Author's Note: Sorry that it took a couple of days. I had to work during the weekend, I kind of had a writer's block, but thanks to Jamie she gave me a great idea. It's actually a long chapter. Have fun reading. Also I will not stop saying this, REVIEWS! It's nice knowing what you guys think.

HeartsAndLies: Well, here's the thing. Drew wasn't supposed to be like that. Eventually, overtime I end up writing one character that ends up being a bitch. Drew became the bitch in the first chapter. I hope this chapter answers one question.

Flowersc781: The Fly… she was actually suppose to be a seal, but I couldn't think of why. I got the idea for the nickname due to Fever Pitch. Drew Barrymore in the movie was known as a seagull to her friends. If you haven't seen Fever Pitch, you should see it.

StarrShyne: Danny/Aurora land… is that a theme park near by? Hehe. Bad joke. I didn't want it to make it Verchota. The whole Verchota-being-a-slut kind of got out of control. However, Drunk Silky will make an appearance. You can't have a story without him. For Avery and Ralph though, as I was writing chapter 4, I was freaking out that there's no flirting at all. I blame it on Danny and Aurora.

Hawk50: I have talent, eh? I'm just good at daydreaming.

Emador: The ex talk… um… yeah. She was nervous. It was her first date in a long time. For the Ralph and Bah talk, I knew you would. I'm worried that there seems to be no chemistry at all because of how chapter 4 came out.

wave-rider: Cool. I'm actually a little scared now that it's the first Ralph Cox story. Before I was like no problem.

Seven glasses of water clinked together in a small celebration. Avery looked around at her friends. They were there to talk about Holly's upcoming nuptials. The restaurant they picked was a place that they always went to. It was their favorite joint.

"Hey Avery," Julia whispered. "Does Liz look a little big in the chest area?"

Avery shifted her eyes over to Elizabeth and noticed a change. "Wonder if she's pregnant?"

"Ten bucks she announces it," Julia whispered.

Avery surpassed a laugh. "Your on," she said when she looked down at the menu. It's been a week since the team went over to Europe and in that time Ralph sent her a postcard from Sweden. The gesture was nice because for Avery it meant that he was thinking of her. The Message: Europe so far is beautiful. I can't wait to talk to you about it. Till then, Ralph.

"Ok, Chad and I know who's paired up. The bridal shower is in October," Holly announced.

"Why is the party so late?" Angie Philips asked.

Holly replied, "My mom, Chad's mom and I discussed it and that's what we came up with."

"Holly, I think you should tell them the big news," Elizabeth Stone said.

The girls all asked, "What news?"

Holly smiled. "I got a promotion at work."

"Great."

"Congratulations."

"We should get some wine. We have more to celebrate," Val said.

Avery and Julia looked over at Liz. She nodded her head, but at the same time looked like she wasn't sure. Both girls looked at one another and nodded. Avery went into her purse, took out a ten, but at the same time Val noticed.

"Hey Avery, going somewhere?"

Avery shook her head. "No." Under the table, she folded the bill.

"Then what's with the money?"

Julia started to giggle. "She owes me."

"If she owes you, what's so funny about it?" Holly asked.

Avery replied, "It's nothing."

"Guys, what's funny?"

Avery and Julia both replied, "Nothing." Avery was still holding onto the bill. The wager was, of course, Elizabeth actually saying she was pregnant.

"So… Liz… anything new?" Julia asked.

Elizabeth shrugged. "Not much."

Holly, who was sitting next to her, elbowed her, "I don't mind."

"You sure?" Elizabeth asked uncertain. Holly nodded. "Ok… I'm two months pregnant. Walt and I are expecting."

Avery said, "Congratulations," while at the same time, she handed the bill to Julia underneath the table. Julia smiled at Avery and placed the bill in her pocket.

The waitress came over and took their order. Holly went on about the bridal party and who they were lined up with. The girls also talked about Liz's baby, what Angie's baby is doing. When the food arrived, Avery started to look at everyone's plate.

"Shoe fly, don't bother me," Julia started to whisper. "Shoe fly, don't bother me."

