~A Once and Again Series~

The Way We Were

Thanks for the reviews!! And as always, thanks for reading. And now on to the show..

Chapter 7//Rumors, Lies, and Ice Cream

Grace reluctantly stepped inside the halls of Upton Sinclair. She didn't want to be there, not after what that lying skank Jennifer had been saying about her. She just wanted to be in her bed, with the pillow over her head. But, of course, her mother wouldn't allow that. So, here she was, at the last place she wanted to be.

Grace caught her name in a whispered conversation and forced herself to just keep on walking and not scream. She would make it through this, she would.

"..I heard Grace slept.."

Grace picked up her pace, trying to ignore the careless murmurs. This was horrible!

"..the whole basketball team, even the coach.."

[[Grace - Lies. It's all lies. Can't they tell that? Do they actually think that I would do those things?]]

"..then she set her claws into trying to steal Eli from Jen.."

Grace made it to her locker and opened it, the old metal screeching. Grace felt like screeching herself. If the whole day was like this, she just might. Grace pulled out the books for her first couple of classes, and put them in her backpack.

"Grace?"

Grace turned, her eyes glaring, ready for a battle. But it was only Eli.

"Hi," Grace said dully. Any other day she would be thrilled to have Eli talking to her, but today.. Grace sighed, "Are you sure you want to be seen talking to the biggest slut in school?"

Eli flinched at her remarks, and moved even closer to her, leaving only a foot between them. "Grace.."

Grace looked into his eyes, feeling anger rising up in her as she realized it was because of Eli's ex-girlfriend, that her life was now hell. "Oh, don't play stupid, Eli! I know it's Jennifer that started this!"

Eli looked away, guiltily. Grace felt her anger start boiling up dangerously inside her. She had to yell at someone!

"Eli, just don't EVEN talk to me anymore! If it wasn't for you, none of this would be happening!" Grace shrieked.

[[Grace - I can't believe I said that.]]

Eli's face scrunched up as he studied her. Finally he shook his head, and spat out, "Fine!"

"Good!" Grace cried, needing to say something, but feeling too horrible to do what she should do, which was apologize. Eli shook his head once more and walked away. Grace watched him go, and realized that people were watching her watching him, and turned back to her locker in disgust. She had just screwed things up royally.

* * *

"Do you think that we should take the next step?" Lily asked later that day. She was talking to Rick on the phone from the small office at Sister's Bookstore.

Rick nervously cleared his throat at that, and Lily realized her statement had been too general for a man to handle. "I mean, meeting each other's kids."

"Oh," Rick said, clearly relieved. "But, I've already met yours."

Lily's face flushed at the memory of Jake, Grace and Zoe walking in on her and Rick getting intimate on the couch. She put a hand to her forehead and said into the phone, "That doesn't count!"

"I guess we could try it.." Rick agreed.

"Good. We'll do your kids first."

"Why mine first?" Rick complained.

"Because they haven't walked in on us!" Lily explained.

"Alright. Why don't you come over tonight? I've got the kids."

"Tonight?" Lily cried in shock, even though it had been her idea.

"Yeah. Just swing by.. to drop something off. We'll make it a quick little meeting, and it'll be over." Rick said.

Lily smiled, "That does sound good. Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah," Lily said, smiling.

[[Lily - I can't believe how much Rick means to me already. He's.. he's just so important to me.]]

* * *

As soon as Grace got into the car after school, Lily knew something was wrong. She looked at her daughter, her heart breaking at the pain she saw on Grace's face, as her daughter struggled not to cry. "Grace?"

"I don't want to talk about it, mom." Grace buckled up, and turned her head to the window.

"Is this about that girl who's been spreading lies about you, honey?"

Grace shuddered slightly, and Lily knew she was right. Lily waited until after they had picked up Zoe and returned home, before saying anything else, though.

"Mom, can I make pancakes tonight?" Zoe asked as the car rolled to a stop.

"Maybe, honey." Lily looked at Grace in the passenger's seat, who was motionless.

Zoe began to get out of the car, but stopped as she realized no one else was moving. "Mom?"

"Just go in the house. Grace and I will be right in." Lily explained.

Zoe reluctantly got out of the car, thinking that Grace must be in trouble, and Zoe didn't want to miss any of it.

Lily waited until Zoe had gone in the door, and then she reached out, putting her hand on Grace's shoulder. "Grace, talk to me about it."

Grace finally looked at her, her eyes filled with tears. "They're so horrible, mom!"

"I know, I know." Lily comforted her. "High school just tends to be horrible itself."

[[Lily - Junior year, in high school.. there was a rumor about me and.. oh what's his name?.. Brian?]]

"The worse thing is I kind of took it out on this guy I like. I yelled at him, when he didn't even do anything. It was all his ex's fault!" Grace's tears overflowed down her face.

