Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own it. Don't ask. Don't sue. Even if I DID own Even Stevens, which I don't, then why would it matter? The show ended FOREVER ago! Haha. It would seem that I'm just trying to relive my glory days. P

Oh. By the way…enjoy.

oRoEoSoTo

"RUBY!!!" Ren's voice could be heard echoing throughout the halls of the Steven's Household.

"What?" Ruby, Ren's best friend-who was now wincing from Ren's screech of anger from the garage—yelled from the Steven's living room. Ruby spent most of her time delving into the latest gossip—if not starting it—and trying out the latest beauty products …but now she wished that she put more of her time into acting, as she knew she would cave as soon as she saw Ren. She never was very good at lying. Still, Ruby stood there, trying to put her most adorable innocent face on. Ruby had just come into the living room looking for the birthday girl before she was going to head back outside to her task at hand. Unfortunately…she had already been caught.

"I asked you for two things, Ruby! TWO!" Ren shrieked as she stumbled in from the garage. All she wanted to do was get a cold water from the fridge in the garage but what she stumbled upon there was a lot more pressing of a matter than the water. "Two things! And you couldn't even do that! It's my birthday! Not 'let's throw a…get…everyone…drunk party'…day!'" Ren finished lamely and Ruby chuckled. She instantly shut up after Ren glared at her.

"Oh, come on, Ren! So what? It's only a little bit of alcohol! Lighten up! It's your 18th, for Christ's sake!" Ruby walked out of the Steven's household towards her car and took another case of alcohol from her trunk, walking towards the Steven's garage. Ren just stood there, gaping at her.

"What?" Ruby asked, that innocent look back on her face.

"Oh my god!" Ren just stood there, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. "Do…do you even listen when I talk? At all? Even a little bit?"

"A little. But most of it kind of just goes in one ear and out the other." Ruby smirked and dropped the case on top of the others in the garage. Ren shook her head and roller her eyes, not helping the small smile that came onto her face anyways. But, being Ren, her face soon turned serious again. Two rules. That was all she gave her. Two rules. If there was one thing Ren was sure to do, it was sticking to her principles. Well this was definitely one of her principles. No alcohol. No sex. That was all that she wanted at her party.

What was the next thing Ruby would do? Would she set up a sex booth? Ren stopped her thinking process for a moment. A sex booth? How would that even work…? Ren inwardly winced. She did not want to know.

"No alcohol, Ruby." Ren started back towards the house, determined not to let Ruby make this party into just another one of the many drunken school parties. They never ended well. And they were always a rather large mess to clean up. Besides, the Stevens' had given the whole entire house to Ren, in trust that she would keep everything safe and in order. Ren didn't want a single thing to go wrong. They had already left, meaning that everyone, from that point on, was her responsibility. And the alcohol now piled sky-high in garage was Ren's responsibility.

"Ren," Ruby whined, following Ren into the house. "Come on! It's your 18th birthday party! You can't just let it float by with nothing special going on! And you can't have a good party with out a little alcohol…I promise!" Ruby pulled Ren's arm and forced the taller girl to face her and Ren sighed. "I told you that I was going to make this the most…amazing party this year! And it will be! In fact, I bet I can make it the greatest party of Lawrence High's history!" Ruby got an excited gleam in her eyes and beamed at Ren. Ren groaned. The alcohol was already hauled into her garage. There was nothing she could do. Even if there was something she could do, there was no way Ren could just let Ruby take all of that alcohol home…what would Ruby do with it? Drink it all by herself? That certainly couldn't be good for a person's health…even Ruby's. Even though Ren was pretty sure that she must have built up quite some tolerance for the stuff by now.

"Fine." Ren sighed. Ruby squealed. "But…just don't…set up a sex booth or anything, ok?" Ren groaned, remembering her earlier thoughts. Ruby just gave her a quizzical look. "Nothing. Don't worry about it. Let's just get the rest of this in the garage before my parents see it." Ruby smirked and nodded, knowing Ren would eventually cave it. In was crazy not to have a party without alcohol, after all.

The 'no-sex' thing was reasonable.

But an 18th birthday party without alcohol?

