I'm glad you liked the flashback. Yeah, it will take a while for things to go back to normal with Nick still on the loose. Jason cutting off Katie was definitely a long way coming. You thought Nick was going to let Jay and Aiden paint him as the bad guy? And well, Patty's got a few things coming to her as well ;)

Rose's POV

"You sure you want to do this, Rose?" Ace asks.

"I need answers from her. It seems whatever went down between her and my family is affecting them badly. Everyone's giving me the silent treatment. I have a feeling she knows more than she lets on."

"Well, something about her story seems off. If she had you at 18 and lost you when you were three, and Ava said she met you when she was three, then that would make her 21 when it happened. But then she said she graduated college and married your dad. Your dad adopted you around the same time your mother lost you, so…"

"My gosh! You're right, Ace!" I gasp after I realized the holes in my mother's story. "We need to get to the clinic right away!"

So Ace drives me to the clinic in ten minutes.

"We need to see Dr. Ramona Brinkwater," Ace states. The receptionist looks at the two of us.

"She goes by Dr. Garcia now, and she's with a patient. Do either of you have an appointment?"

"No, but I'm her daughter."

Now she's narrowing her eyes at us. Uh oh.

"Nice try. Dr. Garcia doesn't look a day over 30 and I've heard she lost her toddler years ago in a car accident."

"B-but I really am her-"

"You can sit your asses down and wait or I'll have security escort you out."

So we roll our eyes and sit down. I rest my head on Ace's shoulder and sigh heavily.

"Escort you out," Ace snorts. "Was that lady born in the 70s?"

"Why would my mother tell people I died in a car accident?" I ask sadly.

"No one wants to show off the skeletons in their closet. She knows what could happen if they knew the truth about you."

"But Ace...she lied about me...about our whole family and just...put everything behind her like it didn't matter anymore...like we didn't matter to her."

I lower my head so Ace can't see the tears welling up in my eyes. He reaches over and drapes one arm over my shoulder, pulling me close.

"I wish there was something I could do…"

"I need information on her, Ace. I've at least got to sort this mess out before I go off to college in 8 months."

"Rosie...it's ok."

He holds me as we sit in silence for what seems like ages. Finally, the door opens.

"Ms. Garcia will see you now," the receptionist says. We get up and head into the examiners room. My mom, er, Ramona looks up and beckons the two of us into her private office. Ace lingers in the doorway.

"Your friend can come too," she says.

"He's my boyfriend actually," I mumble. She blushes.

"Apologies, I uh...kinda forgot how much you'd grown since I last saw you."

"Yeah, the last time you saw me I was the size of a pillow and had ribbons in my hair," I say, trying not to sound offensive.

"Yes…"

"We need to talk? Why did you tell people you had a miscarriage? That I wasn't your daughter?"

She looks away from me.

"I may have lied to your friend Ava about when I had you, but the rest is true. You have to believe me."

"I have to?" I challenge skeptically.

"I don't think I like your tone, Rose," she says sternly.

"And I don't like being lied to. Tell me, Ramona. Was I just the product of a one night stand gone wrong? Then you realized you couldn't deal with the consequences of having a child tag along on your social life so you dumped me and cooked up some bulsjit excuse to get me to feel bad for you?"

"Rosemary, if you don't watch that mouth of yours, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Then tell me what happened? Why did you leave?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the time to answer that," she says, shuffling a bunch of papers. "Another patient is waiting for me."

"Wait, co-"

"I think the two of you can see yourselves out," she says briskly, before walking out herself. I sigh in disappointment.

"Well that was a bust," I groan. "She only admitted to lying about the time range."

"Do you think she still has a file on you?" Ace asks.

"If she did, it probably wouldn't be here where someone can easily access it."

"True, true. But she has to have some proof of your birth, right?"

"They could be wherever she's living right now. But after how I just treated her, I doubt she's gonna invite us for tea anytime soon."

Ace places his hand on my shoulder.

"Rosie, I get it. You're frustrated as hell, and you're right to be that way. But we need to get on her good side so we can find the truth."

"And, how are we going to do that?"

"This may be an...underhanded tactic. Then again, your mother withholding your history from you is pretty underhanded. I'm thinking...maybe make her feel guilty?"

"Ace...are you ask me to guilt trip her?"

"It might be our only option if all she's going to tell us is how 'bad' she feels about this whole mess."

"But Ace, I don't know how to fake cry. It's not in my nature to manipulate someone like that, especially someone who's supposed to be family."

"Rose, your so called family has been lying to you for years," he says, looking away from me. "If they can't even trust you, how can you trust them?"

