{{Dedicated to @Spotted_Turtles because she made me a banner!!!! a banner!!!!!!}}

Rhea was surprised she'd enjoyed herself at the party, even managed to make some friends, considering how much of a nervous wreck she actually was. She'd enjoyed Xander's company throughout the night, who was funny, thoughtful and kind, not to mention completely gorgeous. She wasn't afraid to admit that if she weren't tangled up in a horrendous web of drama, he'd be the kind of guy she'd go for. The rest of Caleb's friends were all fun and had been welcoming and kind to her. She'd gone to bed with a fairly good mood, forcing thoughts of Yasmine and Caleb, the images of Caleb's arms around his girlfriend to the farthest, darkest corners of her mind.

The morning after was, however, an entirely different story.

She woke up to a mild headache—she hadn't drunk enough to give her a proper hangover—and the horrible aftertaste of beer inside her mouth. She cursed herself for not brushing her teeth before bed, but in truth, the events of last night had left her so drained that it was a miracle she'd even managed to change out of her clothes and into pajamas.

When she opened her eyes, the first image that flashed in her mind was of Yasmine sighing and letting her head drop to Caleb's shoulder as she cradled a bottle of beer in her hand and smiled at the conversation taking place around them. Apparently, the thoughts she'd managed to tuck away before she went to bed had managed to escape their tight leash overnight, roaming in the clearings of Rhea's mind freely. She couldn't help but think how they'd looked so content to be together last night, seemingly enjoying each other's company as well as their friends, whereas Rhea had been a mere outsider, watching from the sidelines.

Okay, maybe that was dramatizing the situation a little bit.

She'd felt welcome there by everyone, including Yasmine, who could very well have hated her, ignored her or passive aggressively tried to mark her territory. But no, her behavior had been nothing but friendly and the way she interacted with Caleb had carried no trace of a hidden message directed at Rhea—no meaningful touches, no secret glares over Caleb's shoulder. Then again, it would have been a shock if Caleb had gone for someone like that. He was a decent—no, a great—person and naturally he'd gone for someone like himself.

It was fairly early so she got up and went into the kitchen with the intention of preparing breakfast for herself and her parents, who were seizing the opportunity the weekend presented them to sleep in. She brought with her her headphones and pulled out a mood-lifting playlist on Spotify like she always did whenever she was cooking, which was not too often, but still.

Pancakes and bacon were on the menu today so she prepared pancake batter from scratch, stirred and flipped, all the while moving to the upbeat songs that blasted in her ears. After fifteen minutes, the entire house was filled with the sizzling sounds and the smell of bacon, followed by the padding of bare feet against the hardwood floor of the hallway. Seconds later, her father made an appearance in the kitchen and sat down by the counter, sleep still evident in his eyes.

She was so busy with flipping a pancake that she startled when her father spoke up, "You really are the product of True Love."

"What?" she shouted over the music in her ear, then took of the headphones and asked again, more quietly this time. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said you must be the product of True Love, because no ordinary kid makes her folks breakfast on a Sunday morning at nine thirty. But then again, I remember the night your mother and I conceived you and—"

"Alright," she cut him off, "first of all, ew, gross. Second, you're welcome." She punctuated her sentence by dramatically placing a plate of bacon and pancakes in front of him, giving her father a self-satisfied smile.

A minute later, her mother joined them and Rhea stole little glances at her parents while she ate her breakfast. They sat really close—close enough that their thighs were pressed together—and every once in a while, her mother fed her father a piece of pancake from her own plate. After almost two decades together, they were still as in love with each other as they'd been when they met. Rhea knew how rare that was nowadays. Most of her friends' parents were divorced, separated or together with no love in sight for the sake of their kids.

Towards the end of breakfast her mother turned towards her and said, "Your grandma called me yesterday to ask what you'd want for Christmas."

"She can make a blue one," she said, chuckling. She already knew she'd get a hand-knit sweater for Christmas from her grandma, just like she did every year.

