Title: Listen to the Rain

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Once and Again characters, or anything else associated with Once and Again. I'm simply allowed to borrow them, yay. Only person I own is Dana Johnson, who isn't in this chapter anyway.

Summary: Basically some teen loving going on between Jessie and Katie, mixed with some humor and angst. Of course, some other regulars of the show will make appearances.

Feedback: I'd love some. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing it so far :)

Grace looked suspiciously between Katie, who was hanging halfway out of her window, and Jessie who was sitting there looking eerily calm. "Where have you been?"

Jessie sighed but turned back towards Grace, "Out?" She was hoping that this would work as an answer.

Of course, Grace took it a completely different way. "What do you mean by out?" Her eyes were really wide. It took a minute before Jessie realized what Grace thought she meant by 'out'.

"NO!" Jessie finally caught on, and her eyes bugged out of her head. Wait, just a second ago she had admitted to herself that she loved Katie. She was ready to admit to Katie that she loved her. So, why did it freak her out so much that someone else found out? She was afraid of how they would see her, if they would judge her without knowing her then. A heavy sigh escaped Jessie, and Grace looked off the road for a moment and glanced back at the younger girl. "I, uh..." Why was this so hard to say. It was just Grace, and she had no one else to talk to about this. Frazzled, Jessie ran a hand through her hair and looked desperately at Grace hoping she would read her mind. Almost as if she could read her mind, Grace looked at Jessie raising an eyebrow.

"Frazzled much?" Jessie allowed a small smile at Grace's attempt at humor before turning back towards Grace. Grace saw that Jessie was obviously hosting a rather large internal debate with herself.

"You love her don't you?"

"Her who?" Jessie attempted to play innocent at this, and Grace rolled her eyes.

"Her who? HER WHO? Katie! Do you think I'm stupid, or blind? I can see the way you two look at each other when you think the other one just made the best joke in the world, when truthfully neither one of you could make a clown laugh with it. I see the way that you look at each other when you think the other one isn't looking, and I can see the way you two find reasons to touch for the most random reasons. I mean, honestly, is holding hands really required to cross the street at our age?" Grace grew more vehement with her speech as it grew, and Jessie's blush deepened. Grace wasn't being demeaning in her speech, just honest, and at least Jessie saw that. Jessie closed her eyes momentarily, breathing in a deep breath.

Then she suggested, "Maybe clowns only like their own jokes and Katie is afraid of cars when she's not driving?" She knew it was a very feeble and lame suggestion even as she said it. Grace rolled her eyes again hearing this.

"Katie isn't afraid of cars. I mean, she lets you drive when she's with you doesn't she?" Jessie attempted to look hurt at this remark, but it just came off as a faint laugh. She realized how much she had to talk to someone about this. And, Grace was offering, wasn't she?

"I'minlovewithher." Jessie tried to say something all in one breath, and to Grace it sounded like, 'I'm in low weather.'

"Uh, Jessie, plan on saying that so I can understand it. Please?"

Jessie let out a nervous giggle before trying to say it again, "I'm in love with Katie." Grace smiled and nodded. That she understood, and knew.

"Okay," Grace answered a simple reply that she knew would pry more information from Jessie.

"Okay? I tell you that I love a girl and all you have to say is 'okay'? Is it actually okay with you? Doesn't it bother you that I love her?" Jessie was about ready to have a break-down because she was expecting the worst, and Grace was actually okay with it all.

"Of course it doesn't bother me. Despite the fact that you drive me crazy some times, I still love you, therefore if you're happy I'm happy. I also think that, yes, Katie does love you too. As long as Katie makes you happy, then guess what? I'll be happy for you. I don't care that she's a girl." Jessie let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. Well, okay, the rest of her was starting to realize she had been holding it because her face was turning slightly red, but otherwise she was fine. Grace pulled up in the driveway, almost afraid to look over at Jessie who had not said a word since Grace had told her she was happy. Cautiously she turned to look at Jessie who was sitting there staring out the window with a straight face. "Jessie?"

Jessie turned to look at Grace and then suddenly grinned and hugged her. "Thank you." Grace was horribly confused at first not sure what was going on before realizing that Jessie was just in relief that Grace was happy for her. Wow, that girl sure does have weird ways of showing happiness. Grace felt bad for Katie who would constantly have do deal with these weird emotions before realizing that she was the one stuck living with her. She shrugged her shoulders to herself, and hugged the other girl back.

"You ready?" Jessie nodded, and they both climbed the stairs into the house. Jessie had told someone she loved Katie. Now, she just had to tell Katie, and that would be a lot better than telling Grace. If Grace thought it was alright, then it must be. Katie and her would be allowed to be happy after all. Jessie was ecstatic going into the house, knowing that all would be okay and when she told her parents they'd be okay with it too.

She opened the door to find a worried set of parents. Well, a worried Rick and Lily anyway. Luckily, they hadn't yet called Karen. "Where were you?" Wow, is that all anyone can ask these days? Before Jessie could try to respond, Grace answered for them.

"I had to go to a Gay/Straight Alliance meeting. I drug Jessie along too because I didn't feel like going alone." She didn't want to out Jessie to them, and she realized that Jessie would never willingly go to a meeting. Though, she wouldn't go either if it wasn't for a certain teacher. Lily's eyes widened as she nudged Rick pointedly.

