A/N: Here's the next chapter! Hope you all like it, keep reviewing!
That night, Sophia and Roxy arrived at the Cotillion. Sophia was looking around in awe; she had never seen so many beautiful people in one place. Everyone was dressed in a designer suit or gown and Sophia looked down at her own dress, hoping no one would notice it wasn't Gucci or Prada.
"Hey, so I should probably go," Roxy said and Sophia looked at her. "I have to find my date and get ready to walk and stuff," She rolled her eyes and Sophia laughed. "You'll be okay by yourself?"
"Yup, I just have to find Preston." She nodded. "Good luck!"
"Thanks, I'll need it!" Roxy said and walked away.
Sophia walked over to the entrance, which was a huge archway that went up all the way to the ceiling. There were men on each side of the archway, standing next to a table with the list of all the guests.
She walked over to one of them and smiled. "Hi, Sophia Mendoza," She said and the man started looking through the list. "I'm Preston Ashford's date." She said, hoping it would speed up the process.
"His date?" The man raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded. "Well, that's funny because Preston just walked in with his date a few moments ago."
"What?" Sophia said, confused.
"Sophia!" She spun around and Preston was running over to her. "You made it," He smiled and she looked at him, curiously. "You look beautiful."
"What's going on, Preston?" She asked as he pulled her aside. "Why did that guy say you already walked in with your date?"
He sighed. "I'm sorry, Sophia, I can explain," He said and she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting. "It's just, my mother was giving me grief about hanging out with you because you're… not part of all this," He said and Sophia's eyes widened. "So, I didn't tell her you were my date and she set me up with this girl, Tinsley and I'm so sorry-"
"Save it," She said and he looked at her, sadly. "I should've known you were going to be a jerk." She said and started walking away but he grabbed her arm and pulled her in.
"Please, Sophia," He said and she swallowed. "I really like you."
"Get your hands off me." She said, pushing him away and running outside onto the balcony.
Later, Aidan and Jen were in his dorm and Jen was feeling anxious, as it was the night before her big court date.
"Come on, baby," He said, pulling her close as they lay on his bed. "You'll do great."
"I just, I don't know if I can talk about all that stuff," She shook her head. "I haven't talked about with anybody, but you and I haven't even told you all of it."
He nodded. "Well, maybe it would help if you did tell me all of it?" He asked and she looked up at him. "I know it's hard but maybe I can help."
"Okay," She nodded, sitting up. She took a deep breath and he looked at her, reassuringly. "Well, first, when we met he…" She trailed. "No, when we used to-" She stopped herself and looked at him.
"It's okay," He said, pulling her into a hug but she pushed him away.
"No, it's not okay!" She said. "If I can't even tell you, how am I supposed to tell a room full of strangers?"
"Look, Jen, I know you, okay? You're strong, stronger than anyone I know," He told her. "And tomorrow, when you get up in front of that court room, all you have to do is look at me and know that you can do it."
She looked at him and nodded. He kissed her forehead and she sighed. "Look, I should probably go home," She told him and he looked at her. "I know I said I was gonna sleep over but it's probably best if I don't, I just… I need to be alone for a little while."
"Okay," He nodded, not necessarily understanding why she had to leave but knowing it was what she needed. "Whatever you need."
She smiled and kissed his cheek then got up to leave. He took her hand and she looked around.
"I love you, Jen," He told her and she nodded.
"Me too." She smiled and walked out of the room, hoping she still had a case of joints hidden in her room.
Sophia stood on the balcony of the hotel, overlooking the city, and sighed. What she thought was going to be one of the best nights of her life, turned out to be the worst.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Sophia spun around and saw Stuart, Chelsea's 'non-boyfriend' walking towards her. She sighed loudly and leaned against the railing.
"I overheard what happened with Preston," He said. "I always thought that guy was a prick."
"Well, you thought right," She nodded, sadly.
"Aw, are you gonna be okay?" he said, walking over to her. "Does Stuart have to go beat him up?"
"No," She laughed. "I just needed some fresh air."
