Francesca walked through the halls with a determined look on her face. She and Allan had just finished a "study session" which consisted of talking, no schoolwork, and lots of kissing.

"Fran, I know Amber is saying these things about you, but what do you have to hide? She's probably saying that to scare you. You are perfect and I love you and always will. You'll win this and we'll get through it. I'll be right there with you."

His words had boosted her spirits but she knew the truth. Amber Hart knew her secrets in Spain and she would do anything to make sure Amber would never tell them. Ever.

Francesca stood in front of Amber and Carrie's room and hesitated. Was she ready to face her archenemy? It was now or never. She knocked on Amber's room and waited until she opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" If looks could kill, Francesca would have died at that instant.

"Look, Amber, I really need to talk to you. How 'bout we go for a walk?" Francesca knew it was a long shot, but she had to try.

Yeah, right. I'm not going to fall for that, Amber thought. However, her face changed and showed a sweet smile. "Whatever for, Francesca?"

"Amber, I'm as sick of us fighting as much as I think you are. I think we need to find a way to settle this. This will just be you and me. No one else, not even Allan."

Amber hesitated as she looked at Francesca's face. Although she hated her with a passion, she thought a clue to her secret might reveal itself in their conversation. Whatever motives Francesca had with this conversation, Amber would surely find a way around them. "I'll get my jacket."

Kate dialed up her parents' number on her telephone. She waited on her bed for them to answer. After several rings, someone picked up.

"Hello?" Mrs. Dermont answered.

"Hi, Mom!"

"Kate! What a surprise! I thought you'd be up to your head in homework by now."

"Actually, I am, but I decided that I needed to have a good heart-to-heart with you, Mom," Kate's voice softened as she prepared to tell her story.

"What is it, hon?"

"It's a boy, Mom. I didn't ever think I'd find one here, but I did. He's the most special, kind-hearted, and thoughtful boy I've ever met. He's definetly not like the ordinary breed of men that populate Midway Prep. He's so different from the rest."

"Ah, he must be something special from the way you speak of him. Are you sure you want to devote yourself to a relationship, though? It takes time and effort, baby. You can't just go to the skating rink every Friday, you know."

"Yes, Mom, I realize that. But with Zach, that shouldn't be hard. I'll actually look forward to spending time with him."

"Zach? Does Zach have a last name?"

Kate smiled. "Oh yes. His name's Zach Carter."

Kate heard her mother draw in a deep breath. She knew something had gone wrong. "What's wrong, Mother?"

"Zach Carter is who you like? Zach, son of Jeff & Donna Carter? It's out of the question, Kate," Mrs. Dermont snapped sharply.

"Wh-What? I...what..." Kate scrambled to find words. That was not what she'd expected to happen.

They walked down Estates toward the Arboretum. The Saturday afternoon was espicially cold and the silence between the two Miss Midway contestants was deafning. Amber had taken a long time to find her jacket so the sun was fading fast and soon would disapeer completely. Francesca hoped they would settle their dispute quickly for she didn't want to be hanging around an angry Amber after dark espicially if she was anything like her roommate Carrie. At one point, they passed two girls who seemed to be in a heated dispute about some guy. Amber had recognized the name "Carson Love."

It was Francesca who first broke the silence.

"Amber, I wanted to talk to you about what you said the other day. About knowing... what you know about me."

"Oh, wouldn't you love that. Look, Francesca, I just won't be able to do that. Not with what you've done. What would Allan think? What would your friends think?" Amber could see the shadow pass across Francesca's face and she knew she was close to making her slip.

"Don't you bring them into this! This is between you and me and frankly, I'm sick and tired of it!" Francesca's eyes clouded over and she knew she was losing it.

"Oh, don't give me that! You and I both know you aren't who everyone thinks you are. You won't be able to hide behind Daddy this time will you, huh?" Her voice was rising as she grew more emotional. "Won't be able to run away to Spain to-"

"SHUT UP! Shut up, Amber! If you only knew Amante Aldovar, you would-" Francesca froze as she realized her mistake.

