Summary: Another day in the life of a teenager. Joan tries to juggle a "suggestion" from God, her friends, and attempts at accepting Iris in Adam's life.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from Joan of Arcadia or any songs that appear in this fic. I wouldn't mind having Christopher Marquette, though. .

Ratings: PG – just in case of swearing

AN: I've decided to tell Grace's secret, I hope it makes sense. I tied it in to her attitude now, almost as a reason for why she is the rebellious person she is. I hope you like what I've done with it. Thanks for all the reviews… Keep them coming.

Joan cracked open an eye, glaring at the blazing sun shining happily through her window. She groaned in dismay at having to wake up so early, shoving her pillow over her face to delay the bright Friday morning. She had stayed up late last night practicing walking in her high heels, and today she would be put to the test once more after school during her pageant rehearsal. She knew that if she messed up at least once, Mr. Stefan would drop her from the pageant before you could say beauty queen. 'One more day, and all of this torment will be over with…'

With another groan, she slid from underneath her pillow and covers and stood staring at her reflection in her vanity mirror. If she wasn't so used to the sight every morning, she would have shrieked in fright at the sight of the snarled hair defying gravity. Her pajamas were twisted around her hips and wrinkled, attesting to the fact of a very restless night of sleep. She vaguely remembered her dream, or nightmare, rather. Something about the pageant and falling off the stage during the evening gown segment. She shuddered, hoping that her dream wasn't really a premonition.

She righted her pajama bottoms and then made her way over to her closet, digging through the myriad hangers full of clothes, sighing with frustration. She needed to find something special… After all, it was the first day of her and Adam being a couple. She reached up and pinched her arm, wincing at the pain, but relieved to find she wasn't dreaming up yesterday afternoon. The thought of Adam confessing his feelings for her brought a huge grin to her face. She couldn't wait to see him today, and to begin exploring their relationship. Finally selecting an outfit – a brown corduroy skirt with a cranberry button down blouse, topped with a vintage white sweater with brown flowers on it – she went to the next room to get a shower.

Outside the Girardi house, a lone figure leaned against the tree, staring at the front door in frustration and apprehension. The person stuffed their hands in the pockets of their jacket, growing irritated. Grace began pacing a bit back and forth behind the tree, almost jumping when she heard the main door open up. She slinked back to hide behind the tree, spotting Luke leave the house with an apple in one hand and an open, science-related book in the other. She had to give it to the nerd, he was definitely coordinated, as she watched him bite into his apple without raising his eyes from the book. 'Who'd have thought the guy could walk, chew AND read at the same time?'

She was kind of glad that he had left early and hadn't stayed behind to catch a ride with his sister. Grace wasn't looking forward to what she was about to do, but she had no other option and no more time to do it in. It was now or never. She didn't know if it would affect Joan being in the pageant, but she hoped that the girl would get a brain and drop out. Although Grace had a feeling that Joan wouldn't have the same misfortune that she herself had two years prior. She sighed, wishing she could get this over with and get it out of the way. 'It better be worth it, Girardi…'

Grace's patience was finally rewarded when she saw Joan scramble out of the house already muttering under her breathe about being late. Before she could get into the vehicle her mom was allowing her to use, Grace stepped out from behind the tree to block Joan's way. Joan had been oblivious to all that was around her, so caught up in her drama, that she screeched when she saw a shadow move in front of her. She glanced up to see Grace's infamous scowl, more severe than normal and directed at her. 'What'd I do now?'

"Geez, Grace! You scared me… What are you doing here?"

"Can't stop by to catch a ride?"

"You live closer to school than I do…"

"Girardi, we've got to talk, and now."

"But school-"

"Can wait… This is important. Get in." With that order, Grace climbed into the passenger seat and slouched down. She remained silent as Joan got in and started up the vehicle, turning towards Grace questioningly. "Just drive…" Joan sighed, backing out of the driveway and pulling out into the quiet street, kissing her day with Adam goodbye.

They drove a few blocks before Grace spoke up. "What I'm about to tell you is important… I've never told anyone this, and luckily people that already knew about it have long forgotten it. I wouldn't be bringing it up, but I think it's important for you to hear. It's about the pageant."

Joan looked at Grace out of the corner of her eyes, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, she spoke up, "what about the pageant? I know you don't want me in it, and besides your obvious dislike of the whole idea of beauty and all that, I'm not sure if that's the real reason."

