The rest of the week went by with Aden staying behind each day with Julie. Scarlett would arrive at 4 o'clock to collect him. And each time she did, Julie felt the now familiar feeling of butterflies whenever the brunette showed up in her classroom. Scarlett had charm about her, that was for sure. But Julie remained professional at all times, careful not to push it.

On Friday afternoon, Julie found herself clock watching. It was 5 minutes until Scarlett was due to arrive. The brunette was currently sorting through worksheets for the children, while Aden sat at a table drawing a picture with his tongue sticking out in concentration. Julie glimpsed up from the piles of paper to see what he was drawing. She could make out two tall figures and a smaller figure.

"Who's the picture of?" she asked him curiously.

He placed the crayon down and held up the sheet proudly.

"It's me, Scarlett and Kit!" he announced pointing to each figure on the picture. Julie thought of the woman who had dropped Aden off on his first day. The woman with the striking features.

Then she thought about it. She actually didn't know who Kit was, and how she knew Aden.

"How do you know Kit?" she asked, innocently.

"It's my Scarlett's best friend," he replied, smiling.

Julie smiled back at him. "I thought you were Scarlett's best friend?" She quirked her eyebrow jokingly.

He giggled. "I am. But then it's Kit."

"Well, your picture is lovely. I'm sure Scarlett will love it," she said enthusiastically, gesturing towards it.

"And Kit too! I'm going to show her it tomorrow," he said proudly, looking at the picture.

"You're seeing her tomorrow?" she enquired.

"Yeah. Scarlett said her and Kit have a surprise for me," he squealed with excitement. He threw the picture back down on the desk, accidentally knocking over a pot of pencils, sending them flying all over the table and onto the floor.

"Careful, buddy," Julie laughed as she made her way over to the table to help him pick them up.

"Sorry Miss Maslany," he said quietly, dipping his head.

"Hey, it's no problem, just help me pick them up, okay?"

He smiled shyly and nodded.

They collected the ones from the table, placing them carefully back into the pot before both getting on their hands and knees and tackling the mess on the floor.

Julie had to crawl underneath the table to reach the last few pencils when suddenly she heard, "What are we looking for down here?" Her body jumped in shock and her head shot up in surprise. She felt a sharp pain immediately hit her forehead as it connected with the underside of the table.

"Shi-ugar!" she yelled, clutching at her head. This time she carefully looked up to find Scarlett bent down in front of the table, looking at her with wide eyes.

"I am so sorry I didn't mean to startle you!"

Julie winced as the pain gradually began to spread across her forehead.

"I'm okay," croaked the brunette as she shuffled backwards from underneath the table. Scarlett quickly made her way round to Julie's side of the table as she stood up carefully.

Julie still clutched at her head as she felt dizziness kick in. She swayed a little before she felt strong hands on her shoulders keeping her still.

"You need to sit down," stated Scarlett, guiding her to sit on top of the table. Julie sat and blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the stars that had crept into her vision.

"Miss Maslany?" she heard Scarlett say, her hearing muffled. Still feeling dazed, the brunette didn't answer.

"Julie?"

Something snapped inside the brunette at the sound of her name. She looked up, still holding her head, and found worried brown eyes looking at her.

"How do you know my name?" she asked, confused.

Scarlett let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding and chuckled.

"You told me, remember?" Julie's brows furrowed in confusion. "Hi I'm Julie, I mean, Miss Maslany," Scarlett said, doing her best impression of Julie.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "That was terrible," she smirked.

"So is that bump on your head by the looks of it," she replied gesturing towards it. "Let me see," Scarlett said quietly as she moved in front of Julie. Scarlett took her hand and moved it away from her head so she could get a better look. Julie froze at the contact and quickly looked down, careful to avoid Scarlett's gaze.

Her fingers gently stroked against the raised, red bump that was steadily forming on her forehead and Julie winced at the touch.

"Sorry," Scarlett whispered softly, pulling her hand away.

"What's the verdict?" Julie asked raising an eyebrow and looking up to the brunette. Scarlett took a moment then stared back at the brunette with a serious face.

