Lulu followed Carly though the huge doors of Greystone Manor. Sighing, she started to lug her suitcase up the stairs with her backpack on her back to the guest room she knew she would be staying in. Carly had 'forced' Lulu to live here a few times, but Lulu didn't really mind.

Her suitcase was incredibly heavy, and after about a minute she was only half way up the enormous staircase. Suddenly there was a huge meaty hand on top of her bag and it was being lifted into someone's arms.

"Hey, Lulu," Max said, easing up the stairs with the suitcase perched on his shoulder.

"Oh, hi, Max. Thanks," she replied, running up the stairs after him.

"So, Carly's makin' ya stay here for a while?"

"Yeah. My landlord evicted me today. I never got the payment from my dad, which was due, like, two weeks ago," she said rolling her eyes.

"Mmm. Tough nuts." Lulu giggled a bit- Max always had a way of making her laugh, whether he tried to or not.

"So, anyway, how's my little brother?" he asked.

"Huh?" Lulu asked, confused.

"Milo? He's in your grade, right?"

"Oh, right. Well, I never really talk to him, because we don't have any classes together. But I've seen him around, and he looks okay. No fights, that I know of."

"Good to know," Max said remembering the time Milo and Logan had gotten into a fight because he had a huge crush on Lulu and Logan and Lulu had been together at the time. Milo had lost badly, and since then he had joined the football team and started working out.

"Here you go," he said, placing Lulu's suitcase on the bed. "Mrs. C said she wants you to come downstairs as soon as you're unpacked."

"Okay," she said. As soon as Max had left, Lulu pulled out all of her clothes and dumped them into the drawers. She placed her make up, anemia medicine, iPod, backpack, etc. onto the top of the desk and ran downstairs and into the kitchen. Carly was waiting with Michael, Morgan and Josslyn. Carly and Sonny had been thrilled when they found out they were having a baby girl, and she was spoiled beyond repair.

"Hi, Lulu!" 6-year-old Morgan shouted, running up to give his cousin a hug.

"Hey, Morgan," she said. "Hey, Michael, what's up?"

"Are you gonna stay at our house now?" Morgan asked.

"Uh, I guess," she replied, not wanting to say yes if Carly hadn't planned on it.

"Lulu will stay with us as long as she needs to," Carly said, smiling at Lulu.

Lulu smiled awkwardly. These were the kinds of situations that made her most the uncomfortable- when someone was kind and warm to her, but she couldn't return the gesture.

"Lulu, do you wanna play a game with us?" Morgan asked excitedly. Not waiting for her to reply, he grabbed her arm impatiently and pulled her towards the family room. Pulling open a drawer, he pulled out the Pirates of the Caribbean game he loved to play so much.

"Okay, let's play. Michael, you wanna play?" he asked.

"Sure, Morgan," he replied. Lulu always felt slightly awkward around Michael; he went to the same school, so he heard all of the gossip about her, and on top of that Georgie had an insanely huge crush on him and was just waiting for the 'right moment' to make a move. Lulu had considered telling Michael about his secret admirer, but had decided against it for Georgie's sake.

"All right, Dante! How come you didn't tell me you were so good a baseball?" Ronnie said, slapping Dante a high-five. Dante shrugged sheepishly. "We really could have used you at last year's tournament. We won the first two games easy, but the third and fourth were pretty tough. We pulled it off, though. The championship round we lost, though, to Berkley Heights. We were a lot better than them, too! Hopefully we can win this year, and with you on the team, our chances will be even better."

Ronnie had convinced Dante to come to the Madison Prep Maniacs' practice later that evening to show the coach his stuff. Dante loved playing baseball, but he didn't want to knock anyone off the team. Ronnie practically had to drag him there.

"Aw, come on, I'm not that good," Dante said modestly. Actually, he was that good. Back in Bensonhurst, Dante had been the MVP every year, played in the All-star game since his first year, and had played on the junior varsity team as a freshman and sophomore. He wasn't at the top of his game tonight, he had a lot on his mind. He had just finished packing for his dad's house when Ronnie had called him and told him to get his ass down to the baseball field behind the school. His mother had gladly driven him down, trying to make up for what was going to be happening the next day.

"Oh, yes, you are," Ronnie said. "Are you okay? You seem a little... distant."

