BloominDaisy: I KNOW IT COULD'VE BEEN BIGGER (and better….way better.)! Lol! I got stuck with what I had though. Lol! And now I'm stuck completely.

This is funny…I was bored so I reread my first SOTP story (the first one i wrote)…its way better than this one! (In content and in the writing! I had no idea I could write that stuff…I don't even remember writing it!)

"Yes?" A middle-aged woman had opened the door. "Can I help you?" She asked the boy and the girl who had knocked on her door. "Yes you can…" Jon started. "I'm Jonathan." As soon as Jon had said that he was Jonathan, the look on the woman's face changed. "Jon? Come in, please come in."

Jon and Ella walked in, past the woman and she closed the door behind them. "Please, sit down." Her slight accent could be detected, even though you could tell it had been slowly forgotten over the years. The three walked into a small living room and Mary motioned for them to sit down on the couch. She sat down in the chair, across from them.

"Can I ask you a question?" Jon asked. Mary shifted in her seat. "Of course you can, and please be as frank as you need to be."

"Why did you put me up for adoption? And why didn't you and my father get married?" Jon sat forward and stared intently into his birth mother's eyes. "First," She said, uncomfortably. She was trying to avoid Jon's gaze. "There was nothing else I could do. Your father and I had conceived you out of wedlock…we were going to get married, but I realized that I couldn't let him marry me if neither of us really loved each other. He still loved her." "Who do you mean by 'her'?" Questioned Jon.

Mary thought about it for a second and then spoke. "It's been so many years, and I don't exactly remember her name, but…I saw the pain in her eyes when Kostos told her about us. It was too much to bear. I had to get out of there. So, I told him that I wasn't really pregnant, and I left." Jon and Ella really didn't need to know 'her' name; they already knew who Mary was talking about.

Ella wanted to ask a question that she had wanted to ask she had gotten there. "I thought your name was Mariana?"

Mary took her eyes from Jon and stared into Ella's. "It is…I go by Mary now." That was all Mary said. She knew that Ella knew the story. She could see it in her eyes. Plus, not even Jon's parents knew that her real name was Mariana. Mary left it at that, and Ella sat back, to say nothing else.

"Thank you so much for talking to us, Mary." Jon didn't know whether or not to hug Mary or to just shake her hand. Mary opted for neither. "It has been an interesting day, hasn't it? I'll be in contact with your father." She waved bye to the two and then shut the door.

"Are we on to Chicago, then?" Ella asked him. Jon pulled his sunglasses down and tossed the keys to her. "Don't wreck it." He winked at her, as he slid into the passenger seat. "And I'll try not to get us lost either!" She joked.

K

ostos was sitting in his office, on a conference call, when Stephen opened, and knocked lightly on the large wooden door. "Um, Dad…I think you need to come and see this." "See what Stevie? Can't you see that I'm busy? How important is it?"

Stephen rolled his eyes. "Dad, don't call me Stevie. And…" Stephen stuck his head outside the door and then stepped into the office, closing the door behind them. "There's these two people out here. The guy says that he really needs to talk with you." "Alright, give me a second, will you?" Kostos motioned for Stephen to leave the room, so that he could finish his call.

"He'll be right out…hey don't I know you from somewhere?" Stephen sat down across from Jon and Ella, and pointed at Ella. "Yeah, well we've never met, but we have a friend in common…Holly." "Oh yeah…Holly." Stephen said it as though he wasn't too exited to be friends with Holly. "It's just that she; well you know how she is. I don't need to explain anything to you." Ella let out a small laugh, in agreement with Stephen. "Yeah I know."

Just as Ella had said that, Kostos came walking out of his office. He waved to the two people sitting on his couch, and then sat down next to his son. "So, Stephen says that you needed to talk with me…but I'm afraid I don't know who you are." Ella reached out her hand to interfere Jon's from reaching Kostos'. "I'm Ella Walker. My best friend is Holly…Rodman. You know, Lena's daughter. And this is Jon." Jon now shook hands with Kostos. "Can we talk, in private?" Jon asked Kostos. Kostos nodded and stood up to lead Jon back into his office. "Why don't you order dinner Stephen?" Kostos suggested to his son. "I'm sure we'll be right out."

