5:50 AM

Brooke brutally attacked her alarm clock. The shrill ringing persisted in her sleepy mind. She growled at the clock and muttered, "Oh, screw you."

It was still dark outside, for God's sake.

6:01

It took Lorelei an extra minute to drag herself out of bed. As she staggered into the hallway to go have a shower, she spotted her sister at the other end of the hall. They stopped, stared at each other, then made a mad dash for the bathroom.

Lorelei screamed with anger as Aurora skidded into the bathroom and slammed the door. "Damn your long legs, you goddamn GRASSHOPPER!"

6:19

Cassie jerked awake with a start. She'd slept in over an extra hour.

6:28

Anya entered the kitchen for breakfast. She was surprised to see Chris already half finished his scrambled eggs, sitting between Ilonka and her twenty-year-old sister Natalia.

"Morning, Anya," Natalia said cheerfully.

"Good morning," she replied, sitting down across from Chris. They smiled. "Did you sleep okay? I know that couch is kinda squeaky. And bumpy."

"I slept like a log," he told her.

"Hey Anya, we've decided to trade you for Chris," Natalia said. "He can make toast."

"Yep. I can. Very well, too." Chris nudged the plate stacked with slices of buttered toast towards Anya. "Eat."

6:35

"I have to get an education earlier than you do! Your first class doesn't start until nine!"

The water was turned off momentarily, and Aurora said calmly, "You have your own bathroom, Lorelei. It's not my fault that you made it smell like nail polish remover and it nauseates you."

"If you do not get out of the shower, I'll tell Mom and Dad that you're failing beauty school," Lorelei warned.

Aurora snorted with laughter and turned the water back on.

"Get out of the SHOWER!" Lorelei yelled, pounding on the bathroom door.

"Stop yelling, Lorelei," Mrs. Lane yelled.

"Aurora's being EVIL!" she yelled.

"Stop YELLING!"

6:37

Wearing a slip, Cassie flipped frantically through her closet. She didn't know why, but she'd dreamt about that stupid Vern guy, and he was on her mind when she'd woken up. Now he was on her mind while she tried to pick something out to wear. For some reason, she just wanted to look nice for him. What the hell was that all about?

"Cassandra, sweetie, are you up?" Mr. Grey called, opening her bedroom door.

Cassie jumped. "Dad! I'm half-naked!"

"Ahh, sorry, sorry!"

"Are you going to close the door?" she demanded. She quickly slipped a burgundy blouse over her shoulders.

"Yes, I'm sorry, sweetheart. Oh, and by the way, that shirt thing you're wearing makes you look very smart."

"Dad. I'm still half-naked. That means you should stop being in here."

"Oh, right. Sorry." He smiled sheepishly and shut her door.

Scowling, she crossed her room and looked at herself in the full-length mirror. The blouse did make her look smart. Smart and stuck up. She'd never had a boy in mind to want to look nice for. She'd also never wished she had a mother around to show her how to be pretty.

6:41

Aurora finally emerged from the shower.

"Cow," Lorelei snapped.

She smiled, wringing out some of the water from her white-blond hair. "Goodness, I never made you out to be such a personal hygiene crusader, Lorelei."

"Shut up. I'm going to freeze off vital body parts because you took up all the hot water and I hate you."

"Run along, chickadee," she said, using her maddening nickname for the younger sister. "You're going to need to really scrub to cleanse yourself fully if you want that Teddy character to realize you're alive."

"Oh MY Lord." Lorelei stared at her. "I might very well kill you. How do you know about Teddy?"

"I read your diary."

She screeched and dove at her throat.

Aurora screamed, "Are you trying to rip off my towel?!"

"NO I am TRYING to KILL YOU!"

"And I quote: 'I'm just trying to figure out how Teddy feels about me, but at the same time, I'm realizing how much I feel--'"

"Shut up!"

"Do you know how close you are to committing incest, you molester? Get your hand off my chest."

"I'm not trying to commit incest, I'm trying to commit fratricide, you bitch! And my hand is nowhere near your chest, you just WISH it were!"

"Oh yes. Yes, yes. I just cannot resist your beguiling ways. Now stop pretending that I'm Teddy and go take a shower."

7:20

Gordie's eyelashes flittered with the softness of a dream. One hand was tucked under his chin while his other arm was splayed above his head. He'd kicked his blankets off during the night sometime and he'd brought his legs up, tucking them in closer to his body for warmth.

Brooke hated to wake him. She'd never watched a boy sleep before, and she realized with a sinking, floating sensation that she'd just fallen head over heels.

Though she would have loved to watch how peaceful he was for longer, she reached out and softly touched his arm. "Gordie," she said. "It's twenty after seven. Reese wants to leave by quarter to eight."