Avery started to crack up. "Julia… Julia… Julia."

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Julia remarked before taking a bite of her food. "Does Ralph know?"

"That I'm 'the fly'?" Avery nodded.

"Hey Fly, what did you order?" Drew asked.

"The chicken."

"Looks good."

"Thanks."

"Holly, when is the bachelorette party?" Drew asked.

Holly answered, "I am actually not having one."

"Oh why? That's the best part."

"For you maybe," Avery whispered.

Holly smiled at Drew. "Not everything is about getting laid."

"Yeah, but it sure is fun," Drew responded.

"So… are Rob and you back together?" Val asked.

"No. We're just friends."

"Friends?" Avery questioned with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah friends," Drew said. After she took a bite of her pasta, she looked back at Avery. "How are things with Ralph?"

"Ralph? Who's Ralph?" Angie asked.

"I've been seeing this guy who plays on the same team as Rob," Avery told her three friends that she hasn't seen in a while. "He's really nice."

"How'd you meet?"

"We ran into each other the first day of school. The guys were playing football in the quad."

"They literally ran into one another," Val said.

"Aw."

"Have you guys had that first kiss yet?" Angie asked, "Everything you should know is in that first kiss."

"We actually haven't yet," Avery quietly said.

"Why?" Holly asked.

"What's wrong with him?" Elizabeth asked.

Avery around the table, she smiled, and tucked a piece of her brown hair behind her ear. "Nothing is wrong with him. He knows how long it's been since my last relationship. We're taking it slow."

"But you really like him right?" Holly asked.

Avery nodded. "More and more each time I talk to him."

"Av… get some balls for once."

Avery was in the middle of cutting her chicken when Drew made that remark. She looked over at Drew and Drew wasn't paying attention to her. Avery's silverware clinked against the plate when she dropped them. "That's it!"

Drew spun around and had a look of surprise on her face. "What?"

"I have had it up to here with you!" Avery raised her hand above her head. "What the hell is your problem Drew!"

"Excuse me?" Drew asked confused.

"You know what I'm talking about! I've had enough of your shit. Why are you always being a bitch to me? What have I done to deserve you picking on me?" Avery yelled. She didn't realize that the whole restaurant was staring at her.

"Avery, what is your problem?" Drew asked getting mad now.

"My problem is you, Drew," Avery responded. "Are you jealous of me? Is that why you keep pressing my buttons?"

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous of you?"

"You have been on her back for awhile. You're the only one who has a 'problem' with her," Val said. "It's like you're jealous because she's accomplishing her dream."

Drew didn't know what to day. She was lost for words because she didn't think Avery would call her out with how she was acting. "Av…"

"You know what? Save your bullshit!" Avery stood up from the table. "Holly, I'll talk to you later." Avery left and didn't look back.

When Avery got into her car, she felt like everything was going in slow motion. What she did didn't set in until she got to the apartment. When she sat down on the couch, she stared into space. The fact that she yelled at Drew was shocking. However, the fact that she didn't take Drew's shit, was like a relief. She stood up for herself.

Avery sat there for a couple more minutes before going over to the phone and dialing a number by heart. The phone rang three times before someone picked it up. "Hi, is Kim there?" The person went to get Kim, and when Kim got on Avery started to tell her what happened.

"Really? Avery I'm proud of you," Kimberly said.

Avery started to pace the area that the cord would let her. She had her free hand on top of her head, her fingers weaving through the strands. "I… I'm shocked."

"Of course you are. When the shock wears off, you'll be happy that you did it. It shows that you aren't going to take anybody's shit," Kimberly told her.

The door to the apartment opened and Avery looked over to see Val walk through. Val was smiling and that made Avery smile. Avery told Kimberly that she'd talk to her later and hung up. "So… what happened after I left?"

Val walked over to the kitchen and leaned against the wall going into the area. "Well, everybody called Drew out."

"And?"

"Drew… ran out. She couldn't take the heat. Julia ran after her, talked to her, didn't get much, but Drew is embarrassed."

Avery nodded. "Wow."