"Um, yeah, I'm fine. I just have something on my mind," Dante said.

"Oooh, is it a girl?" Ronnie said, nudging Dante in the shoulder.

"No," he mumbled.

"I bet it is. Hm, let's see... Lulu Spencer," Ronnie guessed.

"It's not about her," Dante said.

"But you do like her, right?"

"I barely know her!" Dante objected, and Ronnie gave him a look. "Yeah, okay, I guess I kinda like her." But kind of didn't even cover it- Dante was pretty sure it was love at first sight.

"Yeah, I could totally tell."

"When did you even see us together?" Dante asked.

"Didn't she walk you to your class after Algebra?" Ronnie asked. "The way you guys looked at each other, like you were in shock or something... you got it bad, man."

"So, you're cool with it?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? She's my friend, and you seem like a pretty cool guy," Ronnie said, nodding his head.

"I thought you had the hots for her."

"What? No! She's my girlfriend Maxie's best friend," Ronnie said. "Didn't I mention I had a girlfriend earlier?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess you did. Sorry," Dante said, secretly thanking God that the angel wasn't in a relationship.

"Nah, it's cool. Well, that means you still got a chance with her, and by the looks of it, she's into you, too."

Dante smiled like a little kid. "You really think so?"

"Oh, sure! Maxie talks about her all the time, and she doesn't open up to anyone but her friends; Maxie, Sam, Georgie and Robin. She lives all by herself in this tiny apartment, and her family is super messed up. Pretty much everyone else gives her crap, and it really gets to her. It's terrible, the way people treat her, like some kind of outcast," Ronnie said shaking his head.

"So... how does this make you think she likes me?" Dante asked confused.

"Well, mostly when she looks at people you see... hurt, and coldness. But when she looked at you, it was different. Like she was happy to see you."

Dante nodded with a small smile.

"Falconeri?" he heard, and looked up to see Mr. Goarwin, the school's burly baseball coach and one of the gym teachers.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Congratulations. You're on the team. I expect to see you on Saturday at the game," he said, tossing a uniform into his lap.

Dante smiled from inside out.

Lulu, Michael and Morgan sat at the mahogany dining room table after the fourth round of Morgan's favorite game. Lulu yawned and glanced at the huge grandfather clock- 5:30.

"Oh, Morgan, I would love to stay and play, but I have to go to work," Lulu said standing up from the table.

"You have a job?" Morgan exclaimed.

"Yeah, I work at Kelly's."

"Grandpa!" Morgan shouted.

"Hey, I didn't know you worked with Grandpa Mike," Michael said.

"Oh, yeah. Mondays through Thursdays, six to eight, unless there's a dinner rush. For about a year, now," she said.

"Cool," Michael said.

"Maybe you should look into that," Lulu said. "We could be co-workers!"

Michael smiled. "That'd be fun."

"I wanna get a job, too," Morgan said.

"I think you're a little young for that," Michael said laughing.

"So, Michael, do you know my friend Maxie? And her sister Georgie?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, Georgie..." he trailed off blushing slightly. "Um, why- why do you ask?" he studdered.

"Oh, I was just seeing if you knew her because... because she and Maxie might come over for a homework thing," Lulu lied.

"Oh. Okay," Michael said with a smile at the thought of being in the same room as his crush.

"And maybe she thinks you're kind of cute," she whispered before grabbing her bag and heading towards the door. Before leaving, she stopped to talk to Carly. "Hey, Carly, I have to go to work, I'll be back around eight."

"Okay, Max brought your car over. Why didn't you just take it with you when you left your apartment?" Carly asked bouncing Josslyn in her arms.

"I didn't have anywhere to go," she said softly.

"You're always welcome here, honey," Carly said sweetly.

"Thanks," Lulu said. "Bye, Joss," she said running her thumb over Josslyn's soft cheek.

"See you later," Carly said. Lulu waved in reply.

Driving in her shiny car to Kelly's, Lulu's thoughts wandered to what had happened at school that day... but mostly Dante.

