OHMIGERD. Did I just updated twice in just a few days? Yes, yes. Thanks for all the great comments on the last chapter and all the votes! :) This is sort of an apology for taking so long on the last chapter. Lol. Song in the sidebar is I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts. I absolutely love this song.

ALSO! Thank you for the lovely word pictures on Instagram!

There were several word pictures from the last chapter and my favorite was the really colorful with the quote, "Everett didn't smile, but he had a feeling Lizzie knew how content he felt at the moment. He was happy. Or at least happier than he felt in a long time." from Lfisher426.

We're going to do for the rest of the story as well. Each chapter (including this one) take your favorite line and make a picture out of it. Hastag it #FindingEverett on Instagram and put your Wattpad username in the caption! My favorite's will get a dedication the following chapter! :)

Thanks for reading guys! *hand hearts*

Onward to the chapter!

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Lizzie tapped the eraser of her pencil against her Math textbook, staring at the wallpaper that covered her room. Only half the problems were solved so far and she still had a History paper due, plus studying for upcoming exams. It seemed like her life was spent studying, nothing else.

Well, except for spending time at the North home.

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she thought of the family that entered her life, in particular the two boys. She thought of how similar they were physically – brown eyes, dark hair, tall and similar facial expressions – but they were so different personality wise.

Jesse had been easy to befriend. They had a perfect personality match-up and it made it easy to just talk and laugh together. They instantly connected and found friendship within pencils, paper and paint.

Now Everett - he had been a completely different story. However, it seemed as though progress, as slow as it may have been, was being made. Slowly, Everett started to get used to her presence in his home.

Lizzie started to split her time equally between Jesse and Everett, hoping to maintain friendship with the one and budding trust with the other. It felt like it was getting increasingly difficult though, seeing as how the more Lizzie got to know Everett, the more she wanted to spend time with him and get to know him.

Everett turned out to be quite fascinating once he opened up. His mind held what seemed like an endless knowledge of music and History. He would spurt out random facts about the tune he played when they lapsed into silence.

While he found himself to be dull and uninteresting, Lizzie felt quite the opposite. Lately, more of his wit started to come out and occasionally, he would throw playful sarcasm or some witty response back at her. Lizzie wasn't entirely sure he was fully aware that he did it, but he did and she loved it.

Already, he seemed to relax around her and Lizzie couldn't help but take a sense of achievement in that. The boy who rarely even showed relaxation around his family loosened his shoulders and let his breathing even out in a content manner around her.

Everett shared his music with her, really shared it. She didn't just listen. Because he let her, Lizzie was now part of it.

Just the other day, Everett told her the story behind one of his tunes. He blushed as he told her it was from when his dog had died years ago, but she wiped away the embarrassment by telling him that she drew a thousand pictures in memory of her guinea pig that ran away when she was ten.

A twinkle entered his eye at her response, seemingly happy that instead of saying sorry, she replied with a sad if not slightly embarrassing story of her own.

Lizzie never wanted Everett to think he couldn't tell her something. She wanted him to know that all their lines of communication were completely open. In her heart, Lizzie knew she wanted to be his confidant; she wanted to know him inside and out.

In a very large way, Everett was like a Rubix cube. Her friendship was extended, Everett was responsive to a degree and all the signs of moving forward and solve the puzzle were there. But she struggled to align everything. Like solving the blasted cube puzzle, Lizzie felt ill equipped to solve Everett.

But she wouldn't give up trying. On her nightstand there laid a list of things that she and Everett could do, things that would draw him out of his shell. They were simple, fun things. Everett seemed like the kind of guy who didn't demand the extravagances of life.

"Lizzie, dinner!"

Startled from her reverie, Lizzie rolled off the bed, planting her feet on the floor as a response to her mothers calling and started to make her way to the kitchen.

Her mother, Francesca Baldwin, and her father, Edward Baldwin, were literally her favorite people in the world. They were crazy, eccentric and yet, they still had the ability to be classy and serious when the instance arose.

The pair however couldn't be more different in goals and likes, even though they loved each other so very much.

For instance, her father invested his life in science, a decent sized lab being locked away in the basement. Every so often, Lizzie liked to go down there and bug him while he worked, something that Edward Baldwin encouraged. His theory maintained that hands on experience was the best type and he loved when his daughter asked questions and tried her hand at different things. Edward wanted her to gain all the knowledge she could and relished in the fact that his daughter had the same love of science as her.

However, Lizzie got her artistic abilities straight from her mother. Francesca Baldwin lived and breathed art. One room in their house received the title of her personal art room and always had something or another going in there.

Sometimes, Lizzie would walk in to see a huge canvas tacked to the wall, her mother strategically (or maybe not so much) throwing water balloons filled with paint at it. Sometimes Lizzie would just slowly close the door and pretend she didn't see anything, just so she didn't ruin the level of concentration.

But other times, she would jump right in, grabbing a balloon or a paint brush or whatever seemed fit and painted alongside her mother.

That was what Lizzie loved about her family; everyone was pretty much allowed in everyone's business and they had a firm open door policy. No time could be too inconvenient to talk and they were never too busy.

Finishing her train of thought, Lizzie hopped down the last two steps and jogged toward the kitchen. "What's for dinner?" she asked, skidding into the kitchen with her socks, scooting to the spot next to her mother.

