after graduation before taking that step. What if, rather than instilling a strong moral code into his children, he had somehow filled them with an introverted reserve that left their development trailing behind that of their peers?

"Graham, what the hell are you doing?" Hallie asked, bringing him out of his daze.

"Oh, nothing. I mean, I was just taking out some trash." He replied, still distracted by his musings. "I thought this was supposed to get easier."

"What?"

"Being a parent." he replied, still wondering whether he should go upstairs to his daughter. "I thought I would have learnt from experience, or something, by now."

"Has something happened? Has Rebecca done something I need to worry about?" Hallie asked

"No, nothing happened. It's just-"

"Good because I can't deal with teenage drama at the moment." Hallie interrupted before he could explain. "The party of six have just arrived at table four and we've got a party of ten arriving in half an hour. You really need to make a start before our guests start complaining that they're starving to death."

"Yeah. In a minute." Graham replied.

"Graham! We haven't got time for this right now."

"But-" Graham started only to be interrupted again.

"Sweetheart, we're fully booked." Hallie replied, "I need you to cook. It's why I love you."

She paused long enough to give him a quick kiss on his cheek and then she was gone back to restaurant. Graham sighed as he turned back to his stove. Within seconds, the orders started to arrive and, for the time being, Graham was forced to put his thoughts on hold.

* * *

When Angela lazed around the house on a Sunday morning, it was usually in a pair of old sweats and a well worn t-shirt of Damon's with her hair scraped back and no makeup. Rayanne, however, clearly took a different approach to lazing around because when she opened her front door she looked just as glamorous in her silk, kimono sleeved robe as she would in a cocktail dress. As soon as she saw Angela a large grin spread across her face.

"Rickie, Angelika's here." Rayanne exclaimed to the room behind her in such a way as to make Angela expect to see Rickie sitting on the couch.

Instead, his voice came from the direction of Rayanne's coffee table, and Angela realized that he was just on speaker phone.

"Hey Rickie." Angela responded to his greeting. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm great. John and I have decided to bite the bullet and move in together." Rickie replied, referring to his boyfriend of two years. "The property search started yesterday and you are officially invited to visit once we've found a place."

"Oh Rickie, that's fantastic."

"Well, the leases on both our apartments are nearly up and it just feels right, you know?"

"So are you thinking city pad or suburban living?"

"Well the city's getting so expensive these days but we're not sure if we'd miss the hustle and bustle so we're kind of keeping an open mind at the moment."

"Blah, blah, blah. Who cares?" Rayanne interrupted. "No offence Rickie, but Angela did not come over here to talk about the Portland property market."

"Hey, I care! I-" Angela replied only for Rickie to cut her short.

"No, Rayanne's right. You did not come over here expecting to hear about square footage and the importance of a second bedroom. So what gives?"

"Where's Sharon? Did you guys have fun last night"

"She went home, like two hours ago. Yes we had a blast, ate ice cream and talked boys until the wee hours. I predict that Shane and her are going to be sickeningly loved up for the foreseeable future but don't try to change the subject." Rayanne answered. "You never visit on a Sunday morning unless you have a major crisis."

"It's nothing, really." Angela's reply was met with silence from Rickie and expectant look from Rayanne. Bowing under the pressure, Angela gave in and continued. "I was just thinking of cutting my hair. Short, really short."

"What? Why?" Rayanne and Rickie asked almost simultaneously.

"Does there have to be a reason?" Angela said, avoiding the answer. "Maybe I'm sick of just wearing my hair exactly like this."

"Excuse me," Rayanne replied indignantly. "You haven't always worn your hair exactly like that. I've given you more hairstyles than I can count and they were all fantastic so you should trust me when I say that really short hair will not suit you."

"It won't?"

"No not at all. If you don't believe me, ask Rickie for the male perspective."

"I don't know. I mean I like it how it is but if you want to cut it, cut it." Rickie said, without waiting to be asked.

"No. I refuse. I will not do it." Rayanne shook her head.

"I could go to a different hair dresser."

"You wouldn't dare! Did you not learn anything from that bad perm in 2002?"

"It wasn't that bad." Angela protested.

"You turned into a poodle!"

"She has a point." Rickie said. "There were frizz issues."

"But this is completely different. I just think short hair-"

"No," Rayanne interrupted once again. "Rickie, talk some sense into her while I go get dressed."

Angela watched Rayanne flounce out of the room before flopping onto the sofa. By leaning her head back and closing her eyes, it was easier to pretend that Rickie really was in the room rather than sitting in his own house miles away.

"So what's brought on this sudden urge to show your ears more?" he asked.

"It's stupid. I mean when I came up with a plan, it kind of made sense in my head but when I say it out load it's going to sound so ridiculous."

"Ok, now I'm intrigued."

"I just thought, I mean, I read somewhere this theory about men and how they like long hair."

"Ooh, I think I read that article too. It was in last month's Cosmo, right? If you read the same one, you'll know that they also like you to wear red."

"Believe me, I know they like you to wear red." she replied, thinking of the way Jordan had been looking at her the night before.

"Wait a minute, if you believe this thing about men and long hair why do you want to go short? That makes like no sense."

"I told you it was ridiculous. You see, I'm sort of having a problem with a guy and -"

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter who."

"Would his initials happen to be J.C. by any chance?"

"Rickie, it really doesn't matter who the guy is." Angela replied in such as way as to confirm his suspicions that she was talking about Jordan Catalano. "The point is, I just think that maybe I wouldn't have such a problem if I had short hair because maybe he wouldn't be attracted to me then, or something."

"Yeah, that does sound pretty ridiculous."

"I know! The fact that I even came up with a plan like that and was 100% prepared to go through with it shows how completely insane he is making me. He's like all I can think about because, without wanting to sound big headed, whenever I see him he kind of makes me feel like I am all he's thinking about and it's starting to take over my entire life! Please tell me I wasn't this pathetic in high school."

"Sorry but that I cannot do and, no offence, but cutting your hair is definitely not the solution."

"Then what is? Whenever we're anywhere near each other he just looks at me with his big, stupid, gorgeous eyes and I know that he wants me and I…I…" she trailed off, unable to admit her true feelings to even Rickie. It didn't matter though, he was able to finish the sentence for her.

"You want him too."

Rather than try to make any denial, Angela took a deep breath and nodded her head even though she knew Rickie couldn't see her. "It's taking over my life Rickie. I mean, Amy is having sex with her boyfriend and when I tried to talk to her about it this morning, I couldn't because she was playing this stupid CD that Edward gave her that had Jordan's music on it. I heard his voice and my brain just turned to mush. So of course, when she gets pregnant Damon's going to blame me because I was too busy obsessing about my high school boyfriend to talk about contraceptives with our sixteen year old daughter. This has got to stop. It just has to."

"Normally, I'd say avoidance is not a solution but maybe you should just stay away from him. Out of sight out of mind." Rickie suggested.

"I've tried avoidance." Angela replied. "It doesn't work. I just end up bumping into him at the college or somewhere else."

"Then there's only one thing for it, brutal honesty."

"Brutal honesty?"

"Yeah."

"You want me to be brutally honest with Jordan Catalano?"

"Yes. You go to see him and you tell him that although you have feelings and he has feelings that you're not going to act on them and that basically nothing is ever going to happen between you."

"Right…"

"Well, that is what you want, right, for nothing to happen?"

"I think so…I mean yes, yes of course that's what I want. I want nothing to happen. I just don't see how going to his apartment to tell him that is going to help."

"So don't go to his apartment. You could go to his store. It will be, like, neutral territory, sort of. You can just get everything off your chest, tell him how it is and you'll feel so much better about the whole thing."

"I don't know…" Angela replied, clearly unconvinced of the merits of Rickie's advice.

"Well, you've got to do something." Rayanne said, as she came back into the room "I mean think of Rickie and me. How much more can we take? Just don't go to see him today. Hung over is not a good look for you."

"Plus you need time to plan exactly what you're going to say." Rickie added.

"Yeah, you can't go and just blather like an idiot This is a situation that calls for clear, concise communication." Rayanne agreed. "Maybe you should write it down so you don't, like, screw it up."

"Or you could just write him a-" Rickie started but was swiftly interrupted.

"For the love of God, Rickie, please do not suggest that I write Jordan Catalano a letter!"

* * *

Jordan normally liked Sunday mornings in the store. He opened a little later than the rest of the week but tended to arrive there at about the same time as usual. It gave him a chance to tidy up a little and actually appreciate some of the instruments that lined the walls before customers started to arrive. Lately, the studio in the loft had started bringing in regular customers so Sunday mornings were becoming his only chance to appreciate that too. He was relieved that it was starting to bring in an income but he already missed the days when he had the place practically to himself.

Today was different. He arrived just minutes before opening and headed straight for the coffee maker once he was inside. He then spent the next twenty minutes silently leaning against the counter while he deliberated the wisdom of removing his shades. In the end he decided that looking like an idiot for wearing them inside was worth it because he was pretty sure that if any more light entered his eyes, his brain would implode. If he had gone straight home after Pike Street, he would have been fine. Okay, maybe not fine, but he'd be able to function somewhat normally. Unfortunately, he had been persuaded that going to Vertigo was a good idea and, once there, the drinks just kept coming. According to Jenny, doing shots was the best way of cheering him up, but he couldn't blame her entirely for his current state. He had continued to drink long after she had left. The guy she was supposed to meet at Pike Street had turned up and spouted some bullshit excuse for standing her up. Jordan thought he looked like a douche bag and didn't hold back on telling Jenny so. She had just laughed and said he was probably right but that wasn't going to stop her from getting her kicks while she was still young enough to enjoy them. The last thing he remembered was her promising to make the douche bag work for it before she left with him and after that Jordan's memory got a bit hazy.

He didn't blame her for ditching him. Shane would probably have a cow if he knew what his little sister was getting up to but Jordan had just been too envious to adopt the big brother routine on his behalf. Not so long ago, things were that simple for him. If he liked a girl, and she liked him, fun was had. Now, he liked a girl and he was pretty sure that she liked him but he was downright miserable about it. Fun was definitely not being had and that sucked big time but he didn't know what he could do about it. Everything he thought of to help him forget about Angela had backfired and left him feeling more pathetic. Worse still, the more he tried not to think about her, the more she seemed to be on his mind. Even the customers who wandered in that morning weren't enough to help him think of other things but it wasn't until he accidentally short changed one of them that he thought of one more last ditch attempt to get it out of his system. He reached for a battered looking note pad and for the next hour his pen flew fluidly over the pages as his thoughts and feelings turned into chorus and verse. He tried not to think too deeply about the words as they poured out of him, he just let his subconscious take over until the words stopped coming. All in all, he had nearly filled four pages by the time he stopped and had the beginnings of what could have been five or six different songs. However, when he read what he had written, Jordan realized they were songs which would never see the light of day. The last review about his music he had bothered to read said that his lyrics had a raw, simplistic honesty and emotional depth that spoke volumes. Jordan couldn't remember the name of the reviewer but if they heard his latest attempts they'd be laughing their ass off. The majority of the lines he had written were woefully pitiful, sounding like something a lovesick, completely whipped teenager would come up with. The rest had a more mature content but sounded way cruder than they seemed when he first wrote them. Singing lyrics that suggestive would definitely not have the desired effect when it came to getting Angela out of his head and he doubted she would appreciate being his muse if this was the result.

With a sigh, he shoved the book back under the counter and made an executive decision. He decided that he was going to do what had become an increasingly rare occurrence over the last few months. He was going to take a day off and spend some quality time with the one girl who he'd always been able to rely on to never mess with his head. Red's spark plugs could do with a clean and she was long overdue for an oil change.

The decision cheered him up for a short time. As always, working on his car seemed to calm him. He may not feel comfortable with complicated pieces of prose or a math equation but show him an engine and he just got it. He saw the different parts and he understood how they fit together. It was easy for him but as he tackled the spark plugs the mundane nature of the task left room for his mind to wander and inevitably it soon came back to Angela. He found himself brooding again which made him annoyed once more but he was out of solutions. Part of him wished that he had never seen Angela at all. It seemed as if things would be so much simpler if they had continued living their lives unaware of each other's presence in Three Rivers but at the same time it was impossible to separate her from everything that had happened since he discovered he had a son. If they had somehow not met on the night he first dropped the kids off at her father's restaurant, his life would be a whole lot simpler but in all likelihood it would have been minus Edward. He just wished he knew for sure what was going on in Angela's head. Was she thinking about him just as much as he was thinking about her or was he deluding himself? For all he knew, she was sitting at home, playing the good wife and not thinking of him at all. The thought depressed him, not least because it reminded him that she was someone's wife. Not that he actually ever saw her with her husband. He'd only ever seen them together a couple of times, the last occasion was at Sharon's barbecue, but he couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or not. Would he be this obsessed if only ever saw them as a couple or would it be worse?

He was still trying to decide when Edward arrived, looking just as forlorn as his father but they were both too caught up in their own problems to recognize the mutual unrest they felt.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"You weren't at the store."

"No," Jordan replied, "but it's not like I can get fired for closing up early."

"Can I have one of those?" Edward asked unexpectedly as Jordan leaned back against Red and lit a cigarette.

"Since when do you smoke?" Jordan asked but the teenager only shrugged in response. Normally Jordan wouldn't think twice about handing one over but he found himself holding back. "Sharon would kill me if she knew I let you have one of these, you too."

