Chapter Six

When Thanksgiving finally rolled around, Maddy practically ran out of the school, into the waiting car, into her seat on the plain and back home. Lily was waiting with a huge bouquet of flowers for Maddy when she got off the plane.

"We mized you!" she squealed.

Maddy never thought she'd be so excited to see her. She ran up to her, twirling her around.

"Oh my god Lily, I missed you so much!" she cried, setting her down, and admiring the flowers.

"I mized you too. We gotta go 'ome thou, An Tisy, unle Eath, 'n Aia 'n Zich are comin' over!"

Maddy immediately felt all color drain from her face. Oh, right. They were coming to their house for Thanksgiving. Oh, what a joyful holiday this would be.

Callie saw her face fall and stared at her. "Maddy, what's wrong? Were you sick on the plane?"

"No, mom I'm fine, just homesick. Let's go home!"

Homesick sure. More like sick and tired of Ava fucking Ferro!

Maddy was doing one of her favorite past times of painting pictures with her dad, minutes before the Ferro's were coming over. Easy noticed that she was pounding her paintbrush against the paper a little more aggressively then usual.

"What's wrong Maddy?"

"Nothing."

"You always paint like that when you're mad."

"Paint like wh- oh." she said, noticing how the paint had splattered onto her smock.

"What's wrong?"

Maddy sighed. "Ava's just… she's just has to be the center of everything!"

Easy laughed. "She's just like her mom was when we were at school. Don't worry Mad, I'm sure she's just nervous."

Maddy scoffed. "Dad, you're talking about Ava., she is like the epitome of non-nervous. I just am not having fun at all and I don't not want to have fun anymore!"

Easy scratched the bridge of his nose, amazed at how unchangingly similar Maddy and Ava were to Callie and Tinsley twenty years before. "All right, I'll talk to your mom, and we'll see what we can do."

Maddy's eyes grew as huge as marbles. "Like going to the Disney World for a few days before I have to go back to school?"

"Maybe."

"Thank you daddy!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him in thanks. "And this works out well for the whole family because we'll all be able to have fun!"

"We're having fun now!"

Maddy twirled around- and found herself face to face with Ava (Agh!!!).

"Happy Thanksgiving Mad!" she screamed, making Maddy's ears ring. "Can you believe we haven't seen each other for five whole days!"

Only that long?

"Hardly Av, hardly." she gritted through her teeth, pasting a huge fake smile on her face. Only a couple of hours and then they're gone, gone, gone!

"Oh my god Cal, can you believe that the girls are already in high school?' said Tinsley, as she sat in the rocker in Lily's nursery, while Callie changed Lily's diaper. "Ava said she's having a ball. How's Maddy doing?"

Callie hesitated for a moment, not sure how to respond. Ever since she'd come home Maddy had just seemed… kind of sad. And Callie could only imagine why. She hadn't said a word about Sean, and whenever they'd mentioned Ava she'd gotten all huffy and sensitive.

"She said that she loves her art class. Easy is so proud, he hung all of her projects up right after she got home."

Tinsley smiled, knowing that Callie wasn't saying something. That was fine, she could keep her secrets. She knew that anything Callie wasn't saying was about what Maddy had been saying about Ava anyway. Tinsley loved Maddy but she wasn't about to scold Ava for being too bossy or something. She'd raised her children to be opinionated people who didn't end up as basket cases because they'd "hurt their friends feelings." And no offense to Maddy but if she felt like Ava had hurt her feelings over some stupid high school drama, then the girl needed to grow some balls.

"… and at the homecoming game this senior streaked across the field screaming 'down with Marymount!' and everyone laughed so hard, remember Mad?" said Ava.

Maddy forced herself to make eye contact with Ava. "Yeah, Av, it was hilarious." And then she quickly got back to her turkey like Ava had just terribly disrupted a very important task. Ava noted Maddy's annoyance and wasn't going to back down about it.

"Something wrong Maddy?"

"Nope, something wrong with you?"

"Nope."

"Good."

"Great."

Heath glanced back and forth from both girls, having no idea what was going on.

"So this Alaskan cruise at New Years sounds really-"

"You know I have done nothing to you so! why have you been acting like a royal asshole?" Maddy screamed at Ava from across the table.

And they're off.

"Maddy, what has gotten into you?" said Callie.

"Mom, Ava has to have everything her way at school or she makes my life a living hell-"

"Maddy has been acting like a child all year-"

"AVA'S BEEN DATING SEAN SINCE HALLOWEEN!"

Tinsley covered her mouth in horror, her ice cold glare staring Ava down. Ava stared at her food, her face turning more scarlet with every passing second. Die Maddy, Die.

"Ava, is that true?"

Ava calmly folded her napkin in her lap before responding.

"Yes, it is. And I am very happy with him- mom, don't look at me like that, I haven't slept with him! But I wasn't even the first one to date him, Maddy was!"

"Madolyn Elizabeth Walsh!" Callie screamed at her.

Maddy glared at Ava, her eyes all red and puffy. "Yes mom, before Ava stole him from me, I was dating Sean! But she stole him from me! She stole him!" she repeated, trying to emphasize her point. It didn't seem to be working.

Maddy shook her head, wanting nothing more then to get away from everyone.

"I'm not hungry anymore." she muttered, throwing her napkin on the table and marching of to her room.

Everyone stared at their food, not sure what to say next.

"Dad, can you pass the mashed potatoes?" Zach said abruptly. He'd been waiting for them ever since the girls had started arguing.

Sorry it's kinda short, I ran out of big ideas for this chapter. The next one will be longer though. Please review, and to all other It Girl writers out there- PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE UPDATE YOUR STORIES SOON!!!