In an effort towards bonding and passing on cultural traditions, Ky's grandfather was teaching her how to gut a fish.

"First, the fins and tail- snip them short... Then you open the gill and use the scissors to snip the filters out, like that- snip around, and then get a firm grip on them before-" He skillfully ripped out the filters, the stomach coming out in the process. Ky watched closely, taking mental notes of where he'd cut. She may have done badly in calculus, but biology was one of her best subjects; mainly because of the dissecting and experimental aspect.

"Does the stomach come out like that for every fish?" she asked, wrinkling her nose at the raw-fish smell that had now been released into the air.

"No, just the small ones usually. The big ones, you need to cut a slit down the middle and-" he motioned with the scissors again- "grab it out."

Just then, Ky's cellphone rang. Caller ID- Stiles. "Oh, shoot," she murmured, checking the time. It was just past 1. She declined the call, swiping up to send a text instead. Sorry I'm late! Be out in five?

"Who is it?"

Ya, no worries lol.

"I forgot I made plans to meet with an old friend today."

"Oh. Now?"

"Yea, but it's fine- what do you do after?"

"Clean out the insides with water, and then salt it and put it in the fridge." He laughed, satisfied. "Okay, okay, go off with your friend. Are you coming back for dinner?"

"Yea, it won't take long. Wait, you're okay with me going out?"

"Of course. I know my granddaughter can handle herself. It's the boy from across the street, right?"

"No, it's-" The answer was automatic, a lie already prepared. But the knowing look on his face stopped Ky short. "Yea," she admitted. "Is that okay?"

"Be careful." He paused. "To tell you the truth, I never really had a problem with him. He offered to mow our lawn last summer."

Ky couldn't help raising her eyebrows. "That was all it took to win you over?"

He shrugged. "Nice gestures go a long way."

She had been surprised by her grandparents surprised yet again. Maybe the seriousness of their warnings had been more imagined than anything else.

"Where are you going?" her grandfather asked while shaking salt on top of the newly prepared fish.

"Just up the backroads. I want to see if my bike was still there."

"Someone probably took it, you know." He said this sympathetically, knowingly. Ky had a pessimistic feeling about it, too.

"Yea, probably. But I just want to make sure."

Her grandfather nodded. "Alright, then. Go- have fun. Be safe."

"Okay. Tell Grandma if she asks, too. See you later." She smiled gratefully.

"A bike is the most important thing to a person. An iron horse," he said, more to himself than to her. The words echoed in Ky's mind as she rushed upstairs to change and grab her bag and sketchbook, just in case. Her grandfather had always been a friendly, stoic presence when he wasn't in a bad mood, anyway. A good teacher with a slow, calm demeanor… although nowadays Ky realized that this might be due to age more than anything else. After changing into shorts and a t-shirt, she rushed back downstairs and opened the door.

Stiles was parked one house down, leaning against his car, hands in his pockets. Staring absentmindedly ahead.

"Ah, sorry," she called apologetically while gradually coming down the sidewalk to meet him. Although she could walk fine, it was easier to favor her left leg. Unfortunately this meant she had a minor limp, which made her feel like both a drama queen and a fraud. "I was learning how to salt a fish and lost track of time."

"All good, it wasn't long," he answered, coming out of the reverie.

"Wait, are you tired? We don't have to go if you are," Ky said, noticing how out-of-sorts he was. She could probably walk instead, although it'd take a bit longer.

"Nah, it's fine. Just didn't sleep that great last night. So, salt a fish, huh? Is that like, to preserve it?"

"Exactly that, actually. Just 'til tomorrow though."

They headed into the car and talked about the chances of the bike still lying around, which was very little. Stiles asked if she remembered who might have hit her and if she was going to file a report or anything, but Ky had no recollection besides the fact that it was dark and there were two people in the car, which wouldn't really help in finding anyone. Besides, it was sort of hard to explain how she knew that without mentioning the, er, heightened abilities.

Ky glanced at Stiles. She had never planned on mentioning this stuff to anyone, least of all a boy she'd know for a total of a week and- what, two days now? A part of her was itching to talk about it with him. He seemed like someone who would know what kind of questions to ask. But the fatigue had been emanating off the boy in characteristically slow waves, to the point where Ky had to stifle a yawn, herself.

The conversation lulled, and then they arrived at the spot. Ky practically hopped out before Stiles could fully park- that was how excited she was. "Careful, this isn't Fast and Furious," he called out, half-amused, half-frustrated. Morning grumpiness, Ky relegated.

