"Do I know you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, keeping my panic under control. The best thing I could do was to pretend Oliver had mistaken me for someone else. Keeping my expression calm and confused, I pulled his hand away from my face and took a step back. Oliver rolled his eyes at me, pulling my license away as I tried to grab it from him.

"I'm not stupid. I know it's you."

"I don't know what you mean..."

"I'd recognize your baby face anywhere," Oliver commented dryly. "Even if you wear those glasses in class, it's obvious you're younger than you claim to be. Now I have proof."

"I-I don't..."

"Save it. I know it's you, Ms. Allen."

I glared at the floor, my chest tight. Why, out of all of the students in my classes, did it have to be Oliver who found out? And so quickly! It was so unfair! I looked at him with a hard look. "You can't tell anyone."

"Why not?"

"I might lose my job!" I told him, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Please, you can't tell anyone!"

"Why do I care whether you have a job or not?" Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow. "I could really care less."

"Oliver, please!"

"Care to explain why you're lying about your age then?"

"I need the money."

"Why?"

I set my jaw, narrowing my eyes at him. "None of your business."

Oliver looked surprised for a minute, but he quickly rearranged his features into a scowl. "Well then, it might just get around that you're actually only seventeen..."

My hands shook from anger as I glared at Oliver. As soon as my life actually started to work out for me, he had to ruin it. Tears stung at my eyes, and I blinked furiously to keep them spilling. He had no right to threaten me. He had no right to know about my past! I didn't want to tell him my parents were dead and that I had to care for Elliot and myself alone! That was for me to know about, and only me.

"Fine," I finally said, my voice shaking. "Tell everyone. Let them all know my true age and get me fired. Is that what you want? I shouldn't be so surprised since I'm pretty sure you hate me anyway."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Spare me the dramatics."

I opened my mouth to shout at him, but before I could say anything, a new voice spoke up.

Oliver's eyes snapped down to Elliot, who was standing in front of me with his chest puffed out. Elliot stared at Oliver, clenching his little fist.

"Who's Pig?" Oliver asked, looking at my brother curiously.

"My sister!"

"Her?" Oliver pointed his finger at me.

"Yes! Leave Pig alone!"

"Eli, it's fine," I told him quietly, putting a hand on his head. "I'm okay."

"No! Pig is not okay! Pig is crying!"

"Elliot, it's fine," I reassured him. "I'm not crying. We're just having a small argument."

"Olive, go away!" Elliot cried, pushing on Oliver's leg. "Leave Pig!"

I almost laughed. Olive? Oliver looked down at Elliot with a blank expression for a moment, and then, to my surprise, he started laughing. He squatted down to Elliot's level, putting a hand on his head. Elliot moved out from under it, still glaring at Oliver.

"Does your sister cry easily?" Oliver asked Elliot.

"Yes! Leave Pig alone!"

"Elliot," I said with a grimace. "I don't..."

"Do you know why she's working at my school?"

I stared at Oliver with a deadpan look. Was he kidding? He was going to ask my little brother about me? Elliot didn't know anything!

"She caught on fire at her last job," Elliot told Oliver, a very serious expression on his face.

I held in my laughter, and put a hand to my mouth to keep it from escaping. Oliver looked at me, his eyes wide. "Really?"

"Really!" Elliot insisted, pushing Oliver's leg again. "Leave Pig alone!"

"What does that have anything to do with needing money? Obviously it isn't medical bills since you look fine to me," Oliver said, addressing me now.

"I didn't catch on fire," I told him with a sigh.

"Yes, Pig did!" Elliot cried, looking at me in surprise. "Pig! Don't lie!"

"No, Elliot, I was fired. I didn't catch on fire."

Elliot stayed quiet, confusion on his face. A small chuckle left my lips as I shook my head. I should have explained this to Elliot before. Oliver watched me for a few moments before turning back to my brother.

"Okay, Elliot, I'll leave... Pig alone," he told my brother, mussing up his hair. "On one condition."

"Condition?" I repeated, staring at him in disbelief. "A condition? What condition?"

"You have to do me a favor if you want me to keep your secret," Oliver said simply.

I stared at him incredulously. Was he crazy? Why would I agree to something like that? I finally shook my head. "No..."

