"So, what are you doing tomorrow?" Carl threw another hot cheeto into his mouth. The two were laying down on the roof of the Gallagher's house.

"I don't know. Probably gonna go to the mall, get new clothes. Fabric for my sewing machine. Things like that." The sun was slowly setting, hues of red and orange and pink sweeping across the sky.

They looked at the sunset and the cars below. Both were very intriguing to the two. They sat on some old spare blankets the Gallaghers had. Pillows and blankets were spread onto the roof where the two would escape at the end of the day. Bottles of soda and open bags of chips and candy were sprawled out in arm's reach.

"Lemme come with."

Mariana had a sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't forget about Carl's girlfriend. She didn't want to be labeled a home wrecker, as did Fiona did when her and Carl were younger. She didn't want to intrude on anything that could've happened while she was gone.

She'd feel too bad ruining what Carl had, because she knew if anything Carl would regret it. Mariana thought she wasn't anything special, she was just an ordinary girl that just so happened to live next to him. She didn't realize the affect she had on Carl.

"Don't you want to hang out with your girlfriend though?" She tried to say it in the most sincere way possible, she didn't want Carl to take it the wrong way. She wanted to sound caring.

"She's probably busy at her friend's house. She's been really busy lately." When Carl said that, Mariana couldn't help but think 'busy with what?'

She shook her head, not wanting her jealous thoughts to corrupt the way she thought of Carl's girlfriend. She wanted to wait and meet her before actually having an opinion on her.

"I guess you can come if you want then, but I really think you should call your girlfriend. You're focusing all of your attention on me and if I was your girlfriend I wouldn't like that. Just saying Carl." She gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Fine. If it makes things better, I'll call her right now." Carl took his phone out of his pocket and dialed Dominique's phone number.

"Hey Dom, are you home right now?" Carl put the phone on speaker so Mariana could hear.

"Uh, yeah. But I'm leaving to Sasha's right now." Carl was confused, he knew that Sasha was on a family trip to Florida this week.

"I thought Sasha was on a trip." He spoke with uncertainty.

"She um—just got back." Mariana grew more suspicious by the minute. She knew something was up.

"So when are you free?"

"I don't know Carl." Dominique was growing restless on the other side of the phone.

"We haven't been hanging out lately babe." Mariana didn't like that, she didn't like how he called Dominique that and not her.

"I'm sorry." Dominique said with no emotion. If anything, it was more with anger than sincerity.

"Nah, it's cool. But I just want to see your pretty face babe." Mariana didn't like this either. It made her get a sense of jealousy she knew she shouldn't have.

"You see me at school."

"But that's it."

"Carl, I need my own space." Dominique started getting louder and more defensive. Mariana just knew that something was up.

A girl wouldn't just get super dodgy out of nowhere. Dominique seemed a bit in a rush. In a hurry to do something. It's like she just started to freak out out of nowhere.

"Yeah, I get that but I want to see you."

"Do you not trust me?!" Dominique started to play victim, and Mariana was started to get pissed off.

"No, I never said that Dom."

"You don't trust me, do you?"

"I—I do trust you, it's just—" The girl on the other line interrupted him.

"Carl, if we're going to be in a relationship you're going to have to trust me. I don't want a relationship without trust."

And with that she hung up. Carl was speechless. Dominique had never acted like this before. Of course she was independent, but she never had a full on attitude to the point where he thought she was acting like a complete bitch.

"You good Carl?" She was concerned for her best friend.

"Yeah—it's just,well, she never acts like that. She's nicer I swear." He kept rambling useless apologies to her.

"I believe you. Although Carl—uh, never mind." Mariana shook her head, she knows she shouldn't say anything.

"What Mari?"

"Nothing Carl."

"It's not nothing. Just say it."

"No, you're gonna think I'm a bitch." She rubbed her bare arm.

"Just say it you loser." He was tired of playing the begging game.

"Well, maybe she's up to something..."

"She wouldn't."

"You don't know that."

"Well, what am I gonna do?"

"Where did she say she was heading?" Mariana had a plan.

"Sasha's." He said in a questioning tone.

"Well, we follow her there. See where she's really going."

"So basically we're gonna stalk her..."

"For a good reason though." Mariana nodded her head.

"True."

They climbed off of the roof and grabbed their boards. It was breezy outside as they sped past their surroundings. Carl led as Mariana followed closely behind. Next stop: Dominique's house.