A/N: Just changed the title to something I felt was a little more fitting, hopefully I didn't make it worse- but you guys would let me know, right? :)

Chapter 9

Lindsay just needed to lay it out for her logically- she knew that Kim was capable of being rational, even if she often didn't choose to be. And Lindsay felt bad for saying what she said to Daniel at Ken's party, but at the same time, it wasn't premeditated, her ex-crush on Daniel wasn't something that meant a lot to her, and she certainly didn't mean to hurt Kim by it.

She suppressed the small urge she had to tell Kim that Daniel was no longer her boyfriend; Kim felt bad enough as it was.

"Look, I hadn't even planned to go to Ken's party," Lindsay began. This was the perfect time to explain herself, as Kim had stopped crying but was still sniffling too loudly to scream at her. "The only reason I went was because Nick showed up at my window. I thought it was just going to be the two of us. But then Daniel was driving. When we got to the party, Daniel started talking to Karen and she stuck her tongue in his ear. I just went over there to yell at him for doing that to you, I swear! And we just started arguing, and I don't know, I just felt bad for him for a minute. He was really upset. And I just kind of let it slip out that a long time ago- before I had any idea that you guys were even dating- I thought he was sorta cute, for, like, a millisecond. I also told him that I definitely don't feel that way anymore. And even if I did, which again, I definitely don't, there's no way that I would ever act on it, Kim. Our friendship means too much to me."

Kim looked up at her with bloodshot eyes. They had hardened a bit. "If that's it, then why didn't you ever tell me, Lindsay?" It was the question that Lindsay knew Kim would ask her.

Lindsay sighed. "Because it didn't matter. I would never have done anything about it. But you've told me a million times that you think Daniel is cute. Months and months ago, I might have agreed with you a little, that's all."

Kim wiped her eyes. "Yeah, I guess I can understand that. He is cute. It's hard to argue." She looked at Lindsay seriously. "Karen was sticking her tongue in his ear?" She murmured.

Lindsay raised her right hand. "Swear to God," she said. "Or not to God, but I'd swear on anything."

Kim frowned. "That's not how I heard the story went."

Lindsay frowned this time. "Who did you hear it from?" Please don't say Nick, please don't say Nick, please don't say Nick, she chanted to herself. She hated the idea that Nick would have already been privy to everything that Lindsay wanted to say to him face-to-face.

Kim looked at her. "Really, Lindsay? Who do you think?"

Lindsay's jaw dropped. "You spoke to Daniel? Are you guys back together now?"

"Maybe not, not after I talk to him about Karen Scarfolli," Kim snapped. "But thanks for being straight with me. I can see that you're telling me the truth. I appreciate it."

Lindsay nodded fervently. "I am. I'm so sorry, Kim, I had no intention of even going to Ken's party. But I really wanted to see Nick," she hedged. "I hope you do work it out with Daniel," Lindsay said, lightening her tone. "He seemed pretty miserable there without you. He got wasted and Nick and I spent most of the time worried about him." She conveniently left out the part where Daniel said that he would date someone like Lindsay in a second. Kim didn't need to hear that- Daniel was drunk, and Lindsay wanted to think that he didn't mean it.

"So," Kim said, finally cheerful enough, it seemed, to take the focus off of her and Daniel for a minute. "You and Nick were too worried about Daniel to suck face?" she asked teasingly. "Are you guys, like, back together now or something?"

Lindsay blushed. "No, not yet," she said. "We're going on a date on Saturday, though," she said.

"Sounds promising," Kim replied. "I guess I can expect to see you all over each other the next time we all go out?"

"I dunno," Lindsay said, looking at the ground. She wasn't sure how to tell Kim about Barry. Back when it had happened, Lindsay had kept the details of the Schweiber party to herself.

"Wait, why not?" Kim interjected. "What aren't you telling me?"

After what just happened, the last thing Lindsay wanted was to keep the whole truth from Kim- she wanted Kim to be able to trust her. She was a little worried about the snowball effect the truth could have- she didn't want Nick finding out anything unless she told him herself- but Lindsay felt the need to 'fess up.

"Um, I have another date this weekend. With Barry Schweiber."

"Wait, who's Barry Schwei- wait, do you mean that dorky guy a few classes ahead of us? The older brother of that friend of your brother's?"

"Um, yeah," Lindsay admitted. "He's not dorky," she said. "He's in college. He's really smart. And he doesn't have a retainer anymore," she felt the need to defend Barry. Poor Barry and Neal had both been the experimental subjects of Vic Schweiber, D.D.S. Apparently anything new in the field of orthodontics that their dad wanted to try out was thrust upon them, the guinea pigs. The newfangled retainer that Barry had to wear for a while in high school was a perfect example. It sure worked, though. She added, "His teeth are perfectly straight now."

"Um, yes, but I'm sure he's still a dork, Lindsay, just an older dork," Kim retorted.

Lindsay shrugged. "We can agree to disagree. Anyway, please, please don't tell Nick about my other date, I want to tell him myself," she pleaded to Kim before sighing. "I have a lot to tell him, I guess."

