turntostone - Thanks for the (tenth, yay) review! Glad you're enjoying it and I hope you like this next update!

LTJM - As always, thanks for the review! Oddly enough, something a lot like Nathan needing Vic's shower happened to me once. That's where I got the idea from. ;l And yeah, it was ridiculously awkward. :) Hope you like the next update!

GIGS - Yaaay, new reviewer! I'm happy you're getting into Miracle... it's an incredible movie. :) Thanks for the comments on my story, and I'm glad you're enjoying it! I hope you like the new update!

After Mark left, I settled in to bed and fell asleep almost at once, and then after what seemed like twenty minutes of sleep, I woke with a start. I punched the bed, realizing I'd had another nightmare. This one had been a fairly good one, as far as the nightmares themselves went. The fear that came with them ebbed away as soon as I woke up, which was different. Usually it took me a few minutes to calm down. I leaned back against pillow, starting to feel sleepy again. Maybe the fact that the nightmares were fading away was a sign that I was growing up, and out of them altogether. I hoped so. The fact that they'd started again was a little annoying.

*

The next morning, I got a phone call from my mother. I knew something less than satisfactory had happened by the tone of voice she used on the phone.

"I got a letter today," she said briskly. "From the university."

All of my mail ended up getting sent to my parents' house, which was fine. By some crazy twist of luck, they were paying all of my bills as long as I was in school and kept my grades decent. "Oh? About what?"

"The letter is from the school of Journalism," Mom told me.

"Oh! Did I get in?"

Mom coughed away from the phone. "You didn't," she said, disappointment staining her voice."I'm not happy about this, Victoria."

I frowned. "Neither am I, Mom! I can't help that they didn't accept me, can I?"

"No, I suppose you can't. I think you should consider getting a job."

"Why?"

"Well, as you're not going to be going to school this year, our little agreement is off. Your father and I won't be able to pay for you to live away from home if you aren't in university. That was the agreement, if you remember. Besides, I think it's time you started to learn a little responsibility, Victoria." She had applied her lecture voice and seeing that I was about to be treated to "Why You Aren't Good Enough 101", I decided to get out off the phone with her.

"Okay, I'll start looking for a job. I really have to go, though, Mom. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Wait just a minute-"

"Love you! Bye!" I put the receiver down, staring at the phone like it was a monster. I felt kind of bad for snubbing off my mom the way that I had, but what I needed at that moment wasn't a long lecture. What I needed was Terry and her methods of remedy. I grabbed the phone again and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, Terry?"

"Vic! I was going to phone you later today! How was your little dinner date with Mr. Johnson?"

"It was great," I said hurriedly. "Look, I think we're long overdue for a night on the town, don't you agree?"

Terry laughed. "Yes! I was hoping you'd man up and want to come out with me again! I'll come over there at eight tonight so we can get dolled up?"

I nodded excitedly. "Okay. I'll see you then?"

"You bet. Bye, babe!"

I hung up the phone, glad to have distracted myself from feeling sorry for myself for the time being. The truth was, I was actually really disappointed to find out that I hadn't gotten into the school of Journalism. I had heard that the school was really hard to get into, which made me feel a little bit better. The school only accepted something like forty-five students every year. I'd just have to try again next year, and make sure that I got in. In the meantime… I had to get a job. My stomach dropped at the prospect of that. At twenty-one years old, I had never had a job. I'd tried when I was about sixteen, but my parents had stopped me, telling me that as long as I didn't necessarily need a job, I shouldn't bother getting one. That was a real shit move on their part, when I thought about it now. I didn't even know what I was supposed to try and do. There was always the clichéd job of a waitress.

I sighed and grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled the words "JOB HUNT" on it, and taped it to the wall next to the phone. That was my way of reminding myself to do something, not that remembering to find a job would be a really hard thing to remember to do, seeing as my parents weren't going to be paying my rent anymore and I was going to need to come across some money sooner or later.

Later on that night, Terry appeared at my door, armed with her signature knapsack, which I knew for a fact was full of booze. She grinned at me as I opened the door and danced inside, an excited grin on her face.

"Party time, baby!" Terry opened her knapsack, and to my surprise, it wasn't full of alcohol, but makeup and hair product. I gave her a confused look.

"I don't think we'll have as much fun drinking that hairspray as we would be drinking other kinds of stuff," I told her seriously, and she laughed.

"No, no. It's for us to get dolled up, Vic! You agreed to it on the phone!"

I sighed resignedly. "Fine. Where are we going tonight, anyway?"

Terry dumped the contents of her bag onto the floor. "Do you remember my friend Alan Perry? He invited a few people over tonight, and I thought we should go there instead of out to a bar or something. By the way, you're driving tonight. I've had the worst week."

I frowned. "Okay, I guess. My parents always said that the best times happen when you don't drink, anyway."

Terry snorted. "They just told you that to keep you out of trouble. Mine used to tell me that people who drank a lot of alcohol were damned to hell automatically, with no chance of ever getting better."

I glanced over at her. "And you didn't really believe that, I'm guessing?"

She shrugged. "My family isn't even religious. I have no idea why they thought that trick would work on me."

I laughed. "Well, it's good to know that you avoided being tricked. I'm guessing you'll be drinking tonight?"

"You'd be guessing right. Alan told me that there wasn't any need to bring alcohol over there. Apparently he went shopping today." She sounded really excited. "Oh, wow, I'm so rude," she said suddenly, hitting herself on the forehead. "I didn't even ask you for the complete story on what happened with Mark last night. How'd it go?"

"Really good," I admitted.

"Do you mean good, or good?" Terry asked, grinning at me.

I frowned at her. "It was… somewhere in between those two, I guess."

Terry leaned towards me, her face alight with interest. "What happened? Did you…" she let the sentence trail off, and it was clear what she was implying.

"No! Nothing like that. I mean, we kissed, but other than that, we just talked, and it was nice, you know? I think I might really like him, Terry."

Terry let out an excited sounding squeal. "Really? That's so great! Tell me everything that happened, from the time he walked in the door to the moment he left. Go!"

I obediently told her the whole story, from Nathan needing a shower until Mark left the apartment, while she danced around my head, doing my hair and fussing over make-up. I had long finished speaking before she pronounced me finished.

"Well, now that I can give it my whole attention," Terry said, wiping her hands on a cloth, "that's probably one of the cutest things I've ever heard." She grinned. "I hope my little thing with Mac works out that well."

"Oh, is it a thing, now?" I asked. "I thought you were just considering taking up an interest in hockey."

Terry shrugged. "I was thinking about giving him a call tonight, but then you called and I decided that I'd rather have a night out."

"How sweet," I told her, laughing. "It's a good thing you didn't. Mark told me he wasn't going to be able to really be sociable this week because the hockey'll probably be so bad. I don't think I ever want to meet their coach."

She laughed. "Well, you said his dad is a coach too, right? If you ever end up meeting him, just hope that he's not the same as this guy who coaches Mark right now." Terry disappeared into the bathroom and I heard her fumbling around in front of the mirror. "Okay, so what do you think?" She came back into the living room, having done… something, in the bathroom. I could honestly not see anything different about how she looked.

"It's good," I said, taking a shot in the dark. This seemed to satisfy Terry.

"Excellent. I want to look good for Alan tonight."

I frowned. "Weren't we just talking about how you wanted to be with Mac?"

Terry shrugged. "I like to keep my options open. Come on, let's get going, huh? I'm so excited!" She gave me a broad grin and then led the way out of my apartment, and I followed, trying to remember Alan Perry and if he was better in any way than Mac.