Jessie and Katie (in Friends and Lovers) - Episode 39 "That's How It Feels"

Written by: TVM (mrtvm@mrtvm.com)

Archive: www.asstr.org/~TheVertManArchive/Stories/Celeb/JessieKatie/Index.html

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"How much did you hear?" Katie asked, scooting over in the booth and letting Grace sit down beside her.

"Most of it?" Grace asked as Katie squeezed her hand and turned towards her. "I guess."

"I wanna ask you some questions and I want honest answers" Katie said, looking Grace in the eyes. Grace froze yet again, and feared what she thought was coming next.

"Of course" Grace said, releasing Katie's hand and watched Katie as she thought hard on what she wanted to ask first. Grace for her part was figuring the kiss question was coming first, but was sorta surprised with what Katie started with.

"Did you have fun the last couple of nights?" Katie asked, "And did you go with me cause you felt sorry for me?"

"Yes and absolutely, positively NO" Grace said firmly. "I had a great time with you. Didn't know we had so much in common and you had a crush on me."

"What can I say, I have good taste" Katie said, smiling for a moment.

"Course you do" Grace said as both giggled for an instant. "I went cause I wanted to and remember you asked me, not the way Jessie made it sound."

"Yeh I did" Katie said, her mood brightening somewhat.

"So in a sense I did go out with you when you asked me" Grace said as Katie laughed softly. Taking a long moment, she smiled and looked at Grace and wrapped her arms around Grace's and laid her head on her shoulder.

"Can I just crush on you for a while?" Katie asked. "That way it might not hurt so much."

"Sure" Grace said simply as she heard the door open and looked back, hoping against hope it was Jessie, but feeling relieved to see Sarah strolling in, completely unaware of what had just happened or so it appeared. Sarah plopped down and cracked a stupid joke, typical Sarah, Grace thought. Katie laughed and kicked at Sarah as they wrestled and eventually the whole horrible story came out into the open.

"You sure you alright K?" Sarah asked, reaching for Katie's hand as Grace pushed it away and said "She's fine; she's got me."

"Yeh she should be so lucky" Sarah said, standing and taking Grace's arm and pulling her up and into a hug. "No one is gonna take you away from me. And don't you forget that."

"Yes ma'am" Grace giggled as Katie laid her head down on the table.

"You two look so happy right now" Katie commented.

"Cause we are" Grace said, turning so Sarah could hold her from behind. "Being in love feels that way, don't it?"

"Yep, that's how it feels" Sarah said, kissing Grace's neck on the exact spot she knew she liked; gently letting her tongue dance across it and giggling as Grace squirmed in her arms.

"Sarah not here, stop" Grace said as Sarah giggled and let her squirm away. "Wait till we get home."

"Katie, don't take this the wrong way ok" Sarah said, taking Grace's hand and standing beside Katie as she looked up at them. "Cause you know you'll always have a part of me, but I'm glad we broke up."

"I know, I understand" Katie said, breathing a huge sigh of relief and standing up as Grace's cell began ringing. "I'm glad you're happy. You deserve it."

"Hello Grace Manning's phone" Sarah said, grabbing Grace's phone out of her bag and answering it as Grace smiled at her and rolled her eyes.

"Hi Jake....sure she's here hold on" Sarah said, handing the phone to Grace and mouthing, "Your dad sounds pissed."

"Hi dad" Grace said.

"Grace where are you right now?" Jake asked as Grace told him about their visit to Cori's. "Well you need to come home right now and I mean as soon as possible and bring your.....friend....bring Sarah with you."

"But why?" Grace asked before being rudely cut-off.

"Just get here" Jake said, hanging up abruptly.

Grace was surprised to hear Sarah knew something about the fight, when she said Jessie had returned to the room before she came down. Grace called the room and explained she and Sarah would drop off Katie and made sure Jessie could grab a ride home from Shell. Everyone agreed and 30 minutes later Sarah and Grace stood a few feet from the backdoor of the house watching as Lily and Jake had a rather animated conversation. It soon became clear to both that Jake had found something out and he wasn't taking it too well. Cause Lily as always, was trying to calm him down.

"Sure took you long enough" Jake snapped as Grace came through the door, followed by Sarah.

"We had to drop Katie off and get gas" Grace tried to explain, which only served to make Jake madder.