That was insane.

oRoEoSoTo

Tawny Dean walked onto the streets of Sacramento, dressed in casual party clothes—no one would have ever known that it took not around 2 hours to pick the outfit out, but Miles was also forced to sit on her bed, looking at the different selections of outfits to be had. He finally rolled his eyes and said, "Fine! I freaking pick that one, ok?! Now let me get ready now, ok?!—that looked rather fitting on her. Normally she wouldn't have forked over this much effort on an outfit…but something about tonight made her want to dress up.

It was almost like a feeling that something would happen.

That something would change.

Or, maybe, it was just the fact that it was Ren's party and Tawny knew that Ren would be there.

Tawny sighed. Ren. It had been a week since the 'incident' with Jason and Ren. And Tawny couldn't help but feel like something had changed.

It was nerve-wracking, remembering the close encounter Ren and Tawny had had on the couch, when Tawny was practically forced to change the older girl…but it was nearly paralyzing remembering what had happened when she had come back down.

And how totally and completely…natural it felt.

Tawny found her feet moving down the streets subconsciously, her feet knowing the path to the Steven's residence well enough that her brain didn't necessarily have to be on the task at hand in order to wind up at the house.

After all…Tawny's mind seemed to be wandering off a lot more these days, but her feet always still seemed to find their way to that same house every time she was needed to be there…whether it was for Louis or for, lately, Ren, it didn't seem to matter, as Tawny's mind always wandered.

And, lately, so did her heart.

"Don't go…please…don't go." Ren looked up at Tawny, her body shaking slightly. "Don't go. Just…stay…please…just…stay with me?" Ren's voice sounded so…frail…so fragile. When Tawny looked down at the older girl, who was usually so strong and confident, whose eyes were tearing and…God… she looked like a kicked puppy. Or maybe a scared child who crawled into her parents' room, trying to hide from nightmares. "Please…I just…I don't…I don't want to be alone, right now."

Tawny sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes and collecting herself, before she pulled open the door leading to the Steven's household. She had knocked three times before coming in and, hearing the blasting music coming from inside the house, figured that the door would be unlocked, welcoming people to come on in and enjoy the party. And Tawny was right, the door was unlocked.

Ren would probably freak out if she knew her front door was unlocked.

oRoEoSoTo

It had been an hour since the party had started and Ren hadn't seen Tawny since she had walked through the door and greeted Ren with her normal warm smile. It was like a hellhole downstairs, however, and Ren was too busy keeping people from breaking all of the valuables--and from breaking themselves--to find her. Ren growled and sat down on the living room sofa, burying her head in her hands as she took a break for a moment. People stumbled around her, drinks in hand—most likely alcoholic—but Ren didn't take notice. It wasn't fair. All she wanted was a quiet evening…a quiet evening with her family and sleep…nice, relaxing, and carefree sleep. That was all she really asked for.

The screams and laughter of nearly 300 people met Ren's ears and she winced. Well. It wasn't quiet. There was a loud crash and Ren could feel the anger surge through her. Ren was pretty sure she was not sleeping. And she had no idea where the hell Louis was. If he was even here anymore…though she was sure that he was. So there was really no family either.

That was all she really asked for. Family. Sleep. And quiet.

Instead…she got this.

She had a party full of loud, obnoxious, drunk people and her ex boyfriend coming back to town to beat the living hell out of her. "Some birthday." Ren growled, burying her head deeper in her hands.

There was music booming throughout the room and quite a few people were dancing, though most were dancing horribly, since they were all pretty much drunk. There were scattered beer bottles and whole bottles of alcoholic beverages left around throughout the whole entire house.

It was definitely not going to be fun to clean up.

On her birthday.

She was going to have to clean up on her birthday. Ok. So it wasn't technically her birthday…but it was her birthday party! Someone should not have to clean up on their own birthday party! It was not right! What it was, however, was infuriating! It was her birthday! Hers!

Which, Ren was pretty sure, only a couple of people had congratulated her for during the whole entire night. Ren sighed and rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. She had already been forced to drink a beer by Ruby—which, Ren had to say, she did not care for—and she knew that her mind was not in the right state. She was tired. Maybe she should just go to bed. Let the party work itself out.

No. That would be highly irresponsible…however tempting.

