(Reggie's POV)

"How did you get here?" I screamed seeing my two best friends standing in front of me. My feet slammed on the floor in pure joy. My mind raced over everything in that moment, except that I ruined Nikkie's life.

"Brandi drove us. Well, we split it evenly-ish." Nikkie smiled.

"When did you get here?" Pure excitement laced my voice.

"Like six. We called your Uncle he came and helped us get settled for the week." I screamed and hugged them even tighter.

"The week? You're missing school?" I yowled. That was so unlike them.

"Hell, it's worth it to see you." Brandi smiled graciously.

"Aw, guys you would come the week my schedule is jam packed." I muttered.

"Don't worry, you uncle gave us temporary jobs at the ranch. So the only time we won't see you is when you have school." Nikkie laughed.

"He tells us your almost done with Driver's Ed, already." Brandi looked at me curiously.

"Yeah, I finished the tests today. I have to do five drives this week, then a final drive with him on Saturday. Ah, I forgot about dance too!"

"Dance?" They asked in unison.

"Yeah, I take ballroom on Monday's, Wednesday's, Friday's and Saturday's. And hip-hop on Tuesday's, Thursday's and Sunday's."

"Reggie in dance, that's interesting." Nikkie laughed.

"Where is my Uncle?" I asked.

"Basement, I think." Brandi said. I ran to the stairs and down them.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" I screamed and hugged him. He just smiled. "Oh, I met Aiden Drune's parents today. They knew my mom." I said.

"Ah, yes they are lovely people. Andrea was your mother's best friend." He said getting up and going through some boxes. "Here." He handed me two large cardboard boxes.

"What is this?" I asked him.

"Picture albums. I figure it'll keep you girls' entertained." I nodded and walked up the stairs.

"Come in the living room!" I yelled. Otto had come out from hiding and joined us in the living room. I pulled open the first box. It was pictures from my mother's childhood.

We laid out on the floor in front of the album. Otto sat at the head of it and stared down, he was a lot less entertained for some reason.

"Reg! You look so much like your mom." Brandi said eying the picture.

"Not the first time I heard that." I smiled staring at my mother as a young girl. We moved into her older childhood, then teen years. Finally, we got to wedding pictures. My dad and mom looked so happy. We rummaged through loads of pictures and opened the final album. It was my mother's funeral and picture's from my uncle's wedding and later pictures.

Tears filled our eyes as we saw the pictures, they were professionally done. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was the day she was buried. We went through pictures of my uncle's wedding, then of pictures of him and two boys. The final page the two boys standing on either side of my Uncle with brilliant smiles on their faces. I heard Nikkie gasp. A loud, harsh gasp.

"What?" I asked looking at her.

"IT'S RAVIV!" She screamed. My uncle ran up the stairs. He eyed Nikkie carefully. Brandi and I looked at her, we didn't know what she was talking about. Her eyes were fogged with tears. "It's Rav. It's Rav. It's Rav." She kept repeating.

"You... you know my godson?" My uncle now stood behind her as she nodded her head.

"What happened to him? Why did he do that?" His eyes were going cloudy. I don't think I've ever seen a grown man cry.

"What?" Brandi seemed to mock me from earlier, but not in a joking sense.

Nikkie hugged the book close to her and ran into the bedroom. Slowly Brandi and I approached the room to see her laying on the bed hugging the stuffed dog we knew as Woofles. Woofles, that was my uncle's dogs name. It was Raviv, he was the link. She was staring at that picture with those tears streaming down her pristine face. My god she looked beautiful even when she was crying.

"He was the greatest young man I'd ever met." A tear rolled down my uncle's cheek. "Sweet natured and loving. I always knew something was wrong though. He never would tell me."

I walked slowly into the room. "Babe, it's alright." I told her as I hugged her tight.

"He's gone. Dead. Buried. I miss him!" She screamed. This was truly devastating to her and I felt a strong pang now destroying me.

"He's better off where he is now." My uncle said sitting on a stool in the room.

