Summer stood in place for a long moment, watching Zach saunter off. She was having an incredibly difficult time forming a coherent thought. All she could think was that Zach had kissed her.

            Zach.

            Kissed.

            Her.

            Holy.

            Cow.

            The bell signaling the end of lunch broke her semi-hypnotic trance and she left, wondering briefly when Jenny, Audrey and Dee were going to corner her and ask for the scoop.

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            For their part the girls and Michael and Tom were too dumbstruck to do much of everything. They remained at the table wearing shocked expressions until the bell rang. Then Audrey snapped out of it and turned to the other girls.

            "Come on! We have to catch her and find out what that was all about!"

            But it wasn't until after school that anyone caught up with Summer. And when she did Jenny wasn't too surprised to see her still in a bit of a daze.

            "Summer?"

            "Hmm?"

            "You okay?"

            "What? Oh, yeah."

            "Do you want to talk about it?"

            "No thanks. Not right now, anyway. You know how it is."

            Boy did she ever. Jenny simply nodded and left Summer to work things out for herself. As she made her way home she remembered when she had last been in a situation similar to Summer's. It was during the ring ceremony when everyone saw her and Julian kiss.

            Mmm…kissing Julian. It had quickly moved to the top of her list of favorite things to do whenever and wherever. She blushed as she thought of how that would have sounded spoken aloud. She then giggled as she admitted she didn't care…she meant it no matter how it was worded.

            But she quickly sobered as she remembered that she had a date with Tom coming up. Somehow she knew Julian wouldn't be making an entrance into her dreams before that.

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            Tom was nervous as he dressed for his date with Jenny. He paused, thinking that he could not recall a time when that had ever been the case. But things were different now and he had to deal with it. He had a lot to deal with lately. He thought back to his talk with Dee earlier in the week. He rubbed his rib in remembrance. Perhaps talk was a strong word to use. He recalled what Dee had said about everyone having gone through changes. Maybe they all needed to take some time and figure out what that meant for each of them.

            That thought caused Tom to panic ever so slightly. They had been together as a group for so long that the thought of being alone again wasn't too appealing. Of course he had abandoned the group for a while there back when he thought he was protecting Jenny, but that was different. To break up the group now would just seem weird.

            No, maybe what they all needed was just to have things go back to normal. Return to the status quo. Was that even possible anymore?

[[[[[]]]]]

            Jenny sat on her floor in a meditative pose, focusing on calming her breathing down and relaxing in general. She had seriously considered calling off this whole date but she had decided to see it through. Actually she had chickened out, because canceling would have put her one step closer to breaking up with Tom and she wasn't sure she was ready to do that. After talking with Julian she knew she needed to get on with her life and now she was considering a simple retreat into the familiar instead.

            As she continued her breathing she finally decided that it was worth a try to see where things between her and Tom could go. Maybe things would be better than ever. Jenny felt that she owed it to Tom to give their relationship another chance. It wasn't Tom's fault that Julian had made his presence felt. Tom never really stood a chance against Julian. No, that wasn't fair either. Jenny had chosen Tom during the Games more than once.

            It's just that Jenny had changed. And one of the ways she had changed was in her feelings toward Tom. She thought about how she would describe them to someone else and realized that she did love Tom, it was just in a different way now. Before, Tom was her whole universe and she never realized, or gave much thought to, what else--if anything--was out there for her.

            But now it was like waking into a dream. Where your dream is this amazing reality you never knew existed and yet you created it yourself. It was so full of possibilities for Jenny, and there was a huge part of her that just couldn't wait to see what else was in store for her. Unfortunately for her there was a part that was so stubborn and so afraid of being alone that the result found Jenny holding on to the past. And Jenny thought she was maybe holding on a little too tightly.

            Just then the doorbell rang and Jenny ended her not-so-helpful meditation and went to greet Tom and see where the night would take them. He looked great, if a little nervous. There was an awkward moment when they couldn't seem to agree on the proper physical greeting. Jenny had her arms outstretched to give Tom a hug and he leaned in simultaneously for a kiss. The result was akin to Jenny shoving Tom away.

            It was what they needed to break the ice--she giggled and he smiled. Tom stepped aside to give her room to pass and they made their way to the car. However they drove in silence, each lost as to what to say to the other. Finally Jenny started to ask about classes that they didn't share and to bring up things that had happened during the few days they had been back. Tom contributed to the pile of safe topics as well by starting a conversation that lasted until they got to the theater.

            "So what is going on with Summer and Zach?"

            "I have no idea. I mean, that scene at lunch was totally unexpected!"

            "And out of character," Tom added.

            "Well I don't know about that. I mean if you think about it, we've never seen how Zach is around girls."

            "Yeah that's true. He's never really shown any interest in anyone. Well...any obvious interest anyway. Definitely not interest like he showed in Summer."

            Jenny laughed as she thought of Summer's face when Zach had retreated from their kiss. At Tom's questioning look she shared her thought.

            "The look on Summer's face was priceless! Talk about a deer-in-the- headlight stare!"

            Tom laughed too and it felt like they were together just like old times…almost.

            "What did Summer have to say about everything?" Tom asked.

            "She's keeping pretty quiet. In fact, as far as I know she hasn't talked about it with anyone. There's no use asking Zach, either--I know better. So we'll have to wait until one of them decides to spill the beans."

            They pulled in to the parking lot and as they made their way to the ticket counter Jenny realized she had no idea what movie they were going to see.

            "So what are we seeing?"

            "Max's Aria."

