So, even though I have most of this story planned out, I was struck with writer's block... and a hefty dose of homework. And by homework, I mean I had to do like 4 essays, read 6 books, and about 5 quizzes, in about two weeks. So that sucked, and then I pushed through the block to give you this chapter! Don't hate me for being so long! Please review!

Oh yeah, and I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. I only own my OCs and the plot. Don't sue me. This statement applies to all previous chapters, and all chapters henceforth. Bitches.

As you can probably tell, I am exhausted and slightly out of my mind at the moment. Forgive me. And I don't own the song or Ringo Starr.

Lydia's POV

I was feeling nice and rested after my long nap, and in a much better mood. I sat up and stretched – and my arm flinched in protest. Man, I hope that's not permanent…

I looked at the clock. It was only 2:30? What was I going to do with the rest of my day?

Watching TV or a movie didn't sound very appealing right now. Maybe I could just relax and listen to some music. Katie had suggested a few bands I might – Katie!

Hanging out with Katie sounded amazing right now. She should be out of school in half an hour. I sent her a text, asking her to come over to my house and entertain my bored ass. Five minutes later, she texted back that she would love to come over and entertain me, but she wasn't touching my ass. Fair enough.

While I waited for her, I tried to think of things we could do. There wasn't much in the way of snacks in my house right now – Mom had decided to go on a diet so she could be hot when my dad got back. Like my dad cared about how she looked. He would be so happy to be home, he probably wouldn't even notice my arm. Okay, he would, but he'll still be obliviously happy.

I still didn't want to watch movies. Maybe Katie would bring her iPod so she could play some of those lesser-known bands she likes so much. Or I could try to increase her level of taste in clothes. She could help me pick out an outfit for school tomorrow, too.

Forty-five minutes after my initial text, Katie was knocking on the door. She was wearing a giant black sweater that she was absolutely drowning in. I mean, the thing fell down to her knees. There was at least six inches between the tips of her fingers and where the sleeves ended below them. A pretty acoustic guitar was strapped to her back.

"Hey Lydia!" Katie greeted me with a huge smile. Suddenly, I couldn't care less about her clothes. She was a genuinely kind person, and I needed that no-questions-asked kind of understanding she always gives me right now.

"It's so good to see you," I said, pulling her into a hug. I did my best to not bump the guitar.

She gave me her brilliant signature smile, the one that always puts me at ease. I barely knew her, but she was already one of my closest friends. It was strange, but it felt right.

"Come on in," I said, gesturing her inside.

"It's good to see you, too. How are you feeling?" she asked kindly. I knew she was being careful about asking me. She wanted to show she cared about how I was, but she didn't want me to feel obligated to tell her everything. Less was always more with her.

"I've definitely had better days, but I'm doing okay, considering," I replied. "But you never told me you played the guitar!"

I led her up the stairs to my room, and we took a seat on the floor pillows I had taken out of the closet.

"Really?" Katie looked surprised. "It's not a secret. I could have sworn I told you. But I brought it today to try and cheer you up. You sounded a little upset in your text."

"Yeah, 'cause I'm bored out of my freaking mind. What songs can you play?" I asked eagerly.

"Um, a fair few. But I thought of one in particular that I thought you might like to hear right now," Katie said sheepishly. She started strumming the guitar.

"What would you think if I sang out of tune
Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
And I'll try not to sing out of key
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm going to try with a little help from my friends

"What do I do when my love is away?
(Does it worry you to be alone?)
How do I feel by the end of the day?
(Are you sad because you're on your own?)
No I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm going to try with a little help from my friends

"(Do you need anybody?)
I need somebody to love
(Could it be anybody?)
I want somebody to love"

I couldn't help but feel awe as Katie's fingers flew over the frets effortlessly and her voice rose with confidence she had never displayed before. Not only was she beautiful and kind, she was talented, too. Ringo Starr had nothing on Katie Carter.

"(Would you believe in a love at first sight?)
Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time
(What do you see when you turn out the light?)
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm I get high with a little help from my friends
Oh I'm going to try with a little help from my friends

"(Do you need anybody?)
I just need somebody to love
(Could it be anybody?)
I want somebody to love

Oh I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm going to try with a little help from my friends
Oh I get high with a little help from my friends
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends
With a little help from my friends"

"That… was so amazing," I said once the last chord drifted into silence. "And yeah, the song's meaning… definitely has a place right now."

Katie smiled. "Thanks. I'm really glad you liked it; this was my first time singing in front of someone other than the boys."

I knew by now that the boys were Seth, Brady, and Collin. I had heard enough about them in the past few days to figure that much out. I also had a feeling Katie had sung this song to herself more than once, to remind herself that she had friends to rely on.

"Well, you can sing to me any time you want," I said. "But for right now, I need your help with something else. I don't know what to wear tomorrow, and I am at a complete loss."

Katie's eyes widened. "I'm not sure I'm the one you should ask that question. As you can probably tell, I'm not very fashion-forward."

"You will be by the time I'm through with you," I said confidently.

"Good luck with that," Katie laughed.

"Get up," I insisted. "Your lesson in fashion starts right now, because I simply cannot take your depressing style anymore. You're so cute and gorgeous! Show it off!"

Before she could protest, I hauled her over to my closet, started pulling things off of hangers, and telling her their importance and uses – and what would look best on her.

"These skinny jeans would look amazing on you, because of your long, gorgeous legs," I said while Katie nodded. "Pair them with a set of fun-colored high-heels, and your legs will look a mile long. But with this top here, you should go with a pair of flats, so it doesn't get too dressy. Unless dressy is the look you're going for, of course."

"I should be writing this down," Katie muttered.

An hour later, I had covered the fashion basics. Meaning, Katie knew that wearing those over-sized sweatshirts wasn't going to fly anymore.

