A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you all are enjoying to so far! Without further ado, I present chapter 2...


The next week of school was weird. The New Directions disbanded and everyone joined different clubs. Well, everyone except Marley. I didn't get to see her much because Coach Sylvester was making us do twice our normal practices to ensure we didn't lose our national title like the glee club. It wasn't until Thursday night, when we all got together to sing an uplifting song, that I really saw Marley.

A song wasn't going to fix what I did. Sure, Marley loved singing and I saw her smile for the first time since her fall, but she deserved more than a song. I wasn't even sure that an apology was enough. No, I knew it wasn't. But I had to do it anyway. It had to be a start.

I waited around after our impromptu performance in the snow so I could talk to Marley. My stomach was tying knot after knot, reminding me of my guilt and the difficulty of saying 'I'm sorry.' I sat on the cold, concrete steps in order to stop myself from pacing, rubbing my hands together to keep warm. I watched as Jake nervously talked to her, fidgeting with his hands, but still managing to make her smile. I felt that pang of jealousy again, but this time it was different. He was gone and Marley was walking towards me before I had time to process it.

"Hey," she said, beginning to sit down.

I jumped up to stop her, "No, don't. It's cold."

We stood there for a minute, looking at each other without knowing what to say. It was freezing outside, but standing next to her, I felt her warmth radiating towards me. She looked cold; the combination of a flimsy jacket and no body fat certainly couldn't be good for this weather. I slipped off my Cheerios jacket without thinking and handed it to her. I was no longer warm and toasty, but the cold wasn't insufferable with all my layers.

"You don't have to-" she started.

"Just take it," I said, effectively cutting her off.

As she put on the jacket, I felt my apology being to creep up my throat. It burned, waiting to be released. I knew what I had to do, but I couldn't do it. Not yet.

"How are you getting home?" I asked instead. Everyone else had left and I was fairly certain she didn't have a car.

"Um, I was going to walk. I don't live too far," she responded, her eyes darting from mine to the ground.

She couldn't even look at me. The old Kitty would have been proud striking so much fear in another person, but the new Kitty felt ashamed.

"That's ridiculous. I'll drive you home," I decided.

Before she had the chance to say no, I took her hand and started walking towards the parking lot. The snow had left a powder all over the sidewalk and I could only imagine how wet her shoes would be if she walked home. I squeezed her hand, pleased with myself, and to my surprise, she squeezed back.

The jolt of energy that passed through my veins caused my heart rate to speed up. I convinced myself it was the cold and began to walk faster to the car. Marley kept up with me, not saying a word. When we got there, I instinctively reached in my pocket for my keys, but then remembered Marley was wearing my jacket. Standing at the driver's door, I turned to face her. Her eyes immediately looked down and that pang of guilt returned to my chest.

"You, um, have my keys," I stuttered out.

When she took her hand out of mine to explore my coat pockets, I missed the warmth more than I could describe. She pulled them out of my right pocket and handed them to me. The slightest brush of her fingers against mine canceled out the cold feeling of the metal keys. I lost myself in the feeling for a second before remembering that I should unlock the car. I clicked the button softly and climbed into and turned the key in the ignition. Marley made her way to the other side of the car and buckled herself into the passenger's seat.

We sat there quietly as the car warmed up. Now would be a great time to apologize, but I couldn't bring myself to ruin the somewhat peaceful moment we were sharing. I turned to her, wanting to say something important, but once again failed.

"Where do you live?" I asked.

I couldn't bring myself to do it. I listened as she gave me directions and made a mental note of where we were heading. The drive was awkward. We both knew that we weren't saying what we were thinking. Marley stared out the passenger window, avoiding looking at me at all and I kept my eyes focused on the road ahead. When we got to her street, she pointed out her house and I pulled into the driveway. The car was still idling when Marley opened the door to get out. I had to do something. She had to know how sorry I was.

"Wait!" I blurted out.

