A/N: Okay everyone. First, I want to tell you all that I received an e-mail from someone the other night telling me that another author had stolen some of my story Runaway. And as someone of you know, that's my baby story. I worked SO hard on that thing. So hearing this greatly upset me. The author is RawRebel and the story is Living the Dream. Some of their first chapter is from numerous Runaway chapters. I've already told this person that I know what they are up to, but maybe if you guys could also say something? I've already e-mailed support and so has the person that informed me of the plagiarism. So hopefully we can take care of this little bastard ASAP. And it's not even like they just stole parts but tweaked them, NOOOOO. They blatantly stole it. It's completely obvious. Nothing but the names have changed in those parts. I guess they have stolen from other people as well. Second, this story isn't progressing as quickly as I had hoped. I thought by now it would have started moving quicker, but what can ya do? I'm kinda struggling for shit to write right now, but I'm trying my hardest. Also, I hope to start work again on the Mysterious One soon. I hate that I left that one. I need to finish it. One of my pet peeves I suppose. Third, I'd really appreciate if you guys could read and review, not just read. I'm getting quite a few reads, just not many, if any, reviews. Which is kinda upsetting. Um, I think that's all I had to say for now. Yeah, that's it.

"You're such a slut!" Lizzie exclaimed with a chuckle. Hope looked over at her, dropping a plate in the soapy water of the sink.

"LIZZIE!" Amy exclaimed from her chair at the kitchen table. She laughed a bit and cringed as a sharp pain went through her injured neck.

"Why am I slut?!" Hope said placing her wet hands on her hips.

"You know Aden for a couple weeks, go on one date, and sleep with him after the first date?!" Lizzie laughed.

"So?! A lot of girls do that! That doesn't make me a slut!" Hope argued.

"Not a full on slut anyways. Just a little one," Amy piped in.

"If it was going to be a one night stand, I'd say different. But it wasn't! I've gone out with him 3 times since then."

"But on the first date?! You couldn't have waited till the second?!"

"Lizzie, sluts who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!" Hope shot at her.

"Oh, ouch," Amy cringed.

"And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Lizzie growled.

"Who had a friend's with benefits relationship recently?! Sure as fuck wasn't me!"

"But I've known Jeff a hell of a lot longer than 2 weeks before we fucked!" Lizzie yelled.

"She's got a point Hope."

"Shut up Amy!" Hope snapped turning to the injured red head.

"Sorry…….."

"Ya know what, fuck it! I've got a date I have to get ready for. Lizzie, you can finish cleaning up. Sorry Ames, I'll talk to you later," Hope snarled as she dried her hands and grabbed her purse before running out of Amy's house.

"You've been quiet tonight," Aden spoke as he held Hope's hand while they walked through the mall.

"Sorry," Hope replied with a small smile, looking up at him.

He smiled and leaned down, placing his lips softly on hers. "Don't be sorry. It's just unusual, that's all." She sighed deeply. "Are you okay?" He stopped her and they sat on a bench.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got into fight with Lizzie today, that's all."

"About what?"

"Nothing important."

"Must be if you two fought and if it's still bothering you."

"We fought about us," Hope sighed.

"You and Lizzie?"

"No, you and me. More specifically our first date and the fact that we had sex that night."

"Why?"

"She called me a slut because of it. I don't know, maybe I am. Maybe we should have waited."

"Not to be mean or anything, cause you know I like Lizzie and all, but why is it any of Lizzie's business if we had sex on our first date or not?" Hope shrugged. "Babe, I don't regret it. And I hope you don't. What's done is done. We got that awkwardness out of the way and don't have to worry about it now."

"Yeah, I know. But I don't know."

"If we weren't dating now and that had been a one night stand, I may have thought you may have been a slut. But you're not."

"That's what I said!" Hope laughed.

"Thank God! She can fuckin laugh!" Aden yelled out in the middle of the mall.

"Aden!" Hope continued to laugh but was slightly embarrassed about Aden's actions.

"Are you hungry, cause I am!" Aden laughed as he took her hands and they stood.

Aden stared at Hope as she laid next to him in her bed. Her face glistened with a small trace of sweat that was left from their previous round of sex. She slept quietly and didn't notice him just looking at her, studying her features carefully. Her lips formed a small smile as he lightly graced her cheek with the back of his hand. He leaned over a place a light kiss on her forehead.

