Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I had a pretty bad case of writer's block with this story. Happy NaNoWriMo!


Friday was painful for both parties.

Marcus and Leila usually went to the movies when he didn't have a game and she didn't have an FFA meeting. But of course, the bye week had to fall on the week after they'd broken up. It didn't help that it happened to be the anniversary of the debacle, either. The silver lining was that nothing good at the box office ever came out in September.

Leila worked in her garden until it was too dark to see anything. Some people might call her gardening habit obsessive, but Leila certainly didn't see it that way. There were always flowers to be watered, beds to be cleaned, weeds to be pulled. The work never ended, and it required meticulous attention to detail to keep it perfect, just the way she liked it. On that night, however, it was just busy work, a distraction. She barely noticed that she'd pulled a few flowers out with her weeds.

Leila missed Marcus, but she was in deep denial. What was she supposed to do now? He'd broken up with her, and it wasn't the usual (often meaningless) breakups they usually went through. This was the real thing. Marcus was barely ever serious about anything, but he was completely serious about ending their relationship. Leila didn't understand. How had they gotten here so quickly? Was it something she had done? How could she have wished for something like this to happen, only to have it hurt so badly after she'd gotten it? Just thinking about it made her want to burst into tears.

Meanwhile, Marcus wasn't doing much better. He really regretted breaking up with Leila now; he certainly missed her more than he thought he would. But what he had done was in the best interest of the both of them. Their relationship had grown from a beautiful ship to a creaky old boat with leaks everywhere. They'd tried countless times to plug the holes, but it just kept sinking. They both needed a break from each other. It was obvious to everyone, and Marcus was a little embarrassed that it had taken him this long to realize it. But if this was such a good idea, why did he feel so empty?

It was during his contemplation that the phone rang. Considering nobody ever called the landline anymore, Marcus answered it out of sheer curiosity.

"Is this the Ford residence?" The person on the other line asked. "I'm looking to speak with Marcus."

"This is he," Marcus said, his guard high. Who would be calling the house for him? "How can I help you?"

"My name is Gerard Hiddlebrant, and I'm a recruiter for USC. I saw you in your last game and was extremely impressed with your performance. Do you think we could schedule a meeting after your next game?"

Marcus's head was spinning. On one hand, USC was a very good school and a recruiter was already interested in him. That was kind of a big deal. On the other hand, this was not the kind of recruiter he'd had in mind. Besides, he didn't want football to be the only reason a school like that was interested in him.

Then again, he'd made the decision about football with Leila. Since she was out of the picture now, maybe he should rethink that decision, too. Besides, if he could get into a school like USC with barely any effort in school, was football such a big price to pay? Marcus didn't really think so now.

"Mr. Ford?" asked Gerard. "Are you still there?"

"Yes, I am. I'd be very interested in a meeting, sir."


Nathan's house didn't appear much different than any of the other townhomes on the block from a distance, but Piper thought it was the prettiest. It was an older style but had since been renovated with a fresh coat of paint. The house itself was white, but the accents and the door were done in a hunter green. A nickel-colored door knocker was placed in the center of the door, and Piper knocked three times.

After a few minutes, nobody answered the door, so Piper rung the doorbell. Someone opened the door partially and looked out. He looked nothing like Nathan; in fact, he looked much like Jason. He was either a hard seventeen or a young nineteen and had close-cut blonde hair, blue eyes, and a lazy, indifferent expression.

"We heard you the first time, and we don't want any of what you're selling."

"Does Nathan live here?"

The boy stared at her like a specimen. "Yes. Who wants to know?"

"I'm his partner for a school project and he invited me over here to work on it."

Suddenly, there was some scuffling and what sounded like someone jumping downstairs. The boy stepped aside. "You can come in. I don't think he's ready yet, and I figure if I let someone as pretty as you stand outside, I'd never hear the end of it." Piper couldn't help but blush.

Turned out, there was someone jumping down the stairs. A small boy of about four was coming down, carrying a large teddy bear in his arms and sucking his thumb. He was precious.

"That's Garrett," the boy said. "Watch out for him. He'll bite your ankles."

"He'll do what?!" Piper exclaimed.

"Bite your ankles. The doctor thinks he's just acting out a deep-rooted insecurity. Nobody really knows."

"That sounds...concerning."

"It is," the boy agreed. "I'm Lucas, by the way, Nathan's brother. What's your name?"

Piper was about to answer, but Nathan appeared from the top of the stairs with a girl carrying a baby.

"Piper!" He exclaimed. "You're early!"

"No," Lucas retorted. "You're late. But you're always late, so that's not surprising." The girl carrying the baby smirked.

