Mary Anne was fuming. She had known, to an extent, that Dawn was up to something that went past a normal teenagers idea of lying to their parents to get out of trouble. But actually hearing her say it to Abby made it real and that much more horrible. They had probably plotted it together. Maybe Kristy was right about Abby. And maybe she had been wrong about Dawn all along.

Sure, they were sisters, but it's not like they had a bond that could inevitably bridge every change they would each go through, as well as physical distances. Apparently, there were a lot of things that she had yet to learn about Dawn. She would find them out. But first, there was something else that she had to do.

Mary Anne put her jacket back on, and went downstairs where her dad and Sharon were watching television. "Can someone give me a ride to Kristy's?" she asked.

"I didn't know that the two of you had plans tonight," Richard remarked.

"I just called her, and she asked if I wanted to hang out," Mary Anne lied. "Her mom and Nannie are both home. They should be able to give me a ride back tonight."

"I can sweetie," Sharon replied. "Just let me find my keys. Now I think I left them in the silverware drawer…"

"Is Dawn going over to Kristy's with you?" Richard asked.

"No, actually. I asked, but she's still working on her homework. I guess she really wants to get it over and done with." Mary Anne was surprised at how easy it was to lie to her father. She figured that it might be harder if he were in anyway paying attention.

"Well I'm glad she's finally buckling down. We won't stand for anything else around here."

"Right dad," Mary Anne replied. She couldn't think of anything else to say. The two of them remained in an awkward silence while Sharon continued the search for her keys.

"I found them," She finally called triumphantly, closing the door to the bathroom medicine cabinet. "Ready, Mary Anne?"

"I'm ready."

Mary Anne didn't say much during the ride to the Thomas-Brewer's. She couldn't get a word in edgewise. Sharon was so happy with the way the day had gone that she couldn't stop talking about it. Mary Anne didn't have her heart to tell her that it was all fake. If Sharon couldn't pick up on that herself, there was no way she was going to be the one to shatter the illusion. Fortunately, they soon arrived.

"You can let me out here," Mary Anne said, motioning to the sidewalk outside Kristy's house. "This driveway is hard to back out of."

"Okay sweetie. Call and let us know if you need a ride. Bye!"

Mary Anne stepped out of the car. "I will. Bye."

After Sharon was out of sight, Mary Anne turned around and face Kristy's house, bracing herself for what she was about to do. Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned and walked along McLelland Road until she was in front of the Stevenson house. The house was dark but for a single light coming from a room on the second floor. Mary Anne momentarily lost her nerve as she anxiously tried to figure out how long it had been since she had gone over to Abby's house for anything. Even when they had been friends she hadn't spent much time there.

She walked up the stairs to the front porch and rang the doorbell before she had a chance to think about it. The door bell chimed to the tune of some sort of classical piece, which made her think of Anna's violin. Momentarily, she smiled. After waiting about a minute, she rang the doorbell again. This time, she heard footsteps racing down the stairs, which couldn't be any one but Abby.

The door opened. Abby was on the other side, holding her cell phone with the mouthpiece covered. "Mary Anne? What are you doing here?" Abby asked. She brought the phone up to her ear. "Can I call you back?"

"What are you doing here?" Abby asked again.

"Can I come inside?"

Abby opened the door wider. "Sure, I guess."

"What's going on with you and my sister?" Mary Anne asked point blank.

Abby furrowed her brow. "We're friends. The last time I checked, there was nothing wrong with that."

"Being friends is one thing, but being joined at the hip and illegal activities are quite another." Mary Anne countered.

Abby smirked. "You weren't too concerned about illegal activities last weekend, if I recall."

Mary Anne could feel her face turning red. Every single lecture about the consequences of ones actions was now coming back to her. Why the hell had she not listened to the voice inside her head instead of her selfish sister?

"I made a mistake, and I'm learning from it. You and Dawn make mistakes, lie your way out of them, and then make the same mistakes again to celebrate. There's a difference."

