Lines In The Sand
A/N: I just thought there should have been another Cate/Lux conversation after the whole school/cheating thing.
Oh, and i-l0ve-lucy-8-8 suggested I do my own missing scenes. I know there's already a few stories covering that already, but I was thinking of starting an ongoing one as well. Mainly Cate/Lux scenes (Baze/Lux, Lux/Ryan and Cate/Baze are always fun to write as well) but I would try to write any scenes that are missing from any episode. So if there's a scene you'd like to see, let me know :)
And I'm working really hard to get my other stories updated. I should hopefully have new chapters for at least 3 of them up sometime tomorrow :)
"Hey."
Lux looked up from what she was reading and met Cate's gaze, watching as her mom hung expectantly by the entrance of her room. "Hey."
Cate smiled slightly and crossed the room, taking a seat on the edge of Lux's bed. She turned to Lux and smiled slightly, patting the spot beside her. Lux couldn't help but let a small smile slip through as she shuffled down to sit beside her mom.
"We need to talk."
Lux nodded and avoided eye contact. "About the cheating?"
Cate nodded, trying to read Lux's demeanor. "Among other things." Lux didn't say anything so Cate continued. "Why did you do it?"
Lux shrugged, brushing it off. "To pass." She said as if it was obvious.
Cate frowned, forcing Lux to make eye contact. "Lux, come on. We both know that isn't true. You've been studying like crazy. You would have passed anyway. I don't understand why you felt like you had to cheat."
"You don't know that." Lux protested defensively, slightly embarrassed. "That practice test that you made for my midterm? I failed. Miserably. You all said I needed an A to pass, so I did what I had to."
"Why didn't you come to me? I would have helped you study harder. We could have worked out some way, a right way, for you to pass." Cate sighed, thinking before continuing. "I just don't get it. All of this; the cheating, and the stealing, and the lying; it isn't you."
Lux rolled her eyes, mumbling. "You had no problem accusing me of that yesterday."
"Lux..."
"Look, I'm sorry for cheating. I've already apologized to Math, and I'll take a zero."
Cate sighed. "That's not the point, Lux. The point is you stole, from a friend no less. Someone who has gone out of their way to help you. And then you cheated and lied about it."
"Technically I didn't lie." Lux mumbled. "You just assumed."
"Lux, come on. This isn't you. You're old enough to know what wrong and what's right, and you had to know you'd get caught. I just don't understand why you did it in the first place rather than asking for help."
Lux shrugged slightly, both embarrassed and ashamed. "I didn't want you to be disappointed in me." She whispered.
"Lux... I would never be disappointed in you. Why would you even think that?"
Lux raised an eyebrow, meeting Cate's gaze. "You're seriously going to sit there and pretend you wouldn't be disappointed in me if I failed? Come on, Cate. You were prouder than ever of me last week when you thought I scored a 95. You can't blame me for wanting to keep you proud."
Cate paused to think before responding. "I'm sorry for making you feel like I would be disappointed in you. I never wanted you to feel like that. And I'm not going to lie. When I thought you scored a 95 on that midterm, I was proud. And I probably put more pressure on you than I should have, but I just wanted you to do your best. I still do."
She paused, watching Lux for any reaction. "I don't know. I guess there was a part of me that thought if you got good grades, you would be more like me. I mean, I was a geek in high school. I had my grades, and that was it. Baze was popular, and athletic, and had it all so easy. I guess a part of me was jealous."
Lux looked up confused and was about to protest but Cate stopped her, continuing. "I mean, look at you. You joined the basketball team, and you're friends with the quarterback," She stopped, nudging Lux gently. "And you're the coolest kid I know. I guess I was just jealous that you took after Baze more than you took after me, and I thought that by pressuring you to do well in school, you would be more like me."
Lux met Cate's gaze, trying to decide how to respond. "I'm not like you, Cate. Or like Baze. I mean, sure, maybe I would have been more like you guys if you had raised me, but I'm my own person. I'm really trying, in school and to fit in. But I can't do that when you guys are on my back constantly."
Cate smiled slightly, nodding. "I get that we may have pushed you a little too hard, but that isn't an excuse for you to cheat, or steal or lie."
Lux shrugged but nodded, signaling she understood that too. "I won't do it again." She offered lamely, not knowing what else to say.
Cate nodded and smiled at her, brushing back a piece of her hair from her face. "I know you won't, but we can't just let this slide either."
Lux rolled her eyes, but in reality, she knew Cate was right. "So what's my punishment then?"
Cate thought for a moment before responding. "Well for one, you're grounded. No going out, no phone, no iPod."
"What?" Lux looked both shocked and angry. "But that's completely unfair! I feel bad. Isn't that enough?"
Cate raised an eyebrow which basically asked Lux if she was serious. The teenager held her gaze for a moment before giving in reluctantly. "Lux, you've got to understand, this isn't only about the cheating. This is not the first time you've lied to us, and we don't know when we'll be able to trust you again. You've got to earn that trust back, but it's going to take time."
Lux got where Cate was coming from, but that didn't make her any less annoyed. "You let Aunt Paige off." She mumbled.
Cate scoffed, causing Lux to look up. "We kicked her out."
"So? You were going to do that anyway. She stole three hundred bucks from you, and you and Ryan are considering paying off her debt to Baze. I borrowed the answers, cheated on two tests and technically didn't lie about it, and yet I get a worse punishment that she does. How is that fair?"
"Your right." Cate smirked slightly at Lux's annoyance. "It's not. But she's not my daughter. You are, and that means I can discipline you however I see fit."
Lux bit back a sarcastic yet bitter remark about her foster parents doing the exact same thing. She figured she'd hurt Cate enough over the last couple of days, and as much as she tried to deny it, she really didn't want to disappoint her.
"Fine." Lux mumbled grudgingly.
Cate knew Lux was angry, but she really didn't have an option. The lying was bad enough, but stealing and cheating couldn't go unpunished. "And I talked to Math. He talked to Principal Dugan and managed to get your suspension down to a week of detention. He also organized a tutor for you, and Principal Dugan agreed that, while you have to take the zero on your midterm, you can make up some of the grade in extra credit work."
Lux opened her mouth to protest but Cate stopped her, smirking slightly. "Hey, it's better than flunking out."
Lux groaned frustrated which only caused Cate to smirk more, nudging her gently. Lux looked up, meeting her gaze reluctantly. "Anything else?"
"No more lying." Cate's tone was light, but Lux knew she was serious. "I mean it, Lux. No more lying, no more cheating, no more stealing." She paused. "And you let us know when you need help, or if you think we're pushing you too hard. You know, this is new to us as well, and this whole parent/kid thing? It goes two ways. So from now on, you help us be better parents, and we'll do everything we can to help and support you. Deal?"
Lux hesitate for a moment before responding, smiling slightly as she nodded. "Deal."
Cate smiled, wrapping an arm around Lux's shoulders and pulling her into a sideways hug. "Good." She placed a kiss to Lux's head before standing up and holding a hand out to her daughter. "Now let's go whip their butts."
Lux laughed, accepting the hand and allowing Cate to pull her to her feet and lead her downstairs to where Baze and Ryan were waiting.