A/N – Again, I apologize for how long this took to get out. Exams are this week and next, so the teachers have been piling on homework so they finish the course on time…which is overwhelming. Trust me when I say that I'd much rather just write this all day rather than study!!

Anyway, I managed to get this out in between studying…I'm not completely satisfied with it, so I might revise it later. But for now, I really hope you like it! I have started calling Ephram's mom Julia, because it is much easier and less formal. It will also become essential in later chapters. Oh, to answer a reader's question about Madison, Ephram will meet Madison, but I can't say what will happen between them. It will all become apparent soon! Enjoy, and please review!!

            The sun brightly shone through the bedroom window. Ephram was sitting on a mattress, in the middle of the room, trying to think about what to do.

            It had been a long day, moving his family's few belongings into their new house. He felt better that he had filled Nina in about everything; and yet he felt so guilty that he had phoned his father without his mother knowing. It wasn't as if he needed permission or anything, but he had always favoured his mother. Ephram had despised his father for the longest time. In fact, he could remember the exact moment when he started hating his father.

            He had been ten years old and his father had promised his mother and Ephram that they would go on a picnic on a Saturday afternoon. Delia had only been four, but adored and idolized her father. He had not been able to do their family picnics for a few weeks now, but had assured and pledged that he would make it to their picnic. Ephram had whole-heartedly believed him.

            When his father didn't make it to the picnic, he was so angry with himself. How could he have believed that his dad was going to come to the picnic? What was different this time? The worst part wasn't that he had been disappointed, or that his mother had been let down, either. Though seeing his mother so upset hurt him, the most horrible thing was seeing his little sister so disappointed.

            His father apologized and apologized for not making the picnic. After some shouting between his parents, everything went back to normal. Delia was only four, so after his dad played with her a bit and bought her a new toy, she forgave him too.

            But Ephram never fully forgave him. Sure, he said that everything was fine, but he didn't mean it. His dad had let him down for the last time; he would never get his hopes up again for fear of getting so badly hurt.

            As he thought about it, right now he needed his dad more than ever. He was counting on him to do something; counting on his father to talk to his mother and fix things. He wondered whether or not his father would come through this time.

            "Ephram! Can you come down here for a second?" his mother's call broke him out of his thoughts, and he reluctantly got up off the mattress and made his way down the stairs.

            "Hey Mum," Ephram said casually, banning all his previous thoughts from his mind, "What's up?"

            Julia stood in the front hall with a smile on her face, in jeans and a t-shirt. Ephram truly believed that his mother had fun moving into their new house, it was the happiest he'd seen her in a long time. But he also knew that she was continually on the go, always in the middle of something. He guessed that it was so she didn't have a chance to stop and think about what was actually going on.

            "Since it's close to 7 o'clock and I really don't feel like making dinner, I thought that we could go to the diner or something. That okay with you?" Julia asked.

            Ephram nodded, "Sure. Nina coming with us?"

            Julia handed Ephram his jacket, "She's already there. Nina started her shift an hour ago…Delia's playing with Sam in the kitchen. You know, it's so lucky that we found a friend like Nina right away, it's almost like this is meant to be."

            "Yeah, Mom." Ephram responded, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

            His mother smiled at him, and then kissed him on the cheek.

            "You're my rock, Ephram." She whispered in his ear as she hugged him.

            Before he had a chance to answer, she pulled away and went to get the kids from the kitchen. Ephram stood there, stunned.

            He was his mother's rock? For him, it had always been the other way around. He shook his head…if only she knew that he had contacted his dad. Ephram was positive that if she knew, his mother's belief would change.

            Julia came back into the hall with Delia and Sam close behind.

            "Let's go, guys!" she said cheerfully, as the four headed out the door.

            Delia and Sam chatted away with Julia on the way to the diner, and Ephram added comments here and there. He was so afraid that he would give away what he knew; why they moved to Everwood, what went on with his parents and that he had called his father and knew that his dad was going to try and reconcile with his mom. He didn't regret what he had done…but he wished that it didn't have to be such a secret.