"She's already mad at me."

"Why, what did you do?"

"Nothing," Edward replied "She's pissed off because she thinks I'm pissed off with her."

"Are you?"

Edward thought for a minute before answering. "No not really. Shane's alright, I suppose, so if she wants to date him, or whatever, I guess it's okay."

"Sharon and Shane, when did that happen?"

"Last night."

"Oh." Jordan replied.

He supposed he should have seen it coming but he'd been oblivious to the development. It was a sign of how wrapped up in his own head he was to not notice what was going on around him. It was also a sign of how completely his life was becoming tangled with a group of women he thought had long ago been consigned to memories. It then occurred to him that the majority of what he knew about those women was based on those memories. He knew very little about their lives in the years he was absent . In fact, Edward probably knew more about them and their lives than he did. Curiosity started to build as he thought of the many questions he could ask and it was no surprise that they centered around one person. He wondered whether Angela and Damon ever fought or argued. Was it a happy marriage or were they the kind of couple who were always on the verge of divorce but never actually went through with it? Why hadn't Damon been at Pike Street the previous night? Was it because he trusted his wife implicitly and didn't want to spoil what was essentially a girls night out or was it because they didn't spend much time together or enjoy each other's company anymore? But if he asked any of those questions, Edward would be just as curious as to the reason and would ask some questions of him own which Jordan knew he wouldn't want to answer. Besides, it was unfair to interrogate the boy when he seemed so down.

"Don't worry. Shane'll treat her good." Jordan said, assuming that was the reason for Edward's glum expression. "And if he doesn't, I'll help you kick his ass."

"Thanks." Edward replied but there was no trace of the smile Jordan had been trying to produce. "So, anyway…Rebecca and I…we sort of broke up."

Jordan instantly understood the reason for his son's mood but was a loss for what to say. He was still getting used to the idea of giving fatherly advice so to buy himself some time he said the first thing that popped into his head. "That blows."

"Yeah, it does." Edward agreed.

"So, what happened?"

Edward squirmed inside as he wondered how to answer that. "Well, we've been going out for a while now and, I really tried to do the take it slow and be patient thing but I guess I screwed up, pushed things too far, or whatever."

"She tell you to back off?" Jordan guessed incorrectly.

"No, she didn't say anything, which is sort of worse." Edward replied. As a rule, the idea of talking about sex with a parent was something feared and abhorred by most teenagers but, although he was viewing Jordan more and more as his father, Edward felt like he could talk about that kind of stuff to him. Jordan wasn't a regular dad. He was sort of cooler, easier going and Edward felt pretty sure than none of what he said would be repeated to Sharon. "I mean, we nearly did it because she didn't want to admit that she's, like, scared to have sex or something. She said she wanted to and she started out acting like she wanted to but then …I mean, she didn't tell me to stop or anything like that but it was just…all wrong."

"So you didn't sleep with her?"

"No…I feel so stupid, you know? I should have just had sex with her. It would have been so simple…but if I did, knowing that she wasn't really into it even though she didn't say anything, then I think it would make me like a really low person and she'd just hate me for a different reason."

"I'm sure she doesn't hate you." Jordan replied. "It sounds like you did the right thing by, you know, not doing it."

"I just…I don't get it. I mean we agreed that last night was the night. We had the house to ourselves and it's not like I went straight for it. We did the stuff we've been doing for a while first… you know…" Edward trailed off, suddenly realizing that while he wanted to talk with Jordan a second by second description of what actually happened would be far to embarrassing.

Luckily, Jordan was thinking along the same lines. "Trust me, I get the gist."

"The thing is, she seemed like she was having a good time…like a really good time…and I don't know when things changed. I mean, how can you have too much of a good thing, you know? It just makes you think, was she really having a good time at the start or was the whole thing, like, some big act. What if she was just faking all of it?"

"I doubt she was faking it."

"But how do you know?"

"Because it sounds like she's sort of innocent. How can she fake it if she hasn't got that much experience?"

Edward was momentarily reassured but what Jordan said could be turned around and applied to him just as easily. He wasn't a virgin but he wasn't exactly Casanova either. For all he knew, they could all have been faking it and he just didn't know any different.

"But how do I tell? Have you ever been with someone who was faking it?"

"Not as far as I know." Jordan replied, thinking back over past conquests and trying not to over analyze them.

"Why can't girls come with a manual? There should be a 'how to' guide or something for this kind of stuff."

"Female Orgasm for Dummies." Jordan suggested. "I know I'd buy it."

Finally, a small smile graced Edward's lips but only for a few seconds. In a last attempt to make him feel better, Jordan thought back to his teenage years when he was in a not too dissimilar situation.

"If you want my advice, I'd say to stay friends. I mean, there's no guarantee but sometimes it's just a matter of timing. The time might not be right now but that doesn't mean it's never going to happen. Maybe you'll both meet new people, maybe you won't but at least you can leave it up to fate, or whatever, to decide. You don't have to cut your losses right away."

Edward nodded, taking in what he had said. As for Jordan, he thought it was advice he should listen to himself. He may not be able to be with Angela now but who knew what he future held. Friends wasn't great but it was a damn sight better than nothing. They lapsed into silence as they each though about their respective girls and Jordan soon realized that they were both in danger of lapsing into brooding once again, which he was determined not to do.

"So, you want to learn how to do an oil change?" He asked and with a half shrug, half nod, Edward assented.

* * *

Monday morning, the time of the week that every teenager dreads, had finally arrived and as Amy stepped off the school bus and made her way into Liberty High she felt even less enthusiastic about the start of the week than normal. Mike had called her the previous day but it became apparent very quickly that it was not to apologize. He didn't even acknowledge the argument they had on Saturday night. He just started talking as if everything was okay with them when, as far as Amy was concerned, it clearly wasn't. The conversation ended when she hung up on him and she had studiously ignored him when he tried to call back. The fact that he had only attempted to contact her twice was also a bone of contention. If he was that bothered, surely he would have put a bit more effort into making up? Amy definitely thought so which was why she had left the house early to get the school bus rather than waiting to see if he was going to pick her up.

As she trudged towards the entrance, she passed his aging Ford in its usual spot but Mike wasn't in it. Its presence didn't provide any clue as to whether he had stopped by her house that morning either. They always arrived before the bus when he picked her up. Her scowl deepened when she finally spotted him standing under the bleachers, smoking a cigarette and looking to her as if everything was fine with the world. Rather than go over to him, she continued her journey inside the school where she found Edward alone by her locker.

"I'm going to say this only once Cherski, so pay attention." Amy said, as soon as she reached him. "You are an absolute idiot."

"Yeah, I know."

His agreement took her aback for a second but her bad mood soon canceled out any surprise and she continued speaking as she threw books into her locker. "Next time you want some advice on girls, try asking me first. You know, an actual girl, because then you might get some advice which is actually good instead of turning into some sex starved jerk and behaving like a pig."

"Amy, I-"

"Because sex isn't something that you're, like, entitled to, you know? Relationships have to be about so much more than that. You can't just expect it to be handed to you on a plate whenever you want."

"Amy, I know!" Edward finally managed to interrupt. "I get it, okay? I screwed up."

"Yeah, you sort of did." Amy agreed, but her expression softened as she saw how miserable he looked about it. "I talked to Rebecca last night, she said you guys broke up."

"Yeah. But it's probably for the best, or whatever." Edward replied forlornly. "I guess we're just going to be, like, friends now, or something."

As he leaned back against the lockers and closed his eyes, Amy saw Rebecca over his shoulder as she pushed through the double doors at the other end of the corridor. Rebecca paused slightly as if undecided about whether she should approach the pair or not but, after a small smile of encouragement from Amy, her feet started moving and within seconds she was in front of them.

"Hey." Rebecca said nervously in greeting causing Edward's eyes to snap open.

"Hey." He replied but then the conversation ground to a halt and they were left shuffling their feet as they looked anywhere but at each other.

Amy rolled her eyes before rescuing them from their social awkwardness. "So, have you guys seen Justin Hardgrove this morning? At some point over the weekend, he got both eyebrows pierced."

"I know. Half the football team was crowded around him like inspecting them or something." Edward said.

"Why?" Rebecca asked. "It's not like they're an actual personality."

"I bet $20 he'll have to take them out at the next practice too. When Ryan Thompson got his done last year, coach said it was a health and safety breach and that was only one eyebrow."

Having gotten them talking, Amy tuned out. The football coach's opinion on body piercing wasn't really something that interested her. She was much more interested in wondering when Mike was going to come inside and whether he would try to talk to her or not. Not that she wanted to talk to him, she reminded herself. Which is why, when she finally saw him walking down the corridor towards her, she turned back to her friends and interrupted their conversation.

"I'm going hit the girl's room before the bell goes, you coming, Rebecca?"

"Yeah sure." She agreed and before she knew it, she was being pulled away.

By the time Mike came to a stop by Edward, the girls were long gone.

"I thought you and Rebecca broke up?"

"We did."

"Then why is Rebecca speaking to you when Amy, who as far as I know is still my girlfriend, won't speak to me at all?"

"What do you mean, as far as you know?"

"When a girl won't even talk you, it kind of makes you think she's about to dump your ass." Mike replied. "And if she does, I'm totally blaming you."

"Oh no, don't try pinning that on me. If you opened your mouth before putting your brain in gear, you've only got yourself to blame."

"I don't think that what I said was that bad. I mean, she sort of twisted my words so we ended up arguing about something that never even happened. She's being completely ridiculous. I mean, I slept on a floor for her. What more does she want?"

"Dude, if I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be single right now." Edward replied grimly. A manual for how to deal with girls was looking more and more appealing but any further contemplation on the issue was halted by the bell.

* * *

Angela parked her car across the street from Back Alley Music and wondered for the billionth time whether she was doing the right thing. The previous day, when she had been sitting on Rayanne's couch, Rickie had managed to convince her that talking to Jordan Catalano was the right thing to do and Rayanne, although not quite as constructive when it came to what she should actually say, had seemed to agree. By the time she had left and returned home, Angela had a plan of action and the determination to carry it through. However, after another sleepless night, she wasn't so sure that Rickie's advice was as good as she previously thought. Her confidence had started to waiver as soon as she started getting ready to face the day and was hit with the conundrum of what to wear. What outfit could possibly be suitable for both work and the kind of conversation she wanted to have with Jordan? Needless to say, she avoided anything that even approached red on the color spectrum.

According to Rickie's plan, she was supposed to go to see Jordan during her lunch hour. Apparently, it was the perfect time because it would limit the amount of time she had to waffle. She would have to say what she wanted to say and then leave again. When it came to actually leaving her post behind the receptionist desk at the appointed hour, she had somehow allowed herself to procrastinate and before she knew it, lunch became a hurried sandwich eaten over her keyboard as she tried to type and not drop crumbs at the same time. Rather than having it over and done with, she was left with an afternoon of thinking about it, revising and rewording her speech while her stomach churned. After her shift finished, she got in her car and drove five blocks before she realized that she was on auto pilot and following her normal route home. It took nearly all of the will power she possessed to turn the car around and head downtown. The rest was used in getting out of the car and walking towards the shop and him. With one last deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

When the bell over the door rang, Jordan hoped for a potential customer with plenty of money to burn to brighten up what was an extremely slow day. So, when he looked towards the door he was more than a little surprised to see Angela Chase. She was the last person he expected to see and he couldn't help his eyes travel up and down her body as she walked towards him with a purposeful stride. She might not be wearing a red dress like the one she wore on Saturday night but to him she looked just as good in her tailored slacks and crisp white shirt. No, she looked better. She looked classy. Each time he saw her, he wanted her more but he held back and it was driving him insane. He had tried to tell himself that not holding back would just cause him to make a fool out of himself. He feared that not only would she reject him, she would also be driven away. As much as it killed him to be around her knowing that she was committed to someone else, not seeing her all would be even worse. He felt pathetic for believing that but he knew it was true.

Now, here she was, in his store for the first time and with a determined look on her face. He thought the worst. He thought that she was here to tell him goodbye, that they were getting too close, that this thing between them was slowly destroying them, that it was too hard to be just friends and, because she couldn't be more than a friend to him, they couldn't see each other anymore.

He was right. That was her intention and she was doing her best to remember her plan but for each step she took towards him her resolution wavered, making her angry at herself and angry at him. She stopped in front of him and everything she had planned to say was forgotten. Instead, she reached out and grabbed his t-shirt, screwing the material into balls in her hands.

"I hate you! I can't sleep because of you!" She shouted. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to me, to my life? Why did you have to come back? Why? What gives you the right to make me feel like this?"

Each question mark was emphasized by her pushing her fists against his chest. The soft punches illustrated her anger and frustration but it wouldn't have mattered if she had been putting all of her force behind them. He wouldn't have felt them. How could he possibly feel any pain when she was saying that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her? He didn't know what to say so he did the only thing he could and pulled her closer to him, cutting off her words with a kiss.

