Chapter Nine: As Time Stops, So Does My Heart

Marco

"Andrew's babysitting, and we are spending the day alone together," I told Jesse, smiling.

"But what about Lindsey's trial? That's this afternoon," Jesse said, looking worried.

"He said he doesn't want it to be a big deal. He only wants Thomas there," I assured him.

"Well good, because I'd rather spend my day with you," he said, wrapping his arms around me from behind and kissing my neck. I started to feel like I used to when I was with him. As he ran a hand down my arm and laced his fingers with mine, I drifted off into my memories.

"Waaaaaaaaake up!" I yelled, shaking Jesse.

"Marco, I don't wanna go to school today," he whined without even opening his eyes.

"What can I do to convince you?" I asked, poking his cheek.

"Nothing," he groaned, rolling over.

"Not even this?" I asked. I climbed up on him (something I do every morning) and kissed him on the cheek. When he didn't respond, I kissed the corner of his mouth. Then, right on the lips. I didn't let go until he backed his head up for air. He opened his eyes and smiled, but then closed them again.

I cuddled up behind him, reaching my hand around and under his shirt. I felt him tense up, but he didn't push me away. I slowly pushed my hand underneath his boxers, and kept moving it down…

"Okay! I'm awake!" he yelled, sitting up, and in the process, dislodging my hand. I smirked and pulled him to me for a quick kiss. We sat there for a minute, my head resting on his shoulder.

As soon as I stopped daydreaming, I realized that Andrew was in the room. Jesse was still in the same position, and Andrew was holding Gracie. I leaned backward into Jesse and squeezed his hand. He returned the squeeze and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Are you really taking her all day long?" I asked, grinning at Andrew.

"Of course. Gracie and I have a date with Ellie," he answered, grabbing the bag that held all of her necessities.

"What are you doing with Ellie?" I asked, interested. He shrugged, throwing us both an evil smile before walking out of the room.

"So…where should we go first?" Jesse asked, bringing my attention back to him.

"I was thinking that maybe we could stay in…" I trailed off, looking into his eyes for an answer. The smile on his face grew and I knew right away that he liked the idea.

Rory

I sat outside our building for a change of scenery and thought about Rex. It seemed like only yesterday, everyone was surprised by his little scandal. And it's hard to imagine that he's been dead for almost a month now. I sighed and started to recall my last day with him. . .

"I love you so much," I said, kissing Rex good morning. I stretched and smiled at him, grasping his hand.

"I love you too," he replied, reaching up with his free hand to touch my cheek. I placed my other hand on top of his and pulled him up to me. We hugged for much longer than usual, though neither of us knew why. It just felt right.

"Time to work," I said after we pulled away. I frowned but he kissed my forehead and stood up.

"It'll be okay. We'll be okay. This isn't forever you know," he said, holding a hand out to help me up.

"But I thought you were never leaving. . ." I trailed off, grabbing his hand.

"We'll leave one day. When the time is right."

"Why not today?"

"One day Rory. Don't worry." He kissed me one last time before he left. I didn't have a job lined up until late in the afternoon, so I decided to take a walk through the city. It was the only thing to do to pass the time. I'd probably stop in the park to beg for money before scrounging up enough to get a burger.

I hadn't been able to take a shower for a few days, so people tended to stay as far away from me as they could get. I had dirt smudged on my face from a particular bad job the night before, and my shirt was ripped in a few places. I tried my best to force a smile as I walked along the sidewalk. It was actually one of the few good days I had since I ran away.

While I was walking, day dreaming about Rex, as usual, an SUV suddenly screeched to a halt beside me. It had happened before, and was usually some horny guy who wanted to pick me up. I wasn't in the mood, so I started to run, and I could hear the pounding footsteps of whoever was chasing me.

"Rory!" I heard someone yelling from behind me. The voice sounded familiar, so I stopped suddenly, whipping around. I hoped the person wasn't an old customer. "Rory! It's you!" I was standing face to face with my brother. My twin brother who I'd been separated from for years.

"Remy?" I asked between breaths. We shared a hug, and I fought tears.

"I never knew you could run so fast," he said, causing me to smile.

"I've missed you," I told him, hugging him one more time to make sure it was real.

"I was adopted by that family that picked me up the first day. I couldn't find you. I tried . . . we all tried."

"Who's we?"

"Me, Andrew, and his parents," he answered happily. His new family.

"So, Andrew is . . ."

"Our new brother," he stated, grinning from ear to ear.

