.:Chapter Thirty-Five:.

Explanations

Bailey tucked her hair behind her ears and scanned over everything that was to go into her backpack for the fifth time. Better safe than sorry, though, she couldn't risk forgetting anything. Studying for the SATs was incredibly important, but studying for the tests the school was going to give, to help her study for the SATs, to help her get a good score, to help her get scholarships, to help her get into good schools was more important.

"Are you still looking over all of that stuff?" Moose asked as he walked up behind her, crossing his arms. "I don't know about you, Bailey, but I don't think they're moving. Those critters are staying right where they are."

Rolling her eyes, Bailey took her books, papers, and pens and stuck them into her backpack. "I know that," She said to him. "I'm just making sure I have everything before I leave."

"Where are you going?"

Now Bailey sighed. She was sure she had said this about one hundred times by now. "I'm going to school to study," She explained. "Cody and I have a study group going with some other people from our classes to make sure that we know what's going to be on the test coming up." She zipped up her backpack and slung it over her shoulders.

Moose gave her a funny look. "The AP test that's not coming up until the end of the school year?" Bailey smiled a little as he pronounced 'AP' as 'app', made even funnier by his thick southern drawl. She sighed a little, looking Moose up and down. He continued to wear his almost daily uniform of flannel, a big and shiny belt buckle, jeans, and cowboy boots. She asked if he wanted her to take him shopping but he insisted he was fine. Then Bailey looked down at her own clothes, a nice, flow top and skinny jeans tucked into a pair of ankle boots.

They were from the same farming community but were completely different.

It was much more than a boy-girl thing, she realized quickly after he had arrived in Boston.

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared," she defended herself. "You know we need the scholarship money."

Now Moose smiled as he waved his hand. "Aw, don't worry about me. You know I'm going to make my career back in Kettlecorn. I just have to get my high school education."

"You don't want to go to college?"

"Why would I want to? It just feels like a waste of money to me."

Bailey's mouth dropped open. They had this conversation a few times before but this was different. Moose really did see stuck in his ways. Truth be told, she was worried about him. He didn't seem interested in a lot of things that were going on around him other than his goal to get back to Kettlecorn. But to say college was a waste of money? A good education was never a waste of money.

Moose continued, not seeming to notice the stunned expression on her face. "We're country folk, Bailey. The city isn't us. The farm is. I like it and that's what I want in my future. It's the best thing for our future."

Oh. This again. Bailey knew she should have nipped it in the bud ages ago but she thought he would've gotten the hint by now. She took a deep breath, looking Moose in the eye. She wasn't going to allow him to make decisions for her anymore. They weren't together anymore. It wasn't any of his business. "Moose," She said firmly. "I'm not like you. I want to be able to get out of Kettlecorn and see the world."

"And Boston isn't the world to you?" Moose raised an eyebrow, now holding an expression of complete confusion. Maybe that was the problem. Moose saw Boston as a completely different world and Bailey saw it as just a tiny part of what the world had to offer. "It's so…big," he said lamely.

"So is San Francisco," Bailey pointed out. "And that's only one city in California. And California is only one state of the entire United States." She waved her arm. "There's so much that I want to see. I want to travel and be able to learn everything I can learn. I can't do all of it here or back in Kettlecorn."

"Bailey—"

"Moose," Bailey interrupted. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about what happened between us the last time I was home. I really am. You know that. I'm sorry about how confused that's left things. But we're not getting back together. I'm not your girlfriend anymore and we have two different ideas of what we want out of life that we'd never work." Moose stared at her, eyebrows lowering. He seemed to be getting the point now. "You're one of my best friends, Moose you're like my family considering how long we've known each other and you always will be my family. Even if that means that we're not doing that the same way we had before."

Moose lowered his gaze, for the first time in his life his bravado seemed to be gone. He looked up at Bailey one more then turned on his heel and left the room. Bailey thought about calling after him, to apologize and to explain further, but she was already late to get to school. She grabbed her keys and wallet and hurried out the front door, calling goodbye to her parents along the way. The last thing she wanted was to get stopped by them and be asked where she got her jeans because 'they didn't look familiar' or 'where did you get those boots, I don't remember seeing them before' and have to come up with excuses for that as well as find a way to stave off the guilt that churned through her stomach. There were only so many times she could use the excuse that she had gotten them from her friends before they started to look into it.

When she arrived at school the guilt sort of wore off, but it wasn't just for her growing wardrobe, but because of the way she treated Moose. Maybe she had been a bit too harsh with him but he needed to get the hint.

"Hi, Bailey."

Hearing the accented voice, Bailey slowed and looked across the parking lot to find Jessica hurrying her way, dressed in gym clothes, long hair pulled back into a long ponytail. "Hi Jessica," She greeted her friend. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be enjoying the rest of your break?" Janice and Jessica traveled so much they definitely weren't in any of the AP classes. But she didn't think they had to make up gym credits as well.

