For now, Nyoko decided to keep her feelings to herself. She didn't want to make a scene, not when she could see her parents staring at her. She was just there to try to have fun. Suddenly, she caught sight of Eric leaving the men's restroom and her pupils shrank. What the hell was he doing here? Had Tammy invited him? If not, why was he here?

"Hey!" Nyoko suddenly heard Miyako shout at her. "Nyoko, what are you doing?"

"Huh?" Nyoko shook her thoughts away. "Nothing. I was just thinking about stuff."

"Okay. By the way, it's almost time for cake and ice cream, so hurry up." With that, Miyako started heading off for Tammy's table.

Nyoko turned around and started following Miyako to the table. "Coming."

Once Nyoko and Miyako made it to Tammy's table, they sat down at their designated seats and watched Tammy's parents bring out her birthday cake: a marbled vanilla and chocolate sheet cake straight from the likes of a bakery within Wal-Mart decorated in white and pink frosting reading "Happy 15th Birthday, Tammy." It looked alright, certainly nothing to write home about. If Nyoko was completely honest, she'd had far better cake before, but she didn't want to be seen as rude by refusing (neither did the rest of the family, for that matter).

"Wow." Nyoko tried to feign some enthusiasm about having this cake. "That's some nice cake you have there."

"Thanks, Nyoko," Tammy replied. "My parents got it from Wal-Mart."

"You don't say. Where are the candles?"

"Oh, my parents are getting them right now."

Sure enough, Mr. and Mrs. Warner had arrived with candles in the shape of "1" and "5" to place on their daughter's cake. Once that was done and over with, everyone at the table started singing the "Happy Birthday" song, which ended with Tammy blowing out the candles and everyone including Nyoko helping themselves to some cake. While Nyoko ate some cake and ice cream, she couldn't help but dwell some more about Eric's presence here. Why the hell was he here? Surely, Kenny and the other boys would've told him off and barred him from coming to the party, but apparently not. Nyoko then looked over her shoulder to see Eric walking up to Maya and start making out with her. Wait, what?

Nyoko turned her head back around to face Miyako. "Hey, Miyako."

"What?" Miyako asked, rather annoyed.

"Have you been having problems with Eric lately?"

Miyako shook her head. "I don't think so. Why?"

"Uh..." Nyoko pointed back to Eric, who was still making out with Maya. "I guess he's smooching it up with his manager's sister."

Miyako's jaw practically dropped to the floor when she saw him and Maya. "Oh my God... it can't be..."

"I'm sorry, Miyako."

Miyako could feel her blood boiling over. "It's okay. I'm going to make him wish he never met me by the time I'm done with him..."

Miyako abruptly got up from her seat and started walking over to where Eric and Maya were, with Nyoko staying behind just to watch the whole thing unfold. From where Nyoko sat, she watched as Miyako cursed Eric out in front of Maya Diamond and her family and their lawyers, accusing him of stringing her along with the promise of sex and the idea of getting back at Heidi. In a way, Nyoko couldn't help but feel bad for her sister. Sure, Miyako and Eric had conspired to get back at her for squealing to Heidi about what Eric had been doing, but seeing Miyako get betrayed like that just hurt. Surely, she deserved better (not much better, but better nonetheless).

"Why don't you suck my balls, Miyako?!" Nyoko heard Eric yell at her sister.

"Why should I?" Miyako asked seemingly in a mocking fashion. "Can't you get Maya to do that for you?"

"Fuck off, you crazy bitch!" Eric slapped Miyako hard across the face. "Don't talk about my girl like that."

This time, it was Nyoko's turn to get angry. How dare he slap her sister like that? Nyoko quickly got up from her seat and started walking over to Eric despite the rest of her family calling out to her.

"Where do you get off hitting my sister like that, asshole?" Nyoko asked Eric with subdued anger.

"Oh, what now?" Eric sneered. "Are you going to yell at me, too?"

Nyoko just chuckled. "Nah, I don't have the energy for that. I'm going to destroy you instead."

With that, Nyoko threw a punch across Eric's face, connecting with his left cheek quite hard. Everyone who witnessed that just gasped.