"You start Lil, I don't wanna say something I'll regret later" Jake said, clutching at the counter. Grace wasn't very surprised when Sarah stepped in front of her and took the lead in the conversation.

"I think I know what this is about" Sarah said confidently. "So if you're gonna attack someone, let it be me. I don't want you screaming at Grace."

"Honey no one's gonna be screaming" Lily said, hugging Sarah tightly around the neck, "we just need to know some stuff."

"Just answer us straight Grace" Jake said, looking his daughter directly in the eye, "are you and Sarah....are you and Sarah more than friends?"

Sarah looked to Grace, while Grace searched for an answer and looked pleadingly back at Sarah to say or do something. Sarah sensed her fear and again took the lead. With Grace's nodding approval, she said softly to Lily and then to Jake, "Yes, we are."

"She was right, I don't believe this shit" Jake said angrily, slamming his fist to the counter as he turned his back to them.

"Judy accidentally let it slip" Lily told Sarah as she held her still.

"Daddy calm down" Grace said, feeling a panic attack coming on as Sarah pulled away from Lily and moved to her side.

"I am calm Grace" Jake snapped as he turned around. "And don't get me wrong, this ain't about you dating a girl. This is about you lying to me and your mother for months."

"Lying....no we didn't I swear" Grace said, stepping in front of Sarah. "Daddy this whole thing is brand new. And Mom I swear I was gonna tell you about it. I promise, I wanted to be the one to tell you, I loved.....ummmmm... that I love Sarah... that we were more than friends. But we never had the right time. I mean I spend so much time with her that I don't see you that much anymore."

"It's ok Grace I see how happy you've been and if that's what makes you happy then I sure ain't gonna ask you to stop" Lily said, kissing Grace's cheek and hugging her.

"So you're the reason huh?" Jake asked coldly of Sarah.

"For what?" Sarah asked, her heart skipping a beat.

"For Grace's being happier than I've seen her since she's was 5" Jake said, his icy stare softening.

"I hope so" Sarah said, smiling at Grace. "Cause god knows she saved me from going insane."

"So you're ok with.......this" Sarah asked, stealing the thought from Grace's mind.

"I'm ok with my daughter being happy" Jake said softly as he hugged Grace. "I'm still a little pissed at both of you for not telling us sooner."

"I swear she wanted to, but I tied her up and wouldn't let.....ooops bad choice of words" Sarah said as the room erupted in nervous laughter.

"If being gay is what makes you happy, then I can deal with it, I guess" Jake said as Grace got this confused look on her face and replied. "At's just like Judy to let the cat out of the bag and leave the kittens stuck inside."

"Huh?" Jake asked in his own confusion as everyone seemed to be at this point.

"I'm not gay Dad" Grace said. "I'm with Sarah cause I'm in love with her not because I suddenly discovered I'm gay."

"Honey you either are or you aren't" Jake said as Grace moved back to Sarah's side.

"Look dad if you wanna hang some dumb label on me, fine but I know what I am" Grace said.

"No one is gonna label you" Lily said as Sarah suddenly noticed Lily's face was a pale white color and wondered if she was feeling ok. Jake's cell started ringing then; he quickly picked it up and started in on a rather heated conversation as the other three watched on. Grace thought to herself it was no doubt Tiffany on the other end. Sensing he wasn't getting anywhere, Jake excused himself and left through the back door.

"Dad and Tiff are fighting like crazy lately huh?" Grace asked as silence filled the room and Lily nodded her head yes.

"Lily are you feeling ok?" Sarah asked, moving close to her as they sat down at the table.

"Yeh just a little stomach flu that's going around" Lily said as Grace too noticed she was looking a little colorless.

"Flu? What flu?" Sarah asked, "I haven't heard anything about it."

"Orrrrrrrrr.....it could be something else" Grace said, hinting as Sarah quickly caught on and looked to Lily with a wide eyed excitement.

"Don't be silly" Lily said as Grace sat down aside Sarah.

"Will you go to the doctor and see? Or we could just go to the Kwik Mart and get a test" Sarah replied excitedly.

"Oh stop, I am not pregnant" Lily said, blushing.

"So your little friend is on time right?" Sarah asked as a look of shock came over Lily's face.

"Oh my god....I'm late" Lily said as she stood up and started to pace.