"You'll thank me for this later," I reminded Katie as she looked at the giant pile of clothes now covering my bed. I think I gave her too much information too quickly.

"Sure," Katie said with wide eyes, sounding very unsure.

"At least, Seth will thank me," I said.

"But Seth said he thinks it's sexy when I wear his old sweatshirts…" Katie said sadly.

"I'm sure Seth does think you're sexy in that giant, ragged old sweatshirt. But I don't think he'd mind being able to actually see your body from time to time, even if it's only a rare occasion," I told her.

Katie sighed. "That makes too much sense. I guess I'll actually have to learn about fashion now."

"Good. Try watching the show What Not to Wear," I suggested. "They do complete makeovers for people who desperately need them, and I think their rules for clothing will really help."

"Okay," Katie said.

She started digging through the pile of clothes, and pulled out a loose, flowy white top. She held it up to me.

"This would be good for tomorrow, right? If you pair it with skinny jeans?" Katie asked nervously.

I examined my new friend – and the garment in her hands – closely. "You're a natural at this! Yes, that will totally work! It's perfect!"

Katie smiled. "I thought something loose wouldn't hurt your arm and would cover the bandages, and skinny jeans complement the looseness of the top, right?"

"You'll be a fashionista in no time!" I squealed, and pulled Katie into a hug. She let out an adorable squeak as I tackled her. She was just so adorable, I couldn't help it.

We spent the next hour talking. She told me about how her old guitar was so beaten up her father and Seth pooled their resources to get her a nice one – the one she was showing me now – for Christmas. Her dad sounded like a great guy, and Seth sounded even better. I was glad that even though she didn't really have friends at school, she had people who would go through hell for her at home.

Eventually, Katie had to go home to cook dinner. Apparently, she did most of the chores around the house since her mother left. She didn't really talk about her mother or the divorce, and I got the feeling that she really didn't want to talk about it. It made me wonder about how bad the divorce had been – and what caused it.

My mother made dinner again, insisting all three of us girls eat at the table and have a "normal family dinner". Amanda instantly threw a fit, saying we would never be a normal family until Dad and Steve came home. I couldn't help but silently agree with her as she stomped upstairs with her plate. Mom and I didn't speak again.

I knew school was going to be rough. I didn't know it would be this bad.

Everyone and their mother decided I had to tell them what happened the night of the fire. In excruciating detail. And they wouldn't take no for an answer.

Lindsey and Joanna had to beat them off in between classes. Lunch was the worst, though.

Ethan sat next to me. At first I thought he was going to offer a sympathetic ear and comfort me, and that all of my dreams for the two of us were going to come true because of this awful accident. Instead, he asked, "So there's a rumor going around that you purposefully pushed Audrey into the fire. Any truth to that?"

"Of course not!" I shouted, absolutely appalled that he could even think I could do something like that. "A bookshelf fell on her! I got burned pushing it off! I saved her, you ginormous piece of shit, and you're a monster for even suggesting otherwise!"

With that, I got up and left the cafeteria, not even bothering with my lunch. I had zero appetite now.

In the now deserted hallways, Katie found me.

"Let's hide in the library. No one ever goes there during lunch," she explained briefly, taking my arm and leading me.

"You know what happened to Audrey was an accident, right? You know I didn't hurt her, right?" I asked desperately. As long as Katie knew I didn't, I felt like I could hold my head high and deal.

"Of course, why are you asking me that?" Katie replied, so matter-of-factly that I couldn't help but be comforted.

The school library of Forks High was so small and insignificant; it looked like no one had entered it in several decades. Katie must hide here when people teased her too much.

I pushed that thought away before my guilt could reduce my already-precarious state into full-blown tears.

We sat down on the floor in between the science and history sections. Katie handed me a granola bar and said, "You need to eat something or you'll pass out."

I took a bite out of it and wrinkled my nose. It was gross. How did she eat this stuff?

"I know it's gross, but it's all I have right now," Katie said. "I had a feeling you would run away from the hordes today, but I didn't think you would leave your lunch behind. I've been looking for a quiet place to hide all week for you, and this place was perfect. No one even knows we have a library."

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid of me to leave my lunch," I admitted. "But how did you know I would need to get away?"

Katie's face darkened. "Trust me, when horrible things happen, everyone wants to know about it, especially from the person who experienced it."

Oh. She must know that from her parents' divorce. Everyone in town was shocked by it, and everyone wanted to know what went wrong.

But Katie's face brightened quickly, and she asked, "Hey, I'm having a movie night at my house tomorrow after school. Want to come?"

"Sure! Who's going?" I asked. Katie didn't really have friends here at school. At least, I hadn't seen her with anyone else.

"Oh, Seth, of course, and Brady and Collin, Seth's older sister, Leah, and her boyfriend, Beast."

"Beast?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's a big kid. It's a long story," she said.

"Whatevs, I'm down as long as there's food and no booze," I said.

"Trust me, with these guys, there's always food. You might have to fight them for it, though."

"Tch, then they better bring it! I'll kick their asses!"

Katie laughed, and I couldn't help but feel happy again. I felt a twinge of unease at meeting new people with my bandages still on, but if they were Katie's friends, they shouldn't mind too much. Right?

Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Questions! First, I hope you all appreciated this softer (sorta) side of Lydia in this chapter. I know a lot of people were put-off by the... well, they wouldn't really articulate what it was, so is it better? Second, what did you guys think about the song? I'm probably going to have more songs in later chapters. Do you like this, or do you think I should not put in any songs? Third, Ethan is just a perfect asshole, isn't he? I couldn't really think of another question, so what do you guys think of him so far? Fourth, predictions or suggestions?

Thanks for reading, and please review! (Hint* I'll update sooner if you do!)