Saturday morning I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs in my apartment. For a few moments I debated sleeping for a little longer, but the delicious scent drove me out of the comfort of my covers. I trudged into the kitchen, rubbing my eyes sleepily, and saw Will whistling to himself as he hovered over the stove.

"Morning!" he chirped upon seeing me. "I'm making breakfast."

"Obviously," I responded, cracking a smile.

"Pig!" Elliot came out of nowhere and ran into me full force, nearly knocking me over. "Morning!"

"Don't call me Pig," I sighed half-heartedly. I had the feeling he wouldn't be giving up that nickname any time soon.

Elliot pouted at me, resembling a puppy. "But Pig is Pig..."

I couldn't help another grin from spreading on my face. Lowering myself down to Elliot's level, I gathered him into a giant bear hug, squeezing him tight. "You're too cute! I love you!"

"Hey, hey! I want in on this love fest," Will joked.

I rolled my eyes. "You're too old."

"Ouch..."

"Is breakfast ready? I'm hungry," I complained, sitting down at the kitchen table and slumping my head on it. "And tired."

"You should have slept longer," Will told me with a laugh.

"And miss out on your not-so-awesome cooking? I think not," I responded, waving my hand. "It smells good."

Will shrugged. "I may not be much of a cook, but I thought I'd make you a nice breakfast."

I cracked a smile as Will winked at me. He returned his attention back to the stove before he spoke again. "So, what are your plans today?"

I shrugged. "I don't know... I kind of want to go to the mall."

"Spending your hard earned money?"

"My first pay check should be in the bank now," I responded with a grin. "I have a little extra money to spare. I just want to buy a congratulations gift. Nothing big."

"I feel like I want to cry..."

"What? Why?"

"I'm just happy for you," Will told me, turning off the stove. "Here." He put a plate full of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me. "Enjoy, chica."

"Gracias, tío."

"You're too cold," Will said with a sigh. "At least call me a brother. Uncle makes me sound old..." He placed a plate in front of Elliot too. "There ya go bud."

"Can I go to the mall, Pig?" he asked, looking at me hopefully.

"Of course, Eli."

"Can I get a toy?"

"Absolutely," I told him with a grin. Now that I actually had extra money, I would buy him anything he wanted.

Elliot cheered happily, his eyes wide with excitement. I was just as excited as he was— before I could never afford to buy him something when we went. Well, besides little things here and there, but now he could actually get something worthwhile.

"Eat up, champ," Will ordered. "The mall is a big place. If you're going to be walking around today you'll need all the strength you can get."

"Gotcha, captain!" Elliot responded with a mock salute to Will. "Pig, when are we going to the mall?" Elliot asked.

"After lunch?" I said, unsure.

"Okay," Elliot responded sounding excited. "Can we eat lunch after we're done with breakfast?"

Will laughed, putting a hand on Elliot's head. "I don't think you have enough room in your stomach for both meals."

"No, I'm really hungry," Elliot insisted.

"Elliot, even if we did eat lunch right away, I still need to get ready," I told him with a laugh. "You can wait."

"Fine," he pouted.

"Cheer up," Will said, mussing with Elliot's hair. "I'll play video games with you while you wait."

I smiled as Elliot cheered right up. Will grinned at me and I mouthed a thank-you. I really had no idea what I'd do without him.

The mall wasn't that crowded when we arrived. There were still a number of people, but not as many as I had expected. I tightened my grip on Elliot's hand as we weaved through the throngs of people going every which way. Elliot was grinning excitedly at all the stores as we went by them, which made me smile.

"Where do you want to go first?" I asked him, squatting down to his level. "Anywhere."

"Candy store," he replied immediately.

I laughed slightly. "I should've guessed. C'mon."

Elliot and I made our way to the candy store on the other side of the mall. When we arrived, Elliot ran ahead of me eagerly. I followed behind him quickly, not letting him out of my sight.

"What can I get?" he asked me, stopping in front of one of the large display cases of candy.

"Anything," I assured him. "Fill up a whole bag."

