A/N Apparently I've got a plot plan going with some basic dialogue roughed out. Maybe I'll do an entire chapter in dialogue. That would be strange. I'm a little confused by what some of the reviews mean, but that's okay. They seem positive. So, uh, thanks! Maybe I'm reading them wrong, for I have stressful AP exams starting tomorrow that I am not ready for. Haha, yeah... I might not have another chapter up until Thursday, but I definitely have up to chapter six roughed out. Oh yes, and this is an edit thanks to 2nitewepartay. I thought I had done my research all right. Ah, nope. Whoops.

Cat's POV

I had candy. Of course I am thrilled. Jade keeps shooting these looks at me. She's not very good at conveying expression on her face when she's not acting, but I think they mean something good.

She exhales and says, "Now that you've got your stuff, let's go. I don't remember if we decided... Your place? You said your parents weren't around."

I think about it for less than a second. "Yeah. No."

"What?"

I really don't want to talk about this. Between bites of chocolate, I explain, "I'm not allowed to have friends over."

"Oh," she says with a sigh. "My place it is."

I'd much rather meet her parents than have to deal with my own, but parents are still... old. "Your parents don't mind, do they?"

She shakes her head. "No, they're actually pretty cool. Even if they would have named me Adam if I was a boy... But I guess they'll be a little surprised, since they're used to Beck. They'll come around. I have a gay cousin, and we all love him just the same."

This explanation made me feel wistful. "Yay." I wish my parents were so easy to deal with.

"They'll love you," Jade says, walking us to her car. "Usually, I'm the grumpy black sheep of the family. It might be board game night."

"I love board games!" I say excitedly, hopping in the passenger seat. "Do you have Trivial Pursuit?"

"No. My sister chewed up a lot of the cards when she was little."

"Good! I hate that game!" I really do. I can never keep track of any of the pieces and the questions are really not exciting. I don't understand what they're asking half of the time and the color-coding is only sort of fun to look at.

She nearly puts the car in drive, but then realizes I forgot to put my seatbelt on. It's sweet that she cares; nobody else has ever done something like that for me without scaring me.

"Can you tell me what's up with your parents? It seems like you tense up when I mention them," Jade asks after a while.

Yeah, I really, really would rather just eat my chocolate and enjoy her presence in silence than talk about this. I shifted in my seat. "Um, well, Emmett and Marlee are just awful."

"Emmett and Marlee?"

I nod, even if she can't see me. It's a habit! Don't judge me! "My parents. They insist that I act like an adult at all times, so I haven't been able to call them Mommy and Daddy to their face since I was twelve. I call them Mom and Dad to their face, but it's not the same. I am an affectionate person and do not like such restrictions!"

I can see her growing visibly uncomfortable with what I'm saying. "All right, but that doesn't explain-"

"It took a year and a half of pleading to get them to let me to come to Hollywood Arts. I started early; if I want them to let me do something, I have to get the idea in their minds beforehand." I nervously took a bite of chocolate. The bar was starting to melt a little in the heat of the car, so I figure it is best to let its suffering end without getting too messy on my fingers. "And then there was my hair... they're still pissed about that."

"And I thought breaking curfew got me in deep shit," she says. "I don't know how you stay so effervescent with family like that."

"I can't stand the restraint. I- I hate it," I say, sniffling. "And if my parents found out I liked girls, they'd kill me. They're the ultra-conservative WASP types. But they're Catholic. Would that make them... WASaW? I don't like how that sounds but- Oh, I'm getting side-tracked. Sorry. This is an important conversation. You know, my brother's kind of a mess..." My tears are starting to form, and I can't stand restraint anymore than I'm required to. So I let them fall. "Jade, I couldn't stand it if they told me I'm a disappointment! I- I- I-"

"Shh, Cat, we're here," Jade says, maybe a little uncomfortably. The car pulls into a driveway on a perfectly ordinary lot. Then my eyes cloud over with tears, and she rubs my shoulder slowly. "Don't cry; I'm not trying to be mean, but my dad thinks tears are a sign of weakness. Now, um, it's an acting exercise. You're a, um, a big-time lawyer, and, well, you don't let anybody give you shit. Clear up those eyes before your clients think you're weak!"