Ren sighed, trying to focus on something. Trying to focus on anything. She needed to get her thoughts in order. She never really took alcohol well…and that one beer was really starting to affect her. She forced herself to focus on something and tried to remember what she had thought about before…

Who wished her a happy birthday?

That was a good one. Well…one of them was Tawny. Yeah, Tawny had, when she came through the door. "Happy belated birthday, Ren!" She had said with that same calm smile…almost like nothing had happened last week. Ren sighed. Had anything happened last week? Ren didn't know what to think of anything, anymore. She had been so scared…and Tawny…Tawny was there and…Ren sighed again. She had been vulnerable. Completely vulnerable. And Tawny just held her while she slept and was…there for her. It was nice, really. To know that you could count on someone, like that. Tawny. Where was she, anyways? Ren heard familiar laughter and looked over to the corner of the living room and spotted Tawny, a large smile on her face and a drink in her hand. It was a water, though, and Ren couldn't help but smile when she remembered that Tawny never really drank much. Tawny had told Ren that herself. Ren felt her whole entire body tense, however, when she looked next to Tawny and noticed her brother with an equally large smile on his face.

They were laughing about something. What was it?

Ren shook her head. Why did she even care? Had she ever cared before? No. No. She hadn't. So why did she care now? Ren's eyes trailed up from Tawny's feet to her abdomen, looking at how well she had grown into her body, when she noticed it. The belly button ring. Ren shook her head, thoughts filling them that she instantly regretted ever letting in. She continued up, quickly, to gaze over Tawny's face and focused on the younger girl's sparkling eyes. They had so much life in them. So much emotion. Those eyes followed her everywhere…and Ren had no idea why. That was why she was scared of when she wanted to tell Tawny about everything first.

That's why it scared her that she had asked Tawny to stay with her.

That's why it scared her when Tawny did.

That's why everything scared her.

She had no idea what was going on with her. Emotionally. Physically. That's why it scared her!

That's why…that's why Tawny scared her.

Ren noticed the way Tawny's body curved to Louis' as they danced, both happy. They were so happy. Ren wanted to throw up.

Ren let her eyes trail down to Tawny's exposed abdomen once more, the glare of the bellybutton ring blinding her. The way it moved when she danced with Louis…it was a curious thing, really.

Why had Tawny wanted to get it? That question had crossed Ren's mind many times before.

Why?

It did look excellent on the younger girl…but who goes out in the morning and says, "I want a bellybutton ring, today!" Obviously, some people had been spontaneous enough to do that same thing…for various reasons, Ren was sure. But was Tawny really that spontaneous?

Did Tawny just wake up one morning and say, "Hey! I want a bellybutton ring, today!"

Or did she plan it out, for years and years, like Ren would have? Did she mark the exact day she would get it done? Did she pre-pick the perfect ring a year before she would even have to lay eyes on it? Or did Tawny just wake up one morning…not even thinking about it…and then, spontaneously, get a bellybutton ring?

Either way…it looked excellent on her.

Ren closed her eyes, a feeling rising up in her.

Yes, it definitely looked excellent on her.

Ren looked to her left and spotted Ruby with a bottle of tequila and, quickly, snatched it from the blonde's hands, ignoring Ruby's complaint of, 'Hey! That's mine!'

How had she not noticed the girl next to her the whole entire time? Maybe it was because the only thing her eyes had watched the whole entire night was Tawny and her brother…and that damn bellybutton ring of hers. Ren had no idea how it happened…but it had. One second she was staring at Tawny, the next she had a bottle of tequila in her hand.

Ren looked to her left and smirked devilishly at Ruby. "Ren?" Ruby asked, concern and amazement mixing in her voice. Ren popped open the bottle and raised it to her mouth. The whole entire party seemed to stop and gaze at her. She could hear the people's shouts of, 'Drink! Drink! Drink!' but it was a vague sound, as the feeling of Tawny's eyes burning into her had a much higher impact. "Are you sure about this, Ren?" Ruby asked, the concern beating the amazement, this time. Ren nodded as the chorus urging her to drink got louder.

