The curtains in the room Trixie had slept in allowed very dim, hazy rays of daylight to come through. It was still early, she knew, but it didn't matter. From the moment she opened her eyes, she knew she wasn't going to get back to sleep. She'd been up for a good deal of the night, only really getting a few hours of rest in the early hours before the sun had come up. She'd never admit it to anyone, but it was hard for her to sleep without Pixel by her side.

Groaning in fatigue and irritation, she threw back the covers and pulled a sweatshirt over her, then made her way up to the second floor to the kitchen. The lime-green digital display on the microwave showed 6:30, and naturally no one was up just yet. Somewhat fortunately, Trixie started to feel hungry. So to kill time and fill her belly, she started looking around for something to eat. Finding flour in the cupboard and bacon, orange juice, eggs, and milk in the fridge, she decided on making pancakes for breakfast.

Methodically Trixie began to mix ingredients together, following no particular recipe except her memories of watching her mother make breakfast on Saturday mornings. Not too long after, she heard one of the bedroom doors on that floor open and shut. Her back turned to the hallway, she hoped that it was Ziggy.

"Hey."

Trixie sighed, then turned around to face Pixel. He looked weary and there were creases in his face, as though he were in pain. "Hey," she replied as impassively as she could, turning back to her cooking. As she started to crack the eggs for the batter, she could hear him walking up behind her, and she stiffened, worried that he was going to touch her. Instead, he laid something on the counter next to her.

"You left your charger behind last night. I figured you'd want to charge your phone in case your mom called," Pixel explained.

"Oh. Thanks," Trixie replied, feeling a little disappointed. She finished mixing the batter, then turned on the heat to prepare the pan. "So…would you like some pancakes and bacon?"

Pixel ran a hand through his messy orange hair and rested his forehead on his palms. "Yeah, sure. Thanks. Is there any coffee?"

"No, I haven't had a chance to make it yet. Sorry."

"It's fine. I'll do it." He got up and slipped past Trixie, apparently making an effort not to brush against her as they both occupied the kitchen.

I suppose he thinks he's right and I'm wrong, Trixie thought crossly to herself while briskly cutting open the package of bacon. That was fine with her. She wasn't about to apologize for what she'd said the night before. It was how she felt, and she knew she was right. Pixel had always had a thing for Stephanie. He probably still did.

Pixel started the coffee, and Trixie thought he was going to leave the kitchen, when he stopped, stood next to her and said, "I need to say something."

She put down the spatula and turned to look at him. "Okay."

"I just wanted to tell you…you've never been a consolation prize. You've never been an afterthought, or second best, or runner up, or anything like that, okay?"

Trixie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Right."

"Trixie, I mean it." Pixel's blue-black eyes bore into her own with such intensity that she couldn't look away. "Did you know I'd had a thing for you since we were in preschool?"

"No," Trixie admitted quietly. "But that can't be true. You never said anything. And then when Pinky moved to town, you were totally into her."

"It's true: I had a crush on Stephanie for a while when we were kids. She was new and strange and exotic, and-I don't know, I got pulled in for a while. But eventually, I realized that I wasn't feeling the things I was supposed to be feeling when I was around her. Sure, she was pretty, but I didn't feel that rush of joy that I feel when I'm with you."

"Oh Pixel…"

"Trix, I'm serious." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. "I love you. I've never loved anyone else. I probably never will."

"Well…I guess I believe you," Trixie said grudgingly, then grinned and reached up to kiss him. "I'm sorry for what I said yesterday."

"Me too. So, will you go back to sleeping in our room up here?"

"Yeah. I sleep better when you're with me. Not that I'll ever admit that to anyone."

They laughed at this, and then Pixel stood aside so Trixie could start frying the bacon and pouring the pancake batter. She groaned in frustration when she tried to flip the cakes over, only for them to fold in on themselves and leak batter into the pan. "Ugh! I'm not good at flipping pancakes," she told Pixel.

"But you're good at flipping them off," Pixel suggested with a grin.

"That's true! Take that!" Trixie said to the pan, raising her middle finger dismissively.

"Is there a reason why you're making obscene gestures at our breakfast?" Stingy called out as he entered the room with James following behind him.