"YES" Sarah screamed, pumping her fist in the air. "I'm gonna have a little sister.....or brother."

"You are?" Grace asked teasingly as Sarah looked at her with a frown and replied, "Ok you will then. I'll just be alone in the world."

"Nah" Grace said, sliding into the same chair as Sarah and slipping her arms around her neck and saying, "you won't be all alone, I promise. You'll have me."

"Yeh and Lily said she'd adopt me, right Mom?" Sarah said as Lily grinned at her.

"Yeh just trying to find a pin so we can sign the papers" Lily said as Sarah plucked one from the cup holder in the center of the table and handed it to her. Lily played along as she took the pin and signed her name on the back of Sarah's hand.

"Now it's official, I'm a member of the family" Sarah said, showing Grace her hand as Grace laughed and kissed the spot lightly.

"Sarah Grasser-Manning-Sammler.....hmmmmm has a ring to it."

"Oh shut up, you are not changing your name" Grace said, poking her ribs as Sarah squirmed with laughter.

After some urging from her "daughters" Lily agreed to make a doctor's appointment for the next morning. Zoë wandered into the kitchen and volunteered to go with her after hearing the news about Lily's possible pregnancy. Rick arrived home and to no one's surprise was shocked and then happy about the news.

The Next Morning...

Rick left early for work with word that he was to be called as soon as there was any news what so ever on the possible baby. Lily hurried Zoë into the shower and before long; they were off to the doctor's office downtown. Lily had tried to get an early appointment but being that her doctor was fairly well-known, he was booked solid, so she was told to come in and they'd get her in when they could. After sitting for more than an hour, Zoë began complaining.

"Well if your tired of waiting go downstairs and look around for a while" Lily said, "just take my cell and I'll call you from the office when I'm ready."

"Alright thanks Mom" Zoë said, snagging Lily's phone and rushing out the door to freedom. Finally feeling the sun on her face, she breathed a huge breath of fresh air and heard some screaming coming from behind her. Looking back, she could see some girl in a sleeveless jean jacket being forced out of a nearby store by some dude in a security uniform. Zoë began walking towards the shop and the girl out of curiosity; she looked in the windows of nearly every store as she drew closer and tried to see what the girl, who was now sitting on the steps a few stores away, was trying to open with a knife.

Not being able to see clearly, nor having the courage to approach her, she instead ducked inside the store nearest the steps as the girl looked up. Turning, she was met by an older lady with a pleasant smile.

"Are we looking for a gift or something for ourselves today?" The lady asked.

"Ourselves, I mean myself" Zoë said, giggling as the woman smiled and Zoë noticed her name tag read "Connie Lowell".

"What do we have in mind?" Connie asked, "Possibly something to enhance a budding figure or maybe something a little more adventurous."

"Ummmmm yes the first one" Zoë said nervously, "Just something to make......you know...make people notice me."

"Miss, you came to the right place, I know exactly what you're going through and I think we can solve your problem until the real things become more noticeable" Connie said, smiling reassuringly.

"Where are the thongs?" A female voice said from behind Zoë. She turned to see the same girl from earlier standing there with her hands stuffed inside her pockets.

"Lingerie and undergarments for young adults" Connie said, pointing to the section as the girl walked off towards that direction.

"You know I might check those out too" Zoë said as she followed after the girl and Connie excused herself for a moment. Zoë noticed right away the thong showing clearly above this girl's pants and thought about how she probably wasn't much older, if any. They both looked for a minute or so in silence.

"So you wear them all the time or just looking?" The girl asked, snapping Zoë back to reality.

"Looking, just looking" Zoë answered, "aren't they uncomfortable?"

"No no not at all" The girl said seemingly being shocked when Zoë replied with such an even tone to her voice. "Maybe the first time it feels a little weird, but after that you get used to it."

"Too bad I don't have 30 bucks" Zoë commented, looking at the price on a peach colored one, that struck her fancy.

"That matches your eyes" The girl said as she looked at the thong and then to Zoë. "Really brings out the color, I think it suits you. You should get it."

"I dunno my Mom wouldn't exactly let me out of the house wearing something like this" Zoë said.

"So don't let her see it" The girl said, "What's your name by the way?"

"Zoë Manning and yours?"

"Sam McCree" She replied, "after all what she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"I've heard that one before" Zoë replied, laughing as Sam giggled along.

