"I got homework on the first day back!" I complain as soon as I enter Gerard's office after school, my backpack still slung over my shoulders.

"That's a real bummer, Eve," he says. He's standing at the coffee machine table, stirring a steaming mug of coffee. Today's mug has an umbrella on it (any guesses as to why?). "You gotta tone it down a little, though. Linds is napping."

"Oh, sorry," I say quietly.

I wish I could sleep in the daytime. But, no, I've tried. When I do try it's like my brain is banging pots and pans together, yelling, "NO, THIS IS WRONG, IT IS NOT NIGHTTIME YET! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Maybe I just have to get pregnant and I'll have the capability to nap.

I'm joking, obviously.

Too gay for that.

"What do you have for homework?" he asks, sitting down in his office chair and setting the mug on the desk next to him.

"Math."

"So that's why you're so annoyed. I'd help, but..." he gestures at the papers covering his desk.

"Grownup work." I nod understandingly. "And also you don't want to spend your time doing tenth grade math."

"Well, I wasn't going to say it so bluntly."

I shake my head like a disappointed parent, then turn on my heel to leave the room. Before I shut the door behind me I hear Gee laugh a bit and wish me luck. "Thanks, Dad," I mumble.

Despite how much I hate math (it's my worst subject), it was the first day of school after Christmas break, after all, and I somehow feel motivated. I want this semester to go well, I want to study hard, keep all my grades up, and not procrastinate. Though, based on my track record, that'll probably only last a week.

Especially that last one.

When I get to my room, I'm greeted with the mess leftover from Christmas that I didn't bother cleaning up sitting in the corner of my room. They're mostly books and records I have yet to organize on my shelf, and clothes I haven't yet folded or hung up.

I shut the door behind me gently so as to not wake up Lindsey in the next room, then plop my backpack down on my bed. With a heavy sigh, I unzip it before taking out my math homework. The notes are neat on paper, but it's misleading; all this work is a mess in my brain.

I choose a CD off my shelf and put it in the player. Cherub Rock by The Smashing Pumpkins begins and put pencil to paper, taking a deep breath to prepare myself for the next however-long-it-takes-me-to-grasp-the-concept-of-dividing-polynomials.

• • •

It turns out that the time between me actually starting my homework and dinner being ready was just long enough for a few things to happen. I broke my pencil, Gerard came and threw a granola bar at me because he knows I forget to eat when I'm working on something (and not one of those shitty granola bars; a chocolate covered one), Lindsey woke up from her nap, and I broke my pencil again.

I did not, in fact, manage to grasp the concept of dividing polynomials.

That's not to say I didn't finish my homework, though. The question is: Did I do it correctly? For that answer, you'll have to tune in next time.

I skip down the stairs and head to the table upon Lindsey calling for me from downstairs. Ever since she moved in, Gee and I have had to switch from eating on the couch in front of the TV, to sitting at the table as a family. I'm not complaining, it was about time the two of us became at least somewhat civilized.

"How was your first day back at school, Girly?" Linds asks me as she hands me my plate of spaghetti.

"Good." I, as per usual, sprinkle ungodly amounts of cheese on my pasta. At this point, not even an eating disorder will get in the way of my sudden love of anything cheesy. "Nothing really interesting happened."

"She got homework on the first day back," Gee chimes in, joining us at the table. "Isn't that tragic?" he asks dramatically.

"It really is tragic! I don't appreciate you mocking my struggle."

"You really don't have to be worried about that class, though," he says. "You're one of the top of, what, every single other class you're in?"

"Not really. Emerald's the math and science genius, but... yeah I guess you're right."

The conversation eventually moved away from the topic of school, to things a little less boring. We've decided that we're going to start doing Friday night movie nights again now that things have calmed down around here. The only difference will be, of course, the addition of Lindsey instead of it just being me and the guys.

I suggested that the first movie we watch this upcoming Friday should be Star Wars: A New Hope. The first ever movie we watched after I moved in. Just for the memories, you know? Gee was enthusiastic about the idea, but it probably wasn't because of the feels, and more so because it was Star Wars.

