Ever since Lilly sat down at their table Mikayla had been silent, no wait, she had been quiet since the beginning of the day. Maybe she's thinking about something. "Is there something wrong Mikayla?" Sonny asked.

"My mom and I are having a mother-daughter weekend." Mikayla answered.

"What's wrong with that?"

"She has it all planned out, she never plans things. I think she's hiding something."

"Or maybe you're just over-reacting."

"You just don't know my mom like I do."

"I guess not."

"Are you going to eat that?" Lilly asked with her mouth full of food. After seeing that sight Mikayla lost her appetite and gave the girl the rest of her sandwich. "Thanks."

Mikayla always thought that cheerleaders were all weight-conscious, but after seeing Lilly eat, she was proved wrong. "So what are you going to do?" Sonny asked as she finally pulled her eyes away from the sight in front of her.

"I'll just go along with it then ask her. Whatever it is, she has to tell me, she knows how much I hate surprises."

"When does his weekend start?"

"Well, since today is Friday, it starts as soon as I get home."

"Maybe you should just enjoy yourself, I think you're stressing over nothing."

"Let's hope so."

~...~

"First, we're going to hit the mall and-" Her mother started.

"Hit the mall?" Mikayla asked, sometimes she wasn't used to her mom acting like a teenager.

"Yes, and afterwards we'll get something to eat."

They left their house and made their journey to the mall. Mikayla watched her mom jam out to the music playing on the radio. She wasn't embarrassed or anything, she loves her mom just the way she is.

Mikayla went with everything her mom said and now she regretted it. Her mom made her try on and bought her girly clothes. Then her mom took her to a salon. Her mom made her get extensions and highlights. She couldn't even recognize herself in the mirror.

"Now let's wax those eyebrows." Her mom said.

"What? No!" Mikayla protested.

"Oh, come on, it won't hurt that bad." Her mother reassured her.

Mikayla finally agreed and now some lady who worked at the salon was placing the wax on her face, shaping her eyebrows. She could feel the pain already coming as the lady was pressing on the little piece of cloth over the wax. With one swift move, the cloth was removed from the skin also removing the hairs. "OW!" Mikayla screamed out so loud that it echoed throughout the mall.

After they left the salon, Mikayla finally asked, "Mom, what's going on?" She was still rubbing the irritated skin. She never wanted to go through that again.

"What do you mean?"

"Mom, you know what I mean." Then her mother said something that was barely audible. "What was that?"

"You father is coming in town." She said louder.

"What? Why?" Now she was angry, she hated her father. He was never there for her, he barely accepted her lifestyle, and now he has the nerve to come to town.

"He has something to tell and show us."

"What is it?"

"I don't know?" She shrugged.

"Mom, you know I hate surprises." Then panic had become evident on her face. "Is he trying to take me away again because you know I won't go?" Her parents know that she would rather die than go live with her father and she had made that threat clear. Her father never tried anything because he knows his daughter would stay true to her word.

"No, he's not, but can we go through this whole weekend without complaining please?"

"Yes, mom."

~...~

Monday had come and Mikayla was nowhere to be found. "Where is she?" Sonny asked Lilly.

"I don't know." They were looking around in the hallways in search for Mikayla but came out with nothing.

"Maybe she wasn't over-reacting about the mother-daughter weekend."

~...~

Meanwhile, Mikayla was adjusting to her new look. She was wearing tight skinny jeans, a white v-neck shirt, and black vest. She was even adjusting to her new long wavy hair. She was getting looks from all the guys, well, up until they found out who she was.

She was about to go to her chemistry class until the office secretary came to her locker. "Miss Gomez, your mother is here to take you home for the rest of the day."

He must be at the house already. Mikayla thought. "Okay." She followed the secretary to the office where her mother was waiting for her. "He's at the house, isn't he?" Her mother nodded. "Let the day begin."

"Don't start anything, please?" Her mother asked.

"I won't if he won't." She wasn't going to make any promises when came to that man. She refuses to call him her father.

~...~

"Do you think she would skip school?" Lilly asked.

"She hasn't since I been here." Sonny answered.

As they were looking around, they saw someone they hadn't seen before. They didn't see the person's face because they were only seeing the person from behind. Lilly would've known someone else with long dark-brown hair, other than Sonny. "Maybe she's new."

"What makes you think that?"

"Why else the office secretary would walk up to her if she's not new?"

The two entered their chemistry class. It felt awkward for Lilly to be sitting next to Miley, who kept giving her disgusted looks. Sonny, on the other hand, felt alone when Mikayla didn't show up for class. Maybe something happened over the weekend. She thought to herself. She made a plan to go over to the girl's house after school.

~...~

Mikayla was sitting in an armchair that was furthest from her dad. She didn't like this one bit. "Well, you look more like a girl." He commented on her clothing.

"Well, you look less like a father." She said back.

"You will not talk to me like that." He raised his voice at her.

"You can't tell me what to do." Before her father, who she calls Ricky instead of Dad, could speak there was a knock on the door.

