The thing about first dates is that it's almost always guaranteed to be all sorts of awkward and this one was certainly not the exception. This was proven by Aiden's silence as we shuffled along the surprisingly busy street. We'd parked about two streets over and were now continuing the rest of our journey on foot, it seemed. "Okay mister," I said, reaching out to grab his arm when I could take his silence no more. "Where are you taking me?" He smiled and made a zipping motion across his lips. I looked to the heavens before following him once more, but after five minutes more of that, I grew agitated.

"My gosh, you're worse than my sister," he said, taking my hand in his. "We're almost there." Just as he said that he turned the corner and came to a stop. "Ta-da!" I smiled at his excitement and gently shoved him. I suppose if I ever went anywhere besides school and the mall I'd have known that our destination was the park. I made a mental note to lambaste my non-siblings when I returned home for allowing me to keep myself locked away.

I wasn't exactly expecting a restaurant themed date, but a walk in the park certainly wasn't on the list of possibilities. We bought corndogs and strolled along, soaking up the warmth the sun provided. I decided then that silence wasn't such a bad thing. It was undoubtedly better than making awkward small talk when we could be enjoying each other's company. In truth, the fact that this wasn't a typical date took some of the pressure off of trying to make everything flow perfectly.

I gasped when two little kids weaved their way between us, laughing merrily while playing a game of tag. He took hold of my hand once more and tugged me closer to his side. "They remind me of my sister and me at that age," he gestured to the little boy who was now trying to pull his sister's hair out of its hair-tie. "We drove my mother crazy and days like this were her only reprieve from the hassle of raising twins."

"You're a twin," I said in astonishment. "How come I've never heard of this?" I was sure that I'd remember something like that although my memory pretty much sucked.

He shrugged. "She lives with my dad." I nodded with wide eyes as understanding dawned on me. "Yeah," he chuckled. "My mom got me in the divorce and my dad got her."

"Is that hard for you? Being away from her?"

He stared at me with raised eyebrows. "You're kidding right? I love it."

I laughed as we reached a park bench and took a seat. "That so wasn't the answer that I was expecting."

"No?" he raised his brow.

"You were supposed to say that it's really hard not having her here and that you miss having someone who understands you more than anyone else, right in the next room." I flushed. "Too much?"

He did a cross between a nod and shrug. "A bit, but I'll tell you what I don't miss. Being late for school every day because I share a bathroom with the prima donna of New York. I certainly don't miss the many fights over who gets the car on the weekends or whose turn it is to do the dishes." By this point I was laughing so hard that he stopped talking to stare at me. "Okay," he said smiling. "It sounds silly now that I've said it out loud."

"It's not that," I reassured him. "It's just that I'm an only child, well, I was an only child. And all that I'd ever wanted was someone to fight with over who used the last of the toothpaste and left the empty tube in the sink or arguing over which show to watch. It sounds sillier than your reasons but I was mostly a pretty lonely child."

"And now you've got a houseful of siblings to keep you busy."

I smiled at him. "That I do."

We sat there for a minute longer before deciding to get ice cream. Aiden's company, I decided was better than ice cream on even the hottest summer day. I licked my cone and smiled, thinking of just how weird I was. Two months ago, I was denying that I had any feelings for him and today we were on a date and there was definitely something stirring in my heart. It may have been deep, deep down, but it was there alright.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

I smiled at him. "Not a chance."

He smiled. "So, how do you like it here so far?"

I thought about his question for a few seconds. "Well, it's definitely a change of pace from what I'm accustomed to."

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "This may sound weird but everything's bigger somehow—brighter." I laughed to cover-up my nervousness. "Things are different here. I'm happier than I've been in years, actually," I said, surprising myself with the words that were definitely true but I'd never had the guts to admit before. I was happier here than I'd ever been, but with that confession came a surge of guilt. "Sometimes I feel really awful about liking it here cause then it makes me think that in some way I'm saying that I'm okay with that fact that my Dad's dead."

