Lynn pours herself a cup of coffee, and walks outside. She spent the night on his couch, hoping to see him, but even now, she is still waiting for Francisco to wake up. She doesn't want to lay around and do nothing, but going back to sleep is no longer an option. Rather than be cooped up indoors, she takes a step outside and sits down on a lawn chair as she enjoys the fresh air.

"Hello!" says a voice from the other side of the fence.

A startled Lynn jumps a bit, before getting closer to the fence, "Hello?"

An older man looks over at the woman with a smile on his face, and tipped his hat to her, "You must be Lynn."

"Yeah, and who are you?" she asks, curious about the older man and how he knows her name.

He extends his hand out to her and introduces himself, "My name is Jackson, nice to meet you."

Lynn shakes the man's hand, "Nice to meet you too." An awkward silence begins to creep up on the two. While Jackson steps away to water his plants, Lynn decides to ask, "So…how did you know who I was?"

"Well, Francisco mentioned you quite a bit for the last couple of months. If I recall, you were described as a headstrong athlete with a shy heart shown only to her loved ones, although I added that last part myself."

She is silent and doesn't know what to say to the description she heard. A part of her is flattered at the athlete comment, especially since those days are, for the most part, behind her, and using headstrong is definitely not wrong, but Lynn isn't sure how this man that never met her thinks that she has a shy heart.

In an attempt to play it cool, she asks, "So, he's talked a lot about me?"

The older man nods, "He brings you up every once in a while when we have our evening chats."

She is surprised that Francisco would talk to this man about her, and what's more, it never occurred to him to ever tell her about the man that she is mentioned to. In a way, Lynn isn't surprised, up until now, she hasn't asked him too much about his personal home life and has been going on the few snippets of information that he shared with her. Now, here she is learning that he talks to his neighbor at night, and mentions her as well.

Jackson puts away the garden hose and walks over to her, "So would you by any chance be interested accompanying me on my morning walk? I'm sure it's better than just standing around and waiting for Francisco to wake up."

Lynn shrugs her shoulders, "Sure, I guess I could use something to really get my blood pumping."

She walks into the house and sets the coffee mug down on the counter. After making sure that she has the spare key in her pocket, she goes outside to meet the man, who is currently on stilts.

Lynn looks up at the man, "You know, I don't normally mind being the shortest in my family, but this is ridiculous."

"Well, if you'd like I can offer you a spare pair of stilts that I have in my garage?"

She shakes her head, "No thanks, I think I'll be fine here on the ground."

The two quietly walk down the street, the sound from the wooden stilts hitting the cement sidewalk is the only thing that she could concentrate on as she looks around the neighborhood. Everyone is going about their day, then Lynn's eyes are drawn to a man covered in sweat and punching in the air.

"That's the Boxing Man over there," Jackson says as he points out the man who is punching in the air and speed stepping through the street.

Lynn nods and notices the concentration in the Boxing Man's eyes. His form is perfect, he has a deep concentration in his gaze, and she is sure that she can hear him muttering to himself; probably some personal words of encouragement, she thinks. She can see the eyes of a fighter, and her interest is piqued in finding out more about the athlete.

"I'm not sure what his story is, but he always shows up every summer to practice in the streets."

"So where does he live?"

Jackson shrugs his shoulders and continues to walk forward. Lynn runs to catch up to the man, "Now that house," he points to a house with a man coming out dressed in coveralls, "Be careful with that young man; he's a bit of a bad seed."

Lynn raises an eyebrow, "How?" she asks before a strong scent hit her and she knows what Jackson means.

She notices that he has started to walk away and Lynn quickly sprints to catch up to the man who is making his way down the sidewalk.

"And over there is the party store that I've frequented since I first moved in," Jackson continues, unaware that Lynn isn't next to him. "You know the family that runs the store– why are you running? I'm not going that fast, am I?"

"No! You just ran off when I got distracted by the drug dealer's house."

"Apologies. But also don't bring that up out loud, the last thing I want is for him to start causing trouble for you and Francisco."

