Pacing his foyer, Orlando listened to his girlfriend talk about all of the simple things of the day. Cheerleading practice, how her brother burned dinner, and basically everything under the sun outside of their topic at lunch. Which is why she wanted him to call tonight. She had said there was more to say, right? He hadn't made that part up had he?

He listened to her talk anyway, saying the appropriate "uh huh" and "okay" and even nodding when needed.

"Can you believe Mrs. Henley gave us two chapters of reading for the weekend? Doesn't she know it's a holiday? I have a lot of socializing and shopping to do. Now I have to read and do the questions at the end of the section?" Tait whined.

"It's nothing drastic. I finished it in ten minutes," Orlando said. "So you're one of those Black Friday three-in-the-morning crazy people who attack all of the stores for the ninety-nine-cent DVD sale?"

"When you say it like that, it sounds so negative."

"I believe Black Friday is of the devil to ruin the holidays even more than the petty family drama. Besides, it's all a corporate trap." Now he was just making things up, but it sounded good at the time. He was smiling, even if she couldn't see it. He hoped she could sense he was telling a joke.

"Well, as you'll find out, shopping is generally the highlight of the week even if I do have to push my way through crazies to get a good deal. Remember how I said the little things keep me going? This is one of those little things."

"Thanksgiving that bad?"

"My grandparents are opinionated, which makes my parents edgy, which makes me even more so. On top of that, my cousins are privileged brats who think they own everything and everyone. If my brother Peyton wasn't such a saint and lovable it'd be miserable."

"Oh, so they're a lot like me. We'll get along perfectly."

She snorted from laughing so hard. "You're a lot of things, but definitely not like them. You don't flaunt things, and your bratty moments are like heaven compared to theirs."

"Glad to know you think so highly of me," he teased.

"You know I..."

"Hmm?"

"What?"

"You going to finish that thought?"

She was quiet for a moment, and followed it with a light laugh. "You know I only think the best of you."

Orlando was pretty sure she was going to say something else, but he sighed with relief when she didn't. If she'd dropped the "L" word on him, he wasn't sure how he'd handle it.

A lot of the things he felt with Tait were new for him. But love? He didn't think he was there yet, not in such a short period of time. The one other girl he'd dated, and thought he'd loved, turned out to be nothing more than fourteen-year-old puppy love.

She'd also been a gold digger. He'd only liked her because she was cute and giggly which is what most boys in his social circle were into at the time. Now he was attracted to smart girls who also happened to be cute. Intelligence was more the necessity or else he'd get bored fast.

"Yes, I'm sure you do," he said at last.

"Doubting me?"

"No, actually."

"Good, because I only talk you up. You should have heard me this afternoon when I was asking about Thanksgiving. Mom's thrilled with the idea."

He swallowed. "So long as you didn't paint an unrealistic picture of me to her, I should be able to handle attending. My sister is officially going to her boyfriend's mom's place. I've been invited to join of course, but seeing as how I've interacted with him a whole three times, I'd rather not."

"Do you not like him?"

"He's nice enough, but our conversation consists of 'hey, good to see you again', and then they leave the house to suck face or something."

"They have to leave the house? We do that on your couch," she teased.

"Not when she's home." He bit his lip and his face grew hot at the idea of his sister walking in on him and Tait kissing.

Sucking face was a stretch. There wasn't even tongue involved yet, so he didn't think it counted, but he'd humor her. She knew more about this stuff anyway apparently, so maybe he was wrong to begin with. If his sister Lyssa ever saw them so much as hand holding, he'd never hear the end of it. The two had yet to even meet.

"Anyway," he added quickly, "they go out on dates and what not. She knows I'm not comfortable with the idea of her having a boyfriend. The past few times she's had one it never ended well, and since my parents aren't home the duty of silently judging him to the point of discomfort falls on my shoulders."

"Naturally."

"Plus I told her it was against the rules to do that anywhere I could see it. I like to keep my food in my stomach."

"You're so funny." She laughed.

