Jessie and Katie

Jessie and Katie 58 Jessie and Katie (in Friends and Lovers) - Episode 58 "Half of My Heart"

Written by: TVM (mrtvm@mrtvm.com) & CJ Ames (cjames@mrtvm.com)

Archive: www.asstr.org/~TheVertManArchive/Stories/Celeb/JessieKatie/Index.html

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"Hey Mom" Grace said as she came through the door with Sarah into the kitchen.

"OH my gosh Sarah what happened to your face?" Lily asked as she made Sarah stand still and looked at the scabbed over scar now on her lower lip.

"Dad happened" Grace said as Lily reached into the cabinet and pulled out some peroxide and had Sarah stand still as she dipped a paper towel in it and gently pressed it to the scab as Sarah squirmed and pulled away.

"Mom it's ok really" Sarah said with a wry smile, "It was worse last night."

"What do you mean Grace?" Lily asked as she hugged Sarah and held her for a long moment. "You mean Jake?"

"Yeh he went ape shit last night at Book Lovers and knocked Sarah over a table and then knocked me down too when he tried to fight Henry" Grace explained as Lily listened in shock.

"Thank god Henry was there" Sarah said laying her head on Lily's shoulder. "He kept Jake from hurting one of us even more."

"What did Henry do?"

"He whipped his ass" Grace said bluntly, "and then the cops showed up and took him to jail."

"Hey Mom" Zoe said coming into the kitchen with a quick glance over her shoulder as she said, "Daddy's coming up the walk and I think he's mad."

"Are you serious?" Lily asked as she walked around Sarah and Grace and looked down the hall and saw Jake glance in the front door, seeing no one he disappeared and looked to be headed to the back door. A moment later appearing at the back door and knocking lightly as Lily answered it and he walked in looking like it'd been days since he slept or bathed. "Jake Manning what in the hell has got into you?"

"Lily I'm not here to cause trouble and I assume from the looks in this room you know the story about what happened last night" Jake said calmly. "But I need to talk to Zoe."

"What were you..." Lily started as Jake cut her off and moved past her as he confronted his daughter.

"There you are" Jake said looking directly at Zoe as she stopped with a 'dear in the headlights' look on her face as Jake looked back at Lily and asked her, "Do you have any idea what she was doing last night?"

"Yes I do, she called and asked permission to go to a basketball game at the courts by Judy's store" Lily said calmly. "She was with her friend, Sam McCree and they went from her house."

"That's right" Zoe said and hoping her father hadn't really seen what she thought.

"After I was arrested by those thugs for just trying to protect myself" Jake said, "I had to sit in the patrol car while the traffic cleared up and you will not believe what I saw your daughter doing with this other girl."

"What?" Lily asked obviously now worried as Jake went on, "She was kissing some girl standing on the corner."

"Zoe is that true?" Lily asked somewhat in shock as Zoe blushed and looked down at her hands as she said in a barely auidble voice, "Yeh mom."

"But where did this.." Lily started to ask before she was cut off again by Jake as he said in a slightly louder voice, "And you should have seen the way she was dressed. Like a common street walker."

"Daddy I was not" Zoe said as the hurt could be seen in her eyes as Jake snapped in her direction, "Don't you dare lie to your mother young lady I saw what you looked like."

"Mom I swear it wasn't that bad" Zoe said as she moved to the counter and to her mother's side. "I was wearing a pair of low cut jeans but that's it."

"What are you doing to our daughter's woman, both of them are completely out of control" Jake demanded of Lily, "Am I going have to take them away from you and raise them myself?"

"What are you talking about, who's out of control?" Lily asked as her anger swept over her at Jake's accusation.

"Grace and Zoe both" Jake said as he turned and glared at Sarah as he said in a bitter tone, "That's the one who started all this lesbian garbage and now she's got both of my daughter's doing like her."

"FUCK YOU OLD MAN" Sarah spat back as Lily said in a shocked voice, "Sarah Renae Grasser, you watch your mouth."

"Daddy I'm not a lesbian" Zoe said as she moved in front her father and took the attention back to her, "Sam kissed me last night, not the other way around."

"Well that's a friend you won't have to worry about seeing again" Jake said as Zoe's mouth dropped open.

"And since when do I do what Sarah says?" Grace asked, "You have no idea what effect she's had on me."

"Well I can see it's not been positive" Jake said as he glared at Sarah, "And you can plan on not seeing her anymore either."

"WHAT?" Grace and Sarah both asked in stunned shock as Grace went on, "You can't tell me who I can or can't see."