Lynn looks back at the man in the coveralls; he doesn't look like any drug dealer that she's ever seen, he's a little on the scrawny side and he reminds her of a yappy little dog that barks more than he bites.

She turns back to Jackson, who is still walking while mentioning some random neighbor whose name she didn't catch. The two continue the extensive tour until they end up back in front of Francisco's house.

"And that concludes our tour down Eisner Street, did you enjoy the tour?" Jackson excitedly asks Lynn.

"It was…interesting," she tells him, unsure of why the man felt the need to describe the neighborhood to her.

She turns her head towards the house across the street and sees an older woman who is looking at both her and Jackson, "Who's that?"

Jackson looks over and sees the woman close the curtains as Lynn points at her house, "That's Mrs. Green, Francisco can probably tell you a bit more about her, or you'll find out eventually."


Francisco steps out of his dorm; it's the last weekend before classes start and he wants to take the opportunity to physically see the layout of the campus. Some upperclassmen offered to show him around, but they also wanted him to join them on a trip off-campus, and he doesn't want to spend the whole day away with a group of strangers.

He pulls out a map and searches for the mission that the school was built around. Unlike the colleges that he went on tours when he was in high school, this university is much smaller, so he doesn't expect to spend too much of his day exploring.

He notices how much of the surrounding buildings are built in the same style as the white mission, and as he walks inside he takes note of the interior décor, which heavily reminds him of the churches that his parents would take him to as a boy.

Francisco exits the mission and walks in the direction of the library and a group of girls walks towards him. Both groups ignore each other, but Francisco feels as though someone is staring at him. He ignores the feeling and continues his walk around the campus.

On Monday, Francisco is sitting down and eating breakfast in the dining hall, when he gets the same feeling that someone is staring at him. Without making it obvious, he looks around to see if anyone is looking at him. No one looked as if they were staring at him, but the feeling isn't going away.

During his first week, Francisco didn't make much of an effort to talk with other students, unless necessary, so he can't imagine what person would be staring at him in the dining hall.

He shakes his head; he's being ridiculous. He's in a room full of people that more than likely don't even notice him, yet he still can't shake the feeling that someone is looking at him. He gets up from his seat and keeps his eyes peeled as he looks around wondering who would be staring at him, however, in his efforts to find the culprit he accidentally bumps into blonde woman.

Francisco drops his tray and as soon as he hears her yelp, he immediately apologizes, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

He didn't knock her over, but she stares at the flustered young man and asks, "You were the boy that was walking by the library with the Royal Woods shirt, right?"

Francisco looks at her and is surprised that she knows where he is from, "Uh…yeah…how did you know?"

The shirt that she is mentioning was a simple blue and gold shirt with the letters R and W; he assumed that no one would have known what the letter stood for, but in front of him was someone who proved him wrong.

"I'm from Huntington Oaks," she tells him. The girl extends her hand to him, "My name is Caroline."

He returns the gesture, "Francisco."

"Well it's nice to meet you."


As the light of the sun begins to shine inside of his bedroom, the sun's rays hit Francisco's eyes and he starts to wake up. Francisco haphazardly rolls off of his bed before his broken arm made contact with the floor. He bites down on his lower lip to keep the sound of pain from escaping his mouth, and reaches into the nightstand drawer to pull out his medicine in hopes that it would kick in soon and keep the pain at bay.

"Stupid Kiké…" he mutters to himself. He doesn't want to admit the he needs his brother's help, but there he is on the floor, struggling to get up.

Francisco waits until the pain in his arm and back subside before he made another attempt at getting up again.

"Just a little bit…" he silently tells himself, before feeling pain radiating from his back. "Dang it!" he screams, as he tightly grips his bed sheets.

The door to his bedroom opens, and Lynn rushes over to him.

"Lynn? What are you doing here?"

"Good morning to you too," Lynn responds, as she hooks her arm around him and quickly moves him onto the bed. She secretly tries to catch her breath; surprised that he is tougher to lift than she thought.

Francisco looks over at her, "I'm sorry, I'm just surprised that you're here."