"Because my parents aren't yours, Ace," I say and almost instantly regret it. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, you're right. It's hard to have a good perception of parents when you live with the ones who tormented you for years," he mutters.

"I know, but haven't they promised that they'd lay off you?" I ask.

"My dad slips up now and then, but I manage to get away in time. Sometimes."

"Oh…"

"Let's not worry about my parents. You want to know why there's history between your parents and brother, and she's the only one who knows what really have to. You'll probably have to butter her up and lay on the guilt to get her to crack."

"And you know this, how?"

"I have my ways."

Jason's POV

My stomach's constantly churning as I approach the auditorium. Please don't let Nick be there. To my surprise, the rest of the glee club is already in there practicing...without me. Unfortunately, Nick and Katie are there as well.

"Hey guys," I say nervously. Everyone looks up at me. Some have confusion in their eyes, others...disgust?

"What are you doing here, Jason?" Nick asks, an unnerving glint in his eyes. "I thought you quit. I heard you couldn't handle the pressure anymore."

"I never said that," I retort. "I said I didn't want to see you or Katie in my glee club anymore."

"We aren't," Katie says with a smirk. "This is our glee club, now."

"What the hell do you mean?" I demand.

"Well, Katie told everyone you quit and were going to disband glee club, so we decided to make our own and told everyone who still wanted to be part of it to join us," Nick explains smugly. "We told them how you were too rattled by what happened yesterday to focus."

"But that's because-"

"Someone attacked you. Luckily I was there before you were seriously hurt."

"Yeah, lucky you were there to try to ra-"

"Jace. I mean this in the nicest way, but you should probably watch what you say around here," he says, putting a hand on my shoulder. I detect a threat in his tone. "With this criminal still on the loose at the school, you wouldn't want to upset him and make him retaliate again."

"Is that a threat?" I challenge.

"No threats, Jason. Just a warning. I'd hate it if something bad happened to you because you got reckless. You have a habit of doing that."

The dangerous look in his eyes tells me I better keep my mouth shut.

"Y-you're right," I stammer, looking at the ground. "I should be more careful."

"Great, great. So I'll pick you up at 7?"

"W-what?!"

"Jace," he pouts. "You didn't forget you promised me a date tonight, did you?"

"A-as much as I'd love to go on a date with you, I-I have to take a rain check on that," I mutter. Did he seriously try to coerce me into a date after what he did? Nick narrows his eyes at me, but covers it up with a smile. A shiver runs down my spine.

"That's too bad, Jason. Maybe I'll stop by your place later instead for a bit," he says. All the blood drains from my face. I hope he doesn't follow me home.

"Y-yeah, cool," I cough. Somehow, I manage to move my numb legs out of the auditorium. I needed to find Aiden. Yes, it was the middle of the day, but I could not spend another minute here with Nick practically breathing down my neck.

He had to be in the music room. I can't believe Professor Edwin is still making him clean the music room even though he's not even the one who trashed it. I bust through the doors, making Aiden jump.

"Jason! What's wrong?" he asks with panic in his voice. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I just need to go home. Now."

"Oh my god, did he touch you?"

"No! Just let me borrow your keys!"

"Only if you tell me what the problem is. I'm worried about your health, Jason."

"I don't want to discuss it," I say.

"We talked about this, remember? You said you'd listen to me more. So I need you to listen to me now."

"So you just expect me to spill my guts whenever you feel like it?" I retort.

"Please don't try to start another fight with me, Jay," he says, his fists clenching. He jams his hand in his pocket and gives me the keys. "It's not worth my time anymore."

With that, he turns his back on me and doesn't say a word. I rush out of the school, not looking back. I don't even stop until I'm right in front of the house door. I hurriedly jam the keys into the locks and go in and lock the door again. Then, I catch my breath. My heart is pounding out of my chest. Just to be sure, I lock all the doors and close all the windows. Then that ugly voice in my head starts to bother me.

You're so damn paranoid, Jason.

With good reason! Nick's still stalking me, and with the whole school thinking he's some hero, there's nothing to stop him!

Maybe you should be happy about all this attention he's giving you.

Happy?! Are you nuts?! Nick's a psycho!

You can't deny you must have tempted him somehow. All those provocative dances you do during your performances, the way you sway your hips...freaking slut. No wonder Nick wanted a piece of that.

I didn't ask to be stalked and assaulted!

Sure, you didn't ask for it verbally, but you didn't fight Nick enough when he made advances on you.

I was paralyzed with fear...he could've hurt me.

Who's fault was that?

...mine.

I stay under my blankets until I hear Aiden come home. He knocks on my door.

"Jason? Can I come in?" his voice is firm, making it sound more like a command than a question.

"Sure." I say. He walks in and sits on the edge of my bed.