"Yes I can I'm your father and you better not forget that smart mouth" Jake said as his anger boiled to the service. "I'll take you to live with me and you won't go anywhere but school."

"Jake Manning you will not either" Lily snapped, "Grace is almost 18, you can't control her like she was 5."

"Ok FINE!" Jake screamed as she slammed his hand into the counter and sent a stack of plates crashing to the floor. "But your coming home with me Zoe Manning, go get your clothes."

"Mom" Zoe said as she moved behind her mother and pleaded with her, "I'm scared."

"Jake stop it you are scaring her" Lily snapped as Jake came around the island and towards Zoe. Grabbing her arm a minute later and pulling her towards the table.

"I said you're going home with me" Jake said as Zoe tried to pull away and cried from the pain shooting through her arm.

"OWWWWWWWWWW, Daddy you're hurting my arm" Zoe cried as tears streamed down her face as she fought now as hard as she could.

"LET HER GOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sarah screamed as she charged at him and crashed into his back, sending them both to the floor as Zoe fled down the hall and up the stairs. A completely unaware Rick came through the front door at that moment and saw Jake getting up and starting after his daughter as Sarah gave chase and Lily and Grace cried for both of them to stop. Stopping dead in his tracks as he spotted Rick.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?" Rick asked as Sarah stopped a few feet away from Jake and feeling Lily and Grace stop behind her.

"I'm here to pick up my daughter, this has nothing to do with you" Jake said.

"Rick he's out of control" Lily said as she took hold of Sarah and Grace. "He's on a rampage because Zoe won't go with him and she's scared to death."

"I didn't do anything to Zoe" Jake said as he tried to reason with Rick, "Look, I don't want any trouble, just my daughter and she's going home with me whether she likes it or not."

"You mean like last night when you threw me over a table and knocked Grace down" Sarah said breaking away from Lily and fearlessly confronting Jake and turning to Rick as she said, "I think he hurt Zoe's arm a minute ago in his FUCKIN TIRADE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT MOTHER FUCKER."

Jake seemed to snap at that moment and started after Sarah as she smacked him with every muscle in her body behind it. Staggering Jake as Sarah backed away behind Rick.

"YOU HIT GRACE?" Rick asked in a booming voice as he pushed Jake back as he once again started after Sarah, "ANSWER ME, DAMN IT."

"It was an accident" Jake said he tried to calm the situation and backed up as he held his hands up as an enraged Rick came towards him.

"I'LL SHOW YOU ACCIDENT" Rick said as he grabbed Jake by the collar of his shirt and violently slammed him against the wall once and even harder a second time, "I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL FUCKIN KILL YOU IF YOU EVER TOUCH GRACE OR SARAH AGAIN."

"HIT ME JAKE" Rick screamed in his face as he backed up from a visibly shaken Jake, "You're dealing me with me now. In case you can't tell I'm a man, not a 15 year old girl."

"YOU ARE ONE TROUBLE MAKING LITTLE WHORE" Jake screamed at Sarah as a punch from Rick landed on his jaw and sent him reeling to the floor. Now in front of the door, Rick stood over him as he opened the door and with his foot pushed Jake out into the entrance.

"I'm gonna go and check on Zoe" Sarah said in a panic as she tore up the steps with Lily, Rick and Grace in tow. Zoe was hiding in the bathroom as Sarah found her and convinced her Jake was gone and it was ok to come out.

"You ok monkey?" Sarah asked as she hugged Zoe first and saw the bruise on her arm.

"I'll fuckin kill him if he comes back here, Lily" Rick said as Lily hugged both Sarah and Zoe warmly. "It'll be a cold day in hell before he hurts my family."

"He'll never hurt my girls again" Lily said in a shaky voice. Prompting Sarah to say in surprise, "I'm one of your girls?"

"You sure are" Lily said as she kissed Sarah's forehead gently and rubbed her hair as Sarah smiled proudly.

"What did he do last night?" Rick asked, bringing the attention back to himself. Sarah went on to explain everything that happened.

"He'll never hurt you again I promise you that" Rick said calmly.

"Thank you so much" Grace said as she hugged a surprised Rick. "I don't know what else to say."

"You don't even have to say that" Rick said as he hugged her. "You just don't know how much I've come to love you and Zoe and I don't care who it is."

"I think we could all use a nice dinner" Lily said as Grace put her arms around Sarah's waist and kissed her neck.

"And Zoe Manning me and you are gonna have a talk after dinner about your behavior lately" Lily said as Zoe surprisingly offered little resistence.

"I'll go over and see if Cori and Joey wanna go" Rick said as he turned to go down the stairs, "Meet us out front."