"Well…I'm afraid to say it but, looks like it's gonna have to be a head transplant."

Julie rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Scarlett." The brunette's eyes sparkled in amusement as she let out a laugh. Julie found herself smiling back at her as she felt the familiar feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

"You don't believe me?" Scarlett asked, a look of shock on her face.

"People would miss this face too much, it's out of the question," Julie gave back, pointing to her own face.

"Is that so?" she asked raising her eyebrows with a huge smile plastered across her face.

"Oh, definitely. My mom and my family of cats would be totally distraught," she said, nodding seriously.

Scarlett's smile dropped slightly as she eyed the brunette cautiously, before throwing her head back and laughing. Julie kept her face stoic and stared at Scarlett. It was a few seconds before the brunette controlled her laughing and her face dropped again when she realised Julie wasn't laughing.

"Oh my god, please tell me you're joking," Scarlett said dropping her head and moving her hand to cover her eyes in guilt.

Julie's mouth pulled up into an amused smile as she watched Scarlett fidget with embarrassment.

"You're very lucky I don't have a family of cats otherwise you would definitely be in my bad books right now," Julie teased. Scarlett moved her hand away from her face, her cheeks flushed. Julie loved the sight of it.

"Was the bump on the head not enough to be in there?" she asked quietly, looking at the brunette shyly through her long lashes.

"Not quite." Julie looked at her with warm eyes.

"Good," she answered quietly. Scarlett held the brunette's gaze before her eyes darted down to her lips then back up to her eyes. Her face was suddenly gone of all amusement and replaced with what looked like worry. Julie swallowed hard and let out a shaky breath.

"Do you need an ice pack, Miss Maslany?" came the small voice of Aden from the other side of the table. Both of their heads shot up as they looked to the boy. Julie shook what had just happened from her head and answered "Actually Aden that's not a bad idea, I'll just go get-"

"-no way," Scarlett interrupted, pushing her hand against Julie's shoulder, keeping her sat down. "I'll get it. Where do you keep them?"

"Over in my desk. Bottom draw on the right," she called as Scarlett made her way over to the desk on the other side of the room.

She pulled open the draw and grabbed a pack before her eyes settled on a framed picture that sat upon the desk. In the photograph was a little brunette girl, that was undoubtedly Julie, trapped in an embrace from a large man with dark brown hair as he pressed a kiss to the girl's cheek. Julie was smiling brightly with some of her front teeth missing. Scarlett found herself smiling at the picture when she heard a voice next to her. "He was a great Dad." Scarlett looked up to find Julie next to her, looking down at the picture too.

"Was?" Scarlett asked, a knowing pain threatening her chest.

"Yeah," she answered. Scarlett nodded in response, understanding what it meant.

After a few moments of silence, the brunette asked quietly, "how old where you?" Scarlett had been 23 at the time of her Mother's death. It filled her with so much rage at times that she'd only got 23 years with her, it should have been so much longer.

"Seventeen."

Scarlett sighed feeling an ache in her chest for the brunette. She knew what it was like to lose a parent. She didn't like that Julie had felt the pain of it too.

"Still just a kid," Scarlett whispered, staring at the picture. Julie nodded though Scarlett couldn't see.

"I used to be very bitter about it. I couldn't understand it. But time changes things. Now I just feel lucky to have ever had someone so special in my life."

Scarlett felt the overwhelming sting of tears in her eyes and quickly stood up before making her way around back over to the table. Julie followed slowly behind. The brunette squeezed the pack and handed it over to Julie.

"Here, sit down and keep it pressed to your head. I'm sorry but I've got to get going," she said avoiding the brunette's eyes.

Julie sat back on the table top and nodded, her face worried. Maybe she'd said too much. Maybe she'd pushed things too far. She mentally kicked herself.

"Aden, go get your things, it's time to go," Scarlett called over to the boy as he nodded and made his way to the cloakroom.

Scarlett turned to Julie, her face blank of expression. "Thanks for watching Aden the past week. Dad should be back by Monday so things will hopefully be back to normal then. He'll be dropping off and picking up Aden from now on."