Lynn nods; she almost forgot about the sleeping man when she arrived from her outing with Jackson. "So what happened to you?" she asks as she holds his hand.

"Dune buggy accident."

Lynn opens her mouth, "Dune buggy accident? When did you get into a dune buggy accident?"

"Not important, I just blame faulty brakes and a sharp turn."

"Really? Not important? Jeez, way to fill in the blanks for someone."

Francisco sighs, "I'm sorry, but I don't feel like getting into all of the details of something like that…"

Lynn lets it go; knowing that he isn't going to bother opening up, he never likes to…

He attempts to get up from bed, and Lynn gets in front of him to stop him, "What are you doing?"

"I have to take my medicine," he says as he struggles to get to his feet.

She stops him, "Just get back in bed, I'll get them for you." Lynn searches through the drawers in his nightstand.

"Not there. Look I'll just get it myself," he says as he makes another attempt at getting up, before Lynn lightly pushes him back down.

"I'll find them. Don't worry."

Francisco's eyes follow her as she searches his room. It isn't often that she shows her more tender side, and while it isn't much; it's still a nice gesture that he appreciates.

"You know, this would go much faster if you tell me where they are," she tells him.

"They're in my medicine cabinet."

Lynn goes into his bathroom and the sound of rummaging can be heard in the room. The sound of bottles being dropped on the floor grabs Francisco's attention and he calls out to her, "What are you doing there?"

"I'm looking for a bottle that isn't expired. How the hell do you call me lazy when all of your bottles are expired and you don't throw them out?"

Francisco scratches his beard, "Just bring me one," he says with a strain in his voice.

Lynn rushes and hands him a pill from the expired bottle, "Is it safe to take it like that? You know, expired and whatnot?"

He quickly takes the pill and answers, "Its fine. Lately, I've been getting my medicine in larger bottle, but it's hard to carry in my pocket, so I put a few in the smaller container from my older prescriptions."

Lynn accepts his words, and asks, "Do you want breakfast?"


When Francisco learned that he received a scholarship to attend a small university in California, it never occurred to him that he would run into someone who happens to be from the Royal Woods area. He expected his classmates to be locals or from abroad, never from same little part of Michigan that he hailed from. While he is happy to have someone who is from back home, he didn't actively go searching for her to talk in their down time.

Nearly a whole week has passed since they spoke in the dining hall, and while they would run into each other and exchange pleasantries, their conversations never went further than that; he can't expect that just because they are from the same state that they will just become instantly become best friends.

On Sunday, Francisco takes a walk to the mission, where he sits down for the 10 a.m. sermon. He and his family aren't religious, but upon learning that the school is going to require him to take three religious studies courses, he figures that he can use an hour a week to brush up on what he's forgotten.

He stares at the podium and doesn't realize the blonde who sits next to him, "Good morning, Francisco."

He is startled when he hears her voice, "Good morning, Caroline. How are you doing?"

She smiles, "I'm fine. I just thought that it would be nice to unwind mentally before starting classes tomorrow. You?"

"I needed a refresher for when I have to take those required classes."

The mission begins to fill with worshippers and soon the priest walks up to the podium to commence. As a boy, church was mostly sitting and listening to a sermon that he mostly ignored as he could barely understand Spanish, songs he didn't know how to sing, and being friendly to strangers that he was wary of; now as a young man, he still doesn't know the songs, is still wary of the friendly parishioners, but at least he can understand what was being told to him.

After the sermon, the two take a walk, catching up on the week's events.

Caroline looks over at Francisco and notices the strain in his steps as he walks, "Are you okay?"

He nods his head, "Yeah, this happens when I decide to not take my medicine in the morning." He spots a water fountain, "Give me a minute so that I can get some water."

Caroline walks along side him, and waits patiently for him to drink water. She is expecting that he will explain why he struggled to walk or why he needs medicine, but when he doesn't, she respects his privacy and doesn't ask.

"Can I ask you something?" he starts.

"Sure, what it is?"

"Why are you here? I mean why are you attending this school."

The question surprises Caroline, and in a cheeky manner asks, "I could ask you the same thing?"