When his lips came crashing down on hers, it wasn't gentle or sweet. It was the kind of kiss that would make her lips feel swollen afterward. It was urgent and forceful, demanding a response. The response she gave was just as forceful. She poured all of her anger and frustration into kissing him back until they were replaced with a burning passion. She didn't just want him. She needed him and she couldn't deny it any longer. Jordan's lips moved, trailing kisses along her jaw line and down her neck, while his hands explored her body, eliciting a low moan of pleasure. The sound pulled his lips back to hers, crushing against her while his tongue sought entry and she willingly obliged as she buried her hands in his hair. Angela was so caught up in the feel of his kiss and the softness of his hair, that she hardly noticed as his hands moved to her shirt buttons. One second she was fully covered and the next her shirt had been ripped open but the shock of cool air against her skin made her realize that she wasn't the only one to be having her clothes tugged and pulled. Her hands were just as busy as his, seemingly moving with a mind of their own as they pushed the much abused material of his t-shirt up over his chest. He helped her raise the top over his head but his hands were back on her before it even hit the floor, gripped her bare waist to guide her as he pushed her backwards, all the while teasing her mouth with his tongue.

Her lower back collided with the top of the counter but he hardly heard the small grunt of pain she gave at the contact. She hardly registered it herself, too caught up in the moment to feel any pain, let alone worry about whether she would bruise. As he continued to kiss her, he reached behind to clear the counter, scattering magazines and invoices to the floor in a single sweep before lifting her up. A small breathless giggle escaped her as the tiny part of her brain that was still capable of thought registered the surreal quality of the situation. That sort of thing didn't happen in real life, it was a move reserved for TV or bad romance novels but she'd be lying if she said his reckless abandonment didn't turn her on even more. A ghost of a smile graced his own lips before they crashed down on hers once more and then there were no more thoughts.

They were so lost in each other that neither one heard the jingle of the bell as the door opened again nor the sound of footsteps as someone entered. It was the sound of a surprised gasp that finally brought them back to reality.

"Oh!" Jenny exclaimed, mouth gaping in shock at what she saw before her. "That's taking flirting with the customers to a whole new level, Catalano."

The look on their faces as they realized they had an audience was priceless but Jenny was too shocked to find any humor in their expressions and their surprise was swiftly turning into something else. Incapable of words, a low growl of frustration escaped Jordan's mouth while he moved towards Jenny intending to get her out of the shop as soon as possible.

"Don't worry, I'm going. I've seen quite enough." Jenny said as she backed away towards the door, grateful that she had arrived when she did. It was safe to say that had she arrived even a few minutes later she would have seen a whole lot more. "Next time, try locking the door."

Jordan practically chased her out and when the door sung closed behind her, he did what she suggested and twisted the lock to make sure that there would be no further interruptions. However, when he turned back to Angela, he could see that the moment was gone. Angela's shaking fingers worked hastily at the buttons on her shirt and her panic stricken features looked close to tears.

"Oh my God. Oh my God." she repeated over and over as she tried to straighten her clothes and hair.

"Angela…" Jordan started in what he hoped would be a soothing voice but, unable to decide what to say next, he opted instead to pull her into his arms.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted as she jumped away from him. "What was I thinking? I shouldn't have come here. I knew this was a bad idea. Anyone could have walked in here. That could have been Edward or Amy. Oh God, what if that had been Amy? What if she'd seen? What-"

"Angela, it wasn't Amy. It was just Jenny." Jordan cut off her tirade only to start a new one.

"She might tell Shane. What if he tells Sharon? What if Edward overhears? He could tell Amy and then-"

"Shhh." He tried to sooth and when he put his arm around her, this time she didn't pull away. "I'll talk to her. She won't tell anyone."

"Are you sure?"

"I promise." He replied, smoothing her hair and tucking it behind her ears as she started to relax a little. His next words were meant to reassure her even more but for some reason, they had the opposite effect. "Every thing's going to be fine."

"Fine? This is not fine, Jordan!" She said, pulling away from him once more. "I knew this was a stupid idea. I should never have come here."

"Why did you come here?"

Angela ignored the question, choosing instead to pick up her bag and tuck her shirt back into her trousers. "This was a mistake. I can't believe you kissed me like that. What were you thinking?"

They say that lust and anger are very similar emotions but Jordan had never felt his flip from one to the other so quickly before. He couldn't believe that she was trying to blame him for what happened when it was her that had come into his shop and, yes maybe he did kiss her first, but she kissed him back and she enjoyed it just as much as he did. If they hadn't been interrupted, she would have done a whole lot more and there was no way she could deny that. However, he didn't trust himself to say any of that without shouting at her. A full blown argument would do nothing to help the situation.

"So leave."

His suddenly icy tone took Angela by surprise but she didn't need to be told twice. She practically ran to the door and after a few seconds of grappling with the lock, she was gone.


	28. Chapter 28

_Hello there, long time no see! I could write the million and one excuses I have for not posting anything in like a billion years (not least the one where my laptop dies with a nearly completed chapter locked inside that I haven't backed up and have to rewrite from scratch) but instead I'm just going to apologise for keeping everyone waiting and saying a big thank you to Goodnitegirl23 for your fantastic beta skills. Here is Chapter 28:_

"He's looking."

"What?" Amy asked, completely confused by Rebecca's not so quiet stage whisper.

"Mike. He's looking, you know, at you."

"He is not." Amy said, unable to stop herself from adding on a hopeful "Is he?"

Any plans she had to close her locker and look down the hall to where she knew he would be leaning against his own locker were stopped in their tracks when Rebecca grabbed her arm.

"Don't look." Rebecca hissed. "You have the upper hand. He's looking, which means he's still interested but you don't want him to know that you know."

"I don't?" Amy couldn't remember a day in school when she had been this miserable. All she wanted to do was run down the corridor, throw her arms around him and be kissed until she thought she would faint. She couldn't even really remember why she was so mad at him in the first place but it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to just be normal with each other. She wished that she had more experience with relationships so that she knew what to do but he was her first boyfriend and this was their first real fight. Her heart and her head hurt in equal measures and the only person who was offering any advice at all was Rebecca.

"No. Not yet anyway. I mean you have to let him sweat a bit. You can't forgive him too easily after your first fight. It sets a bad precedent. Make him work for it."

"Work for it, right." Amy replied, desperately wanting to ask what 'work for it' actually meant.

"But not too hard." Rebecca continued. "He has to think that you're at least still semi interested or he'll lose interest."

"You think he'll lose interest? What if he's already lost interest?" Amy said. "Maybe I should talk to him. Should I talk to him? I should, right? But what should I say?"

"He's still looking so he's still interested. It's all about timing." Rebecca replied. "Okay, I have a plan. There are some guys I know coming down the hall. We get them to stop and I can ask them about last Friday's game. All you have to do is nod and smile. Maybe giggle a bit. You act interested in them, they'll be interested in you because, well, they just will be and, most importantly, Mike will see. He'll be begging for your forgiveness before you know it."

"I'm not going to put on some show just to try to make him jealous. " Amy said sneaking a peek down the corridor while Rebecca was distracted with touching up her makeup. Rebecca was right, Mike was looking but he wasn't the only one. "Edward's looking too. Your plan wouldn't be for his benefit too, would it?"

"No! Definitely not!"

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

"Doth? Who uses words like doth?" Rebecca replied, but it was clear that Amy saw through her attempt at deflecting the attention away from her. "Okay, maybe it wasn't a completely selfless suggestion but Edward and I are in like a completely different situation than you and Mike. I mean, we're just friends now and I'm okay with that. I really am. But that doesn't mean it isn't nice to know that he still, like, desires me, or something even if I know that nothing is going to happen between us, like, ever again."

Amy didn't know what to say to make her friend feel any better and so she settled for placing a consolatory hand on her arm and offering a sympathetic smile, which Rebecca gratefully accepted.

"Anyway, we weren't talking about me and my failed relationship." Rebecca continued. "We were talking about you and Mike, which as I said is completely different. If the whole making him jealous thing is out, you could try using your feminine whiles to reel him back in."

"Feminine whiles?"

"Yeah, feminine whiles." Rebecca repeated, taking a step back to give Amy an appraising look. "Hair and make-up are good but you need to lose the baggy cardigan and, no offence, but it wouldn't hurt for you to invest in a good push up bra."

"How is that supposed to be helpful?" Amy asked, wrapping her baggy cardigan tighter around herself.

"Guys like curvy, Mike is a guy and you aren't exactly well endowed." Rebecca explained, only to be met with an open mouthed look of disbelief from the other girl. "What? It's not like I'm telling you anything my mother didn't tell me. Underwire is our friend, especially if it comes in something bought at Victoria's Secret. You should make Angela take you there. "

"Yeah, like that will ever happen. " Amy scoffed. "If I asked her to take me there to buy sexy underwear to seduce my boyfriend with she'd, like, hemorrhage. Besides, a trip to Victoria's Secret kind of needs preplanning. I need advice for like now."

Rebecca shrugged. "Maybe you should just go talk to him."

"Right, I should just go talk to him. I mean, how hard could it be?"

"Go on then."

"Ok, I'm going to talk to him." Amy replied with her feet planted firmly where they were.

"Just go already."

With a determined nod, Amy took a few steps towards Mike but that was as far as she got. Before she could get even half way to him the bell rang in the hallway signaling the start of the last lesson of the day. Amy had no way of knowing that Mike and Edward had shared a similar conversation to the one she had had with Rebecca, minus the lingerie advice, but it didn't escape her notice that as she started to walk towards him he also started to walk towards her. Had the bell not rang, they would have met somewhere in the middle. Instead they were caught immobile as the abyss between them was filled with students. They shared a brief look of longing and disappointed resignation that this was not meant to be the moment for them to make up, before turning away and heading in opposite directions.

* * *

"Harmonica? Since when do you play that?" Shane asked after stepping into Back Alley Music. It wasn't unusual to find Jordan playing some kind of instrument when he was in the store but, apart from a bit of keyboard and the odd attempt at drums, Shane had rarely heard him play anything that didn't have strings. It had also been a while since he heard Jordan produce anything that sounded so maudlin.

Instead of answering Jordan just shrugged and slid the small, silver instrument into the back pocket of his worn jeans. Now that his hands were empty, they instantly gravitated towards the stack of magazines on the counter. He had rearranged them a million ways since they took their tumble to the floor earlier that afternoon but he was sure they still weren't in the same order they started out in. In reality, he doubted that anyone else would notice but in his mind they were a shining beacon, letting the world know that something had happened.

"So what was it?" Shane asked

For a second, Shane thought he wasn't going to answer. Jordan seemed far too busy staring down at the checkout counter as if it held the secret answer to whatever was troubling him.

After a moment of frustrating silence, Jordan seemed to realize that Shane had asked a question, through the response he managed was a less than inspiring "Huh?"

"The song, what was it?" Shane tried again.

"Oh, nothing. Just some old blues song I heard on the radio."

Well, this is just great, Shane thought as he watched Jordan's attention slip once more. He had come to the store to have a serious conversation but Jordan obviously had something on his mind. Shane couldn't help wondering whether it was listening to the blues that had put his friend in such a funk or whether something else had happened and the blues was just the music that fit his mood. He doubted he would find out. Occasionally, Jordan would feel like talking about whatever was going on in his head but frequently getting information out of him was like pulling teeth. If he wasn't in a talkative mood, Shane hoped he would at least be receptive to listening to what he had to say. Not that he was sure exactly what he was going to say. How exactly did one go about telling their best friend that they had spent a large portion of the previous Saturday night making out with his ex-squeeze, the until recently estranged mother of his child? Shane had figured out that it was probably best to skip the parts where he had his tongue down Sharon's throat but speeches about honorable intentions weren't exactly his style either. Also, it wasn't as if he was going to back off if Jordan decided he didn't like the idea of them dating but he knew that things would be a hell of a lot easier if Jordan didn't have an adverse reaction to it. He supposed that most people would say it was none of Jordan's business. He and Sharon were only going on what was technically their second date so it wasn't as if they were picking out china patterns or whatever the hell it was girls did when they were getting hitched. However, not saying anything felt too much like sneaking around for Shane's liking.

While Shane tried to think of a good way of broaching the subject of Sharon, Jordan was thinking of another girl entirely. It had only been a couple of hours since Angela had fled the store but he had spent every second going over and over what had happened, trying to figure out what he should have done differently. The obvious thing was that he should have locked the fucking door as soon as she walked through it but at the time that thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He was far too caught up in the moment to think of practicalities like that. Maybe he shouldn't have kissed her. Maybe he should have just let her shout at him, tell him that she hated him, until she was done and ready to leave. Maybe he should have shouted back. Maybe he should have never told her to go. Maybe he should have done everything he could think of to make her stay. He had gone from anger to depression and then back again a billion times. He was angry at himself for reacting the way he had and telling her to leave. He was angry at her for trying to put the blame all on him and he was angry with Jenny for interrupting. He was also angry because he thought it would be the last he saw of Angela for quite a while, if not ever.

He wanted to just close the store and go home to wallow, or possibly throw things. Unfortunately, every time he had made a move to lock up, another customer had walked through the door and now Shane was there, asking him stupid questions about his stupid harmonica. To say he was not in the mood for company would be an understatement. He didn't even know what the hell Shane was doing there anyway. Didn't he have anywhere better to be?

The thought made him look at his best friend properly for the first time since he had entered Back Alley and Jordan knew that something was off. It wasn't that Shane was looking shifty. It was just that he wasn't looking as chilled out as he normally did. Paranoia started to spread in Jordan's mind as he remembered Angela's freaking out at the possibility of Shane finding out what had happened and getting the rumor mill grinding. Shane wasn't really into spreading gossip but for all Jordan knew, Jenny could have called her big brother the second she left the store.