She closed the door and turned to me. "Sorry, where are my manners? Thank you for the ride Kitty. I appreciate it," she said, giving me the faintest smile.

"Don't apologize. I should be the one apologizing to you," I said, stalling.

"You don't have to," she responded in almost a whisper. Her eyes looked away from me again.

"Yes I do! I did this to you. This is all my fault!" I shouted. Old Kitty roared, needing things to go her way.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for yelling and I'm sorry that I altered your Sandy costume," I began. She still wasn't looking at me.

"Please look at me," I begged. When her eyes met mine, I saw the tears and felt even worse.

"I am so sorry about what I did. I was so stupid and jealous," my shaky voice let out.

"You were jealous of me? You have everything." she whispered, tears rolling down her face.

"No, I don't. You have everything. Your mom loves you, your voice is amazing, and you are beautiful, Marley," I explained, taking her hand once more. "I know what I did was awful, and I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I am going to do everything I can to prove to you how sorry I am. This never should have happened."

I sat there while she processed what I said. She turned away from me and stared out the windshield. My heart was racing waiting for her response and I hoped my hand wasn't too sweaty since she still hadn't let it go.

"You'd do anything? We were barely even friends," she said, still looking forward.

"Anything you ask," I replied, ignoring the second part of her response.

She seemed hesitant, but slowly turned towards me. "Can you start giving me a ride home? I have to stay after school for sessions with Ms. Pillsbury three times a week and sometimes its dark when I leave. I hate making my mom wait."

"Of course," I nodded.

"Thanks. I hate the cold," she said, changing the somber mood to a more light one.

"Me too. Are you sure that's all you want?" I asked. This seemed too easy; I should have to work harder than simply driving her home from school.

"For now," she teased, squeezing my hand.

I did not understand this girl at all, but for some reason I liked that. She kept me on my toes, and while it made me nervous at times, it also made me excited.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" I asked.

Quinn had suggested I try and become friends with Marley so she could begin to trust me. It's not like I had any real friends, well not besides Gunner, so this was foreign to me, but I would try.

"Nothing?" she answered, unsure of herself.

"Wrong. You're coming over and we're having a sleepover. You can just come home with me after school."

Kitty in Charge was a Kitty I was good at. Friend Kitty was still in process.

"We can do whatever you want, okay?" I added, trying not to sound as bossy.

This seemed to help. I saw a spark of intrigue in Marley's eyes and felt a smile creep up on my face. I tried to hide it, feeling more vulnerable than I liked, but I knew she saw. Whatever, it's not like it mattered if she saw me smiling. We were going to be friends now. She could see me smile; it didn't mean anything, right?

"Well in that case, I hope you're ready for a marathon of Nicholas Sparks movies!" she exclaimed, squeezing my hand.

I groaned before I could catch myself. "You would force me to watch the sappiest movies on the planet."

"You said whatever I wanted!" she said, taking her hand out of mine to cross her arms and pout.

It was adorable.

Friends can think their friends are adorable, right?

"I know, I know. We'll watch all your ridiculous movies," I sighed, making a bigger deal of my concession than necessary.

She didn't say anything comprehensible, only shrieks escaped her lips. She threw her arms around me, and I melted.

People don't hug me. Not like this. Other Cheerios might try to quickly hug me in the hallway to boost their status as my "friend," but that was always more awkward than anything else. My parents aren't exactly affectionate; that would take too much time. Now I understood what all the fuss was about. I had never felt so… Calm? Safe? Warm?

"Thanks again," she said, pulling away. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I stuttered out a "yeah" as she climbed out of the car. I waited until she opened the door to drive away. She turned around to wave, knowing I would still be there. I waved back, hoping she wouldn't see the dopey grin on my face. I drove home slowly, trying to keep that warm feeling as long as possible.

As soon as I got to my house, I felt the cold. Figuratively, my house was always cold. My parents didn't rush to greet me at the door or ask me about my day. They were busy and knew I was self-sufficient. Literally, however, I realized that Marley still had my jacket.

