Jasmine sat uncomfortably on Aladdin's couch while they waited for his dad to come home. This was the first time Cassim had been in town since they started dating and it was important to Aladdin that he and Jasmine met. Normally, Jasmine wouldn't be nervous about meeting Aladdin's dad, but things between her and Aladdin had been awkward since she told him she wanted to sleep with him before he left.

When Cassim got home, Aladdin went over to the front door to greet him.

"Hey, dad," Aladdin said.

"Hi, son."

"Dad, there's someone I want you to meet," Aladdin said, leading his dad to the living room. "This is my girlfriend, Jasmine."

Jasmine quickly stood up and stuck out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Cassim smiled at Jasmine and shook her hand. "You as well."

Jasmine sat back down on the couch and Aladdin joined her. He took her hand and smiled encouragingly at her.

"I'm surprised you two are still together," Cassim said, sitting down on the armchair.

Jasmine tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Since Aladdin is moving, I assumed you two would have broken up by now," Cassim explained.

"We're not breaking up," Aladdin said.

"You're not?" Cassim asked.

"Of course not," Jasmine replied. "We can make this work. We love each other."

Cassim raised an eyebrow. "You're only seventeen; you have no idea what love is. And, trust me, long distance relationships never work."

"They do if both people are committed and work at it," Jasmine said, defensively.

Cassim laughed. "You're only in high school. Eventually you'll both find other people and move on."

"We don't want to be with anyone else," Aladdin said.

"You say that now, but you're moving to a whole new state, Aladdin. You're bound to find someone else. Someone who lives close to you," Cassim said.

"Why are you being so negative?" Jasmine demanded.

"Look, you're a beautiful girl, Jasmine, but it's just not realistic to think that Aladdin won't find someone else he'd rather be with. And you can definitely do better than my son," Cassim said as if he just made the most obvious statement.

"Dad, that's enough!" Aladdin shouted. "Just because all of your relationships have failed, doesn't mean every relationship will."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Jasmine added. "Aladdin is the most amazing person I've ever met. No one out there is better for me than him."

"Come on, Jasmine, let's go," Aladdin said.

The two of them stood up and started walking towards the door.

"Oh, Aladdin?" Cassim called after him.

Aladdin turned around. "What?"

"Did I forget to mention that your friend attends the high school you'll be attending next year?" Cassim asked. "And I've also hired her to work in my office part-time with you."

"What friend?" Aladdin asked.

"Sadira."

Jasmine's blood ran cold. "Sadira? Your ex girlfriend?"

"That's right," Cassim said. "Sadira and Aladdin broke up because she moved to New York and he didn't want to get into a long distance relationship. But, it looks like they're going to be reunited."

Jasmine felt like she was going to be sick. She suddenly became light-headed and she thought she was going to faint. Aladdin was moving closer to his ex girlfriend and was going to be spending more time with her; the same ex girlfriend that he always talked about. Jasmine was now starting to think Cassim was right.

XXX

"Meg!"

Meg sighed when she heard her name being called out. Not wanting to talk to anyone, she ignored them and continued to put her homework in her backpack. The day was finally over and she just wanted to go home. She slammed her locker shut and was startled to see Thomas standing there.

"Thomas, hi," Meg said. "What's going on?"

"Meg, what really happened between you and Hercules?" Thomas asked.

Meg slung her backpack over her shoulder and told Thomas everything Hercules had told her. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable as she told Thomas that she had confessed to wanting to sleep with him. When she finished, Thomas blushed.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Thomas said.

"Yeah, well, I know it looked really bad," Meg said. She cleared her throat. "Um, Thomas, I do want sleep with you. However, at the same time, I'm not ready."

Thomas nodded. "Me either."

Meg nervously started picking at a loose thread on the strap of her backpack. "So, uh, where does this leave us?"

Thomas cupped his hand around the back of Meg's neck and pulled her into a kiss. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck. When they finally pulled apart, they realized Hercules was standing next to them.

"Can we help you?" Meg asked.

"I came over to tell Thomas the truth about what happened," Hercules said flatly.

"I already told him," Meg said.

Hercules shook his head. "Thomas we lied to you. Meg and I slept together. She begged me not to tell you, but it's not fair for us to keep this from you. You have the right to know."

Meg could feel her jaw drop at what she heard. "What the hell! Why are you doing this to us?" Tears filled her eyes.

Thomas studied Meg's face, then turned to face Hercules. "You had your chance with her and you ruined it," Thomas said, angrily. "Meg is my girlfriend now and there's nothing you can do about it. So, just leave us alone."