"Cheerleading practice," Jessica reminded her with a small smile. "Janice and I have to catch up on a lot of cheers that we've missed." She placed her hands on her hips. "What are you doing here? I don't think there's anything around the school that needs to be cleaned, straightened, or organized."

Bailey laughed. "Come on, I'm not that bad."

"There's a reason you and Cody are called the 'teacher's pets'," Jessica pointed out. "You two are the only ones that will seriously go the extra mile to get that 'A' to beat each other in the most amount of 'A's that are possible to get." She batted her ponytail over her shoulder and grinned at her.

A light sigh that held a condescending air escaped Bailey's lips. "You just have to work hard for them," she replied. "There's nothing wrong with working hard."

"There is if that's all you care about," Jessica pointed out. She paused, as if expecting Janice to repeat her. Then she shrugged and turned back to Bailey. "And it surely does seem like that."

Now Bailey sighed an exasperated one. "I just had this conversation with Moose." She opened the door to the high school and the two walked the quiet halls to their lockers. "He was saying the same thing; that I care too much. Well, with my financial standing, I need to care. I need a lot of scholarships and grants. I can't get any loans; I don't want to have to pay them back." She shook her head. "Moose doesn't care, he just dreams about going back to the farm. He doesn't get that there's more to life than all of that."

Jessica reached out and grabbed onto Bailey's wrist, turning her to her. Bailey closed her mouth as it suddenly felt dry. Her stomach clenched even harder than it had before. "Or maybe you don't understand that the farm is Moose's schooling. That's his dream as your traveling is yours."

Bailey had thought of that before, but now having it be spelled out for her, it made more sense. But Jessica continued to hold onto her wrist. "Did something happen with you and Moose?" she asked. "Because for two people who used to date, you still hold…a lot of emotion for each other. More than other people usually have. One minute you annoyed with him the next he's like your best friend."

How did she notice but no one else did? Bailey closed her eyes, thinking about what had happened. It was a mistake, she knew it was. But Moose seemed to think it was more than that. That's why he was so hurt before she left, the way she snapped at him. The way he finally understood what she had been trying to say for so long.

"You slept with him, didn't you?" Jessica continued.

Bailey nodded. "Last summer before I came back here. Before he decided to come here for school as well. Things were already hard, with Zack being in the hospital and my Mom and Dad told me that things were going to get even harder at home…I couldn't take it. And Moose was there to comfort me…" she closed her eyes briefly. "It wasn't like when we were together Moose and I hadn't slept together before, but this time, I knew right after we shouldn't have done it. We were broken up but Moose had become attached again. I tried to tell him it meant nothing but Moose is really...stubborn and he likes to make decisions for me and he doesn't really listen when I say I can take care of myself. Until today, anyway."

"I get it." Jessica took a step closer to her. "Moose does seem like the kind of guy that would be really into…providing for whomever he's with. I think he thought you were still the girl from Kettlecorn, too."

Bailey looked at Jessica in wonder. She and Janice hadn't been back with their friend group that long and she still managed to understand more than everyone else. It had to have been that worldly experience they had from traveling so much. Then again, she wasn't sure how much of sightseeing and global knowledge they could get from sitting in front of a camera all the time.

"Yeah, well, I'm not the same girl," Bailey said.

"I know."

Jessica smiled at Bailey and Bailey found herself smiling back. She looked up as a door closed and saw Cody heading their way. Jessica dropped her hand and took a step back as he approached. "Hey Cody," she greeted him with a bright smile. "Are you here to study, too?"

"Yeah, we're just getting started on our lightning round of symbolism and literature criticisms of Brave New World," Cody explained. He turned to Bailey. "I know that's one of your favorite books so I thought I would come find you." He crossed his arms, smirking at her. "I didn't have to, but listening to your debates on the book just makes me better at proving you wrong."

Bailey smirked back. "Yes, well, I just re-read the book last night so I could be ready to not only beat you, but to kick your ass."

Cody's eyes shifted. "Yeah, well, I re-read the book and got some insight from the Aldous Huxley," he said. "So I have what the author had to say about it as well as my own vast knowledge."

Jessica laughed, shaking her head. "And if people ever ask why I became a model, it's so I could get away from you two." She looked at her watch. "Ooh, I have to get going. But I'll see you guys later. Bye, Bailey."

"Bye." Cody and Bailey waved to Jessica and the two went to the classroom to beat each other in debate.

Zack glanced at the numbers on his cell phone screen then leaned forward to look at the numbers that were painted onto the house. He was at the right place. Turning off the car he climbed out and pulled down the bottom of his sweatshirt before walking up the driveway to the front door. Bounding up the steps, Zack reached out and pressed the doorbell. He took a step back, shoving his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt as he waited for someone to answer the door.

It took so long that he turned and started to spit onto the sidewalk, seeing how far he could make it without moving from the porch. He was in the middle of hocking another loogie when he heard the door open behind him. Turning around, he swallowed hard and smiled at the woman that stood on the front porch. "Yes, may I help you?" She asked.