            He immediately felt better when they stepped foot in the diner. Nina was at the counter, and as his mother was ordering, Nina winked at Ephram sympathetically. He was very glad that she knew his secret. It seemed that their new neighbour was a good listener and would definitely be there for them in the future. 

            Delia and Sam found a table by the window and Ephram sat down with them as Nina and Julia chatted. Ephram glanced around the diner and saw that it was pretty full. It was a horrible feeling knowing that he didn't recognize anyone and he desperately wished that he were home in New York.

            At that very moment, the diner door opened and a few of teenagers walked in. Ephram watched them as they went up to the counter and greeted Nina. She smiled and said hello, and then it looked as though she was introducing them to his mother. Ephram quickly looked away as Nina then motioned to where he, Delia and Sam were sitting. He heard laughter and looked back over to the counter. Nina, Julia and the girl were laughing and the two guys were smiling.

            As they laughed, the girl looked at Ephram and smiled and waved. His eyes widened, and he briefly looked around him to see whether she was waving at anyone around him. No one else seemed to be looking at her and he realized that she must have been waving at him. When he looked back at her, she shook her head, laughing. She then said something to one of the guys, and started making her way over to Ephram.

            "Hi, you must be Ephram," the girl said, smiling and sitting down across from him.

            Ephram nodded and tried to find his voice. From far away, the girl had looked pretty, but up close, she was absolutely beautiful. Why would she want to talk to him, of all people?

            "I'm Amy," she continued, and then she pointed to the two guys standing at the counter, "And those two guys over there are Colin and Bright. You're new to Everwood, right? How long have you been here?"

            "Only a day," Ephram replied casually, trying to think clearly.

            "Wow, that's not a long time…you certainly fit in here, you know that? You must've lived in a small town before." she assumed, smiling. Her eyes sparkled, and he cleared his throat, trying not to keep looking into them.

            "Um, no, actually." he stuttered, "We lived in New York before."

            Amy looked confused, "What does Everwood have that New York doesn't?"

            Ephram chuckled for the first time in a long time.

            "You know Amy, I really don't know. It's a long story and I'm sure you'd be bored with it." Ephram replied, glancing at his little sister, who was now listening intently.

            Amy shook her head, smiled and shrugged.

            "Try me."

            Ephram's mind reeled, and he tried to think of a way to tell Amy without enlightening Delia as to what was really going on. The funny thing was, even though Amy was stranger, he felt as though he could trust her. He really did want to tell her, but knew that he really couldn't at the moment.  Fortunately, he didn't have to as the dark haired boy appeared beside their table.

            "Bright's got our food, Grover. Coming?" he glanced at Ephram, looking him over and then glanced at Amy. Ephram took a wild guess and assumed that the two were going out, judging from the look of protectiveness on Colin's face.

            Amy looked up at Colin, and Ephram noticed a quick look pass between them. Then she smiled at Ephram and nodded.

            "Yep, I'm coming." she got up and pushed the chair in, then asked Ephram cheerfully, "Are you starting school tomorrow?"

            "Yeah, I think so." Ephram replied.

            Amy grinned, "Good! Then I'll see you tomorrow, and you can fill me in on what's going on."

            Ephram nodded, and smiled at her.

            "See you tomorrow, then, Amy." he replied, smiling at her, and then smiling at her boyfriend, "You too, Colin."

            Colin glared at him and then put his arm around Amy's waist as they walked to the table where the other boy, Bright, was sitting.

            Ephram watched them walk away and felt his heart sink. Of course, he'd fallen for a girl that already had a boyfriend. A jealous boyfriend, at that. He'd been in the town for one day and had a crush on Amy. This was not good.

            Fixing it was simple, he told himself. All he had to do was get over her. He hardly knew her, so that should be easy to do, right?

            As he glanced across the diner at her, he closed his eyes briefly. Nope. He was too far in…but for some reason, this was a bright spot in his life at the moment.

            Maybe Amy would turn out to be a good thing for him. Maybe not. Ephram sighed.

Just when he thought it couldn't get more complicated, it had.