"No?"

"No! That's unfair! I'm asking you to keep my secret because I desperately need you to! There shouldn't be any conditions! You should just be a good person and keep my secret."

"I'm not a good person," Oliver told me, a short bark of laughter escaping his mouth.

"Obviously," I retorted before I could stop myself. "You're an insensitive jerk."

"Oh, that hurt," Oliver responded, putting a hand to his heart in mock pain.

I glared at him angrily again, clenching my fists. I really hated this guy. Why did he have to make my life so much harder? Why couldn't he just keep his stupid, British mouth shut? Maybe if I told him my conditions... No, I shook my head. Pity wasn't something I wanted. It was either go with it, or let him ruin everything.

"What kind of favor?" I asked, defeated.

Oliver shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. Whatever I need you to do."

I gritted my teeth. "Fine."

"Here, Pig," Oliver said, handing me my license. "From now on, I suggest being more careful when you go out in public. If someone else finds out, I doubt they'll be as accommodating as me."

"Anyone would be more accommodating than you," I retorted. "And don't call me Pig!"

"Whatever. Does the faculty know your true age?" Oliver questioned, cutting me off.

I hesitated for a moment, pursing my lips. "No one..."

Oliver nodded, shaking his hair out of his face. "That's good."

I gave him a flat look. "Oliver, I can't help you get out of suspensions from other teachers, or detentions, or let you skip class. So if that's what you're thinking—"

"I know that," Oliver interjected, rolling his eyes.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I could tell this guy was going to give me a lot of stress. Why couldn't it have been Arden, or Zak, who'd found out? Heck, I'd even settle for Tucker. I could promise Tucker I wouldn't talk to him and that would be that.

"Oliver?"

My head snapped up at the new voice to see a familiar blonde looking at me in surprise.

"Ms. Allen?"

Ice ran through my veins. "M-Melissa?"

"Get this Mel," Oliver said, turning to the blonde. "Our teacher is your age."

"Oliver!" I cried, looking at him in horror. "You promised—"

"Relax," he said, cutting me off. "Melissa's my sister. She'd find out soon enough anyway."

I stared at him for a minute, then to Melissa. They were siblings? They looked incredibly different. And if I remembered correctly, Melissa's last name was Moore, and Oliver's was Fox. And she didn't have an accent. "You two are related?"

"You're seventeen?" Melissa asked, ignoring my question. "I thought you just looked young!"

"I'm sorry for lying to you." I really was. I could care less about lying to Oliver, but Melissa was a nice person. It was hard to believe they were related. "But I need you to do me a huge favor and not tell anyone. Please."

"I won't," Melissa promised immediately, holding up her hand. "I promise. But... Wow. How'd you even get hired?"

"Uh, connections," I said. It was the partial truth. I had connections with Will who had connections to the person who made all my fake credentials.

"Pig," a new voice spoke up, thankfully keeping Melissa from asking anything else. "I'm hungry..." Elliot tugged on my jacket, looking up at me. "Can we go home? Will is hungry too..."

"Oh crap! Will!" I cried, my eyes widening. I forgot I was coming here to get dinner so we could eat!

"Will?" Oliver and Melissa chorused curiously.

"I've got to go," I said, ignoring their questioning looks. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, Melissa. And I'd better see you, Oliver. Otherwise I'm telling the principal you've been skipping."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Are you really in the position to threaten me? I could easily tell your secret—"

Melissa jabbed her elbow into his side, making him jump and scowl at her. Melissa turned to me, sighing. "Ignore Oliver. We won't tell."

"Thank you so much," I responded, sending her a grateful smile. "I owe you."

"Don't worry about it!"

"Pig!"

"We're going," I told Elliot, grabbing his hand. "C'mon."

"See you tomorrow, Pig."

I threw a scowl at Oliver from over my shoulder. He smirked at me, and waved once. A sigh escaped my lips and I shook my head at Elliot. "You really need to stop calling me Pig."

"Pig is Pig."

"Do you even know my name?"

Elliot stayed silent, his mouth pressed in a straight line. I raised an eyebrow at him, stopping in one of the checkout lines. After a few moments Elliot started grinning at me.

"Pig," he stated.