"I know he is." She sobbed. "But I miss him so much every day. He was my best friend." The tears had slowed down. "Everything about him is still there to taunt me. His stupid brother goes to my school." She sobbed harder. "That day, seeing him wheeled away like that. Kissing his sweet, angelic face for the last time." I connected the other boy's face to a kid I'd seen in the high school before.

"Why did he do that?" My uncle asked.

"I don't know. He couldn't take his family, he hated them all. He'd been cutting for three years, and I tried so hard to stop him. Then he gave me Woofles. I didn't connect it, until later. He gave away his most prized possession. I gave so much to that boy, and I'd never seen him smile so much when he was with me." Tears filled her eyes again and Brandi and I hugged her tight. She grabbed her wallet and poured out the pictures of her and him. He did look happy, beyond happy.

"Wow." Was all my Uncle said when he saw the homecoming picture. I remembered him now, I saw him at that dance. That boy, was beyond perfect. I felt so bad for Nikkie, that's horrible. Brandi, Otto, and I listened to Nikkie and my uncle talk about Rav for an hour before we all slowly crashed on her bed. My uncle woke us up for church.

"Church?" Nikkie asked. He nodded. I ushered them into my room and tossed each a dress, we all put them on. I didn't have enough high heels so we just put on flip-flops that matched our dresses. I heard a knock at the front door and opened it to see Amanda with Aiden in the crook of her arm and Aimee clinging to Aiden. I smiled.

"Come in." I told them. "Amanda. Aimee. Aiden. I would love to introduce you to my two best friends." Nikkie and Brandi came out.

"Nikkie. Brandi. This is Aiden, Amanda, and Aimee." I cooed at Aimee's name.

"Nice to meet you all." Aiden grinned.

"Oh my god! She's so cute!" Nikkie squealed. "Is she your sister?"

"No, she's my daughter." He retorted, Nikkie's face didn't change.

"She's precious." She cooed at her. Nikkie was just as good with kids as me. I talked with Amanda with Nikkie and Brandi talked with Aiden and Aimee.

"Alright, who is ready to leave?" My uncle asked. "Well, hello there Aiden. Nice to see you again." He held out a strong hand and Aiden shook it graciously. "Aimee's growing up, right well. Isn't she?"

"She sure is sir." Aiden grinned.

"I'll just meet you guys there. I'll bring Otto." My uncle disappeared.

"We can take my jeep. It'll be a little cramped, but not bad." He said opening the door for us all. He was parked at Amanda's. We all crossed the grass. Aiden put Aimee in her seat and Amanda pushed me into the passenger seat, she knew. Her, Nikkie and Brandi clamored into the back. Church was church once again. My uncle let me take the day off work. I sort of wanted to talk to Otto but I couldn't bring myself to it. We stopped off at Aiden's house after church. Aiden took me in to help him put Aimee down.

"Hey, Reg?" He asked.

"Yeah?" I muttered.

"Will you be my homecoming date?" He asked.

"Hah, yeah!" I hugged him tightly.

"That was a bit enthusiastic." He said laughing, we left the house.

"Ah, shut up." I told him as we climbed back in the car.

"Where are we going?" Nikkie asked now moving the car seat to the trunk.

"Well, I could drop you off wherever, I figure you'd like to have a girl's day." He smiled genuinely at me.

"We could just chill at my Uncle's place." I said. They all shrugged. Aiden dropped us off and disappeared.

The girls all gathered in my room, we filled them in on Colorado gossip, and every juicy detail about Aiden. I heard the front door open, the foot steps I recognized as Otto's rushed past my room.

"Hang on. I'm going to go talk to my brother." I told them and disappeared to his room. "Hey."

"Hi." He didn't look at me.

"Otto what's wrong?" I asked, he seemed so distant. I think my uncle's got it backwards.

"Nothing." He wandered around his room casting casual glances at his phone on the dresser.

"Otto, is something wrong?" I asked.

"Yes." He was staring at the floor.

