AN: Hello, my lovelies! Long time, no write! I'm sorry for the months without an update. I was actually planning on abandoning this story but a certain review pushed me forward. I've never felt such gratitude from a reader before. I was going to write them back but they were using a guest account. So "TestSubject 1498", if you're reading this, get an account and contact me again. I want to see some of that fan art. ^.^

It's a good thing that TestSubject 1498 inspired me again because I had some intense stuff planned ahead for this story. There may even be a death. Who knows? (I do.) Keep in mind, though, that it might take a while to pump out chapters. I'm working a lot to pay rent and save up for a fursuit.

Now on with the chapter!

Doug looked out the window as his parents tried to speak to him. He couldn't believe that his dad had brought his mom after all. He was so furious that he didn't even want to look at them.

As he stared outside, he spotted a familiar face across the street. Annie was walking down the sidewalk opposite of the diner. She was wearing a denim jacket and a long, blue skirt that flowed around her ankles. Doug watched her, thinking that she was heading for the diner to see him. However, she didn't make any move to cross the street. She just passed it like she was a real person. What really shocked Doug, though, was when another woman stopped Annie to talk to her.

How is this possible? he wondered. This shouldn't be possible. Why can somebody else see her? Am I imagining more people?

He got up from the table, ignoring his parents, and hurried outside. Annie was just saying goodbye to the other woman as he got to her. She turned to him with a startled look.

"A…Annie," he panted.

"Um, I'm sorry, sir," she said, "but you have me mistaken for somebody else." Her voice was strong and unintentionally stern.

Doug stared at her in confusion, not sure what to do. How could this not be Annie? She had the same long, dark, curly hair; the same creamy skin with pink cheeks; the same beautiful, curvy body.

The Annie look-alike gave him a look of pity. "She must be important to you, huh? This Annie."

"Huh? Oh. Yeah," Doug said. He looked down, feeling dejected.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," she said. "My name is Leah, by the way."

"I'm Doug," he mumbled.

"I need to get going right now," Leah said, "but maybe we can have coffee some time. I feel bad about the mix up and that's not the kind of impression that I want to leave on a person. I'm new to this town anyway so maybe you could show me where I need to go. I'm kind of here on business."

"Uh, yeah," Doug said. "I'll probably be going to this diner regularly again. I mean, since it reopened."

"Right," Leah said, noticing his awkwardness. She titled her head slightly and smiled. "I'm serious about the coffee, you know. See you around, Doug."

Doug watched her walk away until she was out of sight. He turned and looked back at his parents through the window where they sat looking at him with confusion. After this embarrassment, he didn't want to go back to that disappointment. He turned around and ran toward the apartments.


When he got back to the apartment, Valentine was sitting in her chair and drinking coffee. She seemed surprised by his sudden arrival.

"I'm guessing brunch didn't go well with your dad," she said.

"How did you guess?"

"You were only gone for twenty minutes."

"Oh."

Doug sat down on the couch and sighed.

"You wanna talk about it?" Valentine asked.

"He invited my mom," Doug said, resting his head back and staring at the ceiling. "Even after I told him that I didn't want to see her."

"Yeah, Spencer told me about her addiction," Valentine said. "And I assume he told you about our Uncle Phil."

"He did," Doug said. "I don't know what to think of him anymore."

"Please don't think any less of him," Valentine said. "And don't think less of your mom. Did you ever ask her why she started doing heroin in the first place?"

Doug looked at her with an appalled expression. "No," he said. "It doesn't matter to me why she started. She shouldn't have started at all. She was a mother."

"Okay, I don't want to argue," Valentine said, waving her hand in a dismissive way. "I can tell that you feel very strongly about this."

Wheatley suddenly came through the sliding door, looking worried and even a little scared.

"How was your walk, Wheatley?" Valentine asked.

"It was fine," Wheatley said, looking at his shoes. He sat down on the couch next to Doug but didn't say any more. Doug didn't like how quiet his comrade was.

"Everything alright?" Doug asked cautiously.

"Hm?" Wheatley asked as he was jerked from his thoughts. "Oh, yeah. I ran into Chell earlier. We saw you at the diner with your parents."

"Is that all that happened?" Doug asked. He was starting to feel suspicious now.

"Um, no," Wheatley said. His hands were resting on his knees, and they clenched a bit as he hesitated. "Chell invited me to her apartment. It was…interesting."

He fell silent again. This was really starting to get on Doug's nerves.

"What's wrong, Wheatley?" he asked directly.

"I feel…I don't know—strange around Chell suddenly," Wheatley said. "My stomach feels weightless sometimes when I'm around her. Especially when she smiles. And I just feel like more of an idiot than usual."

Doug knew what Wheatley was talking about, and it made him furious. He could even feel his face flushing.

"You're in love, you moron," Doug grumbled.

"What?! Love?! No way!" Wheatley said, shaking his head vigorously. "No! I'm in love with Nora!"

"Well, apparently you're in love with Chell now, too," Doug said. "Nora's going to be heartbroken if she finds out about this."

"You can not tell her!" Wheatley said, suddenly grabbing Doug by the collar. "When we find her again in Aperture, you have to keep your mouth shut! Please, Doug! I-I don't want her to have any more reason to hate me!"

"I don't know if I can just keep it from her," Doug said. "She's my friend and she has the right to know. And besides, if you don't do something about this and you're still in love with Chell when we bring Nora back to town, she'll end up finding out."

"What do I do?!" Wheatley asked, letting go of Doug's shirt. "I need your help, Doug! Please! For Nora's sake! I don't want to hurt her feelings again!"

"How the hell am I supposed to know what you should do?!" Doug yelled at him. "I barely know how to handle my own emotions—"

He quickly shut his mouth and looked down. He could feel Valentine's eyes on him.

"Oh god!" Wheatley said, burying his face in his hands. "What have I gotten myself into?! I knew that no good would come out of being human! I just knew it!"

"Wheatley, calm down," Valentine said. "You shouldn't feel bad about this. You should never feel guilty about loving someone."

"But I'm supposed to love Nora!" Wheatley protested.

"And you do, don't you?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"Then don't worry about it," Valentine said. "You just have a crush on Chell. It might not even last. It's only natural that these feelings would be overwhelming you since you're not used to them."

"I just—I-I don't want to mess anything up," Wheatley said, still flustered. "I don't want to screw up my reunion with Nora."

"You won't," Valentine said. "Everything will be fine."

Wheatley looked at her and offered a weak smile. "Thanks," he said. He stood up. "I'm going to go use the restroom now. My bladder feels like it might burst."

He shuffled into the bathroom and they could hear him shut the door.

"You really think it won't go anywhere?" Doug asked Valentine skeptically.

"No, he's screwed," Valentine said. "I just wanted to help him feel better."

Doug couldn't help but smile a little.