"Hey, if I don't do it, who will?" Trixie responded.

Stingy raised his brows in skepticism. "Indeed. Is there any coffee?"

"Yeah, I just started it up. It's probably done by now. I'll pour you a cup," Pixel told him. "Milk and sugar?"

"Yep, thanks, man."

"No prob. James? You too?"

"Sure, thanks. Just cream for me."

"First round of cakes and bacon are ready!" Trixie asked.

"I'm ready!" Ziggy called out. The youngest of the group emerged from his room, his blond hair jutting sharply in all directions, his clothes a rumpled mess.

"Geez, Zig," Pixel cried, looking him up and down. "Did you just wake up?"

"Yep! I smelled bacon. I'd come back from the dead for bacon."

"Looks like you already did," Trixie observed. "Well, you're going to have to wait. Pixel was up first, so the first plate goes to him. Stingy and James get the next two."

"You're only giving Pixel the first plate because he's your boyfriend," Ziggy pouted.

"Executive privilege," Pixel said, sticking his tongue out at Ziggy and sitting down to eat.

"I guess Pinky's sleeping in," Trixie remarked. "I thought for sure she'd be the first one up."

A few minutes later, the front door opened, and Stephanie walked into the kitchen, dressed in yoga pants and a sweatshirt. "Hey everyone! Ooh, Trixie, that smells delicious!"

"Did you go for a run, Steph?" Stingy asked.

"Yep! Jogged along the beach and watched the sun come up." She walked to the fridge and poured herself a glass of juice.

"Wow. And I thought I was up early," Trixie said.

"Just slept kinda lightly," Stephanie said quietly. She flicked her eyes in James' direction very briefly before turning away to drink her juice. Ziggy looked at her suspiciously but said nothing.

"Well, have a seat and I'll make you a plate," Trixie told her.

"Aw, Trix, you shouldn't have done this. You made dinner for us last night!" James told her.

She waved him off. "I don't mind at all. I like to cook. And it usually comes out edible."

Pixel kissed the side of her head. "You're a great cook. You're the only reason I haven't starved to death since I left home."

Stephanie smiled. It looked like Trixie and Pixel had made up. Just then, there was the dull, rattling sound of a phone vibrating. It was the Iphone sitting next to James. He picked it up and swept his finger over the screen to read a text. He smiled, then chuckled as he started to type back a response. Stingy peeked over his shoulder to see what was on the screen, then frowned.

"What part of 'on vacation' does that woman not understand?" Stingy muttered into his coffee cup.

James stared at him. "It's just a text, baby."

"Well, you don't have to read each and every one you get the second after you get it, do you?"

"Don't start this right now, ok? Just let it go."

"I wouldn't have to start anything if certain people would just back off!"

Pixel and Trixie looked at each other knowingly, and then Pixel just shook his head. Stephanie's curiosity was piqued. What was going on between Stingy and James? Whatever it was, it wasn't the first time the issue had come up, based on the others' reactions.

"Steph." Stephanie turned to see Ziggy standing behind her with a concerned look on his face. "Can we talk for a second?"

Before Stephanie could respond, Trixie pushed a plate on pancakes into her hands and said, "Come on, Pinky. Sit down and have some breakfast."

"But, Trixie," Ziggy began, "I wanted to-"

Trixie cut him off. "Just leave her alone and let her eat, will you? You already had six cakes, for God's sake. Leave some for everyone else."

Stephanie gave Ziggy a sympathetic look, but she relented and sat at the counter to eat. By now Stingy was finished eating and stiffly put his dishes in the dishwasher with a scowl on his face, while James rolled his eyes and left the room.

"So what is everyone doing today?" Stephanie asked between forkfuls of pancake.

"I wanted to go to the pier and do some fishing," Pixel answered. "Stingy, are you and James coming?"

Stingy didn't answer. He was methodically scrubbing the pan Trixie had made the pancakes in, mercilessly scouring the metal as though it were covered in slime.

"Stingy?" Pixel prodded gently.

"What?"

"Are you and James going fishing with me?"

