~A Once and Again Series~

The Way We Are

Psst... I don't want to give too much away, but I don't want you all to get worried, either... SO, just don't worry too much about Grace and Travis. That's all I'll say. :)

Chapter 13// What Lies Beneath

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"So, I talked with Lily, and she invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner," Jake mentioned casually. He looked to his wife, and added, "We don't have to go, of course. I just... it would be nice for the girls."

Tiffany smiled at him, "Of course we'll go."

"You're okay with it?" Jake asked. He didn't want to push Tiffany to do anything she didn't want to do... especially since they had just reconciled their relationship.

Tiffany's nose wrinkled up, "Why wouldn't I be okay with it? I like Lily."

"Oh," Jake nodded, "Of course."

"And I love your girls," Tiffany moved closer to him, setting down the baby name book she had been studying and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"And they love you," Jake said, stealing a kiss back.

Tiffany smiled bashfully, "I don't know about that..."

"They do," Jake said honestly. "They might have been a little weirded out about our relationship at first, but they have come to really love you, Tiffany. Just like I do."

Tiffany smiled, and picked up the baby name book again. Jake watched her, his eyes filled with adoration.

[[Jake - I almost lost her... and it just made me realize just how much I really do love her. The idea of never seeing her again - not to mention not seeing my kid- was just too much. I'm glad she has a tender heart, and that she's willing to give us a try again. I think we can work. I think we can survive.]]

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"E, I don't need a ride after school. I'm going to Katie's, so don't wait for me or anything," Jessie said, as she grabbed the strap of her backpack and got out of the front passenger's seat of the car.

"Okay," Eli agreed. Jessie shut the door behind her and Eli watched Jessie cross across the school yard and join a large group of girls and guys. His sister was certainly making friends.

Eli heard a heavy sigh from the backseat, and his eyes went to the rearview mirror and he looked back on Grace. Grace's face was troubled, and Eli knew she was about to speak her mind.

"Eli," She began.

Eli's eyes dropped from the mirror and he looked down at the steering wheel instead, "Yeah."

"I don't understand..."

Eli glanced back on her. It was painful to look at her. Not just because her pretty face was twisted into a sad look-- which Eli knew was probably due to his actions-- but also because looking at her reminded him of the play performance. Of seeing her kissing the guy from the play. Seeing her kissing someone else with the same passion she had used to kiss him.

"Why did you leave the play?" Grace asked. That question bugged her all weekend. Eli had been at his mom's though, and Grace hadn't had enough courage to go over and ask Eli to explain. She was afraid she wouldn't like the answer.

Eli sighed, and turned his head back around, taking his eyes off her. "Do you really want to know, Grace?"

"Well... yeah," Grace admitted. She leaned forward, and this time when Eli turned his head around, their faces were only a foot apart.

Eli's face hardened as he looked at her. "Grace... that kiss..."

Grace shook her head, immediately knowing what Eli thought. She put up her defense, "It's acting! Nothing more."

Eli looked at her sadly. "I don't know if that's true. You may think it's true, Grace..."

"It's true. The play calls for me to kiss Travis. It's important for Cilia to kiss Milos in that scene," Grace insisted.

"Yes, that may be true... but I think there's something more behind that kiss Grace. Something you don't realize or don't quite see yet..." Eli looked at her sadly.

"What's that?" Grace asked, perplexed.

Eli leaned his head back a bit, and paused. Then he said, without looking at Grace, "I think you have feelings for this guy."

Eli heard Grace's hard breath of disbelief. He could feel her hurt eyes on the back of his head. Then she was opening the car door, and it slammed back shut... and she was gone.

Eli couldn't resist looking to his right, and watching her walk away towards the school doors. Her shoulders were slumped, her head dipped, and she looked lost in thought.

Eli watched her until her figure became blurry... not because she was getting further and further away, but because Eli's eyes were slowly growing more watery. Then he looked back down at the car keys clutched in his hand. He gripped the keys tighter, and waited for his eyes to grow dryer. Then he replaced the car key in the slot, and turned it, roaring Ruby to life again. He didn't feel like going to school today...

Eli tore out of the parking lot at a high speed, already picturing his guitar waiting on his bed at his mother's empty house.

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"Our last performance!" Cynthia cried later that week. They had already done two shows last weekend, one on Tuesday night, one on Thursday night, and now it was Friday night again, and they were about to put on their last show.

Grace smiled sadly. The play had been fun to do... or at least for a while it had been fun. But then on Monday Eli's comments had made Grace stop and think.

[[Grace - I don't really like Travis... do I?]]

Grace had begun to be nervous about doing the play performances, but not for the normal reasons. But because, she had begun to dread the kissing scene...

