The next morning ;

TIANA'S POV :

     Apparently , as I was informed at breakfast , everyone is getting together at Ashley's today for a pool party, so it looks like I'll have to go , too , just to avoid any more hassle .

     Shan sort of pinned me down last night when we all got together at her place , and basically demanded that I tell her why I disliked Rick so much .

     I have no interest in discussing my so - called "relationship" with Ash , so I simply told her that Rick had willingly participated in a very dirty trick that someone had decided to pull , and that it was pretty much  impossible to believe someone claiming to be your friend when they did something like that .

     She acknowledged that I'd had a reason to be angry with him , but insisted that he isn't that person anymore , and asked me to try to be friends with him again . I repeated what I said to her earlier , that I'm willing to be civil to him , but that he'll have to prove that he can be trusted.

     Surprisingly, the other girls all agreed with me , so Shan rather reluctantly accepted it .

     I also told Scott pretty much the same thing at breakfast , since Brian had told him last night that he had to talk to me if he wanted to know anything , leaving it up to me to decide how much info to give out . Jake was sort of giving me a strange look while I was talking , so I'm not sure what sort of story they got .

     I've changed into my bathing suit , and have a bag with my phone , sunglasses , and some sunscreen , and I'm walking down the street to Ashley's house . He lives less than two blocks away , so there's no point in taking my truck . By the time I get there , everyone except  CC and Tiff are in or around the pool , because he's apparently not much of a morning person .

     When I say something about them missing the party , Juliet says , " Don't worry about it , Tiff just texted to say she's on her way down , and if C doesn't show up soon , the guys will go haul him out of bed . It won't be the first time , trust me . When they're on tour , it's usually him AND Ash who can't be raised from the dead  before noon ."

      "Untrue !" Ash shouts . "I'm occasionally the first one up , I'll have you know ." 

      "Yeah , if we're overseas , and you haven't adjusted yet , or if there's breakfast involved ." , Blasko responds .

    I take off the shirt I'm wearing over my suit , and as I drape it over the chair , Andy says , " Hey , Tiana , cool tat ! What the hell does it say , anyway ?" 

      "Yeah , I'm not familiar with that particular language , either ." , Jinxx adds .

     The tattoo that they're referring to is the one I have on my back . It was designed to look like an irregular , elongated slab of gray stone , with black runes etched into the stone . There is also a small , square metal plate inked above it  , right at the base of my neck . In all , the whole thing runs from there to the bottom of my shoulder blades  .

     "It's  a quote by Albert Einstein , done in dwarvish runes ." , I tell them . "It actually says , 'Insanity is defined by repeating the same actions , but expecting a different outcome .' I got it to remind myself to stop repeatedly doing the same stupid shit ."

      "What about this one ?" , CC says , pointing to the one on my arm .

     "I got that one the day after my eighteenth birthday ." , I reply . "But that one's personal , I don't really discuss it with anyone who doesn't already know what it means ." 

     This tat is actually a piece of music , the chorus of a song that is particularly appropriate to the actual reason behind why I have it . Only three people who are still alive know what it actually means , and only one of them is here .

     As several other people here get into a discussion about the meanings behind some of their own tats , my phone rings . I pull it out of my bag , and it's my agent , calling me about the cover art again .

     "I don't have any more ideas about what to do than you do , Phoebe !", I grumble in frustration . " We've exhausted pretty much every option we have , but I really can't stand any of the crap we've seen so far ." 

     "This is what worries me , too , " she says ."You know what people say about judging a book by its cover , don't you ? Unfortunately , there's more truth to that then I really like to admit .An unattractive cover can hurt sales , no matter how good the material actually is ."

     Apparently , as I've been talking to Phoebe , Scott has been explaining the problem to everyone else  , because the next thing I hear is , "I'd be willing to give it a try , if you want ."

     What I really didn't expect is who the offer came from -- Ashley !

     "Dude , you don't even read fantasy books !" , Andy says .

      "That doesn't mean I can't !" , he replies , "I'm sure she can flag the relevant parts , if nothing else ."

     Oh , lovely ! No matter what I do , I'm essentially screwed . Either I accept a shitty cover , and possibly watch my book go belly - up , or I trust my literary career to someone I'd rather avoid as much as possible . But , unfortunately , I know he's capable . He could have pulled that off when we were still in school , and he's had fourteen years to improve , so I'm pretty much out of options .

     "Are you sure you want to do that ?", I ask him .

     " I wouldn't have made the offer if I wasn't sure ."

     Returning my attention to the phone , I tell Phoebe , "My best friends cousin has something of an art background , and he just offered to give it a try ." 

     "What's his rate for such a tight deadline ? This is Saturday , I have to have at least a draft no later than Thursday ." , she says . 

     "Tell you what , I'll let you sort that out with him yourself ." , I tell her , and pass my phone to Ash .

     He talks to her for a bit , then hangs up and hands back my phone . "If you can give me a description of your characters , I can try to get started later today ." , he says .

     "When I get back to the house , I'll flag the pages in the manuscript , and you can either come by and pick it up , or I'll get one of the guys to bring it to you "

     "I can come and pick it up , that's no problem ." he answers . 

     Then , since no one else seems to be paying attention at the moment , he adds , "I owe you at least this much , after all ."

     Also not something I ever expected to hear .