Stevens walks through a group of fancy model homes. He is in new clothes and looks freshened as he spots the one he is looking for. He walks up to the porch and discovers a familiar package has been delivered there. He snatches is, smiles, and shoves it into his backpack.

"You're leaving again, aren't you?" a voice says from behind him. He gives a frown and turns to see his mom standing there. He sighs.

"You didn't have to follow me." She closes the distance between them and grabs his arm.

"Please don't vanish again," she begs. "I don't know what you do, but you can stop. We can help you- your father and I." She tears up, her tone desperate. "I don't want to lose you." He takes a beat before pulling her in for a hug.

"I will be home for good," he assures her soothingly. "I just need to deliver a package first. It's alright." He whispers in her ear for a minute and she smiles, pulling away from him.

"Alright. Hurry back," she consents. He takes her hand.

"I will. I swear to you." At that, he starts walking down the street as his mom watches him vanish into the distance.

XXX

Hannah Frost opens her dorm room laughing. She is dressed in formal attire complete with heels and nice, new dress. Her date, Tyler, follow right behind her laughing as well. She turns and gives an absolutely blinding smile. "Thank you. That was probably the most perfect first date a girl could ever ask for."

"Lori's not home?" he asks, looking around. Hannah walks into the bedroom and notices the filing cabinet is open. She turns back and gives a more forced smile.

"She's probably off running around somewhere. You know, I should-"

"Well, that's great," Tyler grins. He takes her hand. "We can hang out here for a while… talk… watch a movie." She politely backs away.

"Yeah, I have homework-"He pulls her in and kisses her roughly. She physically melts, her resistance waning as she pulls away, giggling. "A movie would be nice. One second."

She dashes into the bathroom and looks into the mirror, fluffing her hair. "You just had your first kiss." She lets out a silent cheer before regaining composure. "Alright, stay cool. Stay calm. You've got this. He's just a boy." She smiles in the mirror before heading out only to halt as she spots Tyler looking at her open computer.

"What's all this stuff? It looks really tech-"She slams the computer shut, wincing to herself as she does.

"It's nothing," she dodges, giving her fake smile again. "I think I may have a virus- going to computer support in the morning." She climbs onto her bed, the bottom bunk. "Come on over." He joins her and looks at her a moment before he kisses her again. "What about the movie?" she whispers.

"I think I'm fine like this," he whispers back. They keep kissing passionately when suddenly the door slams open. Lori Fitzgerald stumbles into the bedroom covered in dirt and smoke coughing, book cradled under her arm. They shoot apart and both look at her quizzically when she finally notices them.

"Long night."

XXX

So follow me down

(Lori stands with the book)
Where to?
Outta this town

(Charlie examines his map)
With you
Girl, you're movin way

(Hannah is typing away at her computer)
Too slow

So follow me down
Which way?
Down, down, down
I'll show you around
Okay
There's a place we gotta go

(The Disney Encyclopedia begins to glow. Lori sighs)

Follow me, follow me

(Lori, Hannah, and Charlie are running through the preserve, freezing once on each of their faces)
Fa la la la la

Follow me, follow me

Fa la la la la

(Lori comes to a halt and both crash into her, sending them all to the ground)

Lori Disney? (Not Likely!)

Episode 9: Likes Me for My Body

XXX

Lori is sitting with Charlie in lunch, both examining what looks to be a vegetable wrap skeptically. Hannah comes up to them, carefully balancing her tray. "Okay, what happened last night? I mean, we've been searching for three days."

The two look at each other and smirk. Charlie turns to her. "He got really lost. Luckily, he managed to make his way back over to us."

Hannah can barely contain her excitement. "Well, who is it? And why was Lori-"

"Hey, let's go sit over there by everyone," Tyler comments, coming up next to her.

"I'm coming," she assures him.

"That's my girl," he says with a wink. He grabs her tray for her and walks over by his other friends. Hannah goes to follow him but turns back to the duo. "I'll talk to you guys in the lounge after lunch. I want to know who this is."

"We have that stupid upperclassmen seminar thing after lunch," Lori grumbles.

"Okay, after that. Will he be okay by himself?"

Charlie nods, confident. "Trust us, he will be much more than okay." She gives a nod and walks away to her other friends. Lori eventually throws her wrap aside and takes a bite of her pudding. She makes a face. "You should really stop getting the pudding. It just disappoints you."

