Ellie sighed, leaning her head back against the couch and shifting a little to get more comfortable on her spot on the floor. She peeked out of the corner of her eye, seeing that Connor was still concentrated on his Government book. She glanced down at The Great Gatsby, wondering if she could afford to stop reading now and finish the rest of the assigned reading pages later on when Connor wasn't here to distract her.

All of her senses seemed to be on high alert to everything to he did and she had to read many pages over because of that.

She decided against it and continued reading. She frowned at the words on the page.

"What character is doing what?" Connor asked.

Ellie glanced up at him, arching a brow. "What?"

Connor gestured to the book with a little grin. "I've seen you make that face before. It was when you didn't like that one guy from Wuthering Heights."

Ellie's frown grew. "Tom Buchanan is officially a butt," she grumbled.

Connor leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. "How so?"

Ellie's eyebrows rose. "Haven't you been reading it yourself?"

Connor rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I haven't got that far into it," he mumbled.

Ellie almost laughed at how he was looking at her. It was like he was expecting a scolding or something of the kind, and she found it cute. She turned her gaze back to the book. "He's a racist jerk."

Connor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, not like there weren't many of those in the 20's anyway."

Ellie sighed and set the book down, looking up at the ceiling. "Dumb jerks."

Connor chuckled, lowering himself to the floor from the couch. He crossed his legs and leaned against her a little. "Well, there's always gotta be a dumb jerk."

Ellie chuckled a little at that and rested her head against his shoulder. "I'm sick of homework," she mumbled, scooting closer to him.

"Me too. If I read one more thing about the Judicial Branch I'll die of boredom."

Ellie grinned, taking the book from his hands and setting it near hers. "I don't want you dying on me now."

He grinned back and rested an arm on the couch behind her shoulders. "Now what?"

Ellie looked up in thought. "Hm…wanna see what's on TV?"

They scrolled through the channels for a few minutes, groaning at a few but finally stopping on a Mythbusters re-run.

"Wow," Connor mumbled, eyes widening a little at the explosion on the screen.

Ellie grinned. She loved it when the Mythbusters blew stuff up. She muted the TV when it went to commercials. One advertisement for a dress store came up and Ellie stiffened a little. She bit her lip when she remembered how Claudia was telling her that she wanted to go Prom dress shopping soon. It was a month away but Claudia wanted to go early.

Ellie peeked at Connor out of the corner of her eye.

She would be lying if she said she didn't want to go to Prom, but she didn't want to force Connor to do anything he didn't want to do either. Wondering how to bring it up, she glanced at him again. What if Connor thought it was stupid like some people did? Or did he just not care?

Ellie decided to just ask. He wasn't one to make mountains out of molehills anyway.

"Connor?"

"Yeah?" he asked, looking at her.

Ellie ran her fingers through her hair, wondering how to phrase her question. "What do you think about Prom?"

She held her breath as Connor remained silent, just looking at her.

"I don't really have an opinion on it. Why?"

Ellie tugged on a little of her hair. "Well…Claudia wanted to go dress shopping and I was wondering if-well-I mean-do you want to go to prom?" she finally blurted out.

Connor shrugged. "Do you want to?"

Ellie pushed her hair back from her face. "Yeah," she said, looking up at him bashfully.

He nodded. "Then we'll go."

Ellie cocked her head. "If you don't want to, you can tell me," she said.

Connor gave her a confused look. "Why wouldn't I?"

Ellie twirled a lock of hair around her finger, looking away. She felt embarrassed for being so worried now. "Never mind. I feel silly now," she said with a small laugh.

He tugged on the sleeve of her hoodie. Her gaze returned to his. "Thank you for caring about what I would think, but I would honestly do anything you wanted to do and be okay with it."

Ellie couldn't hold back a beaming smile. She gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer, giving him a lingering kiss. She pulled back a little and bit her lip, looking into his eyes again. "You know you just gave me free reign, right?" she said softly, cocking her head.

He shook his head, laughing that low, breathy laugh she loved so much. "I thought you already had it."

Ellie snickered and kissed him again.

He suddenly pulled away and looked around.

"What is it?" she asked, bewildered. What was he looking for?

Connor looked back at her. "Whenever we start doing," he paused, looking really embarrassed, "THIS, someone always walks in."

Ellie grinned, leaning forward so that her face was only inches from his. "They're at bingo and they always go to the grocery store afterwards. They've never been home before 9 on those days."

Connor shook his head a little. "No, this is my luck we're talking about an-"

Ellie pressed her lips against his before he could protest further. She could feel him slowly relax as she deepened the kiss. His hand came up to rest on her upper arm as he scooted closer to her. She started to feel dizzy and warm as one kiss melted into another, causing little sparks to flicker all over her body. Her nerves seemed to only be working where he was touching her. Her heart fluttered around in her chest as his hand slowly moved to her waist.

