GravityBoy: Hey

Blackwidow-4-U: Hey geek.

GravityBoy: So you’re allowed to call me geek while I can’t call you by name…

Blackwidow-4-U: Its different… besides if your sister catches us IMing and you’ve got my name somewhere on there, she’s gonna figure it out!

GravityBoy: You and her are the only ones that call me geek.

Blackwidow-4-U: Whatever dude. I won’t refer to you in any sort of naming way then… okay?

GravityBoy: You’re cute when you’re frustrated. =-)

Blackwidow-4-U: Cute?!?

Blackwidow-4-U: Dude, you do remember who you’re talking to, right?

GravityBoy: Right. Sorry… the extremely unappealing and definitely NOT cute girl who I find myself curiously attracted to. How’s that?

Blackwidow-4-U: You’re twisted, dude.

Blackwidow-4-U: I have to go. We meeting in the closet before school?

GravityBoy: Yeah, that sounds good.

Blackwidow-4-U: Later

GravityBoy: Goodnight…

Blackwidow-4-U has logged off !

++++

The next morning, Grace crept into the biology closet. Luke was already there, his back leaning against the wall, deeply engrossed in a book. He glanced up at her with a smile of acknowledgement. She gave him a small smile in return, then dropped her bag to the floor and took a seat next to him.

“Whatcha reading?” She asked when he more or less ignored her to return to his book.

“Its about the possibility of time-travel through Einstein’s theories of relativity. It’s rather eccentric, but could be entirely plausible-“

“Okay Rocket Boy,” she cut in, throwing her hands up as if to ward off his rambling. “I don’t need the full book review.”

“Sorry”, was all he said as his attention was drawn back to the book. Grace blinked in surprise at him. Usually he would be kissing her by now, her unwillingness to let him ramble non-withstanding, not enthralled by some stupid book.

“It can’t be that interesting,” she muttered as she leaned in closer, trying to see what had his complete attention. “You’d think you have porn stashed in there or something.”

Luke glanced at her and chuckled, but then returned his attention to the book, yet again.

Grace looked at her watch. They had twenty minutes before they had to be in class. They had more or less thrown out the five-minute make out rule recently. Well, more that Grace was allowing him to continue past the minimum more and more lately. So why wasn’t he kissing her?

“You know class starts in twenty, right?” she asked anxiously, moving closer to him, hoping to distract him from his reading.

“Ummm hmmm,” he replied, without bothering to look at her. Grace shifted so that her body was leaned against his as she looked over his shoulder to see what he was reading about. He didn’t seem to even realize that she was all pressed up against him. After a couple of minutes and still no response from him, she sighed and moved away to slump against the wall next to him. He put the book down and turned towards her slightly.

“It’s directly related to an idea I had for a project for us to do for the science fair,” he explained. Grace’s ears involuntarily perked up at the “us”. Was it bad that she liked the fact that he’d assumed they’d do it together? She decided that it was.

“Us?” She repeated, wondering if he’d get frustrated with her for giving him a hard time. “I never said anything about a repeat performance of last year.”

“I know. That’s why I am collaborating with Freidman and Glynnis.”

Grace froze at the mention of his ex. He was going to be working with her? As in the possibility of being alone together? She felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. He hadn’t even asked her if she would do it with him. Instead he’d ran off to “collaborate” with ostrich-girl. Grace sat there, shocked, gaping at him as he returned to his book. Why was this bothering her so much? She didn’t even want to be in the stupid science fair.

“I wouldn’t mind,” she found herself saying. Luke looked up at her, curiously. She tried desperately to cover the trap she had laid for herself. “I mean, are you even allowed to have groups of three?”

“You want to?” Luke asked her, clearly surprised. Grace squirmed under his eyes that had that annoying tendency to see right through her.

Well, wouldn’t it be boring if there weren’t someone there to shake things up a bit? And besides, its always fun to ruffle Price’s feathers,” She said casually.

Luke’s eyes lit up, so obviously excited to share this experience with her again. He gave her a cute little smile and leaned towards her slightly.

“Truthfully, Glynnis is rather traditional, and this idea of mine is quite radical. I don’t think she would have gone for it. It would be an even bolder move then last year’s original idea.”

“Who’s bolder than me?” Grace asked, finding herself grinning. She raised her finger in warning. “But no computer generated hypothetical crap.”

“Right. You like the more...” he looked her up and down. “...hands on projects.”

Grace felt herself blush at his possible double meaning. He needs to stop hanging out with Freidman, she thought. But somehow she didn’t mind the innuendos so much coming from Luke.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized how close they were sitting and the way he was staring fixedly at her mouth. Trying to keep her breathing steady, her gaze flickered between his lips and eyes before she slowly leaned in towards him. Suddenly, he moved away and picked his book back up. Grace wanted to scream in frustration. Why wouldn’t he just kiss her already? And what was in that damn book that was so interesting anyway?

She sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to think of a way to subtly trick him into make out mode. She was considering a couple of different options when she felt his fingers nudging her own. She automatically entwined her fingers with his so that they were essentially holding hands. She glanced at him only to find that he had put the book away and was staring intently at her. She looked down at their joined hands, then back up at him with a question in her eyes.

“Grace…” he started in that soft tone that always made her melt. Yes, hardened, sarcastic, bitchy Grace Polk melted. And the cause was a fifteen-year-old science geek no less. “I really don’t know much about this kind of thing…”

Grace just looked at him in confusion, not sure what he was getting at.

“Your mom,” he clarified. She ducked her head in shame. Of course, her alcoholic mother, who she had told him about only days before. “I don’t really know what to say or do… but, I’m here for you.”

Grace lifted her head to look at him, emotion welling inside of her. Was that why he hadn’t tried to get in his quality make-out time? Why he had been so quiet and gentle lately? Because he thought she needed him to back off a little and give her emotional support? She knew the Grace-like thing to do would to be peeved at him, but all she could do was be touched by the way he cared.

“If you ever need to talk… or anything else at all,” he continued, squeezing her hand lightly. “I just want you to know that you can come to me. That I’ll be here.”

Grace only nodded, not trusting herself to speak when she felt so choked up. Luke leaned in oh so slowly and pressed his lips softly against hers. He pulled back slightly to look at her, his hand coming up to rest lightly against her jaw line. Grace sucked in a deep breath before wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him back to her, kissing him with everything she was feeling at the moment.

++++

That afternoon, Grace was back in the biology closet, having agreed to meet with Luke again after school. What he had said that morning had been running through her head all day. And that kiss had made a few guest appearances as well. It had been mind-blowing to say the least. They had never kissed quite like that before. It was less rushed, more gentle, but every bit as heart pounding as the rest.

She had to wonder if this was the thing that made all those other couples lose their minds; couples like Joan and Adam. Was this love? Could she, Grace Polk, be in love with her best friend’s little brother? It seemed a little too daytime soap-ish for her tastes, but with moments like that morning she had to wonder if she too had completely lost her mind.

She remembered watching Joan freak out when her and Adam had finally hooked up and thinking to herself that she never wanted to end up like that. And yet, at the same time, she felt a pang of…something…deep inside of her every time she saw Luke and Glynnis together. It was then that she found herself wondering if you could even stop yourself from falling… that maybe it was inevitable, no matter how much you wished against it…

++++

Luke made his way to the closet, excited to see Grace again. Every time he was with her, he felt ridiculously giddy and found himself constantly thinking about her when she wasn’t around. As a man of science, it was hard to comprehend these feelings. He knew all about the chemicals in the brain, hormones, and all the other scientific explanations for love, but it didn’t seem to justify what he felt. He knew science, was a master of it. And wasn’t love, like all other things, a part of science? He thought he had known, but the way he felt about Grace didn’t feel like science. It went deeper than just chemicals and hormones. He couldn’t reason out the way his heart sped up when he was about to see her. He couldn’t blame it on hormones that he wanted to kiss her every time she was close to him. And he couldn’t say that chemicals were the reason he wanted to gather her in his arms and take her away from her problems. For the first time in his life, he couldn’t rely on science to give him the answers. He started believing in the possibility of things that scientists should scoff at. Like love at first sight and the possibility of the one other person in the world you were meant to be with.

Luke opened the door to the closet, and made his way in. Grace had her notebook and physics textbook open in her lap, but was fiddling with her pencil and staring off into space.

He shrugged off his backpack and sat across from her. She startled slightly, not having realized that he was there until he was right in front of her.

“I’m guessing you probably weren’t pondering scientific theory,” Luke said as she started writing in her notebook.

“What?” Grace prompted, looking up from her notes, when he gave no further explanation.

“You looked like you were having deep thoughts just a minute ago,” he explained, leaning forward so that his arms rested on his legs.

“Just thinking about stuff,” she responded quickly, not wanting to admit that she had been analyzing her feelings for him.

“Okay. Did you do any of the homework yet?” He asked, well aware that she wouldn’t react favorably if he pushed.

“Yeah. I finished it. I showed up for study hall today, go fig,” she said, slightly disgusted at herself.

“Hmm, actually showing up to class, doing your homework on time,” Luke listed, looking her over, a grin on his face. “I think I might be rubbing off on you.”

“Shut up, you are not,” she denied, a small smile appearing, unwanted, on her face as well. “So are you gonna check my answers or not?”

Luke took her notebook from her and looked over her answers. After a couple minutes he handed it back.

“Looks good. Are you sure I’m not rubbing off on you? Getting all the answers right…”

Grace pointed her pencil at him threateningly.

“Watch it, geek. You know I could take your scrawny ass.”

“Hey,” he said, offended. “My ass is not scrawny. And who says you could take me? You are pretty short…”

Grace glared at him for a few more seconds before she burst out laughing. Luke joined her, glad that she seemed lighthearted today.

After they were both done laughing, Grace eyed Luke cautiously. She cleared her throat and nervously looked down.

“Last night…” she started, her voice trembling a little. Was she really going to do this? “I had to go because my mother had just gotten home.”

Luke’s smile faded as he watched her start fidgeting with her pencil. Was she opening up to him, finally?

“She had been at the bar,” Grace continued, her eyes fixed on her pencil. She couldn’t look at him while she bared herself to him like this. Because then she might breakdown, much like she had just the other day, when he held her as she silently cried. “She was singing at the top of her lungs. I was sure that the neighbors had heard her coming miles away. She was so drunk that she couldn’t even walk up the stairs. I had to practically carry her up them. She passed out at the top, and I had to drag her into her bedroom and watch her until my dad got home. He works as late as he can possibly manage so he doesn’t have to deal with his own wife. You see, if she isn’t watched, she might vomit and choke, or if she’s out too long, it could mean she’s drunk herself into a coma. Literally. I’ve already had to call an ambulance for her more times than I can count…” Grace trailed off, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She was not going to cry. No one was supposed to see her cry. It was one of the things she had promised herself a long time ago. She’d already broken that rule once with him; she didn’t need to be doing it again. It made her vulnerable, and there was nothing Grace hated more than being vulnerable.