"You got something you want to tell me, Jay?" he asks softly. I groan and hide my head under the blankets.

"Uuuuugh!"

"This is not helping your case, Jason. I want to help you feel better."

"Gee, you're doing a great job of that barging in and demanding that I talk. Damn, are you always this annoying?"

"Why does everything with you have to be a struggle? I thought talking out our problems would improve our relationship, but all it seems to be doing is making things worse!"

"Well if I'm just making things worse, then why don't you just leave?" I say, stomping up and yanking open the door. Ooh, I have a major headache now and he's not making it any better. A hurt expression crosses Aiden's face.

"Maybe I will!"

He scowls and stalks out, slamming the door. A picture on the wall wobbles and crashes to the ground, shattering instantly. I ignore it.

"You know, for someone who claims, he knows how to help people, you're not pretty fucking helpful!"

He yells something, but he's too far away from the door for me to hear it.

"What!?"

"I said, how long are you going to keep pushing everyone away, Jason? How… *sniff* how long?"

There's a hint of sadness mixed with anger in his voice. That's the last I hear of him until dinner. When I get to the table, his parents are there. Aiden isn't.

"I wonder what's taking Aiden so long," his father says.

"I bet he's probably been hit with a creative streak," his mother chuckles. "I'll go get him from his room."

An uneasy feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. Our argument did not go well. Aiden's mother rushes back downstairs, a worried expression on her face.

"Where is he?" his dad asks.

"He's not in his room or the bathroom. He's not even in the study or the foyer," she says sadly. Someone's phone rings. Mrs. Zhou immediately picks it up. I hold my breath, assuming the worst. "Hello? Aiden, where are you? It's 7 p.m.! You're going to have to leave your school friends 'cause it's a school night...wait, what's wrong? Precious, I can't understand you….you're where?! Aiden Zhou, are you crazy?!...I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding...oh...are you sure?...well, just make sure you continue to go to school...Bye, precious."

"What happened?" I dare to ask.

"Aiden left early this evening. He's very upset about something. He wouldn't tell me what."

"Where is he?"

"He told me not to tell you or else you'd go looking for him. He said he needed a place to clear his head for a while. He's not sure when he'll come back home."

I inhale sharply. The last time Aiden left home was last year, when things were bad with his mother and his abusive ex.

"Jason?" Mr. Zhou says. "Is something wrong?"

"Do you know what's wrong with Aiden?" His mother asks.

"We...we had an argument earlier," I admit.

"What about?"

"I thought he was being too overprotective of me and lashed out at him."

"Is something going on at school that the two of you aren't telling me about?"

"We...I can handle it. It's just some idiot at school," I lie. "May I be excused?"

"But you've barely touched your food, Jason," she says, pressing a hand to my forehead. "I hope you're not sick."

"Nope. I've never felt better," I say before rushing upstairs into Aiden's room. Some of his drawers were open and clothes strewn on the floor. I search for any clue that would tell me where he went. Nothing.

I head back to my room. The fallen picture was still on the floor. I pick it up and nearly start bawling. It's the picture frame he gave me on our anniversary, the inscription still somewhat legible. He has his arms thrown around me and happily kissing me on the cheek. I'm so happy to have this wonderful, handsome man in my life. He was happy. We were happy. I root through the closet until I pull out the red jacket he got me and hold it close to my chest.

Minutes later, I'm outside at night in that jacket, calling Aiden's name until my voice goes hoarse. I sigh heavily. I wasn't going to find him tonight. I turn to head home when someone grabs my wrist and twists it behind my back.

"Finally," the husky voice chuckles.

"I don't have any money!" I exclaim. The voice laughs again.

"I don't want your money, Jace," he says, and my face goes white. "We both know I want you."

"HEL-" Nick covers my mouth before I can scream.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warns menacingly. "Have you forgotten I used to be a wrestler? Too bad Zhou isn't here to save you now."

He slowly removes his hand from my mouth, his other hand still holding my wrist.

"H-how did you find me?" I ask.

"It's not hard to track a boy screaming the name of his ex-boyfriend in the dead of night."

"He's not my ex-boyfriend! It's complicated…"

All of my hair is standing on end with the way his body is so close behind mine.

"Well, allow me to uncomplicate things…"

I feel his hand slide down my waist and under my shirt. At this, I jerk my body from his grasp, screaming as loud as I possibly could.

"No, no, no, no!" I yell. I was definitely getting people's attention. House lights came on. Dogs started barking. Nick glares at me, but does nothing.

"This isn't over, Parker," he snarls. "One way or another, you'll be mine."