She remembered something Claudia told her about kissing once and decided to see if it would work.

She gently bit Connor's lower lip, pulling away and staring at him in surprise when he let out a barely audible groan.

He opened his eyes and their gazes met, both of them panting a little. "W-why did you stop?" he softly asked, looking confused.

Ellie shook her head, letting out an embarrassed laugh. "I-I wasn't expecting you to react that way," she whispered, feeling her whole face heat up at the thought of what just happened. She made a note in her head to ask Claudia for more advice.

Connor suddenly stiffened, his gaze going to the window. Ellie cocked her head, hearing the sound of a car engine. She glanced at the clock, eyes widening at the time. It was 9:15.

"Uh, shouldn't you be home?"

Connor glanced at the clock to and he let out a little gasp. He quickly grabbed his books and stuffed them in his backpack. "Crapcrapcrap! He's gonna kill me!" he muttered as he dove for his shoes.

Ellie gulped, feeling panic overtake her. Eliza and Peter's one rule about them dating was that they couldn't be home alone after seven. Whoops.

"Hurry! The kitchen!" she whispered urgently, raising the volume on the TV.

They both sprinted into the kitchen. Connor hopped on one foot as he pulled a tennis shoe on. Ellie couldn't hold back a snicker at the sight.

He finally pulled the other one on and she opened the door. "See you tomorrow! I'll drive!" she urgently whispered as the front door opened.

Connor pecked her on the cheek before running out into the back yard, easily hurdling over the fences. Ellie quickly shut the door and tried to calm down her racing heart.

There he went, surprising her again.

Connor slowly shut the sliding glass door, tiptoeing across the kitchen, through the weapon room, and finally making it to the living room.

"You're late."

Connor didn't even jump. He was expecting his father to appear out of nowhere this time. He looked at the armchair right as the lamp was turned on. Haytham scowled and gave Connor an expectant look.

Connor shrugged, letting out a nervous laugh. "We took a break from studying and we lost track of time watching Mythbusters," he explained. Well, he was telling part of the truth.

"Liar. You were snogging."

Connor spluttered, feeling his face heat up. "No we weren't!" he weakly protested.

"Yes you were," Haytham said, standing up. He walked over and pointed a finger in Connor's face. "I'm angry because you know why I want you home before it gets too dark. They still haven't found the bastard. As for the Johnston's…well, I hope you snuck out."

Connor rubbed the back of his neck. Haytham's brows rose in mild disbelief. "You actually did?"

Connor nodded, looking down at his feet. One of his shoes still wasn't on all the way.

Haytham stepped back, blinking in surprise before letting out a loud guffaw. "You actually snuck out! Jesus," he laughed, wiping at his eyes as he walked up the stairs.

Connor grumbled. "It's not that funny!"

Haytham disappeared to the next level. "Yes it is, you gobshite! Your grandfather would be so damn proud of you!"

Connor rolled his eyes and turned off the lamp, following his father up the stairs.

He wished he knew what a gobshite was.

Ellie blew her bangs out of her face, tilting her head in confusion at a strange, leopard print dress. Why would anyone wear that?

"Look at this one!" Claudia squealed, looking at a dark red floor length dress.

Ellie nodded in approval and looked at a dark blue one. She actually liked the design.

"You told me you had something to tell me," Claudia reminded, taking the red dress off the rack.

Ellie bit her lip, thinking about what happened a few days ago with Connor. Ellie wondered how to ask Claudia for more advice without getting embarrassed. "Well…remember when you told me that some guys like certain things while kissing and stuff?"

Claudia stepped close, grabbing Ellie's sleeve. She looked happier than a kid in a candy store. "You're asking for advice?! Holy shit!"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Well…I bit Connor's lip."

Claudia looked thrilled. "Good job! You're branching out. Did he like it?" she asked, reaching for a dark green dress.

Ellie could feel the steam coming out of her ears. "I-I think he did."

Claudia stared at her, arching a brow. "You think he did? What do you mean by that?"

Ellie pulled on some tulle on the skirt of one dress. "He made a noise," she squeaked. This was a bad idea.

Claudia smirked. "Like this?" She made a deep groaning sound that sounded more like a dying cow.

Ellie snickered and finally let her laughter escape. "Something like that, only it was really quiet."

Claudia's smirk grew. "Oh my, you might have a sub."

Ellie gave her a puzzled look as she picked up a light pink dress. Connor seemed to like it when she wore pink. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

Claudia cleared her throat and leaned close. "A submissive guy," she whispered with a wink.

Ellie's breath caught in her throat. "Claudia!" she hissed, feeling her neck heat up.

Claudia wiggled her eyebrows. "If he liked you doing something like that, I can bet 20 bucks that he's a sub."