"So you gonna get this?" Sam asked, running her fingers up and down the silk fabric.

"Wish I could" Zoë said, looking at the price, "a little high for my budget."

"Ahhhhhh gotcha" Sam said, "I tell ya what, do me a favor and I'll do you one."

"Ok?" Zoë said in a nervous questioning manner.

"Go back and pretend to be shopping for something and tie up old nosey back there and meet me outside by the fountain in 10 minutes" Sam said. "Ok?"

"Uhhhhhh ok sure" Zoë said as she and Sam parted and she walked to the desk and asked for the assistance that Connie had promised earlier. Connie showed her to a rack not far from Sam and helped Zoë select several different bras and tops and then guided her to the shop's dressing rooms where she tried each one on and took Connie's advice on how to best show off her "burgeoning figure". Zoë's mind wandered to Sam and what she planned to do. Why did she need me to tie up Connie for a while for? And why do I need to meet her in 10 minutes by the fountains?

A lot of questions Zoë thought and not a lot of answers. She thanked Connie for her advice and said she would come back when she has some more money which to Zoë's surprise seemed to make the woman happy. Exiting the store, she looked for this fountain and saw it off in the distance with Sam sitting on the side dangling her feet in. Something that you're not allowed to do, according to a sign clearly posted on the walk.

"Ok I'm here" Zoë said as Sam turned and grinned at her while reaching down and picking up a bag identical to hers. One from the store they just left. "Shae McKays" it read on the side. "Now why did you need me to....?"

"Here" Sam said, handing her the bag and smiling with a huge grin. Zoë opened it and found several items. A blue print shirt, a pair of low rider jeans, a belt, and the peach thong she was looking at.

"Nice clothes and you got that thong I wanted" Zoë said smiling, "I'm mad now. You must be loaded."

"Yeh I guess" Sam commented, "but the bag's not mine, it's yours."

"You're giving this to me?" Zoë said as she sat down on the edge of the fountain and started to take some of the clothes out, before Sam stopped her and said "Whoa there Manning, just leave that shit in the bag till we get some place a little safer ok?"

"Why?" Zoë asked as Sam slipped her sandals back on and, sneaking a peak at the surroundings, grabbed Zoë's hand and dragged her off towards the parking lot of the doctor's building. Zoë pointed out Lily's car as her and Sam sat down by the bumper, Zoë waiting for some answers. "Well?"

"Well what?" Sam asked, ripping the tags off the clothes in Zoë's bag.

"Why are you giving these to me, they must have cost 200 bucks" Zoë said.

"Not for me" Sam said with a smirk. "And for your information, it was only $161 dollars plus tax."

"You stole them?" Zoë asked in a hush hush voice as Sam nodded her head.

"Just consider this my way of asking, you wanna be friends?" Sam said as Zoë examined the gorgeous clothes and had to admit she would look great in them. "That top would make your boobs look double the size. And those hip huggers will go perfect with that thong. Just low enough without being slutty."

"Why do you want to be my friend so bad?" Zoë asked after a moment of silence.

"Cause I'm hot for your body" Sam said as she started to giggle out loud. "I dunno, cause I don't have a lot of friends. I guess."

"This is pretty" Zoë said, holding up the blue print as Sam held the strings at the bottom and said, "These are for when you wanna tie it off above your belly or whatever. You wear this, tied like right here" She said pointing to a place just below her tits "and these low riders and that thong, you'll have every guy in Chicago after you, and most of the girls too."

"Ya think?"

"I don't think, I know so" Sam said, taking everything and stuffing it into the bag. "Just take them ok, I just think they'd look great on ya and I want ya to have them, that's all. No strings attached. You can tell me to go fuck off now if you want, but I'd still like us to be friends though."

"All you had to do was ask" Zoë said, taking the bag from Sam.

"Yeh but this way, I knew you wouldn't say no" Sam said, giggling as Zoë pulled out the car keys and opened the trunk and watched as Sam dumped her bag inside also saying, "You don't mind do you? I'll come by and get it in a day or so?"

"No not....at...all" Zoë said, stuttering as she gave Sam her address and closed the trunk.

"Oh shit the 5-0 just rolled in" Sam said, hunkering down, "I gotta go, it was nice meeting you Manning. Although you never seen me."

