AN: Hey guys! Hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'm having a lot of fun writing it. Just a forewarning, the name of Rae's apartment building and her address are completely made up. I've never been to New York and don't know much about the way address work there. I am a student (pre-med), I play a sport, and I have a job and fit in writing where I can. So, that being said, I don't really have time to research New York addressing. I hope you all understand and don't crucify me for any inaccuracies. Thanks so much for all the follows and I hope to receive more reviews.

Chapter 9: Don't Forget About Us

As the girls left the precinct Rae typed up a text to send to Olivia, giving her the info she needed to help her landlord problem.

Hey! It's Rae. You asked me send you my apartment info so here ya go. I live in Pittman Loft Complex on West 73rd and my landlord's name is Danny Pittman. Thanks so much again Liv. I really appreciate this.

She hit send before climbing into the car. As she was pulling out of the parking lot she heard her phone chime. She looked and saw that Liv had messaged her back.

Ok. I'll get on it as soon as I can. Don't worry about it. I told you, I'll do anything to help.

Rae smiled at Olivia's response as she put her phone in the cup holder so that she could focus on the road. They had been driving now for about an hour and fifteen minutes and Maureen hadn't said a word to her. She was messing with the radio trying to find a good station to listen to when Rae's hand reached up and clicked the volume button, turning the radio off. Maureen looked over at her confused.

"What'd you do that for?" she said.

"Spill it?" Rae said in tone that told Maureen she was in for a serious conversation.

"Spill what?" Maureen was pretending not to know what Rae was alluding to but she knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Don't play dumb with me Maureen. What's up with you?"

"Nothing's up with me. I'm fine" She reached and turned the radio back on and let out a frustrated groan as Rae quickly turned it back off again.

"You're going to talk to me Maureen." she said looking over at her friend. "You've been different since we left my house this morning. When you cooking breakfast you were all...chipper and since then you've been pouting and you've had one hell of an attitude."

"I don't have an attitude" Maureen shot back.

"Uh, yeah ya do. You made a snide remark to Olivia this morning and you've barely said two words to me since we got in the car. I'm tired of the silent treatment." Maureen rolled her eyes at the mention of Olivia's name. "Of course she's mad about that" she thought. "So...what's gives?" Rae asked.

Maureen sat there in silence looking out of the window as Rae drove. They decided they would go to the Jersey Shore and spend the day on the boardwalk before heading back to the city for dinner at Rae's parent's house.

"Maureen! Are you just gonna ignore me for the rest of the day!?" Rae said getting frustrated by her friend's silence. Maureen still said nothing. "Ok." Rae let out a loud sigh before continuing. "I'm gonna ask you one more time and then I'm not gonna ask anymore. I don't care if you sit and pout all by yourself the whole time we're in Jersey but I'm gonna have fun. I would like to help brighter your mood if I can so that we can have fun together but I can't do that if you won't talk to me." Rae paused looking over at Maureen who was still looking at the window. They finally arrived and Rae parked her car. She turned it off and took the keys out of the ignition before turning and facing Maureen. "So...for the last time...what is going on with you?"

"Can we go get food?" Maureen asked.

"What? Maureen, don't try to change the subject." Rae said getting a little annoyed.

"I'm not. I'm hungry. I'll talk to you...over lunch."

"Fine...over lunch then" Rae said shaking her head and getting out the car. Maureen followed suit and the girls walked up to the boardwalk together. They walked into a Mexican restaurant and seated themselves in a booth. A waiter came over and took their drink order before leaving them alone to decide what they wanted to order. Once the waiter had returned with their drinks, taken their orders and left them alone again, Rae prompted Maureen to start talking.

"Ok, we're here having lunch. So out with it...what's going on?"

"You are what's going on. You and...Olivia" Maureen said looking down at her hands in her lap.

"What are you talking about me and Olivia? I told you nothing happened with us the other day." Rae said. "Something definitely happened today...but I'm guessing I should keep that to myself" Rae thought.

"Ok. So nothing happened but you do like her. Don't deny it either. It was written all over your face. I saw how you were looking at her." Maureen said with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

Rae looked up at the ceiling and sighed before looking back at Maureen. Just then the waiter came with their food. Once he was gone Rae started talking again. "Ok, fine. Maybe I do like her." Maureen gave Rae a sideways glance at her use of the word maybe. "Ok, I do. I like her. I think she's really beautiful and I think that what she does is amazing and I want to know more about her. What does it matter? She's what, like in her mid thirties? And I'm a high school student. She's not interested in me." Rae said thinking about how Olivia had pulled away from her earlier.

"Yeah right" Maureen said remembering the look on Olivia's face when she talked about the guy that hit on Rae.

Araeyah rolled her eyes at Maureen's response. "What does it matter to you anyway if I like her or not? Or if she likes me?" Rae knew that Maureen had some type of feelings she was hiding but she wanted to hear from Maureen exactly what they were.