"You talked to your sister today?" Jordan edged cautiously.

"No. Why?"

"No reason." Jordan replied a little too quickly.

"Do I even want to know what kind of trouble she's got herself into this time?" Shane groaned.

"No, it's nothing like that. She's fine. I mean, I think she is…I mean, I we didn't really …talk…all that much when she saw…I mean when we saw each other."

Shane's reason for going to the store was temporarily forgotten as his own brand of paranoia stared to take hold. "Please tell me you didn't."

"Didn't what?" Jordan replied. His seeming inability to look at Shane did nothing to alleviate the other man's suspicions.

"You know what. She's my little sister, dude. I swear if you've laid one hand on her I'll-"

"Change the fucking record, Shane!" Jordan interrupted before Shane could declare exactly what he would do. "Never happened, never going to happen. End of story. "

"Better fuckin' not."

"It won't.'" As quickly as Jordan's relief at Shane not knowing what really happened had turned to anger, his anger turned to frustration at both his friend's lack of faith in him and his inability to talk about what actually took place in the store that afternoon.

"Good."

"Fine."

They glared at each other in a silent staring match until a customer Shane hadn't even realized was in the store decided it was safe to approach the check out. The interruption was enough for Shane to cool down and regain his even temper but watching Jordan made it apparent that there was something serious bothering his friend. Jordan would probably never win any awards for customer service and the day he told a customer to 'have a nice day' would be the day hell froze over but he was always happy to shoot the shit with the regular customers and could generally be relied upon to produce at least a smile for any random strangers that wandered in. This particular customer got service that was perfunctory at best and their change was practically thrown at them with their receipt. They would definitely not be coming back.

"Jesus, what's crawled up your ass?" Shane asked as Jordan closed the cash register with much more force than was necessary.

"Nothing." Jordan growled before taking a deep breath. "I just…Today just sucks…And I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay." Shane agreed, holding his hands up in a consolatory gesture.

"Why are you here anyway?" Jordan asked, hoping that Shane would provide the distraction he desperately needed. Luckily, Shane didn't disappoint.

"I sort of have a date tonight."

"A date, huh?" Jordan said, quickly hiding the small smile that his friend's discomfort created. Self-conscious and sort of shy was always an amusing look on Shane. "Who with?"

"Well, that's the thing…It's-"

"Wait, don't tell me. I bet I can guess." Jordan interrupted, reasoning that a little fun might help him get rid of his shitty mood. "It's Abyssinia, right?"

"Who?"

"Abyssinia, my accountant. I gave you her number weeks ago."

"Dude, I never even called her. It's-"

"Is it the new waitress at Vertigo?"

"No-"

"I don't blame you for tapping that. I mean, she's got a great rack," Jordan continued as if Shane hadn't spoken, "But isn't that, like, double standards or something? She's about the same age as Jenny, maybe even younger."

"No, it's not the new waitress at vertigo. It's-"

"The new barman then?"

"The barman? What the fuck?"

"I didn't think you swung that way," Jordan smirked, unable to hide his amusement now. "But it's cool. Whatever floats your boat, man."

"Ha ha, very funny." Shane replied, rolling his eyes at Jordan's attempt at a joke but not unkindly. "So, Edward told you?"

"Yeah."

"And from your bad attempt at humor, I take it you're okay with this?"

"Yeah, it's cool. I mean, whatever, you know." Jordan shrugged.

Jordan's reply might not have been an over enthusiastic response but wasn't too far off what Shane had been realistically hoping for and as conversations went, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. Shane relaxed for the first time since he had entered the store and he was happy to see that the next customer to approach the checkout received a far less hostile service than the last did from Jordan. Their exchange wasn't exactly thrilling though and Shane's attention soon wandered until something small and shiny on the floor caught his eye.

He bent down to retrieve it and by the time he straightened up again, the customer was already heading towards the exit and Jordan was looking at him with an enquiring gaze.

"Looks like someone lost a button." Shane said as he tossed the pearlescent plastic disk into the air with the intention of catching it again.

Jordan's hand beat him to it, however, and within seconds his scowl was back in place. He knew exactly who that button belonged to and he knew exactly how she had lost it.

* * *

"Dude, seriously. She'll be here in a minute." Edward said as Mike stomped towards his car.

"She's been avoiding me all day. If she wanted a ride home she would have been here already." Mike replied, kicking a discarded soda can across the rapidly emptying parking lot.

"She probably got cornered by Katimski or something. He's been bugging her to join drama club even though she already told him she didn't want to, like a billion times."

"You think?" Mike tried to keep his voice neutral, as if Edward's answer didn't really mean anything to him either way. In reality, he hoped that she was just caught up in some stupid after school stuff because he was officially having the worst school day ever and the only way he could see it getting any better was if she smiled at him. Just once would be enough but he had no idea how to make it happen, especially when all she had seemed to do was glare at him all day before running off somewhere before he could even attempt to apologize to her. Not that he was 100% sure of what he was apologizing for. So yeah, maybe he said some stuff that came out a bit wrong but in his opinion, Amy had completely overreacted. Not that he would say that to her. He may not be an expert at relationships but he was learning when to keep his mouth shut. However, knowing what to say and when to say it was no use if the girl in question was nowhere to be seen.

The sound of the big double doors opening and banging shut again made him turn his head back towards the school. The sight of Rebecca lifted his spirits but when he realised that Amy was not following behind her, they were soon dashed again and he lost all hope of her ever wanting to talk to him again. The way he saw it, he had two choices. He could either speak to Rebecca and find out what he could do to make everything right again, or he could get out of there before he revealed just how pathetically desperate he felt.

"Forget it, I'm out of here." He growled. He continued his stomp to his car and it was peeling out of the parking lot seconds later.

"He's seriously not going to wait for her?" Rebecca asked as she stopped by Edward.

"Guess not." Edward replied, even though he thought Mike's squealing tires were answer enough. "Where is she anyway? Katimski?"

"No, Brain. He wanted to talk to her about something to do with year book. She'll be out any second though."

Just a few days ago, the minutes they stood and waited for Amy would have been filled with soft kisses as he wrapped her in his arms. Now, Rebecca realized that they had never been completely alone as just friends before. She had to stop herself from reaching out to him and tried to convince herself that the urge was just out of habit rather than from lingering feelings. Edward was just as uncertain of how to behave and resorted to pushing his hands deep inside his pockets to prevent him from reaching for hers. He tried to think of something to say just to fill the silence that was developing between them but came up blank. Luckily, Rebecca came to the rescue with what she thought was a harmless topic.

"Cool hoodie. Is it new? That's the Foo Fighters' logo isn't it?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, it's the Foo Fighters but it's not mine." Edward replied. "I got engine oil on mine yesterday when I was helping Jordan with his car so he leant this one to me. "

"Oh," Rebecca said, suddenly wondering how talking about a hoodie could be so upsetting for her. Had he forgotten that yesterday was the day they broke up? She certainly hadn't because she had spent the majority of that afternoon crying into her pillow but he, apparently, had felt good enough to go play mechanic with his father.

"It's actually really old. He bought it when their second album came out, like a billion years ago…" Edward trailed off because, while he was still really thrilled that Jordan let him wear it, even though Jordan said it was only because it was the only thing he owned which would actually fit Edward, talking about it reminded him of why he'd gone to see Jordan in the first place. However, the uncomfortable silence was back between them and that was not a good thing so he decided the only thing he could do was carry on talking. "It's actually a really good album, one of their best. But I guess you know that already."

"I do?"

"Yeah. Mike was playing it in his car a couple of weeks ago. You said you really liked it, especially Everlong." Edward replied but received a blank look in response, causing him to launch into a quick rendition of the first few lines.

"I guess it was ok." Rebecca said once she remembered the song. She also remembered her enthusiastic praise of the song at the time even though she hadn't been that impressed. Now that they were no longer boyfriend and girlfriend she saw no reason to pretend to like things just because he did. However, complete truth now would only make her previous behavior appear stupid so she settled for a diplomatic answer. "I think Amy liked it more than I did. It's her favourite song or something."

"Nah. Her favourite is always going to be 'Don't Dream its Over' by Crowded House."

"Crowded House? That doesn't seem very Amy."

"It's been her favourite since we were, like, seven or something. Angela bought their best of CD and played it constantly. It got in her brain like osmosis or something."

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that." Rebecca said. Amy and she may have spent a lot of their former years arguing or avoiding each other but there was a time when they were still young and didn't fully understand their family dynamic when Graham took her to play with Amy on a regular basis. The memory was a bit hazy but she could remember dancing around Angela's kitchen with Angela and Amy to that particular album. Edward may even have been there with them at times. She wondered what she would have done differently then if she knew that Edward would turn out to be such a big factor in her life now but swiftly decided that was far too weird a subject to dwell on. Instead, she tried to change the subject away from music and towards something that could actually be useful. "So what's going on with Mike because Amy's really not happy? Why is he, like avoiding her?"

"He's not avoiding her. He thinks she's pissed off and is avoiding him." Edward replied. "Believe me, he's not exactly happy either."

"It's ridiculous. They should just talk to each other."

"I know! We should just shove them in a room together and not let them out until they're sucking face again."

"Tempting but I don't think that's going to work. He needs to, like, beg her forgiveness or something."

"Not going to happen." Edward stated firmly. "What else do you suggest?"

"I don't know but we've got to do something soon. I'm not sure how much longer I can cope with the drama." Rebecca replied. "You're a musician so you're supposed to be the creative one. You think of something."

Edward's first thought was that if he was any good at this relationship stuff, he would have thought of something to prevent him and Rebecca from splitting up, never mind their friends. But Rebecca was right, they needed to do something because he wasn't sure how much longer he could cope with the drama either. Edward thought back to the advice Jordan had given him the previous day, hoping that he would find something that would help in this situation. However, none of it seemed to provide a solution, least of all Jordan's consolatory advice that he wouldn't be single for long because there would always be girls who dug guitarists. Rebecca had never been turned on by the fact that he could play guitar, as far as he knew anyway, and those words of wisdom didn't even appear to be true for Jordan himself seeing as he had been single for as long as Edward had known him. However, when it came to Amy, maybe there was a little bit of truth there after all.

"Ok, I've got an idea." He said after a moment. "But I might need your help to convince Mike."

* * *

It was the third time that he had called and Damon was just about to give up again when someone finally picked up.

"Who is it?" Amy's voice filled the line, loud and clear.

"Hello to you too." Damon responded.

"Oh, hey Dad. What's up?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to check in with you guys. How was school?"

"School was just school." Amy replied.

"Well, what did you do today?" Damon tried again.

"I dunno … school stuff." Amy knew her response was a non-answer but if she said what really happened, it would be a really upsetting answer. At least, it would be for her. She had a feeling that her father would be quite happy about the fact that she and Mike were not speaking to one another. He would probably be overjoyed that Mike did not pick her up or drive her home from school and would be ecstatic that Mike was currently nowhere in the vicinity of her bedroom.

"So what are you up to now?"

"Being forced into a game of twenty questions." Amy replied sarcastically.

"Come on, humor your old man. I miss you guys. Can't you give me some info on what's going on there while I'm away and just go back to ignoring me when I get home?"

"I don't ignore you." Amy protested.

"Sure you do, but it's ok. You'll grow out of it eventually... least that's what your mother and I are hoping." Damon said, his playful tone of voice indicating that he wasn't being completely serious. "Speaking of, where is your mom? Isn't she normally home by now?"

"I don't know. I got home literally five seconds ago and she's not here. Maybe she went to the store or something."

"Yeah, that's probably it." Damon agreed. "Ask her to give me a call when she gets in."

"Sure," Amy replied, scribbling a quick note on the pad next to the phone in case she forgot. "So, how's Memphis? You seen the ghost of Elvis yet?"

"I've seen just about every type of The King you can imagine." Damon replied and proceeded to fill her in on the joys of living in a hotel that was also hosting one of the cities many Elvis conventions.

They chatted easily for the next thirty minutes and it didn't escape either of them that it was probably the longest conversation that they had had in months. Damon was already missing his family and hated the fact that he had to move miles away, however temporarily, to reconnect with his teenage daughter and, for the first time since he had left, Amy realized just how much she missed his presence in the house. Neither of them really wanted to say goodbye but their conversation seemed to find a natural endpoint and neither wanted to turn what had been a surprisingly enjoyable phone call into something forced. However, when they did hang up, Amy was left wishing that she had done more than keep their conversation light and fun. For the first time ever, she wished she had had the guts to raise the one topic that seemed to be consuming her from the inside. As much as Damon didn't hide his distaste for her boyfriend, Amy thought he may have been the perfect person to get the male perspective from.

She was still staring contemplatively at the phone when her mother walked through the door a moment later.

"Hi. You're late" Amy said as Angela hung up her coat.

"Yeah. " Angela replied, unable to offer any kind of explanation for her whereabouts. If she said that she had sat in her car and cried for the last hour and a half, she would have had to say why and that was something she could categorically not do. Not to her daughter, not to anyone. All she could do was hope that Amy didn't question her further or notice her red, puffy eyes and dishevelled appearance.

"Dad called." Amy said, unknowingly throwing her mother's mind into turmoil once more.

"Oh…urm...right, I'll call him back later." Angela said, unable to face talking to her husband after what had happened. She made her way to the stairs, seeking the solitude she needed to get her thoughts back in order but once again, Amy reminded her that not everything was about her and Jordan. She had responsibilities and duties.

