A/N: I'M SORRY, DON'T KILL ME! It was finals week last week, so I had to study. Friday I was busy celebrating the fact that SCHOOL IS OUT!:D Then I had to visit my crazy-ass aunt who's in town, and then fanfiction wouldn't let me log in until about five minutes ago. It has been a crazy week, so please forgive me. Now that I'm on summer break, I should be updating more often. No promises, though. Anyways, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!

Carlos was about to knock on the door to Ryan's apartment when the door swung open, revealing a frantic looking Alex. Carlos's hand paused mid-knock, then fell to his side with a soft sigh. The expression on Alex's face changed from worried to surprised to relieved, then finally, angry.

"Get your stupid ass inside, Carlos," Alex growled, grabbing for the Latino's arm and dragging him in. He didn't let go until they had made it to the kitchen where Ryan was pacing worriedly. She looked up, her reaction the same as her friend's. When she reached the upset stage of emotion, she took two large steps forward and thwacked Carlos on the back of the head.

"Douche," she accused. "Don't you ever walk out like that again. Ugh, fucktard!" She groaned the last part to herself, but loud enough for the other two to hear. Alex snickered, and Carlos glared at him. Alex shrugged, still laughing slightly.

"Your fault, bro." Carlos just rolled his eyes at Alex's obvious statement. Everything was Carlos's fault. He knew that, and he didn't need people reminding him, even if it was a joke. He reached out for the now angrily pacing Ryan whose head snapped up immediately. She grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, and he yelped.

"Owie, owie, OW!" he shouted, Ryan pulling his arm more and more with each complaint.

"Never do that to me again," Ryan said through gritted teeth. "Ever." She released his arm when he nodded, and he sighed in relief, rubbing his probably bruised skin. She stepped back, but she kept her stare locked on his, anger boiling behind her eyes. There was something else there, though. Carlos saw a hint of sadness and desperation. He nodded once again to reassure her of his promise, to which she sighed in response and turned back toward her room.

Alex flopped down on the couch and blew a raspberry, running his fingers through his hair. Carlos's eyes darted back and forth from Alex to Ryan's now closed door a few times. He rubbed the back of his neck, took a deep breath, and strutted to Ryan's door. He knocked as he opened the door, not allowing much of a warning. Carlos was momentarily confused at what he saw.

Ryan was laying on her back hands over her face, quite obviously sniffling. Carlos wasn't sure if it was because of her cold or because of him, but regardless, he ran to her side. When she noticed him walking toward her, she peeked through her fingers and groaned.

"Go. Away." Her stern order was muffled and weakened by her stuffy nose. Carlos chuckled when he heard her full-hearted attempt at intimidation and fell down next to her, ignoring her complaints. He turned on his side, grinning when she moved a hand to smack his chest. "Get ouuut!" she whined. He brought her hands down from her face, looking straight into her eyes.

"Were you crying?" he whispered, worried by the sniffles he had heard.

"Fuck no! I'm sick! Retard." Carlos had to laugh at her tough-girl attitude. It was comforting to him that she hadn't been driven to tears by his temporary disappearance, but he felt an odd pang of disappointment. He fell back onto his back and rested his hands on his stomach.

"But you were worried, right?" he questioned, turning just his head to look at Ryan, secretly hoping that she had been.

"No shit, Sherlock. I didn't know what to think! You just left, and it was clear that you were on the brink of tears," came her response. She turned her head to meet his eyes and noticed a soft glint in them. He still looked worried, but there was a tiny shred of excitement from her words, slightly hidden in his chocolate brown irises. She also noticed a blush brush over his tan cheeks, barely noticeable against the caramel colored skin.

"Right... Um, that- that was just..." His voice trailed off and he turned his head away, suddenly taking interest in the ceiling.

"Was just...?" Ryan said, back to her teasing and poking fun. The response she received was a stutter and a slap on the arm. She chuckled and sat up, swinging her legs off of the bead. "Whatever. I'm too stuffed up to yell, and frankly I have too much of a headache to even be angry," she said as she pulled him off of the bed by the arm. "C'mon, tough guy. I've got nothing much to say, but the other idiot probably has a few choice words."

After a strict talking-to from a surprisingly intimidating Alex, Carlos was convinced to never take off again. Alex seemed satisfied once a half-hour had passed and suggested for the three to move on to figure out the public end of the situation.

"Well, there's really nothing we can do about TMZ; they'll never back out from an opportunity to hurt someone. The story is already out, we can't get it back," Carlos informed him friends with a sigh. Alex groaned at what he heard.

"Now what do we do? If the word is out, it's out."

"Frankly, I'm kind of over the fact that it got out," Ryan said, surprising the two men sitting in front of her. "But that doesn't mean I'm not angry. When I find their so called 'source' there will be hell to pay." Normally, this kind of comment would've scared the guys, but they both grinned. They knew from past experiences that an angry Ryan plots the best. Carlos spoke up first.

"Is there anyone y'all have pissed off that might want to hurt you or something?" he questioned.

"Not really. At least not recently; we're kind of reserved if you haven't noticed," Ryan claimed flatly.

"Alright, alright, don't get sassy," Carlos mumbled. Ryan obviously heard him and responded by slapping the back of his head. "Ouch. Jesus Christ, would you stop that?!" he complained, smacking her on the arm. She punched his shoulder in response, and the two suddenly became engaged in a second-grade type slap fight. Alex busted out laughing at the two's behavior.

"What?!" Carlos shouted before smacking Alex on the head.

"Okay, no way am I getting into this," Alex said, still laughing. "Cut it out, we have stuff to figure out." Ryan grumbled but complied, sitting back on the couch, crossing her arms.

"Fine. But I'm starving, can we get something to eat?" She pouted, knowing neither of the guys could resist.

"But you're sick, surely you don't want to go out-" Alex tried, but Carlos cut him off.

"Cut the crap, I'll pay," the Latino said, rolling his eyes when his friends hollered in excitement. "Diner?" He suggested. He received two nods in response. The three stood up and gathered their things, walking out the door of the apartment.

The three had driven to the diner in Carlos's car, Alex once again pouting in the back seat. When they arrived, they were immediately greeted by Margaret and her signature bone-crushing hug, even Carlos who had been there just hours before. They sat down at a booth in the back, not wanting to be noticed even though Carlos had his hood up and glasses on. Margaret, who already knew of the situation from her encounter with Carlos, sat with them after bringing them their food.

"So," Alex began, not bothering to wipe the ketchup from his face, "how do we find out who the 'source' is?"

"You got me there. It could be anyone. They're most likely connected to me since they never mentioned Ryan, and you were 'unidentified'," Carlos said, taking a bite of his burger. Right then, the door opened and a medium-height girl with light brown hair strolled in.

"Hey Carlos," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice. The same voice Carlos had heard almost seven years before. His head shot up, and he choked on his food. Margaret slapped his back, trying to help him regain his breathing as the girl approached their table, twirling her keys around her finger.

"P-Piper?!"

A/N: Heheehehehe. Review/follow/favorite!