"I'm not sure what's amusing about it."

"It's hard to explain, but I've never met a guy like you before. You're so anti-PDA, but at the same time when it's just us you're not exactly shy. You talk the talk, but don't exactly walk the walk."

"Are you calling me an oxymoron?"

"All I'm saying is I think it's cool. Because you don't play head games. It's not like I think you're a poser bad boy or something. I mean, you can be a huge jerk to people you don't like. When you want to, you're the biggest gentleman I've ever met. You respect me."

"Because you've earned it," he said softly, his mind wandering to their earlier conversation.

Vance hadn't respected her. Was he the only one she dated who didn't? There were a lot of what-ifs floating around in Orlando's head. She'd told him she had four boyfriends before him. Was Vance the only one she'd been in love with? Slept with? Did she fall hard and fast for everyone she dated? Or were her previous relationships, sans Vance, more like Orlando's two? Nothing more than innocent flirtations.

Tait sighed. "Anyway, I'm trying to compliment you here. This air of mystery you have going, along with your soft teddy bear thing, is working. It's hot. It's..."

Don't say it. Please don't.

"Sexy."

He closed his eyes. A good thing to hear, but not good timing. Plus the way she was going about it made him feel like she was buttering him up for something, or preparing him for bad news.

"I've been told I have a certain charm to me," he deadpanned in an effort to remain cool and composed.

"Which is why my parents are going to love you, so please, please, please come to Thanksgiving."

"You did say please, so I guess I have to."

Although, he wasn't sure who he should be more worried about. Her parents, her grandparents, or her cousins. Good thing her twin brother Peyton would be there too, or else Orlando might end up going crazy. If they were going to be a real couple, he'd have to bite the bullet eventually. Same with introducing her to his sister.

Tait let out yet another sigh, she'd been doing that a lot it seemed. Why? "Thank you, and thank you for everything else too."

"I'm not sure what—"

"With Vance. It can't be an easy pill to swallow. I probably should have mentioned it sooner than now, but I was worried about what you'd think of me or if it would change our relationship. You know what I mean?"

Not really. But he didn't pretend to understand how other people thought.

"I guess I was wrongfully worried you might think that meant we..." she said.

"Oh." He didn't want her to finish that thought.

The idea of sleeping with her gave him tingles and knots all at the same time. His male teenage hormones waged war with the logic and inner workings of his heart. It was way too soon to even be considering that path with her.

Wasn't it?

He didn't know much about what was normal anymore for teenagers, but he was pretty sure not jumping into bed with her after a handful of weeks was a good thing. It felt right to him at least.

Neither of them said anything for such a long time that he had to check to make sure she hadn't been disconnected from the line. He heard Lyssa come home from wherever she'd been, probably with her boyfriend, and decided it was a good time to move to a new location so she wouldn't eavesdrop.

Climbing the stairs quickly, he went up to his room and shut the door. Tait was breathing hard on the other end, and it took him a moment to figure out she might be upset.

"I'm not weirding you out am I?"

"Not exactly. I had to move before my sister started bugging me and asking five million questions I don't want to deal with right now. She's super nosy." He got comfortable on his bed. "Anyway, Tait, dear, you need not worry about me being bothered here because I'm not. The past is the past. Neither of us can change it. Now, you said there was more you wanted to talk about?"

"I'm paranoid this will change everything and I—I like you a lot."

"We all have our past problems," he said. I certainly have loads of them.

"I guess you're right."

"You know I am. It doesn't bug me."

Not in the ways she was no doubt thinking. He didn't know a lot about women, but living with Lyssa through her high school drama shed a little light on the stuff girls tended to agonize over.

One thing he noticed was they had a tendency to get wrapped up in what other people thought of them. Granted, he had his moments too, but girls were different about it. He wanted her parents to like him for simplicity's sake more than the need for approval.

Tait seemed to be seeking the opposite. Did she need his validation? Is that why she was freaking out so much? He was pretty sure he heard her hiccup before sniffling.

"I should probably go," she whispered.

