A/N: Ok I realize this took me a hell of a lot longer to get posted then I said it was. Life suddenly decided to bitch slap me in the face and I had a lot to deal with. I hope I can get back to posting more regularly but I don't want to make any promises just in case. Things seem to have settled down but you never know.

Alexis had everything set up and ready to go, yet she wasn't sure why she was so nervous. She had called Zero's aunt Stephanie and confirmed just like Kate had that Zero had been staying with her the past almost week. Stephanie was thrilled to hear from Alexis. She only understood part of what was going on, but was extremely excited that Alexis was attempting to patch up whatever needed to be patched up.

She knocked on the apartment door and waited, the sounds of a dog barking quickly reached her ears. As the door began to open a tan nose pushed its way through the opening, before hoping out onto the front porch. It was a beautiful rough coated collie. "Tibby, get back in here!" Alexis heard a woman say as the door was opened wider. "Oh you must be Alexis." The woman greeted warmly. She was tall like Zero was, but her hip length ebon black hair was as straight as an arrow, so unlike Zero's usually unruly chocolate mane.

"Thank you for telling me Zero was over here." She said with a nod.

"I am just happy someone is trying to help her. I don't know much of what is going on right now, but I do know she is in need of a friend." Stephanie said as she led Alexis into the apartment. She took her down the hall to a bedroom and told her to have a seat; that Zero had gone to the store and should be home shortly.

Alexis sat at the foot of the bed and glanced around the room. It was clear that the room was not set up for a college student, that it was a little bit of a throw back from when Zero had been younger. While most of her likes had stayed the same seeing as she was 16 years old when she came to live with her aunt, there were a few things around the room that were clearly from her younger childhood.

Her eyes roamed around the room, taking in everything that showcased who Zero was. Her eyes settled on two stuffed rabbits in the corner of the room. There was a pink one that wore a yellow shirt and a purple skirt, with purple ribbons on the ends of her ears. The other was blue and wore a red shirt with no pants. A smile played on Alexis' lips as she recalled the show the two rabbits were from. It was Babs and Buster Bunny from the cartoon 'Tiny Toons'. Alexis couldn't stop the chuckle the worked its way out of her throat, she fondly recalled watching the same series with her father when she was really young.

The sound of the front door opening brought her out of her thoughts of childhood. She could hear the dog barking and a very familiar voice telling her to be quiet.

"Hush Tibby it's just me." Zero said as she made her way into the apartment, pushing her way past the ever excited dog that was always eager to see her. "Sorry girl I don't have anything for you." She stated as Tibby nosed the bag in her hand.

"Hey welcome back." Stephanie said as she stepped out of the kitchen, flinging a dish towel up to rest on her shoulder.

"Hey Steph." Zero replied casually as she started to make her way down the hallway to her room where she spent the vast majority of her time, a small bag of snacks hung loosely from her hand.

"You know I have been meaning to ask." Stephanie started, her voice halting Zero's progress down the hall, stopping her just a few feet from her room. "Not that I am complaining or anything you know I love having you here any time, but why have you suddenly come home? Did you get into a fight with Alexis?"

Zero visibly flinched at the name. "No Steph it's not like that." She said turning to her aunt, unaware that her best friend was just a few feet away in her room.

"I thought you were in love with this girl." Stephanie said as she wiped her hands on the dish towel absently. She knew a little about the girl in question, her niece talked about her often.

"Yeah and there lies the problem." She sighed leaning heavily against the wall next to her bedroom door.

"How is being in love with someone a problem?" The older woman asked, mimicking her niece's posture, leaning against the hall wall.

Zero sighed again as she ran her hands roughly through her chocolate locks. "Well she is my best friend for one, and for another it's not like that, she's not like that."

"Zero, baby girl, your acting like there is something wrong with who you are."

"There is!" Zero nearly shouted. "You know there is! I was nearly killed five years ago for being the freak of nature I am, or have you forgotten?"

Zero regretted the words almost the instant they left her mouth. She could see the way they affected her aunt, as if she had literally slapped the older woman acrossed the face. Her aunt knew better than anyone out there what she had gone through. It was her aunt that sat by her bed as she recovered and it was her aunt who accepted her into her home and had offered her a life.

"Of course I haven't forgotten. Your father is a horrible, pathetic excuse for a man." Stephanie sighed and shook her head, the conversation currently not going the way she wanted she knew she had to steer it back. "Have you talked to her? Have you told her how you felt?"

Zero shook her head and looked away. "She needed someone to be there for her not someone who fell in love at first sight. It will be best if I just disappeared."

"Best for whom? Do you honestly think things will be ok for that girl if her best friend just up and disappears on her?" Stephanie made her way over to her niece and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Do you honestly think she would think any different of you just because you have feelings for her? Have you given her the chance to see if maybe she feels the same way?"

Stephanie chuckled as Zero helplessly shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. "I'm still not entirely sure what happened but I think before you try to pull a disappearing act, that girl deserves to hear the truth from your mouth. From what you have told me about her, she sounds like an extremely bright young girl; don't write her off just yet."

Zero sighed again and leaned forward into her aunts waiting arms. Stephanie had always been there for her, even before she lived with her. It was her aunt Stephanie she usually went to when she had any type of problem, from female troubles when her monthly cycle started, to when she started questioning herself about her own sexuality and everything in between. "Thank you Steph." Zero whispered.

She knew her aunt was right, knew she needed to talk to Alexis, but she wasn't sure how to go about it. It had been nearly a week since she had dinner with the Castle family, a week since she freaked out and ran off before they could watch the movie, a week since she has said so much as a single word to her dear friend.

She knew Alexis had a huge heart, and her ability to forgive was beyond what she had ever seen before, but would Alexis forgive her? Could she possibly accept her for who she was and forgive her for freaking out and running away? She hopped that would be the case but a large part of her was unwilling to give too much to hope.

"Your right, I need to talk to Alexis, she needs to find out the truth and to understand things. I shouldn't have run away. I'll send her a text in the morning and see if she is willing to meet me for lunch."

Stephanie broke away from her niece's embrace and smirked at her before turning on her heel and heading back down to the kitchen. 'What was with that smirk?' Zero thought to herself but quickly shrugged it off and turned back to her room.

It was only then that she noticed that the door to her room was slightly ajar. "Damn it Tibby did you get into my room again?" Zero asked as she pushed the door to her room open. The sight she was greeted with made her heart sink. Perched on the foot of her bed was none other than the person she had just been talking about, her best friend. "Alexis?" Zero chocked out.

"Hey."

A/N: Ok I realize this is a short chapter and I did promise that they would get longer, I just wanted to get this part done and posted so you guys didn't think I had abandoned you all. More to come I promise. If you have a moment to spare, please review. Thanks.