"Hey, Drew knows now not to mess around with friends' feelings," Val told her.

Avery sighed. "Yeah, but I'm not going to be talking to her for awhile. Maybe never again. I think it would be best."

Val stepped forward after hearing that, and wrapped her arms around Avery. They stood there for a good minute in that embrace. "I understand."

"Good."

"Do you wanna go see a movie?" Val asked.

Avery shrugged. "I don't care."

"Let's go see one."

"Ok."

Avery and Val looked in the paper, picked a movie, and then went and changed. For Avery, history changed for her, for the better. When Avery realized that, her history for the future seemed brighter, but it also meant that anything could happen. She smiled at the thought. Without the hassle of Drew though she can keep living her life the way she was without thinking she was missing out on parties. When she opened her bedroom door, she was heading out to a brand new chapter.

vvv

"I'm sorry," Ralph told her after hearing about what happened.

"No, it's ok. I needed to do that. Drew was being a pain," Avery said.

The two were sitting in a coffee house near the school. The day before the team came back from Europe. Ralph called her and asked if they could get together to talk. He already told her stories about Europe. When she heard about the incident in Norway with the hour long 'practice' of Herbies after the game, she was in shock that the coach would do something like that. Ralph just told her that Herb Brooks wanted to make sure that they kept their focus and to remind them that they played for their country. For Avery, hearing these hockey stories made her think that hockey was nothing but bullying guys around.

"Wonder how she's doing?"

"Not me. The way she was acting, she deserved it. She had to be told that she couldn't treat friends in such a manner," Avery said. She took a drink of her coffee. "I had to end something bad."

"I understand. Not so much in the fact that a friend can treat someone they've known for a while like that. In the sense of ending it," Ralph said. After he said it though, to him it didn't seem to make sense.

Avery saw his confusion. She smiled at him and when she told him that she got what he was trying to say, she placed her elbow on the table, and leaned on her hand. "Did you guys go to Spain?"

"No. We played the international teams. Teams like Norway, Sweden, Finland, West Germany, East Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic." Ralph picked up his coffee.

"Was Italy beautiful?"

Ralph nodded. "From what we saw from the bus."

"I would love to travel through Europe one day," Avery told him. "See all the sights."

"Maybe you will, Dr. Avery," Ralph joked. Ralph took another drink of his coffee.

Avery smiled at him. "The only place I've been to, outside this country, has been Canada. We went to Niagara Falls one summer and visited Toronto. Not much there."

"Well, there's actually the Maple Leafs. One of the original six teams," Ralph told her. "The other five are Chicago, Detroit, New York, Montreal, and Boston."

"One day, you're going to have to take me to a game, so I can see what the fuss is about. Give me the Cubs and I'll be cheering up a storm," Avery said.

"Aren't the Cubs really bad?"

Avery clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "May I remind you that the Red Sox are just as bad."

"So you agree with me?"

"That the Cubs can do better? Yeah."

"I will take you to a game. That I will do," Ralph told her, "but first we'll watch a game on the TV, so I can explain."

Avery thought about it and after taking a sip of her coffee, she extended her hand across the table. Ralph shook her hand. "Deal."

Ralph laughed. "Accepted."

The next couple of minutes, they sat there laughing. When they were about to leave, Avery told Ralph that she needed to head to the music store a couple spots down. Ralph asked if he could tag along and so he did.

"Hey Avery!" The clerk behind the counter called when they entered.

"Ernie, what's going on?" Avery asked.

"Not much. It's slow at the moment."

Avery turned to look at the people. There were at least seven customers looking around. "Good times."

"What are you looking for?"

"Just looking."

"Knowing you, you're headed for Donna Summer," Ernie replied. He looked behind Avery and saw Ralph. "Can I help you look for something?"

Avery turned to look at Ralph, walked over to him, and placed her arm through his. "Oh, he's with me. Ernie this is Ralph, Ralph this is Ernie."

Ralph raised his hand up, waved, and set it back down. "Nice to meet you."

"Back at 'cha," Ernie said. Ernie looked back at Avery and gave her a little nod. "Well, you know where I'm at."

