(A/N: May the 4th be with you.)

"Thirteen all…" JJ calls out as the assembled players start scooping up their bags.

Can't believe that I blew that.

"Hey, did you park close?" Sabine asks me, causing me to turn.

"Yeah."

As JJ prepares to toss his first beanbag up, Sabine says "We'll be right back." Before gently pulling me towards a gate.

Okay.

Without another word, Sabine and I start thru the assembled and thru the gate. "Why are we going to my car?"

"I don't want to lose my purse. Not like I'm going to need it anyway. How was Halloween?" Sabine answers with a smile.

I return it as I fish out my keys. "It went well. Their neighborhood is big on Halloween apparently. They bought like ten bags of candy and only had a little bit left. And Jacen came home with a boatload."

"Anything good?"

"Oh yeah." I laugh as I unlock my car. "You name it, he got it. Some people we giving out full candy bars."

Which is ridiculous, but hey.

"Nice! Those were always the best houses."

I bet they were.

"You didn't do much trick or treating did you?" Sabine astutely asks.

I shake my head before she continues. "You missed out."

"I think you're right. I would have been home earlier except Mom and Dad asked me to help go thru his candy. He got to have a little tonight, but we combed thru the rest of it."

"Anything interesting?"

"Kind of." I shrug as Sabine pulls open my passenger side door. "Somebody was giving out caramel coated apples. And somebody else did s'mores."

He ate that as he went from house to house.

Sabine is making a face when she emerges from my car. "Caramel apples? What'd they do, wrap them in Saran wrap or something?"

That's exactly what they did.

"Yup."

"That's weird." Sabine shakes her head.

"Yeah." I agree. "He doesn't like caramel, and nobody else wanted it. So it went into the trash."

"Did you get anything?" She gives me a crooked grin, moving to lean on my car.

I dig into my left pocket and pull out a mini package of Skittles to show to her. "More in the car too."

Jacen kept asking if I wanted more.

"You mind?" Sabine asks, unable to hide her enthusiasm. As soon as I shake my head, my door is open once again.

"It's in the console in the middle." I tell her, just before she pops it open.

"Ooh! You got good stuff!"

It's just gum and a couple of mini candy bars.

Sabine emerges with a couple of pieces of gum and one of the mini candy bars for each of us, and she dumps half into my hand. "Here. Live a little."

"Okay." I laugh. "How was the game?"

"Great. Kicked their ass. It was fun."

"How are you feeling?" I probe just before she shuts my door again.

She doesn't meet my eye, instead unwrapping her candy. "Good right now. Somebody snuck in a flask, had a shot before you got here."

Damn Sabine.

I smile at her as she pops in the candy, then spontaneously takes a step closer to me. "I need a favor tonight."

"What's that?"

"Don't let me go run off and do something stupid tonight." She says, taking another step forward so that her shorts are pressed up against my costume.

"You won't." I reassure her.

Immediately, Sabine gives me a glare. "Oh yeah? Because I'm tired of waking up in foreign places when you're not there Ezra. With other people."

Sabine…

"You won't do that."

"Drunk me kind becomes…" Sabine trails off, a look on her face.

"Don't say that about yourself Sabine. C'mon." I tell her firmly. "It's your first semester."

Everyone is finding their footing.

"No. And no kind of. C'mon. Keep an eye on me." She asks me, voice becoming softer before she slips her hands in with mine. "Please?"

"I'm not gonna stop you if you meet a guy you like and you hit it off."

I won't. I'm not going to stop Sabine from meeting Mr. Right.

Sabine moves to say something before I cut her off. "And besides, who you get with isn't my business." Instead of replying, Sabine glances back around to the house, where there are still a bunch of people hanging out on the porch.

"C'mere." She says before pulling me to the other side of my car.

"Okay. What are you—" I start before she opens my door and deposits me in my own driver's seat.

Next thing I know Sabine's in my lap, head next to my ear. "Ezra, I've kind of made it your business. And I don't want to get with anybody tonight. I want to hang out with you and Matt and JJ and Jaicey and Trey and everyone and laugh and have fun." She whispers.

"Okay." I nod, swallowing the sudden lump in my throat.

