"Okay, so here's the game plan," Kendra started excitedly as the three of us stared down at the mall map. "We are basically going to have to buy a whole new wardrobe for Ro. We actually have an opportunity here to design, style and perfectly accessorize everything she wears! It'll be just like in the movies! This is so exciting."

"Oh, I don't really. . ." I began awkwardly. "You really don't have to buy me a bunch of stuff. I should be fine with a few new shirts and shorts and underwear and stuff. Buying a whole new wardrobe seems a little excessive."

Kendra gasped. "Don't rob me of this chance! I've always wanted to personally design and entire wardrobe! At this point, I think I'm doing this more for myself than I am for you- no offence. Now let's go!"

With that, she whirled away and started down the hall of the mall.

"Wait, I-" I tried calling after her.

"It's no use," Cris interjected, shaking her head. "You won't be able to talk her out of buying you more clothes than you will probably ever need, but hey, I would give anything to be in your place right now. It's not like you're forcing her to buy the stuff for you. I say you should just accept it and be thankful that you happened to get amnesia during sale season."

With that said, she flashed me a smirk before heading off after Kendra. After a moment, I followed. The way Cris smirked reminded me a lot of Ket, but she seemed a lot nicer in a strange, blunt, still-not-very-nice sort of way. By the time Cris and I caught up to Kendra, she was already inside Victoria's Secret, scouring through the bins.

"What size are you, Dear?" Kendra questioned when she saw me. "I figured we could start with the basics, and then build your wardrobe from there."

I nodded awkwardly. I was going bra shopping with a woman I barely new and the best friend of her son- who hates me. I quickly mumbled my size to her before turning towards one of the shelves and beginning to search as well. I knew that buying bras and underwear was a definite necessity, but it didn't make it any less weird. Especially since I'd only met Cris- best friend to the boy who hates me for absolutely no reason- about twenty minutes ago.

"Alright, I've already picked more than enough," Kendra stated. "What about you two?"

Cris smirked and held up a handful as well. "Same."

Both of them looked expectantly at me and I glanced down at the one bra I had picked out. I hadn't even started looking at underwear yet.

"Oh," I murmured.

Kendra shook her head at me. "Oh dear. You're lucky that you have us with you, Ro."

Cris nodded in agreement.

"Well," Kendra grinned. "Let's go check out, and then move on to the next store! We still have to buy jeans, shorts, t-shirts, long sleeves, sweaters and dresses!"

I blanched. "That seems like a lot. . ."

"We should also hit up Swimwear House and get her a bathing suit. You guys do have a pool in the backyard. You never know when she may want to use it," Cris suggested.

"Good point," Kendra agreed. "Okay, moving on!"

'

"Are you two hungry?" Kendra questioned suddenly. "I think it's getting to be about lunch time."

Cris, Kendra and I had literally been shopping for hours now, and each of us had shopping bags lining our arms. After a while, I'd given up on trying to convince Kendra that this was all too much and she really didn't have to do it for me. She just looked like she was having so much fun, and besides, she wouldn't listen to me anyways. To be honest, I was kind of having fun too. At first, it had been a little awkward, especially since I was terrified of Cris being exactly like Ket, but there was just something about trying on clothes and putting together cute outfits that brought people together. Or maybe it was just girls.

I had also discovered that Cris wasn't as terrifying as I thought she would be. For one thing, she didn't hate me like Ket did. She had the same smirk as him, and she was also sarcastic, but she was nice to me and we got along. After hanging out with her for the morning, it didn't surprise me that her two best friends are guys. She's definitely a "one-of-the-guys" type girl.

The only down side to the whole morning was that for hours now, I'd had an uncomfortable feeling in my chest. I didn't think that there was anything terribly wrong, per say, it just felt tight and unpleasant, and I had no idea why. At first, I'd thought it was just nerves, but now, I wasn't so sure. . . I just couldn't explain what the feeling meant. Maybe I'd talk to Jarod about it once we got back to the house.

"I could eat," Cris shrugged.

I nodded in agreement. "I haven't eaten since those pancakes this morning. . . which I never actually ate. . ."

Kendra let out a laugh. "Alright, let's eat then. It'll also give us a chance to set down these bags for a bit."

We all ordered some lunch before finding a large booth and sitting down. We had all of our shopping bags shoved up against the wall on one side of the booth and we sat on the other.