"When's dinner? I'm starving."

"Oh…I don't feel like cooking tonight. Why don't you call for pizza or something?"

"Pizza, really?" Amy asked. Monday nights has been meatloaf night since she was twelve and she couldn't remember the last time her mother allowed her to order in food. It crossed her mind to wonder whether she was shallow for being hungry. Surely, she should be too upset to eat. Then again, wasn't having an argument with your boyfriend the time she was supposed to comfort eat? And what better comfort food was there than pizza? "What toppings do you want?"

"I'm not really hungry. I've got a migraine. Just get what you want…I think I'll go lie down for a while."

Angela paused for a moment to see whether her daughter would question her but Amy was too busy digging out some takeout menus to take much notice so she continued upstairs. When she reached her bedroom and looked herself in the mirror for the first time, she realized that she didn't look as bad as she first feared. Yes, her eyes were a slightly red and puffy but nothing she could not have blamed on a little hay fever. Her shirt seemed to hang wrong somehow but it was nothing too glaringly obvious. Still, she couldn't stop her hands from shaking as she started to unbutton it. She soon worked out that a button was missing and that was why it had seemed wrong. Evidently, she was taking more care unbuttoning it than Jordan had just hours before. She briefly put sewing a new button on it to her 'to-do' list but couldn't bare the thought of repairing it as if sewing on a new button would fix what had happened. Instead, she wrapped it up into the smallest ball she could and threw it in the bin. It was a waste really. It was practically new. She just couldn't see the point of keeping it when she knew she would never be able to wear it again without thinking of him.

As she stood half naked, she thanked God that she had at least been wearing decent underwear. Her cream satin bra wasn't exactly the nicest one she owned but it could have been much worse. She could have been wearing one of her turning grey, washed far too many times bras that she kept for days when laundry was way past due. It was a million miles away from the underwear she used to wear when she was a teenager. She wondered whether he noticed the difference and not just the difference in lingerie but also the difference in her and the way that her body had filled out and matured. Did he like what she looked like? Did he like how she felt under his hands? Was he as much affected, made as damn horny, by the feel of her as she had been by him touching her?

The memory of those few crazy minutes was enough to make her feel excited and breathless once more. Then she was instantly angry with herself. Why should she care what Jordan Catalano thought of her underwear or her body? Why did she even give him the opportunity to see her or touch her? In her anger, she pulled one of Damon's t-shirts out of the dresser and pushed the material against her face, as if inhaling the scent of him would make her come to her senses but all she could smell was fabric softener. She still put it on though before sitting on his side of the bed and reaching for one of his pillows instead. This was where the scent of him lingered and for a second she was calmed and comforted but for no longer. It only took a second for the guilt to come crashing down on her again. She really didn't know what to do. She needed to talk to someone but she didn't know who. There was no way she could tell Sharon. That would just be impossible. After leaving Jordan's store, she had passed Rayanne's salon at least three times in her car but she had been unable to stop. Whatever advice Rayanne could give would come with a big fat 'I told you so' attached and Angela just didn't think she could cope with that. That only left Rickie and, apart from the fact that he was miles away, it had been his bright idea for her to go and talk to Jordan in the first place so she reserved the right to lay a little of the blame at his feet. Having run out of options, Angela did the only thing she could. She hugged Damon's pillow tighter and lay back on their bed, closed her eyes and forced her mind to empty of all thought.

* * *

"Shit!" Jenny exclaimed as the sound of breaking glass filled the air. At least she hadn't cut herself. The blue band aid on her left hand was proof that she hadn't been so lucky the previous time.

"That's the second one today." Her boss said, hardly looking up from the fridge he was restocking.

"So?"

"So you've been here less than two hours. It does not bode well for the rest of your shift or my expenses."

"Bite me."

"You wish, sweetheart." Mitch replied. "But I'm more likely to just start docking your wages if you keep it up."

"You wouldn't dare!" Jenny protested as she swept up the last of the glass and prepared herself for an argument. However, when she looked up from her task, it was evident by the smirk her boss wore that he wasn't being serious.

"You should see your face. Absolutely priceless." Mitch smiled. "I'll be in the office if you need me."

Jenny normally enjoyed her boss's warped sense of humor but today she was just not in the mood and rather than laugh along with him or try to come up with a witty retort she just concentrated on mopping up spilt beer and getting a fresh one for her customer.

"Oh my God, he docks our wages for breakages! What a hard ass!"

Jenny looked up to find Vertigo's latest female employee gazing at her with such a sincere expression of mutual outrage that she couldn't even conjure up a sarcastic reply. "Don't worry, he was joking."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. He's a cool guy. I mean, you know anyone else who lets their staff have parties after closing time?"

"No, I guess not." Sarah replied. "That was a good night."

Jenny nodded but the majority of her attention was focused on the full pint glass in front of her as she handed it over to its intended recipient and added it to his tab. Luckily he was one of the regulars so he didn't mind having to wait that little bit longer for his drink. She was also lucky that there was not a queue of customer's behind him shouting for service. Experience had taught her that that would not be the case for long. Give it a few hours and the tables would all be full. A few hours more and there would hardly be room to stand. Knowing that it was best to get a head start, she moved to her next job of wiping down the tables and collecting the empties.

Sarah worked alongside her and Jenny was grateful that she was turning out to be a decent waitress. She had her reservations when Mitch gave Sarah a job but it turned out that the girl had calmed down a lot since high school. They were never friends but they had been in the same year at Liberty High and Sarah had been quite the wild child. She was still settling in but so far Jenny had found her to be a hard working but fun addition to the team. It was just a pity that the topic of conversation she chose right then was the last thing Jenny wanted to talk about.

"After you left on Saturday, I got talking to Jordan. That guy is way too cute for his own good and he can be such a flirt. Not that he actually said that much. It was more the way he said it, you know? So anyway, I was kind of wondering whether he's seeing anyone at the moment."

"Oh…urm." Jenny started but she wasn't sure how to continue. She could hardly say 'not officially but I caught him half naked with a married woman he used to date in high school earlier this afternoon. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet but when I left his store I was giggling like a school kid and by the time I got to my car I was as mad as hell. Then I followed that up with a few tears before I drove over here. I wish I could blame it on PMS but that's not an option.' She settled for "I'm not sure."

"I just thought you'd know because you guys seem pretty tight." Sarah replied. Unsure what to make of Jenny's small shrug, Sarah thought she'd obviously caused some offense and jumped to the wrong conclusion. "Oh God, I've put my foot in it haven't I? You've got some kind of casual, friends with benefits thing going on haven't you? I mean, I know you came to the party together but you left with that other guy so I thought…"

Why does everyone always assume that we're sleeping together? Jenny wondered but rather than ask she just said "Believe me, there are absolutely no benefits between me and Jordan."

Jenny could see another question forming in Sarah's expression but before she could voice it a customer interrupted.

"Hey, the damn cigarette machine just ate my money!"

"Sorry Sir," Jenny smiled, grateful to have an excuse not to carry on the conversation with Sarah. "I'll just go get the key to open it up."

The customer's anger retreated as soon as he heard that his nicotine cravings would be satisfied soon and while she was busy sorting out the machine, Sarah got caught up in serving a few more customers who had wandered in. Normally Jenny liked to chat as she worked if the bar wasn't too busy but now Jenny was thankful for a bit of quiet solitude. It helped her to sort through her emotions and put things into perspective.

The giggling she understood, mainly because of the shock factor of seeing them like that but the reasons for her being so angry or for breaking down and actually crying over it were much more complicated. So complicated in fact that she was still thinking about it and it was driving her to distraction. She never imagined that she would actually see them together like that but she did sort of expect it to happen sooner or later. She wasn't stupid. She'd seen the way they looked at each other in Pike Street and she knew how obsessed Jordan was. Pretty much every song he wrote these days was about lost loves and the one that got away. She'd spent enough time in his studio singing backing vocals, and even lead vocal on a few tracks, to know exactly how he was feeling and she had thought that it didn't bother her. She had even encouraged him in Pike Street to talk to Angela.

She tried to convince herself that she was just being concerned, like a friend should be. Whatever Jordan and Angela felt for each other didn't change the fact that she was a married woman. As a friend, Jenny knew that she should be worried because there was a real possibility that Jordan could get hurt here. But concern was a long way from the anger she had felt and it was even longer from the sadness that came next. It wasn't like Jordan was her boyfriend and she had walked in on him cheating on her or something. They were just friends. She had given him his chance to be more than friends, had practically offered it to him on a plate, but he had rejected her.

That last thought pinpointed exactly what the problem was. Jordan and her had a lot of things in common, they understood each other, enjoyed each other's company, could make each other laugh. She was fun, confident and uncomplicated but still he had rejected her and chosen to pursue someone who almost seemed like her opposite and wasn't even officially available to be pursued. The bottom line was that she was jealous. There was no other explanation for why she had been so affected. The problem was, she knew that she had no right to be jealous about any of it so part of her anger was also partly directed at herself.

After Jordan had turned her down, Jenny didn't treat him any differently or act any differently around him. She had convinced herself that it was for the best. Jordan didn't change the way that he acted around her either so the whole incident had basically been forgotten. It wasn't as if she'd pushed the issue or sat at home pining for him. She had been on dates, she had even discussed some of them with Jordan. Sarah was right, on Saturday night she had arrived at the party with Jordan as friends but she had left with another guy. If she wanted anything more with Jordan, she would hardly have gone off with someone else. Jordan knew she was no angel but if she still had feelings for him, she was too smart to throw her slut potential in his face. Or she thought she was. Maybe she wasn't smart at all to have only just figured all of this out now. At least she had the intelligence to know that she couldn't actually say any of this to Jordan. It was going to have to be a case of pretending that everything was cool. Besides, she had the premonition that things would not be plain sailing with him and Angela. He was probably going to be in need of a friend sooner or later and what kind of friend would she be if she let him down?

By the time she had her thoughts back in order, all of the tables were clean and tidy with fresh beer mats and new tea lights that would be lit in a couple of hours and that night's band were hauling their equipment in. She plastered a smile on her face and welcomed them in before showing them where to set up. It was hard enough keeping the smile in place for ten minutes, let alone for the rest of her shift, that she knew she would probably need a pick me up on her break later. Luckily, she had some loose change in her pocket. The cigarette Jordan had given her in Pike Street had been the first one she had in 6 months. It was followed by her second on the walk to Vertigo and she could vaguely remember him giving her a third sometime before she left. Right then, she couldn't think of anything better than buying some of her own.

"Fuckin' Catalano" She muttered under her breath as she pulled the leaver on the machine to release the pack of cancer sticks. She put them in the pocket of her apron, right where she was hoping to put some tips later on, and tried to convince herself that they were for emergencies only. In reality, she knew she would be counting the minutes to her break.

* * *

The shrill sound of the telephone on the bedside table sounded impossibly loud to Angela's ears. She had no idea what time it was but the room was noticeably darker than when she lay down.

"Hello," She said groggily after lifting the receiver with one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other. Most of her mind was still held in a semi-conscious state of dreaming where she was slow dancing with Brian Krakow of all people while her father, Damon and Jordan Catalano silently watched and her mother sat behind her with Princess Diana discussing their divorces.

"Hey, it's me." Damon replied.

"Oh, hey."

"Did I wake you up or something?"

"Yeah, I had a headache so I went to lie down. I guess I fell asleep." Angela said, still struggling to wake up fully.

"You ok? I can call back in the morning if you want." Damon asked, voice laced with both concern and disappointment that he may not get to talk to her.

"No, it's ok. I miss you." Angela replied truthfully. As much as she hadn't wanted to talk to him when she first got home, she was now glad that he had called back. She knew that she would have put off calling him herself out of guilt and fear that he would just know but the familiar sound of his voice was soothing. It made her believe that everything would be okay. "How's work going?"

"It seems to be going really well. I mean, it's still the early days but my team is great. I was a bit worried about managing new graduates but they've got all these amazing, fresh ideas. I'm actually excited about going in tomorrow."

To Angela he did sound excited. It had been a long time since she had heard him speak so enthusiastically about his work so it was easy to let him continue. All she had to do was add in the occasional verbal nod and he pretty much carried the conversation himself. Ten minutes in he was still raving about the projects he'd been given to work on and, as much as she tried to remain supportive, Angela felt her attention wander. It wasn't that he was boring her exactly, or that the subject matter was failing to hold her attention. It was more like outside forces were conspiring to break the bubble of normalcy she had constructed around herself by allowing some outside noise to leak into her room, luring her towards the window.

"…The hotel's not that bad I suppose but you can only eat out so many times, you know? Anyway, Lucy, one of the partners I'm working with, has a brother in the property market. She thinks he might have some empty apartments so she's going to ask if he'll do a short term lease for me. I was thinking that if he says yes, maybe you and Amy could spend a few days down here over spring break. What do you think?... Angela?"

"Yeah…" Angela replied, not really aware of the question he had asked." I…I think I hear something…it sounds like music. What is that song? Is, is that ... a Crowded House song?"

"What?" Damon asked but he received no reply. "Angela? You still there?"

