I added a lot of new stuff in this chapter, but it's mainly two chapters from the original draft of the story. Regardless, please leave a review telling me what you thought about it!

Until next time,

Sky

"Chapter 2 – Stained Glass Eyes and Colorful Tears"

"I cherish my American girl. She holds them down while I destroy the world. My desperate crimes, she don't seem to care. She bites her tong so that we can tell each other 'Baby this is paradise and it's so god damn good.'" – Pierce the Veil

As soon as Anna Elizabeth woke up, her typically cheerful disposition dissipated as she stared at an unfamiliar ceiling. She had hoped this God-awful move had only been a nightmare, but there were no glow in the dark stars or the New York skyline that she'd painted at thirteen when she woke up. Her initials weren't directly above her bed in bright red. Instead, she stared up at a dingy off-white.

Groaning quietly, she rolled over onto her side and reached over to her bedside night stand to check her phone.

Then she remembered her mother broke it.

Slowly, she climbed out of bed. The dress she'd worn the previous day fell around her into its original position, reminding her that she'd forgotten to change out of it.

In a zombie-like state, she trudged to her in-room bathroom that was definitely a step up from her bathroom in the house she grew up in.

Despite growing up without a lot of money, Anna Elizabeth was fortunate enough to have her own bathroom. She and her mother lived with her grandmother because Laura had been jobless, and Etta Mae told her daughter that her grandbaby deserved her own bathroom when she hit puberty, so she forced her daughter to share her bathroom.

Even though Anna Elizabeth had her own bathroom back home, it was probably a third of the size of the one she had now. This in-room bathroom was half the size of her already large bedroom! She didn't even have a shower on her tub back home, but this one had sliding glass doors on the tub to keep the water out. Her sink even had a cabinet beneath it!

She'd instantly fallen in love with her bathroom, but now she couldn't care less for it; it only reminded her that she had it because of the bitch monster down the hall.

After turning on the water and waiting for it to heat up, she winced as the hot water hit her stomach. Stepping back in the insane amount of room in her tub, she looked down at the newly red welts above her navel. She'd fallen asleep scratching, but she must have scratched a little too much this time.

She felt like she was doing yoga as she stretched around in the shower to wash herself, but she managed to have a successful shower without irritating her scratches too much.

By the time she'd dried off and moved back into her bedroom to pick out an outfit for the day, her mother knocked on the door.

She had half a mind to scream 'Go to Hell,' but she wouldn't live to see the school day afterward.

Mentally regretting it, she moved to the door and opened it to find her mother wearing an apologetic look as she wrung her hands behind her back. "Can I come in, baby girl?" she asked sheepishly.

Wordlessly, Anna Elizabeth nodded and moved out of the way to let her mother in, clinging to her towel so it wouldn't fall. "I was about to get ready," she announced.

"I changed your diapers until you were three and bathed you until you were six," Laura reminded her daughter as she sat on the bed. "Ain't nothin' I ain't seen before." As her daughter moved to her dresser to pick out undergarments, she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry about how I acted last night, baby girl. You just know you shouldn't do things that make Mama angry."

"You get angry so easy, though," Anna Elizabeth pointed out as she pulled on her underwear. "Maybe it's time you go see a doctor so they can give you somethin'."

Laura scowled. "Your grandmamma raised me to deal with whatever I got by myself and with the help of the Lord," she spat. "Can't no doctor do what God does."

"Then why does God let you get so angry?" the younger girl questioned with a pained gaze after clasping her bra.

"He's testing us," her mother answered flatly. "He's testing to see how much we love Him. Have you been praying like I told you to?"

Anna Elizabeth nodded. But the only thing she'd been praying for—aside from a different mother—was to be with Paul and her old friends again. "Yes, Mama."

Laura's face softened and she smiled. "That's my girl," she breathed proudly. She stood as her daughter wiggled into a pair of skinny jeans and held out a new cell phone. Her daughter gasped and scurried over. "I was gonna give it to ya yesterday to make up for the one I broke," she announced.

"Thank you, Mama," she thanked as she took the phone gingerly.

"I don't think I have to tell you why I deleted that boy's number," Laura stated authoritatively. "I don't want you talking to him or any other boy. Your daddy ain't gone want nothin' to do with either of us if you get pregnant."

"So why can't I get birth control?" her daughter asked without thinking.

Without hesitation, Laura slapped her across the face the second she uttered the last word. "So you can be a whore?" she screamed. "You want to sleep around, is that it?"

"N-no, Mama," Anna Elizabeth stammered quietly as she held her cheek with her free hand. "I'm sorry I said anything."

"You better be," her mother spat. "Hurry up and finish getting dressed. I'm leaving in ten minutes and you better be in that car before then."

"Yes, Mama," she agreed sheepishly as she turned back to her closet.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

10:58 PM, From: Potential Boyfriend

Let's do something tomorrow.

11:00 PM, To: Potential Boyfriend

Like what? I have school tomorrow, remember?

11:00 PM, From: Potential Boyfriend

Let's go to the beach.

11:01 PM, To Potential Boyfriend

Lol really? I still have school.

11:01PM, From: Potential Boyfriend

Skip it. Everyone needs a break.

11:01 PM, To: Potential Boyfriend

Idk… What if my mom finds out? She'll kill me!

And it's only the second week of school!

Plus, I've already missed so much stuff…

11:02 PM, From: Potential Boyfriend

Even more reason for a break. You'll be fine. Cmon let's go!

Don't you want to be with me?

11:02 PM, To: Potential Boyfriend

Ofc I do… Fine! Pick me up at school. 7:50!

11:02 PM, From: Potential Boyfriend

I'll be there. Can't wait to see those pretty eyes again…

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

Having a college boy infatuated with her filled Darla with a sense of pride that she'd never felt before. It was strange having a boy's attention, but she loved it. In the two weeks that they'd been seeing each other, she realized she really liked him.

That wasn't to say, however, that she hoped the relationship would end in marriage.

She wasn't naïve; she knew that most people didn't marry their first boyfriend or girlfriend. While her father had been her mother's first boyfriend, she had been his third girlfriend…which concerned her since her parents were thirteen when they started dating…

And honestly, she wasn't sure she wanted to get married.

She had two wonderful models of a good marriage, but the commitment of it scared her. And growing up in the limelight, she knew that not everyone had successful relationships. Every other day, she had paparazzi following her, trying to get a money shot from the seed of the infamous Jade West-Oliver. If she were to get married, the paparazzi influx would only continue. Rumors would spread. They would say she was having an affair, that her husband had another family. If she got pregnant, the baby wouldn't be his.

Last year, the tabloids started the vicious rumor that she was going to follow in her mother's footsteps and be a teen mother just because she decided to wear a loose shirt and baggy sweatpants when she went to take out the garbage.

So she definitely wasn't sure if she ever wanted to marry, and she knew that Mason was not the marriage type.

He walked with an air of power for someone who was only five years her senior. He was the type of guy who could charm a fish out of water. He was smooth talking and persuasive, and he looked like he didn't know how to take no for an answer. When he was sixteen, he and his friends got pulled in a van carrying ten pounds of weed to Long Beach. The year before, he'd been caught with a case of Heineken behind his high school. But he walked away from both with just a slap on the wrist.

He was used to getting what he wanted and he was very well off, and she could just smell how spoiled he was. But he seemed fun, and she wasn't about to pass up the thrill of dating a fast paced twenty-two year old.

There were drawbacks to being with him, though.

Since they met, she'd been texting him nearly nonstop, skipping out on meeting her friends before school so she could have just a few more minutes with him before they had to part ways. They would spend hours on end texting, and she started letting Jensen drive—despite their mother's position on the matter—just so she wouldn't have to stop talking to him.

And when she wasn't texting him, she was sneaking off to go meet him.

She'd skipped seven classes in ten days. It was a wonder she hadn't been found out yet. It started with just lunch, but then she would skip first period. Then she skipped fourth period, fifth period on another day, third period the next, and even took it upon herself to skip the latter portion of school one day.

She didn't like saying no to his whimsical fun, and now he wanted her to skip the entire school day.

She didn't want to say no to him; if she did, he'd see her for the little high school baby that she was and wouldn't like her anymore. She wanted to keep the fun going as long as possible, and she wanted to be the one to break up with him should it ever come to it. If he were to lose interest in her, she'd be a failure.

She wanted to be like her mother in the boy department.

The notorious Jade West—hot-tempered, ill-mannered, brooding, terrifying—met her husband in middle school! Whatever life threw at her, she was able to overcome it and keep Beck in her life. She was the type of woman to take charge of any situation so she could come out on top. Darla had no doubt that her mother had been a handful growing up, but obviously her father never lost interest. If her mother wanted a guy like Mason, there was no doubt she'd be able to keep him on a leash without even batting an eyelash.

"Whatcha thinkin' bout?" Anna Elizabeth questioned as she bounced up to Darla and her skateboard-logo-covered locker, twirling a lock of her curly black hair that hung through her long ponytail.

Her eyes focused—in her Mason induced daze—on the stairwell as a dance group practiced a routine, Darla blinked and lowered her eyes to the tiny girl before her. Something about the scene seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Just how much I really wanna go to the beach," she lied flawlessly with a charming smile.