"I asked you first," he says with a playful smile.

She sighs, knowing that he won't answer unless she does, "My dad insisted that he would pay for my schooling, but I didn't want to feel like he would have control over my decisions if I were too close to home, so I decided on a school that was far enough to not worry about weekend visits from my parents, but still close enough that I could fly home for major holidays," Caroline explains.

Unlike Francisco, who has to rely on a scholarship to fund his education, Caroline's family seems to be financially capable of sending her to whatever school she pleased. If she is able to just pick a school on a whim, he imagines that she's smart, especially based on the school's admissions process.

"But that doesn't explain why you chose to go here, if you're smart, wouldn't you have chosen to go somewhere a little more prestigious?"

Caroline sighs loudly, "I already answered your question, you don't get to ask me another until mine gets answered first."

"Baseball scholarship," he quickly says. "Now can you answer my other question?"

She sighs, "Fine, I just wanted to get away, be close to the ocean, and not worry about my parents and family. I know that I could have gone somewhere more well-known, but I just didn't want to only be surrounded by a bunch of kids that grew up like I did. I want to have an opportunity to see more than just what my parents have had me see for all my life."

Francisco is surprised by the answer. Granted, he didn't know what to expect from her, but he definitely did not expect her to say something like that.

"Why did you choose to attend school here?"

"I told you."

"But no other school offered you a scholarship?"

He shakes his head.

The two continue to ask each other questions, and she begins to realize something with him; while she provides him with enough details to answer his questions, she can barely get more than a few muttered words.

She begins to lead him towards her dorm, "Well, it was nice talking to you."

He nods his head, "It was nice talking with you too. I guess I'll see you around campus or something?"

"Yeah…maybe…"

He agrees, "Yeah…"


Caroline checks her phone for any new messages from Francisco, but there aren't any new notifications. For the last couple of days, she had been worrying about him, and what would happen if her suspicions are confirmed; caring for Elena would be simple, explaining what happened would not. She knows she is getting ahead of herself, but she wants to have the right words to say to her daughter.

"Are you still worried about him?" asked Andrew.

She nods.

He doesn't know how to comfort her. He wants to say something that would put her mind at ease, but all he knows about the problem was what Caroline put told him after bringing home Elena on Friday afternoon.

"So, what did you tell him before you left?"

Caroline shakes her head, "I didn't say much. He closed the door after thinking that I was picking her up, then I messaged him and I told him that we needed to talk about what was going on."

Andrew hears some bitterness in her voice as she finishes explaining Friday's events to him, despite having days to take in whatever was going on between the two. He knows that something upsetting happened to bring out some bitterness towards her ex, but for now, he decides that it was best to not ask too many questions.

"Can you do me a favor? Don't bring up anything to Elena, at least until her dad and I figure everything out."

He nods, "Sure…can I ask you about–"

"No," she interrupts. "For now, it's just between me and him."

Andrew sighs. He knows that Francisco's sickness probably wasn't something as simple as a cold or something, but his girlfriend isn't opening up to him. He never bothered her for answers about her previous relationship, but every once in a while, it popped up and his curiosity was piqued.

After waiting long enough without a response, Caroline calls his house phone and he responds. Andrew can't hear what Francisco is saying, but his girlfriend asks to see him in person to discuss what happened last weekend.

"So what's going on?"

"He's coming over in a few minutes. Elena is with my sister, so I figure that this is as good a time as ever to talk."

"Do you want me to stick around? You know, in case things don't go well?"

He isn't sure what to expect, but he at least wants to be supportive in whatever is troubling her with Francisco.

"No, I can handle this…look, I'm sorry, but this is between the two of us."


On Saturday, Francisco heads to the fourth floor of his dorm; the staff at the front desk mentioned some events that the building hosts and he is interested to see what the group would be doing on a Saturday afternoon.

He looks around the floor, and notices some students already waiting and chatting and before someone approaches the lost-looking boy.

"Hello, how are you?" asks a young woman.

"Hello," Francisco nervously responds, "I'm doing good."

