Jupiter paced the length of his bedroom, the phone to his ear. It had been ringing for what seemed like hours and he was getting agitated. "You've reached Niki Graze but I'm not here so ha! Anyway, you know what to do." Jupiter groaned. "Niki, it's Jupiter. Listen, do you have any friends in Las Vegas? I'm planning a trip and I don't want to stay in a hotel. Call me as soon as you can because the trip is kinda urgent." Jupiter ended the call and sat down on his computer chair.

"Jupiter!" his mother called. "What?" he replied. He heard her footsteps on the stairs and then his door opened. "Where were you? Lais told me you guys went downtown?" she asked. Jupiter shrugged. "And what ever happened to that Carmen girl?" Jupiter leaned his head back and sighed. "I went downtown to finish up my good deed for the month," he said. His mother laughed quietly. "Month huh? Well, there must be a million months because you help people a lot. What was wrong with that girl?" she asked.

"She had a fight with her foster mom and she was really distraught, so I went downtown with her to see if she needed my help, Now she's off to…" he paused. "Las Vegas." His mother was silent and he knew that she was probing his thoughts. He spun his chair around so his back was to her. "Jupiter?" she asked warily. "What?" Jupiter asked. "You want to go to Las Vegas don't you?" she asked. Jupiter shrugged. "Let me ask you this, and I don't care the answer, but I have to know: what is this girl to you?"

Jupiter leaned forward in his chair and put his head in his hands. His mother may have said that she didn't care the answer, but it mattered nonetheless. "She's a friend," he said. "Alright, but is she more than that?" his mother asked. Jupiter bit his lip. Yes, he did love Carmen, and even more since he had met her, but he couldn't say it out loud. Saying it out loud would be admitting the one thing he couldn't, the one thing that would get both Carmen and him killed. He couldn't say it out loud, even though it was entirely true.

So he shook his head. "No. She's just a really good friend."