"Sorry- I'll be quick." The sooner this was done, the sooner she could stop feeling increasingly guilty about the favor. She walked ahead a bit, scanning the forest at the side of the road for any glint of sun off metal. The last bit of hope left as the most likely possibility was confirmed.

She heard the telltale beep of the jeep locking and then Stiles's footsteps on the pavement. "Nothing?"

"Nothing. Damn." She kicked at the pavement in frustration, then winced at the vibrating pain of it in her leg. Sighed. "Thanks, anyway." She mustered up a smile.

"No, yea, of course. Don't mention it." He peered over too, and reached the same conclusion just as quick. "That's too bad."

"Yea. Sorry for making you drive."

"Hey, it's nothing. I swear. Let's head back, I guess?"

"Yep. Oh, hey. Look." She pointed to the dried blood, in a lovely shade of brownish-red, that must've been hers from two nights ago.

"What- oh, Jesus. That's it, I'm out." With that, he turned and walked away. Ky couldn't help but laugh. Huh. Guess he was squeamish.

"Wait for me," she called, hobbling behind.

The drive home consisted of three radio songs- 'see, it wasn't even that far,' Stiles said as they got back- and small talk about their plans for the rest of the day. Ky was going to draw some more, as usual. Stiles was planning to finish a math assignment and then get started on an English essay; he was retaking math to bump up the grade and taking English early to get the credit out of the way for next year. "Might as well," he said, shrugging, but got quiet after that. Ky sensed a mix of embarrassment and nonchalance coming from him, and felt bad for it even if it was something she couldn't help. It felt private, like reading someone's thoughts.

"That's smart," she said honestly. "I know a bunch of people doing both, too. Anything to make the last year easier."

"Right, yea."

"I wish I could help with the math, but I probably should've retaken it too."

"Well, only if you need it. Do you know what you're doing in the future yet?"

"I dunno yet." She paused. "Well. Maybe art school. It's a big 'maybe' though."

"Oh hey, that's cool. I remember you used to draw a lot."

"Yea." She laughed. "I'd get in trouble for it. The emo art kid at nine years old."

He laughed at that, too. "No, I mean… well, a little. But they were pretty good drawings."

"How would you know? I never showed them to anyone."

"Uh, yea, but I think once I walked by your desk to get to the pencil sharpener and saw you sketching this, like, really detailed dragon. And I said 'cool dragon.'"

"Oh my god, that was- you're right, that was you." Ky's cheeks warmed. She hadn't remembered this at all. "That's embarrassing."

"No, it really was cool. Okay, I don't remember how good it was, but I'm sure you've gotten better."

"Yea, yea, enough with the compliments." She waved them away, feeling uncomfortable, but then felt bad about doing so. "I mean- ah, thanks. Sorry, I just get weird when people compliment me. But that's my problem to figure out, especially if I wanna get into school for it. Anyway, ah- how about you? Do you know what you wanna do yet?"

"No idea. Maybe law enforcement."

"A cop?"

"No, I was thinking more like… a detective." He said this seriously, but the uncertainty rolled off in waves nonetheless. He frowned, fingers tapping on the wheel as they rolled to a red light. "But I dunno yet."

"There's time. We still have the year," Ky said, trying to be helpful. Stiles nodded, agreeing.

All this talk about the future was pulling her thoughts back to school, classes, and the goals of her friends back in the city. Bex was planning on going into biology and then medical school to become a doctor- hefty goals due to hefty expectations of parents- but that was before this year, before this summer, before being admitted into a psych program in the hospital for two months. Bex hadn't even told Ky what the program was for, which didn't bother her as much as it kept her hoping that she was okay. Another friend wanted to go into art and design; they'd been talking about options and it had been a relief to be able to talk about creativity with someone else. Yet another was thinking of taking a gap year to travel the world.

Ky glanced at Stiles, who was driving almost absentmindedly. His eyes watched the road but were tired; the dark circles proved that this must be a common occurrence, more than a one-off event. It wasn't like her sleep was much better. Normally, five to six hours a night were both the bare minimum and the inevitable choice. It was hard to sleep through that time, even. Bad dreams, she'd say, waving a hand to excuse and minimize it at the same time. Her father was concerned. Her mother was used to late nights, too.