"Um, Sweetie." She approached Grace cautiously as if unsure of how Grace would react to the next part. "Can we talk to you for a moment," she threw a glance at Jessie quickly, "alone?" Grace raised her eyebrows and turned to Jessie who shrugged. She assumed that she still looked pretty ruffled, but they didn't seem to care about that now. They must have just assumed that she had been caught in the rain running to the car. Jessie nodded and headed up towards the steps. The adults and Grace moved a few feet towards the kitchen thinking that no one else was listening. Jessie had stopped half-way up the stairs and sat down quietly on the steps listening in. Okay, eavesdropping. She preferred to think of it as simply listening though. It was their fault they didn't move farther away or watch her go all the way upstairs.

"Grace," Lily paused looking at Rick who nodded trying to assure her. "Do you think you're gay?" Grace's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open a bit. Basically, she completely the look entitled 'dumbstruck.' Lily took this as Grace being nervous about opening up. "Oh honey, it's okay. Is that why you want to go to these meetings? It's...okay, really, if you think you are gay. We'll find a way to handle it. Maybe we can find you a nice guy who is willing to help you through this stage in your life." Grace snapped out of her stupor realizing that Jessie was probably listening to Lily's bargaining and trying to 'change' her back straight. Even though Grace was already straight, and the 'non-straight' girl lay listening to this. Huh.

"Mom, does it matter if I'm gay?" "Oh Sweetie. We know you're not gay. You're just going through a stage in your life. Like I said, we can find a nice boy to help you with that. Maybe, Mrs. Hopkin's boy..." She turned to face Rick questioningly, "Or maybe Eli has a friend?" Whoa, Eli? She couldn't be paired up with Eli. Oh, wait. Silly Grace, they didn't want to set her up with Eli. Just a friend of his. Oh, that'd be great. That'd be fun to tell Eli, that she had fallen for his friend.

"Mom, really. You don't need to set me up with a boy." Grace was trying to reason with her, hoping that Jessie wasn't listening to all of this.

"Well of course we don't! I'm sure there's plenty at school that like you, right Rick?" She nudged Rick who seemed scared of the whole concept.

He merely nodded adding an little, "Um, right. I have to go get something." Rick promptly excused himself from the conversation, thinking it was better off being between just Lily and Grace for the moment. Jessie heard her father's one syllable words and immediately realized that if he acted this nervous about the concept of Grace possibly being gay, how would he react when he found out his own daughter was gay?

"Or, maybe that nice boyfriend of Jessie's has a friend you like." Lily was still searching for a boy to 'cure' her daughter. Boyfriend? Jessie? Oh, right.

"You mean Tad, Mom?" Grace looked towards her mother who nodded approvingly confirming that she did, indeed, mean Tad. "You don't need to set me up with a boy. I never said I was gay now did I?" Lily's eyes lit up hopefully upon hearing this. Grace merely rolled her eyes frustrated at seeing her own mother's reaction. She knew that this must be hurting Jessie even though she wasn't the one being 'lectured' about being gay. What was wrong with it? It was just two people who loved each other. "Besides, what does it matter if I am? Either way it's two people loving each other, caring for each other. Why does it matter if it's a guy and a girl, two guys, or two girls?" Lily cringed upon hearing the last question.

"It...wouldn't matter, of course,besides you're not gay. You're in a phase aren't you? We'll find you a nice boy to help you through this like I said before." Lily paused, thinking. "Wait, is it that you're with another...lesbian. Is she the one who did this to you?" Suddenly footsteps were heard as Jessie ran upstairs to her room. She was running away already. Lily said the word 'lesbian' as though it was trying to eat at her. She didn't mean for it to sound demeaning, but the questioning behind her phrasing just sounded harsh and raw. Grace was in shock. She had never before heard her mother talk like this. It was like she was a new person and it burned at Grace. She felt tears in her eyes of anger.

"Mom! I never said I was gay to begin with. Who really cares though? You shouldn't! It's me that would have to deal with it. You would just have to be there for me, can't you see that?" Grace stepped back from her mom looking disgusted. Lily's eyes grew wide as if just realizing what she had just said.

"Oh Grace, I'm sorry..." Suddenly it began to dawn on Lily that maybe Grace wasn't gay. She would have admitted it if she was, why wouldn't she just say it now if she really was? She was just really defensive about it. Lily felt bad about it now. She shouldn't have reacted like that, but it just seemed to come at her in a shock wave. I mean, Grace in the Gay/Straight Alliance...It seemed to build together, but now it was falling apart and she felt bad. Hopefully she could talk to Grace about it and make it better. It would have to be tomorrow though, seeing as Grace had already run up the stairs.

Grace knocked on Jessie's door receiving no answer. She cautiously opened it, "Jessie?" There some crying to be heard, but Jessie's light was off.

"I'm sleeping," was the feeble reply between sniffles. Without another word Grace walked over and hugged Jessie knowing she wanted to be alone right now.

"Jess, just remember, if you want to talk, I am here. They'll understand. Right now all that is needed is for you to be happy okay? Especially if that means Katie." Jessie tried to mumble something, but it was incoherent. So, Grace simply smoothed out Jessie's hair a bit, before giving the poor girl another hug and retreating to her own room. Jessie simply laid there for a little while. She wasn't sure what to do now.

She had been so ecstatic about telling Katie that she loved her too, but now seeing how her dad and Lily would react. What would her mom say? What would everyone at school say? She couldn't deal with that could she? No, avoiding Katie would simply be easier. Too bad that even that was a lot easier thought then done. She would see Katie at school tomorrow, and just how long could Jessie go without rushing over to the other girl? She would use all the will-power she had. She wouldn't disappoint her parents, and she wouldn't drag Katie into this mess with her parents either. She didn't love Katie. Now, that was a lie, and even Jessie knew it. How long could she let herself believe it? No one realized that Jessie went to bed that night without eating, of course, at the moment Jessie didn't really feel like eating anyway.