"Exactly" Zoë said, walking away and not quite believing the situation she had gotten herself into. She stopped for a second and watched Sam disappear across the street and tried to come up with a cover story for if and when Lily found those clothes. She came to the conclusion that she could volunteer to clean out the trunk when they got home and could easily sneak the stuff to her room.

"Excuse me young lady" A voice said behind Zoë as she turned to see a police cruiser sitting in front of her with an officer leaning across the seat and smiling pleasantly.

"Ummmmmmm yes....officer" Zoë said as she swallowed the lump that had suddenly developed in her throat.

"Have you seen any other girls about your age in the area?" He asked, flipping through a manual on the seat while trying to maintain eye contact. "About your height, short brown hair, sleeveless jean jacket and jeans?"

"Nnn.....No" Zoë croaked as she saw Lily come out of the front door of the doctor's building.

"Honey what's wrong?" Lily asked, joining Zoë by the cruiser.

"Afternoon Ma'am, I was just asking if your daughter had seen a girl that's about her age around here in the last few minutes" The officer said as he smiled once again and drove away a few seconds later.

"What did they want her for?" Lily asked as Zoë tried her best to act innocent as they walked to the car.

"Who knows, maybe he likes younger girls" Zoë said as Lily swatted at her. "Whoa wait, mom what did they say? About the baby, am I gonna be a big sister?"

"I was wondering when you'd remember that" Lily said, smiling as they settled into the car and pulled out of the driveway headed home. Zoë waited impatiently as they stopped at the entrance and waited for a break in the traffic. Glancing to the right, she saw a car stop and a girl darted out from behind a garbage can and into the car. Zoë thought to herself that looked an awful lot like Sam.

"And so I'll be on pins and needles I guess till then" Lily said, finishing a sentence that Zoë realized she had missed most of.

"Wait what?" Zoë said as Lily laughed and started again.

"I said, now pay attention this time" Lily said laughing, "Dr. Rose said the tests results were inconclusive at first and they had to run them again. They thought it might take another few hours or so before they got them back. So instead of having me wait, she said they would call when and if they had the final results."

"Dumbass doctors" Zoë said as Lily gave her a stern look. "Sorry Mom."

"Hey look there's Jessie's Mom" Zoë said as Lily looked straight ahead and saw Karen riding in the passenger seat of an SUV as it turned in front of them and went into the parking lot. Zoë quickly turned and watched the car park. From their angle she could see Karen get out, but could only see the feet of the person with her.

"Wonder who Karen's with?" Zoë asked her mom with a teasing smile.

"Henry I assume" Lily said, matching Zoë's goofy grin.

"Since when did he get such a bitchin' SUV like that?" Zoë asked pointedly, making Lily think; knowing Henry drove a different make and color of car altogether. Sure makes ya wonder, Lily thought.

"You know what I bet?" Zoë said as she turned to Lily, seeing if her mom would play along like always.

"What Zoë?" Lily asked as she pulled out on the main street after a break in the traffic finally came.

"I'll bet Karen dumped poor old Henry and that was her and her new boyfriend out on their very first date, or maybe they been seeing each other secretly since she and Henry started having trouble" Zoë said as Lily gave her a look of 'where do you get this stuff from.'

"HMMMM I wonder who he is...or maybe he's a she!"

"Zoë Manning, sometimes I wonder about you. So why don't you use that wild imagination of yours and help me figure out a way to get this car clean" Lily said as Zoë froze in mid breath and realized this had to be a gift from god. She first took a deep breath, and tried to remain as calm as possible, so as not to draw suspicion.

"Not a problem, I can use the power vac on the carpet and stuff if you want" Zoë offered.

"You're volunteering to clean out my car for me?" Lily asked with a huge grin, "You must be the one who's sick, not me."

"You're pregnant and I wanna be a big sister" Zoë said, thinking about each word as it came out of her mouth and about how it was exactly the right answer to give at that moment. "So if I can do a little something to help make it come true, I'll gladly do it."

"Ok what do you want?" Lily asked as Zoë laughed out loud, realizing she had taken the niceness to far, almost blowing her cover.

"There's a dead body in the trunk that I wanna get rid of before you see it" Zoë said, deciding to try a different approach now, and hoping she sounded like Sarah just a little. "So when we get home, just get out and walk quietly to the house and don't look back."