"So he has a name? Oh, Francesca," she clucked. "You poor thing. How will you get out of this one now?" She threw her head back and laughed as Francesca ran back to the dorms.

She prayed that she would wake in her bed to find it was all a dream, but luck wasn't on her side that day.

"Mom, you're kidding, right?" Kate asked shakily, hoping and praying that she was right.

"I most certainly am not! Did you actually think I'd allow you to go out with their son?"

Kate was confused. "How do you know his parents, Mom?"

"Donna Carter and I went to school together at Midway Prep. We started out as friends, sure enough, but when she went behind my back and did some pretty low-down things just so that she could maintain a good reputation, our friendship ended quickly. No, I'm not going to let any daughter of mine go out with a son of hers."

"Mom, that is so old-fashioned. It's unfair, mean, and...and..." Kate hesitated.

"And what?"

"And self-centered!" Kate said with gusto. "Mom, you're only thinking about yourself and your feud with his mom. Zach is nothing like that. He wouldn't do that to me. Please just be reasonable!"

"Kate, I know you think it is. But if you knew the entire truth behind what went on between his mother and I, as well as what his father did to me, you'd understand. Just trust me on this one, Kate. I'm sure there are plenty of other great guys out there for you, but please...just not Zach," Mrs. Dermont's voice softened.

Tears were in Kate's eyes. "No, Mom! No! Zach and I could have something special, and I'm not going to let anyone take that away from us! He is one of the few here with a heart, Mother, and I'm not going to let a chance to be with a boy like that pass me by. I'm sorry, Mom, but on this one you are wrong!"

"You will obey me, Kate, or there will be serious consequences," Mrs. Dermont said coldly.

"Like what, Mom?" Kate said sharply.

"If you want to stay at Midway Prep, then I suggest that you listen to what I'm saying. You don't know what you stand to lose if you go after Zach. Baby, I'm just looking out for you. Listen to your Mother, she knows what's right."

"I don't care! I'm going to be with Zach and that's all there is to it!" Kate slammed down the phone. She didn't care what her mother did. She was going to be with Zach.

Christian quietly walked in the front door of his house. He stopped for a moment. All he heard was silence. Never before had Christian walked into his house and heard total silence.

"They must have gone somewhere or something. But where?" Christian shrugged before heading into the kitchen and treating himself to a glass of orange juice. He caught a glance of someone in the living room.

Christian stopped abruptly. "Oh no! A burglar!" he screamed internally. Christian walked slowly and silently towards the living room. He quickly found that it wasn't a burglar at all, but instead his parents. Christian nearly choked when he saw that his parents weren't yelling or screaming at each other. They were just silent, each reading a portion of the paper. He cleared his throat.

Sarah Harris looked up. A hard, determined look was on her face. The sunlight cast a fiery glow on her red-gold hair. "Hello, Christian."

"Hi," Christian answered uneasily. He looked towards his father. "Dad?"

"Hello, Christian," Nelson answered, not looking up from his paper.

"What's going on here?"

Sarah stood up. "It looks like you're finally going to get your wish."

Without smiling, Christian responded, "You and Dad are getting a divorce?"

"Yes we are, but there's something else too," Sarah hesitated. Her steady eyes faltered.

"And that would be..."

"Because your father and I can't come to an agreement, it seems as if the only way we can settle where you're going to be living is to go through a custody battle. I really don't want to, but there seems to be no other way."

Christian dropped the glass of orange juice from his hand. It smashed into a thousand fragments, sending orange juice flying all across the spotless white carpet. His eyes were unbelieving. "No, no, NO!" he began backing away from the living room.

Nelson looked back towards Christian. Sarah held her arms out towards him. "Look, hon, just calm down."

"No," Christian repeated in a dangerously quiet voice. He turned around and ran.

"Christian!" he heard Sarah calling out behind him. "Come back!"

But he wouldn't. He ran out of the house, down the street, past streets and houses and other buildings. He ran and ran, not knowing where he was going, not knowing what lie ahead. He just ran until he knew he could run no longer.

And then he wept.

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