I was partially horrified at what I'd just revealed, but Aiden took it in stride. It even seemed like he'd already known about the whole 'dead dad' bit. "The feeling of being at ease in a new place without the people that you love can feel a tad cumbersome, trust me I know, but that doesn't take away from the fact that you love them and I'm sure your Dad would want you to be happy. Besides, you're with your family, it's highly unlikely that you'd be anything but." He gave me a smile to set my mind at ease but it didn't.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I smiled at him. "But the feeling lingers."

"I've learned to ignore it," he said, taking a bite of his ice cream. I flinched when he bit it and I involuntarily shuddered. "What?"

"You bit it without even flinching," I said, staring at the cone. "That's not natural."

He laughed. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"You are a special person, Aiden," I said giving my head a little shake.

He chuckled. "Again, I get that a lot."

I scrunched my nose at him as we walked on, maintaining a relatively slow pace. We were passed by a group of teenagers in running gear and a slow burning started in my legs, imagining their pain. Aiden hi-fived a couple of the guys and I raised my brow. "Friends of yours?"

"I train with them sometimes when I'm getting ready for a meet. The one running backwards, is Josh," he said as an older girl slapped the guy he referred to upside the head as she passed by. Josh laughed and turned around without slowing his pace. "And that's Sam. She's team leader."

"Then why was she at the back? Shouldn't the person leading the team be you know, leading them?"

He smiled and put his arm around me. I pretended not to notice how right it felt. "She could easily outrun any of the others but being team leader isn't about showing up her team. Right now she's observing, hence the head slap."

I nodded. "Because Josh was showing off."

"Exactly."

We headed in a different direction from the others and found ourselves near a pond. I sat on the grass and slipped my boots off. Aiden followed suit and before long we were on our backs, staring at the cloudless blue of the sky. "Do you miss home?"

Because I'd been asked that question so many times, my answer should have been an automatic 'yes', but I found myself hesitating. I thought about it for a full minute before saying that I did not. And I really didn't. Sometimes home was nothing more than someone waiting with open arms on the other side of the door and my someone was gone. My home was gone. "There are days when I long for starry skies and a little solitude, though. It's always noisy here," I laughed. "I share a living space with two teenagers and a rambunctious seven year old. You have no idea how rowdy it can get. And when we have friends over, well that's another story."

He laughed. "Man, I miss those days. Right now it's just been me and my mom and she's not exactly my first choice at company." I laughed and then sucked in a nervous breath, realizing that somehow during our conversation the distance between us had lessened. "I even miss my sister sometimes," Aiden continued, apparently not noticing our closeness. "Just saying that makes me wanna throw up."

I laughed and gently nudged him with my elbow. "It's okay to miss your sister. I'm sure she misses you two. I know I would...if I were your sister, I mean." I felt my face flush at my revelation but Aiden just smiled.

"If you're not busy over thanksgiving break, you'll be able to meet her." At my panic-stricken expression, he chuckled. "Relax, she's a nightmare to have as a sister but she's great otherwise. You'll love her."

But would she like me? I was never good at first impressions when it really mattered. "I have this thing that I have to do with Caitlyn over the break so I'm not too sure about that, but I'd like to meet her if there's time."

He threaded his fingers through mine and held my hand against his chest as he stared at the sky. I sighed in content and did the same. "Do you miss your dad?" I asked him after a minute.

"Sometimes," he admitted. "But it's better this way for everyone."

"What do you mean?"

"Him and my mom, all they ever did was fight. Ever since we were kids my sister and I were praying for the day that they'd finally wise up and call a truce. I think we're probably the only ones who were happy when they got divorced."

"That's—"

"Horrible, I know. But it's the truth. I've never seen two people more out of love than those two and believe me when I tell you that it's for the best. Now, I see my dad every other holiday and sometimes I'd spend the summer with him while my sister comes home to stay with mom. It's a win-win for everyone."