"Zoë Manning you been spending too much time with Sarah" Lily said, laughing. "You're even acting like her now."

"Yeh so I love Sarah" Zoë said and, seeing Lily's almost shocked look, went on, "I mean I love Sarah like my best friend not like Grace does."

"I know that, I'm not totally clueless" Lily said.

"Yeh I bet some people would argue that point" Zoë giggled as Lily swatted at her again. A long moment of silence followed as Zoë thought about the last bit of conversation and her thoughts drifted to Sarah and then to Sarah and Grace's relationship. "Are you ok with Sarah and Grace being together....really and truly ok?"

"What makes you think I wouldn't be?" Lily asked, not being surprised at all at Zoë's straight forward question.

"Nothing, it was just a question."

"Well guess I've had some time to get used to Sarah's presence in the house and all, so if she makes Grace happy...." Lily said, realizing she had been using that term a lot lately. "No...I don't have a problem with it."

"You like having Sarah around" Zoë said as Lily blushed for a reason unknown to her.

"And what makes you think that?"

"Oh come on Mom, you know it's true" Zoë said, "you let her call you Mom and you're forever hugging her and trying to make her feel like family. You're getting attached."

"I am not" Lily said, lifting her head as Zoë fell back against the seat laughing, finding it so funny that her Mom could still act like a child at her age.

"Yep" Zoë said a moment later after she caught Lily staring off into space, and hoping to get a reaction out of her, "since Jessie and Grace are doing the lesbian thing, I might as well try it."

"HUH?" Lily said, snapping her head around as Zoë tried to keep a straight face.

"Yep and I know just who I'm gonna ask out too."

"Young lady you're getting too big for your own britches" Lily said as she caught on to the joke, or what she hoped was a joke. Zoë was again laid back on her seat laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Zoë laughed until her sides hurt as Lily blushed from head to toe. The rest of the ride home was rather quiet. As they pulled into the driveway a few minutes later, she gave Zoë some last minute instructions on what to do with the stuff in the floor board. Zoë thinking fast, had talked Lily into taking a nap and as soon as she heard her mom's bedroom door shut, she grabbed a couple of bags from the kitchen and rushed back outside and popped the trunk. Spying Sam and hers "five finger discounted" merchandise, she stuffed both bags into the larger trash bag and calmly walked back inside and up to her room. She opened her closet and shoved it in behind the pile of shoes and carefully covered it up. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, she walked back downstairs and out the back door only to see someone snooping around in the still opened trunk.

"Jen?" Zoë asked as she recognized who it was finally. Jennifer jumped and swung around and smiled as best she could.

"Ummmmmm hey" Jennifer said as Zoë joined her at the back of the car.

"Long time no see" Zoë said, her eyes catching the light reflecting off the gorgeous gold necklace hanging from Jennifer's neck. It spelled out "Mikey Mike" in cursive letters. Zoë's mind wondered as to where she would get such a beautiful piece of jewelry and just who was her Mikey Mike? Shaking that thought from her head, she noticed one other thing that couldn't be missed; two very prominent bumps had now formed on Jennifer's chest. Two that had not been there the last time she had seen her.

"So....ummmm....what's up with.....you....these days" Jennifer asked nervously and looked down the driveway for an instant, before snapping her head back to Zoë's attention. Something she would repeat several times in the next few short minutes, Zoë noticed.

"Who's Mikey?" Zoë asked, brushing off the initial question.

"Who?" Jennifer asked before noticing the chain around her neck again, "oh yeah...ummmm....something I need to tell you....I guess."

"You do?" Zoë asked, looking up as the smiled vanished from Jennifer's face.

"Yeh..." Jennifer said, looking down the driveway again nervously and then clutching the chain in her hand and going on, "Ummmm....I didn't mean for this to happen Zoë, I swear, it just did and now I don't know what to do about it."

"What ya run out of Kleenex?" Zoë asked teasingly, as Jennifer caught on to what she was asking and glanced briefly down at her chest before looking up and snapping. "They're bigger than yours and mine are real."

"So what? I was just kidding" Zoë said as Jennifer gave her a dirty look. "Anyway...what was it?"

"Oh ...ummmm....yeah" Jennifer stammered again and Zoë knew that bad news was probably coming. "I like Michael..."