Anna Elizabeth's eyes widened and her lips spread from ear to ear in an excited grin. "We should do that this weekend!" she exclaimed in her thick Southern accent. "I've always wanted to go to a California beach!"

Darla's smile fell. "I can't," she sighed. "My parents are having this party and they want me and Jen to be there. I'd invite you, but it's kind of an annual reunion for my parents and their friends from high school."

Anna Elizabeth sighed, her face falling along with her eyes. "S'alright I guess," she breathed. "Mama says we gotta do stuff anyway." She held her arms and looks up to Darla with a weak smile and a dismayed stare. "I was hopin' I could find a way to get out of it."

Pouting, Darla outstretched her arms to her friend. "Give us a squeeze," she offered, flexing her fingers at the tiny girl. Anna Elizabeth giggled and stepped closer, leaning her head on Darla's shoulders and pressing her arms against Darla's chest as the West-Oliver girl encompasses her. "You can text me any time this weekend if you need to."

"Thanks," Anna Elizabeth breathes into her friends shoulder.

"Please, ladies!" Hector cried, holding up pants two sizes too big as he ran up to them. The girls broke and looked to him in shock, then tried to keep from laughing. "At least let me get my camera."

From across the hall, his cousin Erica groaned and stomped over to him dramatically, channeling her inner Trina with every click of her obnoxiously high stilettos. She grabbed him roughly by the ear with an annoyed glare and a neatly French-tipped manicured grip. "I told you to leave her alone," she hissed lowly while he cried out in pain. She turned to Anna Elizabeth and Darla with an apologetic smile. "I don't know what to do with him sometimes."

"It's okay," Darla announced, moving around Anna Elizabeth and wrapping her arm around Hector's shoulders. As she pressed her knuckles to his head, Erica let go of his ear and stepped back, covering her mouth to suppress any giggles as she watched the older girl give her cousin a noogie. "He's lucky his brother isn't here."

"Man, Tony can't do nothin'," Hector exclaimed, trying to break free of Darla's grasp. "Why are you so strong?!"

"Drummers have muscle!" the tall girl laughed, wrestling with him slightly. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she gasped, releasing Hector. She whipped it out as he fell to the ground with a loud thud. "I gotta go." Keeping her eyes on her phone as she spoke, she practically tripped over Hector—accidentally kicking him in the stomach—as she made her way to the Asphalt Café.

"Well that wasn't odd," Erica quipped, looking after the junior.

Hector groaned loudly. "Wanna help me up here?" he called, reaching his hand up to her.

She started to reach over to help him when her striking green eyes caught sight of a boy two lockers down. At a ravishing five-foot-ten, he stood as tall as her with her heels on. His hair hung in a slicked, black ponytail at the nape of his neck. She couldn't see his eyes, but she assumed they're just as sexy as the leather jacket he sported.

She snatched her hand back from Hector and twirled a lock of her strawberry blonde hair, eyeing the boy seductively. "I think I just found our Oleander," she breathed. She looked back to Anna Elizabeth. "You should really consider being in our movie." With a playful smirk and a quick lick of her cherry lipgloss-coated lips, she gestures to the boy across the hall with her eyes. "He can be one of your leading men."

"I don't know," Anna Elizabeth responded uneasily, fiddling with the hem of her white blouse. "I'm not really an actress."

"What if we got Jensen to play the other lead?" Hector offered as straightened out his clothes and stood upright.

Erica gasped when the tiny girl blushed. "Someone's got a crush!" she exclaimed in an excited whisper. "And it couldn't've been on a hotter guy!"

"I do not!" Anna Elizabeth denied, narrowing her eyes at the sophomore. "He's not even interested anyway."

"Then we'll make him interested!" Erica promised with a coy smirk, grabbing Anna Elizabeth by the arms. "And to do that, you have to meet your other leading man."

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

"Can we stop by the store first?" Darla asked as she climbed into Mason's Sedan, nervously scanning her surroundings for any narcs.

With a small smile, he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "Good morning to you, too," he greeted. He took his hand off the wheel to caress her cheek as he kissed her earlobe. "I missed you."

She gasped and closed her eyes, trying to keep her breathing steady as she felt a sensation stirring between her legs. She may not have thought he was marriage material, but he was definitely suitable for other things.

"I m-missed you too," she stammered out, still flustered by his incredible appeal. She felt a blush coming on, and she wondered if he could feel it too with his head so close to hers. She took in a deep breath to steady herself. "I need a new swimsuit."

He flicked his tongue against her earlobe before kissing her cheek again, trailing his thick lips down her jaw. The sensation between her legs intensified, and she pressed her knees tightly together. She pressed her eyes shut, halfway hoping he would keep up this risqué behavior. The other half—the more rational half she inherited from her father—kept screaming 'We're in front of the school! You're gonna get in trouble!'

He ran his fingertips down her arm, then gently across her stomach, and further down her leg.

Damn, he was good.

"Anything you want," he breathed against her jawline once his hand stopped at her knee. He straightened up and put the car in drive with a smug smirk on his face while she shrank in her seat with a quiet exhale, watching the school pass her by.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

"Other w-what?" Anna Elizabeth stammers as the Michaels girl drags her down the hall.

Not answering, Erica smiled as they came to a stop by the dark-haired boy. "Hi, Barrett," she greeted flirtatiously.

The boy—Barrett Davison—turned to the two girls with a raised brow, giving Erica a delightful glimpse at his bright, hazel eyes. "Hi," he returned in confusion. "Can I help you two with something?"

"We're making a movie," Erica announced, cutting to the chase and making sure to lay her accent on thick and bat her eyes seductively. "I know you aren't much into acting, but you're perfect for the part."

"What's going on with your eyes?" he asked, looking at her skeptically.

She gaped at him for a minute and stopped batting her eyelashes in defeat. She grimaced and crossed her arms. She tilted her head to the girl beside her. "This is Anna Elizabeth Ragland," she spat. "She'll be your leading lady. There are two leading men and we're trying to make Jensen West-Oliver the other one."

"Why are there two leading men?" Barrett scrutinized, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Is this some kind of chick flick?"

"Kind of," she answered, her face falling from his apparent hostility. "But there are a lot of guys in it! It's set in the Middle Ages, so there are kings and knights and everything. The whole shebang! Tony Kerrigan's going to be in it, and so are Darla's skateboarding friends. I know you know them! You're perfect to play the part of Oleander and the sooner we can start filming, the sooner you can go back to doing whatever it is you do."

"They're making me play the lead," Anna Elizabeth announced sheepishly, looking at her feet. She looked up at him through her lashes. "It probably won't be so bad; everyone's real nice."

Barrett sighed, weighing his options. He was more of a musician than anything, so he could help with the scoring—if he wanted to. It didn't seem too bad of an idea, but he still wasn't much of an actor. Also, he'd seen Erica around before, and she looked like the kind of girl that needed to be told 'no' every now and then.

But Anna Elizabeth's pretty much the talk of the school.

While she certainly was not his type, he couldn't deny that she was pretty in what he concluded to be a charade of innocence; no wonder he heard from the grapevine that Jensen was pretty much smitten with her. Unlike most girls, she wore more modest clothes. Though this was the first time he'd ever seen her, he assumed she was the type of girl who liked always dressing in peasant tops and skinny jeans—because, hey, he could read people like that. His mother was a stylist, and she always told him how women would come in with their hair snatched up in ponytails when they were having bad days. But this girl? He could tell just by her ponytail that she was having a bad month.

It would be wrong to say no to her.

"Well," he started slowly, "I guess I could…when you put it that way."

Erica's face alighted with joy and she squealed slightly, grabbing her new friend's hand in celebration.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

"What about this one?" she pondered as she held up a strapless black swimsuit with a 3-inch thick white trim and a ruffled black skirt that would fall just below her bottom once she put it on.

Mason shook his head, crossing his legs and resting his ankle on the opposite knee. "Too modest for the beach," he told her in all honesty. He gave a dazzling smile. "My girl needs to like showing some skin every now and then."

"I-it's topless," she offered sheepishly, wide-eyed. "Did you just say I was your girl?"

"I did." He smiled and stood, gently grabbing her face and kissing her. She dropped the swimsuit in the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the feeling. She loved kissing him, because every kiss felt as good as the first one they shared on their second date.

She bit her lip when he pulled from the kiss, savoring the feeling of what she just experienced and watching him as he turned his head toward a rack. He reached out and grabbed the first thing his fingers touched: a pink bikini with barely any fabric on the drawstrings. He turned back to her with a devilish smile. "This is something my girl would wear."

She eyed it uneasily and shook her head. "I wouldn't wear it, though," she told him with the firmest voice she's had since she met him. If her mother were there, she would have been proud.

Darla wasn't one for bearing too much skin and, quite frankly, it made her nervous. And though her family has a pool, she had never been much for swimming—mainly because she was too afraid to learn how.

Her last encounter with any body of water happened at Long Beach when she was ten. She didn't have much fun and avidly made it her mission not to go back ever since; her mom spent the entire day as far away from the water as possible while still being on the sand, muttering about her strong dislike of dolphins. It didn't help that the paparazzi were there to further spoil the outing.

Suffice to say, she wasn't really looking forward to this beach trip, but she decided to deal with it since it was something he wanted.