[[Lily - Brad? No.. Blake! Yes, Blake Shelton. He was a very popular senior. And he asked me out. I couldn't believe this guy wanted to date me. So I said yes, of course.]]

"Oh, Grace, I'm sure he realizes that you didn't mean it." Lily said gently.

"No, I don't think he does! I was so mean to him. But I just felt so angry, that I had to let it out. He hates me now, I know it." Grace sighed.

[[Lily - He turned out to be a big jerk. We went out only once. And he was such a pig the whole night, that I couldn't even kiss his cheek when he dropped me off. But when I got to school Monday, I found out that he had told everyone that I had slept with him..]]

"Oh, Grace, everything will be okay, it will!" Lily insisted.

Grace shook her head, "I don't think it will."

"Give it time. Rumors, especially false rumors, never last." Lily said.

Grace wiped her face with her hands, and pushed the car door open. She gave her mother a 'you don't know what you're talking about' look and shut the door behind her.

Alone inside the car, Lily sighed deeply.

[[Lily - I hated him for doing that to me. And I hated everyone for believing it.]]

* * *

"Come on, ice cream trip!" Lily called out to the two lumps on the sofa.

"31 Flavors?" Zoe cried, jumping up.

"How about just one flavor? I don't have enough money for them all," Lily joked and waited to see if Grace was getting up. "Grace, you coming?"

Grace got up with annoyance, knowing from experience that it would take less effort to just go, rather than to argue with her mother over way she wasn't going.

The phone rang. Lily went and picked it up.

"So, are you still coming tonight?" Rick asked her.

"Oh, God, Rick! I totally forgot." Lily turned to make sure no one was listening in and added, "Grace is in a bad mood. I've been trying to cheer her up. Sorry."

"That's okay. I was just calling to say that maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Eli's in a bad mood himself." Rick explained.

"Yeah, another night, then," Lily said gloomily.

"Yeah, sure," Rick said, his voice sounding just as down as Lily's.

Lily turned and looked over her shoulder. Her daughters were still out of hearing range. She smiled, "You know what? I just got an idea.."

"Hmm, really?" Rick said, his voice lighter than before. "I like ideas."

Lily looked around once more and let him in on the details.

* * *

"Do we HAVE to stay?" Grace complained as they bought their ice cream cones. "Can't we just go home?"

"No," Lily said firmly. She looked around the small shop and then led her daughters to a booth.

Zoe eagerly licked her Superman ice cream cone, and Grace barely touched her Maple Nut. Lily found her own plain Vanilla melting as she watched the door.

Finally Rick entered. Along with him was a happy-looking Jessie and a miserable-looking Eli. They ordered their cones and then Rick spotted Lily. He said something to his kids and the three made their way over to them.

"Lily!" Rick said, her voice overflowing with shock. He was trying too hard not to make it look like a mere coincidence, and not like a set- up.

"Rick!" Lily said. Jessie's bubbly eyes had gone flat, and Eli looked even more miserable, if that was possible, as they approached the table.

Grace looked up with a start as her mother called out Rick's name, and her eyes immediately locked with Eli's.

[[Grace - No! No! No!]]

[[Eli - No! No! No!]]

"What a surprise!" Lily cried, her acting skills slightly better than Rick's. "These are my daughters: Grace and Zoe. Girls, you.. remember Rick, my boyfriend."

"Hi!" Zoe called out, already finishing off her ice cream cone.

Grace mumbled something, becoming aware that her ice cream was melting over her fingers. She didn't take her tortured eyes off Eli, though. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"Nice to meet you, girls." Rick said. He pulled a reluctant Jessie closer to him. "This is my daughter Jessie, and my son, Eli. You guys remember Lily from the carnival, right?"

Jessie was speechless. Eli mumbled a quick hello.

Lily and Rick exchanged glances. It wasn't going as good as they had hoped.

[[Grace - Look at him! He doesn't even care what a horrible day I had thanks to his ex-girlfriend!]]

[[Eli - Look at her! She's not even sorry she was so mean to me over something that wasn't my fault!]]

"Dad, my ice cream is melting," Jessie spoke up. "Can we go?"

"Oh, sure," Rick said, and before the words were even out of his mouth, Eli and Jessie were headed for the doors. "Bye Lily. Bye Zoe. Bye Grace."

"Bye!" Lily and Zoe said together.

Grace dropped her dripping cone onto a napkin. She waited until Rick had left the door, and then turned to her mother. "How could you do that to me??"

"What?"

Grace stood up, "Come on, mom, I know you planned this little accidental meeting!" She sighed. "I'll be in the car."

[[Grace - Everything is wrong in my life! Wrong, wrong, wrong!]]

* * *