Her grandma's inquiry reminded her that with Halloween kicking things off, the holiday season was officially upon them. Growing up in a happy family where her parents adored their only daughter—as well as each other—Rhea had always loved the holidays.

It was already decided that Willa would spend Thanksgiving in the Myers household since her parents had booked a ski trip for two months in advance. "A romantic getaway," Willa would say with her best impression of her mother. Even though she joked about it, Rhea could tell Willa resented being left behind and rushed to remind her that she was more than welcome in their home. The promise of Rhea's mother's cooking was enough to soothe Willa's resentment and turn it into quiet excitement.

Soon, her grandparents would come into town to stay with them for Christmas and even the thought of them made Rhea realize how much she really missed having them around.

Arthur and Clarice Myers's story had always been Rhea's favorite and ever since she was little, she'd beg for her grandmother to tell her the story over and over again. Luckily for her, even after fifty years together, Clarice wasn't the least bit sick of the story; she'd tell it with twinkling eyes and a content, happy smile.

Unlike her daughter Emily who had always been soft-spoken and happy-go-lucky, Clarice used to be fiery and short-tempered in her youth. She'd given Arthur a pretty hard time, even though she'd known they'd end up together, what with the snippets and all. Even to these days, she told the story in such a manner that it was clear she was proud of her actions. Arthur would only shake his head and mutter under his breath how "this woman would be the end of him" as he smiled softly in her direction.

Rhea saw herself in her grandmother, not just physically—although judging by the old photos she'd found of Clarice a while back, it was safe to say she carried more than a few of her attributes—but she also saw herself in the way she still carried herself, the way she spoke her mind and the way she behaved.

The two months until their arrival couldn't go by fast enough.

***

Maybe not fast enough, but the time did go by pretty fast. It was on a Tuesday two and a half weeks after the Halloween get-together that Caleb plopped down next to Rhea at lunch.

As time passed, she'd become more and more aware of his presence, so much so that she'd felt—rather than heard or saw—him approach a good five seconds before he took the seat next to her.

Spending two and a half weeks investigating and trying to figure out her feelings, she realized finally that they didn't stem from convenience and the knowledge that he was her soulmate; they were the end result of everything that was Caleb.

The way he rubbed the back of his neck when he was nervous and tapped at his lips with his index and middle finger when he was deep in thought. The way the golden specks in his eyes somehow became more prominent when he laughed. The way he tried to take care of everyone around him, which made her want to take care of him in return.

She immediately turned to look at him, pausing midsentence. Wade and Willa were used to the way she dropped everything to tune into Caleb Station by now and didn't say a word when Rhea dropped their conversation like it was hot and gave her full attention to the boy now sitting next to her. Her crush on him was glaringly obvious to everyone at their table except Caleb, who seemed completely oblivious and incidentally looked like hell.

"What's wrong?" she asked with worry etched in her voice.

"What do you mean what's wrong?" he said. Despite his assumed nonchalance, his shoulders sagged almost imperceptibly. Anyone else would have missed it, but Rhea was so aware of every move he made that she noticed it.

"You look like shit." Her tone wasn't accusing or condescending. It was matter-of-factly.

"Maybe I'm just sleep deprived because of work."

"You never work on Monday nights. Your usual days are Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with the occasional Tuesday thrown into the mix. Besides, sleep deprived Caleb isn't moody; it's cranky and sarcastic, but never moody." When his eyebrows pulled in slightly in scrutiny and he didn't say anything, her posture stiffened and she said, "What? I'm your friend, I pay attention."

"You're right." He sighed. "It's not work."

"Is everyone...okay?" she asked tentatively. He gave a stiff nod. Just as Rhea realized he'd make her work for it or maybe not give an explanation at all, he let out another sigh and elaborated.

"Yasmine and I had a fight last night."

