Gaia woke up next to Jules, whose phone was in her hand; She fell asleep texting Tyler after Gaia went to sleep. Gaia could tell Jules felt a connection to Tyler and prayed that this wasn't a catfish for her sake.

Gaia took a long shower and put on a cute matching loungewear set. She left her bedroom to get a drink. While walking past her mom's bedroom, Gaia heard noises of someone throwing up. This made her stop in her tracks and knock on her door with concern.

A few minutes later, her mom opened the door with a smile.

" Hey, sweetie!" she greeted cheerfully.

" Mom, you good?" Gaia scanned her body to see if she was

OK.

" Yeah, I'm fine! Mimi is making breakfast for you and your friend so you guys can get something to eat before you leave for the day. " she tried to pivot the conversation.

Gaia side-eyes her mom but lets it go in the moment.

She returned to her room to check on Jules, who was already up.

" Hey, my Grandma cooked food. Want some?" Gaia asked

" Duh. You think I came here for you!?" Jules teased. Gaia just gave her the middle finger and walked out, with Jules following behind her, chuckling.

They sat down with Mimi, and the three started talking about all the legendary fashion shows MiMi went to. Jules loved every second of it. She was interested in fashion, so she was fascinated to hear someone who was there for some of fashion's most significant moments.

Gaia tuned out the conversation, focusing on her mom, who hadn't come downstairs yet. She was still worried about what she had heard earlier.

" Maybe she's just got the flu or something," Gaia thought.

Gaia tuned back into the conversation with Jules and Mimi, trying to put her mom's weird behavior out of her mind.

Gaia was at Howard's sisters' house, helping Cassie prepare for her weekend with Mckay.

Cassie looked at the group and said," I wanna look cute but not eager."

" Then don't wear that top," Maddy spoke.

" Yeah, I agree. Try the bodysuit," Gaia voiced her opinion.

While Lexi studied, Gaia was on Lexi's bed, sitting next to her.

Cassie looked at the bodysuit and examined it. "I don't really know if I like this body suit, though."

Lexi looked at Kat and noticed she wasn't paying attention. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Just this article." Kat jumped, completely engulfed in her phone.

"About what?" Gaia asked absentmindedly.

"You know, like... the Holocaust." Kat lied.

"Oh. Cool." Lexi said

Gaia waited until Lexi wasn't paying attention to get Kat's attention secretly. She put her finger to her nose as a way to ask if she was texting her cash pig, to which she nodded. Gaia gave her an ohh face and focused on Maddy and Cassie.

" Love that," Maddy exclaimed.

"Like, perf." BB cosigned, looking at her phone.

"Lex? GG?" Cassie asked. She really wanted Maddy and Gaia's opinions because they were the most into fashion in the group.

"It's cute," Lexi answered.

" You look fucking hot," Gaia complimented. A slight blush came across the older Howard girl's face that she quickly hid.

Maddy huffed while looking at Cassie's body. "I wish I had your collarbones."

"Maddy, you are amazing! Stop it! " Gaia went over to hug and kiss the Latin girl. Maddy returns the kiss on the cheek.

Suze opened the sister's door, holding a drink in her hand as usual. "I'm putting a lot of trust into you."

"Yeah, Cassie, don't get pregnant." Kat joked, which made Gaia start giggling.

"That's not funny, Kat. But don't you dare get pregnant." Suze said as she walked toward Cassie.

Cassie rolled her eyes" Relax, Mom. He has a roommate."

"I want you to keep your phone on throughout the night. You send me a photo when you get back to the dorm ...with a clock in it." Suze ordered

"Like a ransom photo?" Maddy asked, slightly worried and confused.

Gaia started to giggle even more at Maddy's question. She just held on to her best friend and used her to cover her face.

" I hate you." Cassie expressed.

"Well, I love you." Suze sighed.

Cassie smiled a bit at her mom and replied, "I love you, too."

Mckay texted that he was downstairs, and we all went outside to watch her as she walked to the car. The group started to pretend to have sex behind Suze, teasing Mckay and Cassie.

"Have fun, baby girl. No funny business, Christopher!" Suze exclaimed.

"Yeah, no, I promise," Mckay replied back.

"Yeah, just be a gentleman. And don't you dare get pregnant," Suze warned.

Gaia went to the boxing gym later in the evening. Leaving the gym, she saw Harvey's car parked across the parking lot.

Gaia's heartbeat quickened, and her body froze for a minute. Despite that, she pushed through to make her body move. She sprinted towards her car and hopped in, driving away frantically.

Before going to Bennett's household, Gaia stopped by her house to shower quickly and get her overnight bag. After that, she went to Rue's house to hang out with her and Gia.

" Wassup, Gia!" Gaia engulfed Rue's sister in a hug, which was returned.

" Hi, GG," Gia greeted back.

