A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! This chapter's a little lengthy, flashbacks are in ITALICS.

I DISCLAIM

Addy Goldberg took off her ear muffs and let them hang around her neck as she rang the buzzer to the Reed's apartment building. It had been nearly a year since she'd been there last and seen those inside, but standing on the concrete stoop, it felt as though she had never left. She was taller now, hovering around 5'6", a height she never would have thought she'd see when she was younger. Most of the baby fat that plagued her pre-pubescent years was gone thanks to a few good growth spurts, though she managed to remain soft where it counted. Her tight brown curls were cut short, leaving her hair big and unruly, a bit like her personality.

"Yeah?" came a voice from the intercom.

"Mama D, let me up!" she smiled at the familiar voice.

"My girl is home!" Addy heard before the door buzzed open and she rushed up to the third floor, the apartment door already ajar. "Adamina, look at you!" Diana Reed exclaimed, holding the girl at an arm's length before drawing her into a tight hug. "You're gorgeous!"

Clinging to the woman, Addy remembered just how much she missed this. For everything the relationship with her biological mother lacked, her relationship with Diana Reed made up for. "I wouldn't exactly say 'gorgeous,' but I did finally get my boobies," she reluctantly pulled out of the hug.

"Oh whatever," she rolled her eyes, showing how young of a mother she actually was. At 32 it was easier to mistake her for an older sister rather than the mother of a 15 year old boy. She was a self made woman and very proud of the life she'd built for her son and herself. "With those curls and those curves, I'm sure you're in high demand back in Philly."

"Yeah, with the lesbo crowd," she sighed. "It's an all girls school, remember?"

"Riiiight," the older brunette ushered them back into the apartment. "Well, your teenaged years are prime for sexual exploration," she offered.

"I know," Addy blushed, "I'm definitely straight."

"My little girl's all grown up and experimenting," Diana pulled Addy to her once more.

"You realize that I'm not yours right?" she asked, a question her and Fulton often found themselves asking the others parent.

"You might as well be. Plus mine won't talk to me like you do, he just grunts and hides in his room. Please move back."

"I'm trying," she smirked. "I have interviews and auditions at Eden Hall all week."

"You're kidding me," she smiled, taking Addy's coat and hanging it on the coat rack.

"Nope, my parents are moving back to Philly and you and I both know they real reason they sent me away to that school was to get me out of my mom's hair," she explained with a bit of disdain in her voice.

"Addy, you know that's not the truth," Diana started, revising her statement after she saw the look Addy was sending her way, "not the whole truth at least. Believe it or not they do want what's best for you and in their minds what's best is that you learn to be a lady so you can find a good husband."

"It's not 1896," she grumbled. "Where's Fulton?"

"Addy," she sighed, knowing full well the girl was upset, but not wanting to push it. Between Fulton and now Addy she had more than enough teen angst to deal with. "He's sleeping, go wake him up; does he know you're in town?"

"Doesn't have a clue," she smiled a bit evilly before making her way down the hall and sneaking into her best friend's room.

"Come on midget, jump!" an 8 year old Charlie Conway teased Addy, holding her violin case high above her head. They were standing at the bank of the frozen pond they skated on, the beginnings of the D5 team all gathered together and watching in amusement. Having all been friends in Kindergarten, it wasn't long before tiny little Addy became an easy target, as opposed to Connie, who could hold her own thanks to having 3 brothers.

"Give it back!" she hollered, trying to climb her way up his body. "I'm going to be late for my lesson! Greg, tell him to give it back!"

"Did you hear something?" her brother asked Guy, looking around absently and laughing.

"Ugh!" she hollered, stomping her foot. "I hate you guys!"

"Give it back," a new voice demanded, causing everyone to turn and look at Fulton, a good 2 inches taller than the rest of them and quite the hulking, intimidating figure. Slowly, Charlie lowered his arm until Addy could snatch back her violin. Turning to Charlie, she stuck out her tongue and gave him a shove before chasing after the boy who just defended her against her tormentors.

"Hey! Wait up!" she ran until she fell into step with him. "Thanks for that, I'm Addy."

"No problem," he shrugged.

"Do you have a name?"

"Fulton."

"Are you new? I've never seen you before."

"Yeah, just moved here."

"From where?"

"Stillwater."

"Why?" she continued to grill him, causing him to stop and face her.

"You ask a lot of questions."

"I know," she nodded. "Wanna be friends?"

Sighing, he looked at her and started walking again. "Sure, I guess."

Pushing hard on his bedroom door, seeing as it was blocked by mounds of dirty laundry, Addy smiled at the memories that kept running through her head. Ever since she decided to try and get into Eden Hall, all she could think about was the past and what would hopefully be her future, back in Minnesota.

"Tiny, please don't play hockey with them," 10 year old Addy lay sprawled out on Fulton's bed. "They're just trying to steal you from me! They've treated you like a leper since you moved here."

"What's a leper?" Fulton asked from his seat at the small desk next to his bed.

"Um, like, someone covered in sores and all deformed and gross," she explained, causing him to throw a Nerf football at her. "Hey!" she hollered as it connected with her stomach. "Didn't your mom teach you not to hit girls?"

"You're not a girl," he rolled his eyes, "and I'm not a leper. Did you ever think that maybe I want to play? That maybe I'd like to have some friends who aren't whiney little babies?"

"Oh and they're not whiney little babies? They SUCK! They lose every game and come back to my house to cry about how bad they suck! AND I AM TO A GIRL!" she exclaimed, standing on his bed.

"Why are you being like this?" he questioned, so used to her over the top behavior that he didn't bat an eyelash at her antics anymore.