He had this amazing affect her. Whenever he looked at her she felt like smiling. She could stare into his beautiful brown eyes forever. No one ever brought out that reaction in her, even after dating Logan for months. Her thing with Logan wasn't really her idea of a relationship, in fact, it wasn't really a relationship at all. Logan had been nice at first, and Lulu kind of liked him. She was really just looking for someone to be with because of her friends; Maxie had Ronnie, Robin had Patrick, Sam had Jason, and Georgie kind of had Michael. They didn't pressure her at all, but she always felt left out. Things were going okay, but after a few weeks Logan had become controlling and obsessive. He insisted on being with her all the time and tried to get her to have sex with him. When Lulu refused, Logan didn't take it too well and attacked her.

And that was just the beginning.

Logan started stalking her; following her everywhere and showing up at her apartment. Then came the taunting; he would torment her about her family and her dysfunctional lifestyle. Then Logan started attacking her.

But it seemed like maybe, just maybe, she could actually have something with Dante.

You're getting way ahead of yourself! He probably thinks you're a freak.

Pulling in front of Kelly's, Lulu sighed and got out of the car. She walked inside, the aroma of freshly-cooked hamburgers and french fries filling the air.

"Hey, Mike," she said, walking behind the counter and putting on her apron.

"Lulu! Right on time. I need you to take a few orders and bring these to tables four, six and nine," he said, gesturing to the tray of food.

"Okay. Got it," Lulu said, completing her tasks quickly and returning behind the counter. The bell on the door rang and she smiled seeing her friends walk in.

"Hey, guys!" she said.

"Hey, Lulu! What's up?" Robin said as the girls sat down at the stools.

"Well... I got evicted," she said quietly.

"What?" Sam whisper- shouted.

"Yeah. I'm staying at Carly and Sonny's now."

"Oh, my God! That's terrible. I mean, not the part about staying at Carly's, but the part about being evicted," Georgie said.

"Yeah. And, you know Michael lives there," Lulu said, causing Georgie to blush. "Maybe you guys wanna come over for a study date some time..."

"Yes!" Georgie exclaimed. "Uh, I mean, sure, I guess, um..." she trailed off uncomfortably.

The bell on the door rang again and Lulu looked up to see Dante and Ronnie walk in. Dante looked damn hot in his baseball uniform. Maxie squealed and ran over to her boyfriend.

"Ronnie!" she shouted, kissing him on the lips.

"Hey, babe," Ronnie said, wrapping his arm around her. Sam and Robin exchanged glances- Maxie and Ronnie were actually in love, but they really over did it sometimes.

Dante and Lulu's eyes had locked on each other, and it did not go unnoticed by Georgie.

"Come on, guys, let's go over there," she said, pulling everyone over towards a table in the corner.

"Hi," Lulu said smiling.

"Hey, beautiful," Dante said, sitting down on the stool. It was time to get his game on. Before Lulu was just a girl to feel sorry and compassionate for, but now things were different. Lulu blushed and blinked her eyes in shock. "So, did it hurt?"

"Yeah, of course it hurt. How do you think it feels to have the crap beaten out of you?"

"That's not what I'm talking about. I meant when you fell from heaven."

"Oh," Lulu said, her cheeks flushing even more.

"Hey, do you have a map?" he asked.

"Um, no, why?"

"Because I just got lost in your eyes," Dante said with a wink.

Lulu blinked in surprise.

"So, can I have a burger and fries?"

"I've never heard that one before," Lulu said, leaning forward.

"No, it's not a line. I'm just hungry."

"Oh, sure, of course," Lulu said walking back to the kitchen. She leaned back on the door and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in. Those pick up lines should be cheesy and annoying, but to her they were funny and sweet. Quickly she prepared his food, trying to ignore the stares she was getting from other employees because of her bright red cheeks.

"Here," she said, placing his food in front of him.

"Mm, thanks," he said, chowing down on his meal. "Delicious. Made with love," he said winking once more. Just then Ronnie approached them.

"Yo, Dante, gimme some of that!" he said, snatching a french fry. Lulu smirked before walking away to serve some other customers.

"I knew you liked her," Ronnie said, chomping on a fry.

Dante responded with a loud, deep sigh.

"Well, I can't say I'm not surprised," Ronnie said.

"What do you mean?"

"Logan was a jerk to her. He basically chewed her up and spit her out. I didn't think she'd be so quick to recover," he said, leaning on his elbow on the counter.

Dante nodded. "I don't intend to do the same."

As Lulu walked back to the counter from the table she had just served, Sam reached out and pulled her over.

"What happened?" Maxie asked.