"Before you do," he said and paused, searching for the right words. He hated when she cried and especially being the cause of it. Whatever he told her next would be the most impactful part of their conversation. "I want to make sure you understand how I feel. I don't think less of you. I promise. It wasn't your fault. I'm not mad or disappointed in you, but I am with him. You're quite possibly the most beautiful and strongest person I've ever met, so don't let him win. Or forget that, okay? I..." The words got stuck in his throat. Not yet, he wasn't feeling it yet. "I'll see you tomorrow."

More sniffling, but when she spoke next he thought she sounded in a better mood. Her tone lifted a little, and she wasn't so hard to hear. "Thank you. Goodnight Orly."

"Goodnight." He hung up and stared at his ceiling.

Would it ever end? Relationship drama was more than normal, but he wasn't so sure he could balance it on top of searching for the villainous evil doers who worked for The Doctor, and the poor victims who had suffered at his hands. Orlando almost wished he'd talked about it earlier with her, just get it all out in the open right off the bat.

Yes, there was still stuff he had to do for Alan then, but he was in training. It didn't require as much of his mental energy. Now he was starting to enter the realm of too much happening at once.

Hopefully Tait would believe him and the problem could be done for the time being. Ideally it wouldn't come up again until they were ready to take their relationship to the next level, and even then he silently prayed he'd be over any petty insecurities. Love would make it easier, he was sure. All he had to do was wait to feel it.

He stood from his bed, ready to go down and greet his sister before dinner and get all of his family socializing duties over and done with. Lyssa had beaten him to the punch because she knocked on his door and then entered just as he was about to step out.

"Yes?" he asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Just coming to see where you were. I thought I heard you talking."

"I was on the phone." He pushed his way past her so they could eat. His stomach was starting to grumble.

She matched his pace, watching him as they walked. "With?"

"My girlfriend." He rolled his eyes.

"I was just curious. You don't need to be so secretive. It's my job to know these things."

A smirk formed on his lips. How long would it take for her to realize he wasn't lying to her? Why would he lie about it to begin with? He'd never done it before. Sarcastic comments were his specialty, but those were always based around a nugget of truth.

She probably thought he was referring to Cadence. Lyssa was still getting used to the idea of him actually having friends for a change, which might have been why she was so nosy. Clearly, nobody would like him unless something was going on. Granted, something was happening, but it still annoyed him. He was likable. Tait proved that.

Lyssa continued to stare at him as they stepped into the kitchen. "You're not pulling my chain are you? I was wondering how long it would take for you to ask C—"

"Not her. Remember how I told you about the Sadie Hawkins dance, and how I was in negotiations with a girl?" He went to the refrigerator to start looking for something edible. Leftovers tonight. It was every man for himself.

"Yes?"

"I went to that dance in case you forgot."

"I didn't realize you had a date."

"It was never brought up again." He picked up some cold pizza, and a baked potato. He'd start there and let his sister at least have a few options before cleaning house.

She nodded. "Note to self. Remember to continue inquiries and ask you a lot of annoying questions. So who is she?"

"My girlfriend."

"Yes, but does she have a name?"

"Tait, and she's the captain of the cheerleading squad."

Both of his sister's eyebrows shot up. "A cheerleader?"

"I told you about her before. Why are you so surprised?" He sighed, putting the potato in the microwave before getting everything he needed to fix it up to his liking.

She continued to watch him, and it was making him uncomfortable. What was her problem?

Now she was smiling, and he saw a slight glimmer in her eyes he hadn't noticed in a long time. "You have, yeah. I shouldn't be surprised, I know. I'm not, not exactly. It's just nice to see you returning to normal."

His jaw tightened and he ignored the beep of the microwave for the time being so he could glare at her. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Don't get mad."

"Then stop talking like there's something wrong with me."

"There isn't, but you can't deny that ever since Dallas died you've changed."

Is she really going there? His dead best friend was the last thing he ever wanted to discuss with anyone. Nobody understood, and he was tired of trying to make them get it. "Or maybe I'm being more like I'm supposed to."