Ellie looked around. They were the only ones in the prom dress section, but that didn't mean someone could overhear.

She took a deep breath. Connor seemed to like what she did and she knew that she enjoyed it, so she decided to take the leap. "So…what else should I do?"

Claudia winked. "Just take charge."

She suddenly froze and gave Ellie a shocked look. "You're not thinking about doing…IT, are you?"

Ellie stiffened. "NO! I just wanted to know for kissing and stuff!" she hissed.

Claudia let out a sigh. "Whew, I was worried for a second."

Ellie put her hands on her hips, frowning. "Don't you know me better than that?"

Claudia rolled her eyes. "Oh please, like he would have it in him. I can tell he's as green as you are."

She walked toward the dressing room, leaving Ellie alone among the overly decorated dresses. Ellie's heart started to hammer as what Claudia said ran through her mind.

Just take charge, huh?

She shrugged, putting it in the back of her mind for later. She gasped a little when she saw a flash of cream in the mix of dresses. She pulled it out and sighed in relief when it was her size. The smooth material seemed to float as she ran her hand along the skirt. There was a pale pink sash at the waist and the dress was strapless. She looked at the price tag and almost squealed. The dress was on sale.

Biting her lip, she quickly made her way to the dressing room.

Claudia was walking out of her booth right as she got there. "Well?" she asked, twirling.

Ellie grinned. The ball gown style showed off her friend's curves perfectly. The deep red color also complimented Claudia's dark hair and eyes. "I say go for it," she said, winking.

Claudia twirled, looking in the full length mirrors. "No," she finally said, walking back into the dressing room.

Ellie rolled her eyes in amusement, walking into her own dressing cubicle. She changed into the dress and walked out. She twirled in front of the mirror, grinning widely. Yes, this was the one. The sash at the waist showed off her curves and she loved how the skirt flowed around her legs.

"You. Are. Not. Leaving. Without. That."

Ellie looked at Claudia over her shoulder, beaming. "And it's on sale!"

Claudia was now wearing a navy blue mermaid style dress. Ellie thought she looked gorgeous in that one too. "I like this one too," she complimented, gesturing to the dress.

Claudia twirled and looked at her backside in the mirror. "I like this one more," she said with a grin, "and it's cheaper."

The girls changed and made their way to the checkout with the dresses.

"So, why did you do that with Connor the other day? Did you just feel like it or was it a decision you made beforehand?" Claudia asked as they walked out to the parking lot.

Ellie bit her own lip, wondering why she did what she did while she was kissing Connor. "I don't know…it was sort of a spur of the moment thing."

Claudia pushed some stray locks of hair back from her face. "Well, don't let those spur of a moment things get out of hand. My madre always said to be careful about that."

Ellie grinned, thinking about how Eliza did the same to her. "Yeah, Eliza always told me to be smart and to avoid situations where that can happen."

Claudia arched a brow. "So he's never seen your room?"

Ellie shrugged, seeing no problem with it. "And I haven't seen his, and I'm okay with that. I like how we are."

Claudia nodded in approval. "I'm happy for you. Not a lot of people have that."

Ellie grinned, thinking about how Connor was always respectful and even a little shy about everything. She also heard the jealously in Claudia's tone. "Don't worry. The right guy will show up. Those high school boys aren't worth your time," she said, reaching for Claudia's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Claudia smiled. "At least I have a date."

Ellie smirked. "I told you that Yusuf wasn't a bad guy. He's only a year older."

Claudia groaned. "I'm just worried it'll end up like Valentine's Day."

Ellie shook her head. "We actually know Yusuf. We're all going to have a great time!"

Claudia suddenly frowned. "Do we want to do a triple date thing again? The last one wasn't so hot."

Ellie frowned as well. "Well…let's see what Desmond and Lucy are doing and we'll find out."

The girls made their way to Ellie's car, planning the whole way.

Connor quickly ran out to his Mustang, Desmond right on his heels. Desmond tossed his bag through the window to the back seat, climbing in right after it. "Come on! We're going to miss it!"

Connor tossed his bag in the trunk and quickly climbed through the window too. He sped out of the parking lot toward the track.

It was Friday night and it was the night of the home track meet. Even though today was only a conditioning day, Putnam made them stay late since Desmond was the secondary pitcher and he felt that the pitchers and Connor needed some extra work.

Connor quickly turned the Mustang into a parking space and both boys raced toward the track entrance.

"Oh crap! Do we have to pay?" Desmond asked as they weaved through the cars.

Connor didn't reply and they just kept running.

The boys made it to the gate and heaved a sigh of relief when no one was manning the table. They quickly walked in and made their way to get a better view of the track. Connor followed Desmond to the crowd to the edge of the track. They stopped at the rope and looked around.