Sabine leans back far enough for me to see her smile before she gently plants a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Sabine easily unglues herself from me, then pulls me out of my car before I shut it and lock it. "And try to have fun. Have a drink or two."

"One or two." I repeat after her, then smirk.

I think she's kind of already drunk.

Sabine rolls her eyes, then grabs me by the hand and leads me back up to the house.

"By the way. What'd you say to Matt and JJ?" I ask as we reach the gate.

"Nothing really." Sabine responds, hesitating at the gate. "Just that it was Dooku that you met with. That you know him, and that he told me that you're not the leak everybody's looking for."

What if there's not a leak?

"So you backed me up."

"Of course I did." Sabine gives me a disapproving look. "Always will. You're overthinking it. Once everybody talks it over, this will all smooth over."

Sabine keeps her hands intertwined with mine as we rejoin the party and the cornhole game seems to be winding down.

"There you are!" Jaicey calls out next to her boyfriend, sending Sabine and I that way.

"Hey." Sabine smiles.

"How's it going?" I ask before another bag comes in.

"Winning." JJ reports.

Matt asks "Didn't you get them drinks?"

"I did!" Jaicey lights up, then turns back and grabs two red cups for us.

"Thanks." Sabine says, as I smile in thanks before we shuffle to the other side of the board.

When I turn to look at Sabine next she's eying me, drink perched in her hand.

Okay, I get it.

Casually, I sip the drink then probe with the Force briefly.

Don't feel any threats around. That's good.

I'll try to relax a little.

If for nothing else than to get Sabine off my back.

One final bag hits the board, then falls off. "And that's game. Ezra, you're up." JJ proclaims.

"I'm okay. You guys win, winners stay on."

'Yeah, but I like winning. And this guy is going to lead me to a loss. C'mon." Matt says before JJ gives him an offended look.

"Who just won that game?"

"You did." Matt smirks. "You offered."

Sabine silently pulls me in that direction before JJ hands off the bags, forcing Sabine to let go of my hand.

Only for her to stay right next to me.

Our next opponent begins to shuffle up to the board before I sip my drink. "I know you guys have questions, so you might as well spit them out."

Immediately, JJ, Matt and Jaicey all look to each other.

Easy interrogation tactic. Know what your enemy wants, and remove their leverage.

"You have a cover." JJ proclaims.

Of course he starts. The conspiracy theorist.

"A necessary one." I counter.

"Why'd you play stupid about the Jedi?"

I roll my eyes before handing Sabine one of my bags. "I didn't play stupid. Have you ever heard of the term 'operational security'?"

"In spy movies, yeah." Matt says.

"What do you mean?" Jaicey asks, sounding casual before I probe out.

They are very much not casual.

"It's about protecting sensitive information." I say, then toss a bag onto the board for a point. "I can't just walk into a new house and start running my mouth."

"But we're your friends." JJ counters.

"Yes." I turn and smile at the three of them as they are looking to me. "But I have to look at it from an adversarial position."

Matt tosses one of his bags up, which falls into the hole for three points before I add on. "Just like you guys did."

Bang.

Sabine visibly stiffens beside me before Jaicey looks to her. "I knew you were pissed."

"I'm not pissed." I laugh. "I get why you guys did what you did. I'm not mad at it. But I'm gonna call a spade a spade. Ask her." I nod towards Sabine. "I'm bad at BS-ing people."

"He is." Sabine smiles at the others.

"It wasn't personal." Matt attempts to soothe my ego. "The guys were just trying to protect the group."

"Which is fine. Completely fine. He could have done it without bodily stopping me, but hey. No harm, no foul." I reply.

"You seem to have thought all this out." JJ counters.

"JJ!" Jaicey yelps before swatting at him.

Yeah.

Sabine's Force Signature gives off an anxious vibe before she tosses her bag up, hits the side and falls off. "Dammit."

"Jaicey, tell Trey not now. Bad time." Matt says forcibly, causing me to turn to the right and see that Trey is indeed heading this way.

"On it."

Our opponents toss up their final bag, leaving it 3-2 after one round before I sip my drink. "Well yeah, wouldn't you think out your strategy if you're a suspected leak?"