Hercules glared at Thomas. "Meg is a slut. She'll stick her tongue down the throat of any guy who smiles at her."

Meg went to slap Hercules, but Thomas stepped in front her. He shoved Hercules from behind as he started to walk away. Hercules spun around and pinned Thomas against the locker.

"Let him go!" Meg cried, trying to pull Hercules' arm off Thomas' neck.

Hercules pushed Meg away from him. Thomas suddenly became very angry and he punched Hercules. The blow forced Hercules down to his knees. As fate would have it, Naveen and Edward were walking by at that moment and saw what happened. They both laughed at Hercules.

"Don't you ever touch my girlfriend again!" Thomas demanded.

Hercules scowled at Thomas, but just walked away.

Thomas put his arm around Meg. "Are you all right?"

Meg smiled up at him. "I'm fine."

XXX

Belle had been so happy when Aurora called her and told her she was supportive of her relationship with Adam. Aurora said she and Philip wanted to take Belle and Adam out to breakfast before school, so now Belle was sitting on her front steps waiting for them to pick her up. When Philip pulled into her driveway, Aurora immediately jumped out of the car and the girls hugged each other.

"I'm so sorry," Aurora said.

"It's okay," Belle replied, as they got in the car.

Philip backed the car out of the driveway. "Where does Adam live?" he asked.

"We're picking him up from the woods between Andalasia and Camelot," Belle said.

"No man's land?"

Belle nodded. "Yeah."

When they arrived at the woods, Belle quickly got out of the car. She made her way through the woods, with Aurora and Philip close behind her.

"Why are we picking him up here?" Aurora asked.

"He has a treehouse in here that he uses as an escape when he needs to get away..."

"...from his dad?" Aurora finished.

Belle glanced back at Aurora. "You know about his dad?"

"I kinda figured it out after what happened at the hospital," Aurora said.

"Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't."

When they reached the treehouse, Belle could see Adam in one of the small windows. She waved up at him as she walked towards the treehouse. She stopped suddenly, however, when she suddenly saw smoke coming from the window. Within a few seconds, Adam was completely surrounded by smoke and flames were spreading through the treehouse.

At first, everything was moving in slow motion and Belle thought it wasn't real. As the heat hit Belle, she snapped back to reality.

"Adam!" Belle screamed.

Belle started to run towards the treehouse, but Philip grabbed her and pulled her back. Somewhere behind her Belle could hear Aurora talking to the fire department on her phone.

"Let me go!" Belle cried. "I have to help Adam!"

"It's too dangerous," Philip said.

Belle struggled against Philip and was able to get free. She ran as fast as she could to the treehouse. She could hear Philip calling after her as he chased her, but she ignored him.

"Adam!" Belle called when she reached the ladder. She could see the inside of the treehouse was engulfed in flames, but it hadn't spread to the ladder, yet.

Belle started to climb up the ladder, but Philip reached up and pulled her down.

"Belle, stop!" Philip demanded.

Belle pushed Philip away from her and climbed up the ladder. She was immediately greeted by smoke and intense heat.

"Adam?" Belle called out. She started coughing and slowly tried walking through the treehouse.

"Belle!" Aurora cried. "Belle, are you okay?"

The fire was spreading quickly and the smoke was getting thicker. Belle could no longer see anything and she was having a hard time breathing. She heard a cracking sound and her eyes grew wide in terror when she realized it was the wood breaking. She turned around and made her way back towards the ladder.

"Belle!" Aurora screamed.

"Belle? Belle, can you hear me?" It was a male voice this time and he sounded close.

Belle tried to answer, but went into a coughing fit instead. She felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and lift her up. She was pulled to the ladder and then lifted onto his back. They made their way down, then he lowered her to her feet and put his arm around her. They hurried away from the treehouse and didn't stop until they were a safe distance away. Belle collapsed to her knees and Aurora was instantly kneeling in front of her.

"Oh, thank God you're okay!" Aurora said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

It was then that Belle realized she was crying as well.

"What were you thinking?" Philip demanded, though his voice sounded more worried than angry.

"I had to save Adam." Belle hugged herself. "But I couldn't."

Aurora brushed Belle's hair off her face. "Honey, Adam saved you."

Belle looked up to see Adam lying on the ground next to her. His skin was black with ash and he looked exhausted, but he seemed to be uninjured.

"Oh, Adam!" Belle cried as she lied down next to him.

"Adam, what happened?" Philip asked.

Adam wrapped his arms around Belle and pulled her close to him. "It was my dad."