Author's Note: Two chapters in two days, so forgive me if the quality of this one is er, especially lacking. I'm just trying to prod along the plot and all that. Also, I just realized we're twelve chapters in and nothing has really been mentioned about Seth's little problem, but I swear that will come up soon. I'm very preoccupied about writing a female character whose life doesn't entirely revolve around 'boy trouble.' Enjoy!

There was no wake – Gran had never been fond of visitors in he house, so to honor her memory Molly and I sat alone in a house that once seemed so cramped, but now felt so impossibly empty. I glanced at my sister, who had barely spoken all day. I didn't know how to comfort someone who was always so withdrawn from me, so we sat in silence, her hand entwined with mine. I shifted nervously in my seat, wondering how to bring up the recent phone call I had shared with our distant mother.

"Molly," I began, my voice oddly calm and collected. "I spoke to mom the other day, on the phone…"

"I know." She said simply, in a sad voice. "I heard – I don't want to leave my friends. I've grown up here all my life."

"I won't let them take you away." I said firmly. "I'll – I'll get another job if I have to. Things will work out, you'll see."

She gently squeezed my hand, and although it wasn't much – I felt reassured, at least for the moment. I don't know how long we sat like that, in our rare trance of sisterly affection, but I was brought back down to earth by the shrill ring of the telephone. I hesitated before answering it, afraid it would be our mother or father on the line, demanding Molly, but as I picked up the receiver and held it to my ear, I couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"Hey." He said, his voice cautious but full of concern. "I was just wondering if you needed company or anything?"

"That would be nice actually. Do you mind coming here?"

"I'll leave straight away." He said, and I instantly felt better.

"See you soon, Seth." I told him quietly, before hanging up.

I retreated back into the living room, Molly looking at me in a curious manner.

"Was that the boy from the funeral?" She asked nosily, a glimpse of her previous self in the words. "The one I saw you hugging? Is he your boyfriend?"

"Yes, it was." I said, avoiding her eyes. "And he's – he's, oh I don't know. Why does it matter to you?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, regaining her composure, and I almost smiled. The emphasis she had placed on the word hugging – she would be thoroughly disgusted if she knew all the things I wanted to do to Seth. Well, he would probably be too, but I was willing to overlook that fact.

"It doesn't." She shrugged. "I just don't want to be an aunt anytime soon."

"Neither do I," I scoffed. "So no – no hugging until you're in your thirties."

I left her inside to mope as I waited for Seth on the front porch. Molly often preferred it that way, being alone, and I had too much to discuss with someone who wasn't going through puberty. I hadn't told Seth about the phone call, or about how it was likely Molly and I would be homeless at one point or another. While I didn't expect him to do much about it, I needed his reassuring words, or even just his presence, to make me feel better.

Just seeing his beat up old car pull into my driveway made me breathe a sigh of relief. I couldn't understand it, how dependent I had become on Seth, which is saying something, as up until a few days ago I had entirely been dependent on cake. There was something indefinable about it, like I was sort of pulled towards him. Even now, as he walked towards me, I just wanted to leap up out of my seat and run towards him.

He sat next to me, his thigh lightly touching mine, and neither of us spoke for a long time. It was that kind of comfortable silence that people needed years to grow into, but with Seth, it just felt natural. We watched the sky dim for a while, the ashy grey clouds outlined in orange as the sun sank below the horizon from behind them. When his hand found mine, I finally spoke.

"I don't know what I'm going to do." I said simply, for the first time voicing my fears. "About the bills, about the house, about scraping up enough money to feed Molly and I. I mean, I could obviously use a good three week fast, but Molly needs to eat at least."

He rolled his eyes at the fasting comment, obviously not immune to my sarcasm yet, and looked thoughtful for a while.

"I could move in," He said, and when seeing the aghast look on my face, he quickly finished his thought out loud. "I mean, obviously we wouldn't have to stay in the same room, unless, ah… But, you need someone to pitch in with money, and I have two jobs so-"

"You have two jobs?" I asked, cutting him off out of curiosity. "You have so much spare time though, I mean, all you really do is leap out from behind trees and show up unexpectedly."

"I have flexible hours?" He said, but it sounded more like a question.

"What about your mum, though?" I said, changing the subject.

"She'll understand." He told me confidently. "Besides, she has Charlie – which is probably another reason why she won't want me around."

"You are in your seventies and still living with your mother." I mused. "She'll probably be glad to get rid of you."

We lapsed into silence for a while, Seth not pressing the matter because somehow he knew I needed time to think about it. Essentially, it would solve all my problems, meaning I wouldn't have to get another job, which was probably better for my mental sanity. But I imagined Seth living in the same house, he would see me consume an entire cake in one sitting, he would see how terrible (more so than usual) I looked when I woke up in the morning. However, I realized that Seth wasn't the type of person to care about that, and I couldn't help but smile.

"One condition," I told him. "Molly has to be okay with it."

"I'm sure she will be." He said, voice ringing with confidence. "The ladies can't resist me."

"I hope you know," I started. "Molly is thirteen. I really thought you had a thing for older ladies."

"Nah," He sad lazily, throwing me a smile. "I only have a thing for you."

I didn't know if I was going to be violently ill, or jump his bones. I settled for resting my head on his broad shoulder, catching the last glimpse of the sun before it sank beneath the horizon.

"Just so you know," I said awkwardly, a blush creeping its way onto my face. "It's probably more, er, economical if we do share a room, I suppose."

"Yes – yes, my thoughts exactly." He said, just as awkwardly.

I couldn't help the little grin spread it's way onto my face, I wondered if he knew that I didn't actually care about the economical value of sharing a room.