The more that I thought about what he'd said, my anger for Tori faded and as the morning sun gave way to the cool breeze the afternoon brought, I was able to see it from her point of view for the first time since I met her. Maybe my life would've sucked even more if she'd been around. Especially if she didn't love my dad anymore. "Hey, would you mind taking me home now? There's something that I need to do," I said as I sat upright and started the process of getting my boots on. "I need to make amends with the woman that gave birth to me." That was the closest thing to mom that I was able to say without feeling like a charlatan.

"The woman that gave birth to you?" Aiden asked as we made our way back to his car. "Really?"

I shook my head at his amused smile. "I'm not ready to call her mom just yet," I confessed.

"This promises to be a good story."

"Yes, but for another day," I said, reaching for his arm.

When we arrived back at the house, I couldn't get my legs to co-operate. I stalled opening the door and getting out of the car. I was suddenly nervous to face Tori. I didn't even know what I was going to say to her. "You know, you'll have to face her eventually," Aiden uselessly volunteered.

"Well I do live here." I sighed when he raised his brow. "It shouldn't be this hard."

"The important things always are."

"You're just a wealth of knowledge today, aren't you?"

He laughed and opened his door. He waited a few seconds before coming around to mine. I opened it before he could have and took his outstretched hand. "I'm a wealth of knowledge every day, sweetheart and I've heard that I'm also quite charming."

"More useless information," I said as he nudged me towards the house. My legs felt heavy as we walked up the driveway. Aiden whistled as we neared the door and I sighed when our walk came to an end. I was about to open the door when I felt a tug. "You've gotta let me go," I said turning around to face him with one hand on the knob and the other in his.

He gave me a smile so adorable that it nearly knocked the wind out of me and I chuckled as the song Take my breath away by Berlin began playing in my mind. "See you tomorrow?" he asked, letting go of my hand.

"That's the plan. Unless you intend to change schools."

He gasped in mock astonishment. "How'd you know?"

I rolled my eyes and turned the knob. "Goodbye, Aiden."

Carter was waiting for me just inside the door. I took a step back, surprised to see him there. "Everything okay, buddy?" I asked trying to sidestep him.

"Yeah, I was just heading out. How'd your date go?"

"Great," I said, trying and failing to hide my smile. I was inexperienced when it came to dating but even I knew that as far as first dates went that was pretty good, although it was cut short by yours truly.

Carter's phone rang, cutting off his response. "Talk later, alright?" he said distractedly as he opened the door.

He was gone before I even nodded. "Hmm, well that was weird," I said aloud as I headed to my room. I changed out of my clothes before searching for Tori. I wasn't sure why I was so eager to talk to her when I still had no idea what I was going to say.

"Hey, sunshine," Caitlyn intercepted me at the foot of the stairs. "How'd it go today?"

"Really good," I said with a genuine smile. "Do you know where I can find your mom?"

"She and my dad went grocery shopping," she replied hooking her arm in mine. "Now, I need details."

"We went to the park," I said hurriedly. "Any idea when they'll be back?"

"No..." she said slowly, narrowing her eyes at me. "What's going on? Is the feud between you two finally over?"

"What feud?"

"The one where she looks at you with those puppy dog green eyes of hers and you ignore her completely."

I laughed uneasily, "Oh. That one. I didn't know that it was that noticeable."

"You'd have to be pretty self-absorbed to not notice how thick the air gets when you two are in the same room. And then there was your 'not speaking to anyone phase'," she said using air quotes. "That was just...sad. She didn't speak for days. You guys had us all worried."

"I'm sorry," I said weakly. "I didn't mean to—"

She waved my apology away. "It's in the past. I'm just glad that you're okay. Now, I'm going to need you to give me a little more than "we went to the park" please and thank you."

I laughed and eased my head onto her shoulder with a sigh. "He's everything," I said dreamily, shocking myself at my admission.