Julie nodded in understanding, though the look of disappointment was evident on her face. Scarlett gathered her jacket and bag and Aden came back into the room.

"I'm ready, Scarlett," he called over.

"Okay, buddy," she smiled at him. She then slowly turned back to Juliee.

"I really am sorry about that," she said shyly pointing towards the brunette's head. "I hope you feel better." She looked at Julie with sad eyes, and it made something stir within Julie's chest.

"I'll be fine," she replied giving the brunette an understanding smile. "I'll check in with the nurse before I leave."

"Okay," said Scarlett, giving her the slightest smile. "Bye, Julie." Her eyes lingered on Julie's for a moment too long.

"Bye Scarlett."

And with that, Scarlett exited the room with Aden holding onto her hand. The quietness hit Julie like a ton of bricks as she sat there, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

The next day Scarlett found herself at the park with Aden and Kit. It was hot out so she opted to wear denim shorts, a tank top and vans, hoping to make the most of the last few sunny days of the year. It was a nice change from her workday suits and weekend pajamas.

Her and Kit laid sprawled out next to each other on a blanket, stuffed from the picnic. They weren't far from the play area, so they could see Aden play. Scarlett looked on through her sunglasses.

"How's he been?" Kit asked turning her body towards her cousin so she could see her. Scarlett felt her stomach drop. She really wasn't in the mood to start a serious conversation. She just wanted a nice afternoon without having to think about everything that was going on in her life. She swallowed thickly before answering, "he's been okay."

Kit observed her with concerned eyes before asking "and you?"

Scarlett rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses and sat up, uncomfortable with the way this conversation was going. "I'm fine, Kit," she snapped.

"Well it doesn't sound like," Kit pointed out.

"What do you want me to say?" Scarlett answered back, looking to her older cousin.

"Scarlett, I'm not here to upset you. I know this is hard on you. Sometimes it helps to talk instead of bottling everything up," she said quietly, her face stern.

Scarlett shook her head, swallowing the pain in her throat and blinking away the tears hidden behind her glasses. "Please, just drop it," she whispered, keeping her eyes on the play area in front of her.

"Scar, you need to-"

"-I don't need to do anything," she spat as she got to her feet and stormed away from her cousin. She heard Kit calling after her but ignored her and walked and walked until she found herself on the other side of the park. The anger in her subsided and she suddenly felt very deflated. She made her way over to a bench and took a seat on it. She pushed her sunglasses onto the top of her head and buried her head into her hands as the emotion overwhelmed her.

Kit might think she's being helpful but she's not the one stuck in this situation. She has no idea what's best for me. No one understands. No one should have to understand. This should never have happened. Why has this happened?

Scarlett sat for a while and tormented herself over unchangeable things. The nauseous feeling crept up her throat and she had to swallow down the bile to try and get rid of the feeling. Slow tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she watched groups of people in the park. Families. Couples. Friends. All blissfully unaware at how lucky they where to be able to laugh freely without feeling the burden that Scarlett was feeling.

"Scarlett?"

The voice stunned her out of her thoughts as she turned round and was met by lovely brown eyes looking at her. Scarlett's face was a picture of shock. Julie's face dropped as she saw the tear tracks on Scarlett's face. The brunette quickly wiped them away and smiled sadly at the brunette.

Her eyes then followed the movement beside Julie to find a beautiful woman, with blonde hair and tanned skin was also looking at her. Her face was friendly, concerned even. She noticed Julie's arm wrapped through the woman's arm, linking them together. She felt her stomach drop. Oh. The realisation hit Scarlett as she looked back up to Julie.

"Hi," was all she could manage.

Julie eyed her cautiously before asking, "Scarlett, are you okay?"

She was quick to answer, not wanting to make a scene. "Oh yeah, totally fine." She tried to smile convincingly at Julie, but she was having none of it.

"You don't look okay," she pointed out, her face full of worry.

"Neither does your head," she tried to joke back, pointing to the now bruised bump on the brunette's forehead. Julie raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

Scarlett sighed, shaking her head. "Me and Kit had a fight is all. Nothing to worry out." She watched as Julie took in the information before she noticed a flicker of recognition on the brunette's face, though she was unsure as to why.