Before she knew it, they were pulling onto their street. Ky was about to say thank you yet again, and made a mental note to stop asking the boy for favors. Asking anyone for help usually wasn't her style, yet here he was; dropping her off for the third time in just as many days. It was an anomaly, she decided. It wouldn't happen again- at least not for a while. But then Stiles spoke up, ruining her plans.

"Hey, I just remembered that there's this bike shop down by Avalon Pier. It's pretty far, like 40 minutes away, but if you wanted to go check out some discount bikes… I mean, I'm free next week if you wanna go?" Stiles asked with a small smile. Hopeful. Light, carefree. It looked good on him- better than the semi-permanent frown that his face seemed to melt into by default.

Ky opened her mouth and closed it again, remembering the mental note from exactly ten seconds ago. "You're making it kinda hard for me to not depend on you for stuff," she said before being able to stop herself. Winced at the words- did they even make sense? Were they harsh? He seemed so tired. It'd be wrong to say yes, right?

"If it helps or makes you feel any better, I'm not being fully selfless here," he said, sheepish now. "There's a math textbook I need that the used bookstore down there has, so I was going to go anyway. Well, I was thinking about pirating it online-" he said this while furrowing his eyebrows and pausing to seemingly reconsider the option, before shaking his head- "but... it'd be nice to have the paper version."

Ky was quiet, still unsure. She had some savings, but didn't know if blowing it on a bike would be helpful. Then again, the alternative was being stuck in her neighbourhood all summer or taking the bus, or walking everywhere…

"... Plus, I didn't wanna go because the last time I went was with my family, before… well, yea. But if you came, I wouldn't be the sad guy driving there and back alone." Ky smiled at the self-depreciatory comment, unable to help it.

"Right, it'd be a sad guy and a sad girl, then." Again, the words came out before she could think them through. Was that too much of a reveal? And yet when Stiles described himself as a sad guy jokingly, little could he know that she sensed the truth of it. Not just a grain, but the entire crop. No, that was dramatic to think. Regardless, it was the familiarity of the feeling, the inherent understanding of it, that made her include herself. God, this empath-on-steroids business was annoying.

"Exactly." Stiles could see that she was considering it, in addition to whatever else was happening in her brain. "And you can browse the bikes," he added again, gesturing convincingly like a salesman. "It's one of those repair shops, so they fix up old ones like new and resell them for cheap. Well, cheaper."

Ky looked at him skeptically and sighed. "You were going to buy the textbook anyway?"

"I put it on hold yesterday. Was actually going to cancel today, but…"

"But…"

"But you're coming with me. Right?" A winning smile.

She sighed in defeat, smiling back at all this effort. "Looks like it, doesn't it?"

"Great. Next Tuesday?"

It was decided, then. "Sounds good."

The rest of Ky's day was spent sketching in the living room while a movie played in the background. Her grandfather napped on the sofa chair adjacent to her. Ky's mom called while on break- she seemed distracted, but overall relieved to hear that Ky was doing well. After hanging up, her grandmother asked if she'd talked about the accident.

Wide-eyed, Ky blanked. "I thought you did?"

"No, not yet." They were silent.

"Let's just tell her later," she said, at the same time that her grandma said "I'm sure it'll be fine to talk about it in the next call." Both of them were thinking about the potential for over-reaction, probably. There was no way to say, 'oh, by the way, I got hit by a vehicle' without causing some panic.

After dinner Ky took a walk around the neighbourhood, passing the old playground behind the street. It was fenced off for construction now.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Strange- no one called anymore besides her parents. Did grandma say something, was her mom calling it back? But the caller ID said it was someone else- an unknown number with a San Francisco area code. She wondered if it was Bex.

It wasn't- but it was another friend. Lizzie. She and Hannah were the other duo that made up their circle. It turned out she had a new phone which was why the number was unknown. The two caught up on how their summers were so far. Liz had called to say that she and Hannah missed her but hoped she was having a good time. Ky hadn't really talked much about growing up in Beacon Hills, but she knew it probably seemed like she didn't have a thriving social life before moving. There was no obscuring a detail like that.

The conversation moved toward art portfolios, Liz and Hannah's summer gigs as camp counselors, and finally the topic that was on both their minds.

"Have you heard from Bex?" Liz asked, after a pause.

"Nothing. Actually, I thought it might be her when you called."

"Right. Sorry about that. We haven't heard anything either," Liz said, before going off on one of her classic verbal brainstorms. "Guess she's really off grid right now. Or maybe they won't let her call anyone. Yea, maybe-"

"Liz, that's prison, not hospitals." Even over the phone, Ky could tell she was trying to make her feel better. It was a sweet gesture.