"Did he kiss you?" Sam asked.

"No! We were just talking."

"About what?"

"Did he ask you out?"

"Did he say he likes you?"

"Did you say you like him back?"

"No!" she said to the girls who had asked the last three questions. "And we weren't really talking about that much stuff."

"Well what stuff were you talking about then?" Georgie asked.

"Well..." she began, looking down at her feet. "He was, like, using all these pick up lines."

"Aw!" Georgie said with love in her eyes.

"How cute!" Sam squealed.

"How sweet!" Robin said.

"How blech!" Maxie grimaced.

"Oh, come on, Maxie, you're just jealous because Ronnie barely had to try to get you," Georgie said. Maxie just scowled in reply.

"You should totally go out with him!" Robin said.

"He hasn't asked me out yet."

"Well, if he asks you out," Sam said.

"When he asks you out," Maxie corrected.

"Then you should go out with him," Georgie said.

"What makes you so sure he likes me?"

"Oh, please, Lulu, it's pretty obvious," Maxie said, rolling her eyes.

"WAITRESS!" someone bellowed from across the room. Lulu turned around and saw a grumpy looking rich old lady signaling for her impatiently.

"See you later. I'll keep you updated if anything happens," she said, turning on her pointy heel to serve the woman.

On the way to the table Ronnie called her over. "Here," he said, holding out the payment for their food. "Bye, we're gonna go."

"See you later, baby," Dante said.

"Bye," she sighed.

Dante arrived at Sonny's estate after picking up his things from his mom's apartment.

"Hi, Dante!" Morgan shouted, running over to give his newfound brother a hug. Morgan had taken an immediate liking to his eldest sibling, and thrived on every opportunity he got to see him.

"Hey, buddy," Dante said.

"Why are you wearing a baseball outfit?" he asked.

"I had tryouts for the baseball team at school earlier," he said.

"Didya make the team?"

"Yep!" Dante replied.

"Cool! Can I come to your game?" he asked.

"Sure, I have one on Saturday."

"Hey, didya know Michael's on the baseball team, too?"

"Oh, really?" Dante asked, glad that he shared a common interest with his brother.

"Yup, only it's for people in his grade, not yours. I went to his games before. His team is really good!"

"Awesome. Maybe me, you and Michael can play baseball together sometime," Dante suggested.

"Cool. Dad wants me to show you where your room is, come on!" he said, tugging on his brother's arm and pulling him upstairs. Morgan led Dante to the room next to Lulu's, but neglected to tell him who would be his neighbor.

"So, this is your room. There's the bathroom," he said. "It's also the bathroom for the guest room. Wanna go outside and play baseball?"

"Yeah, sure," Dante replied.

"Michael, wanna play with us?" he asked when they got downstairs.

"Oh, hey, Dante," Michael said having not seen him earlier. "Sorry, Morgan, I can't. I have a lot of homework to do," he said holding up his algebra textbook.

"Oh, okay. We'll be outside if Mom or Dad asks."

"Sure," he said, turning back to his math homework. He heard the door click open and his cousin walked in.

"Hey, Michael," she said, hanging her sweater on the hook.

"Hi," he replied scribbling something in his notebook.

"What's that, algebra?" she asked, pulling up a chair and looking over his work.

"Yeah, and it's kicking my ass," he said.

"Oh, here, let me help," she said. "You might want to look over this one again," she said pointing to a problem. Flipping through a few pages in the book, she said, "Here, read this. It might help."

"Oh, I get it. Thanks," he said.

"I'd better get started on my homework, too. I'll be right back," she said, running upstairs to get her stuff.

Morgan and Dante walked through the door, walking into the kitchen. "Hey, Michael, guess what!"

"What?"

"I hit a home run!" he exclaimed. "Right over the fence into the woods!"

"Awesome!" he said, high fiving his little brother.

"But now we don't have a ball."

"I have one in my suitcase. I'll be right back," he said.

Lulu stood in her room digging through her backpack for her algebra. Glancing up in the mirror, she noticed her hair was a mess. She went over to the bathroom door to get her brush...

Dante was looking through his bag when he noticed a cut he had on his leg from a bush. He walked over to the bathroom door to get a band aid...

They both pulled open the door at the same time, freezing in shock when they saw each other standing there.

Author's Note: Sorry for the terrible ending.