"I'm just so filled with hope every time I see it." He sees her gaze drift over to Hannah who is laughing in a way they can both recognize as fake. "She is so much better than them," she says, serious.

"That's not nice. I mean it's true, but it's not nice," he admits. "I guess you just have to let her be and hope she figures that out for herself." He glances at the clock. "Come on. We have to go meet up with our mentors." They both get up and walk their stuff over to the dish rack.

"This is so stupid. They're supposed to help us adjust and provide advice. I mean it's October already. I think I'm doing quite well for everything I have to deal with." She begins to sulk off.

"I couldn't agree more," Charlie whispers sarcastically, walking to catch up to her.

XXX

Lori is the auditorium where all the freshman and upperclassman are gathered, mingling with one another. She looks through the sheets posted on one wall to find her mentor and freezes when she finds it. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I thought the exact same thing," Ben Prescott says from next to her, binder in hand. "Here I was looking to foster wisdom for the first time and I get the most thick-headed individual in the entire campus."

"Who said you had any wisdom to give in the first place?" Lori retaliates.

Ben sighs. "And so this afternoon begins. Come on. I'm supposed to give you a tour of my dorm."

"Well, that's forward."

"It's what it says in the packet," Ben shoots back, already annoyed.

"Well, that's pretty creepy. I'm not sure you're not an axe murderer. I vote we go to a public forum- somewhere classy."

XXX

Ben and Lori take a seat on the bench outside of the library. Lori extends her arm outward. "Alright… impart wisdom upon me and get this over with." He opens up the binder when suddenly a group of four boys spot him and surround him.

"Wow, dude, you got a hot one," one elbows him obnoxiously.

"You sure you're not up for a trade? We sent ours to get us some coffee," another one smirks. Lori instantly tightens, crossing her arms and not having any of this.

Ben tries to nudge them away. "Guys, I'm-"One ruffles his hair.

"Hey, tournament in my room tonight," he announces. "Maybe we can convince the expert to play?"

Ben shakes his head. "I don't think so but I'll swing by."

The first nods, giving his arm a punch. "See you later sweetness." Lori goes to say something but Ben clamps her mouth shut. "Taking control man. I like it." They saunter off and Ben sighs, relaxing. Lori looks at him for a moment confused before she bursts out into laughter. Ben looks at her like she's crazy.

"What?"

"You," she gasps between her giggles.

"I don't-"

"Those- those are the guys you hang out with. And they- you actually managed to fool them into thinking you can play video games but choose not to. You probably haven't played in your life!" She's laughing so hard she's crying. "You're a fake. I mean I always figured, but wow was that more conformation than I needed."

"Will you get a grip?!" Ben shouts, defensive and annoyed at her.

"You're supposed to be giving me advice when… "She wipes her eyes, gaining composure, and rises. "Oh boy, I'm just going to call this a day. I obviously have nothing I want to learn from you. You're… you're Hannah in two years."

"Your roommate? I'm lost."

"I don't care. Go enjoy your night out with the boys when I know deep down you'd rather be working on some math problems."

Ben looks at her. "How are you able to figure me out so easily?"

She shrugs. "I guess it's something I've learned to do- see people for who they truly are. All I see here though is a coward." She walks off and he just sits there, staring after her.

XXX

Lori enters the dorm room, only to come across Hannah and Tyler making out on her bed. She lets out a cry and covers her eyes. They both sit up, Hannah horrified. "Lori?! What are you doing back so soon?!"

"I had Ben for my supposed mentor," she says, peeking through her fingers before removing her hands. "What are you doing here? Did you… you skipped the seminar didn't you?" she says, accusingly.

"Well…we figured-"

"Tyler, can you give us a minute?" He gives Hannah a quick peck and leaves quickly, sensing even he doesn't want to mess with Lori now.

"Tyler, you don't have to-"The door closes and he's gone. "What is wrong with you? You could ruin everything!" she shouts, rising and facing her down.

"Ruin everything?" Lori says in disbelief. "Alright, I will. I'll back down. I'll leave you alone. But one thing." She flips open her computer. "What does it mean that you turned this off?"

Hannah's face falls. "That all our progress on Disney was deleted."

"I see. And why did you do that?"

"Tyler saw it," she reluctantly admits.

Lori closes it again. "That's all." She starts to exit. "I suggest when you get a chance you visit the back parking lot if you want to see who's here."