Stingy glumly finished washing the pot and dumped it in the drying rack. "Yeah, I'll come. Can't guarantee anything for James. He's probably too busy looking at his phone."

Stephanie looked at Trixie questioningly. Trixie moved her eyes toward the floor, indicating that she'd tell her later, when they were alone.

"How about you, babe?" Pixel asked Trixie.

"Meh. Sitting out there all day sounds boring. I was thinking of going parasailing! Pinky, you wanna come?"

"Oh sure! I've always wanted to try it. Ziggy, do you want to come along?"

The blond boy's face lit up. "Sure!"

And so their plans were set. Pixel and Stingy packed up their gear and got ready to head out. James emerged from his room just in time to decide to go with them to the pier. Stingy didn't appear to object to his coming, but at the same time, he made a point of nearly ignoring his boyfriend and hanging closely with Pixel. Trixie noticed this as they were leaving and grimaced slightly, pitying her poor boyfriend who would be caught in the middle of the spat.

"I need to move my stuff back upstairs," she told Stephanie. "Come on and help me with it. Ziggy, we'll be ready soon. Clean yourself up in the meantime, will ya?"

Ziggy looked down at his disheveled clothes. "I look fine!"

"Yeah, if you were going to wrestle alligators, sure. Just go put on some deodorant and a new shirt, and run a comb through that rats nest, ok?"

Ziggy sighed, accustomed to Trixie's bossy but honest ways. "I'll go now," he relented.

"So, um…what happened with you and Pixel last night – if you don't mind me asking?" Stephanie began as they packed up Trixie's things and got ready to move them back to the second floor.

Trixie hesitated for a few seconds, but finally relayed the events that happened between them the night before, about Pixel's discomfort with the things Trixie had said and Trixie's accusation that Pixel had a thing for Stephanie.

"Me?" Stephanie exclaimed. "Oh, Trixie, you can't possibly think that I…"

"Not you, I know that. Of course. You always set your sights a little…higher in the sky," Trixie looked up at the ceiling with a smirk. "But Pixel! Geez! Don't you remember how he used to get all tongue-tied and moony around you? Used to irritate the shit outta me." She tossed her brush and cosmetics into a clear plastic bag. Stephanie frowned and looked away, but said nothing.

"Anyway, though: it doesn't matter now, if you think about it. Me and Pixel ended up together, and we're happy."

"That's true!"

"I just wish he hadn't dragged Graduation Day into it. That was a low blow, in my opinion."

Stephanie stopped packing the bag in her arms and sat down on the bed. "What happened on Graduation Day?"

"Oh…hell, I don't know. It was a really stressful day for me. All my relatives coming into town at once – the cheek pinching, back slapping, the same questions being asked over and over again—'What are you doing this summer, dear?' 'What school are you going to, dear?' 'Oh my, that's so far away! Whatever will your poor parents do with you gone?' 'What are you going to study?' Along with the inevitable, 'So…what is that exactly? You're going to draw pictures? I didn't know you needed a college education for that.' And then, of course, I got the big guilt trip from my mother, 'cuz she didn't approve of me and Pixel living together 'in sin'. Every time I talked about him, she'd give me this cold, disapproving look that made me feel sick inside. And then when I tried to talk to my teachers about all my anxiety about leaving Lazytown and High School, I got this attitude like, 'We did our jobs, you're doing what you're supposed to do, leave us alone.' So, it was all that stuff just building to this one day. And I just snapped, you know? Once all the ceremonies were over, I blew it all off. Ziggy's folks had the graduation party for me and Pixel and the rest of the kids in our class, since Ziggy wasn't graduating and they didn't have as much on their plates. So I got into Ziggy's dad's cooler, got a beer or two, and drank them down. The kids home from college also snuck in vodka and rum, and I took some shots with them too. It made me feel better; my head felt floaty, I barely noticed my mom and my relatives hovering around me, it was great. But then I noticed that I was alone. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Even the kids who'd snuck the hooch in were having their drinks in their own little group and were enjoying it. No one was miserable like I was."

Stephanie nodded. She knew what that felt like. She'd felt that just a few days ago, at her welcome home party. Everyone seemed to belong there except for her. "Well, where was Pixel?"