She turned to the rack of swimsuits and sifts through them, making loud noises as the metal hangers creaked against the metal railing. She spotted a grey one-piece and pulled it out for further examination. The fabric had been cut to an hourglass figure that showed off parts of the wearer's sides. The bust was a little more exposed that she'd have liked and the gold ring holding the top and bottom of the fabric together seemed a little trashy by her standards, but it looked like something Mason would like. She looked up at him with curious eyes, awaiting his approval.

"How about a compromise?" she suggested. "I can live with this."

She could have sworn she saw him scowl as he turned away, but she tried to pass it off as her eyes playing tricks on her. She needed to switch to a new pair of contacts, but she'd been too preoccupied with texting him earlier that morning to open a new pack. So in her rush to get to school, she'd put on the old pair that she'd left in the lens case.

"Fine," he spat, making his way to the register.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

Mason told her he'd pay for the suit, so Darla busied herself with looking at other things in the store. She had her eye on a really nice leather jacket, but her mom always wanted to be consulted before any non-emergency purchases were made.

As she continued to survey the jacket, she jumped in shock when he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, the bag rustling loudly. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she smiled, placing her hands on top of his, taking in his warmth. He kept his arms around her waist, and the couple made their way out of the store.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

"Have you seen Darla?" Anna Elizabeth questioned as she walked up to Jordan and Tyler after second period. She held her books tightly against her chest, slightly wrinkling her blouse. While everyone else had left for lunch, there were still a few students in the hallway. Jordan and Tyler had been joking around outside the Social Studies room waiting for Connor to finish a 'meeting' with his teacher while she watched them for a good two minutes, trying to work up the nerve to talk to them. She still hadn't found her place in this school, even after being around for two weeks, and she wasn't sure when that was going to change.

Jordan's face fell and Tyler looked away awkwardly. "Nope," he answered flatly as he crossed his arms. "She didn't come to school today."

She cocked her head to the side, staring at him in confusion. "Yes she did," she challenged meekly. "She was here before the first bell."

"She probably skipped again," Tyler guessed in his abnormally deep voice as he ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair and continued to look away. He seemed like he didn't want to be having this conversation.

Jordan rolled his eyes, his mouth falling into a tight grimace. "She's been skipping a lot lately," he announced, unimpressed. "She was bound to skip an entire day sooner or later."

This time, Tyler rolled his eyes. "Don't mind him," he advised, dropping his hand from his hair and meeting her eyes. "He's just jealous because she's skipping with her boyfriend."

"O-oh," she mumbled awkwardly. Slowly, she stepped backward and gave a quiet, "Uh…Thanks, I guess" before turning and heading off to the Asphalt Café.

Maybe she and Darla weren't as close as she thought…

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

"Okay, where's Darla?" Hector asked impatiently as he took his seat at lunch.

"With her stupid boyfriend," Jordan spat, stabbing his chicken with his fork forcefully.

"Do we really need her for the movie?" Erica inquired, looking to her cousin. Behind his head, she spotted Barrett, food tray in hand. Her arm shot up and she smiled broadly, flashing perfectly white teeth. "Barrett! Over here!"

The intensity of her voice—which she attributed from her never-quiet mother—shocked him, as well as several people in the Asphalt Café. He nodded at her skeptically and slowly made his way over. "So about this movie," he sighed as he took the free seat by Anna Elizabeth. He looked around the table to take in his surroundings.

The Boarders—Jordan, Connor, and Tyler—all sat side by side, focusing on their food or on their phones. Erica had her eyes locked onto him, desperately trying to flirt. Little did she know, she was barking up the wrong tree. Tony and Jensen sat across the table waiting for someone else to speak, Jensen directly in front of Anna Elizabeth while she picked at her salad. Hector grimaced by his cousin.

"We were going to start rehearsal today at lunch," the younger Kerrigan boy announced ruefully, "But Darla isn't here. She already said she'd be Oleander's mom."

"Do you think she'll be back after school?" Barrett asked, trying to ease Hector's bad mood. "We'd probably be the only ones in the auditorium."

"If she isn't," Anna Elizabeth piped up, lifting her head and meeting Hector's eyes. "It wouldn't hurt to start without her. It's not like we're filming just yet."

"I want to start filming as soon as possible!" Hector whined slightly before slamming his elbows on the metal table and holding his head in his hands with a loud groan.

Erica awkwardly rubbed his back to soothe him. "We can replace her if we have to," she offered lowly.

Hector just groaned again.

"At least we got Jensen," she added, trying a different approach.

At the time being, that was a lie.

He didn't want to be in the movie. And if he didn't want to be in it, then Barrett wouldn't be in it. Hector thought he could be persuaded into joining the cast, but it was Erica who suggested that Anna Elizabeth be the one to ask him. The half-Australian princess pulled her aside and said it was part of her plan to get Jensen to ask her out. She said 'if he likes you, he'll be in the movie because he doesn't want to make you sad.' And before Anna Elizabeth could protest, she added: 'And if he still says no, tell him Barrett Davison's playing the other lead. That'll really hit him hard!'

But talking to Jensen was easier said than done.

She was hoping she would find Darla and get her to convince her brother to be in the movie so she wouldn't let Erica and Hector down, but she had no such luck.

She was running out of options.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

When they got to the beach, she snatched the bag out of the backseat of her boyfriend's car and ran off to the changing station at the edge of the beach. Though she wasn't too thrilled about swimming, she was ecstatic to show off her new suit to her new beau.

However, her face fell when she opened the bag and peered in.

Instead of the grey suit she'd chosen and he'd compromised on, she stared down at the God-awful, pink monstrosity he'd first chosen.

"Just put it on," he urged from behind, startling her.

She jumped at the initial sound of his voice and turned around, clutching the bag tightly in her fingers. "What the hell?" she shot back. "Where's the one we agreed on?"

"You'll look so much better in this one," he assured her, avoiding the question. "Put it on and let's get in the water."

She crossed her arms. "I don't feel comfortable wearing this one," she stated adamantly, narrowing her eyes.

His hand snapped out to hers and he forced her arms uncrossed, pressings his fingers into her wrist. She let out a small noise of pain which he readily ignored. "If I say you'll look better in it," he began through grit teeth and dark eyes, "Then you put the damn thing on. I bought it for you to wear."

"I didn't ask you to buy it," she spat, snatching her arm back.

Before she could react, he slapped her hard across the face and she cried out. "Stop being an ungrateful child and put the damn thing on!" he shouted.

She held her face, keeping her eyes on the ground. She should have just screamed for help and have someone take him away. She'd learned from some of the movies her dad had been in that that wasn't how boys treated their girlfriends.

But maybe he was right.

Maybe she was just being ungrateful. After all, she probably wouldn't even have a suit if he hadn't bought it for her. Other girls wouldn't have put up such a fuss about it and just put it on without another word. She was being childish by trying to have things her way when he'd gone out of his to make sure she'd have a good time.

"I'm sorry," Mason grunted, shoving his hands into the pockets of his khaki shorts. "I shouldn't have done that; it won't happen again."

"No," Darla breathed monotonously, "It was my fault. I was being ungrateful."

"Are you going to change?" he asked quietly, looking down at the bag.

Slowly, her eyes fell to it and she nodded. "I'll be out in a minute," she announced.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

At first, Darla wouldn't get in above her knees. The water was cold, even though it felt good in the scorching LA heat, and it didn't make her want to risk it any further. If she weren't slightly worried about Mason getting angry with her again, she wouldn't have even gone in that far. She spent most of her time trying to cover herself in the tiny swimsuit, feeling far too exposed and nervous.

But then he kept playing around.

After about ten minutes of him chasing her along the coast of the beach—or attempting to since they could only move but so fast in knee-deep water—he finally caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up and eliciting a high pitched, presumably playful scream.

"Let's go out further!" he jested over her scream.

Before she could protest, he spun around in the water to gain momentum and threw her further out to sea. She screamed as she soared through the air, clinging to her chest tightly so it wouldn't spell out of the skimpy bikini top, and hit the water with a loud splash.

As her head submerged, she started to panic. What if she never came back up? What if the tide took her further out and she couldn't get back? The water filling her lungs suggested that she wouldn't even resurface. She thrashed beneath the foamy waves in her panicked state and refused to stop, even as her arms collided with his chest.

Heroically, he hooked his hands her beneath her arms and hoisted her up to a standing position…where she only stood waist deep…

"Are you okay?" he laughed as she pulled away in a fluster.

"Yeah," she lied quietly, running her hand through her wet hair to slick it back out of her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, reaching out to touch one of her arms as she crossed them. "Are you still mad at me?"

"Can we just go?" she snapped, averting her eyes to sand too far away for comfort.

"Relax, Babe," he advised, moving through the water to encompass her in his arms. To her dismay, he spun her slightly so that she faced the open ocean and he stood behind her. He rested his chin on her shoulder, gently breathing into her ear. "I know something that'll relax you," he whispered seductively.

Then, one of his hands slid into the water and beneath the crotch of her bottoms and she gasped loudly, but the roaring waves around them muffled her sound.