Luke was silent, trying to control his own warring emotions as well. Sympathy, anger towards her father for making her deal with this alone, and that urge to take her far away from all her pain. Grace still wouldn’t look at him; she just sat there, staring at the floor. Luke had never seen her look so…small and vulnerable. He slowly reached out to touch her. His fingers ghosted down her cheek to her arm. She looked up at him, her eyes betraying her need for comfort. All the walls she had built to keep the world away were crumbling before his eyes. He urged her towards him, and after a moments hesitation, she crawled into his lap. He cradled her in his arms and she buried her face into his neck, a choked sob escaping her. He held her close to him as she began to cry in big, heart-wrenching sobs. He stroked her hair and rubbed her back until her cries tapered off into soft sniffles. She pulled back just a little, looking rather embarrassed. Luke gently wiped her tears away with his thumb before cupping her face in his hand, gently. Grace just looked at him in wonder, amazed at how sweet and gentle he could be. Not knowing what else to do, she leaned in and kissed him softly. He returned her kiss and she ran the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip, as if to ask permission. He responded by opening his mouth against hers, allowing her tongue to explore his mouth.

Grace felt tingles run down her spine at the first brush of his tongue against hers. She didn’t have any prior experience, but she was pretty sure his kissing talents were far above average. He certainly had no trouble in melting her into a gooey puddle within seconds.

Several minutes later, they pulled back from the kiss, eyes closed, recovering from the intensity behind it. Luke gave her a small smile when she opened her eyes to look at him.

“How about you go clean up in the bathroom and then we can get out of here,” he suggested. Off of her confused look, he told her, “I have an idea.”

++++

10 minutes later…

Luke tugged on Grace’s hand, leading her over to a secluded coffee shop.

“Hot chocolate, my treat,” he said in way of explanation as he held the door open for her.

Grace smiled to herself as he ordered their drinks, finding herself once again amazed at how wonderful this guy was. He handed her a decent sized cup of chocolaty goodness and they went to sit at a small table in the corner.

++++

Glynnis took her coffee from the woman from behind the counter and turned to look for a table. She was supposed to be meeting up with Freidman to go over ideas for the science fair. She was rather peeved that Luke had cancelled out on them at the last minute. Was it her? It couldn’t be, he probably never even gave her a second thought anymore. She was mostly over him, mostly because she knew his interests lay elsewhere and she never truly had a chance. In fact, she suspected those other interests were the reason why he had dropped out of the group. Well, speak of the devil, she thought. There they were, sitting off in the corner. She slunk over to a nearby table so that she could spy on them. They were probably discussing the science fair. Glynnis narrowed her eyes at the other girl, staring her down from where she sat. She couldn’t help but be envious of the girl that had captured Luke’s complete and total attention. What did Grace Polk have that she didn’t? What was it that made him so infatuated with her when Glynnis could hardly make him realize that she existed?

She couldn’t hear what they were saying from where she sat, but it looked like Luke was telling a story of some sort. And instead of slumping down in her seat and acting bored like Glynnis would expect her to do, Grace was listening attentively and laughing at some parts. Glynnis was pretty sure she had never seen miss-anti laugh before. She hadn’t even thought that the ice-queen was capable of it.

She continued to stare them down as they finished their drinks and gathered their stuff to leave. Curiosity getting the better of her, she followed them out. They walked side-by-side until they reached they corner. They then stopped and faced each other. Glynnis hid from sight, just within earshot.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” She heard Luke ask.

“That’s okay,” Grace responded, gesturing with her skateboard. “Not walking anyway.”

Luke glanced around them, as if he was making sure no one was watching, and laid a hand on Grace’s shoulder.

“I’ll keep Instant Messenger on tonight, so if you need to talk…”

Glynnis’ eyebrows shot up when Grace nodded, did a quick check around her as well, and tilted her head up to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

As they walked off in different directions, Glynnis leaned against the tree she had been hiding behind, shocked.

++++

Luke was working on his computer when an IM window popped up on his screen.

Blackwidow-4-U: What are you wearing?

Blackwidow-4-U: LOL…j/k

GravityBoy: Nothing… lol...j/k too

Blackwidow-4-U: Let me guess … creating another “file folder of ideas”?

GravityBoy: You know me too well

Blackwidow-4-U: Ha, I knew it. Yes I do.

GravityBoy: How are you?

Blackwidow-4-U: Is that supposed to be a loaded question, or am I just reading it wrong?

GravityBoy: Is there anything you need to talk about? We could always use the phone too if that would be better.

Blackwidow-4-U: Oh… nothing happened. I just wanted to talk.

Blackwidow-4-U: About stupid stuff, not about… you know.

GravityBoy: Are you sure?

Blackwidow-4-U: Yeah. She’s just downstairs watching TV.

Luke looked up when his sister suddenly appeared in his doorway.

“Hey. What are ya doing?” she asked, plopping down on his bed.

“Umm… trying to create a list of possible science fair projects,” Luke told her as he typed in a response.

GravityBoy: So what kind of “stupid” topic did you have in mind?

“You need to get a life outside of science,” Joan informed him.

Blackwidow-4-U: I dunno, just whatever. I just…

Blackwidow-4-U: I just don’t want to be completely alone.

“I have a life,” Luke insisted.

“Uh huh,” Joan said, not convinced. “And what does this life consist of?”

GravityBoy: I can probably sneak out if you want to meet up…

“Of… stuff” Luke stuttered, obviously he couldn’t tell her that it consisted of his girlfriend that no one knew he had.

Blackwidow-4-U: Sneak out? You sure I’m not the one who’s rubbing off on you? LOL

Blackwidow-4-U: And its okay, just IMing is fine.

Luke was so focused on talking to Grace that he didn’t notice that his sister had gotten up off the bed and moved behind him by this point. Joan saw the unmistakable IM screen before Luke noticed her and minimized the window.

“Who are you talking to?” she asked curiously, a smile forming on her face. “Is it a girl?”

“Its no one,” Luke answered quickly. “Just someone I know.”

Joan didn’t believe him for one second. So she played it casual and made her way out of his room, keeping the screen name she had caught a glimpse of in the back of her mind.

++++

As soon as Joan entered her room, she sat at her computer, pulling up her Instant Messenger. She typed in the mystery girl’s (because she was sure it was a girl) screen name and a message.

JaneZ6: Hi, you don’t know me, but I was in my brother’s room and saw that he was talking to you…



Chapter 2: If You Only Knew…

Grace was in the middle of a debate she was having with Luke when another IM window popped up on her screen.

“Shit,” she exclaimed upon reading it. She was about to bitch at Luke for not being careful when she realized that she had a golden opportunity. All through this thing with Luke, she hadn’t been able to confide in anyone about it because of her own contract. Joan obviously wasn’t aware of who he had been talking to, which left her the perfect chance to talk about her current situation without letting the cat out of the bag.

Blackwidow-4-U: Hi. Isn’t it kind of nosy to spy on your brother?

JaneZ6: Yeah, well… he’s been acting weirder than usual lately, so I was curious.

JaneZ6: So are you like his long-distance online g/f or something? Cuz, no offense, that’s kinda lame.

Blackwidow-4-U: Yeah, that is lame. And I’m his close-distance, real g/f. LOL

JaneZ6: Shut up! You’re dating my brother? I don’t even know who you are!

Blackwidow-4-U: It’s an in secret kind of thing.

JaneZ6: Wow

JaneZ6: What school do you go to?

Blackwidow-4-U: Arcadia High, like you. LOL

JaneZ6: Do you know who I am? I mean besides Luke’s sister?

Blackwidow-4-U: Yes.

JaneZ6: Wow… this is so weird! He is soo gonna get it!

Blackwidow-4-U: Actually, could you not tell Luke that you know? Or anyone else?

JaneZ6: Why not?

Blackwidow-4-U: Let him stay under the illusion that it’s still a complete secret.

JaneZ6: LOL. Okay, okay, I won’t tease him about it. Ruin my fun.

JaneZ6: So what is your name?

Blackwidow-4-U: Haven’t you heard? You’re not supposed to give your name to strangers.

JaneZ6: Do you know mine?

Blackwidow-4-U: Yeah, you’re Joan Girardi.

JaneZ6: See, not a stranger.

Blackwidow-4-U: If you know who I am, it kind of defeats the purpose of it being a secret.

JaneZ6: I guess so…

JaneZ6: How did you guys meet?

Blackwidow-4-U: We had a class together last year.

JaneZ6: How long have you guys been together?

Blackwidow-4-U: Since the beginning of summer.

JaneZ6: Really???

JaneZ6: Are you why he broke up with Glynnis?

Blackwidow-4-U: I think so.

JaneZ6: Wow. Are you guys serious?

Blackwidow-4-U: What do you mean?

JaneZ6: Are you serious about each other?

Blackwidow-4-U: I don’t know…

JaneZ6: Do you love him? Sorry if I’m getting personal, I’m just so thrown!

Blackwidow-4-U: How do you know if its love?

JaneZ6: I dunno… I guess it’s just something you have to decide.

Blackwidow-4-U: Then I’m not sure.

JaneZ6: But you might be?

Blackwidow-4-U: Yeah, I guess.

JaneZ6: This is so weird. I kinda thought he still had a thing for my friend.

Blackwidow-4-U: Who?

JaneZ6: My friend, Grace. She’s blonde, kinda short, angry at the world most of the time…

Blackwidow-4-U: Yeah, I know who she is.

JaneZ6: Yeah, he was pretty stupid about her for a while.

JaneZ6: And you probably don’t want to hear about your b/f’s obsession w/ another girl.

Blackwidow-4-U: It doesn’t bother me. As long as he’s over her.

JaneZ6: I’m sure he is. I thought she might have been at least flattered by his attention, but I guess nothing ever came out of it.

Blackwidow-4-U: Most people say she’s a lesbian.

JaneZ6: Yeah, I don’t know… she never really told me if that’s true or not. I don’t really care; she’s one of my best friends either way.

Blackwidow-4-U: You sound like a good friend.

JaneZ6: I try to be.

JaneZ6: Whoa, it’s late. I should probably go. We can talk again sometime, if you want.

Blackwidow-4-U: Sounds cool… ttyl.

JaneZ6: Bye mystery girl… lol.

Blackwidow-4-U: G’night.

++++

The next day, Joan and Adam walked up to Grace, hand in hand, while she was at her locker.