Trixie smiled joylessly. "For his senior project he'd developed this sensor that allowed you to scan produce at the market to determine the levels of sugar present in the interior. That way you know how fresh and delicious each piece is before you buy it. Naturally it was a big deal, and Pixel couldn't shut up about it. Every person he could find got his story about how it had just come to him in a dream one night, and that he couldn't wait to show up all those guys at the Technopolis expo that summer. You've heard of football widows, right? Well, I'm a tech widow. Any time there's a new gadget that he's found or created, nothing else exists for him."

"Oh, Trix."

"No, no. Don't feel bad. I knew all this about him from the beginning, and it's fine. So I was on my own, just feeling out of place, so I grabbed a bottle of Grey Goose from one of the college guys when he wasn't looking, and I walked out to the woods behind Ziggy's house. I sat on the stump of one of an old tree they'd cut down a couple weeks earlier and opened the bottle and was about to down the whole thing. And then I heard that old familiar whooshing noise, and then before I could blink, there was Sportacus, standing in front of me with his arms crossed.

'Trixie,' he told me, 'What are you doing out here by yourself?' I held up the bottle and laughed. 'I'm celebrating, don't you know?'

'What's wrong, Trixie? This isn't like you!'

I laughed again, and was about to take a swig out of the bottle when there was a blue blur in front of my face, and before I knew it, the Grey Goose was in Sportacus' hand and he was turning it upside down and pouring it onto the ground. I just sat there with my mouth open and watched the vodka spill into the dirt and turn it to mud. 'Well, that was rude,' I told him.

'I'm not going to let you hurt yourself,' he told me. 'Now tell me what's wrong.'

I just scoffed at him. This was a man I'd never seen hurt, like really hurt, in any real way. 'You wouldn't understand.' 'Try me,' he said.

I probably rolled my eyes or something, and said, 'Nothing's wrong – not really. I just need to get through today and I'll be fine.'

'What's wrong with today? It's a big accomplishment! You've been working hard to get to this point. I'm so proud of you!' And I could see that Sportacus really was proud of me. His eyes glimmered with concern and happiness for me. And for a second, I felt better. And then I felt shittier than before, because it made me think that, once more, I'd screwed something up. That I was wasting all this wonderful caring by being depressed."

"Huh," Stephanie uttered.

"What?"

"Just funny," Stephanie replied, although she didn't smile or laugh. "I thought I was the only one who Sportacus could make feel that way."

Trixie patted her hand. "Nope, nope, nope. He's hard to live up to, most definitely."

Stephanie did smile at that. "So go on. What happened?"

Trixie swallowed. "I'm not proud of what happened next. I told him everything. About how stifling my family was, about how I was second-guessing my choice of major, about my anxieties of leaving home, about how Pixel made me feel inadequate when he got really invested in one of his projects. And then I took a breath, and I prepared myself for some corny speech laced with saccharin, about how staying positive and believing in myself was the key. But Sportacus didn't do that. He sat down next to me, sighed, and said, 'Trixie, what you need to remember is, that this is one of the defining moments of your life. There are people who aren't going to understand your passion and your work, who aren't going to approve of your choices, who are going to take you for granted sometimes. You can't please everyone—not even yourself! It's okay to feel lost. What's not okay, is turning those feelings on yourself and hurting yourself. You understand?'

'Yeah, I do,' I'd said in a quiet voice. And then I turned and looked at him, and he was looking at me with just the kindest eyes I'd ever seen, and he was just so gorgeous and he smelled like fresh air and sunshine. And before I realized what I'd done, I leaned forward and kissed him."

Stephanie was sure her heart had stopped beating. "You...kissed…"

Trixie held up her hand. "I regretted it the moment it happened. We both pulled away at the same time, less than a second later. He stood up right away, and I said, 'Sorry, sorry. That was stupid. I'm drunk. Sorry. I didn't mean anything.'

Sportacus just stood there for a while, looking so shocked, even hurt. 'You and Pixel, Trixie!' he said at last, as if I needed reminding, and I said, 'I know. I'm sorry. I love him, really I do. I don't know why I did that. Please, don't go.'