His hand shot up to her mouth to silence her as he flicked his fingers against her clit beneath the water. "Shh," he hushed. "Don't make a sound. Just relax." She took in a deep breath and focused on the water, trying not to cry out beneath his hand. And when she remained silent, he took his hand from her mouth and pressed it against the bare skin of her side. His fingers inched under the drenched, skin-tight fabric covering her breast to flick her nipple teasingly. She let out small noises of pleasure and he chuckled to himself in pride.

"You like that?" he breathed enticingly.

She leaned her head back against his chest with her eyes closed as he rubbed her clit faster. She started to lose herself in his touch, and she felt like she was close to climax. She had touched herself before, so the touch wasn't new, but somehow having his hand in the place of hers nearly sent her body spiraling into carnal pleasure.

"Stop," she whimpered quietly, her voice barely audible above the waves. He started to gently pinch her nipple, shooting pleasure up and down her body, and she began to grind against his finger as he continued to play with her.

Then she remembered where they were.

"Stop," she demanded louder, slight fear apparent in her voice as she put her hands on his arms to push them away.

"C'mon," he urged as he continued to play with her. "No one's watching."

"I don't care!" she shouted as she started to struggle beneath him. She ripped his hands away from her body and moved forward into the deeper water. She turned around and splashed him roughly. "I don't do that and I never will."

His hand roughly seized her arm, popping a bone. "We're just playing around," he reminded her sternly, darkness clouding his eyes. "Live a little!"

"I said no," she snarled as she yanked her arm from him, splashing water around. "Take me back to school!"

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

"Where've you been?!" Anna Elizabeth exclaimed as Darla begrudgingly took her seat in her last period of the day. Her wide hazel eyes rolled up to the West-Oliver girl's hair. The usually straight, chin-skimming bob had been pulled up as much as possible into a tiny, messy ponytail in attempt to mask its unexpected waviness. "What happened to your hair?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Darla spat, keeping her eyes forward. Right now, she actually felt like her mother's daughter; everything in the world pissed her off to the point where she felt like resorting to murder just to get people to leave her alone. She didn't want to snap at Anna Elizabeth, but her high pitched Southern twang really started to grind her gears.

"Well…I decided I'm gonna be in Hector's little film," the shorter girl announced slowly, nervously twirling her hair. "He wanted me to ask your brother if he'd be in it too, but I'm just too shy to talk to him about stuff like that. I was hoping you could do it."

"Whatever," the West-Oliver girl snarled as the teacher entered the room. "Class is about to start."

With a small sigh, Anna Elizabeth sat back in her seat, resting her hand on her knee, scratching it lightly.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

Luckily, managed to catch up to Jensen after the last bell rang and worked up the courage to ask him if he'd be in the movie—and it really helped her that at least Erica was there for support. Though he was still hesitant, he eventually agreed.

If only she could have worked up the nerve before tearing the left knee of her jeans.

Her mother was gonna kill her when she saw the hole.

But aside from that, Erica and Hector stood center stage stage in the Black Box Theater while Tony, Tyler, Jordan, Jensen, Connor, and Anna Elizabeth sat in the front row of the audience. Erica managed to flag Darla down beforehand, but she was currently at her locker getting some stuff.

"Alright, everybody," Hector announced, projecting his voice far enough to reach the middle of the auditorium. "Erica's going to give you the scripts and your characters are written on the front. Even if you think you aren't good enough, we'll make it work. We'll do the script reading today and more rehearsal on Sunday. I got Sikowitz to let us use the Black Box at 3, so don't make any other plans."

Erica exited stage left to walk out to the audience and handed out all of the scripts, leafing through each one to make sure she handed them to the appropriate people. Before the last script was handed out, Darla ran into the theater muttering apologies, but Erica disregarded them with a displeased frown and handed her the script with Duchess Maria d'Adreci written on the title page in Hector's sloppy handwriting.

She saved the last script for Jensen and smiled at him. "I think you and AE should talk to share numbers so you can make the chemistry between Giselle and Adam believable," she whispered, leaning close to him. She plopped the script down in his lap before snapping up and spinning around to head back for the stage.

Consisting of nine characters, the film would only be thirty minutes long at most. It centered on Giselle Broussard, heir to the throne in an unnamed kingdom. As her eighteenth birthday draws closer, her parents, King Henry and Queen Katherine, tell her she must marry to take her place.

Among many suitors, Oleander d'Adreci—the Dauphin of a neighboring French quarter and firstborn son of the great Duke Alphonse d'Adreci—falls madly in love with her astounding beauty. Of her suitors, Giselle finds him to be the most tolerable, especially for his equally good looks. But on the eve of their meeting, she sneaks out into her kingdom (dressed in tattered rags) as she normally would when the mundane rituals of palace life bored her. Wanting to get away from people in general, she retires to a farm where a peasant boy finds her. He tells her that she shouldn't be out late at night and offers to take her back to her home, which she declines, telling him that she can fend for herself if need be.

After her encounter with the peasant boy, Adam, she takes more and more trips into the kingdom to see him. She falls in love with his kindness to a total stranger and decides that she wants to marry him.

But unbeknownst to Giselle, Oleander had made several trips to her kingdom to try and court her, often catching her sneaking out instead. When he hears her telling her Lady in Waiting that she wishes to marry Adam, he becomes outraged and threatens her, informing her that he overheard their parents discussing how she was taken from her home as a baby and comes from peasant blood. He tells her that if her kingdom were to find out, they would never accept her as queen and the kingdom would fall into anarchy. He does, however, give her an ultimatum: he won't tell anyone about her bloodline if she takes his hand in marriage and vows to never see Adam again.

Without hesitation, Giselle declines his offer and tells him that he'll never be king of anything. In a moment of blind rage, he attacks him and knocks him out.

She begs her Lady in Waiting—a witch named Cree—to help her find a way to find her real parents. After a voodoo spell, the witch reveals that Adam's father and late mother are her parents as well, leaving Giselle heartbroken. The witch promises she won't tell anyone, but the princess is conflicted.

After three days of solitude, she promises once more to marry Oleander. And much to her own dismay, she finds Adam and tells him that she can't marry him because they are siblings. Through heavy tears, she also tells him that she can no longer speak to him and he can never mention the time they spent together.

Finally, on her wedding night, she poisons Oleander's drink, vowing to rule the kingdom on her own.

"Why do I have to be the Lady in Waiting?" Connor whined when they finished reading through the script.

"Because we didn't have time to look for any other girls," Hector answered impatiently, drumming his fingers on the wood of the stage. He and Erica took the liberty to sit on it while they did the read through.

"Shoulda made Jordan do it," he joked, punching his friend in the arm. "He looks more like a girl than I do."

"Shut up!" the ginger defended, punching his friend back playfully.

"Okay!" Hector shouted above the fighting boys, hopping down from the stage. "Practice at home and we'll do two rehearsals on Sunday. Hopefully we can film it then. If not, we'll try for Monday at lunch." Considering he'd only drafted and printed copies of the script the night before, he took a seat at the end of the front row to reread the script for any errors.

Erica hopped down from the stage as well, a very small distance considering her obnoxious heels, and swayed over to Tyler. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked, flashing a dazzling smile.

"Uh…sure," he answered skeptically. He shot Jordan a pleading look when she snatched his hand and led him to the other end of the theater. His friend simply shrugged and went back to looking at his script.

Before Anna Elizabeth could follow Erica's lead and ask Jensen to another part of the theater—or attempt to, anyway—Darla nudged him and told/signed to him that she was leaving he'd better hurry up and come with her if he wanted a ride home. She'd picked up a small bit of sign language, learning it mostly so she'd be able to fit in better with some of her new friends, but found it weird that Darla really only signed around Tony and Jensen…

With a sigh, she slumped back into her seat as Barrett turned to ask Tony if they could talk at the very back of the Black Box and the twins got up to leave.

"So maybe we should hang out," he suggested once they were out of earshot of everyone else. "Y'know…since you're playing my dad and stuff."

Tony shrugged. "I mean we can," he played off nonchalantly. "We don't even have a scene where we speak to each other, though."

"Well you could help me rehearse then," Barrett threw out, trying to hide his bubbling insecurity. "I didn't really want to be in this movie and I'll probably drop out if I have to practice a part for a chick flick by myself."

"I guess," Tony nodded off.

"Let me get your number," the other boy requested, turning up his head and eyeing Tony's pocket. "I can text you my address and we can do it at my house."

Something didn't right.

Tony narrowed his eyes at the boy before him. "You're getting a little pushy," he pointed out.

Barrett just shrugged, his leather jacket rustling slightly. "We could find other stuff to talk about," he announced. "I'm just trying to be friendly."

"Too friendly," Tony added flatly as he crossed his arms. "You think I'm gay or something?" He kept his voice low in case anyone might hear him. "You trying to call me a faggot?"

"Chill out, man," Barrett advised, holding his hands and rolled up script up in surrender. "I'm not saying anything. I just see…signs. I'm starting this whole coming out process…and I was thinking that we could…you know, come out together."

His eye twitching, the Kerrigan boy shoved this…stranger. "I'm not gay," he growled lowly. "And if you say anything to anyone, I'll give you a set of matching black eyes. Don't even talk to me outside of this stupid movie, and don't talk to me unless it's about the movie. Got it?"

Barrett sighed and ran a hand through his hair, pulling strands loose from his ponytail. "Whatever," he spat, walking around Tony and exiting the theater.