"Aren't guys the ones that love to go to sleep right after sex?" Hope questioned with a laugh, keeping her eyes closed.

"Some guys. I can go either way," Aden answered with a smile as her eyes fluttered open. "I could get used to having you naked next to me."

"Like wise!" she winked at him as she bit on her lower lip.

"Are you seeing anyone else, Hope?" he questioned out of the blue.

"What?!" she laughed in shock.

"I was just wondering if you were dating anyone else."

"Why? Should I be?" she questioned. Starting to get a bit agitated she sat up, pulling the sheet up over her chest.

"Well, I just didn't know if you were taking this relationship serious or not."

"Why Aden? Is there someone else in your life?!"

"No, no, Hope, you've got it all wrong!" Aden exclaimed sitting up and moving so he was kneeling in front of her, completely naked. "I mean that I just didn't know if you were taking this relationship as serious as I am. I really like you. There's no one else in my life but you." He reached out and caressed her face.

"As serious as a heart attack." That was all she said. He smiled and moved to her lips. She seemed to just melt into his mouth and arms as they wrapped around her body.

A little later, Aden was back to staring at Hope's body, except this time she was fully aware of his eyes on her. Hope sighed contently as Aden moved to wrap her up into his body. She thought back to everyone she had ever been with and couldn't come up with one person that made her feel as special as he did.

"I want to meet your brother and dad," he blurted out.

"You've already met my brother!" she laughed.

"Not Jeff you doof!" he spoke with a chuckle. "I want to meet Matt."

"Why?"

"Because he's your brother and I want to meet your family!"

"Well, my Dad is actually having a family and friends BBQ this weekend. Everyone should be there. So if you wanted to come with me, that would be okay."

"I would love to come with you!" he exclaimed excitedly before his lips began attacking her face, causing Hope to break out into an uncontrollable fit of giggles.

Hope and Aden sat in her car, driving towards her Dad's house for the BBQ. She bit on her lip and arched her brow in worry. Aden just sat in the passenger seat with a smile on his face and his hand resting on her leg lightly.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she questioned glancing over at him, meeting his bright blue eyes.

He laughed a bit before answering, "Of course I want to do this! Why are you so worried?!"

"Matt and my Dad aren't known to be the nicest people when it comes to meeting my boyfriends for the first time. I just don't want them to scare you off."

"They will NOT scare me off. I can handle them."

"It's really not too late to turn back," Hope pushed as they started to pull up to the driveway.

"Baby, I'm in it to win it!"

"I hope you realize what you're getting yourself into."

"I have been warned," Aden laughed as they came to a stop in the already packed driveway.

Hope slid out of her car and adjusted her jeans and pushed down the sleeves of her black thermal so they covered her hands. She took a deep breath as Aden walked over to her and took her hand. They didn't have to get much closer to the house when they began hearing all the laughter and music, and smelled the wonderful Bar-b-q food.

Aden took Hope's hand and kissed her before they reached all the people, unsure of how her brother and father would react to public displays of affection. After all, he was there to make a good impression, not to piss her family off.

"Hey Hope," Shannon smiled as he and Crystal approached the couple. He slid his arm around Crystal's shoulders and sipped his beer.

"Hey guys. Getting nervous about the wedding? Only a couple more weeks!" Hope spoke excitedly.

"So nervous, but SO excited!" Crystal smiled.

"It sucks that half the people can't be there because of work though," an upset Shannon spoke.

"Even though you guys moved the date back a couple days for them?" Hope asked as Jeff and Matt walked towards them.

"Yeah, didn't seem to make any difference. But we can't move the date again. Everything is booked after that," Shannon answered.

"That sucks, I'm sorry. I'll still be there though!" Hope smiled.

"Oh yay, Hope will be there!" Shannon exclaimed sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"You fucker!" Hope laughed knocking his beer out of his hand.

"Hey Aden, what's up dude?" Jeff questioned with a cool friendly nod as he handed him and Hope beers.

"Not much man, you?"

"Work, ya know how it is," Jeff smiled.

"Sure as fuck do."

"Hey man, I'm Matt. Hope's older brother. You must be the new boyfriend I keep hearing so much about," Matt spoke as he shook Aden's hand roughly.

"That would be me. I'm Aden. It's nice to meet you," Aden smiled.

"You too," Matt replied.

"Matt," Hope growled.

"Yes, little sister?"

