Chapter Eighteen: Lorraine's Break Down

"What are you doing, Lorraine?" Liz asked later that day as she walked into the room she had been sharing with Lorraine and Sarah. Lorraine stood moodily in front of her closet, glaring at her wardrobe. Piled around her were several articles of apparently discarded clothing. Despite her curiosity, Liz's mind was still on the pleasant morning she'd spent at the beach with Calvin.

"I don't know what to do!" Lorraine suddenly cried, whirling around and hurling a jean skirt on the floor. She crossed to the umbrella chair in the corner and sank into it, burying her face in her hands.

Concern flared in Liz's mind, driving away her thoughts of Calvin. "Lorraine?" she said, crossing the room and crouching in front of her sister. "What's going on?" Cautiously, she laid a hand on Lorraine's knee.

At her touch, Lorraine jumped a little. Her big watery brown eyes hesitantly met those of her older sister. "It's nothing. I'm just being stupid," she muttered, looking balefully across the room at her clothes.

Liz followed her gaze. "Isn't it a little early to be weeding out your clothes, Lori? Don't you want to wait until you get home?" she asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

"No, it's not that," Lorraine said, leaning back. "It's just that he… he said he didn't like the trendy supermodel-type girls…" she shook her head. "Don't know why I even care. It's so not me."

"Who said that?" Liz asked. "If Braddock said it, you can ignore him. He's not worth the effort of paying attention to him."

"It wasn't Braddock…" Lorraine said trailing off. Her gaze shifted back to Liz. "How do you do it?" she suddenly asked. "You make it look so easy, with Calvin and all. How do you get him to pay attention to you? They-they don't even glance at me…"

Understanding suddenly blossomed. "You're talking about Daniel, aren't you?" Liz said gently. "It's his attention you want."

"I told you I was being stupid!" Lorraine burst out, tears forming in her eyes. "It's pointless. I'm so not his type. So why do I care so much what he thinks about me?"

Liz regarded her sister silently for a moment. This was not the confident, composed, soon-to-be Allure model she knew. Eighteen-year-old Lorraine was crumbling before her eyes and in her place, Liz could see the fourteen-year-old, first-crush-Lorraine that had been skipped over in her younger sister's quest for fashion perfection.

Realizing that her younger sister was at a fragile breaking point, Liz thought her words out carefully before saying them. "Lori, it's okay that you like Daniel. It's called a crush." She smiled faintly at Lorraine's withering look. "It's not stupid to care what he thinks, but if you think that you have to change yourself to make him like you, he's not worth it. And yes, I'm saying this about my future brother-in-law." Gently, Liz took one of Lorraine's hands. "Just be yourself, Lori. Be your normal, outgoing, confident self, and maybe he'll realize that it's more than just the outward appearance that counts. You can prove to him that the trendy girls are cool, too."

Lorraine thought over Liz's words for a few minutes before sending her older sister a watery smile. "I'll try, Lizzie. For you, I'll try."

Liz said nothing in response, choosing to pull her sister into a hug instead.

"Well, this is something you don't see everyday," Charlie commented, coming into the room and tapping on the doorframe to get their attention.

Liz released Lorraine and turned around. "Hey, Charles, how about knocking before you come in?" she chided affectionately.

Charlie shrugged carelessly and seated himself on Liz's bed, surveying them both keenly. "So, what's up?"

At a glance from Lorraine, Liz refrained from mentioning anything about Daniel. "Girl talk, Charlie. You wouldn't understand."

"Ah." He then focused his attention on his twin. "So, how'd it go with Jimmy this morning? I saw you and Calvin go over there in the canoe."

Feeling a warm rush of contentment flood over her at the thought of Jimmy's approval, Liz could not restrain a grin. "Better."

Both Lorraine and Charlie leaned forward. "How good is 'better'?" Charlie asked.

Maintaining a mysterious smile, Liz only said, "Better."

"You know, that wasn't funny," Charlie commented as he caught up with Liz several minutes later. She was going for a quick jog up to the pavilion to meet Calvin, Anne, and Daniel. "How did it really go over there with Jimmy?"

Liz gave him a wicked smile. "I told you it was better. Now what do you think that means?"

Charlie sent her an exasperated glare. "Don't tell me he gave you his blessing?"

Liz only nodded before putting on an extra burst of speed and bursting out of the undergrowth into the clearing of the pavilion. To her astonishment, she found not Calvin, Anne, and Daniel, but Sarah and Eliot. Kissing. At the sound of her approach, however, the two of them broke apart and each blushed a flaming red. Struggling to contain her laughter at their embarrassment, Liz managed to say, "Sorry. I'll come back later." Turning around, she headed back the way she'd come, running smack into Charlie.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked indignantly.

She only put her hands on his shoulders and steered him back the way they'd come. "Just turn around, Charlie. We can't barge in on Sarah and Eliot."

Author's Note:Don't forget to review! Thanks to everybody who's sent good reviews. Don't forget constructive criticism, if you have it. Any flamers will be laughed at. Next chapter coming soon! There's going to be one more confrontation between the Bakers/Murtaughs and the Zimmermans, so be ready! The end is coming fast! Happy Summer everybody!

Elena