Happy Thursday, everyone! I hope everyone's having a good day. Christmas is fast approaching in this fanfic (for real this time, it's like the week before it) and there'll be Christmas fluff for everyone... After we get past the Darcy/John thing. Which most likely won't happen until next chapter, sorry y'all. Still leaving you on a bit of a cliffhanger there. Hopefully you lovelies enjoy the chapter! ~Shaymie

Some strange, bitter voice inside of me was saying I told you so. I knew that Darcy was a bit promiscuous. I knew that she was getting close to John. I should have seen this coming, but the words still came as a surprise to me. My sister… had sex with my best friend. Darcy and John had slept together. And judging by the hickeys I could see on Darcy's neck, John had really enjoyed it. They had apparently been drunk, but didn't people say that you only get the courage to do what you'd normally never do when you got drunk? ...Or something like that.

"Did you use a condom?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. It was kind of hard to wrap my brain around this. I decided to start with that question first and took deep breaths to calm myself.

"We weren't exactly thinking straight," Darcy flushed, twirling a bit of hair nervously around her finger. "And I don't even think he had any. I was… Um… I was his first."

"So you got John drunk and took his virginity?" I asked, jumping up from my seat. The towel fell from my hair as I stood, causing damp strands of hair to fall in my face. My hands curled into fists at my side, but I knew that I wouldn't hit her. No matter how mad I was, I refused to hit anyone. I shoved my hands into my pockets and sighed.

"Lori, I swear I wasn't planning on having sex with him when we were drinking! I just kissed him and then one thing led to another… We spent most of today talking about last night, and he said that he didn't want us to just be a one night fling. I got scared and ran off…" I had never seen my sister look so self conscious before. Darcy was the picture of beauty, after all. She was a model! I didn't think it was possible for her to look so… so small. She sniffled as she wiped her hands anxiously on her sweatpants. "I don't know if I'm ready for a relationship, Lori. The last two people I dated fucked me over, and John's… John. What if… What if he's only after me because I'm your sister?"

"He's not like that, Darcy." I knew that John had liked me, but he wasn't mean-spirited like that. He wouldn't use Darcy as a replacement for me. I frowned and put a hand on Darcy's shoulder. "Dar. If he said he wants a relationship with you, then he wants to date you. I've seen the way he looks at you sometimes. I noticed that you've been flirting with him. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you two were already dating."

"...I have to go apologize," she muttered to herself as she left the room in a hurry. I sighed as I pulled my shoes on. I hope they work through this, I thought as I got ready to leave for the play. I chewed on my lip as I pulled my coat on. I was happy for them, of course. I wasn't breaking John's heart anymore, and Darcy deserved to be with someone that wouldn't hurt her. But the thought of them together was still a bit foreign. I thought about it the whole car ride to the school.

John and Darcy had always been incredibly close. They were the only two people I'd actually want to be in the room with me when I was in the hospital (not that they were the only ones who ever visited since everyone else stopped by anyway) and they'd always be talking whenever I would wake up from naps. They were two sides of the same coin, I had realized back then. While Darcy was a bit harsh and reckless (I really did wonder why she was a Ravenclaw), John preferred to sit back and see how things would turn out. More often than not, he was the one who would have to calm my sister down before she murdered someone. Somehow it made sense that they would find each other.

"Are you alright, Lorin?" Gil asked, turning to look at me when he finally managed to park. I didn't like sitting in the front seat much. If I was in the backseat, I had room to stretch out and put a blanket over myself.

"I'm fine, Gil. I was just thinking about stuff." I sat up and yawned, running a hand through my hair. I had barely managed to dry it before we had to leave, so it was still a little damp. I hoped that I didn't get sick again. The last time I was sick was terrible enough. I put my gloves on and buttoned up my coat. I followed Gil inside of the school, shivering in the cold air. I noticed Charles Lee leaning against a car and looked away from him. I wasn't in the mood for another panic attack, thank you very much.

Gil and I walked into the auditorium and found seats near the front. There weren't that many people here, considering the fact that this wasn't exactly an actual theater production. Not that anyone really cared about theater in the first place. Theater and choir were the underappreciated electives at school, and their funding got cut every year. Eventually they were going to be defunct.

I silenced my phone before the curtains opened, but noticed that I had texts from Darcy and John. I'd read them later, but hopefully the texts were good news. Alex was thankfully not speaking with that godawful Scottish accent, and Maddie managed to make it through his parts without any trouble. I bit back a laugh as Thomas got a bit too into it. Was overacting a thing? Like before, Sally couldn't keep her hands off Alex, but he kept pushing her away, chuckling when she tripped over her dress in her attempt to balance herself.

Before I knew it, the play was over. Everyone in the audience (the other people in my English class who had to show up to get their final grade) applauded awkwardly. Mrs. Conway cheered the loudest and threw roses onto the stage like it was the best performance she had ever seen. With the quality of the theater productions I had seen, it probably was. I got up and went backstage to find Alex, but was stopped by Thomas. He was a fast changer, having already changed out of his costume and into his normal clothes. He picked at his fingernails, which were painted a light blue, and shuffled nervously on his feet.

"Lorin, do you… Um… Do you want to come to my New Year's party? I asked everyone else and they said that they'd only go if you went," he blushed. "It won't be nearly as big as the last one. It'll just be us and your friends. I guess it's not really a party as much as it's just… a gathering?"

"Of course I'll go. It beats watching the ball drop at home with just Alex and Gil." I smiled up at Thomas. Even though he had been kind of terrible in the past, flirting with me every chance he got and making crude jokes, he had changed when he started dating Maddie. I just wish everyone else could see that. I could tell they only spent time with him because of me. It was like they refused to see that he was different now.

He smiled back at me and stepped to the side. I walked past him and found Alex leaving one of the dressing rooms, holding his costume. He hung it up on a clothing rack and stretched. I took this as an opportunity to run up to him and hug him from behind. Part of me wanted to tell him about Darcy and John, but I knew it wasn't my business to tell. I closed my eyes and buried my face in his hoodie.

"Hey, Lo." He turned to look at me, a small grin on his face. I frowned when I noticed the shadows underneath his eyes. When was the last time he'd had a good night's sleep? I would always fall asleep before him, normally crashing around eleven. He said that he would get into bed soon, but I never stayed awake long enough to see him. And he has been drinking way more coffee than normal lately. I hope he's not overworking himself.

"Hi, Al. I'm glad you decided to not use that terrible accent in the play." I stood on my toes and kissed him. He laughed and led me into the dressing room. His backpack was sitting on the floor since he had been staying after school, and I noticed that he had textbooks scattered around. I sighed. Was there ever a time when he wasn't doing homework or studying? He sat down on a ratty old couch in the corner and pulled me onto his lap.

"Jefferson threatened to tear my balls off if I tried to use it. And I happen to be a fan of having my balls attached."

"Me too." I stuck my tongue out and started picking up some papers that were left on the floor. For once, I was the one trying to keep things neat. I giggled at the baffled look on Alex's face and neatly put the papers into a binder. I spent the next couple of minutes cleaning up my boyfriend's mess and handed him his backpack. If we didn't get going soon, Gil was probably going to leave us. Alex sighed and got up from the couch, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Let's go home, Lo. I'm exhausted."