He backed up a few steps and said, 'It's all right, it's fine, mistakes happen. You're an adult now, I have to remember that.'

'I'd actually forgotten—you've known me since I was a little girl in pigtails. I guess that is kinda creepy for you.'

'Yes, I do have to admit,' he said, and he started laughing, and I laughed too. Then I stood up and said, 'Sportacus, thank you. What you said really helped. I'm…still a little buzzed right now, so I can't guarantee I'll remember all of it, but I think it sunk in. I'm lucky to have a friend like you.' I held my arms out to hug him, and for a moment, I figured he wouldn't, thinking that I'd try to kiss him again. But he did hug me—a real-deal hug between friends.

He smiled at me. 'So will you go back to the party now, and try to enjoy yourself?'

'Ha! Yes, I will. I think most of my family will be leaving tomorrow morning. That will help.'

'I offered to fly them back to the mainland in my airship,' he whispered confidentially, and I giggled with joy. 'That's the best graduation present I've gotten yet!' I told him.

As we started back to the party, I mentioned, real casually, 'I'm glad no one saw me…do that thing, you know.'

Sportacus looked uncomfortable, but he smiled and said, 'Yes, that would have been difficult to explain to Pixel.'

'Oh yeah. But…I'm glad Pinky isn't here too.'

And Sportacus stopped in his tracks and looked at me very closely. 'Stephanie? Why?'

'Oh, not that I don't want to see her, of course. I miss her. I mean, I'm glad she didn't see…us, because…well…' and then I started to panic, because I realized what I started. There was still a bit of alcohol in me, you see, and my tongue was kind of loose."

"Oh God," Stephanie cried.

"Yeah. Well, anyway, he was still staring at me, and he wasn't going anywhere, so finally I had to say it. 'Well you see, Sportacus, um…I think Steph has always had a thing for you. You know, she always seemed like your favorite, and…uh…you two used to dance together, and…you know…' and I just trailed off. I thought maybe he'd laugh about it, the way he did when we both admitted that it was weird that he'd known me since I was a kid. But he didn't. He got this sort of, I don't know, sad, thoughtful sort of look on his face. Then he just turned around and started walking. "Are you coming, Trixie?" he asked, and I just mumbled a 'yes.' I just felt so stupid and sloppy, and I had to hope that I didn't look too drunk once I got back to Ziggy's house.

I got back to the party, and Pixel was still gabbing away, but he saw me and motioned me to come over, so I did. I felt kind of exhausted by then, so I was happy to just sit on the steps with him and lean my head on his shoulder while he chatted with anyone who would listen to him talk about his new invention.

I lost track of Sportacus for most of the rest of the party, but I did catch a glimpse of him at one point. He was with some of the other adults who were in a circle talking. He seemed like he wasn't paying attention, like he was lost in his own thoughts. And that's when I started thinking: that even though you were a kid when he knew you, and you were still a kid when you left, maybe there was a part of him that found the idea of you being in love with him kind of…nice."

"Jesus," Stephanie said, as she zipped up the bag she'd packed.

"Steph, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to embarrass you," Trixie insisted. They were lugging the bags back up to the second floor. "That's why I've been trying so hard to get you and Sportacus together. Every time I think back to how dumb I acted, the only thing that makes me feel better is remembering the look on his face. That maybe if you two got together, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing I did."

Stephanie had been steaming with anger up until this point, but when she looked at the forlorn face of her friend, those feelings melted away. She sighed and put an arm around Trixie. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

Trixie shrugged. "It wasn't my best moment."

"It wasn't a horrible thing you did. I'm sure most of the women – and maybe even some of the men – in Lazytown would have loved to drunk-kiss Sportacus." They both laughed at that.

"I think we just have to accept that Sportacus is his own desert island," Stephanie added. "Sure, you can look. You might even be able to visit a little. But there's never going to be enough there to sustain you."

"Maybe he's asexual," Trixie suggested.

"Maybe so. It would definitely make me feel better about myself if he was."

They laughed again, and worked together quickly to get everything settled back into Trixie and Pixel's room. When they were done, Stephanie asked gently, "So…when did you tell Pixel what happened?"