"Oh, right. Well, all we can do is hope for the best. This is scary shit. So. "Oh, that's also why I called. To check up on you. How are you?"

"I'm good, I said that already."

"Okay," she said, doubtful. "Don't be strong for the cavalry. Call when you need, yea?"

"Yea, of course. Thanks for asking, though. Call me, too," she added.

"Stop reflecting what's being bestowed upon you, and you're welcome. In reverse order," she instructed gently before switching topics. "So, how's the hometown? Good old … um..."

"Beacon Hills," she finished for her, frowning after finishing the walk around the perimeter and realizing there was no entrance to the playground at all. "It's not bad. But I miss the conveniences of public transit. And someone hit my bike with their car, so I'm sort of stranded at home." She frowned. "Okay, I know how that sounds, but I swear it's been nice to be back."

"Coo. Um. Backtrack. Someone did what?!"

"Yea."

"No! Were you riding it? I need details right now."

Ky told her about that night, doing her best to summarize the events as succinctly and quickly as possible, right up til that day and how she was going to an old bike shop next week to buy a replacement.

"So, this guy is your neighbour?"

"Sorta. We live across the street from each other, basically."

"And he drove you to the hospital, and then back to look for your bike the next day."

"Right. Well, two days-"

"And he offered to drive an hour to another town-"

"I mean, it's more like forty minutes- Okay, I see where you're going with this, and-"

"Ky, you're about to get either axe-murdered, or asked out. I genuinely don't know which. Actually, that is definitely a date. Oh, my god."

She rolled her eyes. Liz was a classic mom-friend and yet somehow also love-obsessed. She had been the one Ky talked to after breaking up with her first girlfriend of three months. But she could go overboard with that stuff. "It's not like that though," Ky insisted.

"Oh, okay, tell me how it's not like that. Because from my end, it's very hard to see." She was teasing, but Ky stumbled for words, cheeks warming.

"Well, yea, but … I mean, during camp when we talked for like, five days and then never again- he was head over heels for another girl. The kind that you don't really get over."

"Ky, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm going to wring you with my hands. That was seven years ago!"

"He's just being nice. He needs to buy something in the area anyway."

"That's how it always starts," Liz said in a sing-song voice.

"Please stop," Ky said, feigning exasperation. Still, it was fun to talk like this. She didn't realize how much she missed these conversations, about boys and school and nothing in particular. The past few days had left her bones aching, both physically and metaphorically.

"Okay, well. Let me know how it goes. Or actually, camp might be super busy this summer. But tell me about it eventually, okay?"

"Yes, we'll trade summer stories in September. Back in that musty cafeteria."

"Amazing. I will see you there. Um, I gotta go, but… take care and try not to worry too much, okay? I know you and Bex are close so it can't be easy, even if you say it's fine, and I know this is unsolicited advice, but… people bounce back. And trusting them to do so is one of the hardest parts."

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "Okay, talk to you later. Have a good night." They hung up.

It was times like these where Ky wondered about Liz and what she'd been through, to have all this hard-earned advice. But they weren't close enough. Maybe that was just as well, because Ky wasn't as worried about her. Especially since she had Hannah in her corner.

Ky had thought Bex and her were similar in that way too, but looking back now it was clear to see that it was a mostly one-way street. One made of worry and secrets and a sort of trust that had to be broken, eventually. When they spent time together it felt like they could talk about anything. Like they were on the same wavelength. And yet there was such a bleakness emanating from Bex, such a deep numbness that Ky only noticed when they parted and she got on the subway and felt the stresses and loves and tiredness of the commuters on their way home. It was rough, yes. But it was life, with the volume on. With Rebecca, the volume had been turned way down and she felt slow, heavy, a lack of anything else even while they laughed at comedy shows or saw cute dogs passing by.

Depressed, then. Other things. It got very bad, regardless of whatever label the psychologists decided upon.

Ky blinked herself out of these thoughts, instead thinking back to Liz's ideas about Stiles. Two things she knew, for sure: people were confusing. Friendships were confusing.

She passed by Stiles' house on the way home and couldn't help but glance at it, wondering what he was up to tonight. All the windows were dark.

A/N. Yes, I love the Gallagher Girls series and yes, I accidentally used two of the characters' names out of pure unconscious reflex. Also, these are getting long? Um. Who did that. I do not know what's happening !