Watching the whole scene, Anna Elizabeth scurried up to the disgruntled teen. "You di'nt hafta been so mean to 'im," she stated, mustering as much confidence in her voice as she could.

Tony's head snapped to her, his eyes filled with rage. "And what the hell do you know?" he snarled. "The mousy new girl thinks she knows everything now? Please. I saw you hanging out with Erica. Maybe you're a dyke trying to be straight by obviously crushing on someone who's never gonna be interested in you."

He stormed off as her eyes begin to water.

Erica noticed it…and now Tony had. There was no telling who else knew about her silly little crush. But…how could he be so mean like that, calling her that nasty word? Was it because of the way she dressed? Did she have to wear big shoes and tiny clothes just to prove she was straight? Yeah, she kissed a girl at a party once, but that was just in a game of spin the bottle after one too many drinks. But what if Tony was right and everyone else thought what he did?

That would somewhat explain Jensen's weird behavior…

Ducking her head so no one would see her crying, Anna Elizabeth crossed her arms and rapidly scraped her nails against the exposed skin of her elbows. She took shallow breaths, trying not to cry as she left the theater to go meet her mom.

She almost made it out of the door when she bumped into someone and nearly toppled backward. Had it not been for a paper-white hand grabbing her wrist, she would have fallen into a stack of chairs.

"Are you okay?" Jensen asked as he helped her stand up straight.

She nodded as she whipped her eyes. "Sorry about bumping into you," she apologized, clenching her eyes shut to force the tears to stop. Of course it had to be him.

"It's okay," he assured her. "But why were you crying?"

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she breathed shakily.

"O…kay. Well can I get your phone number? We should…rehearse since we-we'll have a lot of lines together."

Her eyes snapped open in confusion. He was asking for her number? And…he was stuttering? Was this a good sign?

"S-sure," she stammered back. "Do you have a pen?"

He nodded toward the stage. "Let me get my phone first," he told her, sounding as if she hadn't even spoken. "I forgot it." Maybe this wasn't a sign at all…

As they make their way to the front of the theater, she crossed her arms again and continued grating her elbows with her fingernails. She watched him as he returned to his seat and bent down to pick up his phone that had fallen to the floor. It was really big and a little fancy; she'd never seen anything like it before, not even at her old school. She just has the dinky little PearPhone GXT, a severely outdated model that her mom had given her earlier that morning; she didn't think they made those anymore.

He swiped his thumb along the screen and handed it to her. Wordlessly, she entered her number in and handed it back to him. He opened his mouth to say something, but she didn't want to take the chance of getting any more mixed signals. "I gotta go. My mama's waitin' outside."

She quickly turned on the heels of her sandals and dashed out of the Black Box, leaving Jensen to stare after her in wonder.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

By the time Anna Elizabeth got to the front doors, she saw her mom's red Thunder Falcon sports car parked directly in front. She could almost feel the disdain radiating from the fancy automobile. She jogged out to the car in the hope that her mother wouldn't be too upset with her.

"You can do this one little film thing," the bottle redhead told her daughter harshly, without so much as a 'hello,' "But you're done after that."

"But why?" Anna Elizabeth protested as she shoved her book bag into the floorboard and buckled her seatbelt.

"Because your daddy don't want no daughter interested in that Hollywood mumbo jumbo," she spat, putting the car in drive and speeding away from the school. "Yer aunt likes all that and he can't stand her. And I ain't gon keep comin' here pickin' you up at four. You know that's when I got my stories. You told me you didn't want to do pageants no more, but that don't mean you can do all this foofoo stuff after school."

Anna Elizabeth sighed and slumped down in her seat. Screw her selfish mom and what her dumb daddy wanted.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

After a deathly silent ride, Laura waited until she and her daughter were behind the closed doors of her home before exploding. She roughly shoved Anna Elizabeth, causing her book bag to fall off her shoulder and crash to the ground, followed by a hard slap across the face.

"We can't see your daddy until Sunday!" she screamed. "We coulda seen 'im last Monday if you would been at school for me to pick you up like ya dumb ass is s'posed to!" She brought her fist down on Anna Elizabeth's shoulder, causing the tiny girl to lose her balance and fall to the carpet. "Why are you so goddamn selfish you little brat!"

"I'm sorry, Mama," she apologized, tears welling in her eyes. Out of fear, she didn't wipe them away, nor did she make any sudden movements. "I didn't know."

Her mother laughed scornfully and started to pace, her heels thudding on the carpet. "You didn't know," she repeated sarcastically. Her hands shot to her head, gripping red locks tightly. "You didn't know!" She started banging the side of her head with the ball of her hand, her fist pulling some of her hair as she did so.

"Mama, stop," Anna Elizabeth pleaded, slowly standing. "You're hurting yourself."

Before she could even blink, Laura lashed out at her daughter, backhanding her so hard that a bone popped in her neck. Anna Elizabeth held the already red spot, looking at her mother in wide eyed shock.

"You don't tell me what to do!" she hollered. She reached out and snatched a clump of her daughter's hair, yanking it from the ponytail. "I'm your mother and you listen to me. You better be damn near stupid thinking it's the other way around!"

Shaking her daughter's head roughly, much to her loud protests, she pulled her over to the stairwell and, once again, threw her daughter against the carpeted stairs, slightly burning her chin. "Get your ungrateful ass upstairs," she hissed lowly.

Quietly, Anna Elizabeth complied. And when she'd scurried up halfway, her book bag smashed into her back, knocking her down and causing her to hit her head on one of the stairs. "Take your shit with you!" her mother bellowed.

Fighting the urge to groan in pain, Anna Elizabeth fumbled for the strap of her book bag and hoisted it up, rushing up the remaining stairs. She gently closed her bedroom door and dropped her bag beside it. Tears burning her eyes, she rushed to her desk and pulled a pen and paper from one of the drawers, slamming them both down on the wooden surface.

She can't put up with this. This is…too much. She needs to get away from this evil bitch monster, at least for a day.

She had one of her mom's sixteen credit cards beneath her pillow where it'd been since they moved to LA. She decided she was going to treat herself to some relaxation, and her mother was going to pay for it.

Trying her best to mimic her mother's childlike handwriting, she forged a note with some bogus dentist appointment so she could skip school tomorrow. After signing her mother's name at the bottom, proud at the mirror image of her mother's signature, she walked over to her bed and pulled out the credit card, running her thumb over the embossed letters.

A spa day courtesy of Laura Jean Ragland?

Now that would be a dream.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

An hour later.

Thrift shops where her favorite things back home. There were only two, but Anna Elizabeth spent a lot of time in them, foraging for forgotten gems. She hadn't gone to find any yet—and she was sure there were a lot of them—but she would read the Spark Blood series to tide her over until she found one. She had made it halfway through the third book where Arnold and Elizabeth were preparing for a war between vampires and witches when her mother knocked on the door.

"Nicky?" Laura called. "Can I come in?"

Replacing her bookmark, the tiny obsidian-haired teen put her book down on her nightstand and quickly moved to the door, her feet gliding gracefully across the carpet. She opened it to meet her mother's apologetic eyes.

"I'm sorry for being so mean to you," she apologized slowly. For the first time ever, she nervously fiddled with her fingers, keeping her eyes on her daughter. "I just…I love your daddy a lot and I just want us to be a family again. I haven't seen him since you were about two and it's been really hard for me. I miss him more than you'll ever know, baby girl, and I'm well past ready to be with him again." She reached around to her back pocket and pulled out a small black box with an even smaller smile. "For being so mean."

Anna Elizabeth smiled slightly at her mother as she took the box. She opened it and gasped at the gold bracelet with a bar in the middle with 'love' scribbled on it in a fancy script. "It's so pretty," she breathed in surprise. She looked up at her mother with a broad, genuine grin. "Thank you, Mama."

"You're welcome, Sugar." Her daughter stepped forward to give her a hug, but she stepped back cautiously. "Dinner will be ready soon." She hurriedly descended the stairs and her daughter sighed.

Anna Elizabeth didn't want a hug anyway.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

Saturday.

Darla refused to talk to Mason for the rest of the week. She felt like she should text him, but she told herself she needed to wait for an apology. He was wrong for doing what he did and she was sure he knew that, so she had to force herself not to text him first.

When she got home Wednesday afternoon, her mother was there waiting expectantly for her with a deep set scowl and a smartphone outstretched to meet her daughter. It seemed that the paparazzi—with a generous tip—managed to catch a few pictures of Darla in her skimpy bathing suit with her obviously older mystery man. The caption read: "Mystery Man Brings West-Oliver Daughter Out of Hiding" and the article went on to talk about their trip to the beach, over-exaggerating some things and even detailing Mason's inappropriate embrace in the ocean and their "steamy" encounter in the changing room.

Needless to say, Jade was livid.

Darla had been grounded for a week: no phone (so she couldn't text Mason even if she wanted to), no TV, no band rehearsal, no skateboarding, nothing. Her father, however, thought his wife was being a little too harsh and convinced her to allow Darla to have friends over as long as they stayed in the living room while an adult was home.

She almost exiled her daughter to her room for the get-together, but luckily her husband had persuaded her otherwise.

Darla crossed and uncrossed her legs as she sat by the pool while her dad manned the grill. She drummed her fingers on the plastic arm of the chair, unable to stop thinking about Mason.