In the back ground, Rhea could hear Willa cough up the gulp of water she was about to swallow and she ignored it purposefully, focusing her attention solely on Caleb instead.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's just...we had a disagreement. She said she wants to go to college in San Francisco. Ever since we were in junior high, we've been planning to stay here and take classes at the community college. It was our dream." He sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "After my father left, it became my only reality because I can't afford to go to college anywhere else."

Even the talk of college tended to drive wedges between a lot of high school couples. The real thing was even worse. It was the main reason people thought high school relationships never lasted; everyone would go their different ways for college, where the real world awaited. A lot of personal growth would take place, new friends would be made and soon the people would realize they didn't even know the person they'd been dating since high school anymore.

"What changed her mind?" Rhea asked cautiously.

"She said she doesn't want to be stuck here for the rest of her life. That she wants to go out and see what life has to offer. I just...I'm starting to feel like I'm not enough for her anymore."

She wanted to say he was more than enough, that anyone would be lucky to have him. That he was the best thing life had to offer. The intensity of the words that bubbled at the back of her throat startled her.

She was falling for him.

The realization was too much for her to process right then and there, so she forced it to the depths of her mind and turned to Caleb with a sympathetic look in her eyes as she said with as an even voice as she could muster, "I'm sorry you guys fought. The college stuff is always...intense and I hope you can figure out a compromise."

"Yeah," Caleb said absentmindedly, picking at his meal that looked particularly inedible today. Wordlessly, Rhea extended the untouched half of the sandwich she'd brought from home to him. He took it with a grateful smile and bit into it, sighing as the taste of smoked turkey dissolved on his taste buds.

Rhea was quiet and withdrawn for the rest of lunch. For the rest of day, for that matter, even though she didn't see Caleb after lunch.

As she and Willa made their way to class, Willa teased her mercilessly with a breathless and high pitched imitation of her voice. "What? I'm your friend. I know what you had for lunch two weeks ago and how many times you use the bathroom per day on average. I pay attention." She laughed weakly.

During the entire two hours of Algebra, she thought about what it meant for Yasmine and Caleb to be on shaky ground. It would be so easy for her to nudge Caleb in the direction of a breakup, he wouldn't even know what hit him. She knew she could never be the kind of person who'd ruin another's happiness to get to theirs, but that didn't change the fact that her morals were being royally tested. There was also the matter of her feelings for Caleb being well past the stage of crushing and wandering into something more.

She was making her way through the parking lot towards Willa's car when she heard footsteps approaching. Turning around, she saw Floyd jogging up to her with a reluctant yet determined look in his eyes.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Hey." Her tone was clipped and her posture was stiff; she still felt wary of him.

"How have you been?" he attempted at small talk.

Rhea let out a sigh. Her shoulders sagged a little as she said, "I don't have time for chit chat, Floyd. Willa's waiting for me." As if on cue, Willa honked the car's horn, and Rhea knew it was more about giving Rhea an out of the conversation rather than giving her a heads up about her presence. She was ever so grateful to have a friend who knew her so well.

"I see," Floyd said. He looked defeated and it actually made Rhea feel bad for him.

"Did you want to say something to me?" she asked.

"I wanted to see if you'd, maybe, like to get dinner some time." There was once again a hopeful flame in his eyes that he got whenever he approached her on the school's corridors, trying to have a longer-than-ten-seconds conversation with her, and Rhea felt bad that she would have to put that flame out for what like the hundredth time.

"I don't know..." she trailed off uncomfortably. "We said we'd give it time."

"I know you said that. And we did. We gave it six whole weeks. For six whole weeks I've been itching to talk to you, to be around you. I'm aware of how you've avoided me like the plague" –he chuckled bitterly– "still, I'm willing to make a fool out of myself if it means a chance at getting to spend time with you. So, can I please take you out to dinner?"

"I don't think—"

"It's not a date," he cut her off. "Just a friendly outing. Two friends enjoying some burger and fries."

She thought long and hard about his question. "Lunch," she said finally. "You can take me to lunch."