Elliot grinned at me widely, his eyes widening in eagerness. "Really?"

I nodded. "You just have to remember brush your teeth."

And with that, Elliot grabbed a plastic bag and dragged me throughout the store, making me put in all the candy he wanted. I had a feeling I was going to regret this when he was bouncing off the walls at home, but seeing him this happy made me happy, and that was all that mattered. When he was finished, I was surprised to find that his total was only ten dollars. With a large bag of candy in Elliot's hand and a lollipop in my mouth, we exited the candy shop.

"Where to next?"

"I can get something else?" Elliot asked, a small gasp leaving his mouth.

"Mhm," I told him, grabbing his hand as we started going through the crowds of people. "Hold my hand, Eli."

"Can I make a Build-A-Bear and dress it up?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You want a Build-A-Bear?"

Elliot nodded frantically. "Yes!"

"Okay," I said with a laugh. "Let's go make one."

Elliot suddenly lunged himself at my legs, giving me a hard hug. "I love you, Pig."

"Oh, you love me for my money," I joked, patting his head. "Come on."

The Build-A-Bear workshop was close to the candy store so we got there pretty quickly. Elliot was practically dragging me into the store, babbling excitedly about what he was going to make. He went straight up to the bins with the animal bodies and picked up a pig.

"I'm making you," Elliot told me with a toothy grin.

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to be amused or upset at this. I appreciated the fact that he wanted to make a Build-A-Bear after me, but I didn't appreciate the fact that he chose a pig. It made sense because of my nickname, but still...

"Welcome to Build-A-Bear!" an enthusiastic voice cried from behind me. "Are you making a bear, little guy?"

I turned around and nearly had a heart attack. Zak was staring at me in surprise, his jaw slightly open. Immediately I began to think of excuses to make if he questioned me about anything. I wasn't dressed any different than I dressed on casual Friday at school, so that wouldn't be a problem.

"Ms. Allen," Zak said in surprise.

"Hello, Zak," I responded awkwardly, brushing a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "You work here?"

Zak grinned and nodded. "Yeah, obviously. What are you doing here?"

"I'm making a pig for Pig!" Elliot told Zak eagerly before I could respond.

"Pig?" Zak repeated, looking at me.

I blushed, shooting a glare at Elliot. "Sorry, that's the nickname he has for me."

"Is he your son?"

"What?"

"This boy, is he your son?" Zak asked, glancing at Elliot. "He sure looks like you..." He squatted down to Elliot's level to examine him closer. "Aw, so cute!"

"No, no," I told Zak, shaking my head. "This is my brother, Elliot."

"Hello Elliot," Zak greeted Elliot, holding out his hand. "I'm your sister's friend, Zak."

It made me happy that Zak introduced me as his friend instead of teacher. Part of me knew he probably shouldn't, but I didn't really care. Teachers could be friends too.

"Hi," Elliot responded, suddenly shy. He hid behind my leg and I couldn't help but to laugh.

Zak laughed. "C'mon, Elliot. Let's go stuff that pig."

Zak started marching further into the store and Elliot and I quickly followed him. He stopped in front of a large machine full of fluff and gestured for Elliot to give him the pig. Elliot did so and Zak began to fill the pig with fluff.

"Hey Elliot, why don't you choose a heart from that bin over there while I finish filling this guy up?" Zak suggested to Elliot, nodding his head to a bin full of small, stuffed, felt hearts.

"Okay! Pig, what color heart?" Elliot asked, turning towards me.

"How about red?"

"Okay!"

Elliot ran and got the heart and gave it to Zak.

"Okay, now you have to do some jumping jacks for good health," Zak told him.

Elliot looked up at me. I mimicked the motion of a jumping jack and he grinned and started copying me.

"Good job!" Zak encouraged. "Now you have to spin in a circle for good luck."

"Good luck!" Elliot cried, putting out his arms and spinning. "You give him good luck too!"

Zak laughed and stood up, spinning around with Elliot. The whole scene was endearing and I found myself grinning like a maniac.