What was he doing right now? Had he tried to text her? What if he wanted to break up with her now? Why didn't she just let him do what he wanted at the beach and relax like he told her to?

"Rocky," Beck called from the grill. Her head snapped up to him as if coming out of a daze. "Can you go help your mom in the kitchen? Everyone's gonna be here soon."

She sighed and lazily rose to her feet. "Can't you do it and I'll take over the grill?" she suggested in a longshot.

Her father shook his head with a small smile. "I know you two aren't really happy with each other," he started, "But this isn't something new; we have this barbecue every year. If you want your mom to lighten up on you, go help her in the kitchen."

His daughter groaned and stomped around the length of the pool with her arms crossed to go inside. And the second she stepped over the threshold, the doorbell rang.

"Someone get the door!" Jade shouted from the kitchen.

Darla rolled her eyes and made her way to the front door since no one else would. Upon opening it, Tori Kerrigan smiled down at her, her husband and sons at her side. Hector had his camera rolling while Tony clicked away on his cell.

"I brought potato salad!" she sang as Darla stepped aside to let the family of four in.

"Dammit, Vega," Jade shouted from the kitchen. She rushed out, a potato salad-covered spoon in her hand and a dark look in her eyes. "You do this every year! I keep telling you that I'm making the potato salad!"

"And every year you burn the potatoes," Tori snarled, gripping her Tupperware tightly.

When a growling Jade started to lunge for Tori, both Darla and Danny jumped between them to stop them.

"Jade!" Beck called from outside. "Can't we have one year where you don't try to kill Tori? Don't make me have to leave this grill!"

"Shove it!" Jade screamed, turning around and heading for the kitchen.

"It's so good to see you again, Darla," Tori announced once Jade disappears out of sight. She winced when she heard the loud clanking of the angered mother chucking the spoon in the sink.

"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Kerrigan," Darla greeted with a genuine smile.

"Where's Jen?" Tony piped up, finally looking up from his phone.

"In his room," she answered, crossing her arms. "He's probably still asleep."

"I can wake him up," he announced with a mischievous grin.

"And I can film it!" Hector shouted excitedly, running after his brother and darting up the stairs.

Tori sighed softly, still finding it so easy to be amazed at how crazy her boys were. She patted the girl before her on the shoulder as she led her husband out to the backyard. Darla almost closed the door when a black sneaker blocked the doorway.

"I hope we're not late for the party," Blake announced, pushing the door open and nearly knocking the teen down, his Australian accent still prominent after eighteen years in the States.

"We're just waiting for my aunt and uncle," she announced as he, his wife, Erica, and his ten year old daughter Miranda stepped in.

"I brought sour cream and onion chips," Trina proclaimed, holding up two bags.

"Great!" Jade screamed from the kitchen. "Another stupid addition from another stupid Vega."

"Remind me again why we're here?" Trina mumbled to her husband under her breath with a pointed glare at the kitchen.

"Your friends are my friends, too, Honey," Blake muttered back. "You only need to see Jade once a year."

"I'd like it if it were less," she hissed, her heels thudding softly against the white carpet. Her husband quickly followed suit, draping his arm around her shoulders as he fell into his regular smooth stride.

"Kendall's playing in the pool," Darla directed to Miranda, referring to her little brother.

The tiny brunette's face lit up with joy and she bounced in place, ready to run. "See ya!" she exclaimed, running out the back door.

Erica laughed slightly as she closed the door with a sly smile pointed at Darla. "So tell me about your mystery man," she prodded, skittering over to poke her friend repeatedly in both shoulders. "Where's he go to school? Does he even go to school? How old is he? Where'd you meet him?"

"Jesus Christ, Mom," the dark haired girl groaned, walking over to the couch and falling back onto it. "One question at a time would be nice." She ticked off the answers on her fingers. "USC, yes because he goes to USC, twenty-two, and I ran into him—literally—at the mall about two weeks ago. Did I get everything?"

"Yes you did!" Erica answered with a chipper voice and a bounce in her step, following her parents and sister. "I hope your aunt and uncle hurry up; I'm getting hungry."

"Food'll be ready soon!" Beck announced from the backyard, his voice booming into the house.

From the couch, she sighed. She was in for two hours of hanging around outside with her parents' friends while trying to pretend to have fun with her own, even though she desperately wished she could be with Mason.

Luckily, the keys jingling in the door pulled her from her self-loathing. She sat up with a warm smile for Cat and Robbie once they entered the house, hand in hand. "It's about time!" she exclaimed, jumping off the couch.

"Sorry," Cat apologized with a wide grin and an airy tone. "We just got held longer than we thought we would."

Robbie brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, smiling contently. They both glowed radiantly as he brought his eyes to his best friend's daughter. "Let's go start the party!" he suggested happily.

Excitedly, Darla ran up to them and grabbed their free hands, leading them out back.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

Sitting around the large metal patio table, the group of thirty-somethings felt like they were in high school again, despite the children that wedged themselves between them. They've all changed in appearance—Trina in personality as well—but they were all the same group that grew up together.

Much to Beck's dismay, Jade cut her long locks to a short shoulder-length, and she didn't bother with the colorful hair extensions anymore; she still kept it black for his sake. Two kids did her bosom well, and she loved to flaunt her endowment, even in a friendly little get-together. She'd gotten to the point where if she wore any makeup at all, she only wore eyeliner.

If only everyone could be so lucky.

Beck wasn't much for change. His hair was still the near cropped cut it was in high school, but the laugh lines around his eyes were starting to give up his age. Not that anyone minded it, though. And having to keep up with his ever demanding wife, he'd gotten to be a bit more outspoken. They got into more fights because of it, but Hollywood ate it up…and it made for great sex later.

Trina liked to wear her hair in box braids now, a fad that died off in the early 2010s. She put a few blonde highlights in her hair, and maintained a neat fringe right above her always immaculate eyebrows. She didn't dress as flashy or as provocative, but her style still had a bit of the old Trina in it. As with Erica, she hadn't put on much weight in her pregnancy with Miranda Corrine. Terrified of aging, she liked to cake on the makeup to make herself look young forever.

She could give drag queens a run for their money.

Like Beck, Tori hadn't really changed at all. She'd got a few more curves—including Hector's baby weight that she still hadn't bother to get completely rid of—and she acquired a certain glow to her that could light up a room. Unlike in high school, she always made sure her nails were kept up with the craziest designs she can think of.

Cat and Robbie were still the epitome of adorkable. She still dyed her hair red, but she wore it curly now. Something about hair straighteners having a suicide vendetta. She wore dresses every now and then, but she started sticking to loose pants and tight blouses. Sensible shoes and pretty bows in her hair became her staples. If anything, she still looked sixteen.

Robbie, on the other hand, looked thirty four. He wore contacts now, terrified of laser eye surgery, and Cat couldn't stop gazing into his perfect brown eyes every chance she got. At first, she was against his buzz cut, but she eventually grew to love it and he'd kept it going for five years now. When he wasn't busy with working on scoring for movies, he liked to spend time in the gym, so he had a little bit more muscle now. He could finally carry Cat over the threshold.

It wa kind of weird.

Though Blake and Danny weren't part of the original Hollywood Arts gang and neither of them were no substitute for Andre, Blake had been welcomed like he was part of the group all along while they slowly inched Danny in.

Keeping up with the photographer's lifestyle, Blake let his neat black buzz cut grow out in shaggy locks that he constantly had to push out of his shocking blue eyes. He kept stubble on his chiseled, dimpled jaw, but Trina didn't seem to mind. She loved her rugged hero no matter what. It was still hard to believe that a photographer would have a well-built body, but he never let it slack. He vowed to always be Trina's Australian Adonis.

And finally, Danny got fat.

There was no sugarcoating it. When everyone found out that he'd become the CEO of Oscar's Wilde Wonderland, they thought he'd be over the fast food scene, but Oscar gave him a heart attack for lunch—and sometimes dinner—every day that he graciously devoured without a second thought. He'd slicked his hair back and, to be honest, it creeped Tori out. He also used to be a lot like Beck, but now he was turning out to be as mean and sinister as Jade.

Without being under a microscope, everyone was blissfully happy, just as they should be.

After everyone finished their hotdogs and burgers, Cat shot to her feet and clank her fork against her Champaign glass. "I have an announcement," she chirped happily.

"Don't start without me!" a voice called from the back gate.

Everyone turned in shock and the adults—aside from Blake, Beck, and Jade—gasped when none other than Andre Harris towered over the gate.

As he unlocked the gate, a dazzling smile plastered on his face, they all took in his bigger stature. His shoulders were a bit broader, but he still had his trademark dreads pulled back out of his face. His jaw squared up a bit and his cheeks were a little less full, but his eyes were still as bright as ever. Everyone expected him to be homeless or something, but they were all pleasantly surprised—aside from Danny, obviously—to see him in expensive looking threads.

"I brought pound cake," he announced heartily, holding up a big plastic cake holder in the air.

"Finally!" Hector called out, shooting up from the table despite his mother's voice calling out to him. He ran up to Andre and took the Tupperware with a gracious bow. "I thought I was gonna die from sweet deprivation!" He carried the cake back to the large table with pride.