Angela still gripped the telephone but instead of holding it to her ear, her arm had dropped and the fact that she was in the middle of a phone call was forgotten. She had always loved Crowded House and the song she could hear was one that Jordan Catalano had often said he would learn to play for her when she was a teenager. He never quite got around to it though. Her heart swelled and she was convinced that he had finally kept that long ago promise. She was convinced that when she pulled the blinds back, she would see him outside with his guitar, playing just for her. She had no idea what she was going to do or say to him but she couldn't help but smile. However, when she peered out of the window she felt and instant and overwhelming disappointment. She knew it was completely irrational but her heart broke just a little while downstairs her daughter's was starting to heal.

At first Amy had been just as confused as Angela by the sounds of acoustic guitar coming from the front lawn but when she looked out of the window she was dumb stuck by the sight and sound of Mike playing her favorite song. She was so in awe that she didn't notice Edward and Rebecca standing to the side, spurring him on or the way Mike whispered to them between the first verse and the chorus that he felt like an idiot. She didn't know that he had only heard the song for the first time a few hours before and wasn't entirely convinced that he would remember all of the chord changes, never mind the lyrics. To her it sounded perfect and he looked perfect and she couldn't help but smile.

It seemed as if the sight of her in the window wearing the biggest smile he had ever seen was all Mike needed to dispel any reservations he felt about what he was doing. Both his singing and his playing grew more confident and louder. When he sang '_Now I'm towing my car, there's a hole in the roof' _she giggled because there was a hole in the lining on the roof of his battered old Ford. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand out of fear that he would think she was laughing at him and stop playing but she soon saw that he was smiling at her reaction, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. When he sang '_Now I'm walking again to the beat of a drum, and I'm counting the steps to the door of your heart' _she wanted to shout that he didn't need to count the steps, he was already there.

By the time the last note faded, Amy was already half way to the door. She threw it open and ran right out, completely headless of the fact that she had bare feet and that more than one neighbor was staring out of their own windows wearing expressions of annoyance at the noise. Mike barely had time to put down the guitar before she was in his arms. They hugged and kissed as if they were the only two people in existence and, in that moment, they felt as if everything was right with the world once again.

* * *

Thanks for reading, please R&R.


	29. Chapter 29

Sorry for the long wait guys but Chapter 29 is finaly done. Big thanks, as always, to GoodniteGirl23 for helping me get here!

* * *

It was still relatively early but Vertigo was heaving with people in various states of intoxication. Normally Jordan would have been joining friends at the bar or settling near the stage to get ready to play but tonight he was focused on one task and one task only. He was there to talk to Jenny.

He had called her cell phone at least ten times that afternoon but had received no answer. Eventually he had settled on what he hoped was a tough sounding 'You tell anyone what you saw and I'll kill you' voicemail but feared it sounded more like a desperate plea for her silence. Pleading with her face to face was not likely to be any better but he had to do it. He had made a promise to Angela that Jenny would not tell anyone what she saw and he had every intention of keeping it. His eyes quickly scanned the room but he didn't see her anywhere. Rather than fight his way through the crowd he decided to ask the nearest passing waitress.

"Hey Sarah." he said, stopping the new waitress he'd only hours ago used as a way of teasing Shane.

Despite the fully loaded tray of drinks she was carrying, she stopped in her tracks and seemed more than happy to do so. She smiled broadly at him. "Hi Jordan, how was your head on Sunday? I was so hung over but it was a fun night, right? We should totally do it again sometime."

"Yeah sure," Jordan replied in a vague sort of way. He remembered talking to her at some point on Saturday night during the staff party he had crashed but his memories of that part of the night were a bit hazy and he couldn't work out why she was being so friendly all of a sudden. He decided it was best to forgo small talk and just get right to the point. "Is Jenny working tonight?"

"She's on her break. I think she went out back for a cigarette. Why? You want a beer? Take a seat and I'll bring one over."

Sarah's smile seemed to stretch even more as she used the hand that wasn't holding the tray of drinks aloft to twirl her hair while she cocked her hip just so. Her efforts were wasted though. Without offering so much as a quick 'thanks for the information', Jordan stepped around her and started walking towards the back of the room. He ignored the sign saying 'Staff Only' and pushed open a door that led past Mitch's office and out to a small back yard where the bar received its deliveries. It didn't take long to spot Jenny, perched precariously on some old beer crates and taking the last drag of her cigarette.

"Next time I ask you for one of these, say no." She said, seemingly unsurprised to see him appear in front of her. "It was hard enough quitting the first time and now I've got to do it all over again."

"Why haven't you answered your phone?" he growled rather than comment on her taking smoking up again.

"I lost my cell. That's why I was at the store earlier. I was going to ask if you've seen it."

"Oh," he replied. The simplicity of her answer and her calm tone sort of took the wind out of his sails. "No, haven't seen it."

"Crap. I hope it turns up soon because I really can't afford a new one right now. " She didn't even want to think about who could be accessing her Facebook and email accounts.

Jenny ground the butt of her cigarette under her shoe and waited to see what he would say. She thought she had a pretty good idea what the topic of conversation would be because it was what she had been quietly obsessing over all evening. She just needed to make sure that she stuck to the resolution she had made. She was going to give her honest opinion, she would listen to whatever he decided to say, she would offer the advice she thought best and she absolutely, in no way, would be affected by this stupid crush that seemed to be taking over her entire brain. She didn't need to wait long. After a couple of seconds of nervous pacing in front of her, he took a deep breath, leaned against the wall opposite her and started to speak, looking anywhere but at her.

"So, about earlier…What you saw… you haven't, like, told anyone about that have you?"

"Of course not. I'm not an idiot, Jordan." She replied.

"Look, you can't tell anyone, I mean it. She'd freak if anyone found out, she'd hate me if she doesn't already and-

"Jordan, just chill; I promise I won't tell a soul. Your secret is safe with me."

Her words seemed to sink in. Jenny could see Jordan relax a little but he still seemed tense compared to normal. She knew she was going to be late back from her break but reached for her pack of cigarettes anyway. She offered one to Jordan and rolled her eyes when he declined her Lucky Strikes in favor of his Marlboros.

As much as she had been cursing his name earlier, she was glad now that she had taken up smoking again. It was relaxing and it gave her an excuse to just to sit quietly for a moment and not bombard him with questions about what had happened when she left the store. It allowed her to just observe him while she reminded herself of all of the reasons why she should forget about the confusing feelings she had for him and why she should just be there for him like she would be there for any of her friends. He seemed distracted and stressed out and looked sort of tired. It didn't take a genius to realize that whatever happened between Angela and him had not gone as he had wished. She wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be okay but she would need to have a crystal ball to know that that was true. She didn't think that empty platitudes would help him or be appreciated.

"You know, you're lucky that it was me that walked in and not one of those soccer moms that bring their little brats in for guitar lessons. They would have been shocked right out of their Hush Puppies and you wouldn't see those kids or dollars for dust." Jenny said, trying to coax at least a small smile out of him. However, talking about what she had seen made her think about it again. It was going to be a long time before she got that image out of her head and, despite the jealousy she felt, she wasn't entirely disappointed by that fact. Seeing the same thing, most of the soccer moms would probably feel the same because hot didn't even begin to cover it. "On second thought, it might have been good for business. Bored housewives would be lining up around the block."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't try and turn this into some kind of a joke." Jordan replied. "It's not funny."

"Oh come on, it's a little bit funny." Jenny replied, nudging his foot with her own and giving him a little cheeky smile.

He shook his head but Jenny was sure she saw the corners of his mouth turn up slightly as he looked away.

"So, Catalano charm strikes again huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Saturday night I was cheering you up through the medium of alcohol and by Monday afternoon, you're like a thing. You're actually happening."

"Nothing is happening."

"Didn't look like nothing."

"It's not like that." Jordan argued. "She just showed up and started yelling at me and …"

"And you thought doing the deed was the perfect comeback?" Jenny asked, trying her best to keep the conversation as light as possible for as long as possible.

"We didn't…do the deed." Jordan replied, trying and failing to come up with a better expression.

"You didn't?" Jenny's surprise was evident in both her voice and her expression.

"No, she ran out of there about two minutes after you did." Jordan replied, feeling too sorry for himself to admit that he had actually told Angela to leave.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to cock block you."

Jordan gave her a look. "Don't say things like 'cock block'. It just sounds wrong coming from you."

"Oh please! I spent most of my childhood being baby sat by Shane and his friends. It's not my fault if their vocabulary rubbed off." Jenny said before turning serious again. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know." Jordan admitted. He had no idea what he was going to do about any of it. When they were actually a couple, all of those years ago, they fought as couples did and they made up again but everything was different now. Sometimes when he looked at Angela, he saw the teenager she was and felt like he knew her inside and out. It made him sure that he would figure out how to make things perfect between them, whether it be some quietly whispered words or a grand gesture. Other times he felt the weight of each and every single year that separated them and made them strangers with completely separate lives. He wished he knew how to articulate it but he just couldn't find the words. "I mean, it's Angela Chase, you know? She…I…It's … complicated."

Jenny thought that 'complicated' was probably the understatement of the year and as much has he wouldn't want to hear it, it was time that Jordan took a reality check. "Okay, I'm going to tell you what I think, give it to you straight, so don't get pissed off and just hear me out."

Rather than answer, Jordan moved his hand signaling her for to continue and just hit him with it.

"I don't think she's the right one for you." Jenny stated. "If you do this, I can't see any way it's going to end without someone getting hurt and I have to say that you could be the one to get really hurt here."

Again, Jordan made no reply but the tightness of his jaw indicated that he heard every word she said. Jenny took the fact that he did not verbally disagree with her to mean that he had probably thought the same thing himself and she couldn't help but play devil's advocate. "I know you have history and stuff and that you have, like, feelings for her but it is majorly complicated and you do have other options."

"What other options?" Jordan asked, more out of disbelief than curiosity.

Like that girl whose name you couldn't remember at Lets Bolt, like any of the single girls sitting in the bar, like me, Jenny wanted to say but she held her tongue. Jordan seemed to have planted her firmly in the 'friend' category and there was no indication that that was about to change. No matter how much she wished that she was Angela Chase, she seriously doubted that she ever would be. However, she wasn't used to seeing Jordan so serious or despondent. It would not be pleasant for her to watch but maybe all he needed was someone to take his mind off his high school sweetheart for a while to get him back to his normal self. "Like Sarah."

"Sarah, the new waitress?"

"Yeah, she thinks you're cute. She told me you were flirting with her after I left on Saturday night."

"What? No, I talked to her for a bit, ten minutes maybe, but that was it."

"Either way, she would go out with you if you asked."

"No." Jordan replied without even taking a second to mull it over. "She's not…I'm not…"

Jenny took that to mean 'She's not Angela' and 'I'm not interested'. "In that case, you need to talk to Angela. You need to tell her how you feel and find out whether she feels the same."

"It's not that simple."

"Make it that simple." Jenny argued, "You've been dancing around each other for weeks. Maybe it's time for you both to come clean with each other. If she shoots you down, she shoots you down but at least you'll be able to move on. If she feels the same way, well…I guess you'll need to decide, like together, what you're going to do about it."

She knew he was listening but Jordan didn't say anything in reply. He just leaned even further back if that was possible, and closed his eyes as if it hurt to look at the real world. And just when she thought he was finally going to speak, the real world interrupted.

"Jenny, get your butt back in here!" Mitch yelled into the yard. "And bring a crate of Bud with you."

"I'm coming!" She yelled back as she straightened her uniform and ran a hand through her hair. "You staying for a few drinks?"

"Nah. I'm not in the mood."

"Ok," She replied. "If you need to talk, or whatever, well don't call me but you know I'm here, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks." He said, following her back towards the building and when she picked up the required crate of beer, he took it out of her hands and let her lead the way back inside.

"You looking for a job, Catalano?" Mitch asked when it was Jordan rather than Jenny who dropped the beers behind the bar.

"Not unless you want to give me a permanent gig as house musician." Jordan joked. Before Mitch had a chance to respond, a sort of familiar face at the other end of the bar caught Jordan's attention. "Hey Jenny, looks like you have a visitor."

Both Jenny and Mitch turned their heads in the direction Jordan indicated but it was Mitch who spoke first. "So Keith came back."

"Keith? His name is Keith?" Jordan asked as all three of them looked at Jenny's guy from Saturday night.

"What's wrong with Keith?" Jenny asked.

"It's a douche bag name."

"He's not a douche bag. He's… uncomplicated." She didn't notice whether Jordan caught her choice of words or not. Although out of earshot, Keith looked in their direction, as if he knew he was the topic of conversation, and smiled while he pulled a small pink cell phone out of his jacket pocket and waved it in the air in her direction. "Yes! Right now he's pretty awesome too."

"You've got five minutes." Mitch said in a resigned tone. "But after that, for the love of god please get back to work."

"You are the best boss ever."

Jordan and Mitch watched her make her way over to Keith, weaving expertly between customers. When she reached him she expressed her gratitude for him returning her phone with a hug which Keith soon turned into a kiss.

"Ain't young lust grand?" Mitch said dryly

"Hhmmm," Jordan sighed in response. If Jenny was happy, he wanted to be happy for her but the sorry state of his own love life seemed to be making it impossible for him to feel happy about anything. The way that Keith was grabbing her ass, and thereby proving to Jordan that he was in fact a douche bag, was not helping either. "Well, I'm out of here."

"See you Thursday?"