            Jenny tried to remember if she'd seen a preview or read a review about the film but she was coming up blank. As they made their way to their seats Jenny gave up trying to guess what the movie was about. How bad could it be anyway? At least they didn't have to talk during the film. Jenny acknowledged to herself that it had been a little weird in the car. The way they stuck to safe topics was so, well, foreign to them. Jenny thought about asking Tom to describe the plot of the movie they were about to see.

            She realized she was once again choosing a safe topic to end the silence they were currently experiencing. Suddenly the thought struck her that this was just like old times.Tom always chose the movie they would go see. It's not like she cared all she was there for was Tom's company anyway. Before she could dwell on that or ask Tom about the film the lights dimmed and she settled back into her seat, curious to see what Tom had chosen.

            "Correction--make that it's not like I cared then" Jenny thought an hour and a half later as she shifted in the already uncomfortable theater seat. She felt really bad that she was this uncomfortable during the movie but she could not believe Tom's choice. It was this overly sappy romantic drama about an unwed mother who gave up her dream of singing on Broadway to care for her sick little kid who played matchmaker for his mom and found her Mr. Right. Then of course the kid ended up dying before he could see his mom's dreams of singing come true. Thankfully the mom's aria on Broadway signaled the end of the film and Jenny almost bolted out of the theater.

            If Jenny had chosen she would not have chosen a romantic drama, or even a romantic comedy. She would have avoided anything with a hint of romance. Although thinking about it a bit more she thought she probably could have handled a romantic comedy. It would have beat a down-and-dirty action movie, likely the only other option, but this just felt wrong.

            And that was a problem because pre-Games she would have chosen this herself (if asked, she thought bitterly) and would have curled up next to Tom, not minding the armrest digging into her side. It was another sign that she had changed.

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Author's Note: WOWIE!!!!!!!!!!! I have got to tell you guys how wonderful it was to come back to FF.net after the unfortunate down time and find all these new reviews! I am feeling so good about everything so thank you so much to those of you who have written in! You guys rule!

Dark blush stains cheeks as we hear the stage whisper: "Sorry about the delay in chapters, too!"

Moving on: As promised I am including the dedication to the newbies (well those who wrote to me after my last dedication chapter): on the bottom

Disclaimer: Two pages of AN means I just say I wish I was her but I'm not so please don't sue me and take away my sunshine..I need to be happy when skies are gray just like everyone else.

Lee Your review was just tigger-ific! I say "tigger" because I pretty much bounced around the room after reading it.I felt that good! Thank you!

Kazuline I am going to get a swelled head! My ego is in danger of inflating beyond mortal standards! You flatter me too much! Wow! I am so glad that you enjoy my writing enough to say such nice things!

Kazuline You get another one 'cause you wrote in twice! I'm so happy to hear that someone else besides me laughed during it.I laughed as I wrote the first few chapters especially and I'm just happy to not be laughing alone anymore! Thank you for taking the time to write me!

Lady Sanzennine Sorry about the lack of point.when I write about Julian I sort of switch into the old "Plot What Plot?" mentality.but I promise to mentally smack myself more often and get the story moving more! Thank you!

BeQwerty Julian... (okay, I admit it! I'm hopelessly in love with Julian...but who isn't?) Hey.I'm with you there! I have flirted with the idea of having J & J get way more physical than I have so far but who knows? Maybe I will have to do a re-write and post a new version with a much higher rating for those interested? Hmm.the idea has merit! Anyhoo.thanks so much for the feedback.you are wonderful!

Drkstorm Thank you for your kind words.now that FF.net is back and better than ever I am going to do my best to get things up faster and faster!

Kristen Michelle I really do like your story.and I promise to get over and review it again! So you're a Zach and Summer fan? I think they have a lot of potential..Your compliments just blow me away! I'm so glad that you are taking the time to write and let me know what you think.I was just tickled pink to see your name up here (time and time again!) and I want you to know that I appreciate everything you write!!!!!

Dragon Fire Thank you!!!! Thank you!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!

Rain Avidly..twenty-five cent word! Yes! I love people who make use of their vocabularies and you are obviously one of them! It means so much to me to read that you think I write even remotely close to ljs.wow! I hope to hear from you again soon!

Dulce Ambrosia Thank you so much! I really appreciate the compliment! I hope chapter 11 and beyond live up to your expectations! Leopardess So have I done an okay job with Zach and Summer thus far? I'm thrilled to read that you're enjoying the story! I hope that you didn't give up on me and despair I would ever write again!

Dragon Fire Short, sweet, to the point. Thank you! I'm glad you laughed even a little at it!

Leopardess I want more Julian too! All Julian all the time! Thank you for saying you love my fic. I love you for it! Sorry I haven't gotten to where PC and Slug are.but I swear I will!

lotty I don't really have to work to make Julian seem sexy.he just is all by his incredible self! Thank you for making the effort to write.sorry about the cliffhangers! I will try to keep your hopes for the story met and I welcome your comments!

Kristen Michelle You are so good to me! I love everything you have to say! Thanks for writing so much!

Baloo I'm going for a whole sexy-without-sex thing here. Thanks so much for your praise.it means a lot, especially considering how much I adore your story!

Leopardess I have accepted your order to keep writing humbly and present you with my latest installment.I hope the wait wasn't too unbearable? Thanks for writing. I like the cliffhangers but I try to only put them in when I know I'm updating soon 'cause I don't like to be too evil to you guys.if the wait between chapters with cliffhangers gets to me I can only imagine what everyone who isn't me thinks!

Kitten I hope you're still reading! Thank you for writing and I'll try to have more chapters up at a much quicker rate!

Kristen Michelle Just 'cause I like you so much and rely on you for feedback I'm throwing in another thank you!