I unlocked my phone as I walked up the stairs towards my room. I couldn't explain it, but I was glad to have a reason to text Marley.

You never gave my jacket back!

When I pressed send, I hoped she would understand the teasing nature of the text. I entered my room, flicked on the light, and set my phone down on my desk. Gunner soon followed, lying down at the end of my bed as I began to collect what I needed to complete my math homework. After I had gathered my book and calculator, I changed out of my Cheerios uniform, hanging it in a dry cleaning bag. I liked to be comfortable when I did homework, so I put on yoga pants and a simple blue v-neck. I sat criss-cross in my chair and had just started the first problem when Marley texted me back.

I'm so sorry! I can bring it to you now!

I smiled, knowing she would if I asked. No, it's okay. Just make sure you bring it tomorrow :)

I went back to the problem I was working on (invisible numbers are ridiculous) thinking the conversation was over. I had almost figured out how to balance the equation when my phone buzzed again.

I can do that. Speaking of things to bring, which do you hate more, Dear John or A Walk to Remember?

I couldn't tell if it was a trick question or not. Honestly, I hated them all, but A Walk to Remember had a gross sappy love story and death, making it my least favorite movie of all time. I sighed, deciding to answer honestly. All for the sake of friendship, right?

Definitely A Walk To Remember.

Instead of staring at the equation I had just been solving, I started at my phone, waiting for her response. After three minutes had passed, I had all but given up on her texting me back and forced myself to try and concentrate on my homework.

When my phone buzzed a minute later, I was relieved. Something felt weird in my stomach. I told myself it was anxiety over having to watch awful movies and took a deep breath before opening the message.

Looks like we'll be spending the evening with Landon and Jamie :)

I scrunched my forehead in confusion before I realized that she must be referring to characters in the movie. I decided to tease her anyway.

And here I was looking forward to an evening with Marley Rose. Too bad.

I smirked to myself before sending it. My math homework was never going to get done at this rate. I tried to tell myself my phone would buzz again whether I was paying attention or not, but I couldn't stop checking it.

Lucky you, you get both!

I put my phone on silent and forced myself not to text her back for the sake of my grades. I begrudgingly got back to my math homework, completing problem after problem until the set was done. Then I had to conjugate verbs for French and answer some questions on the book we were reading in English. It took forever, but eventually I finished.

When I was little, I used to run through the house looking for my parents to show them my hard work. They would glance over it quickly, telling me I did a good job and to always do my best. The thought of showing them my homework seemed ridiculous now, but at least I felt accomplished. I picked my phone up off my desk to check the time and saw I had another text from Marley.

Sorry if that sounded weird. I'm just excited.

I quickly responded, hoping it wasn't too late.

It's okay, really. I was just concentrating on my homework.

I hesitated, unsure if I needed to add something else. I contemplated putting something about being lucky in there; I didn't want to sound too eager, but I was happy to have something to do on a Friday night.

I am lucky. I'll see you tomorrow, I typed. I wish I had someone to ask, but my parents wouldn't know what to say and I'm sure Quinn was busy back at Yale. I walked over to my bed and consulted Gunner.

"What do you think, boy? Is this okay to send?" I asked, holding the phone in front of his face.

When he licked the screen, I took it as a yes and pressed send. I left my phone on my bed, trying to keep myself from fixating on it and started to get ready for bed. As I brushed my teeth, my mind wandered to tomorrow night and Marley coming over. The last time she was here, I was awful to her. This had to be different. She deserved better.

My heartbeat sped up as I finished up and headed back to bed. I turned off the lights got under my blankets before looking at my phone.

Sweet dreams.

Tears welled in my eyes. My parents tucked me into bed until I was six. Then I was on my own. I know that they love me and will always do their best to provide what I need but this… This was different. This was better.


What do you think? Is Marley being too forgiving too fast? Let me know!