I would've updated this last night, but... go figure, the site was down.

As time rolled on, Ashley started to show much greater improvement. She had seemingly overcome the post-traumatic stress disorder, her scores on the Beck Depression Inventory had significantly decreased (granted, she still took the antidepressants, and still had psychotherapy sessions, though not as often as before), and, on top of all of that, she even got accepted into Barnett College, in Stockton, California, as she learned one day after checking the mail.

"Guys," she called, upon opening the letter, "I made it! I got in!"

"Really?" Mandy asked, as Keely came downstairs. "Honey, that's great!" her mother gushed, hugging her.

Ashley coughed. "Too much love, Mom," she wheezed.

Mandy apologized, smiling, as Keely entered the room. "You're in?" she asked.

"Yep… Barnett…" Ashley said, a wide smile plastered on her face.

"Congratulations," Keely said, albeit a little forcefully.

"Oh… Keely…" Ashley said, putting an arm around her sister's shoulder. "Relax… besides… it's not like I'm going to be that far away."

Keely shrugged. "Yeah… I guess you're right… that's just me being selfish again."

"Of course it is…" Ashley laughed. Keely rolled her eyes.

"Oh, thanks…"

"Hey, sure thing."

"You are all heart…"

"Oh, cry me a river…" Ashley retorted, rolling her eyes. "This is huge!" With that, she took the letter upstairs into her room.

Keely smiled and sat down at the table.

"You okay, Keely?" Mandy asked.

"Huh? Yeah… I'm.. I'm fine. Just… things will be different around here. But it's okay," she said, giving her mother a small smile.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Chuckling at herself, she added, "I'm gonna go to Via's for a while."

"Okay… call when you know when you're coming back, then."

"Will do," Keely said, picking up her keys and walking out the door.

Keely sighed as she got in her car. While driving to Via's house, she vaguely remembered a dream she had the night before; in it was a small Asian man named Mr. Yoo, the name most likely derivative of when she was on IM with Tia, and typed out "mr yoo" instead of "me too" because her fingers were on the wrong keys.

"Well, Via," Keely sighed, sitting down at the foot of Via's bed, "it looks like we'll probably get to know each other better in the future…"

"Oh really? Did you dump Phil for me?" she joked. "Because I'm flattered, Keely, but I don't feel the same way about you."

"No, I didn't break up with Phil," Keely said, rolling her eyes. "But my sister did get accepted into Barnett."

"Did she? Well good for her!"

"Yeah, I'm… I'm really happy for her," Keely said, smiling. "Like she said… 'This is huge!'…"

"You don't seem happy for her…"

"I am… I just can't really imagine what it'll be like being alone in the house with Mom…"

"Keely, you won't be alone…"

"I know, I just… I…" she heaved a deep sigh. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just trying to get some attention… I just… I don't know… I guess it's just silly, the way I'm acting…"

Via looked over at Keely and said, "Yes. Yes it is."

"Oh, thanks," Keely said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, it's the truth. But the point is, you'll always have me, you'll always have Tia, and you'll definitely always have your mother and Phil to talk to. You've got it pretty good, Keely."

"Yeah… yeah, I guess so…"

"I mean… despite all the stuff you've been through, you've still got a lot to be grateful for. I really wish I had that kind of security in my life."

"What do you mean?"

"Aside from the fact that we might just have to pick up and move any day, you mean?" Via asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Er… yeah…" Keely said, laughing nervously.

"Well, let's see. Well, first off, you can still talk to Ashley on the phone. I'm an only child, so I don't really have any siblings to share anything with, though I suppose you're as close as a sister that I'm going to get." Keely smiled at this, as Via continued. "You've got a lot of friends that you've known for a long time. Again, hard for me to do when I have to pick up and move so often. It always seems as if I'm on the outside looking in, you know?" Keely opened her mouth to respond, but Via cut her off. "No, you don't. Not really… What am I forgetting?" she muttered, feigning ignorance.

"Um…" Keely thought for a while.

"Oh, that's it! Phil. You've got Phil. Let's face it, Keely, you two are made for each other, and you both know it. It's funny… some of your closest friends have known you for less than a few years… where did you say Phil was from again?"

Keely's eyes widened. "Uh, well, I… er… well he's--"

"Never mind, that doesn't even matter," Via said, much to Keely's relief. "The point is… he's great to you. I mean… you talk about him so much, to the point where I just want to duct tape your mouth shut. But I don't, because he's making you happy." Keely shifted uncomfortably as Via continued. "The closest I have to that is…"

At that moment, Via's phone rang, producing the tune of "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" by the Arctic Monkeys.

"Hello?" Via said, picking up the phone. Keely watched Via as she, while rolling her eyes, said, "Oh… hello, Owen… Yes, Owen, I am doing something… Well, I was talking to Keely before you called…" Via's accent seemed to be getting stronger, which was a sure sign that she was becoming annoyed. "Listen, Owen… Owen… Owen! Listen to me. I think it would be best if you just didn't call me in the next few days, okay? …What do you mean, what did you do? Owen, you were at the party, you know what you did. …Yes you do! Owen, you completely ignored me! Not to mention the fact that you spilled punch all over my skirt, which, by the way, you will be paying for…" After a pause, Via rolled her eyes, heaved a heavy sigh, and said in a menacing tone, "Owen…"

"Hey, Via?" Keely asked.

"Yes?" Via said, covering the mouthpiece on her cell phone.

"Could you give me that for a second?" she asked, pointing to the phone.

"Be my guest. I cannot get through to this boy."

"Hey, Owen?" Keely said, after taking the phone. "Oh, it's Keely. Yeah, hey… okay, Owen, trust me on this one… just… hang up, and give it a few days, okay?" Via watched Keely walk out into the hall, and couldn't quite discern exactly what Keely was saying to him. A few minutes later, Keely came back in the phone and handed the phone back to Via. "I think he gets it now…"

"What? How… why doesn't he ever listen to me?"

"Guys like Owen can get frustrated when they aren't told exactly what to do…" Keely explained. "But I think I gave him a shove in the right direction…"

"What, straight off a cliff?" Via asked.

Keely raised an eyebrow. "What did he do, exactly?"

"You mean besides making a tit of himself at the party? Or what he actually did at the party?"

"What did he do at the party, then?"

"Well, let's see. First, he asked me to go, which wasn't too bad. He managed to get it all out in one breath, and, I figured, 'Well, why not give it a go?' So, I went with him. But at the party, he gets hammered… he was acting a total blighter. I mean, the guy's got to have a lotta bottle to chat another girl up right in front of me! I told him I was brassed off with him but he must've been too arseholed to understand me…"

"Wow… I'm sorry to hear that…"

"I'm easy…" Via said, shaking her head.

"What?" Keely asked.

"I'm don't care," Via repeated. "I'm just… narked at him, is all."

"Just give it time," Keely said, patting Via on the back. "He'll come around…"

"Let's hope so… shitfaced smarmy git…" she muttered in irritation.

Via's mother called up to her room to let her know that they were leaving for dinner soon.

"Well, Vee, I guess I'll go now," she said, as Via got up to start getting ready. "See you later."

"Oh, Keely, before you leave, have you seen my pu-- …my cat?" she asked, catching herself before she said something Keely would most certainly take offense to.

"Huh? Oh yeah… she was in the front yard… I'll let her in."

"Alright," Via said, giving Keely a nod. "Cheers, then," she added, as Keely left.

And now, as the old habit goes, I remind you to review.