"What is it?"

"I don't know." I think someone stole my brother and gave me a robot.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I have no idea." He muttered.

"Is something wrong or not?" I looked at him, his gaze was on the floor.

"Something is wrong. That you can't know about." He groaned. I stepped towards the dresser in small increments, I swapped my phone for his. They looked similar enough to buy me time.

"Fine Otto." I said and walked out of his room. I shut myself in the bathroom, I checked his recent calls. They were all from the gang, and dad. I checked his texts. I scanned through them. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Twister's name.

"Reggie! Open the door." Otto yelled in a fit. I slammed the lock shut and leaned against the door. I opened the text. 'Dude I don't know what to do. I love her.' It read. He loved who? I went to the previous one. 'I screwed Brandi.' Tears slid down my cheek. I checked the outbox 'Brandi?' I checked the inbox. 'Yeah.' Tears poured down my cheeks. I left the phone on the counter and I popped the bathroom window open.

"Reggie! Open this door!" Otto yelled again.

"NO!" I screeched. Finally, I climbed out the window and sprinted down the streets, tears clouding my eyes. Where was I running you ask? I don't really know. I stopped in front of the white house I knew. I walked up to the front door and knocked cautiously.

"Well, hello there Reggie." Andrea said opening the door. "Is something the matter, sweetie?" I nodded slowly. "Do you want some tea?" She questioned, I nodded again. "Follow me then, dear." I followed her into the kitchen, she sat me down at the table. I watched her brew a fresh pot of tea on the stove, in one of those kettle things.

"Thank you." I said graciously as she handed me a sandwich.

"No problem, dear. What's wrong?" She asked handing me a tissue.

"My two best friend's drove up here to see me, but didn't seem to want to inform me of the endeavors one had gone on with another one of my best friends." Wow, I was telling this to my friend's mother, who I hardly knew.

"Sexual endeavors I'm guessing." I nodded. "Why is it such a big deal?" She questioned with sympathy in her voice.

"Twist has been my best friend for thirteen years and I've just known him so long that it hurts to know he's sleeping around with one of my newer friends." She looked at me long and hard.

"He means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he's like a brother to me. He was like family around the house." She smiled lightly.

"You know, since you aren't there he probably doesn't have anyone to help him make the right decision." I shrugged. "I also heard you've been ignoring calls from your Ocean Shores friends." I gave her a quizzical look. "I know your uncle, sweetie. Word gets 'round in a small town."

"I have ignored them, well sort of; no not really. I've been too busy to talk. I've had homework, driver's ed, dance, work, and everything else to try and balance out. I just didn't have time." She looked at me again.

"You should always make time for the ones you love." Her face was straight, I knew she was serious now. "Because the ones you love might not be there tomorrow. You need those people in your life. Trust me." She said. The kettle went off. She poured us both a cup of tea and put two sugar cubes in each cup. I swirled mine lightly, still comprehending what she meant. "I didn't make enough time for your mother. I was newly wed, and had a son. I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most." She sighed.

"My mother died of some disease. You couldn't have stopped it." She looked at me again with a tear in her eye.

"Her lungs collapsed. Holes filled the two of them. If I had made time for your mother I could've helped."

"How?" I looked at her.

"I'm a match to your mother. I didn't find out until her other organs began to fail, by then it was too late." Tears rolled down her cheek.

"It's okay Andrea. She fought as long and hard as she could." I told her, it's nearly depressing when a child and adult are in reverse roles.

"Reggie? Mom?" Aiden looked in at us in awe. "What's wrong?" He howled running toward us.

"It's nothing. Don't worry Aid." Andrea said as she blotted her cheeks. He didn't move at all. "Reggie, if you ever need somewhere to stay, for any reason. This home is always open to you."

"Thank you." I said, watching her walk away. I peered at the digital clock on the stove, it was 7:43. I had dance in less than twenty minutes.

"What was that about?" He asked, staring at me.

