"Did you see Kid's face when Black Star knocked the lamprey tub off of the table? It wouldn't surprise me if Black Star goes missing tomorrow." Soul said, unlocking the car door.

"I'd be pissed too! He acts like such an imbecile."

"He acts like a hyperactive spazz, but Black Star's a good guy. He doesn't mean to be so crazy."

"All he cares about is being the center of attention." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Just because you don't like being the center of attention, doesn't mean it's an abnormal trait for people to have." Soul said, shrugging. I frown.

"I don't dislike being the center of attention." I retort. Soul shakes his head and laughs, making my cheeks redden.

I know Soul is right. I've never liked being the center of attention; it always gave me awful anxiety. I glance at Soul, who's watching me out of the corner of his eye. I sigh, admitting defeat.

"Anyway, are you going to the lacrosse game?" He asks. It always surprised me how easily Soul could change a conversation. His charisma was envious.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you! They all agreed!"

"No way! Allie, that's great!" His grin is wide, his sharp teeth fully visibly. I laugh.

"You better not lose then, okay?"

"No, it'll be a good game. We're going up against our rival school." He explains. He pulls into my driveway, leaving the car in drive. I raise an eyebrow at him, wondering why he hadn't shifted into park.

"Y'know I've been meaning to ask you, but I keep forgetting. If I were to sell this car, would you be interested in buying it?" He asks.

"You're selling the car?! What?!" I exclaim. He sighs and runs his hand through his white hair.

"The question, Allie."

"I-I don't really know. I'd have to ask. Now my question, Soul."

He shrugs. "I don't know. Been thinking about it. Kinda wanna try something a little cooler for a guy my age."

I wait for him to elaborate on what he finds cooler, but my response is the car shifting into park. I open the door and step out, turning back towards him. He grins at me.

"No homework help tonight. Lacrosse ends at 6 today." He assures me. I smile.

"I don't mind helping, Soul. I just don't like giving answers." I said, reaching into the back and grabbing my backpack. I hear him laugh. When I look back at him, he winks at me.

"See you later, Al." He said. I close the door and watch him back out of the driveway and turning back towards the school.

I walk into my house, the only sound coming from the television in the den. I follow the noise, expecting to see my mother sitting on the couch and working on her laptop. When I enter the den, I'm surprised to see not just my mother, but Soul's as well.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to let you know I'm home." I said, standing in the doorway awkwardly. I smile at the both of them, and dash upstairs before they can say anything. I hear laughter as I reach the top, and I quickly walk into my room and shut the door.

I was at my desk doing homework for about twenty minutes when my mom enters my room. She smiles and closes the door.

"Hey, how was your day?" She asks, leaning against the corner of my desk. Her brown eyes looked tired, probably from a full day of work.

"It was okay. What about you?"

"Busy. They say working from home allows you more time to do things around the house, but that is a total lie. I sat down at my computer this morning shortly after you left, and didn't move from that spot." She sighs. I nod, moving my papers around on my desk.

"What was Ms. Evans here for?" I ask, the question burning in the back of my mind. Soul's mother and mine were friends, but it was abnormal for her to be at my house on a random Wednesday after school. My mom sighs.

"She's just having some troubles with her ex husband- Soul's father. He wants to go to the graduation."

"Uh okay, why is that an issue?"

"Because he has a restraining order against her. If he wins the case, she won't be able to attend the graduation because she'll have to abide by the restraining order distance."

"That's horrible! He can't do that!"

"We don't really know what he's doing. He's feeding his lawyer a ton of useless information and lies. She thinks it'll probably be between her lawyer and his."

"Does Soul know this?" My mother looks away. I gape at her, at a loss for words.

"N-no. That's what she needed advice on. She wasn't sure whether she should tell him or not."

"She has to tell him! This directly affects him!"

"She doesn't want Soul to worry. She said that if she told Soul, he'd worry about it and forget to enjoy his last two months of high school. She wants him to focus on his finals and prom and graduation and lacrosse and getting ready for college... But she knows if he's aware of what's going on that he'll just think about that."

My original thoughts became jumbled. I could really see both arguments here. Soul has always tended to be a worrywart; I begin thinking back to all of the times when I or one of my friends would fall and get hurt on the playground in elementary school. Soul would sit in the nurse's office with them, refusing to go back to class until his friend was okay. But then again, Soul should know about what his mother is going through. He should know what's going on in his family.

"I just... I don't know. I just feel that if Soul knew, perhaps his opinion could point the direction of the case in Ms. Evan's favor."

"It could very easily do that, but we have to respect her decision. You and I may hold different opinions as to what she should do, but that doesn't make her wrong necessarily."

"No, I agree. I just feel guilty now knowing something so influential about Soul's life, and he doesn't even know it himself."

"Believe me, I do too. But when he finds out, it should be because his mother told him." I nod, looking down at my homework. My mom pats me on the back, and moves off of my desk.

"I'm going to make dinner now, I'll call you when it's done." She said.

I smile at her as she closes the door, and try focusing on my homework, but to no avail. My thoughts remain only on Soul and his family.

AN: Cliffhanger of sorts!

~Greenybean