“Hey Grace. Wanna go off campus with a bunch of us for lunch?” Joan asked, cuddling up to Adam.

“Who’s going?” Grace asked, scrunching her nose up at the disgusting display they were putting on.

“I already invited Judith, my dork brother and his freak of nature friend, and Adam, of course.” Joan answered, giving Grace a strange look. “The usual people. You in?”

Getting out of school and spending time with Luke? Grace could think of worse things.

“I’m in,” Grace replied, slamming her locker shut. “Where are we going?”

“I’m rooting for Hooters,” Freidman announced as he approached the group. “I’m sure Grace is with me on that one.”

Grace responded by smacking him upside the head, hard. Luke and Judith joined the group as well, and Freidman’s attention thankfully shifted away from Grace. He moved over to Judith to recite lines from Hamlet to her. She threw up her hands in annoyance and started walking towards the entrance. Grace rolled her eyes, following after her with everyone else.

++++

Soon after that, they had reached Burger King, which was the only place they could all remotely agree on. They ordered their food and picked a table that was big enough to fit all of them. Adam and Joan sat together, naturally, and Freidman insisted on further annoying Judith by sitting next to her. That left Grace across from Luke. She gulped, the constant worry that they would be discovered growing as she sat.

A few minutes later, Grace was pretending to listen to whatever Joan was going on about as she watched Luke out of the corner of her eye. He had become surprisingly good at pretending nothing was going on between them. She, on the other hand, was finding it harder and harder to do the same. She usually tried to avoid him in public with their friends in order to avoid that problem. Lately, whenever he was nearby, she had to fight off the urge to smile at him, or hold his hand, or many of those other dumb things couples like Joan and Adam did.

Grace tried to keep up with the conversation they were having, so as to not draw attention to herself. Luke apparently wasn’t doing so well at that, because Joan shut up long enough to glance down the table at him.

“Hey, dork brain. What’s on your mind?”

“Just because I don’t have anything to say about whatever inane thing you’re going on about doesn’t mean something is on my mind.” He responded, ignoring the look everyone gave him. They were obviously all thinking the same thing: since when did he snip at people? Grace ducked her head to hide her smirk. She knew it; she was rubbing off on him. That could have easily come out of her mouth.

“Besides, no one listens to me anyway,” Luke added, before turning his attention back to his food.

Grace’s face fell at his simple statement. She had heard the slight resentment behind it. She barely stopped herself from assuring him that she listened. She feared that one of these days, she was going to slip and the whole secret would be out. She could picture the look on Joan’s face now: shock, disbelief, and most of all, disgust. Then they would all mercilessly tease her about the fact that she, miss anti, had a boyfriend. A geeky, younger than her boyfriend, who happened to be her best friends brother, at that. Yeah, best to never ever let that happen. They would never let her live it down. Besides, once it was public, it was set in stone. She would be one-half of a couple, something she definitely didn’t want to be known by. She had spent too much of her childhood known as the alcoholic’s little girl. That’s why she had become Anti!Grace, to make people realize she was her own person. She purposely drifted away from the crowd so that people would be forced to think of her only in terms of who she was. She didn’t want that to all go to hell just because she happened to be with Luke. She had made the contract not because she was ashamed of him, quite the opposite actually, but that she wanted to be in control of the relationship so that it couldn’t take over who she had become.

So, since she couldn’t say anything, she pulled out a half sheet of paper and scribbled a note down on it and folded it up. She glanced around at the others, making sure no one was focused on her, and got up to take her trash to the garbage, grabbing Luke’s as well. She subtly dropped the note in his lap as she walked by.

++++

Luke tried not to show any sign of surprise as Grace walked away. He carefully unfolded the paper and glanced down at it. On it was a simple phrase:

I listen.

He blinked, quickly crumbling it so no one would see. It was so simple, yet those words stirred emotions deep within him. He had made a simple comment, something he saw as a fact of life, and she had been bothered by it enough to reassure him, despite being in public. He had to fight down a smile that wanted to break out across his face. Grace sat down in front of him again, and glanced casually at him. His lips quirked a bit before he forced himself to keep a straight face again. She had noticed it though, because her lips did their own little quirk before she ducked her head and grabbed her bag.

“Okay kids, lets get going,” she called to the others as she backed towards the door. Everyone gathered their things and followed after her.

Luke fingered the crumpled piece of paper before stuffing it in a side pocket in his backpack and going after the others.

++++

Joan kept an eye on her brother as they walked back to the school. He had been really quiet the whole time they had been out. She guessed that it was just his typical behavior; he usually just quietly followed along with the group. But the way he had snapped at her in the restaurant had taken her by surprise. That definitely wasn’t typical Luke behavior. She sighed, leaning into Adam a bit more. It only made her wonder even more who his mystery girlfriend was.

++++

Not long after they had gotten back from lunch break, the group was sitting in physics. Grace found her attention constantly becoming fixated on Luke, despite her best efforts otherwise. He was deeply engrossed in the lecture Lieshak was giving, and answered every question right when prompted. She found herself smiling at the endearing way he gave a longer, more in depth explanation than anyone needed. She loved it when he got into his scientific ramblings. Most of the time, she only understood about half of what he was saying, but she knew all that mattered to him was that she actually listened. She loved how his eyes would light up and how he would get all worked up over things like particles and atoms. She especially loved it when they were alone together and his voice would drop to that low, intimate tone that sent shivers down her spine as he explained random scientific theories to her.

Wait, she thought her mind backtracking, she loved? Her eyes strayed over to him yet again. Sure she had been wondering about her feelings lately, and what they could mean. She had been so confused before, not being able to define what love was. Now it seemed as clear as day, as her heart pounded in her ears when Luke glanced casually backwards to catch a glimpse of her. It was something he did almost everyday, but now she was acutely aware of it and the meaning behind. She sat there, trying to keep her breath steady as her heart beat rapidly in her chest, in a near panic over these sudden, intense feelings. She was never supposed to feel like this. Grace Polk was supposed to be anti everything… even love. And yet, here she was, in love with Luke Girardi. It was almost a relief to finally admit it to herself, despite everything she had become through her life protesting against it.

“Grace,” she heard from beside her. She turned her head to look at Joan. “Are you actually paying attention to this?”

“No,” she said, as if it should be obvious, gesturing at her note less notebook.

“Well, you looked like you were absorbed in something.”

Grace just shrugged and started doodling in her notebook, trying to get her mind off a certain blonde teen.

++++

That night, after she had finished her homework, Joan went online to see if the mystery girl was on again. She saw that the icon next to her screen name that indicated that she was and sent her a message.

JaneZ6: Hi again!

Blackwidow-4-U: Hey

JaneZ6: What’s up?

Blackwidow-4-U: Not much.

JaneZ6: Are you talking to my brother?

Blackwidow-4-U: Yeah…it’s the only reason I use IM…lol.

JaneZ6: Oh, really? lol

JaneZ6: I know it’s probably none of my business, but Luke seemed kind of bummed today. Did you guys get in a fight or something?

Blackwidow-4-U: Nah… its just that the whole secrecy thing bugs him.

JaneZ6: Oh, so it was your idea? I thought maybe he wanted to keep it a secret so that me and my family wouldn’t tease him…

Blackwidow-4-U: Nope.

JaneZ6: Why do you want it to be a secret? Are you ashamed of him or something?

Blackwidow-4-U: No… you people just wouldn’t understand.

JaneZ6: Why not?

Blackwidow-4-U: We’re an unlikely couple. Some would probably say strange.

JaneZ6: Strange? Well, unless you’re Freidman masquerading as a girl, I wouldn’t say strange. LOL.

Blackwidow-4-U: LOL… now that’s just gross.

Blackwidow-4-U: Besides I know for a fact that Luke is NOT gay…

JaneZ6: I’m sure you do…lol. No details though, please! He’s still my brother; I don’t need to hear about … that, yech!

Blackwidow-4-U: You know how we were talking about the whole love thing yesterday?

JaneZ6: Yeah…

Blackwidow-4-U: I think I might, you know, feel that way…

JaneZ6: Really? A girl in love with my little brother? Aww.

Blackwidow-4-U: Shut up.

JaneZ6: lol… I mean it. It’s nice that he found someone that can see past the dorky science geek.

Blackwidow-4-U: See past? I don’t know about the dorky part, but he is all science geek.

JaneZ6: And it doesn’t bother you.

Blackwidow-4-U: I like guys I can hold an intelligent conversation with. Plus its kind of cute when he gets all riled up about science…

JaneZ6: Cute?!? Wow… I think maybe you are the perfect match for him…lol.

JaneZ6: There is more to him than geek… I will grudgingly admit. He really is an okay guy…

Blackwidow-4-U: Trust me, I know. I’m lucky; he’s a wonderful guy.

JaneZ6: Aww.

JaneZ6: But if he’s so wonderful and you love him, then why the secrecy?

Blackwidow-4-U: It’s hard to explain.

JaneZ6: Okay, I won’t push…

Blackwidow-4-U: Sorry, I gotta go. Bye.

Blackwidow-4-U has logged off !

++++

The next day, Grace joined the others in the hallway, eyeing Luke. She had basically told Joan that she was in love with him last night. Now she felt as if everyone knew. She felt so… exposed. She knew it was ridiculous since Joan didn’t even know it was her, but she couldn’t help it.

She was nervous about being alone with him after school. They were supposed to meet in the biology closet, like usual. He could always read her so well; would he be able to look at her and know how she felt about him? It was a scary prospect. If he knew that, she wouldn’t be able to hide from him anymore. She would be bared before him and all her sarcasm and cynicism would mean nothing because he would know she had a soft spot. She mentally snorted at herself. He probably already knew all that already. Would it be so bad if she just told him?

Her train of thought was cut short when a hand waved in front of her face.

“Earth to Grace,” Joan was saying as Grace looked over at her. “You’ve been really spacey lately. What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Grace responded quickly, speeding up so that she was ahead of the others. Joan was not deterred and sped to catch up with her.

“You want to come over tonight?” Joan asked when she reached Grace’s side. “We could do a Friday night moviethon or something,” she then turned to her boyfriend, “You can come too, of course.”

“Uh…” Grace paused, unsure of what to say. She was going to ask Luke if he wanted to go to the movies with her tonight, at a theatre a couple towns over, of course. But, she didn’t want to raise any suspicions, so it looked like she was spending her night at the Girardi’s.

“Sure, why not.”

“Cool,” Joan said, hoping that she would get a chance to talk to her friend in private about what was bugging her.

“I wanted to show you someone possible project ideas I had for the science fair,” Luke said, as he came up on her other side. “So maybe you could come up and take a look while you’re over.”