[[Grace - Don't you think I would have noticed if I had a crush on him?]]

Her stomach would tie up in knots as the scene grew closer. She looked out on the audience every night before the play started... but never had Eli returned to see another one of the performances. Her mother, Zoe, Jake, Tiffany and Judy were all repeat audience members, but Eli's face was one that never reappeared.

[[Grace - You don't just develop feelings for someone without noticing... especially when you're otherwise involved in a relationship. I was with Eli... even if we were having problems, I wouldn't have just... started liking Travis.]]

Grace was disappointed. She really liked acting. She liked the play, and she wished Eli would have returned to see the whole thing, and not just the first half. But... he hadn't. And anyways, after Eli's words in the car, Grace's acting probably wasn't as good as it had been, when she hadn't given any thought to the kissing scene. Back when the kiss had just been a kiss between two characters... and not the possibility of something more.

Grace didn't like the idea of the kiss being something more. She didn't like the idea that maybe... just maybe she did have feelings for Travis.

[[Grace - *unsurely* I don't like Travis... not like that.]]

"Break a leg," Travis said as he came up being Grace as she was peering around the curtains.

Grace jumped and let the curtain fall back. She hadn't seen Eli in the audience anyways. "You too," She whispered to Travis and then quickly moved backstage. It was their last show... Eli hadn't came. He would never see Grace play Cilia after the kiss... after Milos rejects Cilia in favor for Ronda. He would never see Grace as Cilia saying her goodbye. He would never see Grace take her bow at the end. He would never join in the applause for their play. He wasn't here.

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Then, came time for the kiss. There was a noticeable pause... even longer than there had been during the other shows this week-- the other shows that had come after Eli's words.

Mr. Morris, watching from the back, was surprised by Grace's new adaptation of Cilia's character. She was playing her with more... emotion tonight it seemed. He could almost feel Cilia's pain at losing her love. Mr. Morris didn't know what brought on Grace's new take on Cilia, but he liked it...

The pause before the kiss lasted longer than Mr. Morris would have liked, but then the two on stage finally met in a kiss, and Mr. Morris was moved by their intensity.

Grace kissed him. She kissed him as Grace kissing Travis, not as Cilia kissing Milos. She tested the waters-- so to speak... she wanted to know what lay beneath the surface.

Travis, himself, didn't realize the change. He kissed her back, glad that the kiss was just actually happening. He had been worried there for a moment... for a moment he had thought for some reason Grace just wasn't going to kiss him at all. But they had to kiss... it was an important part of the storyline.

Grace pulled back, breathing a little hard. She looked up at Travis as the lights dimmed on them. She blinked.

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"Happy Thanksgiving!" Lily cried cheerfully as Tiffany and Jake entered through the kitchen door.

"More like 'Happy Turkey Day'," Jake commented, lifting his head slightly as the smell of the cooking bird filled his nostrils.

"Do you need any help?" Tiffany asked, unbuttoning her coat.

Jake turned, and saw Tiffany struggling with her coat. He helped slip it off around her shoulders.

Lily smiled at Tiffany, "Don't you think you should rest?"

Tiffany pulled out a stool at the island, and sat down heavily. "Sit... yes. Rest... no. Just give me something I can do while sitting, and I'm good."

Jake took off his own coat and then kissed Tiffany on the forehead and headed into the living room. Rick, Grace, and Zoe were all seated in front of the TV. Karen had Eli and Jessie this Thanksgiving, apparently.

Zoe saw her Dad, and ran up to give him a hug, before scooting off to the kitchen to greet Tiffany. Jake greeted Rick. And then kissed Grace's forehead.

Grace smiled up at her dad, but her smile wasn't all there.

Rick got up to go see if he could steal any food from the kitchen to snack on... not likely, Jake knew... as Lily tended to guard all the Thanksgiving food for the actual meal. She didn't like them getting full before the bird was actually on the table.

Anyways, Jake took his opportunity to have some alone time with Grace. "So, you broke up with Eli," Jake said. Lily had told him. She had warned him actually... not to bring it up. But he was Grace's father. He had to make sure she was alright.

Grace sighed and nodded, "Yeah."

Jake brushed back some of her brown locks, "Are you okay?" He studied his daughter's face intently.

Grace shrugged, "Well... I should be. I mean, I was the one who broke things off. I should be okay, right?" She looked up at him, like he might know all the answers.

"No, I don't think it always works that way," Jake said softly.

Grace nodded. She knew that.

"But, I guess... it can get better in time," Jake offered.

Grace took this statement eagerly. She nodded and a glimmer of hope shone in her eyes. "Maybe it can."

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