"Two years back, during the time when Rove's mom died, I pretty much had no one to talk to. He had clammed up and wasn't all that sociable. We hung out, but it wasn't the same… So around that time, I decided to make some new friends. I found these group of girls and they seemed to accept me. I wasn't as I am today back then. I was almost girly." Grace grimaced at the image that came to mind, not even looking at Joan for her reaction. "The Pageant was a big deal, always had been, and these girls were thinking of entering. They kept at me, trying to convince me to join too… After awhile I caved. I thought that they wanted me in it, because I had it in me. Halfway through the pageant:

"Oh, Grace, you look great in that gown… Wait, your tag is showing, let me fix that for you. Good luck." Kaitlin smiled at Grace, patting her on the back in encouragement. Grace returned the smile, thanking her for fixing her dress then turned towards the stage as her name was called. She began walking out, oblivious to the laughter until she got onto stage where everyone fell silent than began to chuckle at the sight they saw. She stared at them in confusion, then horror as her dress began sliding down her body to pool at her feet, leaving her to stand in front of the crowd in nothing but her underwear. She looked down at the burgundy colored evening dress, seeing the spaghetti straps that had held it in place moments ago had separated from the back portion of the dress. 'How could this have happened?' She blinked back tears, looking over to the side of the stage to see Kaitlin and the other girls pointing and laughing, a look of triumph in her hazel eyes. Swallowing a few times past the lump in her throat, Grace stepped out of her dress and scurried to the other side of the stage and out the door, running for the bathroom.

She had stayed in that stall for the remainder of the pageant, vowing never to fall into the trap again of trusting, of trying to fit in, of ever being humiliated again. Thirty minutes into her seclusion, she heard the outer door open, and the click of heels on the tile floor. A timid 'Grace' followed by a knock on the stall door. Grace didn't recognize the voice as belonging to one of the girls that had humiliated her, so she reluctantly opened the door a crack.

"What do you want?"

"I, I'm sorry what happened to you. I brought you… your clothes."

"Thanks…" Grace muttered, reaching out to grab the clothes that were dangling in front of the crack. She began dressing quickly, noticing that the girl still hadn't left. Realizing she couldn't hide forever, she resolutely exited the bathroom stall to look at the girl who helped her out. She remembered her vaguely as one of the other contestants – a very pretty brunette, but too timid to make it past the question and answers portion of the pageant. She had stuttered through her speech, burst into tears and ran off the stage. Grace felt a small kinship to the girl, who she later found out was named Alison.

"I overheard them talking about it… Apparently th-they had it planned all along. I'm s-sorry."

Grace had thanked her again and then left the bathroom to get her things. She vowed to never let anyone walk all over her again.

"And I haven't."

"Wow… Grace, I'm sorry. That was horrible. Why'd they do that?"

"Because they could. They didn't need a reason, just a need to humiliate someone they felt inferior to them. Now do you see why I think the pageant is a bad idea? It breeds stupidity, catty behaviors, and humiliation."

"Yeah… I know that the Pageant is just wrong, besides the fact of what they make you do in them, is the fact that they place too much emphasis on looks. But I don't really have a say whether or not I can drop out… I'm kind of committed to me, and there seems to be a reason why. I'm not sure what that is, or when I'll figure it out, but it's there. I don't think someone is going to sabotage my performance and humiliate me in front of everyone, considering I'll be doing that myself, but I can't back out."

"I don't understand you, Girardi. You do things that defy logic. You joined cheerleading, and at first I thought you were a fluff brain, yet you proved me wrong during tryouts. You do these things that are out of the ordinary, make me think of you as a certain way, then you do an about face and leave me guessing. I don't like to deal with not knowing…"

"You and me both. But I'm… complicated. I know I do things that are just completely not me… But in a way, they are me. I just don't who I am yet to figure out why."

"I hope you prove me wrong about this Pageant, Girardi… Now, let's get to school. There's a Price I've got to torment to cheer me up and help me forget… By the way, don't you breathe a word of this or-"

"I know, I know. You don't need to remind me…. Does Adam know?"

"No… And I want to keep it that way. He was too busy dealing with his mom's death and the emotional hole it left in his life to notice my changes…."

"Grace… I'm glad you told me."

"Just drive.." And with that, they fell into silence the rest of the way towards the school, each lost in their thoughts. Grace felt better for telling Joan about her secret of why she is the way she is, but she would never admit it… It felt good to have someone confide in, no offense to Adam, but he wasn't always 'there' mentally. Maybe it wasn't so bad to have a girl in their group, to balance things out.

Joan was chewing on her bottom lip, totally absorbed in what Grace had told her. It all made sense. Grace's apparent disregard for anything expected, demanded, and even her gender. She refused to conform once more to what people considered 'beautiful,' and Joan was glad… She just wished that she could do something to help her friend out, plus get her out of this pageant. It was just a bad idea…