He nodded and they faintly heard a slow song come on from the inside. "May I have this dance?" He asked, extending his hand towards her.
"That depends," She looked at him, cautiously. "Are you and Chelsea on or off? And be honest!"
"Off, definitely off," He nodded and she smiled as she took his hand.
He pulled her close and they started dancing. Sophia rested her head on his shoulder, for some reason being with Stuart felt surprisingly comforting.
"This is nice," She said, looking into his eyes. "You know, I wasn't expecting to meet any good guys in the city."
"But you have?" He asked, hopeful.
"Nope," She teased and he laughed. "But there is this one guy I'm thinking about…"
"Oh yeah?" He asked. "Who is he? Gotta check out the competition."
She laughed. "He's tall, dark hair, blue eyes," She told him. "Kinda looks like you a little."
"Only a little?" He laughed and then stopped dancing. She looked up at him as he inched closer. "I'd like to kiss you, Sophia."
She swallowed. "Oh, um," She said, not knowing if she really wanted to or not.
"Stuart Montgomery!" They both turned around and saw Chelsea marching towards them, with more than half of the socialites following them. "How could you?" She asked, in tears.
"Baby, I," He started and then turned to Sophia. "It was all her, I swear!"
"What?" Sophia said, bewildered, as she looked at Stuart with her eyes wide.
"I just came out for a smoke and she came on to me!" He said and Chelsea looked at him, impatiently. "I tried to push her away but she wouldn't stop!"
"You little bitch!" Chelsea said, walking over to Sophia. "You think you can come here from your small town and play Little Miss Nice Girl with everyone's boyfriend?" She demanded and Sophia swallowed as she looked at her. "You've got another thing coming!"
"Look, Chelsea, just leave her alone," Roxy said, moving through the crowd and walking over to the two. Sophia smiled, thankful that she had a friend there.
"Oh, you can drop the act now, Roxanne," Chelsea said and Roxy glared at her. She turned to Sophia. "Pretty convenient how you made such fast friends with Roxanne over here, huh?" She said and Sophia raised an eyebrow. "It's actually really funny, considering she's one of us and only befriended you to make sure you stayed away from what's mine."
Sophia's eyes widened and she looked at Chelsea. "Is that true?"
"Look, Sophia, I'm sorry-"
"Oh my God," Sophia shook her head and turned to Chelsea. "All this because you felt a little insecure?" She asked. "I wasn't going to steal your boyfriend and for your information, he came onto me, okay?"
"Right, like I would actually believe you," The blond said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I think it's clear that you don't belong here, so why don't you just go away?"
Sophia swallowed. "Yeah, you're right, I don't belong here," She said and Chelsea nodded, sticking her nose up in the air. "I would never want to belong to a group of snobby bitches like you." She said, pushing past Chelsea and heading back inside the hotel.
She shook her head and couldn't believe that had just happened, though, she was proud of herself for standing up for herself. She looked up and saw Preston walking over to her.
"Sophia!" He said and she looked at him. "I've been looking for you everywhere, please, you have to forgive me." He begged, seemingly genuine.
Sophia sighed. Preston had been the only person here who had actually liked her for real and she didn't want to lose the only friend she'd have left.
"I forgive you," She nodded and he sighed, relieved. "But whatever was going on between you and I… I just, I think we should quit while we're ahead," She said and he looked at her. "You're nice and I really like you but I haven't been honest with you,"
"Oh… let me guess, you have another boyfriend back home?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Sorta," She said and he looked at her. "There's a guy, well, two actually, that I have really strong feelings for and I just, I've been lying to myself about which one I want to be with."
"Oh," He nodded, disappointed.
"But I don't want to lose you," She told him. "Friends?"
He looked at her and sighed. "Friends." He nodded and she smiled.
"I'm gonna go home but I'll see you around?" She said.
"You should stay," He insisted. "My date kind of ditched me for a 35 year old married man…" He trailed and she laughed.
"I don't think I should be here anymore," She shook her head. "Why don't we ditch this place and get some coffee or something?"
"My mother would kill me…" He trailed and she gave him a look. "Coffee sounds wonderful." She smiled and they locked arms as they walked out of the Cotillion.