When he didn't say more, the woman asks, "So what brought you in today?"

"I was talking with some staff members and they told me about you guys, so I thought, why not?"

The young woman happily responds, "Great! Well we meet pretty frequently for homemade dinners, coffee, dessert, bocce ball tournaments, movies, and on weekends we like to take trips off-campus. Would you like to join us today?"

Francisco shrugs his shoulders, he doesn't have anything else to do, so he decides that joining them won't be that bad.

The group takes a walking trip to some nearby shops and as the walking continues, he begins to feel some pain radiating from his back if he moved his legs too much. He drags his feet and tries to keep the pain to himself, so as to not warrant questions from the other students. Some of the students are taking an opportunity to shop, browse, and enjoying people-watching, but he is currently leaning on a brick wall, trying to keep his pain from ruining the others' fun.

"Where do you guys want to get lunch today?"

The other students begin naming restaurants and Francisco looks around, hoping that where they decide to go that it is close, so that he can rest and grab a beverage to drink with his medicine.

The students decide on a pizzeria and Francisco takes a seat. The students talk to him about an upcoming movie marathon that they are planning, but all Francisco can do is keep his eyes on the waiter to bring him the water that he is craving.

During lunch, he notices some of the students chatting and it makes Francisco think that someone may be talking negatively about him. He isn't actively participating and one of the girls is looking at him while talking with her friend. He keeps his eyes on his food and listens to the chatting; he knows that at the moment, he appears to be withdrawn, but he hopes that he isn't also looking like a creep.

As the students head back to campus, the upperclassmen seem to have quieted their conversations, but Francisco keeps his eyes on the ground. He knows that he isn't very outgoing, but he never assumed that he would struggle so much to converse with other people. He knows that the club members have probably known each other for some time, but he doesn't feel comfortable jumping in without looking silly. It's been so long since he's made friends in a new environment and he feels as though he's forgotten how to do so.

When the group returns to campus, Francisco realizes that the group may not be for him, at least not alone, but maybe when he starts making new friends with his peers.


Lynn grabs her car keys and is waiting by the door to go, "Where are we going again?"

"To Caroline's, she said that she wants to talk," he responds from his room.

She walks towards him to check on him, "And you can't do it over the phone?"

Francisco doesn't respond.

Lynn loudly asks again, but when he still doesn't respond, she walks to his room to check on him. She doesn't know what has been going on with him, but she figures that he's probably not feeling fully charged since his accident.

She opens the door quietly and notices Francisco swallowing a pill. She looks at the room for a clock, "Has it really been that long since your last dosage?"

He jumps up slightly in the air and nods his head, "Alright, let's go. I told Caroline that we would be there shortly and I don't want to keep her waiting."

He assumes that she is probably alone in the house, waiting for him to arrive so that she can talk about whatever has been on her mind for days, and he feels as nervous as he did in his childhood whenever his parents scolded him.

"Let's go," he says.

The two walk outside and Lynn opens the door to her car.

"You don't want to take my truck?" Francisco offers.

Lynn shakes her head. While she doesn't mind the idea of using his truck, especially since it's less likely to break down, she doesn't like how close to the steering wheel she has to adjust the seat just to be able to reach the pedals.

"Nah, I'm good, besides, my car is closer to the ground so it's easier for you to get in and out without any hassle."

Francisco silently gets in the car and the two head towards Caroline's house. He begins to give Lynn directions, and she complies, despite wanting to use the GPS on her phone to make things easier.

With a strain in his voice, he tells her, "Turn right here."

He knows that he's nervous; whenever his throat tightens, he knows that he's about to face something that he's not prepared for. Caroline's voice over the phone made is clear that she isn't in a jovial mood, but he takes a deep breath and tries to set his mind at ease.

A loud noise from the engine grabs their attention and Francisco loudly groans. Lynn stops the car and turns it off, and hits the steering wheel in frustration; she doesn't have any tools to fix Dutch, and she can already hear what Francisco is going to say.

"Don't say it," she tells him.

"I think I have to, because you're still so stubborn to stick with this stupid car!" he yells.