XXX

Hannah clutches her flashlight as she walks around the gym to the old, abandoned parking lot that no one really uses anymore. She shines her flashlight around cautiously.

"Hello? Hello? Hello! I'm friends with Lori. She told me to come visit you." She hears a sudden revving noise and is frightened as a light blinds her, dropping her flashlight and falling to the ground. She blinks up to see a truck moving towards her.

"Well, dad gum. Why didn't you say so?" a voice with a deep accent says. He moves to the side of her and uses a hook to pull her to her feet. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mater. It's like Tuh- Mater, but-"

"But without the tuh. Of course I know who you are," Hannah says, dusting herself off.

"Well, that's funny 'cause I don't know who you are. Should I know?" he asks, concerned.

"Oh no. We've never met. I'm Hannah Frost. Like I said I'm a friend of Lori's."

"Oh, I love Lori. Her and that little guy are so much fun! We went for a drive the other day and I swear I went as fast as my best friend, Lightning McQueen. Have you heard of him too?" Hannah nods. "Say, do you want to go for a drive?"

Hannah examines her dress, which now has a rip. "No thank you. I saw what Lori looked like when she came home. This is an expensive outfit. I had a date. Speaking of, how's Holly?"

He just stares at her. "Excuse me? Who's Holly?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," Hannah assures him with a smile.

"But, what's this date business?"

"It's what Lightning and Sally do when they go off on their own, just the two of them."

"Oh… would you like to go on a date Hannah?" he asks genuinely. She looks taken aback and caught off-guard.

"Well…" Her phone goes off and she looks at who it is. "It's my boyfriend. He's likes to say goodnight to me- wants my voice to be the last thing he hears. Isn't that so sweet?" She starts walking off, answering the call. "Hi, sugar."

"Well… good-bye," Mater calls after her. He pulls back into a spot, looking lonely as she walks off.

XXX

Lori answers the door to find Charlie standing there. Her face falls. "Hey, I figured that the three of us could go to lunch. We could figure out what we can do for Mater."

"Um… I'll meet you there," Lori mutters, looking down the hall distracted.

"Is walking somewhere with me really that bad?" Charlie asks. Lori turns back to him and quickly shakes her head.

"No, I'm waiting for Hannah." She returns to her room. "She went out to visit Mater last night and hasn't come back."

"Have you talked to Mater?"

"She left to talk to her boyfriend. I even found her flashlight in the parking lot. Where could she be?!" Charlie is about to enter the dorm to help when Lori puts her hand up and he backs off.

"Really?!" he asks.

"Boundaries. Respect them." Charlie sighs and takes a seat in the doorway.

"Have you tried calling her?"

"Straight to voice-mail. Oh, when I get my hands on Tyler, I'm going to-"Hannah obliviously comes up and steps over Charlie to enter the dorm.

"Lori, I found her," he says, rising and backing off cautiously. "I'm just going to let you two talk- go to lunch alone. I'm used to the sort of thing." He takes off down the hallway at a run.

XXX

Hannah enters the bedroom humming and spinning in a happy daydream. Lori stands, leaning against her desk, arms crossed and regarding her coldly. Hannah finally notes this and stops.

"What? You're being a buzz kill."

"Where the hell have you been?" she says, venom evident in her voice.

Hannah tries to brighten things. "Tyler didn't want to go to bed, so we drove around all night. We made it to Illinois before we turned back. It was the greatest night of my entire life!" she appeals. Lori doesn't budge.

"Do you have any idea what my night's been like? I have been running around everywhere trying to find you, call you, anything. You just up and vanished."

"I-I figured you wouldn't care," she says, upset. Lori throws her hands up.

"I may be an ice queen with no friends, but that doesn't mean I don't have the capacity to care when my roommate goes missing on a Saturday night." Her tone causes Hannah to become more aggravated and defensive as well.

"Well… you're not my mom. Nothing happened."

"I don't care. When we said we would make this work, I took that to heart. I held my tongue. I didn't say another word about Tyler or your friends. I let it go. But now I'm afraid I have to be more blunt and tell you something that truck outside told me."

Hannah rolls her eyes. "God, Lori. It was just a drive."

"Exactly. Life is a drive, and the destination depends on who's in the car with you. Charlie and I have opened this up to you, been pretty civil, but most importantly- we like Hannah for Hannah. Tyler- he likes the idea of a Hannah that's lesser than you. If you keep pretending soon it might stop being a lie."

"Just stop!"