Jen ran into her room and immediately began searching through all of her things. She knew that after she had gone to rehab, her family had cleaned out her room of any drug or alcohol that they could possibly find but she hoped that they had somehow missed on something… she needed it right now.
"Looking for something?"
Jen almost jumped at the sound of her mother's voice. She stood up and walked over to her bed.
"Oh, no, I just… I lost my iPod," Jen lied and Tammy nodded.
"Well, I'm sure it'll turn up somewhere," She said and Jen nodded. Tammy walked over to the bed and sat down. She patted on an empty space next to her and Jen sat down. "I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you," She smiled and Jen swallowed. "I know that tomorrow's going to be rough for you but you're so brave for going up on that stand and telling them your story."
"It's really not a big deal," Jen shook her head, nervously.
"If you say so, honey," Tammy said. "Try to get some sleep, okay?" She said and Jen nodded. "I'll see you in the morning." She said and kissed her forehead then walked out.
Jen sighed and fell back onto the bed. There was no way she was going to be able to go on the stand sober.
After Sophia and Preston had finished their coffees, he had driven Sophia home and she was now walking into the penthouse. She walked into the living room, where Anna and Noah were curled up on the couch watching a movie.
"Hey," Sophia said and they all looked at her.
"SOPHIA!" Noah said, excitedly as he ran over to his older cousin and hugged her.
"Hey, Noah," She smiled, hugging him back. She was going to miss being around him.
"Honey, you're home early," Anna said, worriedly as she stood up. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine," She nodded, reassuringly. "I just, I realized I didn't belong there so I decided to come home."
Anna frowned. "Did something happen, sweetie?"
"No," Sophia laughed, not wanting to worry her. "I'm fine, I promise," She nodded. "I'm just really tired," She yawned and looked down at Noah. "How about I tuck you in?"
"Okay!" He said, excitedly and ran to his room.
Anna walked over to Sophia and looked at her, concerned.
"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked and Sophia nodded.
"I'm alright," Sophia nodded and Anna sighed. "But I'm not sure I'm going to be able to stay all year…"
"I knew something happened!" Anna said. "Tell me, tell me right now! Was it Roxanne? I knew she was a bad influence!"
"No," Sophia shook her head. "And I love staying here with you guys, I really do but I just think I need to go home."
"Okay, we'll talk about it in the morning when you've slept on it," Anna said and Sophia laughed. She knew that Anna didn't want her to leave. "Goodnight, honey."
"Good night," She said and Anna kissed her cheek. She walked over to Noah's room and laughed when she saw him passed out on his bed. She quickly pulled the sheets over him and tucked him in.
She watched him sleep for a while but her cell phone started ringing. She quickly dashed out of the room and went into her own to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hi, um… Soph?" She froze hearing Jared's familiar voice. She hadn't spoken to him since Gabrielle's wedding, four long months ago and couldn't believe he was calling her now. "Sophia? Are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here," She said, breathless.
"How've you been?" He asked, simply and she couldn't believe how… calm he was being.
"I've been… good," She told him. "What about you? How's Rome?"
"It's amazing," He said and she could almost hear him smile. "I love it here," He told her and she smiled. "You would love it here."
She sighed and tried hard not to cry. "Oh, Jared, I miss you so much."
He sighed. "I miss you too," He told her and heard her sniffling. "Oh God, Soph, are you crying?"
"No, no! It's just; it's been a long night…"
"Are you okay? Did something happen?" He asked, worriedly.
"I'm fine, really," She told him. "It's just really good to hear your voice right now."
"How long are you going to stay there, Soph?" He asked.
"I don't know," She said. "Not much longer, I thought things would be easier here but I was wrong."
"Well, I'll be home in three weeks for Christmas Break," He told her. "Do I get to see you?"
"Of course," She said. "I can't wait."
He smiled. "Well, I've gotta go before my roommate sets the dorm on fire," He said and she laughed. "I, um… I love you, Soph." He said and the quickly hung up.
She sighed. "I love you too, Jared." She whispered and hung up.
