Rain harshly fell and blew against the house. Lilo watched from the window as the trees swayed with the rough winds. Her vision only slightly obscured as water drops quickly rolled down the glass. It seemed like it was raining almost every day lately. Sudden storms rolling through the islands. Nothing super concerning. It was by no means a hurricane. But it was still rough.

And it did nothing to help her mood.

It had been some time since the fight in hula class. After her confrontation with Caitlynn, she didn't even return to class. Just walked away to think about things. And she hadn't talked to any of her friends since. She eventually joined Stitch at Jumba's ship, helped out where she could, and he did his best to comfort her when she explained what happened. But there was little to be done. It felt like it was her fault.

She was... Is an Ambassador of Earth. These were things she was supposed to be keeping track of. She wondered if the others knew about it. They probably did. But they were advised not to bother her with any United Galactic Federation duties while school was in. Not unless it was an absolute emergency. There was a number of times she thought about contacting them. In the end though she decided against it. She didn't want to hear it. Not right now.

"You can't just sit around all day again," Nani said as she entered from the kitchen. She set a plate of fries by Lilo. "It's the weekend. I know you can't really go out but you have to do something."

"I'm okay," Lilo said dryly. "I'm watching the water race down the window."

"Uh..."

Lilo ate a handful of fries, her eyes never leaving the rain.

"Are you sure?" Nani looked on in disbelief. "You seem like you're in one of your funks."

"Blue periods?"

"Yeah that."

She just grabbed a few more fries and stayed silent for a moment.

"I'm good."

Nani sighed and left Lilo to her window.

It's not like she wanted to feel this way. She just couldn't get it out of her head. No matter how hard she tried. Caitlynn's words tormented her over and over. At first it made her mad. Now it just made her sad. After the incident she borrowed Jumba's computer to see what was being said online. That was a mistake. There was gross and horrible things both being said and being done. It wasn't the majority. Thankfully. But there was enough. Way too much for her liking. And it kept eating at her that none of her friends said anything. Nothing at all. How long would she have gone not knowing about this? Thinking that things were going fine for the aliens.

What if all of this wrapped back around to the experiments? They already were almost kicked out and lost their one true place once before. Could they handle going through all of that again?

"This is probably why they didn't say anything," she said to herself.

Even so. Even if it ate at her for multiple reasons. She had the right to know. They should have told her right away. And she wasn't able to get passed it. Obviously it wasn't hurting as much as what was happening out in the world. But it still hurt.

She jumped as a sudden flash of lightening crossed the sky. The storm seemed to be getting worse. Her attention was finally brought away from the exciting scenery when the front door slammed closed. Stitch stood in the entry way, completely soaked. He slightly shivered before shaking all the water out of his fur.

With the walls and floor now covered in water, Stitch looked around before his fur puffed out. Lilo let out a small giggle as he tried to get his fur to settle back down. He looked over to her and give a big toothy grin. And just like that, a lot of the tension she held was starting to vanish.

Stitch joined her at the window, sitting against the wall and grabbing a few fries to eat. His attempt to de-fluff his fur continuing to be futile.

"How was work," Lilo asked. She stole a fry from Stitch's hand for herself.

"Naga good," he said with a sigh. "Can't figure out what's wrong."

"This happens all the time though. I'm sure he'll sort it out."

"Probably." Stitch continued his attempts to flatten his fur as Lilo turned her attention back to the window. "Gaba you been up to?"

"Just watching outside," she said. "I'm just not feeling up to anything else."

"How isa going?"

"Pretty good," she giggled. "The tall tree over there has managed to lean the most. And the faster raindrops are always on the right side of the window."

"Left needs to catch up."

"Yeah."

Stitch joined in watching through the window and some light conversation over a plate of fries. He knew about the things she saw online. And it broke his heart to know what was happening. But he was determined not to let it get him down. And he wanted to try to make Lilo feel better. All of his best efforts were for naught however.

"We need a night off," Stitch eventually said.

"What? We can't do that."

"Sure we can." He grabbed her hand, holding it tight. "We... yuuga do so much. And if yuuga not going to hula anyway."

"I'll have a free night."

"Ih."

