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-----/Evie/-----

Joe laughed as Serafina reached for my lip gloss and other random things spilling from my make-up bag.

"She's such a cutie," Joe voiced from sitting on my bean bag chair to the side of my vanity. Serafina crawled back towards him and smeared purple eye shadow across his cheek.

"She can be quite a handful in public, all she wants to do is meet people," Joe smirked.

"So she really is just like Pete," I sighed as I applied the thin line of eyeliner.

"Joe, you have to keep this our little secret for now," Joe eyed my profile as he helped Serafina climb into his lap.

"Just promise me you'll eventually tell him," I broke away from the mirror to examine Serafina playing with his hoodie zipper.

"Why are you wearing a hoodie?" I asked. "It's only June," I mumbled. Joe laughed.

"It's just routine," he mumbled back. "Too used to it," I rolled my eyes and turned back to examine my make up.

"I guess I can promise you that, Joe," I turned, satisfied to place Serafina back in my lap. She cooed and placed her hand against my star earrings that sparkled under the light. Joe laughed and moved to kneel in front of me like earlier.

Serafina really was that captivating.

"Has she had her first word yet?" I shook my head.

"She's getting there though, just mumbling," Joe nodded before tucking a strand of her hair behind an ear.

"Sisi," Serafina looked mesmerized with the new name. I laughed as she stared at him with wide eyes. "Can you say Uncle Joe?" Sisi tilted her head to one side and reached out, squeezing his nose. I laughed at this as Joe winced and copied her and did the classic trick.

"I've got your nose," he spoke. Serafina snapped her hand to her face and felt for her nose before reaching towards Joe's hands and pinching his thumb and placing her hand back to her nose.

"Looks like she got it back," I smiled cockily and raised my eyebrows as Joe's dumbfounded look.

"I think she has your brain," I laughed.

"I wouldn't be surprised," I breathed out. "If she had her father's brain, /oh lord/, the troubles," Serafina blinked up at me before whipping her head to Joe.

"Hoe," she mumbled, reaching out to him. I stared wide eyed at her and Joe laughed as he took her into his lap.

"Baby, can you say that again?" I asked. Serafina looked away and became mesmerized with Joe's hoodie zipper again.

"There's no hope when she has Pete's ADD as well," I rolled my eyes and stood up as the doorbell rang.

"That should be Heather," Joe raised an eyebrow as he followed me down the stairs.

"A teenaged baby sitter?" I sighed.

"She's cool, and she's baby sat before," Joe nodded as I opened up the door and Heather beamed with a bright smile.

"Hello Miss Wenz and..." her eyes widened. "Holy freaking potroast!" she screamed. Joe laughed and turned to me.

"Fan?" I nodded and Heather came in, shrugging off her hoodie and slowly taking Serafina from Joe.

"Wait..." she mumbled, looking down at her. Joe and I exchanged looks before shaking out head wildly.

"No, no!" I shrieked, Heather giggling slightly as Serafina cooed again. "Joe's been my friend for the longest time!" Heather slowly nodded and fished something out of her purse while balancing Serafina on one hip.

"Can you sign my copy of FUCT?" Joe shrugged and I gulped as I watched the CD exchange. I practically forbid any Fall Out Boy in this house, which meant I would be getting a lecture from my own baby sitter.

I can imagine it now.

"If you hate Fall Out Boy so much, why are you friends with them?" I thought it was my imagination until Joe looked hurt. I sighed.

"Heather, it's hard to explain, but I just don't like the songs. It's the people behind the music that matter," she nodded and Joe tugged on my arm.

"Come on," he mumbled. "Err...Patrick's probably waiting," I gave a quick kiss to Serafina before walking out with him towards his car.

"So what's up with the no Fall Out Boy?" he asked. I sighed as I climbed into the passenger seat.

"To keep Serafina as far away from her father as possible," Joe nodded and understood not to bring it up the rest of the ride.

-----/Pete/-----

I leaned against the brick wall in the night air, too afraid to wait outside and yet freaking out about seeing Evie first hand.

It would break me in half.

My heart began to pick up a fast paced beat as I began thinking of all the possibilities of how she would look with a years passing. I mean, one year can do a lot to a person. Laughter rang out into the night and I whipped my head up to see Joe, his arm wrapped around her waist in a friendly way.

Her head was down; searching through her purse, but Joe noticed me and dropped his arm as I pushed off the wall.

"So where is that little Leprechaun I missed?" I cleared my throat from about six feet away and she glanced up, taking a double take.

Evie looked gob-smacked before I took a deep breath, my heart deciding to go rabid. I hesitated to pull my hands out of my jacket pockets, slowly widening my arms to offer a hug. Evie licked her lips nervously before pushing her purse into Joe's hand and literally running up and letting my arms scoop her into a tight grip of a hug.

"Oh god, Pete," she breathed, her legs lifting up slightly as I spun her around once.