"Yeah," Caitlyn agreed. "You were the only one who didn't know that."

I smiled at her, feeling grateful for the first time that I had someone to call my sister. Someone that I could talk to. While April was a good substitute, she was a thousand miles away. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said unhooking my arm and taking a seat on the arm of the sofa while I opted to sit like a normal person.

"Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?"

Her mouth formed an 'O' and I smiled. She rolled her eyes and made herself more comfortable by bringing her knees up to meet her chin. "Well, when you first got here, I kind of hated you—"

"Yeah, we already know all this."

She shushed me. "Let me finish. I hated you because I thought that you were going to take my mom away. I mean, she was more your mom than she was mine, after all."

I raised my brow. "Well that's ridiculous. I didn't even know the woman."

"Yeah, well that's not the way that I looked at it. See, our real mom, well let's just say that she's not going to be winning any Mom of the year award any time soon. She chose having a glamorous life over motherhood. She was hardly ever home and on those rare occasions that she was, she was more concerned with what she would be wearing to her friends' cocktail parties than she was with us. By the time our dad noticed that we were basically being neglected, it was sort of too late. The damage had already been done, you know?"

I nodded. I knew a thing or two about the feeling of neglect, but at least I didn't know about Tori's abandonment until I was old enough to be able to deal with my emotions. I can't imagine how hard it must've been for her and Carter as kids. "I'm so sorry."

"It worked out for the best," she smiled at me. "Dad filed for a divorce and a year later he met your mom. She was like a breath of fresh air after feeling suffocated for so long. She was basically everything that our biological mother wasn't and by the time Bailey came along, we were the perfect little family. But suddenly my perfect life was being threatened by your arrival, so, I lashed out in the only way that I knew how."

"Being mean is your default setting? That's disturbing."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm an imperfect person but I'm trying to make amends. I was out of line. I had no right to treat you that way, especially with all that you were already dealing with."

I nodded. "You know, your mom may not have been the person that you were hoping for but at least she's still here, right?" I said, recalling the weekend that Carter had spent with her but Caitlyn had stayed behind to torture me.

"I guess," she shrugged. "She's been trying to make up for our disaster of a childhood but I just don't think that I could ever be as forgiving as Carter is. I'm not the same little girl that she remembers. I had to learn how to unlove her in order to survive, and I can't undo that."

"I want to say that it can't hurt to try but I have to admit that you've got a point. What if she disappoints you again, right?"

"Exactly."

"But what if she doesn't?"

"She will," Caitlyn smiled sadly. "And I need to be strong so that I can be there for Carter when that happens. She's not cut from the same cloth as the other moms and she's never going to be able to be the person that he expects her to be. Besides, we already have a mom."

I nodded and the thought crossed my mind that I should probably answer the question that I knew she was afraid to ask. What exactly happened between me and Tori, but it didn't feel right. In her eyes, Tori was the mother that she'd never had and I couldn't ruin that image of her. I settled on a different story instead. "You know, when my dad died and they told me that I had to live with a bunch of strangers, I experienced a whole range of emotions. I was so scared and angry but most importantly I felt lonely. Lonelier than I'd ever felt before."

"I can't imagine how that must've felt."

"Pretty lonely."

She laughed and reached out to thump me. "Idiot."

The front door opened then and Blaine and Tori walked in with Bailey in tow. "You girls wanna help put these away?" Blaine asked, already heading to the kitchen.

"I'll go, you stay and talk to mom," Caitlyn said, pulling me in for a quick hug. She left and took the bags from Tori before steering her my way. "I'll leave you two to it then."

"What's going on?" Tori asked, taking a seat beside me. "Is everything okay?"

I don't know why but I took one look at her face creased with worry and started to cry. This wasn't just a few tears running down my cheeks, it was a torrential stream of sadness that flowed out of me uncontrollably like a flood. And I realized then that this was going to be a lot harder than I'd anticipated.