(AUTHORS NOTE: (THANKS TO TERRYGYIMAH and A WILLIAMSON FOR REVIEWING! AND TO THE TWO WHO ARE NOW FOLLOWING MY STORY, TWILIGHTCRAZYASSBITCH and APHASS. I LOVE YOU ALL, HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING THIS.)

CHAPTER 04

Outside Interference & Old Friends

(takes place about a week later, after the previous chapter)

"Seriously, Morgan, I can walk. My feet don't hurt." Zara stated as she laughed a little, sitting on his broad shoulders, while he carried a hot pink and black zebra striped Nike gym bag on his arm. "Love the purse. That should totally be your new look.." she said as his cell phone buzzed as he stopped to hold it out, look at it. He raised a brow then muttered, "Why text me?"

"Who is it?"

"Kiki."

"Ooh.. Lemme see.. Please?" Zara asked, barely hiding a mischevious gleam in her eye as he shook his head and said "Not even concerned with her right now. I saw her earlier today, she wanted me to text her, she claims we need to talk. Not really sure what we have to say at this point." while shifting her around on his shoulders.

"Put me down, Morgan, you're gonna hurt your back, damn it, and I'm a fatty."

He sat her on her own feet but to look at her and ask, "How in the hell do you even think that? You could actually gain a little weight, Z.. I mean one day, the wind's gonna blow, it'll blow you right out of Port Charles."

"Morgan, you're just saying that.. So.. How'd it go with Alexis?" she asked, cocking her head to the side in curiousity as they walked down the sidewalk to her car which was at least a block or two from the studio, Morgan, personally, well he'd yet to understand why park so far away, but it was her, he didn't ask questions.

The door to Kelly's opened and Carly stood there. "Morgan.."

He sighed as he looked at his mother, waited on her to say something, question his judgement, yet again. Instead, she asked, "Are you okay? Where the hell have you been staying? I've been worried sick."

"Obviously not, mom.. I do have a cell phone and you didn't call a single time.. Or text.. Kind of like when you and Sonny stuck me in that school, huh? Out of sight, out of mind?"

Zara nudged him and then said in a whisper, "Morgan.. She is your mom.. In spite of everything.." as she lightly leaned on him, straightening her legwarmers, avoiding the stern and overly analytical gaze of the blonde woman in front of her who probably already wrote her off as trash. Her kind normally did. Not that Zara cared, in a town like this, she'd gotten used to it, honestly, it didn't matter.

Carly heard the girls whispers, and she wondered to herself maybe if this girl weren't better for Morgan than Kiki had been. But she still didn't appreciate Morgan not calling to check in. Especially after storming out of his own reception, not that she blamed him for that. But that still didn't mean the girl had to keep standing here with him. As a mother, she was concerned. As her typical personality predicated, however, she didn't like it. This girl could hurt him as Kiki had, she didn't know her, after all.

And his last name was Corinthos.

"I didn't feel like that, Morgan."

"Mom, Jax called me to check in more than you. Jax came and took me surfing when you had to go on that trip you went on and it was a holiday." Morgan stated as he looked at her and sighed, muttered a quick apology, his significantly better mood from moments before, vanishing rapidly. He could sense it, she was hell bent on making trouble.

Zara looked back and forth between them and muttered quietly, "Gonna go to my car."

Morgan tossed her her keys and then tossed her a can of pepper spray.

"What the hell am I gonna do with this? I can probably put any potential attacker on their ass, Corinthos.. Been living on this side of town my whole damn life, after all." she pointed out jokingly, but seeing the firm look he gave, she muttered something, shoved it down into her pocket and made a hasty retreat the hell out of there.

She'd heard of warzones with landmines being less intense than that was, just now.

"Yeah, she probably hates me." Zara muttered as she unlocked her car, got in, listening to the radio while she thought about earlier, back in the studio, the way they'd been dancing together.

Morgan looked at his mom, looked at her hurt expression and said quietly, "But since you asked, Mother.. I'm fine.. And I'm staying with Zara, in her apartment."

"On this side of town? I don't even think so, Morgan.. Your father has too many enemies here.."

"And I give a shit because? That's him, not me.. You and dad are the only ones who think that for whatever reason, they're actually going to use insignificant little me of all Dad's kids to get to him.. Anyone that knows my father knows Michael's the 'good son' the 'favorite'.. they'll go for him first." Morgan fumed as he said quietly, "Don't start in on me, mom. Oh and by the way.. Her name's Zara. And she's actually a good person. I saw the look, I'm not an idiot."

He walked past his mother, found Zara's car and slid into the passenger seat as he said casually, "Well.. I was in a good mood."

"Yeah, I can kinda sense your mom hates me now.. Lemme guess.. Kiki was her choice."

"No, my mom pretty much sees anyone who might actually love me for me as a threat.. Or anyone who's not family or she hasn't known forever. She hated Kiki too, actually."

"She's your mom, though.. One day, you're gonna have to patch things up."

"Not today though." Morgan said as he smiled at her a little and then said "Let's just go back to your place, okay?"

Zara nodded, putting the car in drive as she asked, "Well, did you at least try talking to Alexis about the situation?"

"Yeah, I did.. And after a concerned lecture about me even getting married, to a girl I barely knew, at 19, she said that she'd get to work and let me know something tomorrow. I also saw Molly again today."

"Aww, I miss her.. I think she was in one of my classes, as an advanced. We used to swap books a lot."