Grace had to fight down the urge to smile. He really was cute when he rambled on like that. And she had to give him props for stealthily trying to get time alone with her.

“You’re doing the science fair?” Joan asked, giving her a highly amused look. Grace felt herself flush lightly as Joan started to smirk.

“The geek wouldn’t leave me alone, so I told him I’d do it to shut him up,” she covered, trying hard not to act as embarrassed as she felt. Joan seemed to buy it though, because she was shaking her head in sympathy.

“Poor Grace. Roped into doing some stupid science fair project.”

“Hey, you never know,” Grace said, seeing the semi-hurt look on Luke’s face. “We might do something worth seeing.”

Suddenly Glynnis, who had remained quiet as usual through all this, suddenly burst out laughing. Everyone looked at her. She did something akin to smirking.

“I’m sure you will,” she told Grace, knowingly. Luke, Adam, and Joan just gave her a strange look before ignoring her again. Grace looked at her suspiciously for a few moments before returning to the conversation

++++

After her last class of the day, in which Grace had spent thinking about how she could manage to sneak in some time with Luke that night, she walked out and almost ran straight into Glynnis. She was standing there, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. Grace crossed her arms as well, giving her a confrontational look.

“Can I help you?” Grace asked icily.

“I know your secret, Polk,” Glynnis told her, that almost-smirk appearing on her face again. Grace felt her stomach clench in fear.

“What?” Grace asked, dropping out of her threatening stance, voice wavering.

“I know all about you and Luke,” Glynnis announced much too loud for Grace’s preferences.

“Shh!” she exclaimed, grabbing Glynnis’ arm and dragging her over to a less crowded area of the hallway.

“If you tell anyone…” Grace warned, leaning in towards her threateningly. Glynnis only raised her eyebrow and laughed.

“I might have been intimidated before,” Glynnis told her, still grinning. “But now that I know you’re getting all snuggly with Luke, you don’t seem so threatening.”

Grace glared at the taller girl, clearly peeved that she couldn’t even make her nervous.

“So why exactly are you running around in secret?” Glynnis questioned, still obviously amused by all this.

“That’s none of your damn business!” Grace growled at her before stalking off. Glynnis watched her storm off, shaking her head in amusement. It was becoming more and more evident that Grace wasn’t as tough and mean as she would like everyone to think.

++++

Luke looked up when Grace stormed into the biology closet, slamming the door shut behind her. She looked mighty pissed, and he feared that he had done something wrong. One thing he knew for sure was that he didn’t want Grace’s rage directed at him. She may be short, but he was fairly sure she could kick his ass if she had the urge to do so. It was one of the things he loved about her.

“Grace?” Luke cautiously asked, with more than a little bit of fear. “Everything okay?”

She tossed her bag off her shoulder and threw herself down to the ground so forcefully he could have sworn the shelves swayed.

“I’m fine,” she growled out through clenched teeth.

“Okay,” he agreed quickly. She then seemed to notice that he looked a little scared of her. Her face softened.

“I’m not mad at you,” she assured. He looked rather relieved at this. If her blood wasn’t still boiling, she would have laughed. “And do you really think I’d beat up my own boyfriend?”

Luke started at this. She called me her boyfriend, the thought immediately flew through his head, making him giddy. But she apparently hadn’t noticed her slip, because she was going into rant mode.

“Your stupid ex-girlfriend ambushed me just now. I mean, who the hell does she think she is?” Just then, Grace noticed the grin on Luke’s face.

“What?” She demanded, not seeing any humor in this.

“You said boyfriend,” he told her, happily.

“Yeah, so?” she asked, confused to why he was getting that goofy smile on his face that she usually only saw when he was discussing science.

“The contract?” he reminded her, even more happy that she had apparently forgotten about it for the most part. “Private and public communication…?”

“Screw the contract,” she said dismissively. “Technically its null and void anyway.”

A full on grin appeared on Luke’s face.

“Really?” he asked her, his grin threatingly to widen even more.

“Yeah, sure… whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes. She pointed at him warningly. “But you still can’t tell anyone.”

Luke’s face fell a little, but he was still happy to be rid of the contract.

“And you tell your annoying as hell ex-girlfriend that she better not dare tell anyone either.”

“What?” Luke asked in surprise. “Glynnis knows?”

“Apparently,” Grace muttered, obviously not pleased with this turn of events.

“How? We were careful, weren’t we?” he asked, not really caring either way, but concerned about how much Grace cared.

“I didn’t ask,” Grace responded, annoyed. Luke moved so that he was sitting next to her.

“I’ll talk to her if it’ll make you feel better.”

“Yeah, you and her alone together will really make me feel better,” Grace grouched sarcastically, not realizing how much she was revealing. Luke turned his head to look at her.

“Are you jealous?” he asked her, incredulously. Surely Grace couldn’t be jealous of Glynnis. Luke knew his way around probability and this was very unlikely.

“Shut up, I don’t do jealous,” she insisted, but her face colored slightly and she refused to look at him.

“Grace, its okay if you are,” Luke said, wrapping his arm around her. “Although I don’t understand why…”

Grace looked at him in disbelief.

“Dude, you were with her for two months!” she exclaimed, and then looked away again. “And she’s just as much of a science geek as you are. You’re perfect for each other,” Grace spat out bitterly.

Luke couldn’t believe his ears. Grace really was jealous of Glynnis, possibly had been even before they were together. He shook his head; didn’t she get it? He used his free hand to turn her face back towards him.

“No, we’re not,” he told her, firmly. “I like Glynnis just fine… as a friend. Sure its nice to talk to a fellow science geek once in a while, but I’d rather listen to your political rants then listen to her go on about one of her theories.”

Grace searched his eyes. Seeing that he was being sincere, she gave him a small, sweet smile. It made him want to kiss her breathless, but he wasn’t done.

“Freidman was trying to convince me months before to go for it. Do you know why I didn’t?” Grace shook her head no. “Because I was trying so damn hard to get you to notice me.”

“So, you didn’t really want to be with her…” Grace asked, a little dazed from the implications of his confession.

“ No. I wanted to be with you. But I had given up any hope of you being even remotely interested at that point.”

“Oh,” Grace said, looking at the floor in front of her, trying to absorb all of this. She had thought that maybe he had a thing for her last year. She had never been quite sure, especially when he and Glynnis suddenly ended up together. Then she had been completely thrown off guard when he had suddenly changed gears again and blatantly announced having feelings for her by giving her that rock. Which would make a hell of a lot more sense if he had been harboring feelings for her throughout his relationship with Glynnis. The thought made Grace uncharacteristically giddy.

“So if you would have known that I felt the same, the whole Glynnis thing would have never happened?” She asked, a smile growing rapidly on her face.

“Of course not,” he replied right away, glad that her anger seemed to have vaporized. Then, what she had said sunk in. “Wait. Known you felt the same? You had a thing for me last year?”

“Maybe,” Grace said coyly, her lips curling into a flirty smile. Then, without another word, she placed a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him to her. She kissed him playfully, nipping at his lip with her teeth as she pulled back to see his reaction. He seemed rather turned on by her playfulness, so she gave him another flirtatious look before kissing him more fully. Funny how he had managed turn Angry!Grace into Frisky!Grace within only minutes…



Chapter 3: Caught in the Act


++++

GravityBoy: So I was thinking that maybe after we watch movies tonight we could get away to my room without raising suspicions. Science fair and all J

Blackwidow-4-U: You’re watching movies too?

GravityBoy: Joan invited me too. Is that a problem? I can get out of it.

Blackwidow-4-U: No problem, just pleasantly surprised.

GlavityBoy: Pleasantly, huh?

Blackwidow-4-U: Shut up, or else you can say goodbye to us alone together in your room tonight…

GravityBoy: I surrender… lol. It’s just nice to know that you want to spend time with me.

Blackwidow-4-U: Oh…

Blackwidow-4-U: Well… I do.

GtavityBoy: Yeah? J

Blackwidow-4-U: Well duh, dork. Do u really think I’d be with you if I didn’t want to… be with you?

GravityBoy: I guess not…lol. It’s just hard to tell with you sometimes.

Blackwidow-4-U: Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.

GravityBoy: I’ve noticed you’re less standoffish online, though.

Blackwidow-4-U: It’s easier than in person.

Blackwidow-4-U: You know… I don’t always mean to be so… hostile.

GravityBoy: I know. You don’t have to explain yourself. It’s just nice to be reminded once in a while that you actually like me. Lol.

Blackwidow-4-U: What, my tongue in your mouth doesn’t show you that enough? Lol.

GravityBoy. Oh, it does.

GravityBoy: I better be extra careful to not let anyone see this, what with you talking dirty and all. LOL

Blackwidow-4-U: I am not! And you should be careful either way…

Grace had a grin on her face as she waited for Luke to respond. Their playful banter always put her in a good mood. And it helped that she would get to spend time with him for a good chunk of the night…

GravityBoy: No? I’d say talking about your tongue any where on me is rather dirty…

Grace felt her face heat up. She never before in her life blushed so much as she did nowadays. She knew that Luke and his ability to affect her so much was to blame for the majority, but she found herself caring less than she knew she should. She would just have to settle the score by making him blush even more.

Blackwidow-4-U: I don’t know what you’re thinking… but I was only referring to the innocent use of my tongue…

GravityBoy: Innocent use of your tongue? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Lol.

Just then another IM window popped up on her screen.

JaneZ6: Hey mystery girl, how’s it going?

Blackwidow-4-U: Hey.

JaneZ6: My brother and a couple of my friends are watching movies tonight, if you want to come, you’re totally invited.

Blackwidow-4-U: Secrecy, remember? LOL

JaneZ6: Am I ever going to find out who you are?

Blackwidow-4-U: Maybe one day…

JaneZ6: You seem like a really cool person….and I would except you guys as a couple no matter how “strange” you are.

Blackwidow-4-U: That’s really cool of you, but I’m just not ready to come out with it.

JaneZ6: That’s too bad. I think we could end up being good friends.

Blackwidow-4-U: Yeah, me too.

Blackwidow-4-U: I have get going… I have plans with some friends.

JaneZ6: Okay, later.

Blackwidow-4-U has logged off !

++++

That night Joan, Adam, Luke, and Grace were all crammed on the couch watching movies. Adam and Joan were snuggled together on one end, looking quite comfy. Due to the lack of room on the couch, and the fact that she had her feet curled up under her, Grace was somewhat pressed up against Luke’s side. She could have just as easily curled her legs up to the other side and leaned into the side of the couch, but she found this position much more favorable. They were currently watching “Mean Girls”, which was Joan’s choice, and it was only the first of four movies. Grace didn’t know how much longer she could resist the temptation to rest her head on his shoulder and lean into him more fully. In her mind’s eye she would do just that and he would wrap his arm around her, pulling her closer. And then they would sit like that through all four movies, Joan and Adam be damned.

