That Summer
Rating: T-M
Summary:
In August Joan (someone) and Adam are crossing the country to Stanford in CA, and Grace and Luke are heading to Cambridge, Mass. to their colleges. What are their plans for their final summer before parting, more importantly; can they pull it off without their normal drama? Obviously J/A & G/L
Disclaimer: If the characters were mine I'd be getting paid to write TV scripts, now wouldn't I? So…you know the drill.


Chapter 2 – It's Hard To Believe But It Gets Better

"I'm out." Grace said slamming her locker shut as Joan reached her own locker.

"You're out of what?" Joan asked. "#2 pencils? Cause if that's it, I so have you covered." She smiled reassuringly as she went about gathering what books she needed. She had yet to actually see Grace at this point. Grace bit her lip for a moment looking around to see if she could spot Luke. After failing to find him and digging at her fingernails for a second, Grace took a deep breath.

"I'm out…for this summer. I can't do it." She said. Before Joan had time to look at Grace through her shock, the bell rang. "Gotta go, late for History." She said before bolting.

"Hey, Grace, how are-ow." Luke muttered as his girlfriend plowed past the right half of his body in a downright sprint up the hallway mass of bodies. "What happened?" Luke asked.

"I don't know." Joan said, angry that Grace didn't even have the decency to explain her actions. "Bell rang. You're late." She said to Luke as she slammed her locker shut and jogged for class. Luke turned around twice trying to remember which direction to go before sprinting off.


By lunch Grace had still remained elusive to everyone. She left her classes right at the bell and bee-lined for each next class. She even pretended to be taking actual notes whenever Joan, Luke or Adam sat next to her in any of her classes to avoid passing notes or speaking to them.

"Luke, did you fight with her or something?" Joan asked as they exchanged their sandwiches in fair trade.

"Why does it fall back to me every time she's having a bad day?" Luke questioned. "Unlike you two we don't fight over every little thing." He said triumphantly.

"That's not the point. You talk to her the most anymore, what's going on?" Joan continued to interrogate him.

"Let her be alone for a little bit." Luke told Joan. "She hates when you push her to open up, Joan."

"Unchallenged." Adam finally stopped shoveling down his bowl of what was supposed to be chili.

"I just want to know why she's gonna bail on us." Joan shrugged.

"Joan! Who cares about the stupid trip?" Luke threw his sandwich down. He hated when Grace was upset and he couldn't break through to her to comfort her. "Mom hasn't even agreed to it and you're acting like she stabbed you in the back or something." He stood up and began to walk away. Shaking his head and scoffing he turned back. "The world doesn't always revolve around you and what strangers tell you to do, okay? Leave Grace alone, I'll help her, since the only reason you want to help her is a greedy one." He lashed out before stalking off.

"Ouch…" Joan said.

"You know, I know you care about Grace and all, but you do sound like you're coming off as kind of…I don't know possessive of us for this whole trip thing…" He said. Joan shot him a look. Adam pursed his lips together for a moment. "So did God tell you we were supposed to go to Ocean City for the summer?" He asked curiously.

"Hey, isn't that a little hot to be wearing when it's like 90 degrees out?" Luke asked as he stood next to Grace while they stretched for P.E.

"No." She hugged the heavy hooded sweatshirt closer to herself while they waited for class to begin.

"Okay!" Coach Keady ordered after blowing her whistle. "Let's start with 50 sit ups. Partner up! Do 50 and then switch with your partner. GO!"

Grace sighed. She walked a bit away from the crowd and out of earshot with Luke. He knelt down. Grave sat in front of him. She laid back and closed her eyes as his hands reached out and carefully held her ankles and sneakers to the floor, letting her slide down so her knees were bent. She crossed her arms over her chest and Luke noticed she winced as she did.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"I'm fine. I hate sit ups." She murmured. "You gonna keep count or what?"

"One…" Luke said as she sat up towards him and then lay back down. He tried to think of what to say as she continued to sit up and lay back. "Two…three…four…you know you can talk to me and stuff right? Seven...if your mom is you know…again-ten."