Luckily, it was only the 100 yard dash and the hurdlers hadn't gone yet.

"Whew, looks like we live another day," Desmond said, stuffing his hands in the back pockets of his practice pants.

Connor nodded in agreement, looking for Ellie and Lucy. He glanced over at the high jump just in time to see Claudia sailing over the bar.

"Damn, Claudia can jump high," Desmond commented.

Connor nodded in agreement, again, and went back to looking for their girlfriends. He finally spotted them toward the beginning of the 100 yard dash lines, stretching. Connor felt his neck heat up when he saw how tight the track uniform was on Ellie.

Instead of the usual tank top and running shorts, she was wearing a skin tight top and spandex.

His ears started to heat up so he looked away. He felt a little guilty for ogling in the first place.

"Hey! They're setting up the hurdles. Let's find a better spot by the finish line," Desmond said, pushing Connor toward the end of the track.

Connor weaved his way through the crowd, apologizing the whole way. He felt like he was blocking everyone's view. They finally got out of the crowd and managed to get a spot they could see the finish line clearly at.

"That's better. It'll be intense from this angle," Desmond said, sitting down on the grass.

Connor plopped down beside him, groaning as his knees and shoulders popped with the action. He forgot how much baseball tested his body's endurance.

The hurdles were finally set up and the first group of hurdlers stepped up to the line. Lucy was the in the first group. She hopped a couple times before setting her feet up on the blocks.

"Goddammit! Why didn't you stop me from coming down here?!" Desmond suddenly wailed.

Connor gave him a confused look. "What?"

"We could have gotten a perfect view of our girlfriends' as-"

"You can stop now," Connor said, giving him a disapproving look.

Desmond spluttered, gesturing toward the runners. "You mean you DON'T want a good view of Ellie's-"

"Again, you can stop now."

Desmond gave him an incredulous look. "You are something, let me tell ya," he said, laughing in disbelief.

Connor shook his head and watched as the race started.

Lucy was easily sailing over the hurdles, taking a slight lead in front of an African American girl from a different school.

Desmond cupped his hands around his mouth. "GO LUCY!"

The boys leaned forward as Lucy barely finished across the line before the other girl, taking many steps to slow down.

"YEEEEEAAAAH!" Desmond crowed, whooping and hollering with the cheer. Lucy noticed them and smiled. She waved before putting her hands behind her head and taking deep breaths, walking toward her coach.

The speakers suddenly buzzed. "The winner of the first 100 meter hurdle race…Lucy Stillman with 14.3 seconds."

Desmond whooped again, causing Lucy to look over her shoulder at them and smile. She turned to pay attention to her coach again, nodding occasionally.

Two races later, it was finally Ellie's turn. She shook out her legs getting set up on her blocks.

"Dude, you're sure you don't want to move down there?"

"I'm positive," Connor said with a frown, giving Desmond a warning look.

The gun sounded off and Connor gripped the fabric of his pants anxiously. Ellie easily sailed over her hurdles.

Connor wondered why she let him beat her when they jogged now.

She was neck and neck with another girl.

They finally reached the end and Connor let out a cheer when both girls passed the finish line at the same time.

The speaker buzzed again. "Tie between Ellie Johnston and Jania Walden. 13.9 seconds."

Connor clapped along with the rest of the crowd, feeling proud of Ellie. He was glad all of her hard work was paying off. He put his fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle while Desmond whooped.

Ellie looked at them, breathing heavily. Her shoulders shook as she laughed at them. She waggled her fingers before walking over to Lucy and her coach.

Desmond looked at Connor. "I don't know about you, but I want some crappy nachos right now."

Connor nodded, getting up and following Desmond toward the concession stand.

Ellie grunted as she shoved more hurdles into the track shed. Lucy set her own hurdles down as well. The girls left the shed and Ellie kicked the door shut behind them.

"Good job with the win, Luce," Ellie said, playfully punching Lucy's shoulder.

Lucy grinned. "You almost beat the state champ! Congrats."

Ellie couldn't help but grin smugly. "I'm going to surprise her next time. You wait and see."

They were almost to the bleachers when Lucy gently tugged on Ellie's hoodie. "Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I stay at your house this weekend?"

Ellie almost sighed sadly. She had noticed a bruise peeking out under Lucy's exercise bra in the changing room at the high school.

Ellie decided that she should help her new friend. She was planning on hanging out with Connor, but she was sure he would understand. "You can tonight and hang out tomorrow if you want. I'll ask my parents."

Lucy looked relieved. "Thank you," she said, hurrying up to get to their bags.

Ellie let out that sad sigh and followed her friend up the bleachers.

She wished she could just let Lucy stay at her house forever to get her away from her step-dad.

Too bad life wasn't perfect.