For Travis, Ray and Robbie, the weekend came too soon. The trio had spent all week trying to get Lily to talk to them, but with nothing to show for their hard work. It wasn't until half-way through the next week that one of them came anywhere near close enough to find out. Ray leant forward over his desk, trying to take a peak at her leather cuffs, only to fall face-first on to the floor as the bell rang.

As they sat down to their last class of the day, Travis stood, asking permission to go to the bathroom. As he walked passed Lily's desk, he had a good stare at the cuffs, but still couldn't find anything special about them. As he returned, he found Dean standing at the doorway to the classroom.

"One of the teachers sent me," Dean told the teacher, "He'd like to see Lily about something. He wants her to take her things with her." The teacher eyed him suspiciously. "Which teacher sent you?" she asked him sharply. Dean shrugged with a casual air. "I don't know," Dean replied, "I'm still learning everyone's names." The teacher seemed to accept that and nodded for Lily to leave.

"So who wants to see me?" Lily asked, wondering what she'd done to make one of her teachers ask for her. "They don't," Dean told her, "You just looked bored, so I figured I could at least get you out of the last class of the day. So what'd you say we jump in my car and head over to my place for a jam session?" Lily nodded, slinging her bag over her shoulder as they headed out the front door. Travis waited a little longer before re-entering the classroom, making sure to pass on every detail.

The next day, Robbie cornered Lily as the bell rang to move off to lunch. He dragged her into an empty classroom and sat her down. "Ok," Robbie told her calmly, "We need to talk. You may not want to talk to Travis or Ray, but I think we deserve some kind of explanation for your behaviour. I care about you Lily, we all do, and if there's something we can do to make you feel better, you know we'd do ti in a heartbeat. So please Lily, tell me what's going on. We miss you, as our friend, and co-host."

"That's the problem," Lily replied solemnly, "You can't fix this. None of you can. All I did was tear us apart. 'Shady Lane' is dead. That's not who I am anymore, and if this puts you guys out, then I'm sorry. Sorry I couldn't be the friend, or girlfriend, they obviously needed me to be, so just move on and forget you ever knew me."

Lily began to move away when Robbie grabbed her wrist. Using his other hand, he tore off one cuff. His eyes widened as he ripped the cuff from her other wrist. "Lily," he murmured sadly. Lily couldn't take the disappointment in his eyes any longer. Taking her cuffs back, she raced out the door and out of the school.

Robbie walked into the station and took a seat at his desk. Normally they'd be discussing topics for the day, but Robbie just told them he had a plan. "Welcome to Radio Free Roscoe," Robbie began, "Today is a sad day for all RFR fans. 'Shady Lane' will no longer be with us, so I'd like to dedicate this show to her. We'll be taking calls for you to say a few words about her, but before we hear that, I'd like to play a little tribute to a lovely lady."

The show progressed with the lines ringing non-stop from well-wishers pleading with Shady to return. "Thank you to everyone who called in," Robbie began, "To a best friend, a great colleague, and an amazing woman… 'Shady Lane', wherever you are, we wish you the best, and remember, you will always have a special place at this station, and in our hearts, and no one could ever replace you. This is Radio Free Roscoe, signing out."

"She's quit?" Ray asked suddenly, "How could Lily just quit?" Robbie shook his head. "That's the least of our problems Ray," Robbie cut in, "I found out why she wears those cuffs today. She's started 'cutting'. Her wrists are a bloody patchwork of old scars, half-healed wounds and fresh scratches. The question is, what do we do about this?"

"We don't," Travis told them, "We're the ones who made her so miserable in the first place. Anything we try could only make it worse. She's happy with Dean, and we should just let them be." Robbie shook his head and bent to grab his things. In his haste he knocked his art book on to the floor. Staring at the open pages, Robbie's eyes focused on the picture before him.

"Mona Lisa!" Robbie cried, earning glances from Travis and Ray who clearly thought he'd lost it, "Mona Lisa! Her smile never reaches her eyes. Lily's the same. Sure she smiles around Dean, but her eyes don't. Lily's not happy because she thinks she's responsible for you two fighting. She thinks that if she comes back, you'll just fight all over again. We need to convince her that it's not her fault, then maybe we can help her learn to smile again."

"It's worth a shot," Travis remarked. Robbie smiled comfortingly at him. Ray nodded enthusiastically. "If it'll help Lily," Ray told them, "I'll do it. Even if it means sitting back and watching someone else date her."

"That's the other thing," Robbie told them, rounding on Travis, "If we want Lily back, you have to make a choice, and that has to happen now." Travis nodded, knowing what he meant. "You'll have an answer by tomorrow afternoon," Travis told them both, "That will give us all weekend to talk Lily around." Robbie nodded, leaving the building with Ray right behind him. Travis sighed, sinking into the red couch. In truth, he already knew who he'd chosen, but gathering up the courage to tell them would be a whole different story.

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