Frank waltzed into the kitchen happily and sat down at the kitchen table.
“Good morning, everyone, Gerard,” he grinned broadly.
“What are you so happy about?” Rae asked curiously.
“Nothing, it’s just a beautiful day, don’t you think? Look at the sun shining and listen to the birds singing,” he said, grabbing a bowl of cereal and picking up a spoon to start eating.
Gerard and Rae looked out the window to see heavy clouds hanging low in the sky, threatening to pour down heavy rains at any moment. Nothing could be heard except for the low rumble of thunder every few seconds. They looked back at the grinning teen confused.
“Are you high?” Rae asked him straightforward.
Frank sighed, “I’m just happy. I’ll see you guys later. I’ve gotta run,” he told them, jumping up again and running out the door.
“Something is up with him and I want to know what it is,” Rae stated, looking from where Frank just disappeared from the room to Gerard.
“Me too,” he nodded. “And I will.”
The red-head grinned at him.
“You’re bad.”
Gerard chuckled and got up from the table.
“That’s a good thing, right?” he checked, leaning in to give her a kiss before going after Frank.

*

A short distance away, Chelle was up early as well. She was in such a good mood that she decided to make breakfast for everyone. It was a good thing that Ray and Tati weren’t up yet. They never got up early. It was a simple breakfast consisting of apple pancakes, toast and some eggs. Three cups of coffee were the last to be added to the breakfast tray. She picked it up and made her way towards the master bedroom where Ray and Tati slept.
Knocking softly on the door, she could hear a muffled, “Come in!” from inside the room.
She bit her lower lip, wondering how she was going to open the door without dropping the tray. A random idea popped into her head and she bent lower, using her chin to press the door’s handle down. She slowly turned around and used her bum to bump the door open.
“This is a nice surprise!” Tati exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
“Breakfast in bed, looks delicious,” Ray agreed, already licking his lips.
Chelle placed the tray between the two people in bed before sitting down cross-legged on the bed and joining them for breakfast.
“What’s the occasion?” Ray wanted to know.
“Hm, I think someone’s excited about her date,” Tati smiled.
“A date? With who?” Ray asked frowning. “Now hold on a second! I want to meet this guy. I want to check him out and see whether he’s good enough for you.”
Tati chuckled at her boyfriend and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, he’s a good guy. Besides, since when have you been Chelle’s older brother?”
“Since she started living with me. Gerard’s too busy flirting with Rae to pay attention to his little sister and that’s why I’ve gotta step in. So, who is he?” Ray demanded.
“It’s Frank,” Michelle blurted out.
That caught the puff-head up short.
“Frank? As in, the guy staying with Nana and Rae and Gerard?” he checked, wondering whether he was losing his mind.
Chelle nodded in response.
“But whyyy??” Ray whined. “You can do so much better. Don’t get me wrong, I like Frank and everything, but you’re such a beautiful girl. You should get someone smart like… I should introduce you to Bob! He’s a good guy. His exterior appearance may fool you, but he’s just like a big, fuzzy old teddy bear.”
“Frank’s a good guy,” the brunette insisted. “Plus he’s cute.”
“Bob’s too old for her anyway,” Tati added.
“Does Gerard know about this?” Ray enquired.
“I’m not sure. Maybe Frank told him, I don’t know,” Chelle admitted. “But I’m sure he’ll be cool with it.”
Ray started laughing, “Yeah, right. He’s gonna flip!”
“Ray, shut up!” Tatiana demanded sternly. “So, Chelle, what do you plan on doing all day?”
Michelle felt slightly awkward after Ray’s rant, but pushed it to the back of her thoughts.
“I thought I’d just go to the hospital with you or something.”
“I’m not working today,” Tati informed her. “But that gives us time. You know, there are certain things that haven’t changed since life. Here on Una we still love to go shopping.”
Chelle grinned broadly, “Okay!”
“I’m staying right here!” Ray stated firmly. “I’d rather kill myself than go shopping with you. I guess either way I’d die a gruesome death. No, I think I’ll just stay here and be bored. At least this way I’ll die happy.”
The girls laughed at his random statement and got up to get ready to go out shopping.