"If that were the case, then why do I see him whenever I look at you?"

His eyes closed tightly. "Because you know so much about what I used to be like. From what I remember, you were too busy partying with your college friends to know I was alive. Good to know it takes a fifteen-year-old boy slitting his wrists to get your attention. I'll remember that for the future."

"That's not funny. I worry about you enough as it is and—"

"I never asked you to worry about me."

"You're my brother."

"And?" He opened his eyes again and stared at her, making sure his gaze was as sharp as ever. "Don't tell me it's your job. Mom and Dad are our parents because it's a job to them. I'd rather be emancipated if that's how you feel about me."

Lyssa sat down, putting her head in her hands. "It started out that way, but I genuinely care about you too. All I was trying to say is I miss your old happy self. Maybe I'm expecting too much from you so soon. It's only been a year and a half, two, since we lost him? But I wasn't sure if your mocking his style was some kind of strange coping method. Is it? It's okay, I won't think less of you because of it. I just want to know what's going on in your head because I barely understand you. You keep changing on me."

"I thought that was normal for teenagers?"

She shrugged, but didn't look up at him. "It is. Throw me a bone Orly, even if it's a small one?"

Grabbing his food from the microwave, he started to task himself with preparing it, spreading butter over the flesh of the potato. "I don't know what's going on. He was the only person who accepted me for...me." He swallowed and he could feel tears stinging his eyes, which he hated. This is why he didn't like to talk about Dallas. "All I wanted in school was to be liked because it seemed like a good thing to be at the time. It feels good, but I won't do it anymore at the cost of my integrity. Does that make more sense to you?"

"I think so. Please at least make sure you're being true to yourself okay?"

Being myself is what killed him. He shook his head, not wanting to open up that can of worms. "While I figure that part out, I at least want to emulate someone I admire. I haven't changed as much as you think. No, I'm not some kind of happy, fluffy, jock anymore. But I've always been sarcastic. The only thing different is maybe I'm jaded, but that happens over time anyway. Right?"

"Unfortunately. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if you're punishing yourself."

She was too perceptive for her own good. "This is my problem to figure out. It's part of my journey, or whatever cliché philosophical mumbo jumbo phrase you want to use. They all mean the same thing."

"Just promise me you'll tell me if you think you're going to, I don't know, hurt yourself."

"I promise."

And he meant it. The last thing he wanted to do was go down the same path as his friend. Orlando had issues to deal with, but he vowed a long time ago to never put his family through the same kind of pain.

She let out a slow breath. "As long as you're happy, that's all I can ask for. Before, when you were into the sports and the popular scene, I could tell it wasn't part of who you are. I'm not sure what is anymore, but you're right, it's for you to figure out on your own. I'm sorry. My point was, it's just nice to see you happy and doing things for yourself again. Moving forward instead of staying home and playing video games, and continuing to isolate yourself. I'm not too thrilled with how you got there, but leaving Morningtide has been the best thing to happen to you for a while."

"Didn't I tell you it'd be a blessing in disguise?" He took the opportunity to switch the gears of the conversation to something more pleasant.

"I remember." The smile was returning to her face. Though they did it fairly often, arguing with his sister wasn't something he enjoyed.

"Anyway, I'm not going to come to Thanksgiving at Jon's. I've been invited elsewhere, but you can pass along the message that I'm happy to be thought of." He brought his food to the table, sat in his usual seat, and began to eat.

"He wants to spend some time with you soon. Maybe he can come to dinner some day?"

"Sure." He'd been expecting that to happen eventually.

As much as he wanted to point out to his sister that her dating life was her business, and he didn't need to be involved, he knew she wouldn't be okay with it. His approval was important to her. The more he knew about Jon and her, the harder it would be for him to like the guy. Protective brother instincts took over easily. Things would be a lot simpler if she'd date the guy and stop trying to shove Orlando into the equation.

"And when do I get to meet this girlfriend of yours?" she asked. Another thing he was dreading.