"Thank god Cori was over at Joey's for the day" Lily said.

"Mom you know, if you adopt many more people you're not gonna be able to afford it" Sarah said as she looked at Lily with a smirk.

"Sarah I swear" Lily said as she laughed and followed after Rick.

** ** ** Meanwhile A Few Hours Later @ Sammler-Manning Manor

"You know I'm gonna miss you guys this week" August said as he, Jessie and Joanna leaned against the front of his Hummer out front of the Sammler-Manning Manor. "Remember right after school on friday we'll meet you if you want to."

"Yeh I do" Jessie said, "I told Steph I'd come back down."

"What about you?" August asked Joanna as she grinned. "Am I going have my writing partner back?"

"I know I wasn't much help but it was so much fun" Joanna said. "And if you'll have me, I got no other plans."

"You'd be surprised how much help you were" August said, "Just to have someone to bounce ideas off of and get immediate feedback is invalueable."

"It's gonna be sooo good" Joanna said as she turned to Jessie and bounced around excitedly.

"So bout 4'clock on friday?" August asked as he retrieved his date book from the back seat and wrote down a couple of things before sticking it back inside and coming back to the front.

"That sounds like a plan" Jessie said, "And oh yeah, try and run interference with mom and Stephanie so they don't kill each other."

"I have, but with two woman that strong headed sometimes you just gotta let them butt heads and brew about it" August said as he shrugged his shoulders. "And oh yeah got something to show you."

"What?" Jessie asked August motioned them to follow him around to the back of the hummer. Opening the back he fished a series of rolled up plans out of the mess and laid them out and pointed to a set of square drawings and said, "Know what that is?"

"Not a clue" Jessie said as Joanna looked at it and asked, "I got it, it's a new board game right?"

"Hush" Jessie said with a playful grin as Joanna giggled and August went on after shaking his head, "It's the plans for the new expansion."

"Expansion?"

"Yeh since things are going so well with the book and all, Karen and I talked about moving in together and it's not set yet, but if we decide to we're gonna add on and that could be your new bedroom" August said as Jessie's eyes grew wide with surprise. "And the other one is Stephanie's, if she decides she wants a larger bedroom."

"Where's mine?" Joanna asked with a serious tone as Jessie and August both laughed.

"Well that's just some stuff we're talking about and it's all depending on if Karen wants to move down there full time" August said as he put the plans away and closed the back.

"Well I got work to do back home, so I'm gonna get back before Karen starts calling" August said as a car squealed it's tires right behind them and everyone heard a voice asked in excitement, "August?"

"Grace Manning? Hey beautiful" August said as Grace hugged him warmly and smiled as Sarah got out of the car and joined the group.

"Sarah what happened?" August asked as she blushed and Grace relayed the story of what had happened at Book Lovers and then this morning at the house with Jake.

"Good to see you again" Sarah said softly as she took Grace's hand. "And before you think about hitting on Grace mister, I've already fought one guy over her today."

"Whoa" August said holding his hands up as everyone laughed.

"You guys gonna come down with Jessie again some weekend?" August asked, "I know Stephanie would love to see you."

"Yeh we might" Sarah said as she looked at Grace, making sure she agreed.

"Well Jessie, Joanna next weekend" August said as he touched Grace's shoulder and said, "See you two whenever you make your way back down my way."

"Bye" Jessie said as Grace and Sarah climbed back into Sarah's mustang and after pulling into the driveway, watched August drive off himself and then disappeared inside.

"I really like him" Joanna said as she smiled at Jessie as they walked up the driveway and stood by the garage. "And I like your mom too."

"Funny" Jessie said before Joanna said, "I'm serious she was nice to me most of the weekend, we even talked saturday morning for like a half-hour."

"Well I guess she's finally trying to make peace with me I'm just not so easily convinced" Jessie said feeling her anger rising as she thought about it again.

"I know I'm just saying what happened with me" Joanna said as she moved her hands to Jessie's forearms and rubbed them as she smiled. "You can feel however you want, I'm not trying to change your feelings."

"Yeh and you know, having you there made it easier to handle" Jessie said as she smiled in return. "I'm just glad you didn't get uber jealous about me and Stephanie spending all that time together."

"Who says I wasn't?" Joanna asked as Jessie tried to see if she was kidding or not, "I just didn't make a big deal about it cause...well one we weren't really together and working with August was really fun so it kept me busy. I also know you had a bond with her."

"So you were uber jealous huh?" Jessie asked with a teasing grin.

"No" Joanna said, "But I was a little more than I let on."

