"Hello," my old friends said flatly and in unison.

I stood there for a moment not knowing what to do. It was the middle of the breakfast shift, the guys were here, I was working so likewise in my checkered dress and apron. This was not how I had planned on meeting my friends from school.

"Hi I'm Frank," Frankie blurted out cheerfully as he waved as only Frankie could.

It was almost as if he couldn't sense the tension in the air with their arrival, almost as if he couldn't see the visual differences between the two worlds I was stuck between. The look on Mark's face at Frankie's introduction made me jump back to reality, no one was allowed to look at Frankie like that, regardless of their profession.

"Do you guys want to take a booth and get some food while I finish up and then go on break?" I asked, hoping to somehow physically get myself over the back of the counter and standing protectively between Frankie and Mark's stare without causing a scene.

My old friends looked around the place with sudden disdain, as if only now they realized they were inside of a diner.

"Here?"

"Didn't you get our call?"

"Is it vegan friendly?"

My friends voices shot at me all at once, each and every one of their questions carrying their true feelings about the place. About the diner. The place I had come to see as my savior, my home and my life. This was not boding well. At least Gerard had said he'd take all the consequences when this blew up in my face.

"Jay why don't you take off for a bit and see your friends. I'm sure we'll be fine for a bit without you," Reta shouted from down the counter where I know she had been watching this whole thing progress.

I shot her a thankful look as I began to untie my apron, still standing behind the counter.

"Mark, Cecile, Steve why don't you guys go outside and I'll be there in a minute," I said as I lifted my apron from around my head and started folding it.

My old friends nodded silently and bee lined it out of the diner like they couldn't get out of here fast enough. I sighed defeated, silently and under my breath, as I placed my things on the shelf below the counter before walking around to the front. I found myself straightening my dress and pressing out creases as fast as possible as I walked down the length of the diner towards the front door. It felt like the green mile. And I was sure that outside the metal and frosted glass door lay my execution. As I neared the front door where the guys were all seated at the end of the counter that was closest I looked over at them. They all gave me smiles and thumbs up and a reassuring wave calmed down my nerves just enough that I could feel my chest un-restricting and my lungs filling with air. Breathing would probably help in the long run.

"Did they rob a Gap?" Frankie asked randomly but with purpose.

I leaned to the side a bit and flicked him on the nose.

"Dork," I chided but smiled too.

It had done it's job just like he had intended.

"Okay," I said softly to myself as I put my hand on the brushed silver door handle.

"We're giving you the count to a thousand and then we're coming out," Gerard said as I pulled the door open and took a step out.

I shot him half a smile over my shoulder as the door closed behind me. I hoped he had seen it. I took a nervous cigarette out of my pack that I had put into the pocket of my dress and lit it as I went to go stand by my friends near the corner of the diner.

"So, uh, that's what you do now," Mark said disdainfully though trying to hide it.

He'd never been able to act very well.

"It's not all that I do now, but it's part of it. The people are really amazing and took me in as one of their own," I said trying not to sound defensive.

Saying those few words brought back the memory of the day Gerard had stood up for me what felt like forever ago. How he had said I was one of them, one of their people.

"Oh," Mark said poo-poo-fully as he turned his head around to look at the front entrance of the diner again.

"So, ah, what else do you do in this awfully dreary place?" Cecile asked, doing a better job than Mark of covering her tone of disdain.

"I have a life here actually. I have friends that mean the world to me, I work, I go to the museum and the library, I take pictures, I go on walks, I go on car trips, I hang out, I goof off, I go to shows. I do it all," I answered truthfully.

Which as I said it I could see that from my old friends point of view it sounded boring and well, plain. Very lower class America. Very not California or posh city life, which is what we all had come from. I cringed for a split second knowing what they would think but then I remembered Frankie's child like laugh, Bob's exaggerated sigh at Frankie's antics, Ray's swaying afro, Mikey's crooked glasses, Gerard's reflective eyes and beautiful words. I remembered Star chatting wildly as she dyed someone's hair bright orange and Sheels baking two dozen super brownies for no reason at all, and I even remembered K.C. blowing handfuls of flour about the kitchen for no reason except to see it float. I remembered Reta with her sleeves rolled up and humming as she scrubbed the counters, I remembered Ernie giving Reta a kiss over the order shelf, and I remembered Sam getting his cheeks pinched by some little old lady whose dirty dishes he was taking. And with that I found myself not caring what they thought of the life I lead now, it was my life and not theirs.

"You go to shows? Please tell me it has something to do with an orchestra or a lead soprano," Cecile gasped in total shock, not hiding it so well this time.

"No I mean the kind of shows you know I'm talking about," I said flatly.

I didn't want to hurt my old friends feelings, nor push them any further away but I was not going to make exceptions about my life nor sugar coat it for them.

"Who are your friends? Not those people we saw you talking to when you came in I hope," Steve said as he straightened the sweater draped over his shoulders.

Yes he had a sweater draped around his shoulders and knotted in the front even though it was cold out for Fall. My old friends really were that type. Frankie had it right when he asked if they had robbed a Gap, because that's what they looked like. Though while some of it may be Gap it would also be Guicci, American Eagle, Chanel, Prada, Sacs Fifth Ave and so on and so forth. Lots and lots of plaid, tweed, wool and ick.

"Actually those were my friends you saw me talking to," I said firmly, hoping I sounded like I wasn't going to hear anything else on the matter.

Of course that's aiming for the stars.

"But, but, but Jayden. Oh come on, they, they were dressed in black. And god knows when the last time they showered was," Cecile pleaded.