Leverage.

"Dude." Matt turns to me, looking exasperated.

I laugh again, then smile and drink again. "I'm not mad. Promise. I'm just saying. Wouldn't you?"

"Yeah." Sabine says in an effort to smooth things over.

"There ya go." I smile, then polish off my drink.

Already?

"I'll go get more." Sabine volunteers, then ducks around our conversation and heads back towards the house.

"You must think I'm a nut then." JJ proclaims.

Yeah.

"Because you were spouting known facts and alternative theories?" I turn to him. "No, means you're just looking for answers."

"Because we know so little. The CIA and FBI and Homeland Security and everybody else tells us bits and pieces." He counters.

"So that you can know what you need to know."

"Which is?" Matt asks.

I smile, then toss my bag, draining it. "Not relevant to our conversation right now."

Sabine and Jaicey reappear, sans Trey before I add. "Guys, I'm not the leak. If I had to bet? This was coming for months. Before I got here."

"They've published that." JJ concedes.

"We know you're not." Matt says, then tosses his bag, which finds its mark.

"Are we okay over here?" Jaicey asks, clearly aiming to clear the air.

I smile at her and the other two as Sabine moves to rejoin my side. "We're great."

"Good." Sabine says, then squeezes my hand. In response, I simply turn and take back my cup and hand her a bag.

"Your turn."

A shout comes out from the back of the house as I scoop up the dishes off the table and turn back towards the—

"Slow down." Dad snaps at me, pausing long enough to give me a healthy glare, then continue on.

Mom gives me a warm, silent smile as I set the dishes on the counter as Mom is prepping the sink and adding soap. Obediently, I walk back to the kitchen table and grab Dad's plate first, then Mom's, Elias' then mine last.

Always last.

"Okay dear. We won't be long." Dad says, the soft crackling of his ankles announcing his arrival.

"Have fun!" Mom smiles to nobody as I set the plates down.

The sound of the front door opening, then shutting finally brings silence back to the house, before Mom's face falls into a more casual look. "Sorry dear. Your father nearly walked into you."

I nod silently before Mom opens up the door below the sink and grabs her pink gloves. "Alright…let's get these dishes done. Hand me the scalloped potatoes dish honey, that'll stick the longer it sits."

I hand over the scalloped potato dish, and Mom grabs a metallic looking scrubbing tool before starting to work on it.

"I heard that you were talking to Aubrey again."

I don't bother stopping my groan before Mom laughs quietly. "I'm teasing dear. Your father doesn't know either."

Dad doesn't like Aubrey.

Says she distracts me.

"How is she?"

"She's okay." I answer as Mom keeps scrubbing away.

"Just okay?"

I nod once as Mom pivots the dish to reach a difficult corner. "That's not what her Mom said."

I groan again and walk away from her, only to glance at the kitchen table for something else to grab.

Nothing.

"She said you guys were having a great time today at school. Spent all of recess together, plus social studies, language arts…"

"We're together those hours at school Mom."

"I know dear." She stops long enough to smirk at you. "You think she likes you?"

"No."

"But you like her."

"Mom!"

Mom laughs at me as she moves the dish to the other side of the sink. "I'm just teasing sweetheart. I think it's good that you and Aubrey are good friends."

"That's it! She's just my friend."

Mom gives the dish a quick spray with the hose set into the sink, then sets it on the drying rack. "You need people like her. Your father may not approve, but your father isn't right about everything all the time."

"He's not?" I blurt out.

"No." Mom turns and gives me another smile. "He likes to think he is. But he's not. Hand me the big pan."

I hand over the pan Mom just used to cook the chicken in. "What'd you guys talk about?"

"She asked me if I finished the Goblet of Fire yet so I can get it back to her."

"And?"

I fiddle with the dirty silverware. "I'm giving it back tomorrow before school."

"We really need to get you your own copies."

"You don't have to." I immediately volunteer.

Dad hates those books. Says they're for kids.

Mom glances over at me. "Yeah, we do. How many times have you borrowed those books? When's the last one due to come out again?"

"July 21st." I recite from memory.