"Because," she pouted and fell back onto the bed in a heap, "you'll realize you like them better and I'll be stuck by myself again, defenseless against the evil super humans that are Charlie and my brother."

"They're not evil, you're just easy prey," he pointed out. "You should toughen up a little."

"Not evil?? Holding me down so Greg can fart on my head is not evil?!" she asked in shock. "You're just going to feed me to the lions, I know it!" She threw the Nerf back at his head.

Getting up, Fulton tackled her and grabbed her into a hug. "Knock it off; you know you're always going to be my best friend," he told her as she squirmed away from him. "Look at it this way, I'm on the inside now. I'm like a spy," he rolled across the floor holding his imaginary gun to illustrate the point.

"More like a loser," she held up her index finger and thumb in the shape of an 'L.'

"Take it back," he told her as they began to wrestle on the floor.

"Never!!" she hollered, unaware that Diana was leaning against the door frame watching them.

"Grab his elbow, Adds, he hates that," she urged, stopping them when they came a little too close to breaking another lamp. "Alright, enough, dinner's ready. Addy are you staying?"

"Nope, can't," she replied, a little out of breath. "My parents are having everyone over because Greg stopped the um, disk thingy."

"Puck," Fulton offered.

"Yeah, the puck."

"Oh yeah, Ma, can I go over after dinner?" he asked.

"Of course," Diana smiled, happy her son was branching out and making some more friends.

Pushing the door open enough to slip in, Addy made her way over to his bed, smirking as she found him face down and lightly snoring. Straddling his body, she leaned down close to his ear and began to whisper lines from Silence of the Lambs. "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again…" she barely got out before she found herself on the floor.

"Jesus Christ!!" Fulton shot out of bed, his heart racing.

"Hello Clarice," she responded creepily.

"If I wasn't so happy to see you I'd beat the shit out of you," he retorted, pulling her into a hug. "You know that movie freaks me out."

"Exactly," she smirked, jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist, squeezing him tightly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "I was just at your house, no one mentioned you coming home."

"That doesn't really surprise you now does it?" she asked, putting her feet back on the floor. "It's Spring Recess, thought I'd come home and try and make some plans for when the parentals move back to Philly in the fall."

"Yeah, I heard about that," he told her. "Your brother's not too happy."

"He's stupid, it's not like he's going anywhere, they're letting him stay at Eden…"

"I think it's more because he'll have to dorm and eat cafeteria food," Fulton interrupted. "Jesus Addy," he exclaimed, getting a good look at her when she opened the blinds. "You're like a freakin' Amazon woman or something," he marveled at her new found height and shapeliness.

"That better be a good thing," she warned, not too sure how to take his comment.

"I guess," he fidgeted, "I mean, if it wasn't you it would be a very good thing, but, I don't know," he continued awkwardly, closing the blinds that she had just opened to let sunlight into the room. While he was happy to see her, he was still in a foul mood from his fight with Julie.

"Look, I can appreciate this heavy metal, prince of darkness thing you're doing," she started deciding she didn't like the direction of this conversation and opted to flick on the lights when he re-closed the blinds, "but humans are like flowers…" she teased.

"Oh, shut up," he pushed her, sending her sprawling onto the bed as he turned the lights back off. "I'm going back to bed so you might want to move."

"Uhh, no, it's 1 in the afternoon, get dressed," she told him, not moving from her spot. "Oh my god get off," she soon found herself gasping for air as he laid on top of her, crushing her airway.

"I'm not facing the world today," he grumbled, rolling off her and pushing her into the crevice between the bed and wall.

"Oh Jesus, what are you whining about now," she rolled her eyes, trying futilely to get out of the tight space that seemed to have swallowed her.

"Would it kill you to pretend to care for once?" he asked.

"Fine, fine," she sighed, "Fulton, darling, what's wrong?" she asked in a sugary voice.

"Freakin' girls, dude," he exclaimed.

"Hey! Easy," she teased, though felt a slight pang of jealousy that unnerved her a bit. "So who is she?"

"Did you meet Julie?"

"No, but I know of her and she's pissed off my brother a few times so I like her by default," she lied, not sure how he'd react to Addy and Julie's encounter right after their blowout.

"Well, she's dating a real jerk," he started, but Addy cut him off.

"And since she's going to date a jerk you'd rather it be you?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Can't you be serious for five seconds?!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry," she laughed, holding her hands out in defense. "I promise to behave if you pull me out of the bed's ass crack," she bargained.

"Fine," he grabbed her arm and brought her back onto the bed. "Anyway, I punched the guy when they first started messing around and then he asked her out and I think he's using her to get back at me."

"Fult, I've seen her, I don't think that's the only reason he's with her," she told him honestly. "Have you talked to her about any of this?"

"I tried to last night and she freaked out and said she never wants to see me again."

"Ouch," she tried to sound sincere. It wasn't that she was jealous because she wanted to date him; it was because she didn't want anyone else dating him or could it simply be that the age old theory that boys and girls couldn't just be friends was finally starting to rear its ugly head? "Well, that's her loss. You're a great guy, Tiny."

"Don't call me that," he cringed. "It has a different meaning now that we're older," he explained, causing her to blush.

"Well, for the sake of getting the girl I hope it's not true then," she teased.

"Can we stop talking about my dick please?" he squirmed and pushed her back in the crevice.

"I hate you," she grumbled at the all too familiar position she once again found herself in. "Fine, I have shit to do anyways," she sighed, clawing the sheets to pull herself out. "Sulk and cry all you want, but meet me tonight. Tree house, backyard, 9 o'clock," she briefed him. "Come alone," she added cryptically, flicking the lights on to annoy him as she walked out.