"There's nothing but friendship between us, just so you know" Jessie said as she got a weird feeling in her stomach but quickly brushed it aside as she touched Joanna's smiling face. "We...decided that."

"And I decided something to" Joanna said with her eyes locked on Jessie's, "I don't believe this shit..."

"What?"

"Look who's coming up the driveway?" Joanna said as her face turned from a sweet smile to one of anger as Jessie turned and spotted Katie.

"You know I don't remember sending you an invitation" Jessie said.

"Some people can't take a hint" Joanna said coldly to Katie.

"I'm not here to talk to you" Katie said coldly in reply. "Jessie please give me five minutes."

"Come on, let's go" Joanna said as her eyes met Jessie's, "I know you don't wanna deal with her crap."

"No, let's hear what she's got to say" Jessie said as she moved behind Joanna and put her arms around her as Katie looked as if she wanted to cry.

"You know you don't have to be fuckin mean about it" Katie said as she wiped her eyes.

"Hurts doesn't it Singer?" Joanna asked bitterly, "To see Jessie with someone who cares about her."

"How the fuck can you be so in love?" Katie asked both of them, "You've known each other like what a week?"

"No one said love K" Joanna said.

"Well then what would you call it?" Katie asked, "Fucking my ex to get back at me?"

"Your one to talk about fuckin you slut" Jessie snapped as she moved from behind Joanna, "You fucked that whore Shady McCree and some other skank what two minutes after dumping me?"

"I was fuckin drunk" Katie said, "It wasn't like I dumped you, just so I could do that."

"Yeh that makes it all better" Jessie said.

"And just so you know" Joanna said taking Jessie's hand, "We've just kissed for the first time last night. And unlike you I'm not planning the fastest route to fucking her."

"What did I ever see in you?" Katie asked as she glared at Joanna, "I'm so glad I never acted on my feelings for you. You're an evil little bitch."

"Do what?" Joanna said as she stood there stunned.

"I said your an evil little bitch" Katie said, "Boy dyke."

"No not that, you fuc...." Joanna said as tears began pouring down her face and she turned and walked off towards the house. Katie saw the hurt in her eyes and knew immediately she'd gone too far in search of her revenge as she put her hands over her eyes and cried. Jessie stood stunned and tried to take in the information she'd just been handed. She wasn't sure what to do exactly, follow Joanna or try to figure out a little more about what Katie had just admitted.

"What's boy dyke?" Jessie asked as Katie moved in front of her.

"It's a stupid name that a bunch of people who hang out with this girl named Marissa gave her a long time ago" Katie said wiping away her tears. "Something about her having a body like a boy, I dunno, Marissa is a stupid whore anyway."

"I've had the pleasure" Jessie said as Katie laughed through her tears. "We had a meeting at the drag strip last week and I made a point to piss her off."

"I guess we can agree on that" Katie said taking a deep breath. "How did you do it?"

"I pretended to be Joanna's girlfriend" Jessie said as Katie's eyes shot opened in shock. "That's what set up our last confrontation at school. I could have told the truth but it'd mean Marissa wins and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let that witch torture Joanna like that."

"You're already attached" Katie said with a small smile.

"Yeh I am" Jessie said simply and smiled. "She's one of those people."

"I know she hates me now and so do you, but I still can't help but wonder if one day we can be friends again" Katie said softly.

"Why don't we give it a little time and let the wounds heal" Jessie said and then smiling as she went on, "I heard that in a movie I watched with Cori."

"Time is good" Katie said taking another deep breath. "I better go before things turn bad again. Tell Jo I'm sorry."

"Wait..." Jessie said as she touched Katie's arm and moved in front of her and said, "You had feelings...for Joanna?"

"Yeh" Katie said simply, but not explaining exactly when or where or for that matter anything else as she simply said goodbye and walked off down the driveway. Jessie took a deep breath as she spotted Joanna on the porch and walked slowly towards her not knowing what to say or not to say. Joanna stood as Jessie came near here, her eyes now puffy with tears. Neither knew what to say as they looked nervously at the other and a long silence hung in the air.

"She said she was sorry" Jessie said in an almost mumble as Joanna suddenly moved forward and hugged Jessie tightly and held on as Jessie hugged her in return.

"She's wrong though" Joanna said as Jessie looked at her, "I don't hate her."

"Do you hate me?" Jessie asked with a smirk as Joanna laughed and smiled as she leaned in and surprised Jessie with a soft kiss.