"It was just about, my friends. Aiden could you take me to hip hop?" I asked, he nodded slowly. Grabbing his corvette keys we walked out to the car. He shook the keys offering them for me to drive, I shook my head.

He started up the car and looked at me. I didn't want to look back but I did. "Are you okay?" He asked. I simply shook my head no. "Want to talk about it?" I shook my head no, again. Driving off down the street he pulled into the academy. "I know you're little miss thang and don't like to cry, but sweetie I'm not going to judge you if you cry." I looked at the clock. It was 7:50. I got out of the car. He rushed out and hugged me tightly, I relaxed and fell into his warm embrace. "You can always talk to me." I cried hard and heavy into his shirt.

"Come get me afterward. We'll talk." He nodded slowly. I walked into the building on time. I pulled on a pair of socks a girl loaned me and I was ready. Michele eyed me carefully, and gave me a small smile. Amanda came in looking distressed. She didn't try to talk to me. I didn't try to talk to her. She did hand me my phone though, and I took it.

After class, Aiden picked me up and took me back to the diner. We ordered the same thing we had the first night.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong, yet?" He asked staring at the dessert menu.

"My best friend screwed my other best friend and they knew it'd hurt me, but did it anyways." I muttered as I poked a sugar packet.

"Did you let anyone explain?" He asked. I shook my head no, it didn't matter. "What if it's just a big misunderstanding?"

"It's not. He loves her. Twister loves my best friend."

"What's the big deal?" He asked, it seemed so insensitive but I know he meant his best.

"Twister's like my brother. Brandi is an amazing friend. And... I don't know." I muttered. I had no real reason to be this upset... Except for the fact that Brandi was screwing Twister and Nikkie was in love with Lars. Two guys that meant the world to me were being taken far away from me.

"Is that why you came to my house crying? And you talked to my mom about it?" He asked.

"Yeah, I talked to your mom about it. I also found out I should despise your mother, but I've accepted that shit happens and you survive."

"My mother? Why?" He asked.

"My mom was dying, and people were trying to get ahold of your mom. She was a match to my mom, she could've saved her. I suppose it's okay though, my mom's not suffering anyways." I told him. He looked at me through those piercing eyes. What I had just said, was one of the strongest things anyone could say.

"And you are totally okay with all this?" The food was put onto the table, and I nodded lightly.

"I've learned to accept the past, live with change, and endure anything hell can throw at you." I shrugged. "I see it as once you hit rock bottom, you could either shimmy back up that wall, or let yourself sink further into the crevices."

"You're odd." He said. "But in the greatest way possible."

"Well, thank you. I guess." I told him. "Care to go with me to get that tattoo?" I asked. He paid for the food again, this time I didn't have anything with me. He drove me to Marty's shop, and there was Marty just chilling outside his store.

"Isn't it a little late for you two?" He asked.

"Nah, not really. Care to do a tattoo?" I asked him. He shrugged and opened the door.

"Marty, can I just hand you fifty bucks, and she'll get you the rest tomorrow?" Aiden ask. Wow, he was willing to fork over cash for me.

"Yeah, I know you two are good for it." He laughed lightly. "How's the belly button ring?" He asked.

"It's healing nicely." I showed him, he gave me a thumbs up.

"So girl-y what are we doing?"

"Let me draw it." I told him and grabbed a piece of paper and pen from the front desk. It was three stars. One just the outline, and two smaller ones above it colored it.

"Well, that's pretty simple. Where are we doing this?"

"The web of my thumb and pointer." I handed him my hand. He swabbed the area and sat me down in a chair. Aiden sat on the other side of me squeezing my hand. The pain stung when he put the needle to my skin, but I soon forgot the pain as I stared into Aiden's eyes or falling into my own dream-like world.

"Done." He finally said, twenty minutes later. "Here." He said tossing me a bottle of gel-stuff to put on it.

"Thanks. It looks great." I told him. Aiden dropped me off at home and I walked into the front door, into my room and fell asleep. I guess everyone else went to bed.