"Oh don't play that shit with me. You be nice to him or I will kick you fuckin ass so fuckin hard you'll be feelin it for YEARS!" Hope threatened.

"Honey, I hate to tell you, but I have been beatin your ass since you could walk. You aint that threatening!" Matt gave her an egotistical grin.

"Fuck you."

"Anyways, I saw your match Monday night, you guys got robbed! That could have been one hell of a match!" Aden complimented.

"That's what I was tryin to tell Matt! We're getting fuckin snubbed and he just can't see that!" Jeff exclaimed as he and Matt walked off with Aden to talk shop.

"Well, there they go, stealin my boyfriend," Hope laughed.

"I always knew Matt was gay," Lizzie piped in as she walked up to the remaining group members.

"Hey Liz," Shannon smiled.

"Hey Shan," she smiled in returned before focusing her attention on Hope. "Hello Hope."

"Lizzie," Hope spoke coolly giving her an unfriendly nod.

"Wow, we could slice the tension here with a knife!" Crystal joked.

"Yeah, um, I think the burgers are done, come on babe," Shannon spoke pulling his fiancé with him.

"Do you want to talk like civilized people now?" Lizzie questioned.

Hope crossed her arms and grinned, "Sure, when you become civilized, let me know."

"Why are you being such a fuckin bitch Hope!?"

"ME?! You're the bitch! How dare you call me a slut!?"

"First of all, I was kidding when I first said it! There was no reason for you to get all bent out of shape about it!"

"Oh whatever! If your best friend called you a bitch cause you slept with your boyfriend on your first date you'd be fuckin pissed too!"

"You did call me a slut!"

"Because you had a fuckin friend's with benefits relationship! There's a huge difference between sleeping with a guy that becomes your boyfriend and sleeping with a friend numerous times!"

"Why do you have to fuckin throw that in my face every chance you get?! That's over and done with it! Jesus Hope!"

"Why do I even bother talking to you?!" Hope exclaimed as she began to storm off. By now everyone at the party had starting paying attention to the girls, but they didn't notice or seem to care.

"What the hell?" Shane spoke as he walked up to the party a bit late. Hope began to stomp by him. He reached out his arm and grabbed her arm, pulling her to him. "What the fuck is the problem?"

"Lizzie and I are no longer friends. We're done," Hope growled as her eyes started to well up with tears.

"Why?"

"She's being fuckin un reasonable. A fuckin bitch!"

"Hey, hey! Chill, okay?" Shane said trying to calm her. Hope looked into his deep brown eyes and sighed. He put his hands on her shoulders and began to rub them gently. "Look, I don't know what the hell you two are fighting about, but whatever it is, it's not worth losing a like 17 year friendship over."

Hope stood there, thinking. She began to think that he may be right. They had been best friends for so long. Why should one word be the reason they lose it all? "I hate to say it, but you may be right."

"Really?" Shane questioned unsure.

"Yes," she replied rolling her eyes. "I'll go talk to her." Shane smiled and Hope turned on her heel and walked back to the brunette. "Lizzie."

"What?!" she exclaimed.

"I think that this is all stupid and childish. There's no reason for us to fight over this stupid little word. Especially when we've been friends for so long," Hope spoke softly.

"Yeah, you're right. We need to forget this shit ever happened and just move on. I don't think either one of us could survive without each other," Lizzie said giving Hope a small smile.

"Alright, so it's done. No more fighting," Hope smiled before giving her a large hug.

"I don't know what you've been so worried about. Matt is awesome!" Aden laughed and he sat on ground, leaning against a tree, with Hope's head in his lap.

She chuckled while he played with her blue-black, bright green streaked hair. "Surprisingly, Matt really likes you. But my father is a 1000 times worse than Matt could ever conceivably be!"

"I think I can handle him though. I'll win him over," Aden smiled sure of himself. "When do I get to meet him anyways?"

"Right now if you want," Hope sighed.

"I do want. I'm sure he'd like to meet me too."

Hope rolled her eyes but agreed with him in her head. They stood and walked towards her father, who was sitting with his buddies, playing his guitar. Hope gripped Aden's hand tightly and cleared her throat, getting her father's attention.

"Daddy," she started with a childish smile and tone. "This is my boyfriend Aden Connley. Aden, this is my father, Gilbert Hardy."

"It's nice to meet you sir," Aden smiled shaking the man's hand firmly.