Gia opened the door more so Gaia could walk in. When Gaia entered the living room, Leslie was sitting on the couch.

" GG? how have you been, baby?" Leslie got up and hugged Gaia.

Leslie has always looked at Gaia as part of our family. Like a third daughter. After my dad died, she practically stayed with me at my house every day to make sure we were OK.

" I'm good, Ms. Bennett. How have you been?" Gaia asked her.

" I'm fine. How's school and everything else going?" She asked one of her daughter's oldest friends.

Before Gaia could answer the question, Rue came from the back and greeted her," Sup, GG!"

GG ran up to Rue and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek " Wassup, my third favorite, Bennett."

" Third? Wow! I've hurt," Rue replied sarcastically, making everyone laugh.

The four of them sit down for dinner and talk. Gaia and Rue were bickering as Gia and Leslie looked on and laughed. It seemed like a lifetime since all four of them were happy together. Gaia offered to help Leslie clean the dishes, but she declined. Rue, Gaia, and Gia eventually went into Rue's room to watch some old movies together.

After leaving Rue's house, Gaia spent the night at Fezco's. She was lying in bed after sex, waiting for Fez to come out of the shower. She was on cloud nine, thinking about their relationship. Her thoughts were interrupted by the loud notification sound. She checked her phone but nothing. Then her eyes landed on what made the sound.

Fez left his phone on the charger while he was in the bathroom. Gaia crawled over to the phone to read the notification, just in case it was urgent. She saw an Instagram DM from a familiar face. It was Samantha from the cheerleading squad. Her ex

Samantha: I can keep a secret if you can :)

"What the Fuck" Gaia whispered to herself. She returned the phone and sat there, thinking about the text she had seen. Gaia couldn't be mad because they weren't in a relationship. Seeing that message really put everything in perspective about their relationship and how much she wanted to be with him. When he came out, they needed to have a conversation.

"What if he doesn't want to be in a relationship?" She thought. She sat and thought about being rejected by Fez. She concluded that she would rather be rejected than live in limbo.

Fezco finally enters the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

" You were in the shower for so long; I thought you died," she joked. Fezco did take a long time, but he was contemplating a decision he wanted to make.

" you ain't check on me?" Fezco chuckled. He went into his dresser and fished out some pajamas and a t-shirt.

Gaia pretends to shrug apathetically. She went on her phone, using it to hide her face, trying not to laugh.

" Wow, you got jokes, huh?" Fez walked over and started to tickle Gaia. He climbed on top, tickling her sides, making her yell and beg for mercy. He eventually stops, letting them catch their breath.

Fezco makes eye contact with Gaia, filling both pairs of eyes with lust. Gaia leaned in and kissed Fezco's lips passionately. She put her hands on his face to pull him closer while his hands explored her body underneath the shirt she was wearing.

Gaia got so swept up at the moment that she forgot about the message she saw on his phone. She quickly pulled back and sat up, confusing Fez.

" You good? " he asked in his same slow dialect but with a hint of concern.

"I just wanted to have a conversation about us. But before I start, I just want you to let me talk and get it out, OK?" Gaia expressed. she was twiddling with her fingers out of nervousness, looking down at them.

Fez nodded and put his head down. For some reason, his mind went to the worst. He thought she decided she didn't want to do this anymore and wanted someone with a future. That was one of his biggest fears in this relationship.

" Look, I saw Samantha message you on Instagram, and from what I saw, she was trying to get with you. I'm not mad or anything, but I can't pretend I wasn't hurt. Should I be? No. We aren't in a relationship. That made me realize that... I really like you and want to be in a relationship with you. If you don't, I will be sad, but I'll get over it. I don't want to be casual anymore." She mustered up the courage and made eye contact in the middle of her speech, gaining confidence from his eyes.

The couple sat there in silence for a couple of seconds until Fez spoke.

" I thought you were gonna end this," he spoke truthfully.

" No. I... I actually wanted to be together for real." Gaia expressed.

Fez face turned into a big smile, hearing those words comes from her mouth.

" Look, I want to be my girl for a long time. " Fez said,

" what about Samantha?" Gaia asked

" Nah. shorty was trying to get with me ever since she heard we were fucking each other, but I just shut that shit down." Fez took his phone and showed all of the DMS between them. As he said, the pursuit was very one-sided. It was almost embarrassing.

" She started talking to you after hearing me talk about our relationship. fucking bitch!" Gaia cursed. She knew they weren't close after their brief relationship ended, but this was just bitch shit.

" Don't even worry about ma. She's just trying to fuck wit you," Fez waved off. He kissed her angry face, making her release her anger instantly.

" You mad sexy when you're angry" Fez licked his lips while looking up and down her body. This made Gaia's whole body tense up. Their faces slowly crept together until their lips connected. Both of their bodies erupted like volcanoes whose core was shaken.