Lucy sits on the floor of the living room with Hannah and Ash, teaching them what may be the most valuable skill they could ever learn: the art of making friendship bracelets.

They'd gotten string from the closet of the music room down in the basement, which was full of all kinds of artsy supplies. Most were things you might find in the closet of a costume designer, including lots and lots of embroidery floss, in every imaginable color. Hannah is making one out of turquoise and tan string, and doing a very good job for a five year old. Ash's is two shades of purple, and Lucy's is pink and purple.

Hannah smiles as she shows off the finished product, handing it to Ash, who smiles and holds out her wrist.

"You gotta put it on me, Banana," she says. "It's one of the rules."

"Rules?" Hannah asks, cocking her head. Ash nods.

"There are lots of rules about friendship bracelets," she says. "Lucy already told you about one of them, right? Where the colors have to remind you of something important?"

"Beach," Hannah says, nodding, holding up the bracelet again. "California."

"And now that it's done," Ash says, "you have to tie it on my wrist for me. Once it's on, I'm not allowed to take it off unless I'm taking a bath, or washing the dishes, stuff like that."

"Dry," Hannah says, nodding.

"Exactly," Lucy says, finishing up hers. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna go give this to Emma." She scrambles to her feet and dashes off. Ash chuckles, and holds her wrist out for Hannah again. The five year old sloppily ties the bracelet on, and Ash does her best to help with her free hand.

"Now when I'm done with mine, I'll put it on your wrist," Ash says softly, going back to the bracelet she's almost finished making. Hannah picks out some more colors, and gets to work on another bracelet.

She chooses yellow, brown, white, and pink, weaving them together in a chevron pattern that Lucy had shown Ash how to make. The one Hannah had made for Ash had the spiral of knots, alternating in the two colors.

"Who's that one for?" Ash asks, glancing over. Hannah just makes a kissy face at her in response. "For Ethan?" Hannah nods.

"Banana Split," she mumbles, then sticks her tongue out in concentration.

"I see it," Ash chuckles. "He's gonna love it. Is today a good day, or a bad day?"

"Good day," she mumbles, and starts humming a familiar tune. Ash bites her lip from singing along. It's Show Stoppin' Number.

"Now, I know I haven't taught you that one yet, princess," Henry says from the doorway, watching the two sisters with a smile on his face.

"She just knows things sometimes," Ash says, laughing. "Remember? Just like I do?"

"Yes, and your friend Megs," Henry says, and Ash tilts her head.

"Right…" she trails off. "Um, love that song, by the way. Very catchy."

"Thank you, it's among my favorites that I've written," Henry chuckles.

"I'd love to hear the full show sometime," Ash says. "But first…" She turns back to Hannah. "Arm out, Banana."

Hannah complies, and Ash ties the purple bracelet onto the girl's small wrist. "Like our bedroom back at Mom's house," she says softly. "What do you think?"

Hanah smiles down at it, fiddling with the ends of the knot. "Very good day," she whispers, then goes back to finishing the Banana Split bracelet. When she's done, she picks out some more colors and starts making another one.

Ash watches her for a moment, just smiling. Then her stomach growls, so she gets to her feet and heads to the kitchen. Henry stays behind, sitting on the floor with Hannah and picking out a few colors himself.

Given her short stature, Ash has to drag a chair over from the table in order to reach the upper shelves of the pantry. The one she'd grabbed just so happened to be wobbly, go figure. She tries to keep her balance with one hand braced against the brick wall, reaching with the other. Even with the chair, she has to stand on the balls of her feet to reach the back of the shelf, where someone had thought it would be a good idea to hide the peanut butter.

"Need a hand?" Someone asks from behind her, and Ash jumps, sock slipping on the wooden chair. She falls back, but luckily the person who'd spoken is able to catch her.

Ash blushes as Peter sets her back on her feet. "Um, thanks," she mumbles, holding the jar of peanut butter to her chest. "I got it, though…"

"Why was that on the top shelf, anyway?" Peter asks, putting the chair away for her. Ash can see a tinge of pink on his cheeks, which only serves to worsen her own blush. She can feel them heat up.

"Ethan likes to hide it from me," she says, setting the jar on the counter. "He thinks it's funny to watch me look for it. He put it on top of the cabinets yesterday, above the fridge. Not in the cabinet, on top of it."

"Well the pantry's kind of a let down after that," Peter says with a small smirk.

Ash shrugs, face finally cooling down. "Don't let him hear you say that," she warns. "If he hides it somewhere worse, you're the one I'm coming for."

Peter chuckles a little, and heads toward the living room where Hannah and Henry are.

Ash spoons out some peanut butter before twisting the cap back on and sticking the jar on a more reasonable shelf in the pantry. She heads down the hall, looking for Ethan. He's in the bathroom with Theo, just starting to help them rinse out their hair over the edge of the bathtub. The water's running a deep, dark purple.

"Hey," Ash says, and Ethan grins up at her.

"We found hair dye in that theatre closet downstairs," Theo says, forehead resting against the inside of the tub, as Ethan uses the detachable shower head to rinse their hair.

"Sounds fun," Ash says, grinning. There are two different bottles sitting on the counter- one blue, one purple. "Is there enough for me?"