"Sure, I'll let you dig your own grave on that one. I'm glad we talked, brain. You'd better get back to work. I'll talk to you more later." She turned and strode towards the Gremlin in the A1 parking lot. She wasn't crying anymore. Things between them felt somewhat back to normal.

Relieved at how things had just gone, Lindsay looked at her watch and her still unopened sandwich. She had approximately 30 seconds left of her break. She quickly unwrapped her turkey and cheese and took two huge bites while walking back inside the store.

A couple of hours later, Lindsay was unpacking some new tents in the stockroom when she got called up to the front by her dad. It sounded urgent.

She was expecting to see someone she knew. Had Kim had come back? Or was Nick here to see her again? She quickly checked her reflection in the mirror of the employee bathroom.

When she arrived at the front of the store, however, she saw someone standing there next to her dad, but it wasn't anyone she knew. A florist wearing a uniform was holding an arrangement of brightly colored flowers in one hand and holding out a small white envelope in the other.

She looked at her dad, who had a very stern look on his face. "I'm reading the card immediately after you, young lady," was all he said, in a very disciplinarian sort of way.

Lindsay took a minute to examine the bouquet. Vibrant red and orange tulips, lilacs, and daisies- it reminded her of a sunset- were all arranged beautifully in a pretty crystal-looking vase.

Lindsay thanked the florist and accepted the gift. She gently placed the flowers on the counter before reaching for the card in super-slow-motion, stalling. She was dying to know what the card said, but at the same time, terrified to get whoever might have sent it in trouble. But her dad was standing over her shoulder, looking at her expectantly. She was going to have to read it- her dad wasn't going anywhere for a while. Taking a deep breath, Lindsay dove in and ripped open the envelope.

Inside was a piece of white cardstock, plain except for the address of the florist's and a simple yet cryptic typed message: "Can't wait."

"Can't wait for what?" Lindsay's dad inquired loudly from behind her.

Thinking fast, Lindsay shrugged her shoulders. "Til I'm ungrounded, probably," she replied casually. Inside her head, though, the wheels were spinning so fast they were practically burning rubber.

Well, wait is spelled right, so that must mean that it's Barry, right? Lindsay reasoned. Plus, isn't that what he just said on the phone last night? But then she reconsidered. It's typed, and it looks like it was probably typed by the florist's, which means whoever placed the order probably called it in. It could just as easily be Nick. Besides, I shouldn't assume Nick still can't spell- if Sara had been tutoring him, his spelling could have improved. Her thoughts were disorganized, jumbled. Nick got me a rose before, does that make a difference? She couldn't think straight.

"Who's it from?" her dad asked her, curious.

She wished she knew, but found the lack of direct evidence astonishingly clever considering her situation. Obviously, no matter where it was delivered, her parents would demand to read the card. Lindsay turned to face her father, shrugged again. "Your guess is as good as mine, Dad," she began. "Probably Nick Andopolis or Barry Schweiber- I've seen them both in the last couple of weeks. You were there. Who do you think?" She hoped that involving him in her deductive reasoning would make him less grouchy about the whole matter.

"Well, when you're ungrounded, Barry will be leaving for school," her dad told her pointedly. "So the flowers must be from Nick. Right?" He looked at her questioningly. Lindsay imagined that on some level he was begging for her to tell him what he needed to hear as a father, so that she wouldn't get in any more trouble. She quickly conceded.

"Of course, of course they'd be from Nick," she said. "You're right, Barry will be gone when I'm ungrounded, so Nick is the only one that makes sense."

Deep down, though, Lindsay had no idea who sent her the flowers- and she was dying to find out. The whole evening while doing her calculus problems, Lindsay looked at them (and smelled them who knows how many times) while she wondered whether or not she should call either or both of her admirers.

Her dates were set and as far as she knew the guys weren't expecting to hear from her before then, so she wasn't really obligated (and with how much she had already been calling everyone so late at night, she was getting a little worried that everyone else's parents hated her for being so disruptive). Furthermore, she had another calculus exam next Monday (her teacher thought giving exams on Monday was a good thing- great, she gets to study all weekend!). With two long shifts of work and two dates, she knew she couldn't hope to get a whole lot done beyond Thursday (sure, she'd have a little time Sunday, but she also knew she'd be completely wiped out with aforementioned shifts/dates). She couldn't afford to get behind.

On the other hand, she really wanted to know. But it was a bit of a can of worms. If she called Nick, she felt like she'd be confronted with the list of things that she would so much rather say to him in person (Did Daniel tell you what I said to him? Oh and by the way I had a date with someone else last night…). With Barry, she knew she'd end up talking to him for another four hours. So, exercising an extreme amount of control (at least in her opinion) for a teenage girl with two crushes, Lindsay opted not to call either one of them until her dates and focus on calculus instead.

Oh, and Kim. She called Kim twice during the week and they chatted briefly each time, things seemingly back to normal. Especially normal considering that Kim and Daniel had hashed it out in regards to the second Karen tongue incident (crazily enough that they now had to specify), and on Thursday Kim told her that she and Daniel were definitely back together. For now.

All Lindsay could do was sigh in relief. Good, she thought, juggling two interested guys is challenging enough.