"Our?" I was confused. He had a new life, and so did I. We were so different by then.

"I told you all about them. They've known about you from the beginning. And now that we've finally found you, you can come home," he said excitedly.

I was so wrapped up in the moment that I completely forgot about my friends.

"I have to go get my stuff and I'll meet you back here in fifteen minutes. Just don't leave me again, okay?" I asked him.

"Of course not. I'll be in the car." He motioned over to the expensive SUV that was parked next to us. I could tell that these people had a lot of money, and that made me even happier.

I ran all the way to my makeshift home to find everyone gone. I quickly started grabbing everything I had accumulated over the years, as well as my things I brought with me when I ran away. Just as I was finishing up, Rex returned from his job.

"Where are you going?" he asked. The look on his face made me want to cry. My stomach flopped as I walked over to him and kissed his neck.

"I found my brother. Well, he found me," I said, wrapping an arm around his waist. "He was adopted by these rich people, and they want me to come live with them. Isn't this great?" I asked. He obviously didn't think it was so great, because he bit his bottom lip; something he did when he was trying not to cry.

"So…you're leaving me?" he asked, pulling himself out of my grip.

"Come with me!" I said, kissing him on the lips this time. He pulled away and turned his back to me.

"I can't."

"Why not?" I asked, walking around him so I could see his face.

"I'm not leaving them," he replied, motioning towards the guys' beds.

"So they're more important than I am?" I asked, tears in my eyes.

"Of course not. But they need me more than you do. You're gonna be okay now. You have your family back."

"You are my family. Don't you get that? I can't live without you," I said, letting the tears spill over. He wiped my eyes and kissed me on my forehead before pulling me to his chest.

"You'll be fine," he told me as he ran his hands through my hair.

"But Rex, I…" I trailed off, not finishing my sentence.

"You what?" he asked, lifting my chin and looking into my eyes.

I couldn't say it. I didn't want to feel any worse than I already did.

"I have to go," I choked out. I kissed him one last time and left without looking back.

Three weeks after I left Rex, I went back to him, just to visit. But he was gone. The guys told me that he went back to his parents, and just hearing that made me happy. Rex was my first love and I never forgot him.

I've never felt the same way about anyone as I did about Rex, not even Andrew. Andrew was a full blown crush that was the result of my loneliness. I never felt the same way about anyone . . . until I met Marco.

Thomas

"Can I talk to you?" I asked Nate, approaching him as he left his room."

"Sorry, I have somewhere to be," he replied, trying to push his way past me. I grabbed his arm and held him there, trying to get him to stay.

"Look Nate, I'm sorry okay? I shouldn't have reacted that way. What happened partly was my fault because I shouldn't have gotten drunk in the first place," I told him. He stopped trying to get away and I saw a small smile appear.

"I'm sorry too. I obviously shouldn't have taken advantage of you, but I wasn't in a good place at the time either. We've known each other forever and I don't want our friendship to be ruined over stupid crap like that."

We shared a short hug and then stood there, unsure of what should happen next.

"Well, I guess I should probably get going then. Maybe we can hang out after the trial or something," Nate suggested.

"Where are you off to?" I asked, a little curious.

"Nowhere special," he answered.

"Yeah, right. You were rushing to leave just a minute ago. It has to be at least a little important," I said, trying to get him to tell me.

"It doesn't matter," he sighed.

"Maybe I could accompany you then. I don't have to leave for another hour and a half to go to court."

"I have to go alone. Sorry."

"Why don't you just tell me?" I asked, raising my voice a little.

"FINE!" he yelled. "I'm going to see Tyler!"

"You can't go see him!" I yelled right back. I wasn't stupid. I knew Tyler was his dealer.

"And you can't tell me what to do Thomas," he said calmly.

"I'm only looking out for you. You're my best friend Nate, and I'm worried about you. You're addicted to that shit and it's obviously not helping you at all. How can you not care about what happens?" I asked.

"Just leave me alone. I'm going now," he said, shoving past me. I grabbed him once again and spun him around to face me.

"You're not going."

"You're not my father!" he yelled, trying to wrench himself out of my grip.

"He'd be really proud of you, wouldn't he?" I yelled back, completely sarcastic of course. It was another thing that I wished I'd never said. I let go of his arm as his face became full of hurt. I watched him run from the building before trudging back to my own room.

Nate's father was killed in a car accident last year. He never really got over it, and he doesn't like to talk about it either.