This time, Mom fully stops what she's doing and leans over to kiss the top of my head. "I love you. We'll get you those books. And the last one when it comes out. Promise."

My heart leaps before I smile back. "Love y—"

No.

Beyond my closed eyelids, the sound of water rushing thru pipes reaches me, as well as a slight throbbing in my head.

It was a dream.

I groan to myself but keep my eyes shut.

I haven't had a dream about Mom in a long time.

Spontaneously, the water shuts off and is quickly followed by the sound of my bathroom door opening.

Must be Cayle.

How'd I get home last night?

I don't remember how—

A quiet pair of footsteps pads back into my room, coming ever closer before it hops back onto my bed before sliding back under the covers with me.

What in the hell.

I let out a breath thru my nose before I hear "I woke you up…I'm sorry."

"It's okay." I lie.

How's Sabine in my bed?

"Go back to sleep." She says softly.

In response, I force my eyes open to see that I'm facing the opposite way I normally am. "No, I'm up. It's okay. How'd I get here?"

"You don't remember?" She responds, then giggles.

I shake my head, instantly causing my head to spin. "Bad idea…"

"Yeah…" She replies before I feel her hug my back. "I'm hungover too."

I don't have a shirt on.

"You called your buddy to come get us. Cayle. I didn't know he lives here."

Oh no.

"I did? He doesn't live here. He was just in town."

This is going to be hard to explain.

"Oh. Well, whatever. You called him or texted him or whatever at some point. Because he drove us home. Pressed me more about us. I acted drunker than I was. Might have insulted him a few times."

Great.

I laugh to myself, and Sabine responds by pulling me closer still. "How'd he take that?"

"Fine. I think he thinks we're more of a thing than we are. He's…nosy."

"He can do that." I smile.

How am I going to get out of this and get dressed?

At least I went to bed wearing shorts.

"There's a note in the kitchen too. I didn't read it, I think he left it for you."

"You went to the kitchen?" I ask to obscure my efforts to reach out with the Force.

She's lying. She read whatever he wrote.

"To get some water. When I woke up I was dying."

"When'd you wake up?"

"A little bit ago."

I nod to myself and probe again, this time masking it as a stretch, only to bump into Sabine's feet. "Sorry."

She's been up for longer than that.

"It's…okay." She says stopping to yawn in the middle. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." I smile to nobody.

"What happened to your back?"

I laugh in an effort to disguise my nerves. "Bike accident. Wasn't wearing a shirt, fell off. Had to go to the ER. My parents nearly killed me."

A moment passes before I feel a soft finger on one of the scars on my back. "It doesn't look like that." She says very quietly.

"It doesn't look like anything I know."

"Kind of reminds me of one of those awful pictures of slaves from the 1800's." Sabine says quietly.

Great…

"Whipped and beaten. And scarred." She says, tracing one of the bigger scars on my back.

Sabine…

"I don't know about that." I say, trying to sound casual. "I just know they had to knock me out to get all the gravel and brush and other crap out of my back."

"Where was it?" She asks, still tracing.

I involuntarily shiver as she continues going lower down my back. "Mountain trail. Went down a cliff."

"It looks terrible."

"Wasn't fun." I laugh, trying to make light of it as Sabine continues her tracing.

"Jaicey might have said something about it earlier. To me, but the others heard it."

I groan. "Awesome."

"Said hat you said. Bike accident. And not to ask about it."

"Then why'd you ask?"

"I didn't think it'd be so…bad looking." She confesses.

We both fall silent for a moment before I finally start to muster the strength to get up and—

"Hey. Before you get up. Look at me."

Sabine…

Against my better judgment, I do as I'm told and roll over to face Sabine, who is clad in a t-shirt. "You trust me, right?"

"Of course I do. Otherwise you wouldn't have a key." I smile.

Sabine's concerned look remains before she pulls me into a hug, laying her head down on my chest. "Good. I know I've said it before, but I'm not telling anybody anything. I want you to be able to trust me, so that when you feel like it, you can talk to me."

"I can talk to you now."

"But you've lied to me before." She hits me directly, only to temper it with a smile. "It's okay…I just want you to trust me."