"Michael? Michael Logan?" Zoë asked, thinking again about the necklace now being clutched in Jennifer's hand.

"Yeh...." Jennifer said, trailing off before blurting out the entire thing in one long breath, "You remember we kissed, and you told Michael and he got mad and everything. Well he called me a few nights later and told me it was all my fault about you guys being mad at each other."

"Yeh" Zoë said, looking at her intently now.

"Well after he quit being mad, he called me back and apologized and we started talking..." Jennifer said as Zoë knew bad news was coming. But her mind had frozen and she couldn't for the life of her think of what it might be. "...a lot, like all the time, and now we like each other and he wants to break up with you and go with me."

"HUH?" Zoë said as Jennifer braced for her wrath. "You better be kidding Jen, you better be playing a joke."

"It's no joke" Jennifer said as Zoë looked off into the distance and saw Michael standing by a tall bush at the end of the driveway across the street. "I like him Zoë. I'm sorry."

"Jen he's my boyfriend" Zoë said as the numb feeling of shock set in. "YOU STOLE MY BOYFRIEND YOU WHORE."

"I AM NOT A WHORE" Jennifer screamed in reply. "And besides when was the last time you called him, HUH? And when was the last time you called me for that matter? I thought we were friends."

"We were before you stole my boyfriend" Zoë said, slamming the trunk violently as she moved towards Jennifer. "I HATE YOU, DID YOU KNOW THAT? I FUCKIN' HATE YOUR UGLY ASS. I NEVER LIKED YOU. I hope he dumps you too. Cause he will, he's fucking scum."

"He really really likes me, you don't know anything" Jennifer said, walking away as tears came to her eyes.

"YOU'RE A GOD DAMN COWARD MICHAEL LOGAN" Zoë screamed with her fists clenched at her side as Michael ran up to meet Jennifer at the bottom of the driveway. He whispered something in her ear and as she turned to look at him, she smacked his face with a resounding thud. Zoë looked on in total shock as Michael stumbled backwards and then with a look of rage in his eyes, he swung wildly at Jennifer and landed a solid shot to her face.

"DON'T YOU EVER HIT ME AGAIN BITCH" Michael screamed as Zoë jumped up and ran towards the end of the driveway, for what reason she didn't know. But she could see Jennifer slumped in the fetal position as Michael kept telling her to get up. He backed off as Zoë stopped in front of Jennifer and dropped to her knees and rolled her over to see if she was ok.

"What the hell was that for?" Zoë asked Michael.

"It was his idea for me to tell you, he made me do it" Jennifer said as she cried. "He said if I did, he wouldn't tell anyone about the things I told him, when I thought he liked me."

"But you said...." Zoë started before Jennifer sat up, tears flowing from her eyes like a faucet.

"I swear it's true. He wanted to hurt you for cheating on him" She said pointing at Michael. "He made me do it."

"I cheated on you?" Zoë asked in stunned shock, but getting no response from Michael. "Answer me, shit for brains."

"Yeh you kissed her" He stammered and stepped back as Zoë picked up a stick laying in the yard. "You cheated on me."

"I'll show you cheating mother fucker" Zoë said, chasing after Michael and swinging wildly as he ran off. "FUCK YOU ASSHOLE."

He crossed the street at a dead run and stumbled at the end of another house's driveway, giving Zoë just enough time to catch up. He rose and looked back, meeting Zoë's eyes and seeing them filled with rage. She swung with every muscle in her body straining and landing a solid blow to his stomach. The air left his body as he himself slumped to the ground and she began kicking at him and screaming a steady stream of filth. A loud car squeal drew Zoë's attention away from Michael as she looked to see Sarah jumping out of Grace's car and running towards them, the distraction giving Michael enough time to manage to escape. Sarah stopped Zoë from going after him and got the details of what was happening as soon as she could calm her down enough. She ushered her inside with Grace and Jennifer in tow only to find Rick and Lily setting at the kitchen table, with Jessie and Eli standing around looking as if they were trying to hide their excitement over something. Lily though looked like she had been crying.

"Mom what happened?" Grace asked, feeling a panic attack coming on as she sat down at the table.

"You're gonna be a big sister again" Lily said simply with a huge tear stained smile.

"YESSSSSS!!!!!" Sarah screamed as she hugged Zoë and the room filled with laughter.