Jason walks me to the door and kisses me goodbye, I watch him drive away. I had a really good time with him, we talked about stuff that matters. I feel so close to him, I can tell him anything and he would know exactly what to say to me. Stef opens the door with a big smile on her face and brings me inside.

"How was your date?"

"It was fun, he's nice." I feel a little bit awkward talking about him, I'm not sure why.

"That's good, well you go up and get an hour of studying in before bed." She smiles at me and sends me upstairs.

I don't have any tutoring tonight, so I can just sit and read Romeo and Juliet for English Lit. Callie's just sitting on her bed with her laptop open, but Mariana is staring at me with this big smile on her face.

"What?" I look up at her.

"How was it? I need to know everything!"

"It was good, there's not much to tell." I turn back to my book.

"Did you kiss?"

"Yeah, but we've kissed before. Well, I guess we kissed a lot more than last time." I'm still smiling from ear to ear.

"Did you do anything else?"

"We just sat on the beach and-" I notice the look on her face. "Ew no we didn't do anything like that!" I laugh and throw my pillow at her. I like that Mariana doesn't care that he's a guy and I said I like girls, it's not an issue for me and it shouldn't be an issue for anyone else. I talk Mariana through the whole date, she's so into all of this girly stuff.

The next day I wake up way before my alarm, so I go downstairs to have breakfast, but I stop on the stairs when I hear Stef and Lena's voices.

"You don't think we should let her date?" Lena says. They're talking about me.

"I'm not saying that exactly, but we don't know how long she's going to be here." Stef seemed so happy when I got back last night, she's changed her tune.

"You don't want her to get too attached."

"Exactly. I think it would be cruel to let her get comfortable." I can't believe this. The step below me lets out a long high-pitched creak. "Mariana what have we told you about eavesdropping!" Stef yells. I come out into the kitchen. "Oh, Gracie, good morning." She looks over to Lena. I don't say anything.

"You want some breakfast?" I sit down opposite them and Lena gives me a bowl of cereal. "You heard us talking huh?"

"Yeah. It's okay, I get that you're just trying to look out for me." They look relieved.

"Right, we just don't want you to get hurt." Lena sits back down next to Stef. "We're more than happy for you to stay here as long as you need but-"

"But not forever, I get it. Thanks for being honest with me." Lena hugs me and we all start eating breakfast. "Can I ask you guys a favor?"

"Sure sweetie, go ahead."

"Could you not tell anyone about tomorrow? I don't want anyone making a fuss over me." I've been meaning to ask this question since I got here, I knew the date was coming up.

"If that's what you want, then of course," Lena says, I smile and keep eating.

Eventually, the others all come down for breakfast too. It's a little awkward and quiet, well I'm a little awkward and quiet, everyone else is acting normal.

"Hey, Gracie, have you read the next act of Romeo and Juliet?" Jude asks on our way into school.

"Yeah, I finished it. I always try to read ahead; I do that with whatever we're reading in English. In 8th Grade, I read Of Mice of Men in one week because I knew my next school might be ahead in the book or even reading something else, it helps to be prepared."

"So, you think you're gonna get moved soon?" I know I'm going to get moved soon.

"I don't know, maybe." I spot Jason sat on his usual bench. "I gotta go." I leave Jude and go and meet him. He's reading his book again. "Hey." I sit down next to him. "Thanks again for last night, I had a lot of fun."

"Me too." He puts his arm around me and kisses my cheek. "So, why didn't you tell me about tomorrow?" I feel the blood rush to my face. How did he find out?

"I uh, I don't want any extra attention, people already stare at me all the time." I look back at the school and there are at least 15 pairs of eyes on me.

"Come on Gracie, it's your birthday! You have to do something!" I turn back to him.

"No, I'd rather not. I haven't celebrated my birthday since before my dad died and I don't want to celebrate it now. How did you even find out?" Sophia and her family, and Stef and Lena are the only people who know when my birthday is.

"I snuck into the main office to get my phone, one of my teachers confiscated it and your file was on the desk, your birthday was on the front." I start to panic. "At least let me do something small for you?"

"You looked in my file? That's private!" I push his arm off of me. What if it says something about John in there? And all the hospital stays.

"No, no I didn't open it I swear! I just looked at the front." He takes my hands. "I would never violate your privacy like that."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Now, please let me do something for your birthday." I look into his pleading eyes.

"Fine, but nothing big, I hate birthdays."

"I'm sure I can change your mind." He kisses me.

"You can try. I gotta go, I'm gonna be late for homeroom." I kiss him again and run into the school.

I meet Jason between classes and at lunch and at the end of the day, he's waiting for me outside my History classroom. He walks me home, the rest of the Fosters are a few meters behind us, I feel like they're all watching us. So, I don't hold his hand or kiss him the whole way home, I shouldn't feel guilty for liking him, should I? When we get to the house, the rest of the kids pass us and go inside, Mariana glances at the two of us.

"Thanks for walking me home." I quickly kiss his cheek and start to go inside, Stef's there, Jason grabs my hand, not noticing her.

"Aren't you gonna invite me in?"

"Who's this?" Stef opens the door the whole way and they see each other.

"Uh, this is Jason, Jason, this is my foster mother, Stef," I shift my weight, hoping Stef will say I have chores and he has to go.

"Nice to meet you, Jason." They shake hands.

"You too."

"Would you like to come in for a snack?"

"I'd love to." He stays holding my hand, which catches Stef's attention. She looks at me the way Mariana does.

We go and sit in the garden and Stef brings us a plate of cheese and crackers. She's being extra attentive; keeps coming and asking if we need another drink or more snacks. She doesn't trust me, that's what it is.