"Yes, nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you son," Gilbert grinned setting his guitar down and standing.

"All good things I hope."

"Yes, excellent things. Turns out that my son Jeff thinks quite a bit about you. As does Shane, who you've apparently known since you two were in school?"

"What?" Hope questioned, narrowing her eyebrows.

"Yes, he and I have been close friends for many years now," Aden answered as Hope let go of his hand.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked crossing her arms.

"I didn't think it was really relevant."

"You couldn't have said something when I introduced you two? You acted as though you didn't know each other. You lied?"

"I didn't lie sweetie. Shane asked me to not let on that we knew each other."

"You guys didn't think it would come out eventually?!"

"We figured we'd deal with it when that time came, but we didn't think it would be this soon."

"So you and that fuckwad Helms weren't gonna say anything," Hope chuckled. At this point, the argument caught Shane's attention and he ran right over to his friend's side. Hope saw him and focused her attention on him. "You fuckin asshole!"

"Hope, calm down. I was worried about you. I wanted Aden to look after you. I was afraid you might have a relapse."

"Relapse? What the hell is he talking bout?" Matt questioned as he and Jeff walked up to them.

Hope shot Shane a death glare. Her eyes stared into his like daggers. If looks could kill, this one would have killed him on the spot.

"I wanted you to stay safe. I knew Aden could do that. I just didn't think he would fall for you. But when he did, well, I just thought it would be better to keep our relationship quiet."

"I don't get this whole relapse thing," Matt pushed.

"My well being is not something for you to worry about, Shane. I was ready. I didn't and don't need a fuckin babysitter."

"Would you fuckin explain to me what Shane meant by a relapse?!" Matt yelled.

"Matt, it is none of your fuckin business right now. When I'm ready to tell you, I will!" Hope yelled back. Matt backed up, shocked at Hope's anger.

"I'm sorry Hope. I should have said something anyways. Despite Shane's request," Aden spoke.

"You should have. I can't believe you would do this to me."

"I'm sorry! I don't know what else to do! I didn't expect to get so deep. I don't want to lose you because of something as silly as this," Aden replied grabbing both her hands in his.

"You're not going to lose me. I'm just pissed about this. I think what you guys did was wrong. You both did stupid shit," Hope said. "Let's just forget about this for now. We'll talk about it later." She shook her head and walked away from the guys. Aden watched her walk away as he rubbed his face.

"I was so stupid. I shouldn't have gone along with your stupid plan!" Aden exclaimed.

"Dude, I'm sorry. She'll get over it."

Aden growled at his friend before turning his attention back to Gil. "Sir, I'm sorry about the scene. It shouldn't have taken place here. Or anywhere else for that matter. I apologize."

"Aden, that's okay. I'm forgiving you because I know my daughter will and I can tell that she really likes you. I sense that there's something special about you. You two will be fine and you and I are on good terms," Gil smiled.

"Thank you sir."

"Call me Gil." Aden nodded with a smile before looking back over at his girlfriend who had caught up with Lizzie.

"That was a nasty fight," she said.

"Yeah, but there's something about him that makes me want to forgive him instantly," Hope smiled.

"I know, I can tell. You're already smiling. You really like him, don't you?" Lizzie asked as they sat on a couple lawn chairs.

"I really do. Almost to the point where I think I may love him. But that's not possible, right? We've only been together for like a month. You can't love someone after a month, can you?"

"I suppose you can. Maybe you do. Maybe he does too," Lizzie smiled.

"I hope so. It would suck if I felt these feelings and he didn't," Hope chuckled. "Anyways, change of subject. I heard you and Jeff have been hanging out together quite a bit again."

"Hope, nothing is happening. I swear. I'm done with that. He and I are just friends. We have fun. Normal fun. No sex. Nothing kinky," Lizzie laughed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, in fact, I met a guy."

"What?!"

"Yeah, there's a new bartender at City Limits. He and I have gone out twice so far. I'm hoping for good things. A third date is to come tomorrow night. He really makes me happy. Like, Jeff happy," Lizzie joked.

"That's awesome. I can't wait to meet him."

"Soon, I think. I just want to make sure our relationship is goin somewhere before I introduce everyone to him. I think if I introduced ya'll, he might get scared off at this point in our relationship." Hope laughed and nodded in agreement as she glanced over at the boys playing what looked like watermelon football.