"Yeah, Thursday." Jordan had been at every open mike night since Mitch opened Vertigo. He hadn't decided exactly what he was going to play this week but he had a few new songs he'd been working on. At that moment in time he could think of nothing better than going home and sitting alone with his guitar for a few hours. Rather than say goodbye to Jenny, he slipped quietly out of the door, taking care not to bump into Sarah on the way out.

* * *

When Sharon got home from work, she expected Edward to be there and had even mentally scheduled in some time for a conversation with him about Shane. Edward already knew that they had a date and, when Sharon had managed to coax some words from him about it on Sunday night he had said that he was ok with it. However, she wasn't entirely certain that he was. She thought it was more likely that it was bothering him but he had been so upset about breaking up with Rebecca that he had just wanted to be alone and said whatever he thought she needed to hear to make that happen. She had a feeling that now the date was imminent, he would be a lot more vocal about his displeasure.

So, when she came home to an empty house and a note on the fridge, which said that he was with his friends, but would be home before curfew and ended in an instruction to have fun, she was pleasantly surprised. He'd even drawn a smiley face. She was so pleasantly surprised that she decided not to worry about what he was getting up to and just enjoy the extra time she would have to pamper herself before Shane arrived. From the look on his face when she answered the door, it was time well spent. When Rayanne asked her about their evening, Sharon would have to say that Shane wasn't looking bad either. She would even go so far as to confess that his lopsided smile was nearly enough for her to say stuff dinner and drag him inside and upstairs instead, but she had just about managed to keep control of herself.

A short car ride took them to a small, family run restaurant in what passed for the Little Italy of Three Rivers. It wasn't much to look at from the outside but Shane had assured her that they had the best spaghetti and meat balls in Pittsburgh. Twenty seconds after the steaming plate arrived in front of her, Sharon whole heartedly agreed. As much as she loved the food in Graham Chase's restaurant and had enjoyed her first date there with Shane, she thought that this night was even better. It was a more relaxed setting; there were none of those awkward getting to know you conversations and Shane seemed completely relaxed, trading familiar greetings with both the staff and the other diners. He seemed so relaxed in fact that she started to wonder how many other dates he had brought there but a few carefully worded questions put her at ease.

Shane explained that he grew up just a few blocks away and that his mother, who still lived in his childhood home on the same street that Jordan had also grown up on, used to waitress there when he was a kid. The neighborhood was home to him and she couldn't help but take the fact that he would take her there as a positive sign. Sharon already knew that he was funny and made her laugh, she already knew that he had a kind, thoughtful nature hiding behind his tough exterior, and she already knew that when he kissed her he made her knees weak. What she didn't know until they were alone, without her teenage son and his friends or Jordan Catalano drama to distract them, was how much she wanted it to work and how much she was praying that he would be of the same opinion. She needn't have worried on that score. The only thing Shane was questioning was why they hadn't done this sooner. They had only been on each other's radars for a few months, considered each other actual friends for mere weeks, but to him it felt as if they had known each other forever. It just felt right.

It felt so right that Shane did not want the night to end. He and Sharon lingered over dessert and were allowed to sit at their table, just talking after their meal was finished, far longer than they would have been able to do at a larger, more commercial restaurant. Eventually though, the time came to settle the bill. Shane insisted on paying, just as he had on their first date, even though Sharon offered to pay her fair share. Sharon though it was romantic and sort of chivalrous because she had a suspicion that they both knew she probably made more money than him. She made a point of telling him that next time it was her turn and they both grinned at each other at the prospect of another evening spent in each other's company.

In Sharon's opinion, Shane pulled up outside her house all too soon. She wasn't quite ready for the night to end but it had to.

"So, I guess this is the part where the girl normally asks the guy if he wants to come in for coffee," she said.

"Would that be coffee or, you know, coffee?" Shane asked, adding a suggestive eyebrow quirk to the repetition of the word as if his meaning wasn't clear enough already.

"Actually, it's neither."

"Oh…oh, okay…well, I err…" Shane stuttered as Sharon watched the confused rejection spread across his face.

"No, no no," Sharon said quickly, eager to reassure him that they were still both on the same page. "I didn't mean it like that. I had a fantastic time tonight. I really did and I would love to invite you in … for coffee."

"Would that be coffee or, you know, coffee?" Shane asked again with a smirk that showed her words had had the intended effect.

"Oh shut up and let me explain!" Sharon laughed, swatting his arm playfully to hide the uncharacteristic coyness that was causing her to blush. "I do have a teenage son, you know?"

"Yeah, Edward and I have met on numerous occasions."

Sharon chose to ignore his sarcastic comment and carry on. "If he gets it into his head that he doesn't like something, he can be immature, moody and generally just a nightmare to live with so I think that it might be a good idea for him to get used to this gradually. I mean, I just think it will be better for us to sort of ease him to into the idea of us being a couple."

Sharon looked at Shane and waited for his response. It seemed to take a second for him to process what she had said and when he did speak, it wasn't quite the reaction she had been hoping for or even expecting. In fact, his smirk had all but disappeared and his expression was unreadable.

"A couple?"

"Oh God, too soon, right?" Sharon replied as panic and her own sense of rejection started to set in. "I can't believe I just said that! I mean, I know I'm pushy but I'm not that pushy!"

"Sharon," Shane tried and failed to interrupt.

"I mean, of course I don't think that we're a couple. This is only our second date for crying out loud. You have to go on much more than two dates to be classified as a couple."

"Sharon-"

"I don't know exactly how many dates. I mean, I don't think there's, like, a rule or anything but we have definitely not been on enough for the word 'couple' to apply to us. It just came out and I-"

BBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

The noise seemed impossibly loud inside the small cab of Shane's pick up and caused enough shock to stop Sharon's babbling mid-sentence. It was only when the din stopped and silence descended that she even realized it had been caused by Shane's thumb firmly pressed against the horn.

"Why the hell did you do that? I mean, Jesus! I have neighbors you know, I-"

BBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPP PP!

"Quit doing that!" Sharon yelled but found it hard to maintain the appearance of outrage when Shane had such a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Are you finished?"

"Am I finished? You're the one making all kinds of racket!" Sharon protested.

Fearing the onslaught of another rant, Shane's thumb started to stretch towards the horn once more but he wasn't being as subtle as he thought.

"Don't you dare!" Sharon warned giving him a look she usually reserved for her son. "And don't laugh at me!"

"I can't help it. You're funny when you're all flustered." Shane replied, grinning broadly. "Besides, that racket was the only way I could think of shutting you up so I could actually, you know, speak."

"I'm not funny and I'm not flustered either." Sharon huffed. "Go on then."

"What?"

"You wanted to speak, so speak!"

Shane smile started to fall. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably as he tried to figure out what to say now that Sharon was looking at him expectantly. He hadn't felt this uncomfortable or embarrassed talking to a girl since he was a teenager and that fact that he knew it was totally irrational to feel that way only made it worse. He silently told himself to grow a pair and tell her what he was thinking, even if he was staring through the windshield rather than at her while he spoke.

"I don't know…I was just thinking that us being a couple…that seems…not so bad."

Sharon's eyes narrowed. "Not so bad?"

"That sounded better in my head." Shane cringed. "I just meant…oh hell, I'm not good with words okay? But I like you, you like me and I think we'll be good together so let's just give it shot and see what happens."

His simple honesty was enough to shock her into silence once more and now it was Shane's turn to fear that he had said too much, too soon.

"I'm not saying we need to rush into anything or, like, define our relationship or something. Edward's your priority. I get that. I respect that. If-"

"Shane-"

"…you want to take it slow, ease him into the idea of us or whatever, then-

"Shane-"

"…we'll take it slow."

"Shane!" She shouted, finally getting his full attention. "Just shut up and kiss me already!"

Shane didn't need to be told twice. Neither one knew how long they kissed for but when they finally pulled slightly away from each other they were both breathing heavily.

"You sure you don't want me to come in?" Shane murmured against her neck, his words of taking things slowly completely forgotten.

The feel of his breath made her tingle and when she felt his lips against her skin, the most she could offer in reply was a low soft moan as she tried not to let her resolve waiver. It was touch and go for a few seconds but the rattle of a discarded soda can being kicked down the street in their direction was loud enough in her otherwise peaceful suburban street to remind her that she was still sitting in Shane's truck in full view of the neighbors she had previously been concerned about. Being seen by them while making out like teenagers was a sure way to make her and Shane the number one subject of their gossip.

A quick glance down the street to check who was coming to swiftly removed all thought she had of inviting Shane in. Even if his features had not have been illuminated each time he passed under one of the street lamps, she would have recognized him instantly.

"I don't believe it." She said, pulling completely away from Shane and opening her door to climb out of his pick-up.

Following the direction of her eyes, Shane released a groan which was the exact opposite of the moan Sharon had made seconds earlier. Unknowing of his sister's use of the term cock blocked just hours before, the word fleetingly passed through his brain but was soon replaced with the word 'busted'. As he also opened his door and got out of the cab, he felt like a teenager being caught by someone's dad rather than an adult being caught by Sharon's teenage son.

"Edward Cherski, why are you not already in the house? Your curfew was up half an hour ago and you have school tomorrow!" Sharon scolded.

"I know I'm late but I had to walk Rebecca home." Edward replied. "I couldn't let her walk on her own. I mean, haven't you always told me to behave like a gentleman?"

From the look he was receiving, Shane got the impression that Edward thought that he had definitely not been behaving like a gentlemen. He sheepishly ran a hand through his hair as he leaned back against the hood of his car and the feeling of being busted only increased with Edward's next words.

"That shade of lipstick really isn't your color, Shane."

Shane was too busy wiping at his mouth and trying not to blush like a girl to notice the self-satisfied smirk Edward wore but Sharon picked up on it instantly.

Torn between giggling at Shane's reaction and wanting to tell Edward off for his teasing, she settled for aiming to keep a straight face. "Edward, go inside now."

"Sure Mom. See you tomorrow, Shane."

Sharon watched her son walk toward the house for a second before turning back to Shane.

"He was joking," she said with a small smile as she stopped Shane's hand from wiping at imaginary transferred lipstick.

"Funny. Kid's got a sense of humor." Shane replied and rather than let her hand go, he pulled her closer to him, comfortably settling his hands on her hips.

"He has his moments."

For a second Sharon thought that Shane was going to lean down and kiss her again but instead he spoke. "What was that he said about tomorrow?"

"Just that he'll see you."

"He will?" Shane asked, clearly confused.

"Yeah, at band practice," Sharon replied, giving the words the same tone she would use if she were saying 'well duh.'

"Oh…really?" Shane asked "I mean helping them with the competition was fun. I had a great time but I just figured that now it's done-"

"No way," Sharon interrupted indignantly, "You cannot just ditch them now! They need you! You-"

This time Shane interrupted her right back but having no car horn to lean he let his lips do the work for him and kissed her like she had thought he was going to do moments before. When they finally came up for air, they were just as breathless as they had been sitting in his car.

"As distraction techniques go, I definitely prefer that to the noise." Sharon sighed

"Me too," Shane replied, pulling her even closer as he nuzzled her hair. "Your hair smells great, you know that? Like coconut or something."

"Distraction techniques and flattery can work wonders." Sharon said as she took a second to savor the moment. "But with me it will only get you so far."

One minute Shane had his arms wrapped around soft feminine warmth. The next, his arms were empty and the only contact he had with the female in question was the sharp prodding of a carefully manicured nail against his chest.

"I was talking. You cannot quit the band. Year Zero needs a drummer and their drummer is you."

"But-"

"No buts." Sharon interrupted. Changing tactics, she quit poking him and gave him her best seductive look "Besides, being in the band does have its benefits you know."

"Benefits?"

"Yeah, after all, once band practice is over, you do get to spend time with me."

Shane had a million reasons for why he should leave the band. He could have told her that they needed someone their own age and that he was too old to regress to his teenage years. He could also have told her how he didn't have time to practice every night and how he had had to turn down work to help the kids get ready for the competition at Pike Street. However, the look she was giving him made him forget all of the excuses he could have voiced and he came to the realization that he was pretty much wrapped around Sharon's little finger already. Strangely, he didn't seem to mind.

"Please say yes?" Sharon asked, stepping closer to him again and placing a soft kiss on his jaw. "Pretty please?"

"Okay, fine. I'll keep drumming for them but we're going to have to limit practice to twice a week. Maybe three times if I can fit it in."

"Thank you." Sharon smiled and showed her gratitude by kissing him on the lips this time.

Their kiss was not as deep this time and lasted only a few seconds before Shane pulled away with a small chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Sharon asked.

Shane nodded his head towards her house which was now lit up like a Christmas tree. Edward must have switched on every light and lamp Sharon had. "I think Edward's trying to tell me that it's about time I let you go. I had a girlfriend when I was seventeen whose dad used to do the same thing."

"Did it work?"

"Hell yeah, he was a really scary. I spent our whole relationship expecting the guy to beat me up."

"Well Edward's a big pussycat, I promise." Sharon replied. "However, he's probably right about it being time for me to head inside. I can guarantee he's poking around in the kitchen and I know from experience that he is capable of devouring the entire contents of the fridge when left to find his own snacks."

"Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

They shared one more, quick kiss before parting and as Sharon walked into the house, she felt as if she were walking on air. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so optimistic about a member of the opposite sex. She was that happy that she couldn't even complain when she found Edward in the kitchen with the refrigerator door hanging wide open. She used her hip to nudge it closed as she passed and then used the other to budge her son away from the snack he was creating before he used the whole new block of cheese he had opened.