"No, but I would hate it if you didn't let me..." Joanna said as she raised her eyebrows and motioned with her eyes to go upstairs as she stuck out her tongue and wiggled it through a v in her fingers as Jessie blushed. "What do you say JFine?"

"Let's go" Jessie said as she took her hand and pulled Joanna into the entrance way and felt Joanna pull and try to get away but couldn't get the door open as Jessie trapped her against the door and began to tickle her as Joanna squealed in laughter and fought to get lose.

"JESSIE.....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO."

** ** ** Meanwhile @ Sammler-Manning Manor, that night

"Hey Sam...and Mandy" Jessie said as she opened the door. "What's up?"

"Little skank is gonna apologize to your mom for the shit she pulled" Mandy said as she gave Jessie the once over and seemed at least to Jessie to be somewhat uninterested. "Is your mom home?"

"Sure" Jessie said, not bothering to mention that Lily was her step mother. But motioning for Mandy and a very nervous looking Sam to follow her into the kitchen. "Mom, ummm.. someone wants to talk to you."

"Go on, I'm not kidding Samantha" Mandy said with her hand on the back of Sam's neck. "Now."

"Ms. Sammler...owwwwww..that hurts...I want to apologize for what happened with Zoe and her dad and all, it was my fault, I kissed her not the other way around" Sam said in one long breath as Mandy released her finally.

"You gonna learn to stop taking advantage of your friends like that" Mandy said and then looking to Lily said, "Ma'am, I'm Sam's sister, Mandy."

"Nice to meet you" Lily said as Mandy took a stool at the counter as Lily offered it. Sam took a deep breath and prepared for Lily's response. "And it's Lily."

"Honey, I'm not angry about that if that's what you think, it's between you two if you have those feelings" Lily said from behind the counter as she looked at Sam.

"Yeh it was something stupid" Sam said softly, "I just wanted to say, I'm sorry if her dad got mad."

"Never mind, the fact I had to drag you in here and make you apologize" Mandy said, "Truth be told I shouldn't let Zoe run around with you anymore."

"Screw you" Sam said as Mandy started to get up but stopped.

"Well...the kissing was surprising, but what concerns me more is your influence on the way Zoe is dressing" Lily said as Sam shifted from one foot to the other and looked back and forth between Mandy and Lily. "I won't let her go out with you and your sister anymore if I find out she's dressed that way."

"I honestly told her that" Mandy said, "She thinks she's gotta dress like a whore to get attention from guys."

"Will you stop calling me that" Sam said with a hurt look in her eye.

"Well when you start dressing like a 14 year old or at least my age, I will" Mandy said.

"And may I ask, what is with that computer you supposedly gave her?" Lily asked. "Honey that is far to expensive a computer to be just giving away like that."

"Believe me, it's ok, I've got like 3 others" Sam said, "Zoe didn't have one and you really need one for school and I gave it to her, she didn't ask."

"I still believe it's too expensive and I'd prefer if you took it back" Lily said softly.

"Lily, please just let her keep it, I know Zoe likes it and Sam wasn't doing anything bad that time" Mandy said, "She's had it for a while now and I couldn't stand to take it back from her. Please?"

"Yeh what she said" Sam offered as she looked at Mandy strangly.

"I'd just let her keep it, the McCree's got plenty money" Jessie said from the kitchen table as Lily looked to her with a questioning look on her face. "What's it true, am I wrong Sam? Mandy?"

"Nope" Mandy said, "My dad has too much money and he lets us buy anything we want. Lily, skank here thinks she can buy friends with dad's money, she don't realize how you make real friends."

"Not like you have any real friends either" Sam spat.

"Hey Sam" Zoe said with a smile as she waltzed into the kitchen and saw Mandy. "...And Mandy."

"Happy 14th birthday" Mandy said as Zoe smiled and blushed, "You seriously gonna have the boys begging for your number."

"Hey" Sam said looking at Mandy and Zoe smile at each other and feeling herself get a bit jealous. Jessie noticed that too and thought to herself that was kinda weird, that they seemed to be completely ignoring Sam at this moment as well as everyone else on the planet as their eyes locked on each others.

"How long you been here?" Zoe asked Mandy.

"Just a few minutes talking to your mom" Sam said as she nudged Zoe to get her attention. "Cause my sister made me apologize and just about broke my neck."

"You deserved it" Mandy said.

"Fuck you, skeletor" Sam said as Mandy's eyes went red with anger as she grabbed Sam by the hair and bent her head over.

"YOU EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN, I'LL..." Mandy screamed in Sam's face before Zoe cut her off and to everyone's surprise, especially Lily, backed Mandy off and got her to release a crying Sam's hair.