"Finished," I say after I've taken the last bite of my meal. I get up and put my plate in the sink. "I'm going back up to my room."

"Hold on," Linds says. "There's some winter melon in the fridge you can try."

"The fuck is a winter melon?" I ask. I try to do that thing where you raise one eyebrow and not the other. Try is the keyword here.

"Yeah, the fuck is a winter melon?" Gee echoes me, not looking up from the kitchen sink full of hot, soapy water and dishes.

She shrugs. "I found it at the store."

I open the fridge and the only thing I see that looks unfamiliar is a green thing that looks more like a cucumber than anything else. "Is this what you're talking about?" I ask, pulling the plate out and holding it out so Linds can see.

She nods. "That's winter melon."

"It looks like a cucumber."

"It tastes like a bit like one, too," Linds explains. "I tried some when I was cutting it up."

"I thought melons were supposed to be sweet." I say.

"Well, this one isn't." Lindsey says back.

"Wow, you go you funky little melon." I stare down at the plate. "I think I'll pass, but thanks." Lindsey shrugs again and I start towards the stairs.

"I'll be there in a minute, Eve," Gee calls after me as I begin in the direction of my room. He's still washing the dishes at the sink. "I wanna talk to you."

I give a confused look in Lindsey's direction. She shrugs and mouths, "I don't know." I throw her a worried glance over my shoulder and run up the rest of the stairs to my room.

Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. No doubt, no doubt, I'll be fine. I didn't do anything.

I don't think I did anything.

I wrack my brain to try and figure why Gerard could possibly want to talk to me at 7PM on a Monday. Let's see... I accidentally left a sock on the kitchen floor a few days ago when I was putting my laundry away. I grabbed it before he could say anything.

I hear a light knock on my door that makes my head snap up like a deer caught in headlights. As Gerard pushes it open I exclaim, "I'm sorry about the sock!"

He doesn't say anything for a few seconds, and just stares at me with a blank, if somewhat startled expression on his face. "What?" he asks finally.

"I-I'm sorry... um... sock?" Good going, me. Great sentence structure, 10 out of 10.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Am I in trouble or not?"

"Why would you be in trouble, Eve? You haven't done anything."

"That's what I thought too."

He sighs, shaking his head, and runs his fingers through his black hair. "God, this conversation is already a train wreck." He then shuts my bedroom door, crosses the room, and sits on my bed facing me.

"Does that mean it's gonna get worse?" I ask, failing to mask my nerves.

"Well, I was thinking, you're sixteen now. There's something we need to discuss."

What? "Okay," I say slowly.

"I'll totally get it if you're uncomfortable with this, but—"

"Jesus Christ, please don't let this go where I think it's going." I interrupt him, a lightbulb having gone off in my brain. The words he's saying sound suspiciously like a certain talk I can only hope he's not decided to give me, albeit pretty late.

To my relief, he laughs. "Do you really think I would do that to you?"

"I don't know, just get on with it already!"

"Alright, alright. I was just thinking since you're sixteen we should think about getting you a driver's license."

"Oh."

"What do you think?"

You see, I haven't forgotten about the reoccurring nightmare I used to have about being in a car crash. I could never forget that shiny red car, or the sound of the tires screeching. And I could certainly not forget the accident that triggered them. You know, the one that killed the first four people that ever treated me like a human being.

It took me a long time to fully accept what had happened, not to mention the therapy sessions. The stab to my heart I used to feel when I thought about them has now lessened, but that doesn't mean I'm any less paranoid about my nightmare coming true.

"Eve?" Gerard asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I rest my elbows on my knees. "I- I guess so. Em's had her beginner's license for a while... she's getting her full one soon."

"If you really don't want to do it, it's okay. I don't want to force you into driving if it's gonna really affect you, you know?"

"I know, but..." I shake my head, then utter three decided words: "I'll be fine."

The corners of Gee's mouth turn up in a small smile that make me feel guilty without quite knowing why. He leans over and hugs me. "I'm so proud of you, you know that?" I nod into his shoulder, hoping that those three words were the truth.

• • •

I did research n updated early for u hope u liked it

(I hope everyone liked it, actually, this chapter is longer than usual)