"Well. It is my 18th birthday party, after all. I should at least have a decent amount of alcohol." Ren felt that feeling edging back into her that she hadn't felt in nearly half a month. Carelessness. Recklessness. They were ruling her brain, now, along with that one beer. She didn't even stop to think about how, if one beer affected her so horribly, how so much straight tequila would affect her.

For once in her life, Ren Stevens didn't think.

In the next second, Ren had raised the bottle, along with her head, and gulped down the liquid as it scorched down her throat. She ignored the burn she felt with each gulp and continued, barely able to hear the chorus of the people pressuring her, even though she had already seemed to have made up her mind before they started. All she felt, besides the burn of the tequila, was the burn of Tawny's eyes on her.

oRoEoSoTo

Ren winced when she pulled the bottle from her lips and the crowd around her cheered. She was sure her stomach had caved in…and her throat seemed to be on fire. She felt the alcohol shoot through her like a bullet and she nearly fell over. When she opened her eyes, she could see Ruby's shocked, gaping face and giggled.

"Jesus Christ, Ren. You're going to end up killing yourself." Ren gave Ruby a confused look and Ruby nodded towards the bottle in Ren's hand, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The bottle was empty. Ren drank the whole entire thing. Or did she? She wasn't really sure. She had grabbed the bottle out of Ruby's hand. Which meant that Ruby could either be half drunk from half a bottle of tequila…or that Ruby wasn't nearly drunk enough for Ruby's usual standards.

Because Ren could have drank the whole bottle before Ruby even got a sip.

Ren stared at the bottle with wide eyes.

Could someone do that?

Obviously someone could…because she just did.

Were you supposed to do that?

Ren gulped and shook her head, finding it extremely hard to think.

Couldn't someone die from that?

Ren shook her head once more, trying to think.

Yes. Yes. Something deep down told Ren that someone could die from that. The room started to spin slightly and Ren sat back down on the sofa. Where was she? Wasn't she thinking about something? Oh. Yes. That's right. Someone could die from something like that…but the feeling inside of Ren wasn't of fear…it wasn't of regret…it was of triumph. She had finally done something crazy. Something completely un-Ren-like. Was that a word? Could it be a word? Ah, who cares?! If she wanted it to be a word…it could be a word! She had done something completely un-Ren-like. And it felt good. It felt really good.

Ren laughed. A full, happy, joyous laugh. Yes…someone could die from something like that. But at the moment, Ren didn't care. She couldn't care less. Ren couldn't care less about anything, actually. And that made her laugh.

There was a feeling. A strange feeling. A feeling Ren hadn't felt in a long time. She felt…giddy, almost. Content. She felt content and giddy and…and just…like Ren. She felt like herself. She felt like her real self. She felt like she didn't have to do anything for anyone…like she didn't have to smile if she didn't want to. She didn't have to be perfect. She didn't care if she was perfect.

She was content.

And she was most definitely drunk.

"Ren?" There was a familiar voice that sent chills down her spine. "Ren." The voice sounded firm, this time, and Ren could have sworn that she felt a pressure on her shoulder, along with the same burning eyes on her from before. Tawny. It was Tawny. Tawny was saying something to her. Ren bolted up into a standing position, feeling her legs wobble beneath her. The room started to spin and she couldn't really focus on anything.

"Ren!" Ren looked over to her side and saw a figure in front of her, but the most prominent thing she saw was those blazing blue eyes. Those eyes. She felt herself slowly start to fall, but warm arms circled around her before she could hit the ground. "Shit, Ren."

Shit.

'Yes' Ren thought, 'Something tells me that I can die from doing that.'

oRoEoSoTo

(A/N: Well, guys! I hope you liked it! I do have to apologize for the extremely long hiatus. I'm bad with that. But, hey! At least you got a nice update:P

Man, though. I REALLY AM sorry about how long it took me to update! I apologize. But, hey, at least now you guys know that I haven't given up on this story! In fact, I've gotten a new love for it. So there should be more from where this is coming:P

Well, you know the rules! No update without AT LEAST 3 reviews! And, I have to tell you, just to get you guys to review, that I DO have the next chapter already written and ready to go! So, maybe, just maybe, if you review fast enough…I might post it sooner:P

Oh! And, of course, the review button will strip for you if you review! –winks at review button- You sexy sexy review button, you!)