Grace halted her thoughts, trying desperately to pay attention to the movie, which was actually a lot better than she had expected. She felt Luke shift beside her and looked over at him. He was looking at her longingly, apparently stuck in the same dilemma as her. She gave him an apologetic look and turned back to the TV. They unknowingly let out twin sighs.

Joan glanced over at them.

“Hey, it’s a good movie,” she insisted, for the millionth time that night, misreading their sighs as boredom.

“It’s a chick flick,” Luke pointed out, trying to cover for both of them. Joan settled back into Adam’s arms, pouting slightly.

“It’s not too bad. It’s pretty cool to see the bitches go down,” Grace commented, not wanting Joan to pay too much attention to her and Luke. She was waiting for a point in the night where they would be too involved in a movie to notice if Grace gave into her temptations a little bit.

After impatiently waiting until thirty minutes into the next movie, Grace slowly and subtly moved her hand so that it was between her and Luke and hidden from sight. Keeping her eyes on the screen, she attempted to watch him out of the corner of her eye as she gently tugged his hand off his leg and slipped her hand into his. His eyes flickered down to their hands for a split second before he focused back on the TV screen. A tiny smile appeared on his face and he squeezed her hand lightly. Grace squeezed back in response and leaned into him a tiny bit more, feeling a slight rush at their daringness in front of her friends.

After the second movie was finished, Joan got up and stretched out her muscles. She turned off the TV and VCR and flicked on the lights. Grace let go of Luke’s hand and yanked her arm back, sitting up straighter. She glanced at Adam and Joan nervously, but they didn’t seem to have noticed her sudden movement. Why hadn’t Joan just put the third movie in?

“I was thinking that Adam and I could go for a walk and you guys can,” Joan looked over at Grace, snickering, “work on your science fair project.”

Grace glowered at her, but was inwardly excited to have some alone time with Luke. Luke was feeling similarly excited, and smiled at her widely after Joan and Adam walked out the door.

Silently, they made their way up to Luke’s room, where he sat at his computer and pulled up his list he had made the other day. He printed it out, explaining that she should look it over and help him narrow it down. She wordlessly took the mini-packet from him, a smile tugging at her lips as he delved into an extensive explanation.

Luke was in the middle of explaining how particles contributed to the theory when he suddenly found his chair turned around, Grace in his lap, and her tongue in his mouth. He was so surprised, it took him a moment to respond, trying to figure out how exactly she had managed to turn him around and straddle him in only seconds. He recovered quickly from his momentary shock and kissed her back enthusiastically, pulling her closer to him by her legs. When she pulled back and gave him that seductive smile that drove him crazy, he just gaped at her, still rather shocked. He than gave her a mock disapproving look.

“Are you trying to shut me up?” He asked her as she ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Nah…” She said, biting her lip and looking him up and down slowly, “Just all that talk about particles rubbing together was getting me all excited,” she told him in a husky voice, teasing him. He very obviously blushed and she giggled. It wasn’t a sound he heard very often and it made him smile. He then took his turn to look her up and down.

“Are you saying science gets you hot? Because that would explain a lot.” It was Grace’s turn to flush hotly, before settling him with a glare. Luke smiled before pulling her closer again for another heated kiss. Her usual initial resistance against him was gone, and she eagerly returned the kiss. His hands found their way to her back, where they pulled her close to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn’t notice Joan and Adam had walked into the room.

“OH MY GOD!” Joan shrieked, beyond shocked.

Grace leaped out of Luke’s lap and stared wide-eyed at her two friends. Oh shit, oh shit, the mantra repeated itself in her head as she stood there like a deer in headlights. Luke had jumped up as well and his wide eyes were darting between Adam and Joan.

Joan’s jaw was dropped wide open in shock and she just stood there, frozen, staring at them. Adam had recovered from the initial shock and was starting to grin, amused by the situation. Joan, still rooted to the same spot, started opening and closing her mouth, looking much like a fish, too shocked to even speak. She looked back at Adam, only to find him smiling. She finally found her voice as she whipped back around to face the two.

“How? What? How?” She screeched at both of them, arms flailing. She glared disapprovingly at her brother. “I can’t believe you cheated on your girlfriend!”

Luke and Adam both looked confused by this last outburst, while Grace looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her up.

“Your girlfriend!” Joan shouted when he just looked at her in confusion. “The one I’ve been talking to online the past couple of days! Her screen name is Blackwidow-4-U and you’re her boyfriend…ring any bells?”

Luke gave the very clearly pissed off Joan another confused look, before he looked over at Grace. She blushed about 40 shades of red as Joan and Adam began to stare at her as well.

“Uh, yeah… that would be me,” she informed Joan, her face heating up even more. Joan frantically waved her hands in the air, as if she could make this whole mess go away.

“Wait, wait… you’re the mystery girl? You and my brother are…” Joan stumbled her words together, trying to digest this strange concept, “…together?”

As the IM conversations they’d had came back to her, she went on, “Since the beginning of summer? In secret? Oh my God, you-“ she cut herself short at the look of sheer panic on Grace’s face. It clicked then in Joan’s mind that Luke wasn’t aware of Grace’s feelings towards him yet… or at least not fully. It was all starting to make sense now, like the puzzle pieces were falling into place: both of their weird behavior lately, unlikely some would say strange couple, the reason he broke up with Glynnis…

Joan suddenly started to laugh in big gasping chuckles. Grace and Luke stared at her like she was insane, while Adam began to laugh with her.

“You guys… sneaking around…together…” Joan gasped out between laughs, leaning into Adam for support so that she didn’t fall down in her fit of laughter. Grace crossed her arms and glared at them, which only made them laugh harder, while Luke looked between the couple in hysterics and his ticked off girlfriend. He could practically see the icy daggers she was shooting at them with her eyes. He broke into a smile, and before he knew it, he was laughing as well. Grace turned to look at him incredulously.

“What is so funny, geek?” she demanded, menacingly. Her aggressive behavior only made him laugh more, even though he tried not to, fearing for his manly parts, may she get pissed enough to actually do anything. Just when he was starting to become seriously afraid for his well being, a smile started tugging at her lips.

“It’s not funny,” she insisted, even as she herself began to laugh.

“Oh, it really is,” Joan snickered as they all laughed at the strange turn of events.

++++

After they had all laughed themselves out, they headed back downstairs to watch the rest of the movies.

“Hey, you guys,” Helen called out as they passed through the kitchen. Her, Will, and Kevin were all sitting around the table eating ice cream. “We heard you guys giggling up there. What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing,” Joan said, finding herself snickering again. “We just caught Luke and Grace making out is all.”

Helen and Will looked shocked, Kevin gave his younger brother a thumbs up, and Luke and Grace both looked extremely embarrassed.

With another laugh, Joan pulled her brother, friend, and boyfriend into the family room to continue the moviethon.

++++

Grace was decidedly uneasy with the way everything had turned upside down on her tonight. Everything had been going so well lately; the contract she had grown to hate was out the window, excluding the whole thing with Glynnis the secrecy had been intact with no suspicions, and she had Luke. Now everything felt all upside down and inside out. The person she had feared telling the most, Joan, now knew her secret. Granted, Joan had taken it better than she imagined, but it didn’t change the fact that it was all out in the open. Grace sighed in resignation as she imagined the possibilities of what would happen on Monday at school. It was official now; she was one-half of a couple, the girlfriend of Luke. She hated the way it sounded, but she knew that she was in way too deep to leave the relationship just because she was having an identity crisis.

Luke heard Grace sigh from her seat next to him on the couch. He turned to look at her.

“You okay?” He asked her, concerned about how she was dealing with their sudden, unwanted coming out. Joan curiously turned her head to look at them. It was weird, and grossed her out more than a little, but they nonetheless intrigued her. Grace noticed Joan’s shift in attention and squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

“I’m fine,” she told him. He looked her over for a moment longer before resting a hand on her leg and giving her a small smile. She felt her heart skip a beat as he gave her leg a gentle squeeze as he turned back to the movie. Joan, not wanting to be caught spying, returned her attention to the movie as well.

Taking a deep breath, Grace moved Luke’s arm so that it was resting on the couch behind her. He looked back over at her, startled. She gave him a tiny smile before ducking her head to lay it on his shoulder. Closing her eyes briefly in contentment, she leaned into him and curled her arm around his waist. He wrapped his arm around her, much like she had imagined earlier. She breathed in his unique scent and hummed quietly at the pleasurably sensation of being held. Luke had returned his gaze to the TV, but was smiling to himself as he heard Grace practically purr and felt her slowly relax in his arms.

As the end credits began to roll, Joan hazarded a glance at the couple beside her. She had to admit that they looked rather adorable all cuddled up together. It made her want to dissolve into a fit of giggles, like she had upstairs. They were they strangest couple ever, but somehow they seemed to fit. She had never seen Grace look so content and kittenish. It was a little disturbing that her little brother would be the one to make Grace so relaxed and happy, but Joan was glad for her friend. And she was dying to hear the story behind all this. Screw the cat and its stupid curiosity; she wanted the full scoop on this interesting outcome. Her thoughts unwittingly tracking back to the make-out session she had walked in on, she thought, Well, maybe not the full scoop. With a slight shudder at the unwanted memory, she grabbed the last movie to pop into the VCR.
++++

After the movie had finished, Joan and Adam reluctantly pulled away from each other and Joan went to turn the TV and VCR off. She looked over to Luke and Grace, who were still in the same position as before. They looked like they weren’t planning on moving anytime soon, but Joan didn’t care. She had questions, and she wanted answers, now.

“Hey Grace,” Joan called to her. Grace moved only enough to look up at her. “Wanna help me take the movies back up to my room?”

Grace stared her down, not bothering to move an inch.

“Do it yourself,” she said, snuggling deeper into Luke’s embrace.

“Oh no,” Joan said, marching over to the couch. “You’re coming with me.”

With that, Joan snatched Grace’s arm and pulled her up off the couch and therefore out of Luke’s arms. Grace let out a groan of protest to being moved from her comfy spot, but complied. Joan handed her two of the movies for the sake of her lame excuse and dragged Grace up the stairs by her arm. Adam shook his head in wonder as the two disappeared from sight.

“Women.”
++++

As soon as they entered her room, Joan shut the door and spun to face Grace.

“So spill,” she demanded, arms crossed. Grace arched an eyebrow at her.

“Spill what?”

“You and Luke. Spill,” Joan insisted again. Grace’s eyes widened in realization; this was the exact thing she did NOT want to do. Putting the movies down on Joan’s desk, she attempted to make her escape for the door. Joan caught her by the arm.