"Yeah, she told me.. Also told me to give you this." Morgan said as he dug around in the backseat, held out a the original copy to a book Molly had written, but his father's late girlfriend, Connie had stolen and added a lot to, then published under her own name. "She wanted you to read it.. Something about a pact you two had?"

Zara blushed and then said "Yeah.. It's an insider thing. You don't happen to have her number, do you? I kinda lost touch with her sadly, when I was going to NYU for a while there."

She thought back to the pact and smiled a little.. Apparently that was Molly's subtle way of giving her a not so subtle nudge towards Morgan.. Especially when she opened the thing and found one of their old codes (shorthand mixed with pig latin) in the front in Molly's big loopy scrawl, and quickly deciphering it as they stepped into her apartment, she realized it meant, "He likes to be read to."

Morgan found Molly's number, and Zara stepped out, smiling as she dialed the number, closing the apartment door behind her, scanning the parking lot in front of the building warily, making sure nobody was out there with her.. She'd gotten this odd feeling lately that Deacon or one of his friends might be following her or something..

Molly rubbed her eyes, rolling over, smiling as she saw the name of one of her friends on the screen of her phone. Sliding it open, she moved Rafe's arm, they'd fallen asleep on the couch at Sam's watching Danny, and standing she said quietly, "Hey Moody."

"Molly. He likes to be read to?"

"Well, he does. And he needs all the comfort he can get right now.. He's my big buddy, my protector.. So yeah, when I found out he was staying at your apartment, I was beyond happy.. How was NYU?"

"Nothing like I thought it'd be.. And the crap I got into up there.. It followed me back here.. Ughh, so pissed at myself, girl. Remember all my plans?"

"You're teaching dance, that's what you wanted to do, isn't it?" Molly asked as Zara sighed, pacing in front of her apartment door and said "Yeah, but.. I was gonna set the world on fire when I left this place.. Finally make something of myself, prove everyone in town who thought I was just trash wrong."

"And you are. Is what your doing now making you happy?" Molly asked, smiling to herself as she added, "I miss having you to talk to at school. I wish you hadn't graduated so early."

"Me too. I feel like a 40 year old trapped in a 19 year old's body now." Zara sighed as Molly giggled and then said "So.. Is Morgan doing okay? He seemed like he was doing a little better earlier, we talked a really long time.. He talked about you."

"Mollllly..."

"What.. I know how much you liked him then.. And he's family.. Duh I want him happy.. And I hate Kiki. She's gotta go, like yesterday." Molly said as Rafe sat up, asked who she was talking to and she mouthed an answer adding, "The girl who SHOULD be with Morgan."

Rafe nodded, smiled to himself. Morgan seemed like a good guy, he hated what happened between his cousin and the guy, because he knew how it felt to sit back, watch someone else get what you wanted.. Or he had felt that before, when Trevor was trying to step in and get Molly for himself.

Thank God that'd straightened out.

"I agree. So.. I met his mom earlier."

"Yeah, ouch.. that probably went really well." Molly said dryly as Zara said "Not at all. She hates me."

"She hates everybody. Sometimes with no reason."

"Hey, do you wanna talk to Morgan?"

"Yeah, let me talk to the big guy." Molly said as Zara peeked in, held out the phone to Morgan who was sitting in the middle of the living room floor, shouting at a replay of a baseball game.

He took the phone and stepped out as he smiled and said "Hey, Molly."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Do something already you big dummy.. I'm telling you, the kind of love they write about in books and make movies around is right in front of you.. Just trust me, damn it, Morgan."

Morgan chuckled, raked his hand through his hair as he said quietly, "I wanna.. I'm just getting over all this first. Rushing into it isn't gonna do either of us any favors. Your mom was right about one thing though.. Had I stopped and thought it through, as opposed to what I did, I probably would have realized how stupid what I was about to do was gonna be."

"Did you at least call Jax and tell him what happened?"

"Not yet.. I don't wanna be a pain in the ass, Molls. But I promise, I'm gonna call him tomorrow. Kinda missed calling him lately, and maybe it'll help me sort things out, hearing what he has to say.."

"He's your father, he always has been.. I love uncle Sonny, but Jax always treated you more like a son. Talk to him, it'll help a lot. I gotta go, but remember what I said earlier. Oh and Mom said that she's found a way to get it annulled, and she told me if you want, you and Moody are invited to eat here tomorrow night. She really wants to see her again."

"That sounds like a good idea." Morgan said as he hung up and walked back inside, walking up behind her as she sat, long bare legs kicked up on an old and scuffed whitewashed desk, glasses on, reading his cousin's book. "So.. What's that about? I never got to read it.. I wanted to."

She walked over to the couch, patted the spot next to her and he flopped down, looking up at her, his head on her leg.. They were friends, they sort of did this when they were sitting on the couch, mostly out of habit lately. She bit her lower lip and turned the first page, started to read. He smiled, shifted around, getting comfortable, playfully biting her leg, making her blush.

By the end of the second chapter, he was snoring, but asleep. She smiled and moving from under his head, she replaced her leg with a pillow, then covered him up with the blanket, leaning in, trailing her finger across his cheek tentatively.

"Okay, Molly, hint taken." she muttered to herself as she turned off the lights walked down the hallway to her own room, got into bed. She was really starting to get used to his being here, having him around her all the time and those old feelings? Getting stronger..

Which really scared her.. if she did fall again, would it wind up badly for them? And how soon was too soon?