He opened his eyes slowly. It took him a few moments to focus on her, and when he did, he shut his eyes again. "Christ. So it wasn't all a dream."

She smiled. "Good morning, sunshine."

He smiled back, sleepily. "Yes, good morning, Brooke."

Standing up, she said, "Get up. I don't want to be late for school."

7:30

Teddy woke up. He still had his glasses on, and he was wearing what he'd worn yesterday. Apparently he had fallen asleep while moping about Lorelei.

Lorelei. Goddamn Lorelei. He had fallen asleep with the idea of forgetting about her. If he went to school today, that would never happen.

So he rolled over and went back to sleep.

7:56

Reese squeezed into a tight parking space.

"Reese," Brooke said. "I can't open my door."

"Why? Are you handicapped? Gordie, man, maybe you can help her. You know how girls are."

"You parked too close to the car next to us!"

Reese shrugged. "I have enough room on my side. You figure something out. I know you're smart, Brookie."

8:12

Vern sat on his porch, waiting for Teddy. Usually Teddy picked him up at eight, but now that he'd broken his truck, they walked together. School started in eight minutes.

He looked down at his neatly pressed trousers and properly buttoned shirt. There was no way he was going to miss school today. He was looking good. Even Cassie would see that.

"Billy?" he called, getting up and running into the house. "Mom! Will you wake Billy up and make him drive me to school?"

8:13

Mr. Lane dropped Lorelei off a block away from the school, according to her wishes.

8:15

Stefan dropped Anya and Chris off at the front of the school.

8:16

Anya and Lorelei found each other.

"Oh my God!" Anya cried.

"Oh my God too!" Lorelei said.

"Guess who slept at my house last night!"

"Guess who I killed this morning!"

They laughed, and started walking together in the direction of first period Social class.

"I'm guessing you killed a family member," Anya said. "Probably Aurora, since you two hate each other's souls."

"And I'm guessing Chris!"

They giggled wildly. Then they stopped.

"Wait," they said in unison. "Why?"

Anya grinned. "You first. Why did Aurora have to die this time?"

"Because she read my diary and found out that I like Teddy."

"I thought you liked Chris!" she yelled.

"I did! I do! But kinda like a big brother now."

"So…what are you going to do about Teddy?"

"I have no clue." She grinned. "Why did Chris spend the night, or dare I ask?"

"He just needed a place to stay."

"Right, right. 'I've lost my bed, can I sleep with you?'"

Laughing, Anya looked over at her. "Oh, shut up, Lorelei. Hahahahaha, Lorelei DUCHAMP."

"Shut up!"

8:18

Gordie slid into his seat next to Chris in Health class. He looked at the clock, saw that there was still a few minutes left to talk, and said, "Holy shit."

Chris nodded in agreement. "Definitely holy shit. What's your holy shit about?"

"You wouldn't believe where I slept last night."

"Holy shit! Well, I know you didn't sleep at Anya's, because that's where I slept," Chris replied matter-of-factly.

"What? Atta boy, Chambers!"

"Thanks. My father's probably shitting bricks, but it was worth it, sleeping on her couch."

Chuckling, Gordie put his hand out, palm up. "Skin it, man."

Chris did, then asked, "What about you?"

"Brooke's."

His eyes widened. "You are so weird."

"Thanks. I know."

"What's with you two?"

"At the risk of sounding after-school-special, we kind of take care of each other."

Chris looked worried. "What happened?"

"I left home, Chris."

"You did fucking what?"

"That house was killing me." He lowered his voice to a near growl. "They took one look at her and they just hated her. They don't think I care about Denny because I care about her. And it's been almost five years of not being anything and I'm fucking sick of it. There's nothing wrong with me, is there?"

"No, there isn't."

"It's just them that think that, right?"

"It's just them, yeah, Gordie. They treat you bad, I know. But Gordo, you're gonna have to go home."

"God, I know." He shrugged. "Can I tell you something cheesy?"

"Uh, sure."

"Brooke was the first thing I saw when I woke up this morning…"

"Lucky bastard."

"It made me feel like I was home."

[Author's Note: Sorry, I'm listening to Feels Like Home by Chantal Kreviazuk, and it just kinda reminded me of Gordie, so I apologize for the cheesiness.]

8:19

Brooke watched Cassie enter the Advanced Chemistry lab. Somehow, she looked different. Maybe because her hair was curled out at the ends, instead of lying flat and dull. Or maybe it was the cotton candy pink blouse. Whatever it was, she actually looked pretty.

They had taken to sitting together in their mutual classes. When Cassie sat down, Brooke said, "You look like you give a shit for once."

"For once, I do."

"You're late. Usually you get here like ten minutes before the bell."

"Yes, well, I slept in. I guess I was having a good dream."

Brooke grinned, but kept her mouth shut.

8:20

The bell rang.