A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 9: Crossed a little in love

~3 weeks later~

With Elliot and Christian now having left Portland, life had pretty much gone back to the way it used to be around the Steele home. The only difference now was that Kate seemed a lot more subdued than usual, though she clearly tried to hide how upset she was by Elliot leaving without saying goodbye. Ana was convinced that Elliot still liked Kate, and that he left her because of circumstances beyond his control, though she had no idea what those circumstances were. Ana felt awful for her sister, and she wished more than anything Kate could somehow overcome her broken heart and feel happy again.

Leila was a whole different story, but Ana couldn't bring herself to worry about her as much. Leila was being a typical teenager, and would often seclude herself up in her room after school and blast music loudly or have hours-long conversations with her friends on the phone. She only showed her face around dinner-time, and she spent pretty much the whole meal texting on her phone in silence. While Leila had always tended to be a bit more reserved with her family since she became a teenager, ever since her junior year started, it's like her whole snarky attitude amped up to an extreme degree. Ana hoped Ray and Carla would talk to Leila soon before her behavior got to be too bad.

In addition to all this, Charlie and Ana made sure to keep in contact while Charlie continued to attend university in Seattle. Her classes were going well apparently, and although Ana never asked, she had the distinct impression Charlie and Jose were still a thing. Charlie didn't seem too keen to talk about it, though, and Ana decided not to mention it.

Charlie had invited Ana and Kate up to Seattle to visit her for a weekend in late September, right after Ana's birthday. Kate seemed reluctant to go, considering the fact that the guy who broke her heart was currently in Seattle, but Ana eventually managed to twist her arm by assuring her they wouldn't see him while they were there.

However, that didn't stop Ana from thinking of ways she and Charlie could "accidentally" get Kate and Elliot in the same room together at some point…

"You excited to visit Charlie this weekend?"

Kate and Ana were currently on a bus going from Portland to Seattle. They figured this was the easiest and cheapest way of making the three-hour long trip, and Kate and Ana could just kick back and relax as the bus took them to their destination.

Kate had been silently watching the scenery out the window, and she glanced over at her sister before smiling. "Of course I am."

Her expression was sincere, but there was something else in her eyes that made Ana gaze at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

Kate's smile faded as she looked down at her lap, shrugging. "I mean, I guess I am still thinking about Elliot. You and I are going to be arriving in Seattle soon, and he's going to be there… I know we're not visiting him this weekend, but I still can't help thinking about him."

Ana took Kate's hand and squeezed it. "Are you sure you don't want us to pay him a visit while we're in Seattle? I've been telling you for weeks, I really do think he wants to be with you…"

"It's fine, Ana," Kate said assuredly, squeezing her hand back. "I don't want to see him. You and I are going to Seattle to spend time with Charlie, and that's what this weekend should be about."

The bus had finally reached Seattle, and Ana and Kate gazed out the window in delight at all the tall skyscrapers and the Space Needle which they drove past. They finally arrived at the bus stop, and they and everyone else on the bus got off and went to the side compartments to grab their bags. Once Ana and Kate had gotten their suitcases, they heard their names being called:

"Ana! Kate!"

The sisters turned and grinned widely when they saw Charlie getting out of her car, which she parked on the street right behind the bus. Their excitement of seeing their friend was diminished slightly when they saw Jose getting out of the passenger side door.

"Hey stranger," Ana smiled, walking forward to hug Charlie hello. "Long time no see!"

"It's wonderful to see you again," Kate smiled, moving forward to hug Charlie too.

"It's wonderful to see both of you again!" Jose suddenly exclaimed, moving in between Ana and Kate to put his arms around their bodies, pulling them toward him so they were pressed up uncomfortably against his sides. "Charlie and and I missed you a lot. I feel like we have so much catching up to do!"

"Um, yeah Jose," Ana grimaced in discomfort as she and Kate tried to gently extract themselves from his grip.

"Are you guys hungry? It's getting pretty late, so I was thinking we could just order a pizza once we get back to my place," Charlie said, moving forward to take Ana's and Kate's bags. "I can show you around campus first thing tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good," Kate smiled, and she helped Charlie load their luggage into the trunk of her car.