Lynn rolls her eyes, "I told you, I'm not getting rid of it! So drop it!"

"I may as well, because apparently you don't care what I have to say, so I might as well save my damn breath!"

Lynn mutters under her breath, "Like that'll ever happen…"

He opens the passenger door and slams it shut upon exiting the vehicle.

Lynn yells from the car, "Where are you going?!"

"To Caroline's! I'll call you when I'm done," he yells as he walks away from her.

He scowls and continues his trek despite the growing pain in his body. He knows that he can wait alongside Lynn, but without tools, he can't fix Dutch and ge doesn't want to wait around as she mutters obscenities to herself; he just wants to talk with Caroline and get their conversation over with.

Francisco rings the doorbell and waits for her to answer him. He isn't sure of what to expect when he walks through the front door, but he can't imagine that she invited him over to relive the good old days.

Caroline opens the door and invites him inside, "Do you want something to drink, maybe a coffee or something?"

He nods his head, "A coffee would be nice," he says as he takes a seat in her living room. She returns with the beverages, handing him a mug before taking a seat across from him.

The two adults quietly take a sip of coffee and Francisco, who is nervously scratching his beard, asks, "Is-Is Elena around?"

"No," Caroline starts, "she's with my sister. What happened this weekend?" Francisco looks over at her, and she continues, "Chuy told me that you were in a dune buggy accident and Kiké tells me that you're passed out late in the morning. Granted, I can't always take his word, but you know how I feel when he's around."

Francisco raises an eyebrow, "What? What exactly are you assuming is going on?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Francisco. Elena and I show up and you can't remember what day it is, you and the house are a mess, and I know that whenever Kiké is around I shouldn't expect things to go well."

He knows what she's implying, and can't believe that just one brief look at him would be enough to convince her, "I'm not abusing my medication! In case you can't tell, I can barely function on my own physically, my hip hurts from just the short walk that I took getting here, and I can't exactly do much more with a broken arm. Yes, I have to take my medicine. Yes, I struggling with everything that's going on, and while I didn't want him around, he had to help, but only because I can't count on anyone else to just stop what they're doing and help me!"

The two quietly stare at each other. Neither one says a thing, and neither one sure of what the other is thinking after his outburst.

He breaks the silence and asks, "Do you believe me?"

"I don't know, but if you don't start to get a hold of yourself, then maybe we have to rethink our whole relationship…including Elena."

Francisco is surprised by her words, but takes a deep breath and counts to himself, knowing that nothing good will happen if they begin to lose their cool with one another.


After the disaster of yesterday's trip, Francisco decides to go back to last week's agenda and heads to the mission for Sunday's sermon. He doesn't know why he's bothering with attending the service, but he doesn't know what else to do with his day other than sit around watching tv or going to the gym.

Caroline shows up and she quietly greets him as she takes a seat a few rows ahead of him. Francisco understands why she chose to sit away from him, he wasn't the greatest person to talk to last week and he can't imagine that it was easy to her to endure.

The sermon starts and Francisco ignores the words that are being spoken; he looks around at the door to probably depart earlier than the others.

Just as he is about to get up, the priest's words begin to strike a chord with him, "…therefore, it is better for two to be together, than for one to be alone. For they have the advantage of their companionship. If one falls, he shall be supported by the other. Woe to one who is alone. For when he falls, he has no one to lift him up…"

The priest continues his sermon and Francisco thinks about the verses that he just recited. He can't spend all of his college years alone with just the occasional company of his teammates and roommate; he needs to try to build a rapport with others.

He looks over at Caroline, who is sitting a few seats away from him. He can't force her to talk to him, but she knows a little more about him than most people on campus.

As the sermon comes to a close, Francisco gets up from his seat and looks around for the blonde woman. She is currently chatting with some older women, so he turns around after losing his nerve.

'This is a terrible idea. If she actually wants to talk then we would have talked by now, besides do I really want to go up to her like some creep that can't make friends and is looking at her?'

He walks away from the group and heads towards his dorm, but he soon hears her voice call out to him.