Sniffing the air, Lizzie sighed happily; seasoned chicken and rice, one of her favorite meals. Walking to the stove, she picked up the spoon dipped in the rice and took a quick slurp, savoring the spices and delicious flavor. Her eyes rolled around for a moment and she sighed happily.

Well, before the spoon got yanked from her grasp anyways. She turned her head over her shoulder and smiled brightly at her mom, who had an eyebrow raised at her.

"Uhm ... I tripped and ... fell. Then the spoon ... fell and somehow ended up in my mouth?" she explained, patting her mom on the shoulder as a reassurance to her tale.

Thumping her daughter on the forehead, Francesca replied, "You witty little goofball." The teasing tone in her voice forced a content smile on Lizzie's face and she moved aside so that the chicken could be removed from the oven.

"So how's your art project coming, sweetheart?" her mother asked, pulling the chicken from the oven and setting the tray on a cooling rack before slipping off her oven mitt and turning to stare at the other girl in the room.

Lizzie shrugged her shoulder and picked her nail. "Yeah, it's going okay. We've started some sketches, but none of them really pop out to us. Plus, I've been splitting my time between Jesse and Everett over there and ..." she trailed off, letting her mom summarize the rest.

"Still determined to see that boy happy, are you?" She asked, motioning for Lizzie to pull down plates from the cabinet.

"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Lizzie selected three plates from her favorite set, the blue and black ones, and laid them on the table.

Francesca brought over the food, laying it out before leaning on the chair and replying. "Liz, sweetie, I know you mean well, honest. But have you ever thought that maybe this boy just ... doesn't want to be bothered?"

"Of course I know that." Lizzie frowned, staring at the wood lines in the table. "But mom, you ... you should see him. I mean, he's already so much different. Yeah, he hasn't smiled, but I haven't given him a real reason yet. I can do this, mom. I can actually make a difference in someone's life. Why are you so against it?"

"Lizzie, I'm not against it. You know I love seeing happy faces just as much as you," Francesca replied with a frustrated sigh and running a hand through her red hair. "But not everyone wants to be saved."

Lizzie stared back at her mother and said, "But that doesn't give anyone a right to take away their life line."

When her mother didn't replied, Lizzie sighed and continued, "I know it seems hopeless. And I know most people would have given up on him already. A lot have. But as weird as this is, I have a gut feeling, Mom." She pleaded her case. "Everett deserves to have someone be invested in him as a person, not as a responsibility. He needs to see that people care for him because they want to, not because they have to."

A smile finally crossed her mothers features and she opened her arms for a hug. Lizzie quickly walked into the waiting arms and smiled in return.

"You have a big heart, Liz. Everett is very lucky to have you on his side." Pulling away, Francesca looked down at her daughter and grinned. "And when he realizes that you backed him up all along, I can promise there won't be anything strong enough to tear you two apart."

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Poking around at the food on her plate, Lizzie watched her parents chat with each other under their breath about the current state of their finances. While they were pretty well to do (Lizzie had a hefty college fund waiting for her), there were still so many bills and expenses going out every month.

Lizzie squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out the different trains of thought that were floating in the back of her mind. She knew things were taken care of, but couldn't fight the feeling that something needed to reach completion. Loose strings needed to be tied up and though she couldn't quite put her finger on it, Lizzie knew that she would figure it out soon. She had a lot that she needed to accomplish.

But how and what in the world did she need to finish?

Lizzie was so invested in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed that for the past several minutes, all she did with her food involved just pushing it back and forth across her plate.

Unknown to her, the set of parents that sat on either side of the table exchanged concerned glances. Of course they knew there were days when Lizzie just didn't have an appetite, just like anyone else. But that did nothing to ebb the worry they shared for their daughter.

Lightly clearing her throat, Francesca hesitantly said, "Sweetie, how are you feeling today?"

Lizzie looked up to her mother, finding a slight frown etched into the woman's features. Heaving a sigh, Lizzie scooped up a few more peas and potatoes and popped them in her mouth, chewing on them obnoxiously and switching her gaze between her parents.

She loved them dearly, but they suffocated her at times. Sure, Lizzie understood that they were concerned and it was very well placed concern. But that didn't mean it never grated on her nerves at times.

"Mom," she started after swallowing. "I'm fine. Seriously, if something were wrong I'd tell you. You don't have to constantly worry."

Once her mother turned away, seemingly satisfied with Lizzie eating again, she muttered, "at least not yet."

The rest of dinner went rather smooth, the occasional laugh being thrown in after the tense air that surrounded them earlier. Lizzie hadn't meant to snap at her family.

She knew that they were just concerned. But she had bigger things on her mind than her own problems and she wanted to get those taken care of.

Cleaning off her plate, Lizzie stood up and said, "Okay, well, I have homework I need to finish. Can I just save my dessert for later?"

Letting out a deep and long breath of air, her mother nodded and Lizzie took her dishes to the sink, rinsing them off before sticking them in the dish washer. Standing back up, her hands gripped the counter until her fingers turned white, her eyes closed.

Taking a few deep breathes, she nodded to herself and opened her eyes.

She could do this.

She had to do this.

Even though he didn't realize it, Everett needed this.

Everett needed her.

So, the North brothers didn't make an appearance, but I hope you liked it anyways!

PLEASE VOTE. COMMENT. SHARE. And don't forget to make those awesome pictures on Instagram!