Connor

I grabbed the grocery bag out of my trunk and went into the house. I noticed a car I didn't recognize by the curb but didn't think anything of it. My first thought was maybe my mom had company. Since Cadence was born some of my mom's friends had been coming by to see her. I went to the kitchen and began making dinner. Grant was working later tonight preparing for a trail so I knew my mom would be taking Cadence to have dinner with him. That meant a special dinner for me and Jude.

It was Saturday and I knew he would be over as soon as he showered after community service leaving us about an hour and a half alone before his eight o'clock curfew. As I started to brown the meat for tacos I thought about how much I hated that damn curfew, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. It was a real pain in the ass because if he hadn't gotten himself on probation his curfew issued by his moms was eleven on weekends.

I got out the knife and cutting board and started to cut up the tomatoes. My mind wondered to what we were going to do after dinner. An hour and a half wasn't a lot of time to do much besides make out or play some video games. We had both been so busy we hadn't had sex since Jude's birthday almost a month ago. I got a job waiting tables to pay for Jude's Christmas present and trying to work and stay ahead in school was proving to be challenging for me. I was always a good student but my mom told me if my grades slipped I had to quit the job. And I had to admit having my own money to pay for things I wanted was great. I was excited though that school would be out soon for Christmas break and I would have more time to spend with Jude.

"Oh you're home," I heard from behind me.

I jumped and nicked my finger with the knife. Blood spilled out of the cut and I grabbed the nearest thing to wrap around my finger which happen to be one of my mom's good kitchen towels. I held it around my finger putting pressure on it as I turned around to see Daria standing behind me. What the fuck was she doing here? It's not like we were exactly friends. I guess you could call us acquaintances. We only hung out because Jude and Taylor were friends and she was always around too. I hated having my ex-girlfriend around so much, but I did like Taylor so tolerated her.

"I just put Cadence down," she said, not realizing I was hurt.

I nodded. My finger hurt like hell and I was trying to fight back tears. She looked down then at my hand and saw the blood now dripping on the floor. It just would stop. She went to the stove and removed the pan from the burner then came over to me. I let her remove the towel and put my hand under the water. She examined it for a few minutes as the water washed away the blood.

"That's gonna need stitches Connor," she said.

I just stared at her. "What the hell are you doing here?"

I hated that it had come out of my mouth the way it did. I sounded like I was mad at her for some reason and I had no reason to be mad at her. She was trying to help me. I took a deep breath and sighed. I just needed to be grateful and let it go.

"Your mom had some errands to run and called me to babysit since you weren't here," she said.

"Oh," I replied.

She was so close to me I could smell her perfume clearly. She looked into my eyes. I wanted to look away but I couldn't. It all happen like in the movies in what seemed like slow motion. Our lips touched and I instantly regretted it. it just felt so familiar to kiss her even though it had been four years since we last kissed. She touched my hand and I pulled away as I thought about the ring on my finger and the promise I had made to Jude. I immediately felt guilty. I had just tainted the whole purpose of the ring in the first place.

I looked down at the ring and tried to rationalize it. It was just a kiss after all and that wasn't cheating right? I thought about how I had felt when I saw Jude and Tripp kissing at my dad's wedding. The jealousy and rage had been so real for me. I had wanted to kill Tripp but I had also been mad at Jude for kissing him back. Then the thought of now we're even ran through my mind.

"I'll go check on Cadence one more time before I go," Daria said as she left the kitchen.

I stood there dumbfounded staring after her. With the back of my hand I tried to wipe off her lip gloss form my lips. I couldn't tell Jude I had kissed her. He never had to find out she was even here in the first place. I wondered if the guilt would eat at me though if I didn't confess. I was standing there having this inner debate with myself on whether to tell him or not when he came into the kitchen.

He came over to where I was standing and saw my finger. It wasn't bleeding anymore but I knew I needed to go to the ER. The thing was though that would mean sacrificing the time I had with him. He looked up at me and I wondered if he could see what just happened in my eyes. Could he see my guilt in my eyes? I opened my mouth to say something but kissed him instead.

He pulled away quickly with a puzzled look on his face. I didn't know what was wrong but something was definitely wrong. Panic rose in my chest as he looked at me. I tried to gage what was going through his mind but I couldn't read him. Not being able to read Jude was a first for me. I usually knew what he was thinking before he even thought it.

"Why do you taste like cherry lip gloss?" he asked.

Shit! I was busted was all I could think. I had to just come clean. I had to confess and beg him for his forgiveness for kissing her. it had taken me by surprise and felt so good. Fuck, no I couldn't say that to him. I couldn't say anything. I just couldn't form the words to make it right.

"Cadence still sleeping I'm gonna go now," Daria said as she came back to the kitchen.

"Oh hi Jude," she said when she noticed him standing there.

I watched Jude as he looked from me to Daria and then back to me. I saw the realization and then the hurt in his eyes. He had figured it out without me having to tell him. I wanted to say I was sorry but his hand made contact with my face. He slapped me so hard my head jerked sideways. My cheek stung so back like it was on fire. Tears formed in my eyes and I didn't try to hold them back this time. Then Jude did something that broke my heart. He took off his ring and sat it on the counter beside me. I could literally fill my heart break as I stared at the ring.

I looked up at him and he walked over to Daria. She looked down like she felt guilty too. When she had found out why I broke up with her so had been so supportive. I hated putting her in this position.

"You better be glad you're a fucking girl because if you were a guy I'd break your fucking nose!" Jude yelled.

I watched him as he turned on his heels and walked out of the kitchen. A few seconds later I heard the door slam and my already broken heart shatter in my chest.

A/N: Well that just happened. Now Jude knows how Connor felt when he kissed Tripp. What stings even more though is it was Daria Connor kissed. The question is: Is it considered cheating? It was just a kiss right? It's a matter of opinion right? What will Connor do to when Jude back? How will Jude handle the fact Connor kissed Daria?