Lilo agreed. Maybe getting her mind off everything was exactly what she needed. A true distraction. Perhaps after that she can finally start feeling better. It didn't take long for the plate of fries to finally get down to it's final pieces. And even the storm was starting to loose it's charm.

"Last ones mine," she said smugly. Holding the fry between her teeth.

"Oh yeah?" Stitch asked. And then he leaned forward and bit into it. Leaving a kiss between them with a fry. Lilo froze, completely stunned by the sudden advance. But even so she felt her heart skip. "Meega think it's mine."


Mertle sat at her computer. Wrapped under a blanket with nothing but the computer monitor illuminating her room. Every now and then a bolt of lightening cracked through the sky. And each time it made her jump. Normally storms didn't get to her. But her emotions had been at an eleven ever since the fight. If it wasn't for school she might not even have left her room at all. It broke her heart to find out that Lilo had just left after.

Her friend's explained the situation, and she honestly couldn't have blamed Lilo for it. She was right. She should have been told.

"I'll always have you back."

The words she said not too long ago constantly ringed in her head. And she was faithful to them. At least in the moment she did. There was no hesitation. Her hand completely froze as she moved the computer mouse. It shook slightly. Remembering the feeling of slamming it into Caitlynn as hard as she could. Moses brought up the times she and Lilo would fight in class. But that more often than not was Lilo fighting her.

No.

The first time she really fought was on Turo. Against all of those experiment clones. And it terrified her how quickly she jumped to start hitting her classmate. Did she deserve it? Probably.

"Yes."

She did. There was no doubt about that in her heart. But that doesn't mean her own actions didn't worry her. Was it the right thing to do? She was punished. Though Moses said she did the right thing. Her mom did too. She had to wonder. Something felt wrong about it. Scary.

It wasn't just because of the things Caitlynn said that fuelled her. There was something else deep inside that was trying to come out. A hatred deep in her heart that was waiting for a moment to break through. And it did. And she justified it with the tainted words that were thrown at her friend.

So lost in thought, Mertle didn't notice the sudden weight on her lap. It wasn't until she felt a lick at her cheek that she snapped out of her trance.

"You...sad?" the small puppy with long luxurious speckled fur asked. "Why... sad?"

"Hey, Bev," said Mertle. She gave her a scratch behind the ear. "Didn't join the others for a walk?"

"No." Her tail wagged from the attention. "Don't... like rain."

"Me neither."

The two sat in silence for a while. Mertle continued browsing things on the computer while her other hand petted her best friend's daughter. As calming as the action was, it did little to actually help ease her thoughts. And she wasn't exactly going to confide in a puppy around a year old. She just made sure to wrap Bev in the blanket as well. Keep her from shredding into it. Every now and then Bev would would give out a little sound of satisfaction. That at least would make Mertle smile a little bit.

"Didn't answer question," Bev said.

Mertle gave a small laugh in response.

"Nothing gets passed you does it?"

"Nope." She rolled onto her back, letting the petting continue on her tummy. "Auntie been sad... lots. Don't... like."

"I'm okay." Mertle continued the petting. She didn't dare look down at the small experiment. She already felt bad enough. She didn't know if she'd be able to stop from crying if she saw the previous face she was sure was being made at her. "I just got in a little fight. Nothing you need to be worrying about."

"But if you... worried. Then me worried." She let out a long stretch. "Mommy is... too."

"Gigi's worried?"

Bev nodded. "She not want to... say. Me not supposed to tell."

"You're secret's safe with me." Mertle quietly shut down the computer and carried Bev over to her bed. The sound of the rain echoed off of the roof around them. They cuddled under the warmth as Mertle tried to figure out the words in her head. Something that would satisfy the child without really getting into things. "Someone said something mean to Lilo."

Bev gasped, "mean to Ms. Lilo?"

"Yeah. And I got into a bit of a fight with them."

"Fighting's not... good. That's what I learned in... school."

Mertle couldn't help but melt at the preciousness. How was she able to stay so upset with such cute kids around? Easily. Once she pictured Caitlynn in her mind.

"You're right. Fighting is not good. But I did. I got in trouble. So I don't really feel good about it."

"Oh okay." Bev pushed herself tight against her Aunt. "Me cuddle... make you feel better?"