"There's plenty," Ethan says. "We can do yours next, if you want."

"We can match!" Theo adds.

"Maybe later." Ash laughs. "I'll do this, E. Hannah has something for you. You might wanna wash your hands first, though."

Ethan chuckles, carefully passing his girlfriend the shower head before stepping back and washing his hands thoroughly in the sink. He dries them off, and leaves the bathroom.

Ash helps Theo rinse their hair until the water runs clear, humming softly.

"So, I've been talking to Ethan," Theo says. "And you should be aware that he's feeling guilty over something, but he won't tell me what it is."

"Oh, lord," Ash sighs. "Any ideas?"

"I don't think it's something he's done," Theo says, turning off the shower. "More like something he's thought about, or something like that, you know? I keep catching him zoned out, and he always snaps back in looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar."

Ash thinks about it for a few moments, grabbing an old gray towel to help pat Theo's hair dry. "Could be… oh, God," Ash mumbles, blushing. "Do you think he's- I dunno, like… thinking about sex?"

Theo groans. "God, I hope not," they say. "He's my brother, remember? I don't wanna think about that shit in general, let alone involving him."

"But why would he feel bad about that…?" Ash mumbles, more to herself than to her friend. "He's a teenage guy, it's normal to think about that…"

"I mean, he knows how important your boundaries are to you," Theo points out, sighing. They take over with the towel, twisting their hair up in it until the whole thing resembles a mohawk. "He'd probably feel like even fantasizing about sex is breaking them."

Ash blushes, looking down at her hands. "I mean…"

"I don't wanna know," Theo says immediately. "You know I love you, but I'm gonna need you to have this conversation with literally anyone else but me. Bye!" They don't actually make any effort to leave, though, and Ash snickers to herself.

"Don't be so dramatic," Ash teases.

"Can't help it, it runs in my blood," Theo says. "Seriously- did Cara or Megs tell you what we'd planned?"

"The thing with Henry, you, and Ethan?" Ash asks, nodding. "Yeah. Megs also told me about something else the two of them had been planning…"

"Is it the thing you couldn't tell me the other day?" Theo asks knowingly, and Ash nods again. "Cara told me about it. How do you feel about… that?"

She sighs, grabbing the bottle of purple hair dye and fiddling with it. She bites her lip. "I mean… I've always said I'd support my friends in those kinds of relationships. I'm not opposed to them in theory, but… I know myself. I know how most people see me, too."

Theo looks at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Ash gives them a tired look in return, resigned to the facts she's about to say. "I'm not exactly a catch," she mumbles. "And I get insecure really easily, too. My biggest concern in actually being in a polyamorous relationship is always feeling like a third wheel to my own partners. I know it can get pretty irrational, but I just- I don't want to put that on them, you know? They shouldn't have to face my demons for me."

Theo twists their necklace between their fingers, sighing. "If they really love you- which I can tell Ethan does, no question about it- then they won't care how many of your demons they have to face," they say. "You'd face plenty for them, right?"

Ash nods quietly, biting her lip.

"Then trust that they'd gladly do the same for you," Theo says softly. "At the end of the day, though, you need to follow your heart and do what you think is best for you. If you have to stray from the R.P. again, then so be it."

"Thanks," Ash mumbles.

"Sorry," Theo says, wincing. "I'm kinda shit at relationship advice."

"No-" Ash says, shaking her head as she sets the dye bottle down again. "That was actually really good. Thank you, seriously."

"Oh, well, you're welcome," Theo says with a sly grin. "Want me to dye your hair, then?"

"Maybe later," she sighs. "I should go talk to Ethan…"

Still, Ash doesn't try to get up. She's sitting on the edge of the bathtub, staring down at her stained hands. There are splotches of both purple and blue on them, and she bites her lip again.

"Is there something else wrong, or are you just… procrastinating?" Theo asks.

"What if… so, Peter was supposed to like both Ethan and Lex, right?" Ash asks in response. "But now instead of Lex, it's me… what if he doesn't like me? I'm nothing like Lex. I don't smoke, I don't drink. I'm just me."

"First of all," Theo says, "that boy clearly has a crush on you, just as you are. And second, I'd take you over canon Lex any day. Don't get me wrong, Angela's gorgeous, but, like-" They cut off, shrugging.

"You're sure?" Ash asks softly. "About Peter?"

Theo nods. "As positive as I am about how much Ethan loves you."

Ash sighs one more time, and finally stands. "Thanks, Mo," she says, heading out of the bathroom.

She can hear Ethan's voice coming from further up the hall, from the front bedroom with the keyboard, and heads toward it. She can't make out what's being said, exactly, but the door's cracked open. Reaching out, she pushes it open further, poking her head in, and freezes at the scene before her.

Ethan's leaning in toward Peter, and kisses him as Ash stands there and watches. Peter kisses him back.

"What the fuck?"

The two boys spring apart, looking to her in the doorway with horrified, guilty looks on their faces.

Tears well up in Ash's eyes, and Ethan stands up, reaching for her. She shakes her head in disbelief.

Ethan's just kissed Peter. Without talking to her about it first. He's just cheated on her.

Oh, fuck.