Edward took a seat while he mother finished off making his sandwich for him. He didn't mind that she had taken over because, no matter what the food was, it always tasted better when she did it.

"So you walked Rebecca home?" Sharon asked as she placed the plate in front of him.

"That doesn't mean we're back together Mom," Edward replied, anticipating her next question. "We're just friends."

"Weren't you with Mike too? I thought you never walked anywhere since he got that death trap you call a car."

Edward could have explained to her how he had spent the majority of the evening helping Mike to learn Amy's favorite song. He could have explained how Rebecca had helped him come up with the idea and was instrumental in not only getting Mike too see what a brilliant plan it was but also in getting him to persevere when the lyrics kept getting jumbled up in his head. He could also have explained that after the plan was executed almost to perfection by Mike, he only had eyes for Amy and wasn't going to be driving anywhere until Angela kicked him out of her house so he and Rebecca had decided to let the couple make up in private and had made a discreet retreat. However, explaining all of that would have seriously reduced the speed at which he was satisfying his appetite. Instead, he muttered "Mike was busy" in the general direction of his mother in between mouthfuls.

"Well, I hope you've done all of your homework for tomorrow because it's getting kind of late."

"Yeah," Edward muttered before shoving the last bite of sandwich into his mouth. "I've just got one thing for English to finish up but it won't take too long."

In reality, he had the whole of his English homework to do but admitting that would just get him a lecture on how he shouldn't go out on a school night until his homework was completed. If Sharon knew that his other homework had been done by Rebecca rather than himself, the lecture would be twice as long and she would probably make him redo it. Both he and Mike had been grateful for Rebecca's offer to help them out. It meant that they could both concentrate on learning the Crowded House song without having to worry about anything else. Not that Mike seemed worried at the prospect of not having anything to hand in the next day but it sort of made Edward feel better that she had done both of their work. If she was still his girlfriend, doing his homework for him wouldn't have seemed so weird but now that she was just a friend, or whatever, it kind of felt like he was taking advantage of her or something.

What felt even worse was the fact that he kept having to remind himself that they were just friends now because when she looked at him a certain way or smiled at him, it felt as if they were still a couple. It was confusing and he hadn't quite worked out how to behave around her yet. He still wanted to put his arm around her and hold her hand, and while he reasoned that friends could do things like that, he knew that he didn't mean it in just a friendly way. He was not worried that she would misinterpret any such physical contact. Rather he was scared that she would interpret it in exactly the right way because then she might think that they could not be just friends. As far as Edward was concerned, being just friends was better than nothing.

However, when he thought back to the way in which they had parted, he thought that maybe Rebecca was having similar problems. When they had reached the restaurant, neither of them had known how to say good bye. Only a few days before, goodbye would have been said with a kiss but they weren't technically allowed to do that anymore so they had just sort of stared at each other for a while until the silence started to become uncomfortable. A few awkward words finally released them and allowed them to go their separate ways. Edward thought the situation could only mean two things. Either they needed to work harder to figure out how to act around each other now or this 'just friends' thing may be just a temporary state. He wasn't sure how he would cope if they were to be more than just friends again. After all there was a reason why they broke up and without one of them seriously changing their attitude towards sex, he couldn't see how they would not end up in exactly the same situation again. He couldn't help but feel a little bit hopeful though and decided that tomorrow he would try to relax a bit more around her.

Although his thoughts were taken up with his own love life, the way Sharon hovered in the kitchen behind him gave in the impression that she may want to talk about hers. He didn't necessarily object to her having a love life and Shane was a cool sort of guy, but he didn't want to have to think or talk about the actual details. It was just far too gross. He was pretty sure from the way that Shane had behaved that they had at least made out a little bit but he would be forever grateful that it was too dark outside for him to actually see whatever was going on in the cab of Shane's truck. It was bad enough catching them making out backstage at Pike street. Seeing that again may have actually scarred him for life.

As expected, Sharon started to broach the subject. "So anyway, about tonight…"

"Mom, it's getting late. I really need to go finish my homework." Edward replied, making a hasty retreat to his bedroom.

"I had a really nice time, thanks for asking." Sharon's voice followed him out of the room but the only response she got was the sound of Edward's boots as he stomped up the stairs. She had thought that the way he teased Shane meant that he may actually be taking their dating in his stride but she sighed as she realized that her first assessment of him needing time to adjust was correct.

* * *

"Where did you get Chinese food?" Edward asked as he dumped his bag on the floor by the picnic tables and sat down opposite Mike and Amy.

"Two words. Ti-no." Amy replied as she picked up a butterfly shrimp.

Rather than eat it herself, she held it out towards Mike who leaned over and took it with his mouth, licking sauce off her fingers at the same time. Edward felt his expression turning into one of disgust at their behavior. He was glad they had made up but their public displays of affection were getting more and more repulsive as the day wore on. He shared a mutual eye roll with Steve who had joined their table at the same time as him. As revolting as they thought Mike and Amy's antics were, it did not spoil their teenage appetite and they were soon also reaching for cartons of food.

"Why was Tino here?" Edward asked as he tucked into noodles.

"There was something in my car he needed." Mike replied.

"What was so important that he had to come all the way over here? I mean, couldn't it wait until school was out?" Edward asked without thinking.

The look he received in reply from Mike did more than words could to express how much Mike wanted him to drop the subject and Edward could feel the happiness he had for his friends start to crumble just a little. Obviously, whatever Tino had needed was nothing good but sometimes it was easy to forget the stuff that Mike was secretly involved in. It was easy to forget that different people knew Mike in completely different ways and that he refused to develop some kind of combination him. Edward knew that keeping things separated was Mike's way of coping with doing things for Tino that he felt obligated to do and, in some ways, it was also his attempt to protect Amy from that part of his life. However, that didn't mean that Edward didn't feel angry about it or guilty for playing his own part in keeping Amy in the dark.

"So what was it?" Amy asked, not as oblivious to the looks the boys were giving each other as they thought she was.

"Just something he left in there. I didn't really ask and who cares anyway, right? Only thing that matters is that he brought food." Mike shrugged. Making light of it wasn't really having the effect he'd desired though. Edward was still glaring into his carton of noodles and he could practically see the wheels of curiosity spinning in Amy's head. Luckily, before she had the chance to ask any further questions, he spotted the perfect distraction across the yard. "Hey, who's that with Rebecca?"

Mike wasn't sure whether Amy's or Edward's head spun quicker in the direction he indicated but it was actually Steve who answered the question.

"New guy."

"Well, duh!" Edward replied with his eyes glued to his ex as she walked towards the east entrance. The combination of Tino's visit to the school and her smiling at the new guy was doing wonders to make his appetite rapidly disappear. He dropped his carton of food on the table and tried but failed to achieve a neutral tone. "So, who is he and why is Rebecca with him?"

Again, it was the normally stoic Steve who answered, producing the uninterested tone that Edward had been striving for and flicking through a music mag while he spoke. "Sol Richardson. He's ¼ Puerto Rican, named after his grandfather and he just moved here from Wisconsin. He was on the swim team in his last school and is interested in photography."

"How do you know that shit?" Mike asked.

"He's in my home room. We have a sub. She actually made him stand at the front and introduce himself."

They were too far away for Amy to really see his features but his tall, broad shouldered frame and rich skin tone wasn't lost on her. He was a hottie, from a distance anyway, and she had a feeling that he would be just as hot close up.

"Oh yeah, I remember." Amy replied to the second half of Edward's question. "Student committee decided we should have an organized meet and greet for any new students. Rebecca drew the short straw so I guess she's showing him around."

"Oh," Edward grumbled but made no further response.

Even if the boy's weren't interested, Amy was a little bit curious about the new guy so she decided to ignore Edward's sour expression and shouted Rebecca's name. Rebecca turned and waved. They were too far away to hear what she was saying but, from her pointing, Amy guessed that she was informing the new guy of their identities. That was the entire introduction they got though. Rebecca made a few 'busy, got to go' gestures and then she and Sol Richardson continued on their previous course.

Mike and Steve didn't seem to notice but it was clear to Amy that Edward's glare deepened as Rebecca walked away with a big smile plastered on her face.

"She really didn't want to do it. Be the meet and greet girl, I mean. She said she'd feel like tour guide Barbie or something."

"Whatever." Edward replied.

"I bet she'll come over and see us all soon, when she's finished showing him around." Amy tried again.

"Whatever." Edward repeated. "What do I care? She can hang out with who she wants. Anyway, I'm out of here. I've got to… I've got to go."

He was up out of his seat and striding towards the bleachers before anyone could protest.

"Green eyed monster much?" Steve drawled as he leisurely turned the pages of his magazine.

"Shut up, Steve." Amy spat in his direction.

"Yeah Steve, shut up." Mike added in a much more playful tone than his girlfriend.

All either of them received in response was a well-recognized hand gesture.

* * *

Angela had been sitting in her car for ten minutes, trying to decide whether it was safe to get out or not. The parking lot at the college had been slowly filling as people arrived for their night classes and, so far, she had not spotted Red anywhere.

She had not seen or talked to Jordan since the previous afternoon when she had gone to his store and the thought of seeing him was causing her stomach to churn. She had no idea what she should say to him or how she should act if they did see each other. Part of her wanted to hide away forever and cocoon herself in her nice, safe domestic life where everything used to make sense. Another part of her knew that the longer they went without seeing each other the more awkward the whole situation would be. She thought that it would be best to get it over with as quickly as possible. If they could stand in each other's company for a few moments without wanting to rip each other's heads, or clothes, off perhaps there would be hope that they would actually survive this thing without any further repercussions. And then there was that other small part of her, the part that seemed frozen at age fifteen; that thought she might actually die if she never saw him again.

She felt like screaming in frustration at the idiocy of the whole thing but settled for giving herself a stern look in the mirror on the back of the sun visor.

_You are a grown woman_, she mentally told herself, _you are not some lovesick teenager. You are in control. You have paid for your place on this course and you have done the damn homework. Get your ass out of this car and inside that building right now._

In her head, she sounded exactly like her mother but it was enough to make her to open the car door and start the walk towards the college building. Unfortunately, she had gone no more than 10 strides when her confidence started to slip. She heard Red before she saw her. That low pitched growl was unmistakable. It was as much of the soundtrack to her youth as the music she used to listen to and, as she continued her walk at a slightly slower pace, there was no mistaking the fact that it was getting louder and therefore closer to her. When the car did eventually come into view, her step faltered once more. It looked shinier than the last time she saw it, like Jordan had just had it waxed or something. And as he slowed to pull into one of the last few free spaces, she could hear the music that he was listening to even though the top was up and the windows were wound closed.

Her heart hammered in her chest and her stomach started to churn once more as she realized that the parking space he had chosen was next to the path she was currently walking along. Her legs continued to move of their own accord as she watched him effortlessly ease the car into a space she would have struggled with in her much smaller modern vehicle, while her mind started to scream at her to turn around and flee. She was a split second from doing just that when he switched off the engine and looked in her direction. Their eyes met and in her panic, Angela attempted to grip her binder closer to her as if was some kind of shield while trying to tuck her hair behind her ears at the same time. The result was a clatter of binder, text book and pencil case all hitting the concrete around her.

She bent down quickly to pick up her things and the only thing that stopped her from going red with embarrassment, was the fact that he had rolled his eyes at her clumsiness. She found the fact that he seemed to be embarrassed for her quite helpful. It helped her forget her own awkwardness and focus upon the small flare of anger she felt for him in that second. As for chivalry, forget about it. Jordan made no attempt to help at all. He didn't even open the car door. He just sat and watched as she collected her things and stood up again. She forced herself to start moving and when she looked in his direction again, the only difference was that his car window was now open and he had lit a cigarette.

Despite the fact that she was glaring at him as she walked, she was unable to look away. Jordan looked right back at her as she walked towards him. Like always, he looked calm and collected but who knew what was actually going on in that head of his. Was he as conflicted and confused as her? Had he been thinking about her, about what had happened and what could have happened if they had not been interrupted? She had absolutely no idea.

Rather than walking straight past, she paused when she reached the car and just looked at him, daring him to say something first. When he did speak, his words were accompanied by another infuriating eye roll but they were the last words she had expected.

"Get in."

Angela was about to protest that she could not go anywhere, that classes were due to start in ten minutes, but then she realized that they had already had that conversation more than once. While part of her knew that it was not a good idea to get in his car, she was sort of relieved that he wanted to talk to her and also more than a little curious about what he actually wanted to say. Besides, while the car was not exactly private, it would certainly be more private than having a discussion on the walkway where anyone might overhear them.

She silently opened the passenger door and sat down, determined that she would not be the first to speak. She had no clue as to the words or phrases she could possibly use to describe the jumble of thoughts in her head and she feared that if she started first, whatever conversation they might have would turn into nothing more than incoherent ramblings on her side.

It was as if Jordan could a sense her stubbornness on this point and he made two attempts to open his mouth and speak but each time the words did not come. All she received was a sigh that verged on being a huff and the feeling that Jordan regretted asking her to get in, which was compounded by their inability to actually look at each other. Jordan shifted in his seat and out of the corner of her eye Angela saw his hand start to move. She was convinced that he was going to reach across her and open her door, dismissing her without actually saying a word. Imagine her surprise when instead, his hand moved to the ignition and Red's engine roared to life.

* * *

Thanls for reading. Please R & R ~LJ~


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