"Ava, put that box down over there, honey. That's heavy." Karen told her daughter.

There was another all-ages club night at Tric and Ava volunteered to help set up as soon as she had gotten out of dance class.

As much as she loved her classes, it was hard trying to catch up with everyone else. Her teacher commended her efforts and made sure that Ava knew that she saw her progress. And it wasn't all bad, she and Maddie were in the same classes, so she always had someone there that had her back and made her feel comfortable.

Even Carter took lessons, but they only had one class together a week. The older boy took ballroom and hip-hop. His older brother used to take tap and he was really good at it. He said it helped him with his sports.

"Beep! Beep!" Ava hollered, carrying a box that was bigger than she was. "Comin' through and it's heavy!"

"I'll take that." A familiar voice took the box from her and set it down.

"Jake!" She gasped and threw her arms around him.

She hadn't seen him in what felt like forever!

"Hey, Princess." He smiled and hugged her back. "How've you been?"

"Good. Did you bring Jenny?"

"No, she's back with my parents, but you can stop by and play with her." Jake chuckled. "What's this? You take dance classes, now?" He looked at her pink leotard and the shorts she was wearing over her dance tights.

"Yeah!" Ava nodded.

"Well, show me something." He encouraged.

Ava immediately stood in preparation and did a triple pirouette, into an attitude, landing it gracefully.

"Nice." Jake applauded.

He hadn't even been gone for very long, but Ava was really growing up. She didn't even have that gap-toothed smile anymore.

"Thank you." Ava reached out for him, wanting him to hold her again. "I really missed you, but Peyton said that you really had to go or else you would've said goodbye."

"I missed you, too." Jake brushed some hair from her face.

"Hey, man!" Nathan grinned once he saw him and pulled him in for one of those manly hugs.

"Nice to see you!" Jake reciprocated. "How've you been?"

"Married." Nathan answered, holding up his left hand to show his friend the wedding ring. "To Haley."

"I heard about that. Congrats, man! Just….hold off on the kids for a while."

"Definitely, that one is enough." Nathan jerked his head in Ava's direction, making him laugh. "Are you here to stay?"

"I'm here to stay."

Ava beamed at the news and hugged him once again, feeling a new wave of happiness rush over her.

"How was dance?" Andy asked Ava as the two sat at the bar, listening to the music being performed. "Learn anything exciting?"

Ava had learned that Andy was her mother's professor in college. She had been told that under no circumstances, was she allowed to do the same thing during her own college years.

The nine year old didn't understand what she meant to the full extent, but she assured her mother that she wouldn't.

Now that Andy was spending a lot of time around the house, he was making a real attempt at getting to know Ava and her interests through small talk. It was really awkward at first, because they were perfect strangers, but it was getting better.

"I learned how to do a back walkover."

"Ah, so you were tumbling today."

"Yeah! How'd you know?" Ava perked up.

"I have a couple of friends back home who love to dance."

"Cool."

"Hey, Weasel." Taylor caught their attention, tapping Ava on the shoulder. "Sorry, I need to borrow her for a second."

"She's all yours." Andy nodded and gave them some space.

"Hi, Taylor." Ava smiled, but quickly stopped when she saw the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm leaving, kid."

"Already? But you just got here!"

"I know, but you know I can't stay in one place for very long." Taylor explained as best as she could. Ava didn't need to know the truth. "I just wanted to say goodbye before I left."

"I'll miss you."

"Hey, don't look so pathetic. You'll see me again, I promise." Taylor dug into her purse and pulled something out of it. "Here. I got this scarf when I went to the Keys. I want you to have it." She wrapped it around the child's neck.

"Thanks."

"Ava, don't pattern your life after mine. I'm not as great as you think I am. In fact, I'm a mess. Don't change who you are. You're perfect."

"I don't think you're a mess." Ava told her. "Luke and I read this poem…and it was all about how this girl was being compared to things everyone thought were pretty…and at first, it made it seem like she wasn't worth much. But then at the end of the poem, it said that all those things didn't really matter, because she was her own person and she was pretty in her own way. It didn't matter what everyone else said….it reminded me of you."

"Havana-Rose…"

"Cause you and everyone else thinks you're a mess….that's 'cause you're comparing yourself to everyone else. You're different and you're one of a kind. You're not a mess…you just haven't figured out how special you are."

By the time Ava had finished her little speech, Taylor had tears in her eyes. "Man, Weasel. Do you know how much I love you?"

"Yes." Ava giggled as she was brought in for a tight squeeze. "I love you, too."

"Take care of yourself and stay out of trouble, okay?"

That was new.

Usually Taylor was the one who always told her to get into as much trouble as she could.