A few hours later, Jon and Kostos still hadn't come out of the office. "So, are you still not going to tell me what they are talking about in there?" Stephen asked Ella. Ella shook her head. "It's not my business to tell you…I already told you that, and gosh. Holly wasn't over exaggerating when she said that you were a pain in the…" Ella wasn't allowed to finish her sentence, because Jon andKostos had appeared from inside the closed up office. "Hi." Ella and Stephen said to the two, in unison. They could tell that Jon, and Kostos had been crying. Jon was still wiping them away off of his cheeks.

Kostos noticed the Chinese food that was sitting on the dining room table. "You guys haven't eaten yet?" "No." Ella stated. Stephen stood up and walked into the kitchen to grab the plates. "We were waiting for you."

The four, hesitantly sat down at the table. The environment had turned from uncomfortable, to very uncomfortable.

Stephen knew that everyone in the room knew what was going on, and he couldn't stand it. And who was this guy that had come here with Ella, and had asked to speak with Kostos? It must have been very important, because the two men had been in the office for three and a half hours. Also, the resemblance between Jon and Kostos was undeniable.

"Dad," Stephen asked after Jon and Ella had left to go to their hotel. "Who is Jon, really? Why did he and Ella come here?" "I can't explain it right now Stephen…maybe later. I just need time to think." Kostos stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Don't worry. I probably won't be back for a while."

Esperanza and Anna were at the mall for the day. They needed outfits for a party that the new guy at school, was having. "Chris said that he only invited us, because he wanted to hang out with you." Esperanza stated, picking up a black top. Anna blushed, but did not say anything. "I don't think that I even want to go…everyone thinks I'm a spoiled brat, because of my parents." Esperanza laughed at Anna's comment. "Anna, you are a spoiled brat!" "I know…but I don't want people to think of me that way." "I understand Anna…I understand." Esperanza held the black top up to Anna and made a face. "It won't look good on you either."

Esperanza and Anna were now looking in the jean section. This made Anna think of something. "I know we aren't supposed to wear them during the year, but do you think that I could wear the pants tonight?" Esperanza turned around with a smile on her face. "Oh my gosh! I didn't think of that! You would look stunning! They can't be taken out unless someone really needs them. And you have been having a rough time with everything. I think you need the boost."

Anna walked out of her house and got into Holly's car. "Aw, babe, you look beautiful." Holly placed her hand on her friend's shoulder and smiled. "I told you it was a good idea to let Anna wear the pants. Chris is going to freak." Esperanza, who was sitting in the back seat, leaned forward and winked at her friend.

"Hi." Chris sat down next to Anna and caught her attention. "Hey! Thanks for inviting us to the party. I'm having lots of fun." "Really? Or are you just saying that to not hurt my feelings?" Chris asked her. Anna let her eyes fall to the ground. "I'm just saying that!" The two both laughed. "I like your jeans…they're pretty cool. Weird…but cool." Chris was actually astounded by her beauty tonight. There was something different about her.

"Thanks." Anna smiled. "They belonged to my mom…and her friends." "Whoa! They're really old then!" "I guess you could say that!" Anna traced the inscriptions with her finger. "Now they belong to me, and my group of friends. We're only supposed to take them out and wear them during the summer…but…Holly and Esi decided to let me wear them tonight."

"You look beautiful…" Chris blurted out. "Thanks…I guess." Anna joked. "Do you want to go out sometime?" He asked her. Anna liked Chris, but the thought of going through what she had gone through with Zach, was torture. "I don't know…" Anna started. "I just got out of a relationship. I think I need to take a rest from dating." Chris stood up and started to walk back inside the house. "If it helps any, I just got out of one too…I don't want to hurt you Anna. I just want to be your friend."

Chris walked back inside to the party and slid the glass door back into place. Holly saw this, and left Esperanza's side to go outside and talk to her. "Hey babe." Holly walked up behind Anna and jumped on her back. "What's up? I saw you and Chris talking. DO you like him?" "I don't know!" Anna laughed. "But he did just ask me out." "And?" Holly asked. "I told him no." Anna grabbed her drink and walked towards the door. "But I may change my mind…"

I just opened my bank account today! Yay! Now…I actually have to keep my money in there! lol! I like to shop! Leannyhoodle, here's the next chapter. Hope ya'll like it!

Rachel!