"You know," said Alex, a grin spreading lazily across her face, "The thing about a surprise party is that it's supposed to be a surprise."

"Pfft," answered Summer dismissively as she spun in front of her mirror one more time. "Surprises are overrated, you know. How am I supposed to enjoy myself at a party if I haven't had the chance to pick out a suitable outfit? Not to mention what could have happened if I hadn't had my way with the guest list."

Alex shook her head in amazement. She was standing in Summer's bedroom doorway, watching the tiny brunnette try on, and turn aside, almost every combination of clothes in her fully stocked closet. "Well," she said after a pause, "You'd better decide on an outfit soon or you're going to miss the party."

Summer shot her a glare. "You know perfectly well the party's not til tonight."

Still grinning, Alex turned and started to make her way down the hallway. "I do," she called back over her shoulder. "But you shouldn't!"

Summer's voice followed her down the stairs. "Not too late to uninvite you!"

As Alex entered the kitchen, Seth handed her a cup of coffee, his boyish brown eyes twinkling. "So, how's the outfit hunting?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "What time is it, 11:30? She should be ready... about next Tuesday?"

Hearing a light laugh from the kitchen table, Alex turned to see Marissa sitting there, flipping through a magazine. Their eyes met, and Alex saw a flush rise in the brunnette's cheeks. "Hey," she said, smiling quickly. "I just got here."

"Yeah," replied Alex, smiling back. She saw the redness in Marissa's cheeks strengthen a bit. I'm doing that, she thought incredulously. She's blushing because of me. Her heart beat a pleasant sort of drum against her ribs.

"Okay," said Seth, who had turned around to face the back door. There was a flurry of movement in the back yard as the preparations for Summer's party begun. Seth looked mildly nauseated just looking at some of the heavy lifting. "Should we, uh, help out?"

Alex snickered. "You shouldn't," she said, sipping her coffee. "I've seen you do manual labour. Not pretty."

Seth stuck out his tongue at her. "Very funny." He gazed into the hallway, his eyes flashing to the stairs. "Maybe Summer needs some help with her outfit. I have an excellent sense of style, you know."

Marissa grinned at Alex behind Seth's back. "Yeah, good idea. She'll really appreciate that."

Seth was already walking out of the kitchen. "I know you're being sarcastic," he called over his shoulder. "But it doesn't mean I'm not going up there."

As Seth's footsteps faded, Marissa shrugged at Alex, still grinning. "I tried to warn him. No one has ever tried to help Summer pick an outfit and lived to tell the tale."

Alex laughed. "I know, I've been staying in her room. It's like a battle field."

Marissa tossed her magazine aside with a chuckle. "More like a war zone. You never know when she'll go into one of her fashion induced rages."

"I know!" exclaimed Alex, sitting down at the table. "Yesterday I moved one pair of flats off the bed and she almost decapitated me!"

"You touched her shoes?" asked Marissa with a raised eyebrow. "I'm surprised you're still breathing."

Alex shrugged, smiling. "What can I say? I'm not an easy person to assassinate."

The phrase hung awkwardly in the air for a moment. Then Marissa sighed. "What are we going to do?"

Alex paused for a moment. "What do you mean, exactly?"

"I mean, we're getting closer and closer to finding who actually tried to hurt you," Marissa said quietly. "And... I'm terrified."

Alex got up and moved to the chair next to Marissa, looking straight into her eyes. "If you're scared, you don't have to come today. You can stay here and help out with the party, nobody's judging you."

Marissa rolled her eyes. "I'm not scared for myself, you idiot." She took a shaky breath, and Alex felt a warm hand on her thigh. "I'm scared for you."

"Oh," said Alex, somewhat lamely. She was temporarily lost for words, just sitting there and staring into Marissa's concerned gaze. Swallowing carefully, she found her voice. "Marissa, you don't need to be scared for me... I'll be fine, honestly."

Marissa made a disbelieving sound, and raised an eyebrow. "I thought we went through this already... you don't need to put up that front with me." She smiled weakly. "I'm not going to judge you for being afraid of someone who wants to kill you."

Alex gave a small laugh. "It sounds so stupid when you say it like that." She paused, trying to find the right words. "But really, I'm okay. I've been thinking a lot about what we're planning to do today, and it's weird, but I feel more... determined than anything else."

"Determined?" repeated Marissa thoughtfully. "Maybe angry?"

Thinking about it, Alex thought it made sense. "Yeah... maybe."

Marissa smiled again. "Well that's also very reasonable. I'm sure being stuffed in the back of someone's car would aggravate me a little bit as well."

There was a sudden sharp tapping sound from behind them, and both girls turned to see a frustrated looking party planner holding a clipboard and rapping on the glass door with his fist. Marissa sighed. "Looks like the 'help' needs a little help. You up for some heavy lifting?"

Alex grinned. "More than Seth is, that's for sure." She watched Marissa get up from her chair and start to move toward the back door. "Wait... Marissa?"