"Okay…..bye, Taylor." She smiled sadly, knowing that despite what Taylor had told her, it would be a very long time before she saw her again.

If at all.

And it looked like Taylor knew it, too.

"Bye, Weasel."

Ava's hands played with the scarf Taylor gave her as she wandered around Tric in deep thought. Jake was back, but Taylor left. Dan wanted joint custody of her, but Lucas had just moved out of their mother's house.

Everything was getting a little mixed up in her head.

And all the noise wasn't helping, so she quietly slinked over to the backroom and shut the door behind herself to block out the sounds outside.

"Hey, Cricket."

"Ava." The little girl corrected for the millionth time. Chris Keller had recently taken a liking to calling her 'Cricket' and when she asked him why, he said it was because when she got excited, she chirped out her words.

While Ava didn't love the nickname, there was nothing she could do to stop him.

"What brings you in here?" He smiled.

"It's too loud out there." Ava shrugged, taking a look around. She knew that this was where all the bands hung out and got ready, but she'd never actually been in the room before. "How's touring?"

"It's great. It'd be better if I could convince Haley to join me."

"Yeah…." Ava trailed, mustering up the courage to say what she wanted to say. She didn't feel right talking to Nathan about it, but Chris was an entirely different story. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Go ahead, ask me anything." Chris sat down on the couch and arrogantly kicked his feet up as Ava leaned on the table that was attached to the wall.

"Did you kiss Haley?"

The smile dropped off of Chris' face and his feet hit the floor. "How do you know about that?"

"So it's true?" Ava felt so betrayed by both him and Haley.

It wasn't like she and Chris were close, not like her and Haley, but she really had taken a strong liking to him. He was an unconventional friend.

"Look, this is a really complicated situation." Chris ran a hand through his hair and Ava had to admit, it was the first time she had ever seen him nervous.

"But why?"

"Look, Cricket. I like you, so I don't wanna lie to you." He spoke gently. "I like Haley, she's nice. But it takes two to kiss."

Ava was only nine, but she knew that was true.

It still didn't make it right.

"Did you tell Nathan?" She asked, not noticing when someone entered the room.

"Tell me what?"

Ava gasped and whirled around only to find Nathan standing behind her with his arms crossed.

She had to start becoming more aware of her surroundings.

"Well? Tell me what?"

Ava's mind raced as she tried to come up with something to say. She couldn't come up with anything that wasn't a lie, and she knew better than to do that. She still wasn't sure if Nathan was truly serious when he threatened to wash her mouth out with soap.

She figured that he was mad when he said it and he was mad now, so it was best not to lie at all.

"Havana—"

"—Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies." She told him instead.

"Fine. Then why don't you tell me what you're doing in here?"

"Okay! I can do that!" Ava brightened. "It was too loud out there, so I came in here." The smiled slowly dropped from her face when she saw the glare on her brother's. She completely forgot that she had been told to stay away from Chris Keller. "...I'm gonna go see Mama now."

"Yeah, you do that." Nathan nodded.

"You're a funny kid, Cricket." Chris chuckled at her expense.

"Stop it! You're gonna get me in trouble."

"Out!" Nathan pushed her towards the door.

"Okay, but don't beat him up. Underneath it all, I think he's a really nice person."

"I'm gonna beat you up if you don't move."

"I'm going! I'm going!" Ava squealed, hightailing it out of the room before she could stick her foot in her mouth.

And she didn't stop running until she found her mother. Karen felt when the little girl glued herself to her side and hiked her up onto her hip. Ava rested her head on her shoulder, smiling when her mother kissed her forehead.

The possibility of joint custody was still weighing heavily on her mind. She didn't know how she was going to tell her mother about it, or if she could tell her at all.

"Mama?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"Oh, I really needed to hear that." Karen cradled her head, swaying back and forth. "I love you."

"Wait, so Luke moved in with your dad and Haley left Nathan?" Maddie questioned the next day after school.

It had been a long day. Their math lesson seemed to last for hours and recess was boring.

The minutes seemed to drone on forever and Ava seemed to be distracted, off in a faraway place. She couldn't believe that one night could change everything like this.

After she left the break room at Tric, Haley and Nathan had a huge fight and the former just...left.

No warning, no goodbye.

"Yup." Ava confirmed, hopping over a crack in the sidewalk.

Of course, being the kid that she was, she told her friends about what's been happening in her life as of late. Maybe they could give her some advice on what to do.

"Well, how'd your mom take it?" Sam asked.

"She's really sad about, but I'm trying to get her mind off of it. I had a talk with my dad, too."

"…And how'd that go?" Maddie asked.

"Okay, I guess." Ava pulled a little packet of sour gummy worms out of her pocket, letting her friends take some before she popped one in her mouth.

She was always eating those things.