"Oh, it's on, bitch!" Eric exclaimed.

And so Nyoko and Eric exchanged blows upon each other, with everyone else (except Kyle) staring at them in awe and shock.

"Kick his ass, Nyoko!" Kyle yelled out to her. "Murder him!"

Nyoko proceeded to land some more punches upon Eric's face before her parents eventually decided to step in and pry her off him. Meanwhile, Maya dragged Eric away and restrained him before he could do anything else.

"That's enough, Miss Goshima!" Maya yelled at Nyoko. "How could you attack such a clever and talented young man like this?"

"He screwed me over, ma'am!" Nyoko yelled back. "Why are you defending him?!"

"Why shouldn't I defend him? He's my boyfriend. Also, due to your actions, I'm going to see to it that you and your sisters never make it in the music industry."

Nyoko's pupils shrank and she tried to pull herself free from her parents' grasps, but it was to no avail.


The Goshimas drove back home in total silence. Nyoko was still fuming over the fight she had with Eric, while Miyako was crying her eyes out and Momoko tried to distract herself by looking out the window. Nyoko could feel the furious anger radiating over both of her parents and especially her mother. She could only imagine what was in store for her the moment they stepped inside the house. When they finally made it home, no one said much of anything. Nyoko wanted nothing more than to be alone at that moment, so she went to her room and cried her eyes over losing Xemnas' child. She still couldn't understand why she was so upset by it. She should've at least been a little happy that it was gone (and she was), but the grief still persisted.

Nyoko kept crying and crying until the sun went down and the moon went up, still confused over her emotions regarding this child she hadn't wanted to keep. Her crying could be heard throughout the whole house. Just a few moments later, her mother burst into the room and dragged her out by the arm.

"Mom, what are you doing?!" Nyoko couldn't help but yell out.

"If this doesn't get you to stop crying over that thing, nothing will," her mother just coldly replied.

Nyoko gulped. What exactly was her mother talking about? She kept silent until her mother had dragged out into the living room where her father and her triplet sisters were.

"You've been crying about that thing you think was a baby all night long," her mother growled at Nyoko. "I know you've still been mourning that baby when I asked you not to. If you really think about it, this is all your fault."

"I don't understand how-" Nyoko was met with a backhanded slap across the face. "Ahh!"

"When I say it's your fault, then it's your fault, got it?!" Mrs. Goshima proceeded to grab Nyoko by the collar of her shirt and lift her high up in the air. "As long as you are my daughter and you are living under my roof, you are going to follow my rules! If you talk back to me again, I'll-"

Nyoko kept her eyes locked on her mother's, defiant and angry. "You'll what? Hit me? Disown me? Why don't I save you the trouble and disown myself for you?! In fact, why don't I just do that right now?! Guess I'm not your daughter anymore, huh?"

Nyoko kicked her mother in the stomach, forcing her to drop her to the ground. Nyoko then ran off to quickly pack her things into a bag and grab some money she needed for bus fare and then run out of her room.

"Okay, fine!" Nyoko heard her mother scream as she made her way out the front door. "Just leave! As far as I'm concerned, the daughter I gave birth to doesn't exist anymore! Just don't expect me or the rest of the family to cry for you when you end up dead in a ditch somewhere because we're not going to give a damn!"

Nyoko slammed the door behind her and ran down the sidewalk until she made it to a bus stop, tears beginning to refill her eyes. Nyoko just sat on the bench for a while and could only watch as a Greyhound bus lurched its way in front of her. She slowly climbed up the steps and came face-to-face with a middle-aged Black woman (who must have been somewhere in her late forties or early fifties) who happened to be the bus operator.

"Where to, dear?" the bus operator asked nicely.

"Elwood City, Pennsylvania, please," Nyoko replied, tears still flowing from her eyes. "7 Roswell Court."

The bus operator just nodded at Nyoko. "Alright, that'll be fifteen dollars, please."

Nyoko handed the bus operator three five-dollar bills and then boarded the bus for Elwood City, for now putting her worries aside so she could see her online friend in person.