"Hi, Mrs…." Zack trailed off for a moment, realizing he didn't remember what Sadie's last name was. What was it again? Something that started with a 'G'? Grant! That was it. "Grant. I was wondering if Sadie was home? My name's Zack."

"Oh, so you're the one Sadie's been talking about so much," Mrs. Grant said, causing Zack to smile wider. "I was hoping we'd meet you." Then the woman's smile faded. "Look, did something happen between you two? She's been pretty quiet lately, not going out as much."

"It's just a misunderstanding," Zack said calmly, though on the inside he exploded with nerves. "I was hoping to talk with her so that we could figure some things out."

"Yes, of course. I'll go get her right now."

Zack nodded and continued to scuff his foot against the wood of the porch. The next time he looked up, Sadie was standing in front of him, arms crossed over her chest, a wicked gleam in her eye. "I'm surprised you decided to show up," she said to him. "Did you change your mind?" He could see her trying not to smile, but it pulled at her lips.

Finally, Zack smiled back. Almost as pleasantly. "No," he replied. "I came here to tell you that it's over."

Sadie's smile dropped immediately, her eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?" She asked. "You already broke up with me, remember?"

"Yeah, I did. And I'm sorry about the way it worked out. But you're done sending my pictures around and holding them over my head to make me do whatever it is you want." He sniffed hard, remembering the texts she had sent his way, trying to coerce him into taking her back. "After this conversation we're done with everything."

"Really?" Sadie looked interested. "And why's that?"

Zack turned and pointed to his car. "You see my brother?" Sadie leaned over and nodded when she saw Cody sitting in the passenger seat of the car. Cody, noticing them looking at him, nodded back but didn't make a move to get out of the car. "He told me how if you parents find out, I could go to jail for sending you a naked picture."

"Yeah, so?" Now Sadie openly grinned. She didn't seem worried or phased by what he had to say. "It'll be such a shame to see you in the middle of that. You know, after having been such a big sports prospect and now being an anorexic. A boy anorexic, no less."

Zack stiffened for a moment. That was something that always bothered him, and that he had been learning not to let strike a nerve. The stigma against being a guy that was an anorexic, it was seen as a 'girly' disease and he had been not so subtly teased for it. Then he relaxed. Just think of what Cody told you. "Well, I'd hate to see you thrown in jail as well."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I may have deleted all the pictures you sent me but I didn't delete any of the other texts. The ones that showed you were basically the one that talked me into it." He took a deep breath through his nose, now placing his hands on his hips with more confidence than ever. "I'm sure you deleted it off of your phone. But if you tell anyone, if any charges are pressed against me, then you're going to be in as much trouble as me. Not only for possession of child porn because you and I are both seventeen, but because of distribution, since you sent them out. I think the both of us would have to register as sex offenders as well. And don't you have a dream of going to school at UCLA?"

Sadie glared, now baring her teeth. "What do you want me to do?" She spat.

"Delete everything; don't mention it to anyone else. And we'll pretend it never happened."

"And what if I refuse?"

"I'm sure Cody can do a good job of proving that you coerced me into this whole thing, just using me as a means to boost your own popularity. To get back at me because I dumped you." Zack paused, looking at her. "That was the point right? To get back at me? Did Drew convince you to do it or was it by your own free will?" Then Sadie went pale. "Yeah, I know about you and Drew, too. He didn't do a good job of trying to hide it." His gaze shifted behind her shoulder, to the front door. "I was just having a nice conversation with your Mom, I'm sure she'd be glad to hear about this."

"No!"Sadie held up her hand. "Fine. I'll delete everything, I won't say anything else."

"Thank you." He leaned towards her. "Enjoy the rest of your break." Zack turned on his heel and walked off the front porch without a backwards glance. He climbed back into the driver's seat and Cody looked over at Sadie, who shook her head and went back inside, then looked at his brother.

"How'd it go?" Cody asked.

"Better than expected," Zack agreed. "She's going to get rid of everything and she's not going to talk about it anymore."

"What if her parents still find out?" Cody asked. He shook his head. "There are still other people in school that have your picture."

Zack had thought about that and he hoped no one else would do anything with it. Things blew over fairly quickly and as far as he was concerned something else was going to take over his attention in the spotlight. "As far as they're concerned it's just a rumor."

"Oh." Zack knew Cody was thinking about giving him a lecture about not relying on rumor and that he needed to cover all bases but decided not to say anything. Cody's face screwed up for a minute and then he twisted in his seat to face his brother. "How'd you know about her and Drew?"

Zack chuckled as he turned the key in the ignition. "I'm not an idiot," he replied. And that's all he was going to say about that. "Thanks for having my back, Cody."

"Oh, I didn't do it for you." Cody smirked at him.

Zack rolled his eyes. "Then what'd you do it for?"

"I did it for me," Cody replied. "We're identical twins, remember? There's a chance people would've thought it was me and I can't have something like this ruin my chance of going to Yale."

"I love you, too, Cody."