"Chill you're gonna hurt her" Zoe said with her hands on Mandy's stomach softly, "Come on, Mandy stop, you know she's just trying to get you mad."

"Zoe, you just don't know what that name means" Mandy said as she started to go after Sam again as Zoe hugged her.

"Stop, it's over, please?" Zoe asked as she was now face to face with Mandy. "Come on, let's go, just walk away, ok?"

"You..." Mandy started to say before Zoe touched her cheek gently and made Mandy look at her.

"It's over, come on, let's go" Zoe said as a shocked Jessie and Lily watched Zoe so easily defuse the situation as she backed Mandy out of the room one step at a time. Lily checked on Sam as she wiped her tears away.

"She is so gonna get it" Mandy said as she finally turned and walked off towards the door as Zoe was unsure of what just happened herself. "Everyone always takes her side."

"I didn't" Zoe said softly as Mandy stopped at the door and looked back.

"Huh?"

"I said...I didn't take her side" Zoe said as she walked a few steps towards the door. "Why does that bother you so bad?"

"You don't wanna know" Mandy said.

"Yes I do" Zoe said.

"I better go" Mandy said.

"Come on, I'll walk out with ya" Zoe said as she followed Mandy out and watched her start to leave down the grass.

"Wait" Zoe said and for some reason not wanting Mandy to leave just yet. Mandy stopped and looked back as she turned, "Why does she call you that?"

"Here, raise the back of my shirt up and see" Mandy said as she took off her jacket and laid it down on the grass. Zoe watched her turn and approached slowly and figured she about had to do this now after bugging her about it. Mandy urged her on with her eyes as Zoe lifted the back of Mandy's shirt about half way up her back and saw a faint but noticable scar running up her back over her spine. "Skeletor."

"That's it?" Zoe asked as Mandy put her shirt back down and turned. "You can barely even see it."

"Seriously?" Mandy asked with a smile.

"Yeh, that's mean to call someone that" Zoe said. "Why would she do that?"

"She knows it hurts me" Mandy said as Zoe hugged her.

"She does me the same way" Zoe said, "Makes fun of my clothes and stuff."

"She's like my mother" Mandy said. "And thanks for...you know."

"Becoming my job" Zoe giggled as Mandy blushed.

"Ok so I got a bad temper" Mandy said.

"Over people you barely know?" Zoe asked. "You defended me and you barely know me."

"Excuse me?" Mandy asked.

"How many nights have we went rolling and you were stuck in the car with me?" Mandy asked.

"A few" Zoe said.

"I honestly feel like I'm more your friend than she is" Mandy said, "And that stuff at the park was just me, not letting people shit on you."

"You think of me as a friend?" Zoe asked.

"Yeh, I mean we've never actaully hung out just me and you..." Mandy said as she paused and said, "...look I know your Sam's friend, but you wanna go stomping with me one night? Just you and me, and leave skanky at the house."

"You're serious?" Zoe asked.

"Yeh I am" Mandy said. "You think you're mom will let you hang out with just me?"

"If I beg" Zoe said and being surprised when Mandy smiled at her.

"I'm going out of town for a few days with my dad" Mandy said as Zoe's spirits fell. "But when I get back, can we hang out?"

"If you want" Zoe said as she shrugged.

"No, it's if you wanna hangout with someone who thinks you're really cool and not just her little friend" Mandy said. "Cause, Zoe, Sam's never gonna look at you the way I do."

"And how do you look at me?" Zoe asked with a flirty smile as Mandy gave her a knowing smile in return. Stepping closer so they were now eye to eye, their bodies barely touching.

"I know I said this before, but, you're cute" Mandy said as Zoe wanted to pull away for fear of something happening but was finding herself getting lost Mandy's eyes. "Remember I said that."

"I think you're hitting on me" Zoe said as Mandy laughed and said, "No, but if I wanted to hit on a girl, I can tell you, it'd be you."

"Yeh?" Zoe asked she smiled and for some reason didn't feel Mandy was treating her like a little kid.

"Yeh, too bad I'm straight" Mandy said as she trailed her finger down Zoe's cheek and playfully put it under her chin and tilted Zoe's head back a bit.

"Well, I am too, so you'd be out of luck if you did hit on me" Zoe said as Mandy smiled and spotted Sam at the door.

"We have an audience" Mandy said as Zoe looked to see Sam's head disappear from the door. "I better get going..."

"Yeh, I got some stuff to talk to Sam about" Zoe said as Mandy backed away and picked up her jacket. Then seemingly thinking for a second before she took off her necklace and handed it to Zoe a moment later. Zoe looking at it closely and noticing the half heart charm looked like real gold. "What's this?"