Lori backs off and walks for the closet. "Yeah. I got it all out." She grabs her jacket and puts it on. "You want to grab lunch?" she asks, clearly showing that she's still willing to not let this come between them and continue their good standing. Hannah clearly sees this and calms down as well.

"We ate. Get out of here," she says kindly with a smile and a nod. Lori exits and Hannah falls back on her bed, exhausted.

XXX

Lori is walking down the path to lunch when she spots Ben, who had seen her and is now waiting. "I'm really not in the mood," she admits, blowing past him. He pulls in front of her.

"Three questions." She looks at him. "You get to ask three questions and I have to answer them honestly-no funny business. You'd know if I was lying anyway. You always seem to know."

"What's the catch?"

"I want one question in return. And some of your respect back- if that's okay by you."

She thinks on this for a minute. "Fine." She starts thinking as they both enter the cafeteria, Ben scanning in the both of them. Charlie comes up to her, not even noticing his step-brother.

"Hey, I just finished, but-"

Lori puts a hand on his shoulder. "Could you go deal with Hannah, please? She's going to need to vent to someone." He nods and takes off.

Ben watches him go and just shakes his head. "You just have him wrapped around your finger." Lori ignores him and gets in a line for food.

"First question: what's your real last name? His dad married your mom, so you had to change yours sometime." Ben seems surprised for a second, but quickly formulates a passionate answer.

"As far as I'm concerned, Prescott is my real last name." They both take a seat with their food. "I want nothing to do with my father's. I don't want to have to remember I'm even related to him. I know that wasn't the exact answer you were looking for but-"

"No. No, that was fine," she assures him. "Um… what do you want to do with your business major?"

"I want to open my own firm," he answers quickly, smiling and passionate. "I don't know how or in what but I want to create something. I should have a lot more figured out, but quite frankly I'm just trying to take it a step at a time. I'm not answering these very well am I?"

"What were you like in high school?"

"I wasn't the best of kids." Lori snorts. He gives her a serious stare. "I hung out with all the wrong kids. It ended with me in juvie for stealing things with some guys I hung out with from this elderly lady who lived next door to sell. I saw how disappointed my step-dad was and I… I swore that I would make him proud of me again if it took my entire life. And it's hard, especially when Charlie is your step-brother. But I'm trying. I completely re-invented myself."

"Wow," Lori says finally. "Thank you for that. You have definitely earned some respect." She gets up with her plate. "Well, I'll-"

"I get my question." She stops, caught in the act. "Who is Lori Fitzgerald?"

Lori takes a second to contemplate, regarding him and making the choice to trust him and reward his honesty with hers. "When I got here I would have had an entire essay prepared for you. And I'm still mostly confident it's the same. But part of me… part of me thinks I might not be sure anymore. Hopefully my sensible side wins out- the ice queen side."

XXX

Hannah opens the door to find a cautious Charlie. He gives a small wave. "Hey, I figured we could make some headway on hacking Disney."

"It's going to be a while. I ended up deleting all of our progress. It's just… Tyler- and now Lori-"she stumbles, becoming frustrated again. Charlie decides to answer honestly.

"She's just disappointed in you." Hannah gives him a hard stare.

"Thanks. Anyway, I think I'll skip today." He nods and starts down the hallway only to stop.

"I don't think you need them to be cool. You don't need anything to be cool. To me you already are. Lori thinks so too. That's why she's so frustrated and upset at you."

"Charlie, I can't do it all again… being alone. I can't."

This puzzles him more than anything. "What on earth makes you think you'd be alone? You have us now." He walks away as she stares after him.

XXX

That night Hannah, in her pajamas, walks back to the abandoned parking lot behind the gym. Mater spots her as she waves to him."Hannah! What brings you back here?"

She walks up next to him and gives a genuine smile. "I was hoping we could on that date."

He revs his engine. "Dad gum! Hop in and we'll go for a drive." She climbs into his truck bed and he drives onto the road. "We should be fine. Lori said to only go out at night so I don't scare people. Where do you want to go?"

"Can you handle some off-roading?"

"You bet I can!"

XXX

Mater is parked in the middle of the clearing in the forest preserve. Hannah is lying on her back in the truck bed, looking up at the stars through the tree. Mater is doing the same.

"They're mighty beautiful, aren't they?" he asks in awe. "Even better then neon."

"Yeah…" Hannah agrees. She takes minute before just letting it out. "Do you think I'm cool?"