"I'll be sure to holler," Avery said when she walked away. When she looked back at Ralph, he looked amused and confused. "I used to work here."

"You did?" Ralph asked, with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah."

"I never would have thought."

"I know, I know. Most people don't know that. They assume that all I am is a bookworm."

"Where do you work now?"

"During the school year I work for one of the professors, only a couple hours on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. During the summer, I actually work for my dad," Avery told him. They stopped in front of the R&B/Soul section. Avery started to shift through the Donna Summer selection.

"How'd Ernie know?"

Avery looked up, chuckled, and then looked back down. "Because her album, the new one, finally arrived."

"How can you like her?" Ralph asked. "What you need to be listening to is the Styx, or the Doors." The Who started to play over the speakers. "The Who."

Avery turned toward Ralph. "Believe it or not, Mr. Cox, I do listen to the Styx, The Doors, The Who, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, the Eagles…"

"But…"

Avery put a hand over Ralph's mouth. "Don't question." Avery smirked. "I may have become a bookworm, but I do have taste."

"Who else do you like?" Ralph asked when her hand lowered down.

"Elvis…"

"Elvis?"

"What? No matter what, he's still a great singer."

"Queen?"

"Love Queen."

"Chicago?"

"They're all right."

"The Beatles."

"Blamed Yoko."

"Alice Copper?"

"If you ask me if I listen to Black Sabbath, I'll smack you. No."

"I wouldn't want that," Ralph said. "The Beach Boys?"

"Love 'em."

"Captain and Tennille?"

"You actually listen to 'em?" Avery asked surprised. Avery started to laugh, but Ralph put a hand over her mouth.

Ralph shook his head. "I wouldn't be caught dead."

Avery chuckled. She looked down at the records and then back up. "I'm actually going to let you on a little secret." Avery took his hand and led him over to the vocal section. "You may think I'm nuts. I'm actually for the oldies. I love listening to the Temptations, the Four Tops, Ben E. King, The Drifters, the Crystals."

"Buddy Holly?"

"Yup. I'm actually a closet fan of Frank Sinatra. My parents have been listening to him since I can remember," Avery told him. "He's really a good singer."

"Cool." Spencer Davis' 'Gimme Some Lovin' came on. "Who sings this?" Ralph pointed up in the air.

"Spencer Davis."

Ralph after a second started to smile. "You're a closet music fan."

"No. I worked here for a year and a half. I started listening to music."

"Do you have any more suggestions?" Ralph asked. He put his hands in his pockets and leaned down a little, to give her a smile.

"Of course. That's why I brought you over here to Frank," Avery teased. "But… I'm also going to introduce you to Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles."

"Teach me oh excellent one," Ralph joked.

"I hate this song," Avery remarked.

Ralph raised an eyebrow. "What song?"

"Rod Stewart's 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?'?" Avery pointed to the air because it was playing. "Ernie! Turn this crap off!"

When she yelled, Ralph muttered, "I sure do."

Even though she yelled at Ernie, she still heard him, blushed a little, and handed Ralph the copy of the album that she picked out of Frank's. "Listen well."

"Is this the way to a girl's heart?"

"I believe so." Avery then headed to the section with Stevie Wonder. "But Four Tops, the Temptations are also a way to a girl's heart."

Ralph was listening. Maybe he could make them dinner, or least try to, one night. He'd make a tape of songs that could describe how he felt about her. Every time they talked, he was getting a surprise. This whole music education thing was now number one. "I really like you." When he realized he said it out loud, he stammered, "I mean…"

Avery looked up when he said that and smiled. She put a hand over his mouth to stop him from taking it back. "I really like you, too." She smiled at him and then went back to finding him the music. If she had kept looking up at him, Ralph would have kissed her.

The two sent the next couple of minutes checking out the music. When they left the store, in laughter because they were talking to Ernie, they talked a couple of minutes before they said goodbye with a hug. Avery went to her car, but not before looking back at Ralph. All the way home, she smiled. When she went to bed, she was smiling. She really liked him.