Author's Note: I know, my other stories are suffering, and I apologize...here's the deal for the next few weeks...When I'm not working I'm going to be down at the Jersey Shore! Good for me right? Although, I'll probably still write, so you'll get stuff. Love you all!

Disclaimer: At this point, who cares right?

Chapter 6: Butterflies Found and Denied

Caroline ran down the stairs, pulling on a jacket. It was her first day and she was already late! Her heel got caught on the stairs and she tumbled forward. She stopped feeling a pair of rather muscular arms catch her.

"Careful, spaz," She looked up and saw Jack smiling at her. "Where you running?"

"Um, I'm starting this internship," She said. Why wasn't he letting go? Not that she wanted him to, the way he was holding her felt really good.

"Oh cool," He said. She wasn't like squirming or pushing him away, just looking up at him, their brown eyes locked. "I guess you should get going."

"Yeah," She whispered. Except he wasn't letting go and she didn't want to leave.

"Is everything OK?" He said, she nodded, "For real?" She sighed, "I know you, what's going on?"

"My grandpa left me two million dollars," She sighed.

"Your Gramps died?" He said, "And he had two million dollars? Jesus, why does he still drive out here every time they visit then?"

"What?" She looked at him, "No! Not Grampa Gaffney," She still didn't pronounce the word correctly, she never had when it came to her Gramps, "My other Grandpa. You know, the one I never met."

"This is a bad thing?" He cocked his head. She nodded. "Why?"

"It's Vanderbilt money," She said, "I feel like it's dirty." He hugged her tightly, it felt so good, so safe.

"So like spend it really irresponsibly," He whispered, "Like on coke and hookers or something." She laughed. "How'd you find out?"

"She came to see me," She explained, "And this internship, it's sort of with the woman my dad dated when,"

"Ohh," Jack nodded, "So it's just really shitty timing for the Cara stress level." She nodded. "So Guitar Hero all day on Sunday?"

"That sounds perfect," She said and he finally let go. "I'll see you Jack." She whispered and ran away.

Jeremy was rounding the corner in the dorm when he saw it. He was able to forgive some kind of closeness, after all, they'd grown up together. But walking around and seeing his girlfriend being held by some pissant freshman, that he couldn't quite get past.

"Oh, hey Jeremy," Jack smiled as he walked past. The kid was way too smug. At least he had the excuse of hazing to pick on him. "Look, I was hoping to talk to you, Cara's going through something kinda weird and,"

"I know OK," Jeremy said defensively, he actually didn't know. She, he thought thankfully, hadn't told him anything.

"Um OK," Jack said wondering where this new animosity was coming from. Not that he took it personally, the seniors were all kind of assholeish to the freshmen. "Just letting you know, you might want to like tread softly for a little bit, she's a little out of her mind sometimes." He couldn't help feeling a little triumphant, it was obvious that Caroline had confided something in him that she felt like she just couldn't tell Jeremy. Not that that surprised him by any stretch, she kept the whole Julie premarital pregnancy they had no money thing pretty much to herself. Although pretty much everyone knew anyway, they just pretended not to at least to Caroline, not to someone else.

"Hey," Richie froze in the hallway of school on his way out to the bus and sighed.

"No more fights," He whispered to himself and kept walking.

"What? Are you scared of me Vander-trash?" He turned and looked at the taunter, "Bet your conniving slut mother used to run from a fight too." It wasn't a creative taunt, bu this kid was trying to get him fired up and it worked.

"Shut your mouth about my mom Phillips!" Richie shoved him, "Before I shut it for you!"

"Richie," Both boys froze at the soothing female voice behind them, "Paul, I think you should both cool it."

"Yes Mrs. Germaine," Both boys mumbled. Richie looked up at her sheepishly. It had been hard for him to adjust to calling Connie "Mrs. Germaine" even if it was only during school hours, because she had always been "Aunt Connie." Paul walked away and Connie sighed and looked down at Richie. She'd never met a more perfect blend of two parents. Richie had Julie's temper coupled with Scooter's lack of foresight and it got him into deep trouble sometimes.

"Come inside Richard," She raised her eyebrows at him. He nodded and followed her into her classroom, "Sit." He did immediately. He knew better than to contradict Connie, the only thing worse would be disobeying his mother, something he'd never done, purely out of fear. They were pretty scary when they got mad. "Talk please."

"They were talking trash about Mom," He mumbled, "I hate when they do that."

"You just gotta ignore it kid," She whispered. She hated it too. Working in this school killed her, but the money, well, it didn't suck. Everytime she heard some backhanded comment about "That poor Julie Vanderbilt," she cringed. Julie was no victim. Worse than those though were the rumors, all of them circling around Scooter being unfaithful, or worse. "You know he left her, and then she had the second baby." "If the boy didn't look so much like Scott, I'd swear he was Rick Riley's. You've seen the two of them together haven't you?" It was torture for her, but at least she could tune it out. Richie hadn't quite learned that skill yet. "That's the only way you'll ever make it."

"I wish I'd gone to public school." He said softly. He'd never admit it to his parents it would sound ungrateful.

"Caroline didn't call," Julie said nervously as she and Scooter lay in bed. He groaned. "She started at," She swallowed, she still couldn't say the name, "The magazine today. I'm worried."

"Don't be," He whispered and kissed her, "I'm sure she was wiped." He kissed her neck. "So she didn't want to call." Julie nodded, "You know what I've been thinking about all day?"

"No tonight," She shook her head, "I'm too tense." He nodded and started to rub her shoulders, "Scott." She shrugged him off.

"Are we going to talk about the fact that we have absolutely no sex life anymore?" He said softly. She shrugged and lay down. "Julie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," She sighed, "I just, I'm not feeling like it lately."

"Lately being three months," He said softly, "Honey, come on. Talk to me. Please?" She snuggled close to him.

"I'm too worried," She said softly.

"About us?" He asked. She shook her head.

"About everything," She sighed, "Richie, and the way he's been acting out, and Caroline, and she's basically grown up, and how we're going to pay for Eden Hall and whatever college Cara decides to go to at the same time, and," He kissed her. "And being in debt to your mother."

"We're not in debt to her," He shook his head, "We would have worked it out on our own, she did what she thought she had to do." Julie nodded. She didn't look at it this way. "There's something else."

"What happens if you see her," She whispered, "And, you decide,"

"Julie," He cut her off, "You are all that I want."

"But I mean," She looked at him, "You don't regret anything." He sighed and hugged her tightly, he didn't know how to tell her that after sixteen years of marriage, two children and everything they'd been through that he still loved her more than anything and anyone, but he never knew how to reassure her.

Review Please!!