"W-what are you doing here?" Tori stammered as she stood, wringing her hands.

"Jade invited me," he answered, strolling up to the table. "I was actually surprised she found me. I've been trying to lay low."

Jade stood when he neared her to give him a big hug. "It's good to see you're okay," she told him. She turned back to her friends and the kids, keeping her arm around Andre's waist. "You all know I'm not one to be sentimental, but it isn't fair that we relive old times without him, so I did some digging."

"Where've you been?" Cat asked excitedly as she jumped up to run around the table and practically tackle him in a hug.

"Whoa there, Lil' Red," he chuckled, effortlessly catching her. He patted her back in the hug. "I've been in Norway for the last five years, but I was in Pasadena before that."

Beck stood to clap his old friend on the shoulder when Cat moved out of the way. "You could've sent us some messages or something," he pointed out with a wide, disbelieving grin.

Andre laughed. "I know," he acknowledged. "I just needed some time to myself, and then things got chaotic and I never found the time."

"What have you been up to?" Tori asked nervously as she slowly made her way to him. She smiled contently when he hugged her as tightly as she was hoping he would. "You look great," she told him softly.

"You look better," he responded quietly. He smiled broadly when they broke their extra-long hug. He hiked up his shirt slightly, as if stretching imaginary suspenders. "I don't like to brag or nothing," he joked, "But I'm a DJ now. Tiesto picked me up back in 2014 and it's been a heck of a ride ever since."

"Who?" Tony questioned, his voice muffled by his mouthful of cake.

"He's the highest paid DJ in the world," Andre answered proudly.

Beck clapped his friend on the back again. "But that's gonna be you soon, right?"

"I'm tryin'," he laughed, pulling his friend into a big hug.

Danny cleared his throat and stood slowly. "I just remembered I have a business meeting to get to," he announced, pretending to check his phone.

"No you don't," Tori snapped, glaring darkly at him. "Let's just be civil."

Danny scoffed. "Civil?" he snarled.

"Kids, I think it's time you all went inside," Beck urged hurriedly, motioning for them to stand up. At least Tori and Danny had the decency to wait until he ushered them inside and closed the glass door. No one really cared if they watch though.

"I've been nothing but civil with you for the past two years, Tori," he griped. "If I get any more civil, I'll start another war!"

"Can we not do this now?" she spit, crossing her arms.

Jade plopped back into her seat and reclined, propping her feet up on the table with a devilish grin and enticing eyes. "Let's do this now," she urged. "I need some unscripted drama in my life."

"Jade," Beck admonished quietly.

"No!" Danny shouted, keeping his eyes on his wife. "Let's do it now. Better to go ahead and get it over with."

"Danny, please," she begged quietly, all anger retreating from her face.

"I'm done pretending, Tori," he told her sternly. He turned to everyone else, his eyes clouded with annoyance. "We haven't had sex in eight years."

"What's going on?" Jensen asked from inside, nudging his sister with his elbow. "I can't see their mouths."

Tony's dad just said they haven't had sex in eight years, Darla signed with her eyes locked on the scene. Her brother made a disgusted face, flipping his eyes back and forth between her and the adults.

"You act like you don't even want to anymore," Tori accused, narrowing her eyes.

"Because you always have an attitude when I get home!" her husband shouted.

"Because you always come home at two in the morning when I'm trying to sleep!" she countered.

"Well you know what?" he snarled, his voice low and dripping with venom. "You can get all the sleep you want after the divorce!"

This time, even Jade gasped.

Tori lowered her eyes, unable to look at anyone. There it was…out in the open. They'd been planning it for a few months now, and she wanted to keep it quiet until everything was finalized, but there it was. Embarrassed didn't even brush the tip of the iceberg on how she felt.

Her face grew hot as her eyes were about to water. Covering her mouth with her hand, she ran back toward the house. The teenagers and children inside all move to the side to allow her to rip open the sliding door and run inside.

Seething, Danny clunk over to Andre. He shoved the taller man with malice, his mouth in a tight line. "You want her back?" he hissed. "Take her." With that, he stormed through the back gate to the front yard and climbed into his Mercedes. The tires squealed like bats out of Hell as he whipped out of the driveway.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

"I don't see why you're so pissed at me," Jade grumbled as she washed uneaten potato salad out of her bowl. "I didn't know Vega's marriage was on the rocks." She stood with her husband in the kitchen, both doing the dishes while everyone else awkwardly sat in the living room in silence.

"Stop calling her that!" he shouted, causing everyone to wince. He threw a spoon into the soapy water, splashing it onto his shirt. "You could at least show a little sympathy, you know that? You didn't have to egg their fight on!"

Jade rolled her eyes. "Sympathy or not," she started, "There's nothing anyone can do to fix this. You said it yourself you never liked Danny and liked her better with Andre."

"We can all hear you, you know," Andre called from his spot on one of the couches.

"You knew it was true anyway," Jade called back over her shoulder as she scrubbed dried mustard from a plate. She turned back to her husband. "Maybe this is a good thing," she said in a lower voice.

"How could this possibly be good?" Beck whispered.

"They were getting a divorce anyway," she pointed out. "Maybe now she can rekindle stuff with Andre and you can be happy that the old gang is back together."

He grunted slightly and kissed her on the cheek. "Let's hope."

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

Are you okay? Jensen signed to his friend.

Not really, Tony signed back. How would you feel if your parents were getting a divorce?

Shitty, Jensen replied, But I wouldn't be surprised.

Their fighting is different, Tony passed off, They're still obviously in love.

I guess.

I don't want to talk about it anymore.

With a curt nod, Jensen faced forward, leaning his head back on the couch cushion.

At the other side of the living room, Erica wrapped her arms around her little cousin's shoulders while he rested his head on her chest, staring blankly at the floor. Miranda held his hand tightly, resting her own head on his shoulders. Hector hadn't spoken since he heard his dad shouting. The older Michaels girl tried to get him to talk, but he'd been silent for the past hour and it didn't look like that was going to change any time soon.

They all turned to look at Tori when they heard her descending the stairs with a sniffle.

Andre stood before anyone else. "Tor, I'm sorry," he apologized with saddened eyes. "I shouldn't have come."

"It wasn't your fault," she assured him with a weak smile as she clung to herself. "We haven't really been happy for a while now."

"Do you really think that's something you should say in front of your kids?!" Tony shouted, shooting to his feet. "You've got two kids, Mom. You can't get a divorce! We need both of you. Why couldn't you just work whatever shit you got with Dad out?"

"Watch your language, Antonio David," his mother ordered, trying to be at least somewhat convincing despite her frayed demeanor.

"Bite me," he sneered, turning on his heels and exiting the house through the back door.

Andre held up a hand to her when she started to go after him. "Give him some space," he advised. "This is a lot for one day."

Tori pointed a finger at him with fire in her eyes. "You do not get to come here and tell me how to treat my kid," she seethed, finally being convincing.

"Chill out, Vega," Jade directed as she and Beck exited the kitchen. "Andre's only trying to help."

As Tori started to square up to the older mother, Cat grabbed her husband's hand tightly, waiting for the inevitable backlash.

3:58 PM From: Unlisted Number

Hey, it's Jensen. Are you free?

4:02 PM To: Jensen

As I'll ever be. What's up?

While Tori and Jade are hashed it out, going at each other like feral cats while Andre and Beck respectively held them back, Darla noticed her brother pull out his phone clicking away to none other than Anna Elizabeth. She quickly snatched the phone from him and erased his message to type her apology, much to her brother's protest.

4:04 PM From: Jensen

It's Darla! I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier.

Jensen snatched the phone back when she finished her message, but showed her Anna Elizabeth's message of forgiveness.

4:05 PM To: Jensen

Lol it's okay

4:05 PM From: Jensen

Sorry, she took my phone. Do you want to rehearse today?

4:05 PM To: Jensen

I guess we can. Text me your address?

4:07 PM From: Jensen

Can't. There's a big fight going on and I gotta get outta here.

4:08 PM To: Jensen

I know the feeling… Where do you want to practice then?

4:08 PM From: Jensen

Meet me in front of the mall in thirty minutes.

4:08 PM To: Jensen

Okay…I'll text you if something comes up.

Out of the corner of her eye, Darla looked to her aunt just as she placed a protective hand over her stomach. The teen raised a brow in suspicion, and the suspicion heightened when Cat noticed her stare and slammed her hand back down on the couch.

Whoever this Andre guy was, he sure picked the perfect time to make his reappearance.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

Anna Elizabeth lightly scratched the hole in the knee of her jeans as she sat in the back of a taxi, appreciations from Laura's credit card. She'd decided on wearing the pair she'd torn because she knew she'd be very anxious about hanging out with Jensen.

When she pulled up to the mall, the cabbie quickly swiped the card and she got out, her eyes locked on Jensen as he stood awkwardly in front of the doors.

Be cool, she instructed herself, taking in a deep breath.

When he spotted her, he waved with a charming smile and a nod, causing her to squeak and cover her mouth. She dropped her hand when she skipped up to him, paying extra attention so she wouldn't fall.

"You ready?" he asked.

She nodded, pressing her lips together tightly.

He tilted his head to the door, instructing her to follow. He held the door open for her like a gentleman and led her to Playing the Field, the music store Tyler's dad owned. He ushered her to the back to the hidden recording studio.