I just screwed up for the millionth time. It's a wonder I even have any friends at all.

Ellie

"She's so adorable," I told Andrew, taking the baby from him.

"I know," he replied. "We're all in love with her. Especially me." He sighed, letting his arms drop to his sides.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Well…" he trailed off, leaning back against the bench we were sitting on. "Not really."

"What's on your mind?"

"I'm not so sure I should tell you, seeing as you're Marco's best friend and all," he said, turning to look at me.

"I won't say anything to him if that's what you're worried about," I promised, giving him a small smile.

"I trust you. So I'll just tell you. The thing is…I'm kind of…falling in love with Gracie's dad," he confessed, looking away from me.

"Which one?" I asked, carefully suppressing a laugh. I must have let a smile slip through because Andrew frowned.

"Don't laugh, it's not funny. It's Jesse," he said.

"Well…what about Marco?" I asked, frowning a little.

"He's still in love with Rory. Everyone can tell. And Rory loves him too," he added.

"Then why aren't they together?"

"Because he and Jesse never got a chance together. Jesse had this huge thing for him ever since he met Marco. Back then, he had a boyfriend, but he and Marco fooled around behind his back. It didn't matter to Rex though, because Rex was cheating on him with…"

"That teacher," I finished, interrupting him.

"Yeah."

"So, that leaves you in love with Jesse?" I asked, confused. Marco told me that Andrew and Jesse used to hate each other.

"We've been hanging out lately, and I've fallen for him."

"Why don't I help you get Jesse? And get Marcoand Roryback together?" I asked him. His face brightened up instantly.

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course."

Remy

I thought I'd get a day off from being forced on Kelly, since it was the weekend. But did I? Of course not. He called me down to his office for a "much needed tutoring session." I had to go, seeing as I wanted to graduate and get away from this place.

After he made me do everything he wanted, I felt so dirty. In fact, I felt sick to my stomach. It was my fault that I had gotten into this mess. If I hadn't been so set on screwing around with the hottest guy I could find, I wouldn't be in this situation right now.

I ran as fast as I could back to my room and straight into the bathroom. Leaning over the toilet, I began to vomit, letting my stomach empty out until I felt better. I wiped my mouth off and looked into the mirror. The face I saw made me even sicker. I didn't feel like I needed to throw up anymore, so I did the next best thing.

I shoved my finger down my throat, making it all come up, and I didn't stop until I was satisfied.

Lindsey

As soon as I stepped into the courtroom, I felt like my entire body was on fire. I couldn't believe that this was where I had gotten myself. My father sat beside me, a completely neutral look on his face. He had his poker face on, and no one would be able to challenge him. Everything was in place, and everyone was set to break the law and lie just for me.

I should have felt great knowing that so many people cared enough to do this for me. But instead, I felt like shit.

I took one look at Sarah, who was completely avoiding my gaze, as if she never even knew me. Then I looked over at Kate. She sat, holding her sister's hand, trying to be strong for both of them. She didn't have a bump yet, but pretty soon, everyone would know. I could tell by the look on her face that she was miserable.

The trial was about to start, but I snuck a quick look at Thomas. Even he looked upset. He was trying his hardest not to look over at Kate, but he did anyway. She looked at him at the same time and they met eye contact, but only for a brief moment. They both looked away quickly, afraid of being seen. I let my gaze move back to Kate and saw that she had tears in her eyes.

There was no way I could keep hurting all of them. In the entire courtroom, my father was the only one who didn't look troubled. But he would soon. I knew there was only one thing I could do.

He was in the middle of his opening statement when I stood up and yelled for him to stop. All eyes were on me as I gave my confession:

"I did it."

A/N: I feel so bad that I didn't have this chapter finished until today. I usually have a bunch of chapters all written. I really have to write more for both of my stories so I don't fall behind like this again! This chapter takes place Saturday, January 14th. I skipped a few days because I wanted it to be Lindsey's trial. Anyone surprised? Let me know what you think.

emphatic loser: I've been meaning to reply to your reviews on here and I just kept forgetting. They've been sitting in my inbox for awhile. I'm glad you like my taste in music. XD And I do feel very special that you risked detention to read my story! I love Panic! too…aren't they just great? You'll have to wait a long time to see who Marco ends up with…probably the end of the story:gasp: that's so far away, sorry.

Azury: Hey, I was chatting with Carrie (aka BlewYourMicrophone) and she said to tell you that she loves you and misses you dearly.