“I don’t think so,” She told her friend, backing her further into the room. “You are going to tell me all about this thing with you and my brother. Without the gross details, please.”

“Have you lost your mind, Girardi?” Grace asked, looking somewhat nervous. “I’m not the type to do the whole girly thing.”

“I’m not asking you to,” Joan assured her.

Grace just put her hands on her hips and glared at her friend defiantly. With a sigh, Joan uncrossed her arms and ran a hand through her hair.

“Look, I just thought that maybe you’d wanna talk about it.”

Grace let out an a sudden, short laugh, “If I wanted to talk about it, I wouldn’t have been keeping it a secret, now would I?”

“Grace,” Joan said softly, moving closer to the girl in front of her. “I know you wanted to, or else you wouldn’t have been talking to me online.”

Grace seemed to kind of deflate at this, her body language loosening. She awkwardly shoved her hands in her pockets and looked down at the floor.

“What do you want to know?” Grace asked. Joan couldn’t help but notice how defeated she sounded.

“Well, first of all, why the secrecy? I know I asked you before, but you were all with the avoidance.”

When she got no response, Joan went over to her friend and led her to the bed to sit.

“Grace, you’re my best friend. You can talk to me about this, you know.”

Grace settled herself down on the bed, sitting Indian style. She cleared her throat and opened and closed her mouth several times before speaking.

“I guess I wanted to be in control,” Grace told her, leaning her arms on her legs and slouching down. Why did that reason suddenly sound so lame?

“Uh huh,” Joan said, becoming amused at how uncomfortable her friend was at being confronted with this. “So, is this is why you’ve been so spacey lately?”

“Hey,” Grace said, somewhat offended. “Rove is spacey, not me.”

“Whatever,” Joan said dismissively. She started to smile. “So you love him, huh?”

“Shut up, dude,” Grace responded immediately.

“What?” Joan asked, not at all surprised by the typical Grace answer “Do you?”

“Yes, okay?” Grace threw her hands up in absolute defeat. “Have I satisfied your curiosity yet?”

“Does he know?” Joan prodded on, ignoring her friend’s anxiousness to get the hell out of there.

“Apparently not,” Grace muttered to herself.

“Does he?” Joan asked impatiently, having a pretty good idea what the answer might be.

“Noooo,” Grace admitted, fidgeting with her shoelace.

“Are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t know…” Grace met Joan’s eyes for the first time. “Does it matter?”

Joan was somewhat taken aback at the challenge in the other girl’s tone.

“I was just wondering,” she said, getting up off the bed. She stood there for an awkward moment before glancing back at Grace. Not knowing what else to say she told her, “We should probably get back down there.”

With a sigh she turned to head back downstairs, knowing Grace would follow.
++++

“So,” Adam started, breaking the silence he and Luke had been sitting in since Joan and Grace had left the room several minutes before. Luke looked over at him, wearily. “You and Grace, huh?”

“Yeah,” Luke answered cautiously, not sure what he was getting at.

“Cool,” Adam remarked, and then paused for a moment, staring at the TV. “You know, Grace is like a sister to me…”

“Yeah, and Joan IS my sister,” Luke reminded the older boy. Adam looked over at him.

“Point taken.”

That being settled, both boys returned their stares to the blank screen waiting silently for the girls to return.

“Luke?” Helen’s voice broke through the boys’ trance. They both looked over to see her standing in the doorway. “Can I talk to you in the kitchen?”

“Sure,” Luke replied, giving Adam a puzzled look before following his mother to the kitchen. Once there, Luke took a seat across from Helen and looked at her expectantly.

“How long have you and Grace been together?” Helen asked straightforward.

“Mom-” Luke began to protest.

“No, I think its only fair since you kept this a secret from us,” Helen told him, giving him a pointed look.

“I would have told you if Grace hadn’t wanted to keep it a secret,” Luke said, becoming slightly irritated. He didn’t want to be having this talk now… or ever.

“Oh, honey,” Helen started; feeling sorry for assuming the secrecy had been Luke’s idea.

“Mom, its fine. And to answer your question, since the beginning of summer.” He paused, reconsidering. “I think. It was somewhat unclear.”

“Oh,” She said, even more worried then she had originally been. “Have you and Grace… I mean, have you, um consummated your relationship?”

“Are you talking about sex?” Luke asked her in disbelief. Her reaction told him everything he needed to know. “Mom!”

“Well, you’ve been sneaking around in private. I just want to make sure you’re being careful.”

Luke was flustered to say the least and Helen feared that all her children were growing up too fast. She almost couldn’t bear to know if her baby boy was having an adult relationship with her daughter’s friend. She gave her son a concerned look as he grappled for something to say.

“Are you, honey? I won’t be mad.”

“What? No, we’re not!” Luke insisted finally, waving his arms about frantically, appalled that his mother could think such a thing.

Helen breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that their relationship hadn’t gone past some relatively innocent making out.

“Have you discussed it?” She questioned, wanting to avoid any potential disasters in the future. “Its important to discuss it before it happens.”

The utter look of disbelief was reforming on Luke’s face. “You want me to talk to Grace about having sex?”

“Well, I think it’s a good idea,” Helen told him, relaxing now that she knew that he probably hadn’t even given it much thought.

“Do I look like I have a death wish?”

Helen laughed at his serious tone.

“I’m sure Grace would be glad that you want to be prepared…”

“Oh no,” Luke said, shaking his head, wide-eyed. “No she really, really wouldn’t. You do realize that she could beat me up if she wanted to, right?”

“Do you really think Grace would hurt you?” Helen asked, amused.

“If I gave her a reason to,” Luke insisted, completely serious.

Helen sighed, and let it go.

“Okay, but just be careful, please,” she looked him the eye, a no-nonsense look on her face. “I’m not ready to have grandchildren yet.”
++++

When Luke finally escaped the torture that was The Talk, he entered the family room. Grace and Joan had returned and were talking. Grace's stuff had been gathered up and was sitting by them. Adam had obviously already left and Grace was preparing to do the same.

“What did mom want to talk to you about?” Joan asked when she saw her brother enter the room.

“Uh, nothing,” he lied, feeling his face heat up. No way he was telling his sister about that. Joan didn’t take notice to his embarrassment, and said goodbye to Grace. Grace gave him a searching look and motioned for him to walk her to the door.

Once they reached the porch, Grace turned to face him.

“Was she giving you a hard time about us?”

“N-not exactly,” Luke stuttered, embarrassed. Now, thanks to his mother, he was wondering if Grace really would react violently to the subject of sex with him. With a sigh he admitted the truth. “She gave me ‘the talk’.”

“What?” Grace asked with a laugh, not sure if she had heard him right.

“Yeah, she wants me to talk about sex with you,” he informed her, somehow managing to look her in the eye and keep a straight face. Grace only laughed more.

“Dude, is your whole family crazy?”

“I’m starting to think so,” He said with a smile, glad that she had taken it so well. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Sure.” She affirmed, giving him a small smile. “I’ll be here around one.”

Luke nodded and stepped closer to her. Grace’s heart skipped a beat as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. With a soft moan, she dropped her bag to the floor and wrapped her arms around him to deepen the kiss. After several minutes, Grace pulled back and retrieved her bag from the ground.

“I have to…” She pointed vaguely off in the direction of the street, feeling rather lightheaded from the kiss. Luke gave her a sweet smile.

“Good night,” He said, before turning to go back into the house. Grace stood there for a moment, lips still tingling, staring after him.

“Good night,” she whispered before making her way home.


Chapter 4: Admissions

Grace was making her way out the door when her father called out to her.

“Grace?”

With a sigh, Grace closed the front door and headed to the family room, where her father was working.

“Where are you going?” He asked upon her appearance in the doorway.

“Out,” She told him sharply. Shouldn’t he know by now that she wasn’t going to share that information?

“Your mother is making her way through her third glass of scotch,” he informed her, without bothering to look up from his work. “You might want to stick around.”

Grace sucked in a lungful of air and expelled it loudly. Usually she would ditch her plans and take care of her mother so that her father could continue to ignore the problem. Usually she didn’t even have plans. But, she was sick of putting up with her family’s crap and she just wanted to be with Luke.

“No, I can’t,” she told him with all the defiance she could muster. She usually never stood up to her father. What had come over her? Her father looked up from his work in surprise at her hardened tone. He peered at her curiously. Grace took another deep breath.

“I’m going to see my boyfriend,” she said, staring her father straight in the eyes. She took a little bit of satisfaction in his shocked expression.

“Boyfriend?” he asked. “You have a boyfriend?”

“Yes,” Grace informed him insolently. “Since the beginning of summer.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” he inquired, his work forgotten at his side for the moment.

“I’m telling you now,” Grace stated matter-of-factly.

“Who is this boy?”

“He’s a twenty-five year old ex-convict named Marcus,” Grace asserted sarcastically. When he gaped at her in shock, she rolled her eyes. “He’s a 15-year-old science geek named Luke.”

“Oh,” her father visibly relaxed at this. Then he looked somewhat dismayed again. “He’s younger than you?”

“Yes,” Grace affirmed, accompanied by another eye roll. This was starting to get old. “By like eight months. He’s really mature for his age. And I have to go.”

“But your mother…” he protested, giving her that look that was supposed to make her feel guilty. It pissed her off to no end.

“She’s your wife! Why don’t you get off your ass and take care of her yourself?” she exploded. She knew it was only a matter of time before all of the hurt and anger would come pouring out of her. “You should be ashamed of yourself, making your own daughter deal with your problems so that you don’t have to.”

With a glare at her so clearly shaken up father, she stormed out of the room. As she was about to walk out the front door, she heard her mother noisily moving about, drunk, in the kitchen. She closed her eyes tightly; hand paused on the doorknob, wishing that it would all go away. Most times she would ride around town on her skateboard to escape this life she was forced to live. But now that seemed so empty, like it wouldn’t even do her any good. Besides, she didn’t want to just blow Luke off like that. That’s when it occurred to her that being with Luke would be the best escape. Without looking back, she stepped out of the house and headed towards the Girardi’s.
++++

Joan heard the doorbell ring and rushed for the door. She was expecting Adam to show up any minute, and assumed that it was him. She flung open the door only to find a clearly upset Grace.

“Grace,” Joan said in surprise. “I wasn’t expecting you…”

”No, but your brother is,” Grace stated, pushing her way past Joan into the house.

“Oh,’ Joan said, realization striking her. She supposed that this was something she should probably get used to.

“Is he in his room?” Grace asked impatiently when Joan just stood there staring dumbly at her.