With one last withering glance in my direction, he takes off. I run the opposite way, not stopping until I was behind the door and locked it. I stowed away in my room for the rest of the night, clutching my jacket and sobbing into my pillow.

Aiden's POV

"I'm quite surprised you decided to come here after all," my uncle jokes as he opens the door. "I thought you said you hated my new music shop."

"I said it wasn't the same as the old one, Shūshu," I say quietly. My uncle takes in my expression.

"You don't look happy, wǒ de xiǎo gāngqín jiā. (my little pianist) What's the matter?"

"It's about Jason…"

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No! It's just...I'm worried about him. There's a guy at our school that's been harassing her. Er, him. Once he almost…"

He understands what I'm trying to say and pats my head in consolation.

"Aiden, it's not your fault. He escaped, didn't he?"

"But only because I happened to be at the right place at the right time. Had I been a few minutes late… ugh, that bastard!"

I clench my fists at the thought of Nick trying to hurt him. My blue eyed freckled prince. Yes, I was very mad at him, but he doesn't deserve this treatment. No one does.

"Sweet child, your heart bleeds for him, doesn't it?"

"Yes. I know he's hurting...but he didn't have to say those things to me," I mumble, still reeling from Jay's harsh words. "That's why I had to leave before either one of us would say something we wouldn't be able to take back. I'm not going to talk to him until...until my birthday I guess. I'll be turning 18."

"That's in less than two weeks, child. Are you sure you don't need more time?"

"I survived years without Jason in my life. This is nothing," I assert.

"But you'll still see him at school, won't you?"

"I'll get my friends to talk to him. Shūshu, I don't know what to do anymore. I just feel so useless in relationships. Every person I dated, every time...it ends in disaster. I'm starting to think that maybe it's not them, it's me."

"Don't say that, Aiden. I know you're a wonderful boyfriend. I remember how happy Jason was when I met him."

"Yeah, he kissed me in the snow...he knew who I was before I knew who he was...he was going to hide that from me...just like everything else he hides from me. It's like every time I manage to get him to lower his walls a little, he'd raise them up even higher. I need him...and I'd like him to need me too."

"Well, there's a saying that sometimes two people need to fall apart before they can fall together."

"Shūshu, I'm not in the mood for a lecture."

"Ok, ok. Just put your bag down in the back and we can have takeout."

I put my hand to my chest in mock horror.

"Shūshu, eating commercial takeout would dishonor our Chinese ancestors," I gasp, pretending to fall over.

"At least you're not sad anymore," he chuckles, ruffling my hair. I sigh once he's out of the room. I had a long two weeks ahead of me…

Ava's POV

"What are you going to name your kids?" Uma asks, rubbing my belly. It's lunch time at school and the twins seem to think that it's recess and the playground is my belly.

"I don't know...I'd never thought I'd have to choose so soon."

She kisses my cheek.

"I'm gonna be with you the whole way," she says softly. She gently presses her lips to mine, cupping my cheeks.

"I don't even know how she can stand to be with her," I hear someone right behind us sneer. I don't even have to turn around to know that it's Patty and her group of friends.

"Don't you have anything better to do with your life, Patty?" I snap.

"I know your little girlfriend can do better, Avie," she teases.

"You leave Ava alone," Uma pipes up.

"Or, what, Nicole?" Patty demands, getting real close to us and out of earshot of her friends. "Because if I remember correctly, you two don't get to tell me what to do."

"Why do you hate Ava so much?" Uma asks.

"That bitch had the nerve to punch me in the face!"

"You deserved it for being a pain in the ass," I hiss.

"Oh, yeah? Well, you're-"

She stops abruptly, clutching her stomach. She puts a hand over her mouth, her face green. She runs off in the direction of the bathroom. Her posee follows after her.

"I wonder how long before they realize that she's getting sick for a reason," I comment.

"Avie, what are we going to do? Patty could ruin us!"

"Then we'll ruin her. Find something something about her that's so horrible that she'll have to back off."

"But how are we gonna do that?"

"Hey guys, have you seen Aiden anywhere?" Jason asks, walking up to us. Now that, is the voice of a rattled boy. I wonder what's freaking him out. We haven't really hung out often. Uma and I share a look.

"We don't know," I lie. "Dude, are you ok, though?"

"I-I'm fine," he stammers, pulling his jacket even closer to his body. "Just had a rough night. I gotta go…"

He speedwalks past us.

"What's up with him?" Uma asks sadly.

"I don't know. I haven't heard from Rose or Ace either. I'm sure we'll find out during the lock-in in a few weeks."

"Ooh, a lock-in! I can't wait!" Uma giggles, her hair bouncing as she claps excitedly.

"I can't wait until we take Patty down," I say.