I straighten my posture and go straight into character. "Now, Ms. Reinhardt, tell me what you saw at the scene of the crime."

"I saw someone." Jade slips into character too, turning meeker by the moment.

"Someone? Very interesting. Tell me more."

"It was a young woman. About your height with the most anomalous red hair. I'd never seen anyone like her in my life."

"And why is this important? Don't waste my time."

She chews on her lip and looks about as pathetic as she is possible. "I wanted to tell her that she was really pretty, but she was crying. I couldn't see her pretty eyes to tell her how lovely they were."

I break character. "You think my eyes are pretty?"

"No, they're hideous," she says flatly.

"What!?"

"Cat, one day I am going to teach you about the fine art of sarcasm," she says, rolling her eyes and turning to me. "Yes, you have gorgeous eyes. Now kiss me, and then you can meet my parents.

"Okay," I respond, smiling brightly. I swear she almost smiles after I lean in and kiss her lightly on the lips.

I follow her inside, and hear a female voice hollering, "That you, Jade? You got Beck? Tell 'im to wipe his feet on the carpet this time and you can-" The voice materializes itself as a woman that resembles Jade in facial structure, but is... blonde. And a little thicker around the middle. But she is more confused than I was in the situation. "This isn't Beck." And everyone thinks I'm Captain Obvious/Oblivious.

"Hi!" I greet excitedly. "I'm Cat."

Jade puts an arm protectively around my shoulder. "Um... she's my girlfriend."

Jade's mom shakes her head in confusion. "Beck was over here yesterday."

I lean in towards Jade affectionately. "It's a weird story, Mrs. West. So you see, Beck was kinda cheating on Jade with this other girl Tori. Do you know Tori? Prob'ly not. Anyway, I know that she's all mopey and depressed, so I give her a cupcake and then we start kissing and now we're together."

"It's been a long day," Jade concludes. I concur with an enthusiastic nod.

"Well, it's very nice to meet y'all," Mrs. West says, looking at me like I'm Gojira trying to murder innocent Tokyo-ians. I'm not sure whether they're supposed to be called Tokyo-ians, Tokyo-ers, Tokyo-ites, or something else entirely.

"Lorelai! Jewel just calle- Oh, am I interrupting something? Jade, who's this?"

Jade makes a noise at the back of her throat. Yeah, I'm getting sick of the introductory explain thing too. "This is my girlfriend, Cat. Cat, Dad. Dad, Cat."

I don't really know what to do, and I'm thinking about Japan, so I bow. "It's good to meet you. Please don't kill me in the future."

"What?" says Jade's mom.

Jade makes me stand back upright. "She says things like that sometimes. A lot of the time. Uh... She's very sweet."

"I do like candy," I say, feeling very awkward.

"Your sister's at a friend's house and won't be back, but I'd hate to cut board game night,"Mr. West said in a disappointed tone. "Cat? Do you play board games?"

"I love board games!" I respond with zeal. "Which game?"

"Clue," Jade's dad says.

"I love Clue! Jade, can we play Clue?"

"Of course we can play Clue," she says, kissing my cheek.

Mr. and Mrs. Jade's dad and mom share a look that I can totally see. I don't love that look, but it's better than I expect from my parents.

We play a rousing game of Clue. Jade is awesome as Professor Plum, so she totally beat us. Then we played Monopoly, until Jade's dog Frankie walked over the board. It was declared a tie, even though I was clearly winning. I had one of almost every color! Mrs. Jades' mom only had those three light blues and a couple railroads. Silly moms.

I think it went really well. Jade's lap was really warm to sit in, and it was only kind of awkward for her to roll the dice and move the pieces with me in the way. I think I love her. She's so soft and gentle with me, but won't let anyone make her do something she doesn't want to do. I have to admire her for that strength. But it will be a while before I can tell my parents what (nix that- who) I want and how I can't really help it. She drops me off at home after dinner, and Emmett and Marlee aren't even back yet. The kiss good-night has me walking on air until I finally collapse on my bed. I can't remember getting into the house. I don't even care. I'm so, so happy.