He grunted. "Eventually. Whenever you come home after work instead of staying late to do stuff."

"Fair enough. I know, how about you bring her to dinner with Jon and me?"

"Excuse me?"

On the one hand, having Tait there might make things easier. He could feel more relaxed, they'd be killing two birds with one stone, and he'd be on better behavior since he would also be in the hot seat. On the other hand, however, he didn't know how comfortable he'd feel about the whole thing. There were too many factors to consider.

"You heard me," she said and bit into a slice of buttered bread.

He ate his potato quietly for a moment. "Yeah, let's plan on it. Would next week be too soon? Probably? Yeah, don't want to put too much family drama into the mix all at once."

"It's not going to be dramatic."

"More time to prepare would be nice though, so two weeks. I'll bring her over after school, and cook."

Lyssa's eyes narrowed. "Why does this plan worry me?"

He stared into her eyes. "Because you have some bizarre expectations of me. Like I'm going to do something bad? I may be the delinquent of the family, but promise only good intentions here. Why would I purposefully hurt the two most important people in my life?"

A soft smile formed on her lips. "Two weeks then on Monday? That's the easiest day for Jon. He does a lot of work over the weekend at home. Some nerd club thing he's a part of. He builds robots and fights them. They're pretty cool looking. But Mondays are slow at work, so we won't be too tired. I know it's a school night, but it doesn't have to last for long."

"Works for me." He was about to take another bite from his food when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

Soon, the unmistakable sound of heavy metal rock and roll was being played which meant he didn't know the caller. He had a ring tone assigned to everyone in his phone, even the pizza delivery guy. So he was either getting a crank call, or a telemarketer. Maybe a wrong number. As he stared at the digits on the screen, he couldn't help but wonder why they looked so familiar to him. Then it dawned on him.

"Angela," he whispered and immediately left the kitchen so he could talk in peace. His sister watched him the whole time, frowning.

"Hello?" he answered, trying to stay cool and not wanting to be presumptuous in the off chance he was wrong.

"Hey Orly," Angela said with no hint of unease in her tone. If anything, she spoke to him like they were old time pals. She was so different from her brother.

"I'm apparently popular tonight." He couldn't help but smirk as he sat down on the staircase, once more settling in the foyer of his house. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your call? I know we exchanged numbers, but I thought I was supposed to wait three days before giving you a buzz. Isn't that the boy code for 'I'll call you'?"

"Yeah, it is, and that's why I'm calling tonight because I don't want to wait three days. This weekend, you and me are going to practice this stuff. I'd even say now, but for the time being I think I have things under control. Almost started the toaster on fire at home because I was feeling impatient while waiting for it."

He bit his lip, wincing slightly. "Not a good thing, no. Remember patience is a virtue and try to hold onto it until we can discuss concentration. Did Alan get you anything to help yet?"

"He gave me a book and something I'm supposed to use to translate his native language, but it kind of hurts my eyes. Actually, I'm not sure I can call this a book. He said it was, but it reminds me of one of those electronic tablet things? But it's thicker and has multiple pages. It's kind of hard to explain. Besides, I'm more of a hands-on learner."

"Noted, we can plan for Saturday. I should be free all day, so anytime you want to come over, go ahead. Actually, any time you want to, show up. Just call first, so I can make sure I'm awake or whatever. The Apartment is always accessible." That was the first rule they had made about their headquarters: it was always to remain open.

"I'll keep that in mind in case of an emergency. For now, Saturday should be fine. Thanks a bunch, you're a life saver I'll talk to you then unless I see you sooner."

"Yeah, sure thing, bye." He hung up and stared at his phone, half-expecting it to come back to life with another person trying to get hold of him. When it did nothing, he went back to the kitchen so he could finish his dinner.

Lyssa started to stare at him again while she ate. "Who was that?"

"A friend."

"A female friend, who isn't your girlfriend?"

"Yes, I have those. You've met Cadence. What's your point?"

She gave him an innocent shrug. "Just an observation."