Saturday came and went and soon the boys found themselves on a tour of the Lincoln's new home.

"This is our master bed room, and just over there is Bennett's room and Anna's room is right next to the bathroom." Mrs. Lincoln said, pointing out each room.

"Your house is lovely, Mrs. Lincoln" Logan complimented.

"Thank you Logan." Mrs. Lincoln smiled. "Why don't you kids go outside and rescue my kids. I'm sure their dad is driving them crazy by now."

The boys and Katie gladly ran down the stairs and outside, leaving the moms to catch up.

"Hey guy!" Bennett called out once he saw the group appear. "Oh man, is that little Katie?"

They all said their hellos to Bennett, Anna and Mr. Lincoln, and afterward Anna and Bennett took the opportunity to escape their dad's grilling tyranny. Although Katie stayed behind, helping Mr. Lincoln create the perfect burger.

"Thank God you guys showed up. He's driving us crazy, barking out orders like he's at work." Anna complained.

"Well glad we could help." Kendall said.

"Anyone up for some Frisbee?" Bennett asked. Everyone quickly agreed.

They played until Katie and Mr. Lincoln announced that the food was ready. They all sat around the picnic table and ate and caught up. Everything was going really well, it was just like back in Minnesota, only a whole lot warmer.
After three cups of lemonade, James excused himself and went inside to use the facilities.

It was only after James excused himself that Mrs. Knight allowed herself to ask the question she had been dying to ask since they had arrived. "So, Anna, Dak couldn't make it tonight?" she asked.

"No, he had a photo shoot." Anna said, kicking Bennett under the table as he made a face at her.
"Oh, that's a shame."

"Yeah." Anna said, shoveling some food in her mouth to keep from having to continue this particular line of conversation.

Kendall noticed both the wince on Bennett's face from Anna's swift kick and her unwillingness to talk about Dak. He made a mental note to ask Bennett about it later.

********
James had not been the first to need the restroom so when he went into the house he found the first floor bathroom already occupied, so he went upstairs to use the facilities up there.

James exited the bathroom and took a step to head back out when he noticed the door directly next to the bathroom door. If he didn't remember from Mrs. Lincoln's tour that it was Anna's room the big A on the door made it clear. He tried to ignore it, he really did, but in the end his curiosity won out and he opened the door.

The room was neat, too neat for a normal teenager, but Anna's room was always neat, a hazard of having a military man for a father. He walked into the room and felt as though he was walking back in time. Apart from the coloring of the room it was pretty much the same as it had been back in Minnesota. The doors to her closet held the posters of her favorite bands, they hadn't changed at all, and right above her bed hung a big picture of a sunset. He moved around the room looking at everything that was out in the open. There were her school books stacked on her desk, next to her closed laptop, a tin bank with a picture of a guy playing poker on it, and a mug filled with various pens and pencils. She also had a short dresser where a jewelry box and her make up sat. On her nightstand there were several familiar pictures. One of her and her family on vacation in the Bahamas when she was 12, one of her at her first house as a baby and finally an old picture, of her mom and dad on their wedding day. There were also some newer photos, one of her at her 16th birthday, the tiara on her head giving away the event, another of her and a group of people James didn't know, all holding surfboards, and finally one picture that was both familiar and foreign. The last time he had seen the picture frame it had held a picture of her with him, on a trip to an amusement park. His arms had been around her shoulders and they had both been laughing and smiling. Now though the frame held a picture of her and Dak. They were clearly in her back yard, he had one arm around her and she held his one hand in both of hers, and they were smiling.

James picked up the photo of Anna and Dak and sat down on her bed. It hurt to see the picture in that frame. It was the only frame he knew, he had helped her pick it out. He put the picture down and rubbed his face in his hands, repeating the conversation that was quickly becoming his mantra. When he pulled himself back together he left her room and closed the door, heading back down to join the party.

*******
When everyone was back and suitably entertained Kendall decided it was the perfect time to make his move.

"Hey Bennett can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure Kendall." The two boys separated themselves from the group enough so that they could talk without being over heard. "What's up?" Bennett asked?
"What was up with that kick Anna gave you?" Kendall asked not wanting to beat around the bush.

"What kick?" Bennett asked.

"My mom asked about Dak and Anna kicked you under the table."

"Oh, that."

"Yeah, what was that about?"

"It's nothing really; we just had an argument last night about him. You know protective older brother came out."

"Is there something wrong between the two of them?" Kendall prodded.
"No, well… no." Kendall nodded. "Why are you so interested?" Bennett asked.
"It's just, we've known Dak for a while and he never mentioned dating Anna, so I was just curious about how serious they are."

If either boy found the conversation odd they didn't show it, they continued it as if they were on the same page the whole time.

"Yeah, I was wondering that too. I mean, they don't really go out anywhere. They don't want to get caught by the paparazzi, so they only see each other every now and then, really."

"Oh."

"Yeah, you know I bet if the press ever did get a hold of it, the whole thing would end right away." Bennett said.
"Yeah that would be a shame." Kendall said.

"Yeah. So is there anything else you wanted to talk about." Bennett asked.
"No, that's it, just wanted to make sure no family wars were gonna start."

"Cool."
With that they both walked back to the party.