I felt my insides twisting and her heartbeat against mine. We pulled away and caught eyes, her brown glowing with this happiness I wish I could have seen before. It's as if every bad thing from our past was forgotten with the remembrance of how much we missed, missing each other. Joe cleared his throat and Evie glanced over, laughing as he held out her purse.

"I look pretty gay holding that thing," Evie left our embrace and I cursed myself as I suddenly felt empty.

"So what are we all dressed up for?" she asked, picking up one side of her red dress, shifting her eyes from me to Joe. He laughed.

"Well, we're going to do what we do best," I raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly?" Evie nodded, holding the same clueless expression as she crossed her arms. Joe stepped forward before pointing down the street.

"Crash a high school dance!" Evie widened her eyes and smacked his arm.

"Joseph Mark Trohman!" she paused. "I am a respectful woman now," I snickered and she glanced over.

"You mean you weren't before?" she rolled her eyes and looked back at Joe. He smiled in that dorky way before crouching down slightly.

"I'll give you a piggy back ride," he sing-songed, Evie giggling as she climbed on his back. I walked next to them and shook my head as Evie gave Joe a wet-willy.

"Jesus, Ev," she smiled and rested the side of her face against his shoulder so she was facing me.

"Did you miss me?" she mouthed, trying to be secret. I felt my cheeks flare, looking away for a moment before locking our eyes again.

"Of course,"

-----/Evie/-----

"Dude!" Joe came running up to me from the DJ booth, where I sat at a table by myself. I raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked, sitting up slightly as he leaned over the table to talk to me over the music.

"You'll never guess what I requested!" I smirked as the song ended and another started.

"Joe, I love you," I mumbled. He pulled my arm. I pulled back.

"Come on, I request Sweet Cherry Pie and you don't even want to dance like a whore with me?" I frowned.

"Sorry, but it's too weird when every girl here is jealous I actually know you guys," Joe smirked before glancing around.

"Where's Pete?" he asked.

I turned and pointed towards a back table where Pete sat with a bunch of what I would think of 'The Cool Kids' of the dance. He was laughing, but it seemed forced, like he was just humoring them by sitting with them. Joe sighed and rolled his eyes.

"So he left you all alone?" he asked. I nodded but shrugged.

"I don't mind, I think it's kind of cute you two guys can mingle with everyone,"

Joe was about to respond when a girl tapped him on the shoulder, his attention being whisked away towards a different table. I rested my chin in my hand and rested my elbow on the table. I smiled while observing the dancing couples, remembering this is exactly why I never liked going to my school dances.

They reminded you of how alone in the world you were, and no matter how many friends you had, they still had that special somebody to dance with. My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my purse and flipping up the screen.

Why so gloom?

I never realized I was frowning.

It was from Pete.

I let my eyes dance over to where he sat, the table cleared but for two girls, both giggling as they spoke to him. I rolled my eyes, typing back a response. We were at least 50 feet away from each other, tables and chairs separating us too.

/I'm not gloom, I'm just trying to remember my high school dances.../

Liar

I turned to look at him from across the room where he sat with a small smile on his features, hand briskly twirling his phone across the table as those two girls continued talking.

/Am I really that paper thin?/

Pete's smile grew as his phone began to move on its own, one girl looking annoyed as he left the conversation, flipping his phone open as he stood up. I turned back to my own sidekick, trailing my finger tips across the material of the cloth that covered the tables. It started to vibrate and I slowly opened it, flicking back the screen.

Dance with me

My heart lodged forward and my paranoia made me turn around to find Pete standing there, a small smile on his face.

"Hey there Casanova," I whispered, finding my cheeks heating. Pete laughed and looked over to the dance floor as the song slowed down and the DJ cleared his throat.

"We're gonna play a special one tonight, for all you little loves," I laughed myself, before turning back to Pete as his hand rested on my shoulder.

"Dance with me," he paused and leaned down a little more, moving his hand to offer it to me. "Please?" I nodded once before standing and letting him lead me to the dance floor. Silence for a while.

"So..." Pete cut me off.

"Where have you been?" he asked. I took a breath.

"Well, I guess I've been in Glenview," Pete frowned, his hands tightening slightly on my waist.

"Then why didn't you..." he gulped, looking saddened. "Come visit us?" he croaked. I glanced around at how happy other people looked in the embraces they shared, Pete and I a lost cause under the dim and slow lights.

I shook my head.

"Pete, I just got caught up in a lot of things, and..." he bit his lip.

"New boyfriend?" I creased my eyebrows together.

"No," I said flatly but looked away. "Joe told me about your advancements," Pete gulped and yet brought me closer to him.

"So we both made some silly mistakes in the past year," I widened my eyes.

"You're going to call your first born kid a mistake?" I whispered, my heart racing as I gulped down the truth behind that fake and lie filled statement. Pete rapidly shook his head and lowered it to my ear.