The four of them got in the car and Charlie drove them toward her apartment, which was only about ten minutes away from the bus stop. Charlie talked excitedly about the city and her classes, and Ana and Kate listened attentively; Jose would occasionally try to interrupt to talk about his job at the art studio, but no one really paid attention to him.

They arrived at Charlie's apartment and brought their things inside. The place was a cute, one-bedroom space with a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and a small kitchenette. An air mattress was set up near the couch in the living room.

"You guys can sleep here, but if one of you wants to bunk on the couch, that's an option too," Charlie said, bringing their bags over to the mattress.

"The air mattress should be fine," Ana said, smirking over at her sister. "Although, I have to say, I used to share a bedroom with Kate and I know for a fact she snores."

"I do not," Kate said, affronted. "But even if I did, it would less annoying than you leaving the TV on to fall asleep to."

"I leave it on mute," Ana said defensively.

"Ooh, we should watch a movie tonight!" Charlie piped up excitedly. "I have a subscription to Netflix."

"That's a great idea! I've been watching that show Black Mirror, we could watch that," Ana suggested.

"No, that show's too creepy," Kate said. "Let's watch something fun, like a rom com."

"How about Pretty Woman? Or Legally Blonde," Charlie suggested.

"Let's watch both," Ana grinned.

"How about we watch something we all like?" Jose said.

The other girls looked at him before glancing at each other a bit awkwardly. Ana had honestly forgotten he was there.

"That's okay Jose. You don't have to stay for our girl's movie night," Charlie said to him with a smile. "Besides, didn't you mention you needed to head over to the Lady de Bourgh before it closes tonight?"

"Oh my God, you're right," Jose said, quickly checking his watch. "I better head over right now! My deepest apologies ladies, but it appears I can't stick around for a movie night tonight."

The girls assured him it was fine, and with that Jose grabbed his jacket before saying a rushed goodbye and hurrying out the door.

"What does he have to do at the art studio?" Ana asked Charlie as soon as he was gone.

"He's taken it upon himself to double-check the shipment orders his superiors already looked over and signed off on," Charlie said, looking both amused and exasperated.

"Is that really necessary?" Kate asked with a frown. Charlie shrugged.

"Probably not, but he likes to keep busy," she said. She walked over to her purse to grab her phone. "Did you want to order that pizza now?"

Kate and Ana agreed, and the three of them began to settle in on the couch to begin their movie night.

The next morning, the girls all woke up relatively early and went out for some coffee at an on-campus cafe. After they finished breakfast, Charlie took them on a tour around the campus; since Charlie was a biology major, she started by showing them the College of Science and Engineering in the Bannan building. It was a beautiful, modern-looking establishment that almost made Ana regret not going to a university like this for her higher education.

Once Charlie finished showing them that building, she took them around the rest of the university, pointing out places she liked to do her homework, such as the library or the quad. They then ran into one of Charlie's classmates from her Environmental Biology class, a nineteen-year-old freshman girl named Kendra, and the four of them stood around and chatted for a few minutes. Even though it was a weekend, Ana saw hundreds of college-age students wandering around the whole campus carrying backpacks, talking with one another, and looking at their phones while wearing earbuds.

Once Kendra finally walked away, Charlie suggested they go to a Japanese sushi restaurant on the edge of campus for lunch, and Kate and Ana agreed. It was only a few blocks away, and they got there in a relatively short amount of time.

Once they were seated at a booth and the waitress had taken their orders, Kate excused herself to go to the bathroom. The moment she was gone, Ana immediately turned to Charlie:

"So I was thinking of a way to get Elliot and Kate together when we all go out for drinks later tonight…" she began, and Charlie immediately grinned.

"What's your plan?"

Ana began to explain what she wanted to do, and Charlie eagerly agreed. The two of them were whispering and giggling when Kate finally emerged from the bathroom, her phone in her hand.

"Hey guys. Do you mind if I skip out on going out for drinks tonight?" she asked, sitting down across from them.

Ana and Charlie both froze as they stared at Kate in surprise. "Um… why?" Ana asked hesitantly after a moment.

"I was just texting with Liza Gardiner, my old roommate from college," Kate explained. "She and her husband are currently living in Seattle, and she just had a baby girl a few weeks ago. She asked if I wanted to come over for a visit tonight, and I said yes."

