Well, I'm late this week. Like the last chapter, I'm still following the tangent on Andromeda's aunt trying to bring her back to California.

I do not own The Outsides.


Andromeda sighed in relief as she let herself sit on the floor of her room before she groaned. She'd managed to get there without being noticed surprising, but she still needed a bath.

Despite that, she remained seated for a while, reluctant to get up.

Her door whooshed opened as Aunt Marge said, "Andromeda dear, I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now, but ... " Her voice faded off as she caught sight of her niece.

The pair stared at each other for a minute before Aunt Marge stared, "Are you alright?"

Andromeda shrugged uncertain of how to precisely answer the question before her aunt said, "I was going to say we need to talk about your friends, but you should take a bath first." She turned and called over her shoulder, "I'll make sure your aunt doesn't find about this."

Once her Aunt Marge had left the room, Andromeda went to take a quick bath before she returned to her room to find her aunt in a chair, a cup of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies next to her. Her aunt gestured towards the treats as she said, "You looked pretty miserable, so I thought these would perk you up."

Andromeda thanked her and took a sip of the hot chocolate. Her aunt waited for her to set down the cup before she said, "I'll hold off on the talk about your friends, but I need to know how that happened." Once she'd finished the bite of cookie she had been chewing, Andromeda replied, "I was taking a break from working on homework and eating lunch when Dallas approached me."

Her aunt raised an eyebrow and Andromeda said quickly, "I didn't flirt with him. He asked about that scratch I'd gotten and about my 'leaving'. Naturally, I told him I didn't plan on going anywhere, and he told me that he'd be on his best behavior for the time being."

Her aunt crossed her arms as she echoed, "For the time being, huh?"

Andromeda pursed her lips before she replied, "It's Dallas Winston we're talking about. He would do something like that if he didn't care about the person."

Her aunt looked like she wanted to object, but said instead, "Please, continue." "After that," Andromeda said, "I stared like a dummy for a bit, and thanked him, then he left." Her Aunt relaxed visibility and commented, "You didn't flirt with him." Andromeda nodded and continued, "After that, I left the diner and Sylvia confronted me." Aunt Marge raised her eyebrows as she asked, "And how did that conversation go?"

Andromeda hesitated before she admitted, "I told her the truth: that I wouldn't pursue Dallas any more. Unfortunately, she didn't believe me, and dumped her coffee on my head."

Her aunt scoffed then said, "It's disgusting, but I understand her disbelief." Andromeda nodded reluctantly and her aunt asked, "So your giving up on him?" Andromeda nodded again and explained, "I decided that if I can't live with what I did to get him, then I shouldn't continue to chase him." Her aunt appeared satisfied with her explanation as she said, "That's good, and I'm proud of you for it."

The pair of them sat quietly for a while as Andromeda sipped at her slightly cool hot chocolate.

Finally, she said, "Auntie, I know you're worried about me, but you don't need to be. Like I said before, some of my friends can't be described as 'law-abiding' citizens, but that doesn't make them the scum of the earth either. They've accepted me as I am, and I know if I were in trouble, they'd be right there in an instant." She hesitated then continued, "They even willing to change their behaviors, even if it's for a little while, just so you might rethink making me go back to California."

She swallowed and finished, "They're practically family to me, and I ... I do not want to leave them."

Andromeda stared at her hands as she waited for her Aunt's answer.

"Andromeda," her aunt stared, "I want you to understand that I'm not taking you away to be cruel to you." She nodded and her aunt sighed, then said, "Do you remember when you and your sister were little and I used to babysit the two of you?"

Andromeda nodded a small smile pulled at her lips as she fondly remembered those long past day. A similar smile was on her aunt's face as she said, "Well, I still remember the times directly before those. At the time I was completely devoted to succeeding as a lawyer. Nothing else mattered to me as much, not my relationships, or my 'friends' and family."

Andromeda listened, She was certain her aunt was telling her something important even if she didn't understand it.

"So," her aunt continued, "When your mother asked me to babysit the two of you on Christmas Eve, while she and my brother went to a party, she had to pay me quite a sum to get me to do it." Andromeda raised her eyebrows at the unexpected admission.