"Francisco, wait up!"

He turns around and sees her, "Hey Caroline, how are you?"

"I'm good," she responds, "I was hoping that we could have an opportunity to talk and catch up."

He smiles a bit, "Yeah that sounds nice."

She looks over at him; unlike last week, she doesn't plan on doing all the talking, and wants to see if he will be more willing to open up to her.

"Do you mind if we sit down?" he asks.

"Forgot your medicine again?"

"Not on purpose, but I wasn't in any pain this morning, so I figured that I should be able to handle an hour more."

It isn't much to go off of, but at least it's more than what he was offering the week before. The two talk a little longer about classes, clubs, and their week. The crowd begins to slowly disperse and the two realize how much time had passed.

She gets up from her seat, "Do you want to go grab lunch in the dining hall?"

He nods his head and smiles, "Sure."


Lynn pushes Dutch through the street. She knows that he said that he will call when he's finished talking with Caroline, but he could have left her with an address so that she can find him. She lets go of the car and looks around at all of the houses in the neighborhood; she can't imagine that he could have gone far, but she didn't pay attention to see what direction he went in.

She looks at her phone and presses on his name. Lynn waits for him to respond, but it goes straight to his voicemail. She sighs as she puts her phone away. She opens her trunk and checks to see if there is a possibility that Francisco put some tools inside in case Dutch broke down.

She searches under the blanket, in the milk crate, between the towels, but she can't find anything, "Jeez, I thought that one of us would have thought about putting in some tools back here."

A man's voice grabs her attention, "Do you need some help?"

Lynn, startled by the voice, looks up and sees a man looking at her, "No…maybe…a little…my car is giving me crap."

The man chuckles, "Well if you want I can help push your car to my girlfriend's house. It's not too far from here, and I can probably look at it there."

Lynn didn't want to just randomly follow a man to his 'girlfriend's' house, but with her car in bad shape and with Francisco gone, she nods her head and agrees.

'I'll be fine…besides, this time I'll actually be at full mental capacity.'

He tells her, "You can sit down in the driver's seat and I'll push. Just keep your window down and I'll tell you when to turn."

Lynn complies and decides to make some conversation with the man, "My name is Lynn, by the way."

"Andrew," he answers.

He pushes the car, and directs her until they reach the driveway. Andrew rests his head on the truck of Lynn's car and as he catches his breath, asks, "So where are you going?"

"I don't know," she responds, "I'm waiting for a phone call, because my stupid boyfriend couldn't tell me the damn address that he's going to."

He chuckles, "Why don't you call him?"

"He won't answer the phone, so I'll have to just wait until he's done with whatever he's doing."

Andrew checks his pockets, and heads to the side door to open the garage and get a good look at the car, "If you want, we can push the car inside, or do you prefer being out here?"

"It doesn't matter. I just need to get him fixed before my boyfriend gives me crap again," she complains.

He steps out of the garage with a flashlight and a toolbox and gestures her to open the hood of the car, "Again?"

"He keeps telling me to get a new car, but I'm too attached," she tells him, as she pats on a rust spot on the roof of the car.

Andrew doesn't say a thing and inspects the car; he tinkers a bit with the engine, "Do you want to see if it'll turn on?" Lynn places the key in the ignition, and despite the slight difficulty starting, Dutch is doesn't break down. "I'd probably still take it to get checked out though," he suggests.

Lynn turns off the car. Andrew closes the hood and places the tools back in the garage. He turns to see her resting on the hood of the car, and she asks him "So do you live here?"

He shakes his head, "Not really, this is my girlfriend's place."

"Do you think that she'll mind if we go in?"

"She's meeting with her ex and she wanted privacy."

Lynn raises an eyebrow; finding it difficult to believe that he would believe something like that. Granted, she doesn't know his girlfriend, but knowing that she wants to be alone with her ex, made her think of the possibilities.

"It's not what you think. Trust me."

"Are you sure? I mean, I'd be a little worried about my boyfriend alone with his ex, especially since she's successful and they have a kid together."