“Uh, yeah,” Joan answered, shaking out of her stupor. “Is something wrong?”

“Everything’s peachy,” Grace snarked at her before heading up the stairs.

When Grace reached the doorway of Luke’s room, she saw him sitting at his computer working on something. He didn’t notice her there, so she took the chance to study him before she made her presence known. After a long moment, she cleared her throat. He looked up in surprise.

“Hey,” she said softly, not moving from her spot.

“Hey,” he responded, standing up and moving over to her. He was pleased to see her, if the smile on his face was any indication. After momentarily searching her eyes with his own, his smile faded.

“Are you okay?” he asked, concerned.

Grace sighed and moved to put her stuff down next to the door.

“I got in a fight with my dad. Well sort of,” she said, putting her hands in her sweatshirt pockets. Luke placed a gentle hand on her arm and leaned down to look her in the eye.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Grace merely shrugged and somehow found herself moving closer to him and wrapping her arms around him. He rested his cheek against hers and she clutched at his shirt as she breathed him in. It was something she always found comforting, like her own personal aromatherapy.

Luke was almost expecting her cry or possibly pull away quickly, but she seemed to be… smelling him? He figured it must be his imagination and pulled back to look at her, keeping his hands on her waist. She already looked calmer and more relaxed, and he couldn’t help but feel pride in knowing that him just being there helped.

“I know what’ll make you feel better,” he told her with a smile. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

Grace looked at him curiously, but nodded and watched him leave the room. She stood there for a minute looking around his room before going over to his bed. She plopped down on it, stomach first, and lay her head on her arm.

Several minutes later, Luke returned and smiled to himself at the sight of Grace lounging on his bed. When she saw that he had returned, she sat up and gave him a questioning look. He wordlessly handed her a mug. She took it from him and peered in at the contents. It can’t be, she thought. She took a sip to make sure. As she suspected, it was hot chocolate. She looked up at Luke, wonder written across her face.

He sat on the bed and leaned his back up against the headboard. He then motioned her to come to him. With a small smile, she complied, sitting between his legs, leaned back against his chest. He held her silently for a moment as she continued to drink her steamy beverage. After a few minutes, he began to speak.

“There was a contest in a magazine recently to mail in a scientific theory on any subject. I submitted an entry of course.”

Grace rolled her eyes.

“Of course you did, geek-boy.”

“Anyway, the winning entry was titled ‘Perpetual Motion’. Do you know what it was about?” Luke continued, ignoring her snarky comment.

“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me,” Grace said, sipping her cocoa. She settled her head back onto his shoulder, preparing herself to listen to one of his long-winded explanations.

“The theory states that a cat will always land on its feet and buttered toast will always land butter side down. Therefore, if one were to strap buttered toast to a cat’s back they will never land either way, but hover above the ground in perpetual motion. It was then concluded by saying that high powered monorail systems could be powered using these buttered felines.”

Grace turned to look at her boyfriend with a raised eyebrow.

“What?”

Luke only smiled at her.

“Are you serious?” she asked with a slight laugh.

“Yes, completely. I have the article,” Luke told her, enjoying the lighthearted laughter he received in return. “I wrote a letter in response with a formula to complete their theory included.”

“You didn’t,” Grace gasped, trying to control her laughter.

“ I did. A true scientist can work with any hypothesis, no matter how ridiculous,” he insisted as Grace began to laugh harder. She turned and collapsed against his chest again in her fit of laughter. Luke placed a hand flat against her stomach.

“Glad you find it so amusing,” he said before softly kissing the side of her neck. Grace’s laughter was cut short and her breath caught in her throat. Luke slowly kissed her neck again, and smiled against her skin when she let out a tiny sigh. He pulled back slightly so that he could look at her profile. She had her eyes closed and her lips parted, and Luke thought she looked utterly kissable. It wasn’t until she moaned softly that he realized he had been stroking her stomach with his thumb. He ceased the movement and she opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him. Her eyes lowered to his mouth and she licked her lips. Luke groaned and captured her lips with his own. Grace whimpered ever so slightly and kissed him back hungrily. All the sudden they were jolted back to reality when something landed on their legs. They pulled away from each other in surprise to find Joan standing in the doorway, hands on her hips. They both gave her an irritated look.

“Must you guys always do that?”

“What do you want?” Luke asked impatiently, wanting to return to his quality time with Grace. He picked up the object lying against his leg. “Besides to throw phonebooks at us?”

“I wouldn’t if you weren’t permanently attached to Grace’s lips,” Joan teased him, flouncing over to them to snatch the phonebook from his hands. Grace gave her a dirty look.

“Adam and I are going to the movies in a bit,” Joan informed them, sitting on the bed and officially killing their moment. With an exasperated sigh, Grace reluctantly moved away from Luke so that she could sit facing them both. Luke looked disappointed, but didn’t say anything as he re-positioned himself as well.

“What movie?” Grace asked Joan after giving Luke an “I’ll make it up to you later” smile.

“Without A Paddle,” Joan answered, trying to pretend she didn’t see the look. “It looks funny and Seth Green is in it.”

“She has a love obsession with Seth Green,” Luke stage whispered to Grace.

“I do not!” Joan protested with a pout. “I just think he’s funny.”

“Right,” Grace said, not sounding the least bit convinced.

“You and him would actually make a cute couple,” Joan joked, pretending to contemplate the idea.

“Hey,” Luke said, moving closer to Grace possessively. “She’s taken.”

Joan rolled her eyes and Grace gave him a look.

“What?” Luke said defensively to Grace. “You’re MY girlfriend.”

“Dude, I’m not a car,” she said pointedly. “You don’t own me.”

“Right,” Luke responded, clearly upset. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Dude, chill,” Grace said in reaction to his aggravation. “All I meant was that I’m not an object. I didn’t mean…” Grace paused and glanced nervously at Joan, suddenly very aware of her presence. “Look, I’m with you, okay? I just don’t belong to you is all I’m saying.”

“Do you guys always argue over stupid stuff?” Joan asked, amused by their little lover’s quarrel.

“Shut up!” They both told her at the same time and with the same expression, no less. Joan shook her head in amusement.

“Whatever. If you guys want to go with us to the movies, we’re leaving in thirty minutes,” she said, standing up. She smirked at them. “Plenty of time for you guys to grope each other all you want.”

With that, she left the room.

“Do you want to go?” Luke asked as Grace inched closer to him.

“Sure,” she responded as she snuggled back up to him. “But you heard her, we’ve got thirty minutes.”

“What did you have in mind?” Luke questioned playfully, enjoying how cuddly she was being.

In response, Grace hooked her finger in the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to her.

Thirty minutes later, they appeared downstairs as Joan and Adam were putting their coats on.

“C’mon guys, hurry up!” Joan prodded, shoving their coats towards them. “Uh, Grace? You might want to do a quick comb-through.”

Grace’s hands shot up to her hair, which was a bit on the messy side. She sheepishly ran her fingers through it, making it presentable. Joan gave her brother and Grace a disgusted look.

“Never tell me. Ever.”

Grace gave her an innocent look in response that might have been believable if it were not for Luke’s smirk. Grace noticed it and smacked him in the stomach rather hard before stomping out the door. Luke rubbed his stomach painfully for a moment before grinning at Adam and Joan.

“Feisty, isn’t she?” He commented happily before walking out the door as well.

“Those two are so hopeless,” Joan told Adam. Adam only smiled in response before leading Joan after the others.
++++

Later that night the four of them had staked out the front yard and were all looking up at the sky, trying to find constellations. Luke would spout out a random fact out every so often, which would cause Joan to roll her eyes and Grace to smile. More often than not, Joan would catch Grace giving him that “you are so adorable” look and gag loudly or make a snarky comment. Adam would then chuckle, Luke would ignore her and continue rambling, and Grace would shoot her a dirty look.

“Do you see that constellation over there?” Luke asked, leaning in towards Grace as he pointed towards the sky. “That’s Ursa Major…”

Grace blushed a little at how close he was to her. It didn’t help that he was using his low, intimate tone that she usually loved so much. Sort of embarrassed that he was doing it in front of them, she prayed Joan and Adam hadn’t noticed.

“Beware, Grace,” Joan warned, causing Luke’s explanation to be cut short and Grace to flinch. “Science is like sex to him, and I do believe that he is trying to seduce you.”

Grace found herself blushing even more and Luke gave his sister an irritated look before backing away from Grace. She shot Joan one of her trademark glares and turned back to Luke.

“What were you saying?”

Luke gave her a smile and delved back into his explanation, minus the intimate tone from before. Grace listened intently, smiling to herself as he became more and more passionate about the subject. Joan leaned over to whisper to Grace.

“You actually understand what he’s going on about?”

“Only about half of it,” Grace whispered back before returning her attention back to Luke. Joan was going to ask why she even bothered listening when she remembered something. Besides he’s cute when he gets all riled up about science. She supposed that would explain why Grace endured the long, boring lectures he gave so often. She couldn’t really imagine “cute” being in Grace’s vocabulary, but it now seemed rather obvious by the way that Grace smiled as he got lost in his scientific explanations. Joan couldn’t help but remember what she had told Grace in that same conversation: that maybe they were meant for each other. Rather freaked out by her thoughts, Joan shook her head slightly and turned to Adam.

“You want to go inside?”

Adam nodded in the affirmative and they left Luke and Grace by themselves in the yard.

Luke finished his long-winded explanation and looked at Grace thoughtfully.

“I enjoyed spending time with you today, Grace,” he told her softly, wrapping an arm around her waist. She looked a little flustered by this, but quickly covered it up.

“It was fun,” she said casually. He nodded in response and brought up a hand to cup her cheek. He leaned in slowly and softly kissed her.

Wow, was all she could think as they shared a slow, sweet kiss. She felt all of those stupid emotions welling up inside her when he tenderly stroked her face with his fingertips as he moved his lips against hers. When they pulled apart, Grace kept her eyes closed and leaned her forehead against his, afraid he would see how she felt about him. The idea of him knowing that honestly scared the hell out of her.

Luke held her tightly against him as he went through a similar dilemma. She made him feel things he never thought possible.

“I love you,” he found himself saying before he could stop it. Grace’s eyes flew open and she jerked back, startled. He looked at her and saw the fear in her eyes as she scrambled to her feet. What had he done?

“Grace…” he started, standing as well, reaching out for her. She jumped when his hand made contact with her arm and quickly backed away. He opened his mouth to say something to try to calm her down, but she intercepted him.

“I have to go,” she told him, wide-eyed, still backing away from him. She then dropped her skateboard to the ground and took off on it, leaving Luke to stare after her.