Somebody needed to stop her.

Karen always limited how much she was allowed to have, but somehow, someway, she found a way to get her hands on the treat.

"What did he say?"

"He said he wanted joint custody of me. No big deal."

"Ava!" Maddie stopped the girl from walking any further by holding and arm out in front of her. "That's a huge deal. Do you even know what that means?"

"Yeah…..he said that I'll live with him for a while or my mom for a while. He wants to share me with my mother..."

"And you're okay with that?" Maddie clearly wasn't as forgiving as Ava was.

Her parents weren't together either, but her father was still very active in her life. She knew how much Ava wanted to get to know Dan, and she was happy that she was getting a chance to, but she just didn't trust Dan.

Not the way Ava did.

"Sure."

"Did you tell her about the talk you had with your dad?" Carter asked, stealing a few pieces of candy before changing his mind and taking the bag altogether.

When Ava reached for it, it stuffed it into his book bag and push her hand away.

"No." The dirty blonde began walking again., forcing her friends to follow if they wanted to continue the conversation

"Ava!" Maddie scolded. "She's gonna freak!"

"I know! I know I have to tell her!"

"When?"

"Soon."

"You'd better make it really soon." Carter scoffed.

"And how's Nathan?" Sam asked, changing the subject.

"Sad…..and angry….He keeps to himself mostly, but I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to see anybody either. I just hope Haley comes home…she didn't even say goodbye."

Before school, Ava tried to visit Nathan at his apartment, but her brother wouldn't answer the door. She knew she had a key, but it didn't seem right to use it.

He wanted space right now.

"Do you think she's gonna come back?"

"I don't know…..she's really different now." Ava sighed. "We haven't heard from her…but she's doing something she's always wanted to do! I wouldn't like it if I had a chance to be a dancer and everyone got upset at me for it."

She knew that the scenarios were completely different, but she still couldn't help but feel for Haley.

"She'll be back." Maddie spoke confidently. "She's Haley. She always comes back."

Ava hoped in her heart that that was true, but Haley was different now.

She was chasing after her dream, doing something for herself for a change.

And leaving without saying goodbye was a key indicator for someone who wasn't planning on coming home.

"Just because I gave you a key, doesn't mean you can stop by all the time."

Ava chose to ignore Nathan's unkind words and saw his mood for what it was. He was hurt that Haley left him behind and now he was taking it out on everyone else.

She waited a little over a week before she stormed his apartment, wanting to give him the space that she thought he needed.

But when she heard about everything that he was doing in school and his attitude overall, she decided that maybe he did need someone after all.

"I came to see how you were." She told him, looking around the apartment.

Everything was a mess. There were beer cans everywhere, clothes on the floor, empty pizza boxes, dishes in the rack and the sink…..

It looked like a tornado hit the place.

"I'm fine. Now you can leave."

"I'm not leaving. This place is a mess." She bent down and picked up a crumpled bag of what used hold chips, dumping it in the garbage. "It needs cleaning."

"What are you, my mom?"

"No." Ava huffed. "If I was your mama, I'd beat you up for letting this place get like this and for getting in trouble at school. Just 'cause Haley's gone doesn't mean you have to lose yourself. Look at this place! You can't even see the floor!" Her southern drawl grew stronger the more annoyed she grew. "And when's the last time you took a bath? You stink."

Nathan scoffed and continued watching tv on the couch. "Go away, Ava. I'm not in the mood."

Ava's eyebrows shot up to her forehead and a frown took residence on her face.

Time for a little tough love.

The nine year old marched right up to her brother and she pulled her hand back before slapping his arm.

She knew she wasn't supposed to hit, but Nathan wasn't listening! She didn't know how else to get him off the couch!

It was like he wanted to rot away!

"Ow!" He shouted, clearly shocked by her actions.

"You've lost your damn mind!" She knew that would get his attention.

"Havana, watch your mouth—" Nathan got cut off when he got hit again.

He didn't think he was the one who lost his mind. He had never seen his sister act this way before and he would never admit it, but as small as she was, she could be feisty, too.

So he did get up off the couch and he held his hands up in surrender. "Quit it!"

"I better hear the water running!" She called after him, feeling particularly brave.

When she heard the shower starting, she smiled in satisfaction and moved towards the kitchen, going under the sink for empty garbage bags so she could get started on cleaning up. She started with all the empty boxes on the floor and the discarded beer cans because those would go in the recycle.

With as many trash bags as she filled, she couldn't believe she didn't even put a dent in the place.

She had a lot of work to do if she wanted to get the whole apartment clean.

Looking around, she sighed, sadness filling her heart.

She knew her brother was hurting very deeply and his pain was hurting her, too.

She just wished that she could snap her fingers and make it all better.