"Okay, I'll pick you up—"

"No, it's better if we just meet there. That's what friends do, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess." He let out a sigh, trying to mask his disappointment at the detached and obviously fake smile Rhea was giving him. He couldn't resent her for being wary after what he'd done. He didn't go a day without regretting it, and now he was intent on not going a day without trying to make it up to her.

"Patty's at noon on Saturday, then. Don't be late." With those words, she gave him another fleeting smile and turned around to walk away.

"When am I ever?" he said, to no one in particular, for he was now all alone in the school parking lot.

Rhea was conflicted about agreeing to go out with Floyd. They wouldn't be going out, per se, but it was still awkward to be around him. It had partly to do with what transpired between them on his living room couch, but there was more to it than just that. Her feelings for him had still been developing when they'd been nipped at the bud over the course of a single night. Floyd had played a huge part in it, of course, but there was also the matter of her entanglement with Caleb and all the drama that came with it. She felt like she and Floyd could have worked through their issues and she could have learned to trust him again, if it hadn't been for the revelation later that night. The revelation that she and Floyd weren't meant to be after all.

***

Saturday came faster than it should have.

At twelve fifteen, she was already sat across Floyd in a booth at Patty's and taking her first bite from her cheeseburger. That was the one good thing she could be sure that she'd have today: a good meal—a divine cheeseburger, tasty-as-hell fries and a milkshake to die for.

Lunch was surprisingly uneventful, they ate and talked about trivial stuff, avoiding certain topics that neither of them had any wish to discuss. He made her laugh like he used to and Rhea remembered how easy it was to talk to him, how effortlessly they could hold conversation. She also realized whatever feelings she'd begun to harbor towards him had disappeared over the course of six weeks. Maybe being friends wasn't a bad idea.

After lunch, they stood in Patty's parking lot and faced each other, neither knowing what to say and both getting nervous once more.

"Thanks for going out with me today," he said. When she raised an eyebrow, he amended, "As friends. Going out with me as friends."

"Thanks for paying," she responded. "Never do that again. We'll split the bill next time." She noticed the way Floyd's eyes lighted up at the mention of a next time, yet she chose to ignore it. She'd done all she could to set the boundaries and she was hoping Floyd had taken the hint by now. After all, he was the one who'd sought her out, offering to be friends.

"Alright, he said, a grin tugging at his lips, "we'll go Dutch next time. Do you want a ride home?"

"I think I'll just walk," she said. Being in Floyd's car was too much for now with all the memories it would surely bring back.

Floyd's face clouded over with disappointment for a second before he gave her a nod and said, "Okay, then. I'll see you?"

"Yeah," she said, growing restless. She never knew what to do during goodbyes. Shake hands? Wave? Bump fists? With Floyd, it was even more awkward, so she decided to give him a small nod and a smile and turned to leave.

"Rhea." She heard Floyd call out in a croaked voice as soon as she'd taken her first step away from him. She involuntarily came to a halt and realized a second later she could no longer pretend that she hadn't heard him, but God knows something in his voice made her wish she could.

When she turned around, Floyd closed the distance between them in two quick strides.

"I just..." He was restless. "Oh, fuck it."

With that, he leaned towards her and planted his mouth on hers. Rhea was unresponsive for a moment due to shock, but when she shook it off, she placed a hand on Floyd's chest and pushed him away. Looking up at him, she could see a mixture of remorse and desperation in his eyes.

"This is becoming redundant now." She sighed and agitatedly ran her hands through her hair. "There are several reasons why this is a bad idea—why we are a bad idea. And you forcing yourself on me and calling me a tease when I refused is just one of them." He visibly flinched at her words. "I'm sorry if this is hard for you to hear."

"And I am sorry I can't help how I feel," he said, his voice raising an octave. He seemed to collect himself however, and was quieter as he continued, "I can't help that I have fallen completely in love with you."

She let out a heavy sigh. "Floyd," she whispered. "I agreed to come out with you today because I've cared about you in the past, and I care about you now. I want to try and be your friend, but I think it's best if you take a step back and try to get your mind together."