That Friday, I was coming home from school, when I saw my mom's car parked in the driveway. My mom was NEVER home, especially right after school. She usually worked really late, so it was strange to see her home.

I realize she's a single mom, so everything she's done is for us, but over the years it sort of has put a wedge in between me and her. I try to be grateful that she always works so hard, but it has been tough over the years, growing up with my mom never around. My brother and I have had to learn how to do everything by ourselves. It's even worse for my brother; he's a lot younger than me, so it's even harder for him. Neither of us really connects with mom, as we never talk to her. When we do, it's incredibly awkward, as she knows so little about us. I doubt she even knows how old I am.

I tried to sneak around the back of my house, because I didn't want to run into my mom. I saw her through the window and I knew she would immediately see me come in. So, I slipped through the front door as quietly as I could, but she still heard me.

"Gwen! Come here honey!" My mom called for me.

She was in the kitchen, and my brother was with her. I could tell instantly he didn't want to be there, and she was forcing him to be with her. I noticed he was wearing his usual clothes, not the gangster stuff he had been wearing. My talk had gotten through to him.

"Hey, mom. What are you doing here?" I asked, awkwardly. There was an uncomfortable vibe in the room, and all of us could feel it.

"I got off work today so I could be with you two." She said happily. She was always sickly sweet, always pretending to be happy, and that was what bugged me most about her.

"That's…great mom. Great." I couldn't pretend to be happy, no matter how hard I tried

"Gwen, sweetie. Why are you still wearing that Goth get-up? I got you some nice clothes." She said.

"Like 3 years ago." I muttered. She pretended like she didn't hear me.

"So, I was planning that we would all spend some time together tonight. As a family." She said.

All of the sudden I felt kind of bad. I had to go to the party tonight, and I knew she probably had to try really hard to convince her boss to let her off early.

"Mom, I'm really really sorry, but I can't be with you guys tonight. Leshawna and Trent are taking me somewhere. I wish I would've know you were going to be here, I would've canceled my plans." I said.

"Oh, it's okay, dear. I guess it's just me and your brother." My brother fake-smiled at her.

"Now, who are Leshawna and Trent?" she asked.

I didn't feel bad at all anymore. Leshawna and Trent were two of the most important people in my life, how could she not know who they were?

"Leshawna. Best friend of two years, met at Camp Wawanakwa. Trent. Ex-boyfriend and now one of the greatest friends I have. You wouldn't know them; you would have had to have watched at least one episode of the T.V show I was on for 4 seasons. Of course you have no clue who they are." I snapped at her.

Immediately, a wave of guilt rushed over me. Of course she wouldn't know who they were. She worked 7 days a week, and had no time to watch a T.V show, even if she wanted to. Even if I had mentioned either of them to my mom, she would have forgotten, as she's so occupied with work.

"I have to get ready; they're coming in an hour. Bye."

. . .

"Yeah, I don't even know what to do about my mom. I'm not going to deal with what I had to deal with when I was 12 years old." I said to Trent and Leshawna.

We were sitting in a fast-food place and I was telling them about what had just happened with my mom.

"What happened when you were 12?" Trent asked.

"Okay, I don't tell many people this, but I'll tell you. When I was 12 years old, the same thing was happening to me, as it is now. I had been basically on my own for years and I was used to that. All of the sudden, my mom started being really nice to me. She would take me places, she would come to my school events, and she would take off work to hang out with me. Things were going really great. I started to trust her again; she became closer to me than anybody else. Then all of the sudden, she started to abandon me again. She started staying out later at work than usual, and I saw even less of her than before. Things got really bad. I would cry myself to sleep, and then have the awful nightmares. Eventually, I picked myself back up and I realized I couldn't trust her. I still can't trust her. I don't think things will ever be okay again. I'm never going to believe that she'll always be there for me, because it's been 18 years and it still hasn't happened." I told them.

"Wow." Trent said. "I'm so sorry."

"Honey, can I give you a piece of advice?" Leshawna asked. I nodded my head.

"Maybe you're right about the fact that she'll never be there for you. Maybe you're wrong. But that was 6 years ago. Your mom has tried really hard to support your family, and I think that you shouldn't totally ignore her. Maybe you can sort of phase her into your life, not all at once, like you did, but slowly. That way you're not completely crushed if all of the sudden she starts to abandon you again."

It was great advice. It was probably some of the greatest advice I had ever been given.

"You're right, Leshawna. Thank you. I'm sorry for putting such a negative mood on this conversation. The three of us haven't talked in a while. We should be happy! Trent, tell us about your music career." I said.

"Well, it's not really a music career, Gwen. I'm hoping to get a music scholarship for college. I don't know what career path I want yet, but I definitely want a scholarship for music. I'm planning on making some money off an acoustic single I'm going to release, and I'm going to use that money for college."

"That's great, Trent! But what about the Drama Brothers?" Leshawna laughed.

"Don't remind me of the Drama Brothers, Leshawna. You know the band ended a year ago. It was stupid, because me and Harold were the only ones who had actual talent in the band. Anyways, being in the Drama Brothers gave me a look on what life is like in a band. It wasn't fun, so that's why I don't want to be a professional musician. I like playing for fun. I'm only releasing the single, because I need the money. I figure, I've gained a lot of popularity being on the show, so a lot of people will buy my single."

"That's a great plan. I wish I knew what I was going to do about college. Gwen's going on a poetry scholarship to learn about art history, and Trent's going on a musical scholarship. I don't know what I'm going to do." Leshawna said.

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out." I told her.

Our conversation took different turns. I told them about Marilyn, and how badly I needed the scholarship, and how I wanted to go to Dallas. Trent told us about his life, and how all the fangirls have been stalking him. Leshawna told us about her cousin Leshaniqua, and how badly she's wanted to get on Total Drama.

I was having such a good time, that I totally lost track of time. It wasn't until Trent looked at is watch that we realized we had to go.

"Guys! The party starts in ten minutes!" he exclaimed.

It was a good thing we only lived 30 minutes away from Geoff, because otherwise we would've been really late.

Fanfiction really messes up the indentation, and it's really bothering me. What did you think of this chapter? It took me hours! Please favorite and review!