"They probably drink and do drugs," Steve said with a sneer.

"I swore I saw tattoos on one of them. Tattoos! Lots of them," Cecile added quickly, sounding frightened.

"I," I started to reply but was cut off.

"And did you see how that one greeted us? Are you making pity friends with the mentally challenged now Jaden?" Mark asked, his lip lifting a little in a sneer.

Oh. Hell. No.

"For one Mark, you need to watch your tongue. Frankie is not mentally challenged he is just genuinely cheerful and happy and an all around decent person. Regardless of my warnings he had decided to be civil to you, to be kind. Which is something you have been far from. You have no right to speak of him like that. No right at all," I said hotly though controlling my volume.

I saw Cecile start to open her mouth to protest but continued on with my rant.

"Further more, I invited you here so I could explain myself more, explain why I left. I invited you here so I could show you how I was making a life for myself, to show you that I was alright and that the worst hadn't happened to me. I wanted to show you that I was happy, and everything. I did not bring you here so you could bash the people who have taken me in as family and whom I've come to love as family. I did not bring you here so you could tear apart my friends, friends who have saved my life. Yes, saved my life. I did not bring you hear so you could try and destroy the happiness I have finally been able to find after so long of lacking it. In fact it wasn't even my idea to bring you here, I didn't want to do it. It was Gerard's idea, he said I should, that it would be fair. Oh and he also happens to be one of those so called by you; black clad, unwashed, alcoholic drug addicts," I said hotly, though still able to control myself better than they had.

My old friends were momentarily stunned silent from my little rant, which was a good thing as while I had kept a calm exterior my heart was pounding a mile a minute, my pulse was racing through my ears and my eyes were twitching ever so slightly. But I got it under control slowly.

And then I smirked a bit and lifted up my arm, hand fisted and outer arm showing towards my friends. Slowly, keeping my half smirk half smile, I turned my wrist till the underside was facing my friends. I saw Cecile's face pale, Steve's jaw drop and Mark's eyes go as wide as saucers.

"I also happen to be tattooed," I said proudly.

You could have heard a pin drop. And as it was I heard the front door to Reta's chime it's signature noise, though whether the person was coming or going I had no idea. I was too focused on the shocked and stunned faces of my old friends.

"Isn't it awesome? I took her to get it, I couldn't believe someone like Jay Bird had no tattoos. So I got number, uh, well I got a new one and she got her first. I think it's super rad," Frankie said as I felt, and saw, his tattooed arms wrap around my neck.

Did I mention that he had said all of that in one breath? Because he had. But I saw that as typical Frankie, my old friends more than likely probably thought it was a side effect of the coke they assumed he was addicted to because of how he looked.

"Guess my thousand count is up?" I asked without turning my head to look at my new friends.

"Twice over," Gerard's voice said firmly and calmly from right beside me.

I needed his words more than I thought as they had a calming effect on me as he stood by my right hand side. I needed his voice. And it turned out Gerard figured I needed more than just both of those as he grabbed a hold of my right hand in his own and squeezed it. Guess I needed that too. I saw, and felt, Bob and Ray come up and stand beside me; Ray beside Gerard and Bob on my left hand side though leaving a bit of space. Frankie was still on my back when I felt, and saw, Mikey stand on my left hand side and wrap his arm loosely around my waist and place a chaste kiss on the side of my head. I felt a hundred feet tall all of a sudden, and invincible. Bullet proof. Like I could take on, and conquer, anything in the world and known universe. And in a split second I realized that I had never felt this with my old friends, in my old life. Never, not once. And while they had been the type of friends the type of person I had been had needed, they weren't the friends my soul had needed. And until now I hadn't realized how much I had sorely been lacking.

But I also realized that for the person I had been they had been adequate friends, and no matter what life was like now they didn't deserve to be totally intimidated. So that being said I wiggled out from underneath Frankie's weight, dropped Gerard's hand and stepped away from Mikey's arm. I took a step closer to them and stood as a neutral party between the two worlds my body was trapped between.

"Let's all go to lunch somewhere we all can agree on," I said politely and with a warm smile.

They deserved an explanation and so far all I had done was yell at them and all they had done was insult my new life and my new friends. Not exactly what I had hoped this encounter would be like but what I had known it would turn out to be regardless.

"Is there any place in this, uh, city that has vegan food?" Cecile asked skeptically but with more grace than before.

"My favorite place has vegan food," Frankie said excitedly from behind me.

Steve raised an eyebrow at Frankie before looking my direction.

"Frankie's vegetarian so he'd know," I explained.

"Sounds good to me then," Cecile said as she grabbed a hold of Steve's hand for support.

"Let me just go change and then we can go. Franke why don't you come with me while I get ready," I said as nonchalantly as possible.

I knew that deep down my old friends were really decent human beings but I still didn't want to leave Frankie unprotected around them. I knew the guys, and Frankie himself, were more than capable of taking care of him but I wanted, no needed to be the person in charge of that protection. At least until they left.

"Sure! Can I pick out your outfit too?" Frankie asked excitedly as he jumped up and down.

"Why the fuck not. And you can call K.C. while you're at it and invite her along as well," I said as I looped arms with him and headed towards my apartment's street entrance.

I didn't even bother to look over my shoulder at my friends newest shocked expressions over my use of language. I knew it was there. And I enjoyed that fact.

Notes

God I love it when she stands up for what she has become!
And I love it even more when the guys come and stand their ground beside her.
And I love that she still feels the need to protect Frankie, simply just because.

And while I love all this, I love the next chapter even MORE!