The brunette turned, her eyes searching Alex's. "Yeah?"

Standing up as well, Alex swallowed. "Thank you. For helping me talk about this. I know I wouldn't be able to with anyone else."

A warm smile spread over Marissa's face, along with the now familiar flush of red. "You know I'm always here for you," she said quietly.

Alex's heart fluttered in her chest. "I know," she replied seriously. She inclined her head toward the back yard. "Come on, let's go move some water features."

Marissa rolled her eyes. "Water features. Honestly, in her past life, Summer must have been a pampered dictator."

Laughing, they headed out into the sunny morning, much to the relief of the confused party planners. After about an hour and a half of directing, lifting, and pained explanations, the hired workers seemed to have enough to go on with. Pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, Alex stared longingly at the kitchen. Interpreting her gaze perfectly, Marissa grinned. "You up for lunch?"

Alex smiled gratefully. "Very much." She bent down to place a tape measure on the ground, and straightened up again to see Marissa had moved closer. Her breath suddenly came much harder. "Hello," she said slowly.

The edge of Marissa's mouth turned up in a small half smile. "Hello," she replied. Then she slid her hand into Alex's, and started pulling her toward the house. "Come on, lunch is calling."

Feeling slightly bewildered, but very pleasantly so, Alex followed her lead, crossing the yard toward the back door of the kitchen. The feeling of the warm hand in hers seemed to be magnified beyond anything else. Reaching the door, she saw that Seth had already returned from what must have been an ill fated mission to help Summer with her outfit, and was sitting at the table with a sandwich. Marissa reached for the door handle, but Alex held her back. The brunnette turned, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were hungry?"

Alex smiled. "Lunch can wait a second." Then she looked down at their entwined fingers, and back at Marissa. She raised her own eyebrow. "I was just wondering... We haven't really talked about, you know, what happened. And I realize I have no idea -really no idea- about what's happening now."

Marissa let out a slow breath. "Okay," she said slowly. "I guess lunch is going to wait a bit." She nodded toward a couple of chairs on the patio.

"Good idea," replied Alex, going to sit down. Marissa joined her, crossing her legs, her deep brown eyes poring into Alex's. Then she sighed.

"The truth is," she began, "I've been going over this in my head over and over again for the past twenty four hours." She smiled weakly. "It's really not getting much clearer."

Alex nodded slowly. "So... what does that mean?"

Marissa ran a hand through her hair, and closed her eyes. "I- don't know, exactly. I mean, I'm sure of a couple of things, I just don't know what they mean. I know I care about Ryan." She opened her eyes. "And I know I care about you. A lot."

Looking into her eyes, and remembering what it felt like to hold her hand, to be with her, Alex felt a burst of longing. For the past few days, she had been convincing herself over and over that Marissa would never choose her, that she had a boyfriend, that she was off limits. But now, she just couldn't help herself. She sat up straighter. "Okay," she said firmly.

Marissa frowned, a crease of confusion wrinkling her forehead. "Okay?"

"Okay," Alex repeated. She leaned forward a bit. "Listen, I know that this is hard for you. You have two people you care about, who care about you... a lot." She gave a small smile, then continued. "But even though I really don't want to make things more difficult for you, I have to let you know what I want."

Marissa leaned forward as well, staring intently at Alex. "I'm listening."

Alex took a deep breath. "Marissa, I really like you. And I miss you. And I know you have to choose between me and Ryan, and that you're torn." She slipped her hand back into Marissa's, and stared her straight in the eye. "I want you to pick me."

Marissa's eyes widened, and her lips parted a bit. "Oh," she replied after a moment, her voice a whisper.

"I'm sorry if I'm complicating your life even more," continued Alex simply. Then she smiled wryly. "But it's just... that's how I feel, and I had to say it."

The corners of Marissa's mouth twitched. "You know you're very convincing when you quote me like that."

Alex shrugged, her eyes still poring into Marissa's. Her heat thudded in her chest, but her hand, still holding Marissa's, was steady. "Convincing enough for you?" she asked quietly. She watched as the brunette swallowed slowly. Then she opened her mouth to speak.

"Hey guys!" Both girls started as Seth's voice called from the sliding door, and Alex dropped Marissa's hand. "Grab your stuff," the lanky boy continued. "We're going to L.A." He slid the door shut.

Alex looked back at Marissa. She was annoyed by the interruption, but she could feel herself processing what Seth had said, as well. ``Oh God," she breathed, ``We`re going now."

Marissa nodded. ``Listen," she said. ``I know it`s important to you to talk about us. But we need to do this." Her eyes were blazing. ``We need to find whoever hurt you."

Alex stood. As much as she needed to continue the conversation they had been having, it was also beginning to sink in that the whole kidnapping debacle could be over soon. And that would leave them with plenty of time to talk. She took a deep breath. ``Okay. Let`s do this."