I laughed, mussing with his hair. "No, Harley, remember?"

"Pig," Elliot said stubbornly.

Shaking my head, I began to pile the groceries onto the belt. Elliot was a hopeless case. I paid for the groceries, and Elliot grabbed the bag. Together, we made our way out to my car, and I tossed the groceries in the back. Rain splashed in my face and I wiped it away brusquely. I hated the rain.

When we made it back to Will's apartment, I burst in quickly. "Will, I'm so..." I trailed off when I saw Will's body lying face down, motionlessly on the floor. "Will?"

"Harley," he moaned weakly.

Immediately I was at his side. "Will? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

He turned his head so he could look at me. "I'm..."

"You're?"

"So hungry," he said, shutting his eyes. "It hurts."

Without warning, I dropped to my knees, landing on his back. He cried out in pain, immediately rolling over, and making me fall off of him. He moved out from under me, putting a hand to his back. "No pity for the old?"

"You're not old, you're only twenty-seven," I said mockingly, pushing myself off the ground. "Don't play those kinds of jokes! You scared me."

Will's expression softened. "I'm sorry, Harley..."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

"But you did take a long time at the grocery store."

"Well... it's a long story."

Will smiled slightly. "Well you can tell me... while starting dinner."

"I'm hungry!" Elliot complained, yanking on my jacket. "Food!"

"I'm going, I'm going," I said, rolling my eyes.

Will followed me to the kitchen, where I quickly unpacked the groceries and got out a pan for the hamburgers. Will made a face.

"Hamburgers?"

"Elliot's choice."

"Should have guessed," Will responded with a sigh. "So tell me what happened at the grocery store."

With a small sigh, I began telling him about Oliver. Will's face-hardened, and by the time I was done, he looked extremely indignant. The hamburgers were beginning to sizzle, so I quickly flipped them over.

"An eighteen year old is taking advantage of you!" Will told me, disbelief in his voice.

"It's my fault for dropping my license..."

"That was an accident! Where can I find this guy? I think I should knock some sense into him."

I laughed, shaking my head at Will. "Thanks for the concern, but the only thing I'm worried about is him telling someone. I'm sure I can handle whatever he needs me to do."

"But Harley—"

"It's fine," I assured him.

Will sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Doesn't he know how hard you have it already?" Will demanded, scowling again. "If I ever see that thick-skinned guy..."

"He doesn't know."

"What? Why?"

"Um, I just don't want to tell anyone," I said quietly, focusing solely on the hamburgers now. "I just..."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see Will smiling gently at me. "Say no more, I understand."

I swallowed, nodding my head. "I'm just not ready... To you know... Say it. If I tell someone, it just makes it more real."

"Harley..."

"Don't misunderstand me," I told Will, chewing my lip. "I know they're gone, and they aren't coming back, but saying that out loud to other people is..."

Will silenced me with a hand to my mouth. "Harley, trust me, I understand. There's no need to explain. I know how losing your parents feels." He removed his hand and watched me for a minute.

"Yeah," I responded, looking away from him, my throat suddenly constricting. I took a few deep breaths, trying to shake my thoughts away. "Do... Do you want cheese on your burger?"

Will laughed. "Yes, please."

I relaxed; glad the atmosphere had become cheerful again. The last thing I needed was for Will to give me one of his pep talks. Writers and pep talks didn't mix. They ended up making me more confused and stressed than before since he liked to be dramatic. He did more damage than help usually, but I didn't let him know that. I appreciated the fact at least he tried.

"You still look like you could use one of my pep talks," Will said, voicing a disagreement to my thoughts.

"No, trust me, I'm okay," I responded, giving him the biggest, happiest, grin I could force out. "See? I'm as happy as a bird with a French fry."

Will started laughing and messed with my hair. "The hamburgers are burning."

I gasped, turning back to the oven and turning off the burner. Will snorted from beside me.

"If you burn hamburgers, how can you teach a cooking class?"

The mention of my class wiped away any thought of a comeback to his insult. How was I going to face Oliver tomorrow? Would he keep his promise? Would he even come to class? For once, I was thinking it'd be better if he actually didn't show up. Oliver knew now... A weight plunged into my gut as I realized just how much trouble I was in.

This year had just become a lot harder.