Abby's eyes turned into narrow slits. "At least we have fun, instead of crying all the time because we have no friends. Seriously Mary Anne, all you have is pathetic Kristy Thomas. Your own sister just barely puts up with you."

"You're right. Dawn and I may never really be friends again. But I still care about her. And that means that I don't think she should be hanging out with you. What good have you ever done for her? How can you even call yourself a friend?"

"Don't make it sound like I don't care about Dawn," Abby replied, her voice faltering for a moment. "I really do, okay?"

"Well then you have a strange way of showing it," Mary Anne shot back, crossing her arms over her chest.

Abby opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it again before she said anything. Both girls stood in the large entryway not saying a word.

Finally, Abby broke the silence that had ascended upon them. "You don't have to like me Mary Anne," she said softly, "You can hate me if you want to. I know that Kristy does. But don't try to come between Dawn and I. She's basically the only one that I have right now."

"What about your mom and Anna?"

Abby rolled her eyes. "Last year Mom fell for her assistant, James. So now she spends more time in the city than she ever did. She even has an apartment there. She barely noticed when I…she barely noticed anything that happened last year."

Momentarily, Mary Anne's heart went out to Abby. One part of her wanted to give the girl a hug, but she held back. She had no idea if anything Abby was saying was true or not.

"What about Anna?" Mary Anne asked.

"We're different. Kind of like you and Dawn. She's been spending all of her time with Bart Taylor since they started dating. Anyway, I think she's kind of given up on me."

Abby's words hung in the air. Mary Anne wasn't exactly sure how to respond.

"I'm sorry Abby, I really am. But how does Dawn fit into all of this?"

Abby shrugged "We're the same."

This statement struck something inside Mary Anne, but she didn't ask Abby to elaborate on it. Instead, she reached out and slowly brought her hand to Abby's shoulder. She held it there for a second, and then pulled back.

"I should go," she said.

Abby nodded. "Okay."

Mary Anne turned to head out the door, but stopped for a second on the porch. "Abby?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care of yourself. And do what you can to take care of my sister."

Abby nodded, her chin wavering almost imperceptibly as she shut the door the big house. Mary Anne set off down the driveway, stopping when she reached the sidewalk. Her mission accomplished, she wasn't quite sure what to do. Not wanting to barge in on the Thomas-Brewer's, she began walking in the direction of her house. It would be a long walk, but she needed the time to think. It would do her good.

The cool night air had her walking swiftly, still mulling over her conversation with Abby. Despite everything that had been said, she still wasn't too fond of her. And she most definitely didn't respect her. But something between them had changed. She wasn't angry with her any more. And she wasn't really angry with Dawn either. Truthfully, she felt sorry for them, despite not know the particulars of either situation.

Mary Anne hugged her jacket to herself as the wind picked up a bit. She looked up to the night sky and said a silent thank you that she and Kristy had each other. Just like Dawn and Abby had each other. The heart of each friendship was the same.

About an hour later, Mary Anne found herself walking up the driveway to her own house. Coming inside, she was stopped by her father, who was working at the kitchen table, legal journals and notepads spread around him.

"Back so soon Mary Anne?" he asked absently.

"Kristy wasn't feeling well. She wanted to go to bed," Mary Anne lied.

Richard barely glanced up from whatever he was working on. "That's too bad. Good night sweetie."

"Good night Dad," Mary Anne responded. With this, she head upstairs to her bedroom. She changed into her pajamas, and settled down on her bed, Tigger curled up at her side, with a good book to read. About half an hour later, Dawn wandered in through the bathroom and sat down on Mary Anne's desk chair. Mary Anne looked up from her book, but Dawn didn't say anything.

"Do you need something?" Mary Anne finally asked.

Dawn swiveled around slowly in the chair, back and forth. The moonlight shining in from the window made her blonde hair look almost white. Slowly, she shook her head, rising up from the desk chair. She left the room and Mary Anne, closing the door behind her.