Trixie sighed. "A couple of days later when we were here in Ocean City. He wanted to know why I was so distracted. I kept trying to find excuses, you know, that I had a headache, or that I was tired, or whatever. But then he finally asked me the second night we were here—and he told me he wanted the truth, not an excuse. So I told him."

"How did he take it?"

"Well, he was mad, obviously. He kept asking me to explain how and why it happened, over and over again. He wanted to know how Sportacus reacted, did he seem mad, or freaked out, or did he like it? He wanted to know where he was when this happened. He wanted to know why I drank so much. We hardly slept that night. The more questions I answered, the less satisfied he seemed with my explanation."

"But he forgave you."

"Yes, eventually he did. But it was painful for a while. For, like, a whole week after I told him, he wouldn't look me in the eye. Oh, he talked and laughed and was good to me, but he wouldn't look me in the face. Even when he kissed me he would look away right after. The strange thing was, he didn't treat Sportacus any differently. Pixel was still chummy with him. No awkwardness or anything. Which I guess makes sense. I was the one who started the whole thing."

"So…what made him come around?"

"I don't know. Just time, I guess. One day he just started looking at me again, and we were cool."

Stephanie smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Pixel isn't the type to hold grudges anyway."

"No, he's not. And he was right: I was pushing you because I felt guilty. When did Pixel Jackson get so smart?"

"Ha! He is a technological wizard, you know. That takes smarts."

"Oh, you know what I mean. People stuff. Although, I have to say he might be regretting bringing Stingy and James along with him to fish today."

Stephanie nodded somberly. "Yeah, things seemed a little…tense between those two this morning."

"It's not the first time, and it won't be the last."

"Well, what's going on?"

"Two things. One, Stingy is an incredibly jealous person. We didn't nickname him Stingy for nothing, you know. You remember how he was as a kid? When he got something he wanted, he held onto it with both hands. He gets possessive and defensive, and you know that's a relationship killer."

"Seemed like Stingy had gotten better over the years."

"Oh, he has. He's definitely less of an entitled brat now that he's matured. But old habits die hard, you know what I'm sayin'? Plus James is his first real relationship. Lazytown isn't exactly a mecca of choices when your tastes don't follow the straight and narrow."

Stephanie considered this. For the longest time, Stingy had kept to himself, not really wanting to play with the rest of the group too much out of concern they'd wreck his toys or try to take them from him. She'd never really thought that perhaps his attitude was a defense mechanism to protect him from being hurt.

Trixie interrupted Stephanie's train of thought. "Of course, James isn't helping matters either."

Stephanie felt dread building in her core as her mind returned to the events of the night before. "Why's that?" she asked casually.

"Oh, how do I put this? James is that new term all the kids are using: 'pansexual.' The free spirit, open to trying anything. If he were a girl, he'd be called a whore."

"Ah so."

"Yes. He digs the guys, he digs the gals. He's probably even dug a couple of guys and gals at the same time. Which is fine; not all of us are meant to live a boring vanilla life like Pixel and me. The problem is, he's still friends with all the girls he's loved before, as well as all the guys who traveled in and out of his back door."

"Oh lord, Trixie!"

"I'm just saying. Anyhoo, James likes to keep the body count high, and Stingy hates it. I know some of his flavors of months past are former classmates that he keeps in touch with."

"That's what that whole thing with bringing in James' friends into that design firm he and Stingy want to open was all about last night!"

"Indeedily-doodily. James keeps telling Stingy that he's committed to him only, but when you pair a control freak with a double-dipper, you can't help but wonder how long it will take until there's disaster."

Stephanie nodded reluctantly. Trixie was crass, but she had a point. She wanted to hope that Stingy was overreacting, and that his overreacting wasn't enough to push James away. She had to believe that despite James' attraction to women, he'd never do anything to hurt Stingy.

"Not that I'm hoping for that to happen," Trixie clarified. "I want to see Stingy happy, and for the most part, James does that for him. I just…I don't know. I just hope it works out."

"So do I."

"Well, I'm all settled back in," Trixie said with a smile, as she shut the last dresser drawer. "Are you ready to fly like a bird?"

"I'm ready," Stephanie said, letting go of all of her troubles, at least for a while.