She's surprised that she admitted that out loud, and to a stranger. She's never admitted this to Francisco, and maybe she is a little jealous of how Caroline's life has been going, but she knows that he isn't the type to stray when things get tough.

Andrew stays quiet, and Lynn apologizes, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make things weird."

"Don't worry, besides if her ex does try anything, I wouldn't mind taking him on," he jokes.

Lynn laughs, "Oh really?"

"I'm kidding, but I'm a black belt, and–"

"Hey! Me too!" she interrupts, "What style? I do kung fu, although I've been wanting to branch out for a while."

He takes a seat next to her, "A little from a few different styles."

Lynn is curious; she doesn't know if he's a braggart, but she decides to push it and ask for more information, "How much is 'a few different styles'?"

"Seventeen different styles."

She excitedly asks, "You know seventeen different styles?!"

"No," he corrects her, "I know techniques from seventeen different styles. I–"

"What belt do you have?"

"A black belt…"

"Do you want to spar?" she asks excited to face another black belt.

Andrew looks around the neighborhood, and despite there being no one in sight, he shakes his head; not wanting to just spar with a stranger that he just met on the street.

"Aww you're no fun," she teases.

"I'd like it call it more like saving your life," he teases back.

Lynn looks at the house, and she remembers why he is outside with her. She's curious about what is going on inside, and she walks over to a window and tries to peer inside.

"Aren't you just a little curious?" she asks.

He looks at her and is surprised, but he can't say that he isn't. For the last couple of days, he's seen Caroline worrying herself about Francisco and he doesn't even know why. Whenever he asks her, she would say that is isn't important, but if it wasn't important, then there wouldn't be a reason for her to not tell him.

He walks over to the house and presses his ear against the door. He tries to listen inside, but can only hear muffled sounds.

Andrew takes his ear off of the door, "Did you see anything?"

"No…but I want to touch the curtain, it looks nice."

The front door opens and grabs the attention of both adults. The two smile and are greeted by a surprised Caroline and Francisco.

"Lynn?"

"Andrew?"

Lynn happily says, "Oh good, now I don't have to go cruising through the neighborhood calling your name out," she tells Francisco.

Francisco walks past Lynn and he steps into the passenger side of the car. He closes the door and just stares forward. The other three silently look at him; Lynn and Andrew are unsure of what transpired between him and a stressed Caroline.

Lynn turns to Andrew, "Well, it was nice talking to you. I should probably get him home," she says as walks towards her car.

Caroline calls out to her, "Lynn, wait," the brunette turns around, "Just be careful."

She doesn't know what to make of those words, and nods her head and gets in the car. The ride back to Francisco's house is long and silent, and Lynn is tempted to ask what happened back at Caroline's, but decides to wait until they are home.

When they walk through the front door, Francisco heads towards his room and Lynn follows behind him. The uncomfortable silence on the ride back made her wonder what he and Caroline talked about, but his silence isn't telling her anything and she wants to help him.

She walks to his room and Lynn opens the door to peer inside. He's sitting on the bed looking down at the floor. She takes a seat next to him and places her arm around his shoulders and asks, "Francisco, are you okay?"

He doesn't say anything.

She leans down to look at his eyes, and sees them staring blankly at the floor. She pulls his face up, and stares into his eyes "Hey…whatever happened just now, you're gonna be okay, you know that, right?"

His eyes soften as he stares into her's. He smiles and pulls her into a passionate kiss.


Another chapter done!

In my mind, the argument between Francisco and Caroline was meant to be louder and more in-your-face before remembering that neither one is meant to behave like that, but the tougher part was writing Lynn and Andrew, who are about to develop a friendship while being unintentionally alienated by their romantic partners and their past.

Now some fun facts

- In keeping with Loud House tradition, Eisner St is named after cartoonist and comic book artist Will Eisner, creator of the unsuccessful Baseball comic book

- Francisco and Caroline's university and the club mentioned are based on the real world, although with a few creative licenses

- According to the internet, 'Party store' in Detroit lingo for convenience store. I'm not sure how common that really is, but I'm going with it