Ana and Charlie exchanged a glance, the wary expressions on their faces making Kate frown in confusion. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Um… well, we were just really hoping you would come out for drinks with us tonight," Charlie said unconvincingly. Kate still looked confused, however, and Ana decided to just tell her:

"We were planning on inviting Elliot to join us," she admitted reluctantly. "It was going to be a surprise."

Kate's confused look immediately faded into an expression of sadness and trepidation. "No Ana. I already told you I'm not seeing Elliot this weekend."

"Please Kate, just consider it," Ana insisted. "I know that he misses you as much as you miss him. I'm sure of it!"

"And what if he doesn't miss me?" Kate pointed out. "You'd just be embarrassing yourself, and me, for thinking that he actually cares. It's just not worth it."

"But even if he doesn't care, which I don't think is true, you can at least know for sure and finally get closure," Ana said seriously. Kate didn't say anything, so she went on: "Here's what I'll do… I'll message him on Facebook to say that you and I are in town and we'll be going to The Hunsford for drinks later tonight. I'll casually invite him to come by if he wants, and if he says he will, then you'll come out for drinks tonight."

"And if he says no, you can go visit your friend Liza instead," Charlie added.

Kate was silent for a few moments as she seemed to mull everything over in her mind. Finally, reluctantly, she nodded her head with a sigh. "Fine."

Ana and Charlie both smiled in excitement. "Thank you Kate. You won't regret this," Ana said brightly, immediately tapping on her phone screen.

"Let me see what you're writing before you send it," Kate insisted as Ana typed the message on her phone. After a minute, Ana held the screen out for her to read:

Hey Elliot - long time no see! Not sure if you heard, but Kate and I are in town for the weekend hanging out w/ Charlie. We'll be at The Hunsford on Bailey Street tonight at 8pm if you want to join us. Let me know!

"So can I send it?" Ana asked as Kate finished reading. Kate tried to hide how nervous she was as she nodded.

"Yeah."

Ana pressed Send, and she and Charlie gazed down at the phone screen, waiting expectantly for the response. Ana felt confident Elliot would message her back immediately saying he would come by, and she watched her phone with bated breath.

Suddenly, the words "Seen: 12:54pm" appeared underneath Ana's text bubble, and she felt her heart jump to her throat in excitement. So he had seen her message… she waited impatiently for his response, watching for whenever the three dots to indicate he was typing something would appear, but after about thirty seconds or so, Ana's excitement began to fade. Her expectant look turned into disappointment, and she and Charlie exchanged worried glances.

Dammit.

"What is it?" Kate asked. She looked nervous and hopeful at the same time. "What did he say?"

Ana silently handed her the phone, and Kate took it, gazing down at the screen. She saw the "Seen" marker underneath Ana's message with no pending response from Elliot, and she looked back up at her sister with a rather sad smile. "I figured as much. He doesn't want to see me."

"You don't know that," Ana insisted, frowning sadly. "Maybe he's just too busy to respond right now or something."

"It's fine, Ana. I didn't really expect Elliot to want to come out tonight," Kate assured her, though Ana could sense the sadness in her voice. "I can go visit my friend Liza tonight, and you and Charlie can go out with Jose to The Hunsford for a few drinks. I'm perfectly fine with that."

"I'm sorry Kate," Charlie said sincerely, looking genuinely upset.

Kate gave her a small, grateful smile, but didn't say anything as the waitress had now walked up with a tray of their food.

As they ate and chatted over their sushi, Ana couldn't help but feel angry at Elliot as well as sorry for Kate, who she knew was deeply hurt by his rejection. Ana wished she had never stuck her nose in her and Elliot's business, but also couldn't help but feel Elliot really did want to see Kate again. She had no idea why he was giving her the cold shoulder, but whatever the reason was, Ana figured it was better if she just stayed out of it from here on out.

Despite her heartbreak, Kate was still able to put on a happy face for the rest of their lunch, and the three of them had a relatively good time talking about the places they wanted to go this afternoon. Once they finished their food and left the restaurant, Charlie continued to take them around campus, showing them all the sights of the city before they went back to her place to get ready for their night out.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Next up, Ana spends her evening out with Charlie and Jose at The Hunsford, and while they're there, a familiar face shows up.