"Jake must be here." Ricky said.

Mikayla was confused, "Who's Jake?"

"Your younger brother." He left the living room and went to the front door to open. The boy who walked in was carrying quite a bit of bags in his arms. Ricky wasn't going to help him but she decided to. She may hate her dad with a fiery passion but she doesn't know this boy yet to hate him.

"Let me get that." Mikayla said as she took the two suitcases from under his arms.

"Thanks." Jake said. Mikayla led them upstairs to the, what it used to be, guestroom. The teenage boy gently placed his bags on the floor while Mikayla threw the ones she had on the bed.

"You like?" She asked. He nodded his head. "Feel free to customize your room, we won't judge."

Then out of nowhere he said to her, "I'm nothing like him." Although it was a relief that he wasn't, but she wonder what made him say that. "He told me about you and that he doesn't like it but I'm cool with it. I mean, it's your life, right?"

"Yeah." She smiled the first smile she had since she came home. "I just wish the people at school could understand that."

"They just can't stand that people can be different from them. If it's new them, it's going to take a long time for them adjust."

This boy is smart. She thought. "How did you get so smart?"

"One of every two of my friends is gay," He stated. "And the old man downstairs doesn't approve of them, so instead of hanging out with them I sit in my room studying and reading various books."

"I think we are going to get along just great." She said to him.

"Me too."

~...~

Sonny left school as quickly as she could when she heard the final bell go off. She wanted to know why Mikayla wasn't at school that day. It wasn't like her.

After parking her car in her driveway she walked to the other girl's house. She noticed that there was a car she hadn't seen before parked in the driveway. She knocked on the door and waited for a few seconds. She was about to knock again but the door swung open. "Sonny?" It was Mikayla's mom. "Right now is not a good time."

"Mikayla wasn't at school today. I just came by to see if she was okay."

"She was at school."

"But I didn't see her in chemistry."

"I pulled her out before that class started." Mandy looked at how worried Sonny looked. "I'll go get her, I'll be right back." She closed the door.

Sonny waited on the front step for few minutes before the door open again. She took in the sight in front of her. The girl in front of her did not look like the skater chick she had known for the past month. She looks different, like...wow. Sonny thought.

Mikayla noticed that Sonny was staring at her. "Is there something on my face?" She lifted her right hand and began wiping her face.

"No, there's nothing on your face. It's just you look different. You're actually wearing girl clothes."

Mikayla looked down at she was wearing, "Oh yeah."

"Not that I don't like you in these clothes because I do, but why?"

"My dad's here."

"And that's not a good thing?" Sonny asked confused.

"Of course it's not a good thing, I hate the man."

"Mikayla, come back in here, we have to talk." The voice came from inside of the house. The two turned towards the opened door.

"Is that your dad?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah, I'll be right back." She said as she walked back inside of the house. "I have company!" Sonny jumped because that the first time she had ever heard Mikayla yell.

"They can wait." The voice responded.

"No they can't, but you can."

"She has no respect for me. This is what happens when she lives with you." Sonny guessed that he was now talking to Mandy.

"She is not to blame, you are. You are a poor excuse of a father!"

"Talk to me with some respect."

"Like hell I will."

"If you continue to talk to me like that again I'll take you away from this place and teach you some respect."

"You wouldn't even try."

"Are you testing me?" His voice had risen even more.

"Yes, because we all know that I would rather die than live with you."

She can't be serious. I never thought Mikayla would be the type to make a suicide threat. It was silent after that. She heard footsteps coming closer to the front door. In front of her was a very angry Mikayla.

Then the anger quickly disappeared as she saw Sonny, who had tears building up in her eyes. "You heard everything didn't you?"

"It was hard not to." Then she quickly recalled the last thing that Mikayla said. "You wouldn't do that, would you?" She had to ask, she felt the need to.

"No, I won't, but he doesn't need to know that." She pulled Sonny into a tight hug. "I couldn't do that now that I have you in my life and I'm sorry you had to hear that." Sonny let some tears slide down her cheek and onto Mikayla's shirt.

"I don't know what I would do if you're not here."

"You could probably do your own homework." Mikayla said to try to lighten the mood.

Sonny pulled back slightly to look directly at Mikayla's eyes, "That's not funny."

"I know, I'm sorry." She said as she wiped the tears with her thumbs and then she grabbed Sonny's hands. "I have someone for you to meet." She began to walk into the house but stopped because Sonny wasn't moving from her spot.

"I'm not going to meet your father."

"You're not. You're going to meet someone so much cooler than him, nicer too." She smiled reassuringly. Sonny began to follow her into the house and up the stairs. She stepped in a room that unfamiliar to her because the only bedroom she had stepped into was Mikayla's.

There was a teenage boy in the room unpacking his bags. He looked up when he noticed that he was no longer alone in the room. "Oh hi, who's this?" He gestured to Sonny.

"Jake, this is my girlfriend, Sonny. Sonny, this is younger brother, Jake."