"Sorry about that," Nathan apologized. "My clock broke this morning and I haven't had time to fix it. But I see you've met Lucas and Garrett."

"I didn't realize you had so many siblings," Piper commented.

"You've only met half of us," Nathan replied. "There's 9, including me. I'm right in the middle."

"Wow. I could never imagine having 9 siblings."

"Neither could we," The girl said sadly. "But mom just kept having them. I'm Vanna."

Piper raised her eyebrows. "That's an interesting name. Very unique."

"Not unique enough. I hate having to tell people that I'm named after the woman on Wheel of Fortune."

"If you hate telling people about it, why do you tell people about it?" Nathan asked, cleaning his glasses on the hem of his shirt.

"Because misery loves company," Lucas interjected, "And if you were to look up 'misery' in the dictionary, you'd see that the definition says, and I quote, 'Vanna Lewis'."

"I am not miserable!" Vanna protested. She then turned to Piper and thrust the baby at her. "This is Isabella. She's the youngest, and she's my favorite because she can't insult me like all the others." Isabella stared at Piper for a few moments and suddenly stuck her little arms forward.

"What is she doing?" Piper asked.

"She wants you to hold her because she likes you!" Garrett piped, tearing his thumb out of his mouth and wiping it on his bear. Piper took the baby gingerly out of Vanna's hands and held her close.

Piper couldn't remember the last time she'd held a baby, but holding Isabella was very nice. It was like holding a warm loaf of bread that squirmed and had a pacifier.

"Come with me," Nathan said, beckoning her to follow. "I want you to meet Mom."

The house was narrower than it was wide and was larger than it appeared on the street. Nathan led her through a hallway, which opened into an expansive kitchen. At the table, a boy of about 10 was working intently with a chemistry set. A girl with ginger hair tied in a tight ponytail leaned over the boy, gesturing to what looked like a set of directions.

"Is she your mother?" Piper asked, worried that a woman who appeared so young could bear that many children.

"Absolutely not," someone said, from behind her. Piper whirled around to face a (thankfully) visibly older woman. She was a few inches shorter than Piper, and she had the same ginger hair as the girl at the table. It was obvious that they were related.

"My name is Robin. You must be Piper. We've heard a lot about you." Robin took off her yellow gloves and shook Piper's hand. "I take it you two have a project to work on."

"We do," Nathan said, "But I forgot it was my day to take care of Isabella. So, I'm going to drop her off, and we'll be back, okay?"

Robin folded her arms over her chest. "I don't know, Nathan. I'm not sure I trust Isabella over there after what happened last time."

"What happened last time?" Piper inquired.

Robin's lips thinned. "Let's just say I am very glad my brother does not have any children. He would make a terrible father."

"Mom, please?" Nathan begged. "Besides, I already promised everyone she'd be coming today."

Robin sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll get her bottles ready."

20 minutes later, Piper, Nathan, Isabella and Vanna (who insisted that she was the only one who could ensure Isabella's well-being and that she'd call an Uber later), were on their way to someplace that Nathan refused to disclose.

Piper was nervous, sure, but it was also kind of exhilarating, traveling across the majestic bay bridge with Nathan. He had both hands on the steering wheel, but he still managed to drive recklessly. Strangely, it made her feel safe.

They drove into what appeared to be a more pretentious side of town. It was composed of mainly older buildings, but the people who got out of their expensive SUV's carrying briefcases and two cell phones looked like they meant business. Nathan whipped his Nissan into one of the lots, taking up 2 parking spaces in the process. Vanna got Isabella's car seat out and carried her inside, followed by Piper and Nathan.

The building was cold and crisp, and it smelled like plants and essential oils. The lobby's floor was old granite and the windowsills on the walls were full of succulents and tropical palms. Nathan led the way up a few flights of stairs, down a hallway and down a flight of stairs. There were many offices through the hallway, ranging from law offices to tailor shops to hair salons and costume emporiums. Piper wondered how such different businesses could coexist under the same roof.

Down the last flight of stairs, there was a drop-off, which led into a very large room. The walls and carpet were tan, but there were shelves upon shelves upon shelves of colorful books. In the center of the room, there were white columns that stemmed from the ceiling. The columns were cornered around a desk similar to one in a library. A man in his mid thirties was reading a book intently. Marcus was sitting on the desk, his feet dangling over the edge. Nico di Angelo was leaning against one of the columns, watching something on a large laptop. Jason was lying on the last desk, staring at the ceiling. There was no one else in the room.

Marcus glanced up from his phone, and his eyes sparkled when his eyes landed on the quartet. "The love of my life!" he exclaimed, rushing over to them and taking Isabella in his arms. The baby giggled with delight and clutched onto his shirt with her hands.