When both the boys were dizzy, Zak held out a bucket of felt hearts to Elliot. "Now give it a kiss, and stick it in your stuffed animal."

Elliot gave the heart a shy kiss before placing it in his animal. Then Zak filled the rest of it with stuffing and sewed it up for before handing Elliot the finished product.

"Can I get an outfit, Pig?" Elliot asked excitedly.

I nodded. "Yup."

"Thanks!" he said before going to the wall of clothing.

"So, what's up?" Zak asked, leaning against the counter where the cash register was. "School treating you well?"

"When everyone isn't fighting," I responded wearily, shaking my head. "I wish you all just got along. Obviously it's because of Oliver and Arden. I just wish I knew why they hated each other."

Zak frowned slightly. "There's a lot to it..."

"You know?"

"Only a little."

I sighed. "Well, whatever. A little bit for now is okay until I can convince Arden to tell me."

"Why not Oliver?"

"Oliver hates me," I admitted. "I can just tell."

Zak chuckled. "I'm sure he doesn't hate you. Oliver is just a very anti-social guy."

"I wouldn't have guessed."

Elliot grinned. "Thanks!"

"Were Oliver and Arden ever friends?"

Zak nodded. "Yep. Tucker, Oliver, Arden, and I were best buds in junior high school."

"You were friends? That's hard to imagine."

Zak nodded again. "From fourth grade until eighth."

"What exactly happened?"

"Well, when we were entering high school, Oliver and Tucker both left our school because they moved. Then things just began to fall apart between us," he told me, his eyebrows furrowing. "What happened between Oliver and Arden, it's hard to say. Neither of them really talk about it."

"That... wasn't helpful at all," I responded with a sigh.

"Sorry. Let me try to think of anything else..."

"Don't apologize, I'm just prodding into something I probably shouldn't be," I muttered.

Zak gave me a half-smile. "I'm sure you just want to help Ms. Al— Harley," Zak corrected himself.

"Thanks. But really, if you want to know about those two, I'd just ask Oliver or something."

"I'll ask Arden," I told Zak. "Eventually..."

"Why Arden?"

"Hmm?"

Zak was looking at me suspiciously when I glanced at him. "Why do you always turn to Arden?"

"He's just... Um, Arden is," I hesitated, trying to figure out what to say. Why did I always turn to Arden? "Arden's easier to get along with than Oliver," I finally said.

Zak squinted at me for another moment before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Pig! Pig look!"

I turned around to see Elliot rushing up to me, holding out an outfit for his stuffed pig. It consisted of a pink flowered shirt and white skirt. I laughed, shaking my head. "That outfit looks great. You ready to pay?"

Zak slid over the counter and rung us up, kindly giving us his discount, and we took our leave. On the way out of the mall my cell phone went off. I quickly reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. It was a number I didn't recognize. "Hello?" I answered.

"Be ready at seven o'clock tonight," a familiar voice demanded, sounding bored.

"Oliver?" I responded, confused.

"Great deduction, detective," he responded sarcastically.

I scowled at the insult. "How did you get my number? And what do you mean by 'be ready at seven o'clock tonight'?"

"I mean you have to be ready to leave your house at seven tonight."

"For what? Don't ignore my other question either!"

"Job training," Oliver told me. "You're starting next week so you need to come in tonight for training."

"What if I have plans?"

"Cancel them," he said simply. "I'll pick you up at seven sharp. Give me your address."

"I can drive myself—"

"Just give me your address. I'm picking you up."

I sighed lightly, but gave Oliver my address anyway. "Where do you work?"

"You'll see," Oliver responded before I heard a click.

I stared at the phone in my hand, not sure what kind of expression to make. I was going in for training tonight? What was Oliver's job? And why did I tell him where I lived so easily? I didn't want him stalking me...

The time on my phone read two o'clock. I frowned slightly. Only five hours until I was supposed to go to Oliver's work... Curiosity was killing me. What did he do? Would I be able to handle it? Butterflies appeared in my stomach. I wasn't sure I'd be able to wait until seven o'clock to find out.