"Sure."

Mertle held her close. It didn't exactly make her feel entirely better. But it did a little bit. The warmth of a companion at least made her feel less alone. Though the voice inside her continued to scream. One she was going to ignore for as long as she possibly could.

"Until when?" she thought to herself. "Until it finally explodes?"

No. She wouldn't allow that. She needed to actually talk to someone. But all of her friends have been so busy lately. And Lilo wasn't answering her at all. Leaving only one option.

Shifting herself as best as she could to not disturb Bev, she managed to pull out her phone. As she got the the message thread she paused at the number of texts listed. It was certainly a lot more than she realized. But she could justify it since they had some shared custody over experiment pups. After some quick typing she hit send on her message to Jimar.

Do u think we can get together 2 talk?

It wouldn't be long until he answered. It never was. And then hopefully she can start feeling better.


"It's your turn."

Caitlynn shivered. Their temporary home had such thin walls it was hard to think over the sound of the rain pouring down overhead. To top it off the wind howled so loudly there were a few moments where she felt like they were going to blow away. She could almost swear the building was moving with it. And to top it off their heater stopped working so it felt extra cold. Stuck inside with her family. Not exactly how she wanted to spend her time on one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world. But what other choice did she have? It's not like she was going to go out during the big storm. And the few futile attempts to call one of her friends quickly had her giving up.

So she sat on the bed, playing a card game with her brother. A game she wasn't too interested in. But it was at least something to pass the time. Even though she was mostly lost in her thoughts.

"It's your turn," he said again. "Or do you give up?"

"Fat chance," she said back. "I'm just a few turns from winning."

"Uh-huh."

She played her cards and they continued back and forth. A couple turns passed and, no, she didn't win. But it wasn't like her to just give up. Not in anything. Not once in her life has she ever backed down or given in. To nothing. To no one.

And she rarely lost.

"I win," her brother said as he played his final card. "Off your game today."

"No." She quickly rounded up the cards and started dealing them out. "You got lucky this time."

"That's what you said last time."

"It's your lucky day then."

"Sure."

They continued to play in near silence. Their dad could be heard in the other room. Continuing whatever his work was with Mrs. Byers. They weren't really sure why they needed to come all the way to Hawai'i for him to work with her. It felt like they were always on the phone, even though they also met up almost every day. He still had other clients to work with as well. Being one of the biggest lawyers around will do that. And according to him they were almost done and could be going back home soon. After everything that happened at the hula class, Caitlynn couldn't wait to get out of there.

"So you wanna tell me what's going on?"

Her brother's voice cut her out of her thoughts again. She played a card down, trying to avoid his eyes. He noticed she had stopped going to class. Or at very least she stopped going out when she was supposed to be in class.

After it looked like he wasn't going to play until she gave some answer, she sighed and said, "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm fine." Finally he took his turn. "What's up with you? You haven't been out at all. Shouldn't you enjoy Hawai'i before we leave."

"I'm more or less done with it," he said. "Storming anyway."

"I'll feel better when we're off this dumb island." She threw her cards on the bed. "Seriously I'm fine." She could tell her brother wasn't buying it. And if anyone was as stubborn as her, it was him. "Fine. I got kicked out of hula class okay? You happy?"

"So that's why you came back early." The game continued for a few more rounds. He processed what she said. She wished he would just drop it. "Why'd they kick you out."

"Fighting."

"With?"

"One of the other girls."

"Over?"

The questions were quick and harsh. And she was getting sick of them. She was sick of the trip. And she was sick of always thinking back to that fight.

"Found out one of them's a xenofreak and then got jumped. Fought back. Got kicked out."

"Ah."

Somehow his response, or lack there of, just made her even angrier.

"Not that I really care," she said while taking her final turn and finally winning the game. "If they're gonna let aliens in that place I want nothing to do with it."

"Well I guess you won then," he said while packing up the cards.

"Don't wanna go another round?"

"Not really."

Caitlynn laid down on the bed. She eyed her phone and saw it had no notifications. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like something was off about everything. But nothing really felt right since they arrived on the island. And soon they would be gone. So she listened to the rain and hoped the rest of the trip would fly by.