"It's quiet," he told her once he closed them off in the soundproof room. He smiled warmly at her. "I like quiet."

She felt a slight blush and quickly turned from him, fumbling for her script in the new, large purse that Laura bought. "So do you want to start from when we first meet each other?"

Thanks to the soundless room, Jensen could hear the ghost of her words a little bit better, taking some of the strain away. "Sure," he breathed contently.

Anna Elizabeth put her purse down on the floor and lay down, staring at her script.

Jensen flipped to the appropriate page in his own script and cleared his throat. "Are you normally one to trespass on another person's land?" he questioned, getting into character.

She gasped and sat up. "My apologies," she read, trying to suppress her southern accent as best she could.

"It is quite alright," he returned, his eyes glued to the page. He walked over to her and gave her his hand. "Might I escort the young lady home? It is far too dangerous for anyone to be out this late."

She forced a smirk, feeling her mouth twitching. She would need to work on that before filming. "Then what do you propose to do once you leave me?"

He laughed softly. "My father taught me to defend myself well," he assured her.

She took his hand and allowed him to help her up. "In any case," she started, "I am also capable of defending myself if need be. But thank you for offering. And thank you for being so kind."

As the script instructed her to, she looked down at his hand still holding hers and then into his eyes before he met her gaze. "The world needs much kindness," he breathed quietly. Then, he leaned in to kiss her.

Anna Elizabeth's body stiffened, obviously thrown off guard…as if she had any guard to begin with. When he pulled away from her, a line of red raged across her nose and cheeks. "That's not part of the script," she whispered, not taking her eyes from his.

His face fell and a pang of rejection filled his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered back.

She smiled slightly. "Don't be." She dropped her script and placed her hand on the back of his head, gripping his other hand excitedly as she stretched on her tip toes to kiss him again.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

Three hours later.

Out of both boys, Hector hated his parents fighting the most. He remembered that they used to fight a lot when he was five, and he would always slip into his brother's room when they did. Now, though Tony would never admit it, Hector sat on his brother's bed, hugging him tightly as he curled against him.

"I still can't believe how you were all over him!" Danny shouted, his voice booming through eldest son's door.

"I was not 'all over him,'" Tori shot back maliciously. "I was just trying to talk to my old friend!"

"Who also happens to be your ex-boyfriend," Danny threw out.

"Oh," Tori hissed. The boys flinched upon hearing a loud slap. "Do not play that game with me, Danny! You were my ex-boyfriend long before he was."

"But now I'm your husband!"

"Right now you're not being a good one!"

They boys flinched again when they hear glass breaking. "Well you know what?" Danny seethed. "You can marry him after we get our divorce since he'd be a much better husband!"

"I wish you would stop overreacting," Tori spat, her voice barely audible to her sons.

"You're the one who's overreacting," their father accused just as low. "You're the one who's been sleeping on the couch for the past two months."

"Because you kept whining about how your back hurts so badly after you slept there! I practically sleep by myself anyway."

"What do you want from me, Tori? Don't I give you everything you ask for? You want the house? You want the kids? Take everything!"

"They're your children, too, Danny. You can't just throw them away like you do with your money!"

"Well at least I make money," he shot back after a brief, mocking laugh. "That little internet thing you do isn't making shit for you. The minute I leave, you'll be out on the streets!"

When Hector started sniffling, Tony soothingly rubbed his arm, unsure of what else to do.

"Where the hell are you going?" they hear their father yell after loud stomping.

"Far away from you!" their mother shouted distantly as she slammed the front door, causing her sons to wince again.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

It normally took only a ten minute drive to make it to the West-Oliver abode, but Tori's blind rage put her there in six. Pulling up to the house, she slammed her car door after getting out and banged loudly on the front door after stepping up to it.

"Who the hell is banging on my door like an idiot?!" Jade shouted from inside. "I keep telling you stupid paparazzi that Jennifer Lopez doesn't live here anymore!"

"Jade, let me in!" Tori yelled over her incessant banging.

Moments later, her old frenemy ripped open the door. "What is it, Vega?" she spat. "You think you can come back here after you tried to attack me when I was actually trying to be nice for a change?"

"Can you get in touch with Andre for me?" Tori asked quietly, crossing her arms and avoiding the question.

Jade groaned dramatically and turned around, leaving the door open to allow Tori to let herself in. She headed over to the coffee table and shuffled through the papers on top of it, pulling out a small balloon-shaped sticky note moments later. "It's got the number to the hotel on it," she announced as she handed it to Tori. "He might not even be there, but it's all I got right now."

Tori smiled weakly. "Thanks," she breathed. She quickly enveloped the taller woman into a hug, who begrudgingly hugs her back. "I'm sorry about earlier." She turned on her heels and quickly left without another word to Jade, slamming the door.

When she got back into her car, she pulled out her phone and dialed the number on the sticky note.

It rang twice before the concierge picks up. He greeted her, asked her how he could help her, and told her he would direct her call to Andre's room after she gave his name. Three rings later, her old boyfriend picked up.

"Hello?" he called tiredly.

"Andre," Tori began, her voice strained, "It's Tori."

"H-hey, Tori," he stammered. "Are…is everything okay?"

A sob escaped her lips, but she regained her composure with a loud sniffle. "Not really," she answered honestly. "Can I…can I see you?"

"Sure," he agreed almost too eagerly. "Give me another call when you're downstairs and I'll come get you."

"Okay," she whispered.

Someday we'll tell ourselves "Oh my God, this is paradise."

Thirty minutes later.

As soon as Andre stepped off the elevator into the glorious lobby of Le Petite Argent, Tori ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck, crying silently into his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her waist to comfort her, rubbing the small of her back gently.

Eventually, they made it back up to his room.

Once inside, she went straight to the bed and fell face first onto it, burying herself into the covers. "My life is a mess!" she shouted ruefully, her voice muffled by the 3,000 thread count sheets. "Your bed is so soft," she whined.

He laughed softly. "Run that by me again," he said.

She shot up and wiped her running mascara with another loud sniffle. "This is a disaster," she said as she plopped down on the edge of the bed.

Andre took the spot beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder securely. "These things happen, Tor," he assured her.

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. The smell of Dulce de Leche, her favorite shampoo, filled his nose and head with pleasant memories that would take him three lifetimes to forget. "I know," she acknowledged, "But this marriage has just taken one wrong turn after the next."

"What do you mean?"

Tori wiped her eye with another sniffle and closed both of them to keep new tears from forming. "When Antonio was seven and Hector was five," she began after a deep breath, "I got pregnant again. Danny was just starting to get ahead with Oscar's and I knew he would be too busy. There was no way I could ask him to help out with the new baby, and I knew I wouldn't be able to take care of three kids by myself."

"But he's your husband," Andre reminded her. "Taking care of the kids, despite your job, comes with the territory."

She shook her head, slightly tickling his neck. "I just didn't want to bother him," she explained. She took in another deep breath, letting her next sentence out in a slow exhale. "So I had an abortion."

Andre stiffened slightly, but didn't say anything. Tori laughed in spite of herself. "You can say it," she allowed.

"Say what?" he inquired. "That's…that's your business what you do with your body."

"But it was wrong," she whispered sadly. A sob erupted from her throat and she quickly covered her mouth to stifle it. For a moment, they sat in silence while tears spilled beneath her eyelids.

"I didn't tell him anything," she finally stated in a quiet voice. She opened her eyes to stare sadly at the carpet. "But…he acted different, like he knew about it. Then, when things were settling down with his business, I got pregnant again and decided to keep it because he worked out his schedule so he could spend time with me and the boys."

"So what happened?" Andre wondered quietly, somewhat afraid of the answer.

"We started having financial troubles," she confessed, keeping her eyes on the carpet. "It stressed me out because I was the one who had to deal with making the budgets and managing how we spent our money. He bought his car, a condo in Venice, and additions to the house. We were really in the red and I had to ask my sister for money, something I hadn't done since we first moved in together. On top of the stress, I ended up forgetting to eat sometimes because I was so worried about taking care of everything else."

She whimpered slightly, holding her hand over her eyes after closing them. "I ended up having a miscarriage…"

This time, Andre wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, planting a small kiss on the top of her head. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"I got over it," she whispered back, her voice slightly distant. "I got my mom to take me to the emergency room and we never spoke of it. But…I forgot to get the mail one day and Danny saw my hospital bill. I told him about the miscarriage, but he accused me of getting another abortion. And…that's when we stopped being happy together; he told me he couldn't trust me anymore."

Andre rubbed her back gently as she placed her hands on the side of his neck. "I'm so sorry, Tori," he apologized again. "I'm sorry it's been so hard for you…and that I didn't keep in touch. I was angry for a long time, but I still coulda talked to you every now and then. I got paperwork on a house about to go through; you can stay with me if you need to. You and your boys."

Tori looked up at him and smiled weakly, her eyes bloodshot. "Thank you so much," she breathed. "And it doesn't matter anymore that you stopped talking to me. It only matters that you're here now."

He smiled back at her and leaned in to plant a soft kiss on her lips. He started to pull away, but she held him there and kissed him back, feeling warmth in his kiss that she hadn't felt in a very long time.