Maureen hesitated before responding. "I don't know. I just...I just don't like it. I just think about you and her together and it just seems so weird. I like you Rae and I'm not sure how I like you but I like you and it's just confusing and the ridiculous flirting going on between you and Olivia is just..." Maureen took a breath as she tried to find the right words. "You get so excited at the thought of seeing her and talking to her and..., I don't know why but it makes me jealous which is just confusing to me because I'm not gay. I've never been attracted to girls before..." Maureen was talking at the speed of light and Rae could barely keep up.

"Whoa. Aha. Whoa." Rae said interrupting Maureen's rant. To hear that Maureen was jealous of her feeling for Olivia confused her. They'd talked about boys all the time and how she liked this guy or wanted to go on a date with that guy. They NEVER talked about girls. Rae would occasionally mention when she found a girl to be attractive but Maureen never participated in those conversations as much as she did when Rae would mention a boy she thought was cute. It didn't make any sense. "Maureen, you're not gay. You've been talking about Jake for weeks and how you hope he asks you to homecoming. Not to mention I have never seen you check out a girl the way I check out girls. I mean come on. I'm sorry honey. I wish it weren't true but you're definitely straight." Rae said.

Maureen let out a light chuckle and kicked Rae under the table. "Shut up jerk." Rae was glad to see her friend smile for the first time since they left her house that morning. "I know. I know I'm not gay. It's not really about Olivia. I mean it could be anyone. I guess I'm just...I'm just worried that if you start dating someone you won't have time for me anymore. That you'll be with her all the time and you'll forget about me."

"Aw, Maureen" Rae reached her hand across the table and grabbed Maureen's. "You are my absolute best friend. You're like the sister I never had. I could never not have time for you and I most definitely could never forget about you." she said squeezing Maureen's hand for emphasis. "So I hope you love me a lot girl...cause you're stuck with me" Rae said with a smile and a wink.

Maureen laughed and shook her head. "Good." Glad that conversation was over Maureen looked down at the plate in front of her. "Can we eat now? I'm starving and the food is getting cold."

"Yeah. Let's dig in."

Once they finished eating, they hit the boardwalk. They rode all the rides, some more than once, and played some games. They spent some time walking on the beach, joking and having a good time. It was nearing five o'clock so they grabbed their bags and the prizes they'd won from their games and headed back to the car. They had to start heading back to the city so they wouldn't be late for dinner with Rae's family. When they reached Rae's apartment, they immediately started getting ready for dinner. Rae showered first and started getting dressed while Maureen was still in the shower. She chose a red strapless dress that stopped mid-thigh and decided to keep on her black ankle boots. The last thing she wanted to deal with tonight was her feet hurting. Rae never understood those girls who wore heels out but complained incessantly about their feet hurting. "Beauty doesn't have to be painful" she thought to herself. Satisfied with her look, she went into the living room to wait for Maureen while she got dressed.

Maureen walked through the curtain separating Rae's room from the living. With it being a loft she had no bedroom door, so she'd improvised. "I'm ready", Maureen said.

Rae looked up from the game she'd been playing on her phone and shook her head at her friend upon seeing what she was wearing. "Uh, no. You can't wear that" Rae said. "Go pick something else."

"Pick something else like what?" Maureen said slightly offended.

"Something nicer...dressier." Maureen was wearing regular blue jeans and a green sweater. She looked very casual.

"Why? It's just dinner at your parent's house." Maureen said confused.

"Yeah but we're going out after so go pick something else." Rae said with a shooing motion.

"I don't have anything dressier. I didn't know we'd be going out. I only brought casual stuff."

Rae stood up from the couch and grabbed Maureen by the arm dragging her back into her bedroom and into her closet. "Step into my store." she said. Maureen was terrified. "Oh, Rae no. I can't fit any of your clothes."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm sure we can find something in here for you" Rae said looking over her shoulder at her friend hanging back in the closet doorway. "Here" Rae pulled down a navy blue dress and handed it to Maureen. "My mom ordered this for me off of some website she found that's her new best friend. Try it on." Rae walked through the beads hanging in her closet doorway and sat on her bed waiting for Maureen to put the dress on. She turned as she heard the beads shuffle and saw Maureen emerge from the closet. The dress fit snuggly on Maureen, hugging her figure in all the right places and stopping just above the knees. She smiled, "That looks so great on you. I told you I'd have something for you." Rae went back into her closet and came back out with black flats to complete Maureen's look. "Good thing we wear the same shoe size" she said handing the shoes to Maureen. While Maureen put her shoes on Rae grabbed her clutch purse and pulled out an ID and handed it to her. "You're gonna need this." Maureen looked at the ID and her eyes got big. "I am not this old" she said.

"Well, you certainly look it tonight. Anyway, you're gonna need it to get into the club. Don't worry. I have one too and I've never not gotten in. Just memorize the birthday now because sometimes they put you on the spot to see if it's legit." The card looked exactly like a real New York drivers license. It matched Maureen perfectly. Well, everything except the age. Maureen had to admit, it was a very convincing fake.

Rae laughed at her friend as she studied the ID. "Come on. Let's go before we're late."

The girls left Rae's apartment and made the short drive over to her parent's house.