"Oh, we can go back and get you a jacket-"

She laughs. "No- what I mean is do you hang out with Lightning McQueen because being around him makes you feel… important?"

"Of course. He's my best friend."

Hannah tries again. "But… do you feel that without him you'd be less important?"

This one he thinks on for a moment. "Well… no. I'd still be me. I always want to be me. I would miss having the world's best best friend though." This seems to be what she's looking for and so she relaxes before giggling to herself.

"You know… this is my first heart-to-heart with a tow truck?"

"Really?" he asks in disbelief.

She nods. "Yeah. But don't worry. You did great."

"Are you enjoying our date?"

"Best date I've ever been on," she answers honestly.

XXX

Hannah enters English class Monday morning, passing Lori and Charlie to walk to the back. They both give each other a look before starting to pull out their stuff. A moment later, Lori hears somebody sit next to her. They both turn to see Hannah.

"Hannah! What are you doing here?" Charlie asks, ecstatic.

"Social suicide," Lori mutters.

Hannah shakes her head. "I am merely sitting with the people who make me feel special for me, not for being around them. And we're a team."

"We're not a team," Lori correct. "You're my companions. There is a huge difference."

"That means she's proud of you and I am too," Charlie translates. "But does this mean you aren't dating Tyler anymore?"

"No, we're still together. He was actually pretty understanding about it. I don't care what you anyone thinks, I'm still going to keep this going. He could be the one," she says dreamily.

"I can respect that," Lori concludes, politely. "Just stop making out in our room."

The trio laughs. "That I will do. So what do you have to learn so we can send Mater home?" They both just stare at her, uncomfortable. "I'm kidding."

"We'll take the book over there after class."

"He doesn't seem to be that desperate to get back," Hannah admits.

Charlie explains. "He told us he's just enjoying the drive, wherever it takes him." The teacher walks in and the three get ready for class. Hannah speaks once more before class starts.

"It's amazing how smart he really is."

XXX

Lori is walking through campus with Charlie after class when she spots Ben with his "friends" from when he was mentoring her. He gives fake laugh that would put Hannah's to shame. Her smile disappears.

"What's the matter?" Charlie asks. Ben looks over and catches her eye causing her to look away, obviously disappointed in him. "Do you need me to go take care of him?" he asks with fake bravado.

"No, it's fine. It really is." They just keep walking as he stares after her.

XXX

The trio approach Mater that night in the parking lot, Lori with the book under her arm and the others with flashlights. "Look, it's all of my new friends together!" he exclaims, driving up to them.

"It's time to send you back to Radiator Springs," Lori announces.

"Alright. I had a lot of fun. I'll come back and visit all of you sometime." Hannah goes to agree, but Lori cuts in.

"Sorry, but this is it. Life is a highway, so we must say so long Mater, you go ride it all night long."

"Tell Holly I said hi," Hannah slips in. There is the usual flash of light and he vanishes. Hannah hits Lori's arm. "You didn't have to tell him that." The trio starts heading back.

"I didn't feel like sugar coating it- ice queen remember."

"Maybe we will see him again," Charlie tells Hannah, trying to be optimistic.

"I hope not. It'll be painful enough to cycle through all of them one, let alone twice," Lori concludes.

Hannah decides to change the subject. "I'm making some headway on the Disney hack- at least I'm caught up to where I was. You up to get some work done Charlie?"

"As soon as I finish my homework, definitely!"

"And then maybe we could grab some dinner from the cafe."

"Even better!"

Lori steps between the two. "Let's not get too attached here."

"So does this mean every time we have a problem we could expect a corresponding Disney character?" Hannah questions.

"It looks like it," Charlie agrees.

"Don't you think that might get really annoying?" Both Charlie and Lori respond at the same time.

"Yes."

"No!"

XXX

Lori opens her door later that night to find a sheepish Ben. "Four questions?"

She narrows her eyes. "Four words. Get lost. I'm done." She slams the door shut and returns to her desk. Hannah turns to face her.

"What happened this time?"

"Let's just say he needed a lesson from Mater as well."

Hannah shrugs. "Maybe we all need Disney characters in our lives."

Lori bangs the filing cabinet. "I would never wish that book on anyone."

"But who wished it on you?" Hannah asks.

"I wish I knew. I really want my fist to collide with their face."

XXX

Tune in next week when Charlie is faced with a hard decision about where he wants his life to go and gets some needed advice from the bayou.