*

It was late that afternoon when there was a knock on the door. Ray sauntered over and answered it.
“Hey, Bellz!” he greeted cheerily.
“Ray,” she whimpered and then fell into his arms crying. “It’s just terrible! I’m… I’m… It’s so scary and it hurts so badly!”
He pulled the girl away from him and held her at arm’s length.
“What is going on, Annabel?” he asked, using her full name.
She immediately calmed down and looked up at his tall frame. He led her over to the couch where they sat down.
“Okay, tell Ray what’s going on,” he said, looking straight into her eyes.
“I’m starting to remember,” she told him and he responded with an “Ah.”
“I’m remembering my family and my friends and it’s literally driving me crazy! Yesterday I even imagined seeing my best friend Michelle and it sent me into a fit of tears,” she rambled.
“Wait a minute! Michelle as in Michelle Way maybe?” he checked.
“Yes! But wait, how do you know her?” the brunette wanted to know frowning.
“She’s staying with me and Tati,” he informed her.
The younger girl jumped up from her seat and stared down at him in shock.
“She’s here? She’s alive, I mean, dead?”
“Yeah, Tati found her a couple of weeks ago,” he replied, matter-of-factly.
“Is she here?” the girl wanted to know, excited by the idea of seeing her best friend again, but also curious as to what she was doing here.
“She’s not here right now. She’s out shopping with Tati. You can wait for them to come back if you want to,” he offered.
“I… Thanks, but I’ve gotta go,” she stated, running out the door.
Ray scratched his head confused. It didn’t make any sense. Annabel seemed so eager to see Michelle, but now she was running off without waiting five seconds to see her. Girls were completely unpredictable and he would never understand them.

*

“What do you think?” Chelle asked Tati, as she spun around to show her how she looked.
“You look gorgeous! Frank won’t know what to do with himself!” Tati giggled.
Chelle blushed deeply.
“Aw, you know, you are so adorable!” Tatiana gushed towards the girl, making her blush even more.
“I should probably get going,” Chelle stated. “I don’t want to be late.”
“Hey, Chelle, there’s something I want to tell you. It’s just a bit of advice,” Tati spoke, making her pause at the door. “Be careful. Frank’s a good guy, but he’s… Just don’t lose yourself over him too soon.”
“What are you talking about?” Chelle asked, slightly worried now.
“Forget about it,” she raven-haired girl shook her head. “Go and have fun.”
“Thanks,” the teen smiled before heading out the door.
Ray dropped her off at Frank’s house before dark and returned home.
Michelle took Tati’s advice and enjoyed herself. Gerard didn’t say anything, but his silence spoke louder than words. After dinner, Michelle pulled Frank into his room and they sat down on his bed.
“I have something I want to ask you,” she told him seriously.
“Go ahead,” he urged.
“There’s something that slightly bothers me. For some reason, everyone keeps warning me to be careful of you. Everyone’s afraid that you’ll hurt me. Why is that?” she asked him.
The hazel-eyed boy sighed deeply.
“I kind of hoped that this would never come up, though I should’ve known it would cause problems.”
“What is it, Frank? What did you do?” she asked again.
“I… uhm… I kind of had… uhm… two girlfriends… at… once,” he admitted guiltily.
She blinked a couple of times not sure whether he was telling the truth or not.
“But that was a huge mistake, not a habit. I swear I would never do anything like that to you!” he assured her, voice filled with conviction.
“You’re serious?” she asked shocked.
He frowned, “I… yes, I am, unfortunately.”
“I can’t believe this,” she breathed. “You seem like such a nice guy.”
“I am! I’ll prove it to you!” he exclaimed. “Just… give me a chance. I really won’t hurt you, contrary to what everyone else might think or believe. Chelle…”
“I need some time to think this over,” she apologized quietly. “I’m going to sleep in Rae’s room if you don’t mind.”
He nodded, “Of course, but think about it carefully. You can ask both Erin and Alex; I’m not a terrible boyfriend.”
The corners of her mouth twitched up into a small smile.
“I think I’ll do that. Good night, Frank.”
Michelle walked into the living room where she found her older brother.
“Hey, Gee.”
The male looked up and smiled at her sudden appearance.
“Hey.”
“So, you’re not too keen on me dating Frank.”
He opened his mouth and shut it again immediately.
“Frank’s cool, but…”
“He told me about the double-dating incident,” she interjected.
“And how do you feel about that?”
The teen frowned, thinking about his question before answering.
“I’m not sure, but I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
Gerard nodded, “Okay. I’ll respect that, but one bad move and I’m kicking his ass.”
Chelle giggled, “That’s okay with me.”
Suddenly the front door swung open and immediately swung shut again as a scared body leaned against it gasping for air. Both heads turned in the direction of the intruder and their eyes grew wide.
“Mikey?”