"We both know you had my first kid," I looked away again and Pete sighed, pulling away. "And it's not a mistake, it's fabricated over a fake...love,"

I locked eyes with him.

"The worst kind,"

----------

Joe got drunk, but being the young woman that I was, I got /wasted/. I hung off of Pete in a whorish manner, my giggles loud and obnoxious.

He didn't seem to mind.

I already felt bad that I had gotten drunk, relying on Heather again to take care of Serafina. Pete smiled down at me as he took the keys from my grasp, but before he could open the door, Heather opened the door and gasped loudly. The moment Pete locked eyes with Serafina and Heather both, my mind snapped and I stood up straight.

"Hey Heather," I burped and thought of something fast as she opened the security gate, Serafina reaching out for Joe and I. I waved but slipped by before clearing my throat and widening my eyes at Heather.

"Pete," I paused to point at Heather. "This is my...room-mate, Heather," I gulped. "And her baby, Serafina," my voice dropped but I bored my eyes into Heather's. She smiled and nodded, reaching out to grace my baby into my arms.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm actually a big fan," Pete smirked and hugged her friendly before crouching slightly to wave at baby Serafina. Her eyes widened along with Joe's.

My heart began to race.

"Hi there, little baby," he laughed as she pinched his nose and opened her mouth.

"Gooo noose,"

"Awww," Heather cooed and Joe locked eyes with me, frowning as I felt my heart drop. I handed Serafina back and Pete eyed her.

"How uh, old are you?" Heather took a breath.

"17," she muttered, looking away. "Evie met me at a book store and well," Heather had a wild imagination. Trust me. "I went into labor and look where it brought us," she smiled and Serafina cooed, reaching out for Pete. Joe's arm slid around my waist and he leaned towards my ear.

"This is heartbreaking, you know," I shook my head and looked back to see Heather handing Pete baby Sisi. I stepped towards them.

"What are you doing?" I asked. Pete smirked.

"I'm going to help her put her to sleep," he laughed as Serafina played with his bartskull necklace.

I sighed, my still drunk mind clicking as Pete swayed slightly as he held Serafina, her eyes heavy. I leaned against Joe and felt my chest shake with tears. I faked it with a yawn and nodded at Heather, mouthing a thank you as Pete turned towards the stairs.

"What's the sleeping arrangement for tonight?" he asked, turning back. I turned to Joe.

"Well, the only two bedrooms we have are Serafina's, Heather's and mine," I whispered towards the end. Pete nodded and headed up the stairs. Heather snuck up to me and leaned towards my ear, cupping her hands around it.

"I'm guessing Pete's the father right?" I closed my eyes and took her hands in mine.

"I'll explain in the morning," I spoke, pushing her to follow him up the stairs, to not leave my baby alone with her unknown father. Joe rubbed my arms up and down.

"Evie," I shook my head and moved towards the stairs.

"I don't want to talk about it tonight, Joe," I whispered before crawling towards my safe haven of sleep.

-----/Pete/-----

Serafina was positively the sweetest baby I had ever held in my arms. What worried me was how Evie was able to hold this kind of mental stability, what, with losing one kid and then...well, not to sound coincided but, losing me. We were well on our way to perfecting a family. My thoughts ran wild as I ventured down the hall, heading towards the downstairs living room.

I deserved the couch.

A faint sob caught my attention and I stopped, turning my head down a different hall. My curious mind took me down to a bedroom door, and by the looks of it, Evie's. Using my forearm, I pushed the door back a little and snuck in, observing her body curled up over the sheets, clutching one of her stuffed cows.

"Evie," she rattled slightly and sniffed. Was she crying? I creased my eyebrows together and stepped over, sitting near her back. I bit my lip faintly and rubbed her shoulder.

"Pete, it's not good for us to get this close," she whispered, her words muffled by the pillow. I rolled her over and examined her face in the dim light of the nightstand lamp.

I frowned.

"Why are you crying?" I asked. She shook her head and moved her arm down to cover herself up.

"Goodnight Pete," she whispered, rolling back over again. I observed the empty side of the queen sized bed.

"Can I stay here tonight?" I asked. She shook her head and I frowned.

"No," I stood up and leaned to try and see her face.

"Why not?" My questions were answered by a throat being cleared at her bedroom door. I turned to see Joe in his boxers and t-shirt, holding a quilt.

"Pete, you have a pregnant girlfriend to be taking care of," Evie's breath shook again and she curled up tighter. Joe looked stern. "Don't mess with Evie's mental health," I nodded and walked to slim past him.

We brushed shoulders and I turned to see him covering her up, her voice soft as she said goodnight. I looked down at my hands and observed the blank walls that, if I can recall in the world of Evie, should have been blessed with frames of pictures of us and not bare. I opened the front door and stepped out into the summer Chicago night.

"It's just C-town and me tonight," I mumbled. "Another night alone in the city,"