"Her aunt smiled embarrassedly as she admitted, "Like I said, I put work before anything else, and I wasn't that great of a person regardless."

Her aunt was quite for a few moments before she added, "That certain Christmas wasn't a good one for me. I was passed by on a particularly nice promotion in favor of someone I saw as less than myself, and I regret to say that I had taken the news terribly."

There was another pause before her aunt said, "When I arrived to 'babysit', I quite honestly lounged on the sofa and watch a soap. You and your sister didn't seem to mind at first, and you were quite happy to play with the blocks that had been left out."

Andromeda blinked rapidly, unable to believer her aunt before she asked, "You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"

Her aunt shook her head as she continued, "Not at all. After a little, you must have noticed my foul mood because you approached and asked if I felt sick. For some reason I can't remember, I took that question as license to grip about what had happened and then returned to my soap."

"I don't remember how long I lay there before I realized you weren't there anymore. Since I technically had to watch you, I went and searched your parents house until I found you in the kitchen in the middle of a massive mess."

Her aunt chuckled and continued, "I was livid. I was about to launch into a very age inappropriate tirade when you looked over and smiled as you said, 'Lookie auntie, we're making cookies!' I swear I was dumbfounded. I ask 'Why?' because that was the only question I could possibly think to ask and you replied, 'because cookies make people happy, and nice people shouldn't have to feel sad.'"

Her aunt glanced out the window as she admitted, "I really had no idea how to respond to that because I honestly wasn't a good person, or even a decent one at that."

Aunt Marge looked back, a fond smile on her face as she said, "I spent hours that night wondering how someone as sweet and innocent had come from my brother and his wife. I couldn't help but worry that someone would steal that innocence from you and your sister, and leave people who was no better than the rest of the family. And so I decided to ensure that would never happen, and proceeded to spend as much time with the two of you as I could."

Andromeda chuckled as she commented, "That part I do remember. You would play games and read all those stories to us."

Her aunt nodded as she said, "And gave you both nicknames after my favorite mythological characters."

Her aunt's smile faded and she admitted, "But recently, I've started to wonder if it would have been better to have spoiled some of that innocence. Maybe your troubles wouldn't have been so bad if you hadn't felt the need to please your parents."

Andromeda swallowed, then said, "But suppose you'd tried that, but it went wrong. I could have wound up bitter and cynical as well as stressed out and nervous."

Aunt Marge remained quiet and Andromeda insisted, "No matter what could have happened, I'm happy life brought me here like it did." Her aunt hesitated, then commented, "You really want to stay here, don't you?" Andromeda nodded and her aunt sighed before she asked, "It's because you like that Dallas Winston, correct?" Andromeda opened her mouth before she shut it. Her aunt wasn't completely wrong with her assumption. She replied, "Well, he does play a part in it."

Her aunt gave her a searching look and asked, "How did you develop feelings for him?"

Andromeda blinked. She hadn't expected that question, and she had no idea how to answer. "Well ... " she began, "It certainly didn't happen immediately. When we first met, we could barely get along!" She chuckled and continued, "I really stared to warm up to him when I saw how he treated his friends. I was really only curious about him at the time, but as I got to know him better, as I saw the better parts of him, that interest I had turned into love."

She smiled sheepishly as she admitted, "Sounds like a cliché story when I put it that way, doesn't it?"

Her aunt laughed with her as she replied, "Perhaps, but it doesn't sound that bad."

She sighed and said, "Alright, I'll consider letting you stay. However, you have to improve your grades and I need to see for myself that your friends are as good as you say." Andromeda smiled wryly as she said, "You know you already met them, right? Except for Darry I guess, but he's one of the good ones." Her aunt's face was serious as she insisted, "First impressions are important, but they aren't always accurate. Especially if the people involved want to convince someone their something they're not."

Andromeda nodded, her aunt had a point after all.

Regardless, she allowed herself some measure of satisfaction though as she drained the rest of her formerly hot cocoa. It might not be much, but at least she had a better chance at staying than before.


Yep, Aunt Marge wasn't always that nice. I thought it made sense considering her family. Next chapter will have Aunt Marge's interactions with the gang.