"My necklace, I'm coming back to get it" Mandy said, "When I get back in town we gonna hang out. You got half of my heart so keep it safe."

"I sure will" Zoe said as she closed her hand around it and smiled and felt herself blush a bit as Mandy smiled one last time before she turned and walked slowly down the lawn as she got into her car and Zoe wondered what had just happened. Was this her first real shot at hanging out with someone who liked her for her and not because they could control her?

"You guys done?" Sam asked in a bitter tone as Zoe came back into the house with a smile still on her face.

"Yeh, we're gonna hang out when she gets back in town" Zoe said as she quickly stuck the necklace in her pocket before Sam could see it.

"Yeh, right you and skeletor" Sam laughed as Zoe glared her.

"Listen to me Samantha, you call her that again, I'm gonna..." Zoe said pushing her way. "...then you can go home."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Cause it's mean" Zoe said, "You've always been like that, but I was desperate to have a friend who'd buy me things. I was stupid."

"She says things about me too" Sam said defensively.

"You do dress like a whore" Zoe said. "And just so you know, it's the last damn time you're doing me that way."

"She turned you against me" Sam said.

"No, she didn't, I'm still your friend, but you better start treating me better or I won't be."

"Ok, ok" Sam said softly.

"So what exactly did you tell her?" Zoe asked as she motioned for Sam to follow her up the steps. "I mean what did Mandy make you tell her?"

"Just told her the kiss was my fault" Sam said as she sat down on the bed. Watching Zoe close the bedroom door and come back towards the bed. "that I kissed you and not the other way around."

"Oh ok" Zoe said shrugging, "I didn't think I'd see you again for a while after that. And if Mandy hadn't made you come would you?"

"Yeh of course" Sam said as Zoe gave her a disbelieving look, "Look, I want you to be my friend, I think you're cool."

"You just like me cause I didn't kill you when you kissed me" Zoe said with a smirk as she opened her laptop and sat it up on her desk.

"Sorry I just wanted to see what it was like" Sam said.

"You kissed Jennifer, you knew what it was like" Zoe pointed out as Sam went on, "No, I wanted to know what it was like to kiss you, not her. She was ok, I guess, but you really know how to kiss."

"Sam that's weird" Zoe said.

"Not really, see, someone taught you how to kiss" Sam said, "Jennifer was just doing the little that you showed her. It was just so like..I dunno."

"She didn't know what she was doing?" Zoe asked.

"Exactly" Sam said as she laid back on the bed and her shirt rode up, exposing her stomach. Then thinking for a long moment before going on, "And I promise I won't do it again, unless you want to."

"Good" Zoe said as she clicked the Mozilla icon and logged onto the internet.

"Besides I'm sure you didn't like it" Sam said softly.

"Since when do you know what I do and don't like?" Zoe asked.

"Well you said you don't like girls like that and then you like refused to kiss me for the longest time" Sam said as Zoe noticed her stomach was slightly tanner than the night at the party when they had streaked.

"I don't like girls, at least I don't think so" Zoe said, "I like guys I know that and it just seemed like a dumb idea."

"Like I said, I want you to be my friend" Sam said, "So it's cool if you didn't."

"Stop putting words in my mouth" Zoe said, "It really surprised me but once that wore off, did I push you away?"

"No" Sam said with a smile forming on her face.

"Although I should have" Zoe said, "But the kiss was nice."

"Are you saying I'm a good kisser?" Sam asked as Zoe blushed.

"Wasn't trying to" Zoe said, "But yeh you are."

"So are you, just so you know" Sam said, "I've kissed a few guys and that was a lot better."

"Look at this website I found" Zoe said turning her laptop around and showing Sam she was on the internet.

"How did you get on the internet?"

"People next door got one of those wireless routers and somehow it lets me log on" Zoe said as Sam laughed and slipped to her knees beside Zoe's chair.

"I've been here before" Sam said as she took the mouse Zoe had hooked up and began scanning through the images. "It's like kissing 101 with pictures."

"Look at that one" Sam said as her and Zoe laughed out loud at the image of two guys trying to inhale the others face as they apparently kissed.

"That's gross" Zoe said.

"Yeh I mean I know I'm supposed to like kissing guys more but its weird, girls kiss better" Sam said.

"You mean I do" Zoe said with a teasing smile as she looked at Sam.

"Well duh obviously it's not like I've kissed any others" Sam said. "Well Jennifer, but...anyway."