"I do trust you." I repeat myself, only for Sabine to smile and hug me again. "The only times I've lied to you are about things I can't talk about, or security stuff. Like Sacramento. It's just to keep you safe, that's all."

I think that's what she's referring to.

"Really?" Sabine lifts her head up to eye me.

I nod, and Sabine buries her head back down again. "Just to protect you."

We both lie there for what feels like an eternity before Sabine's feet mesh with mine. "Your feet are so cold."

"Wouldn't be a problem if I'd been on the couch. Did you bully me into sleeping here?" I ask, adding a smirk on top.

"Maybe. You just came in here and lay down. Cayle finally left after a while and I came back here and crawled in with you. Thanks for warming up the covers."

She crawled into bed with me.

What a weird way to phrase it.

"Jaicey might have also mentioned your abs."

I laugh, and Sabine smirks up at me, guilt written all over her face. "I told you, I do work out."

"Well whatever it is, keep doing it. And if anybody asks, I didn't say that."

This time we both laugh, and Sabine curls closer to me. "My turn for an awkward question."

"Oh no." Sabine monotones, then eyes me again.

"I didn't do anything stupid, did I?"

"No." She instantly shakes her head. "You just slept. You're a good little spoon."

"Good." I say nervously.

Drunk me didn't get any ideas. Good.

"Don't say it like that…"

"I've read stuff. And I don't know…" I look away from Sabine and turn my head.

"You were perfectly fine. Don't let the internet and drunk rapists go to your head. You're a good guy. I'd know if you weren't."

I smile before Sabine lays her head down closer to me.

"You're as stiff as a board. Relax. Those FBI assholes were way off base. And I told them that. Probably why I brought it up later, it pissed me off." She confesses. "You're focusing on worrying about you, and forgetting that I crawled in with you. It's okay. Blame me if you have to." She laughs at the end.

"Stop saying it like that."

"It's true." She giggles at me, then—

"Trust yourself too. For me."

She kissed my cheek again.

"I'll try." I say, before letting myself look at her eyes for a split second.

She does have beautiful eyes. And freckles.

As soon as I come back to my senses, I move to get up only for Sabine to say "No no no…stay. Order breakfast thru Postmates. I'll pay."

"I got it. And I think I've got stuff here." I tell her.

Sabine shakes her head and moves to keep me where I am. "Postmates."

"After… I get something to drink. Maybe." I smile, then force Sabine off me and getting to my feet.

Shirt, shirt…

"No, keep the shirt off." She says as I open my closet.

"What if I'm self-conscious?"

"Don't be. You're ripped."

Ripped?

I turn back to Sabine, only for the sunlight behind her to blind me. "Really? You still drunk?"

"I didn't say that!" She says before I turn back to my closet and grab a plain gray t-shirt.

"I'll be right back." I say on my way out of my bedroom.

Let's see what Cayle said.

My apartment looks completely normal as I walk down the hall then turn into the little kitchen and see that Cayle wrote a note and tore it out of one of my notebooks.

Ezra,

Got you back home, safe and sound. Sabine refused to let you leave without her, so I brought her too. I don't care what you say, she likes you. A lot. Kept defending you and peppering me with questions. Don't worry, I won, she lost. She's a funny drunk.

Went out early this AM and picked up some groceries for you guys. Mostly stuff for Z's hangover cure that you mentioned works like a charm, but you looked low on milk and OJ so I picked those up too. Don't mention it, I'm happy to do it.

Last thing before I left was Sabine berating me about 'eavesdropping', then went to crawl into bed with you. Don't worry, I'll tell everyone that it's not like that so they don't get all weird. You know we are just worried for your safety. Both of you. If you want to do something, that's your call. (You know my stance).

I'd order breakfast by the way. I did a few weeks ago in London, and it was awesome. Let yourself live a little.

I'll text later today. Lunch later on in the week?

Love ya dude. Glad you had fun. Do more of that!

Cayle

Smiling at the paper, I walk back to my desk, set it on top then walk back to my bedroom.

"You win, I'll order. What do you want?" I phrase it more like a statement before perching myself in the door.

Sabine looks away from her phone. "I don't know yet. Pull up Postmates, let's see what our options are." She says before giving me a smile.