"Isabella is Marcus's favorite," Vanna explained, still using her morose tone. "He loves her, and she loves him. She's practically his daughter."

"Well, well, well!" Marcus said sarcastically. "Look what the cat dragged in! I can't imagine why you'd bring vain Vanna with you. She's not going to do anything but sulk all over the place." Vanna strolled past him to the record player, dropping the diaper bag at his feet and giving him the middle finger.

"Now darling," Marcus said, "That's no way to act in front of the baby." Isabella grasped her own pacifier from her clip and placed it into her mouth. It reminded Piper very much of Maggie from The Simpsons.

There was a crackling noise over the stereo, and the sound of a song from a band Piper couldn't place filled the room. The reading man looked up from his book sharply, a loathsome look etched onto his face. "One of these days I am going to take that Yellowcard record and throw it clear across the Pacific. For Juno's sakes, play something else!"

"Uncle Max," Nathan said cautiously as if he were speaking to a vicious animal, "This is my friend Piper. She just moved here from Los Angeles."

"Ah, yes. Another pretentious southerner. My name is Max, this is my literary emporium, and these," Max said, gesturing to the boys around the counter, "Are my worthless employees. Except for Isabella. She's not working here. We follow child labor laws if anyone's asking."

Piper frowned. "Did you just call me a pretentious southerner?"

"Perhaps," Max said, turning from his book and rearranging the shelf of books behind him. "But can you blame me? Most of your kind are quite an ostentatious bunch."

"That's not fair," Nico said, glancing up from his phone. "To stereotype people like that, I mean. You should drop doing that, Max."

Max sighed and ran his hands through his thinning brown hair. "Next time I'd like to take advice from a freshman, I'll let you know. Until then, make yourself busy." Max shoved a cart of new books in Nico's direction. "Those need to go in the science fiction display." Nico sighed, closed the laptop, and began his work.

"What did you need me to fix, Uncle Max?" Nathan asked, walking behind the desk and examining the setup. It seemed like he already knew what he was doing.

"The system needs a software update," Max explained. He whipped out a key and unlocked a set of cabinet doors. A big black tower took up most of the cabinet. Nathan plugged Nico's laptop into one of the ports and began his work.

Marcus placed Isabella in Jason's arms. "I'm going to lunch, Max. See you later."

"Don't come back!" Max called after him. "You were out to lunch before you even showed up!"

Jason glanced down at the baby. "Hello," he said softly. "You probably don't remember me. I'm Jason." Isabella inspected him for a moment, then buried her head in his arms.

"I don't think she likes me very much," Jason said to nobody in particular.

"I think she likes you a lot. As in like-likes you," Piper replied.

Jason blushed. "She's not even six months yet. Is that supposed to happen?"

"I guess it can happen at any age," Nathan said from behind the desk. "By the way, you two don't have my blessing. She's not dating until she's 30. Or, in any case, until she can talk."

Jason laughed. "That's okay. I'm happily in another relationship." Piper had a hard time believing that. If Jason was so happy in his relationship, why would he have kissed her on the night of the first game?

"Your system is updated, Uncle Max," Nathan said, closing the laptop triumphantly. "In theory. There's only so much you can do to a system that old. Have you looked at any of those brochures for corporate filing systems I sent you?"

"No, and I won't. This system is just fine for my needs, Nathan. And as long as you'll keep updating my system, we won't have any problems. Let me write you a check for your time."


"Your uncle seems about at pleasant as a root canal," Piper said on the drive back to Nathan's house. "I don't see why he still has employees, and I can see why he doesn't have any customers."

Nathan shrugged. "He wouldn't get many customers anyway. The store is a supplier for smaller bookstores. Owners place orders for books or they can come in and buy the books individually, but it's not exactly open to the general public. Besides, he pays them all pretty well and he's more lenient than he lets on. I would apply but I'm pretty busy at home."

"Your family seems really nice," Piper offered.

"I guess. You haven't seen my dad, though. He's another story."

Nathan didn't offer any more information on the subject, so Piper decided to drop it.

"So, I have a question," Nathan said, keeping his eyes on the road. "If someone you met in the past, say, three weeks asked you out, what would you say?"

Piper tapped her finger against her chin. "I don't know. Depends on the person. Why do you ask?"

"What if that person was me?"

Piper smiled. "Then I'd definitely say yes."

"Good. Because I'd like to invite you somewhere next weekend. It's a surprise."

Piper raised her eyebrows. "Another surprise?"

Nathan nodded. "And I think you'll like this one a whole lot better."