A/N: Loads of shout outs in this chapter… the theory Luke is talking about at the beginning can be found here: http://www.butteredcat.co.uk/theory.php … yes its for real! The Seth Green thing is a shout out to Diminished/Vanilla Bean b/c of her insistance that Seth and Becky would be cute together. And lastly, the kiss at the end is a shout out to the kiss in BOQ. Buttered cats, Seth Green, and sweet kisses… what a combinaion!



Chapter 5: It's Only The Beginning...

The next day, Grace hid out in her room so that she could avoid dealing with her father about the fight they had the day before. She hesitantly opened up her Instant Messenger, praying that Luke wouldn’t be online. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that he wasn’t. She really needed to talk about this with someone, so it looked like she was resorting to talking to Joan online again. With a sigh, she sent an IM to Joan.

Blackwidow-4-U: Hey

JaneZ6: Hey, Grace! Where’d you go last night?

Blackwidow-4-U: Home… I couldn’t stay.

JaneZ6: Why not?

Blackwidow-4-U: Luke told me he loves me…

JaneZ6: He did??? Awww!

Blackwidow-4-U: Aww? How about terrifying?

JaneZ6: Terrifying? What are you so afraid of?

Blackwidow-4-U: I don’t know…

JaneZ6: Just tell him you feel the same and go back to your grope-fests…lol.

Blackwidow-4-U: I don’t know if I can…

JaneZ6: You didn’t seem to have a problem with it yesterday… by the way, eeeww!

Blackwidow-4-U: Girardi! That’s not what I mean.

JaneZ6: I know, I know. Kidding.

JaneZ6: You’re avoiding him, aren’t you?

Blackwidow-4-U: Maybe…

JaneZ6: No wonder he’s been moping around all day.

Blackwidow-4-U: Really? Great…

JaneZ6: You know you can’t avoid this forever, right?

Blackwidow-4-U: Yeah, I know. I just don’t know what to do.

JaneZ6: I told you… see above about the groping.

Grace was rolling her eyes at Joan’s comment when another IM window popped up.

GravityBoy: Hey

Grace felt a panic rise in her at the simple message. Cursing herself for being so ridiculous about this, she slowly typed back a response.

Blackwidow-4-U: Hi

GravityBoy: Are you okay?

Blackwidow-4-U: Why wouldn’t I be?

GravityBoy: Look, about last night…

Blackwidow-4-U has logged off !

Grace shut her laptop quickly, feeling a pang of guilt for doing this to him. Not even a minute later the phone rang. Grace looked at the caller ID wearily. Someone from the Girardi’s house was calling her, but it was anyone’s guess whether it was Joan or Luke. Grace ignored the shrill of the telephone and grabbed her headphones. She slipped on the earpieces and lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
++++

The next day, Grace walked into Physics late. Mrs. Lieshak stopped in the middle of her lecture to send her a disapproving look.

“Back to your old habits, Miss Polk?”

Grace ignored her and walked back to her seat, head down to avoid Luke’s gaze he had settled on her. She could feel his eyes follow her as she walked past him and sat in her seat. She pretended not to see the concerned look Joan gave her and started doodling in her notebook.

Joan worriedly glanced back and forth between her brother and Grace. Luke was throwing kicked puppy looks over his shoulder every couple of minutes. He would turn his head slightly and look at Grace sadly for a few moments before turning back to the front of the room. Grace was either oblivious to said looks or was doing a good job at pretending not to see him, because she was furiously scribbling in her notebook.

Halfway into the class and after the fifteenth time Luke had given her the sad puppy eyes, Grace dared to lift her eyes from her notebook. She noted that he looked miserable and felt horrible knowing she was the reason for it. She felt her eyes water, wishing she had that she could be brave enough to tell him she felt the same.

Grace was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Luke turning to look at her again. She realized it too late, and found herself staring into his eyes. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest and she sat there, frozen, feeling trapped under his stare.

Joan’s eyes drifted back over to her friend for the millionth time since she had walked in. She was surprised to see Grace and Luke having what seemed to be an intense staring contest. Grace suddenly broke eye contact and looked down at her notebook, visibly shaken. Luke stared at her for a long moment before turning around. Joan bit her lip and tried again to pay attention to the lecture.

When the bell rang, Grace hurried out the door, hoping to avoid confrontation with either Girardi. She suddenly found herself being pulled by her arm over to a secluded area of the hallway. She then found herself face to face with Luke. She fidgeted nervously and refused to look him in the eye.

“Grace, why are you avoiding me?” Luke asked her, upset.

“You know why,” She answered quietly, hands in her pockets, eyes fixed on the floor.

“Grace-“ Luke started, almost pleadingly. She ignored the plea though, and hurried away from him.
++++

A few days later….

“Do you need something, or are you going to stay there all day?” Kevin called out to his younger brother who had been pacing outside the door. Luke entered the room and sat down on the bed with a sigh.

“Is this about Grace?” Kevin asked, shutting down his computer so that he could give Luke his full attention.

“Yes,” Luke admitted, looking utterly defeated.

“What happened, bro?” Kevin asked sympathetically, wheeling closer to the bed.

“I told her I loved her,” Luke started, hands on his knees.

“Really?” Kevin butted in, surprised. Luke nodded forlornly.

“Yes, on Saturday night. She freaked out and ran off. She’s been avoiding me every since.” Luke told him, tears of frustration welling in his eyes and choking him up.

“That’s rough, man,” Kevin commented. “Why do you think she’s so freaked out?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she jus wasn’t ready for the relationship to be taken to that level,” Luke reasoned, not sounding too pleased with the idea.

“Usually chicks are like that about sex, not love,” Kevin told him with a little laugh.

“First of all, she’s not a ‘chick’,” Luke corrected him, angrily.

Kevin put his hands up in surrender, taken aback at his brother’s outburst.

“Sorry, man. Have you tried talking to her more than once? Persistence works.”

“It’s a constant effort,” Luke informed him, running his hand through his hair. “She manages to thwart me every time. She does talk to me online though. Until I bring up that subject, then she signs off.”

“Okay,” Kevin said, contemplating. “I have an idea.”
++++

Grace was having another one of those conversations with Joan online again. The one where Joan nagged her non-stop to suck it up and stop treating Luke the way she was. Grace agreed with her, but was rapidly finding her self not as strong and brave as she had always prided herself on being. Suddenly a message appeared on her screen from… GravityBoy.

GravityBoy: Grace, I just want to let you know that I can’t do this anymore. If you still want to be with me, meet me in our usual spot tomorrow morning. I promise I won’t bring up anything you don’t want to talk about. I get that you’re not ready. We can just go back to the way things were before. And if you really don’t want to be with me, then I guess this is goodbye. I do love you Grace. I can’t help it, nor can I hide it. I can refrain from saying it; I just need you to except that it is true.

Grace read it through several times before it really sunk in. This was it; either she faced him finally or she was going to lose him. With a deep breath, she moved to respond.

Gravityboy has logged off !

Tears welled up in her eyes and she stared at the screen blankly for several minutes before she realized Joan was trying to get her attention. She returned to the conversation, what Luke had said running through her mind.
++++

Grace took a deep, centering breath before opening the door to the biology closet. She saw Luke sitting with his back against the wall, notes strewn about him. He looked up at her, clearly relieved that she had showed up. He quickly masked his happiness at what her being there really meant, and motioned her to sit with him. Grace felt herself relax, feeling that just maybe things could go back to normal. She took a seat next to him, trying to hide how happy she was to finally be with him again.

“Physics test on Monday,” he informed her when she sat. “Thought you might want to study.”

This guy really was amazing. She had been treating him awful for the past week and now he was sitting here, willing to help her study. It dawned on her that he was also just sitting here pretending none of it had happened just so that he could be with her. She felt those pesky emotions rise in her like they always seemed to do around him, and for the first time, she didn’t try to fight them down. Instead, she grabbed hold of him and kissed him with all she was worth. His initial reaction was to pull back and look at her in surprise, but she would have none of it and pulled him back to her. He resisted only once more before wrapping her securely in his arms and kissing her back just as intensely.

“I missed you,” she gasped out, putting more emotion behind the words then she had thought she was capable of. Her first instinct was to panic and run off, but she forced herself to stand her ground.

“I missed you,” Luke repeated back to her before pulling her back into a kiss. Grace kissed him back, surprised that she had really said that. Even more surprised at how much easier it seemed now. This time when she pulled back, she looked him in the eye.

“I’m sorry.”

Luke searched her eyes before nodding in acceptance.

“It’s ok.”

They kissed each other hungrily again. They had gone so long without each other and it had been hard for both. It was like an unspoken agreement between them to attempt to make up for all that time apart all in this one meeting. Grace pulled back again, feeling braver.

“I-“ her voice wavered. She cleared her throat and looked him in the eyes, determinedly. “I love you.”

Luke startled, blinking at her in shock. She loved him? She had just told him to his face that she loved him?

Grace took in his shocked look and found herself giggling, the original nervousness and fear rapidly fading.

“Don’t look so shocked, geek-boy.”

“How? When?” He stuttered, sill not quite trusting what he had thought he had heard.

Grace rolled her eyes and hit his shoulder playfully with her hand.

“Don’t make such a big deal about it, dude.”

Luke managed to close his gaping mouth somehow and nodded dumbly. She gave him an almost shy smile before pulling him in for another kiss. He responded eagerly, giddy from the turn of events.

“Eeewww!”

Luke and Grace quickly turned towards the loud squeal. Joan was standing in the doorway, nose scrunched up in disgust.

“Why must I always find you guys in compromising positions?” She asked, walking into the closet to snatch a jar of the shelf. The couple on the floor looked at her in confusion as she said to no one in particular, “Happy now?”

“So, I’m guessing you guys made up?” She asked, turning her attention back to them. Neither said anything, but the matching goofy grins on their faces told her everything she needed to know.

“Just try to keep the clothes on, horn dogs. I’m not ready to be Aunt Joan,” She teased them as she backed out the door. Grace grinned wickedly at her right as she reached for the doorknob.

“That’s what a condom is for,” Grace told her with a smirk before pulling her shocked boyfriend to her for an overly sensuous kiss. She took satisfaction in the way Joan squeaked in surprise and exclaimed, “Gross!” before slamming the door and leaving them alone.

Grace pulled back and laughed. “Bet that will get her to start knocking from now on.”

Luke just gaped at her for a moment before laughing.

“You never cease to amaze me.”

“Good to know,” Grace said before climbing into his lap for some more quality make-out time.

The End

A/N: Yup… that’s all folks. I know, sad isn’t it? But, I think this is a good place to end. I just hope this last chapter was believable (especially Grace in the end). Well if its not, oh well… I like it! Thanks to everyone who’s been reading, and especially those who have been reviewing!