"Brain…if you want to live, shut it." She said sternly. Luke could see past the steely exterior by now though. She hadn't been putting the walls up much in the past 8 months or so. He knew that at this point the only thing that could break her trust in him would have been if her mother started drinking again. He could see it in her eyes as he counted. She closed them every few seconds to prevent them from filling up enough to spill tears out. All the while he knew she was pleading with herself in her head not to cry.

"Thirty-four…thirty-five…" Luke continued counting. He would have liked to just reach out when she sat up and wrapped her up inside of his arms just to tell her it would be okay if she would just let him help.

As if she sensed his urgency, Grace sped up her sit-ups. Luke could hardly keep up counting. "Forty, slowdown, forty-three, forty-four-Grace! You're going to hurt yourself!" Luke pleaded.

"Fifty." Grace stopped at her knees, breathless and red-faced. That's when Luke knew why she sped up her exercising. He saw the liquid drip down her cheek and realized she had raised her sweat level and the color of her face in an attempt to hide the tears.

"Don't, Luke." She said. Luke stared at her, taken aback at the use of his first name. She opened her eyes and looked at him, barely speaking above a whisper. "I can't…" she couldn't finish the sentence.

Reaching his right hand out, he rested it on her left shoulder. With a loud yelp, Grace's eyes flew open wide, fear and anger splayed across her face as she threw Luke away from her. She reached her right hand up and grabbed her left arm in pain.

"Polk what's the problem?" Coach Keady yelled across the gym. Grace glanced over. All eyes were on her-the notorious Grace Polk, reduced to a whimpering, crying pathetic human being.

"Grace what's wrong with your arm?" Luke pulled himself from the floor. He took a step closer to her. Her head swiveled to him as he approached. She looked like a hurt wild animal. She took a swift step back, looking from the class to Luke and back and forth. "Grace…" Luke said trying to get her to look at him.

"No…" She said, barely making eye contact with him.

"If someone-," Luke began to say so no one could hear him.

"No! Stop." She begged. Unable to take it any longer, Grace did the only thing she knew how; She ran. She turned and ran out of the gym and kept going. She stumbled and pummeled into a few students, not stopping to apologize. As she reached the doors she launched into Mrs. Girardi who was carrying one of Adam's sculptures. Both yelped as they collided and tumbled to the ground. Grace rolled on her side a moment, holding her left arm harder in pain.

"Oh Grace! Are you all right? What's wrong?" Helen asked as she clamored to her feet and helped Grace up. Grace took a few deep breaths, unable to hide her crying now. She looked at Helen and tried to speak but couldn't. "Oh, Grace, honey are you hurt?" Helen asked. Grace backed away as Helen tried to approach her.

"Grace!" Luke called, just catching up, with Joan and Adam in tow. "Grace wait!"

"Mom! Stop her!" Joan called. By the time Helen turned back to Grace, Grace had already made it out the door and was running. Luke ran right passed his mom and followed her.

"Hold it right there!" Helen demanded, stopping Joan and Adam in their tracks.

"Mom we have to follow them!" Joan pleaded.

"Oh no you don't. Luke went after her. You have to tell me what's going on." Helen ordered.

"Hey…my sculpture…" Adam noticed his art on the floor in pieces. He looked at Joan.

"Oh no you don't, I had nothing to do with this one buddy." She said, waving a hand.

"No, that was my fault. I'm sorry Adam. Grace and I collided." Helen's face scrunched up some.

"Mom we have to find her." Joan said. "Something's wrong."

"Somehow I think Luke is more capable of finding her than you two." Helen suggested. "Come with me, we'll figure out what's going on. Help me pick this up." She said. All three of them gathered up the remnants of Adam's sculpture and headed for the art room.

Luke made it to his house and stopped. He bent over and leaned on his knees as he tried to catch his breath, looking up the street to see if he could find any trace of which way Grace had gone.


"Do you ever give up brainiac?" Her voice called out to him. Startled, Luke almost fell as he stood upright and shot his head to the side to find Grace seated on his steps. She had her knees pulled up as tight to herself as possible and she stared at her shoes.

Luke panted, still out of breath. He made his way slowly and cautiously towards her, afraid that he might make her run again.

"You don't have to tip toe…" she glanced at him, not letting her eyes meet his. "I'm staying put." She sighed. Luke lowered himself next to her.

"How is it…that you run away from me at school…and end up at my house when I'm giving chase?" He asked.