"That one looks cool" Zoe said as Sam opened a picture of two girls sitting in chairs and slowly leaning towards each other and looked to be enjoying a soft, maybe even romantic kiss. "They look like they're in love."

"Yeh they do and look at that, it's the same girls and they defintely look into each other" Sam commented.

"Yeh it's love, look at their eyes" Zoe said, "You can almost see they really like each other."

"Yeh I think I've seen that look before" Sam said, "It was like that night my sister, Shady, my older sister?"

"Yeh"

"She was dancing with this girl named Joey Larue in the kitchen when me and Mandy came in" Sam said, "They didn't even notice we were in the room and then they kissed like..well like people do on tv when they are in love."

"You watched that?"

"Until Mandy dragged me out of the kitchen" Sam said laughing.

"That why you wanted to kiss a girl so bad?"

"Not a girl, you" Sam said softly. "I wanted to kiss you."

"Why are you like in love with me?" Zoe asked as she got a little worried.

"No stupid, I'm not" Sam said, "But when I do fall in love, it'd be nice to know how to kiss."

"Yeh I actually thought it was ok for me to kiss sarah after she taught me" Zoe said, "But she was afraid people would think it was weird so I didn't do it anymore."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Because she's like 3 years older and you know how people are" Zoe said, "And she's a really really good kisser."

"So you wanted to kiss her for practice?" Sam asked as Zoe took the mouse back and clicked on the address bar and went to check her email.

"Yeh pretty much" Zoe said as she logged in.

"You know we could do that too" Sam said as Zoe looked at her suddenly. "Like practice kissing on each other."

"But I already know how to kiss" Zoe said. "So what's the point?"

"Well if it's like anything else, you get better the more you do it" Sam said as she rose and moved back to the bed. "I know when I played little league I always had to practice."

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard kissing compared to baseball" Zoe giggled as Sam shrugged. "besides you're the one who needs a ton of practice."

"I probably do" Sam said as she again laid back on the bed. "But if I never get to do it, then how am I ever gonna get better?"

"Sam I was kidding" Zoe said, "You kiss good."

"I just like kissing cause it feels good" Sam said, "With my first boyfriend it wasn't like it was with you. His mouth was all chapped and he had bad breath and it was really gross most of the time. That's the first time I ever had someone stick their tongue in my mouth."

"EWWWWW, no wonder" Zoe giggled. "Michael Logan wasn't that great and he was dumb as hell, plus he thought he knew more than me after I taught him how too."

"Guys are dumb" Sam said as Zoe agreed as both laughed. "I mean it's like we could never be right about anything. I swear I wish sometimes I was gay so I could like girls the way Shay does. Just seems like to me that it's a lot less complicated."

"I dunno, guys are good for some things" Zoe said, "Besides it's not like you can just decide to be gay."

"No" Sam said as she played with her hair. "But if I could, I think I'd wanna be."

"Not me" Zoe said, "I like guys too much, they're cute and hot."

"Yeh I agree on that" Sam said as Zoe crashed down beside her on the bed. "I heard Will Carmichael asked you out."

"No but I think he will" Zoe said as she rolled on to her stomach. "He makes me..feel weird."

"You mean horny?" Sam asked as Zoe blushed and put her face in her hands.

"Something like that" Zoe said as she looked back at Sam, "He just smiles at me and I like forget my name and age and where I live."

"It's like that when I look at you" Sam said as Zoe's bottom lip dropped and watching as Sam lost it laughter at her reaction. "I'm...so...in...love..."

"SHUT UP" Zoe said as she got up and grabbed one of her pillows and whacked Sam on the back with it as her friend covered up and squealed in laughter.

"Will you be...my girlfriend" Sam said as she lost her breath in laughter and Zoe whacked her again and again with the pillow and then jumped on her in an attempt to pin her down and shut her up. Sam fought to get loose as she continued to laugh as Zoe pinned her down on her back with her hands above her head. Neither noticing that in the battle and Zoe's pinning of Sam onto her back, that Sam's shirt had shifted up to the point you could now see her bra clearly. "Just can't keep your hands off me huh? I thought you didn't like girls Zoe?"

"Fuck you Samantha" Zoe said with smile as Sam laughed harder.

"Ok, ok I'll stop, I'm just playing" Sam said as Zoe released her hands and noticed then that Sam's bra was showing. Blushing she looked away as Sam followed her eyes and blushed as she said, "Tryin to rip my clothes off Zoe?"

"Hey Zoe, your mom said come on up" Jennifer said as she opened the door and stopped in shock at what she saw. "What are you two...OHMIGOD."

To be Continued....