"Of course," started the brunette, "Aden said you two had a surprise for him today."

Scarlett chuckled at the thought of Aden telling Julie about his surprise. Then she felt the guilt hit her. She'd walked away from them. Aden was probably wondering where she'd got to.

"I'd better get back to him actually," she said pointing her thumb backwards towards the playground.

Julie nodded. "Well, it was nice to see you, Scarlett," she said sincerely, her blue eyes boring into green ones.

"You too," she nodded towards her before looking to the other woman. "And it was nice to meet you uh…"

"Alya," the woman smiled at her and Scarlett was taken back at how pretty she was. She could see the appeal.

"Alya," Scarlett repeated, trying her best to give the woman a warm smile, but she knew it probably came out looking more awkward than she would've liked.

"I'll see you around," Scarlett said to Julie as she rose from the bench.

"Bye Scar," she heard Julie call as she walked away, her back turned to them. Scarlett's heart jumped in her chest at the way Julie shortened her name. Only people she was closest to called her by that name. But something about Julie calling her it, warmed her inside.

Snap out of it Scarlett. She has a girlfriend. Of course she has a girlfriend.

Scarlett trudged back to Aden and Kit, her chest feeling heavier than when she left.

"Oh my god, Kit is totally her girlfriend," Julie groaned, closing her eyes as her and Alya started walking again.

"It's a real shame if she is, the girl is hot. Even when crying. That's impressive," Alya smirked nudging into Julie's shoulder.

"Shut up, A."

"You're just jealous cos you're an ugly crier," she said raising her eyebrows.

Julie rolled her eyes and sighed. "I should've known."

"Hey, you don't know for sure. And even if she is her girlfriend, Scarlett didn't look exactly happy," she replied, looking to Julie as she took it into consideration.

"Couple's fight, Alya. It's natural." Then Julie thought about it. "Aden's drawn a few pictures and she's been in them. And he said she was Scarlett's best friend."

"Julie, you're totally blowing this out of proportion. She might actually just be her best friend. Friends fight. Look at us," she stated, gesturing between the two of them.

"That's true," Julie smirked, looking to Alya. They'd been best friends since they were 5. Alya was a loveable ass and Julie was level headed and compassionate. They balanced each other out. Though at times they had certainly tested each other.

"You should just ask her," suggested Alya, raising her eyebrows at her.

"Oh what- hey Scarlett is Kit your girlfriend? Oh she is, doesn't matter then, bye."

"My god woman," started Alya, dramatically holding her palm to her head. "Just ask her who she is. Say that the little boy keeps mentioning her in class and you were wondering who she was."

"That'd definitely be creepy." Alya rolled her eyes. "Plus, Scarlett isn't gonna be around school much by the sounds of it. Her Dad's back so he's going to be doing the school runs."

"So what, you're just never gonna see her again?" she asked with an annoyed look on her face.

"Looks like it," said Julie, shaking her head slightly and blinking slowly. Alya opened her mouth to protest but Julie interrupted, jolting her head around to Alya "-look, nothing could happen anyway. She's my student's sister." She looked back to the floor as they walked along.

"It's not illegal, Julie. She's not his legal guardian. The school may frown upon it yeah, but if you like her that much then why not?"

They carried on walking through the park, following the path around as Julie's mind wandered.

Would it be so bad to ask who Kit was to her? If she's not her girlfriend, is Scarlett even into girls? What makes you think she would like you back? You don't even know this girl and she's already got you questioning everything. But she is so beautiful. And vulnerable. And sad. And it would be nice to take care of her. And you have noticed when her eyes have dropped to your lips. And the longing looks she gives you.

They've walked around nearly the whole path when they near the playground. But that's when Julie spotted them. Kit laid out, but keeping herself upright with one elbow behind her, while the other hand stroked Scarlett's hair. Scarlett laid in a fetal position with the side of her head tucked into Kit's chest.

Julie's chest clenched at the sight and her and Alya quickly left the park, still arm in arm.

Scarlett followed the pair as they left, from behind the cover of her sunglasses. Her chest feeling the exact same as Julie's.