"Beeecause I love it when you sweat." She tried to switch gears and throw him off topic as best she could. As she said it she reached out a hand and ruffled up his sweat-soaked hair.

"Well in that case we can head upstairs and find many…other…more fun filled ways to make me sweat." He wiggled his eyebrows a bit. Grace snickered slightly as she rested her chin on her knees.

"Please…I'm well aware of what makes you sweat, brain." She said.

"Oh really?" He asked. Grace turned her head to the side and looked at him, her eyes still red and puffy.

"Of course. Playing rocks, paper, scissors with your sister…and chasing after me." She offered a tiny, halfhearted smile. Luke smiled for a slight moment. Then the light that was keeping Grace from breaking down again faded and Luke's face became serious.

"You going to tell me what happened…orrrr do you really want me to guess?" Luke asked. Grace sighed and hid her face down into her knees, hugging them tighter. She took a deep breath and lifted her head.

"Look…" She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly as she set her jaw. She took a deep breath and sighed before lifting her head. She looked at the concerned look etched across Luke's face and she almost wanted to vomit at the guilt she felt for causing him the worry and stress. Grace stood up. Luke jumped to his feet; afraid she would run away again and then froze. Grace reached to the hem of her hoodie and yanked at it, pulling it over her head.

"Hey, whoa, what are you doing?" He said, confused. And then he noticed it. It was spilling out from the bottom of the left sleeve of her short-sleeved navy blue gym t-shirt that was ripped at the collar. It was hand shaped, dark blue and purple, some parts almost black. Luke stared at it, his mouth gaping open in shock. He looked at her face, but Grace was looking away, with her jaw set.

"G-Grace…" Luke managed to push out past the lump that formed in his throat. "Did…did your mom do that?" He swallowed hard. Grace stubbornly put her sweatshirt back on and hugged it close to herself.

"No, Mickey Mouse did." She returned to her usual sarcastic self. Luke frowned and looked at his feet, visibly distraught over this news.

"Has she done this before?" He asked. Grace shook her head slightly, her arms crossed tightly to herself. "Why would you bail then?"

"Excuse me?" Grace looked at him, floored. "Are we really going to discuss going to the beach now?"

"Don't get me wrong I really don't care if we go to the beach or stay here. You go, I follow. It's just…" He looked her in the eyes. "If we can get away from her before August…I mean…wouldn't it be better-if she's hurting you especially?"

"It only happened once." Grace said, tapping her foot nervously. "She didn't even mean it." She tried to explain.

"Grace, whether she meant it or not, once is too much." Luke said angrily. Grace was taken aback by his tone. Her eyebrows arched as she watched him pace slightly back and forth. "I'm so sick of her acting like she's getting better. And then she hurts you. And you know one of these times we're going to get caught, having you climb in my window just to get away from her at night-Grace it's…I can't watch it anymore." He finally looked up at her. "I love you…you shouldn't have to live like this." He told her. Grace's cheeks flushed and her eyes filled up.

"You don't have to go getting all…sentimental on me." She cleared her throat.

"Grace, this isn't a joke." He put his hand on her shoulder and waited for her to look up. "What have you got to lose if we get to do this? Huh? Less pain? I mean yeah we have to put up with Adam and my sister but come on…" He did his best to sway her thoughts.

"Who's going to take care of her when she drinks till she's sick?" She asked, looking away, feeling guilty.

"It's not your job to do that." Luke said quietly. Grace took a deep breath, mulling her options over in her head. Biting the corner of her lip, she began to nod slightly.

"Okay…" she said barely above a whisper. Luke crouched down some to lock her eyes to his.

"What was that?" He asked. She lightly punched his shoulder and let out a small laugh.

"I'm older than you, don't make me repeat myself." She said.

"Well I'm taller." He bumped her with his shoulder gently and winked. Grace couldn't help but laugh some. Luke placed a small kiss on her forehead and put his arm about her shoulder. "C'mon…we'd better get back."

"Fine…fine…" she sighed.

"You caused quiet a scene." Luke grinned. "Very impressive. 5 style points."

"5? That's it? You are such a cheap judge." Grace mocked back, letting her arm reach out and lay across his back as they walked back towards school.