⌜ chapter eleven ⌟

"Hey, Turner, nice haircut." Letty says as she walks past her English teacher in the school hallway just outside his classroom.

"Hey, Black, come in here for a minute." He says, and she turns around to follow him back into the room that she was in this morning.

"What's up, teach?"

"You seemed distracted in class today." He says, and she shrugs.

"Is that really anything new?" The brunette asks as she sits on one of the desks and lets her feet rest in the seat in front of it.

"How have things been going at home?" He asks, and she shrugs again.

"Things are fine, I guess. I spend more time with Tyler than anyone because we work together, but I've been getting along better with Alec ever since we moved in together." She tells him, and he nods.

"Shawn asked me about something, and I want to talk to you about it...but I don't want you to get upset with him." He says, and the teenager smirks.

"He told you about the panic attack that I had."

"How do you do that?" He asks, and she chuckles.

"I've known these kids since they were babies. I know them like the back of my hand." She tells him. "I know he has questions, but he doesn't want to upset me. Where else is he gonna go?"

"Well, how have you been doing?"

"Better." She nods. "And I'm not just saying that."

"That's good." He nods.

"Most of what caused it was the shock of Mrs. Hunter coming back, but I'm fine on that front now. Actually, I'm kinda...grateful for the experience." Her eyebrows furrow, knowing that that's not the best way to put it. "It was terrifying, and I hope to God that it never happens again, but... I learned a lot about Alec that day, and what he went through before he left town. What he still goes through. It doesn't excuse what he did, and he's not a hundred percent forgiven, but... I feel like I understand him a little better now."

"I can see that." He nods.

"And the longer...harder I look at everything, the more I realize how different our situations were." She continues. "He was left responsible for a five-year-old, and he was basically alone to do it for two years. I mean, he had his dumbass friends, but they're the same age he is. I wasn't left with the responsibility of raising Shawn. I mean, I took on quite a bit of the responsibility of what happened to him, but he still had his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter have been around for most of what we've been through, I've always had Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, and I could call any of my friends at any time — Eric, Jason, Hope, Melissa, Miller, and Dean have always found a way to help me. All Alec had was Reggie and Tyler; and Reggie's a bit of a dip." She adds, and he chuckles.

"So, you all living together has actually been beneficial to the situation?" He asks, and she nods.

"Yeah, it has."

"Good." He nods. "I have to admit, when you told me what you were planning, I wasn't so sure that this was the best thing for you. This is one of the times that I'm actually glad to have been wrong." He tells her, and she smiles.

"I think this may be the first time I've ever been glad that you were wrong." She says, and he chuckles. "Things really are getting better, I promise."

"I'm really glad to hear that, Scarlett."

The next day at school, Letty's sitting on the bench in the hallway when Topanga sits down beside her and sets a card on the notebook that she was drawing in. The brunette picks it up and reads what it says, "Someone is turning Sweet Sixteen, and if you could be there, it would be keen." She looks at the younger girl.

"My mom came up with that rhyme. I know it's dumb, but it'd still be great if you could come to my party." Topanga says, and she nods.

"Yeah, absolutely." The brunette says.

"Great." She smiles. "Hey, what did you do for your sixteenth birthday? I don't think I've ever been to a party for you." She says, and the older girl shakes her head.

"No, I've never had a birthday party, but, uh, year before last... Eric took me to dinner." Letty tells her. "It was the first time that we went to a fancy restaurant instead of someplace like Chubbie's."

"You've never had a birthday party before?" She asks, obviously surprised, and the brunette shrugs.

"My dad was certainly never gonna do it, and Eric took me out for my sixteenth. Then, this year, things were a little tense because Eric was seriously considering dropping out of school on our birthday." Letty explains. "There was never a time that seemed..." She shrugs.

"Well, it's sweet what Eric did for your sixteenth." Topanga says, and she smiles.

"Yeah... Hey, do I have to buy a dress?" She asks as she holds up the birthday invitation, and the younger girl shrugs.

"You can wear anything nice." She tells her.

"Okay."

School the next day passes slowly, and then Letty's walking toward the lockers when she sees her younger brother and his best friends. Topanga rests her hands on either side of Cory's face before she kisses him, and he reaches into his front pocket to pull out some money. Still kissing his girlfriend, Cory then passes the money to Shawn, who's pretending to read a book right behind him. Topanga walks away from them, totally oblivious, and Letty shakes her head.

"I don't even wanna know." She mutters before going to sit on the bench where she usually sits.

Letty gets to the party for Topanga and she smiles when she sees the younger girl in her red dress. The blonde runs over and hugs Letty. "You look amazing!" She says as she pulls back.

"Me?" She chuckles. "Topanga, you look gorgeous."

"You should wear dresses more often." She tells her, and Letty laughs.

"Yeah, I think Eric would agree with you there." The brunette shakes her head. "But I'm more of a jeans and jacket kind of girl."

Cory runs over to them then and gets their attention, and Letty leaves the couple to talk. He seems to keep coming back and disappearing, and Topanga's obviously confused. After Cory pops up again, she asks the DJ to turn on the song for her and Cory to dance to, but he's gone again by the time she turns around again.

"Hey." Letty walks over, and Topanga looks up at her. "You know, I'm not the type who likes to rely on a boy to be happy or have fun. And I'm not your boyfriend, but I did put on this thing just for your party." She looks down at the pink dress that she's wearing, and the younger girl chuckles.

"Are you asking me to dance with you?"

"Friends can dance together at a Sweet Sixteen." She smiles. "I mean, what are friends for, if not to keep us from dancing alone?"

"Thanks, Scarlett." Topanga says as she then hugs the older girl, and the two start dancing to the song that the DJ turned on. "You're a really good friend. I don't think we tell you that enough."