"So, what did Officer Mills want to talk to you about this morning, anyways? Did they find a lead that will help them find your family?" Kendra asked.

"Officer Mills? The one who pulled into the driveway after me? He was hot," Cris commented.

I smiled sheepishly. "Honestly? Braum didn't actually need to talk to me about anything. . . I just wanted to get away for a bit. I was the one who called him."

Cris wiggled her eyebrows, but Kendra just looked confused.

"Why would you want to get away? Did Ket or Josey do something? I thought you said they'd been nice to you?"

I rolled my lip into my mouth, unsure of what to say. When Cris saw this, she rolled her eyes.

"Ket was being a complete jerk to her, actually. From what I can see, he has been since she started staying with you. Ro didn't want to say anything, though, because she doesn't want to get him into trouble; that will just make him angrier."

Kendra frowned. "Oh, Ro! You should have told me! I had no idea!"

I shrugged. "It's really not that big of a deal. Ket hasn't been that bad, he just very obviously doesn't like me."

"Maybe I should talk to him," Kendra suggested. "He has no right to be mean to you, especially after everything you've been through."

I shook my head vigorously. "That will just make him hate me more!"

"I'll talk to him," Cris said. "Besides, you're my friend now, and I refuse to let Ket treat my new friend poorly. Especially when you're probably the first female friend I've actually ever had, and it is so nice to get away from the guys sometimes."

I grinned at her. We were friends. Hopefully she'd be able to get through to Ket.

*-*-*

"Jose, make me lunch," I demanded.

Jose shot me a glare before rolling off the couch. "Yes, Master."

I just smirked and leaned back into the cushions, turning my attention back to the t.v. Jose and I hadn't moved from our spots on the couch since the girls had left. It was now one thirty.

"Oh, hey, Josey. Ket forcing you to cook again?"

I made a face at the sound of my dad's voice coming from the kitchen. I'd forgotten that he was even home. I didn't turn to look at him as he made his way into the living room to stand behind the couch.

"I'm glad to see that you're using the last few weeks of your summer productively," he joked.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" I questioned.

"Actually, I've got to go back into work. One of my crash victim patients who just got out of surgery has now fallen into a coma, and Mary is going to help me with setting up getting someone in to work with Ro to recover her memory, so I've got lots to do," he explained.

I grit my teeth. Of course he had to go back to work, and of course he had to go back because of Ro. How could Jose and Cris wonder why I hated her?

"Cool," I muttered sarcastically.

"So, uh, I'll see you when I see you, Kiddo," he chuckled.

"I'm not five anymore, Dad. I know you're not around very much, but I would have thought you would have noticed that I'm actually almost eighteen," I snapped.

He was quiet for a moment. "Ket-"

"Bye, Dad," I said, cutting him off.

He sighed. "I'll see you soon."

Even though I didn't turn to look at him, I could tell that he just stood there for a minute, staring at the back of my head, before finally making his way back through the kitchen and into the front hall. He even slammed the front door as he left, which I definitely wasn't expecting. My grip on the remote was tight. I hated the twisting feeling that had settled in the pit of my stomach, but I also couldn't make it go away. I was his son. I was his son, and yet he cared more about work, and taking care of some girl he'd just met, more than he did about me. It hurt.

"Well, that was. . ." Jose began awkwardly, setting down two grilled cheese sandwiches on the coffee table and then taking a seat beside me.

"I know," I sighed, finally releasing the remote from my grasp.

"You know that it's not your dad's fault that he works so much, and it definitely isn't Ro's-"

"Shut up, Josey," I begged, leaning forward and placing my head in my hands.

A clear image of Ro yelling at me this morning popped into my head. Part of me knew that I was being completely unfair to her, but a bigger part of me was pissed off beyond belief. I think that worst part of it all was that Ro wasn't intentionally stealing my dad from me, and that pissed me off even more. It pissed me off because it meant that I didn't really have a valid reason to be pissed off.

"We're back!" my mom called out from the front hall.

"Perfect," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Cris, Ro and my mom all came into the living room, dumping piles of shopping bags onto the floor before all flopping down on chairs.

"That's. . . a lot of clothing," Jose pointed out.

"We had a lot of fun," my mom grinned. "We got Ro a whole new wardrobe and I even got some stuff for myself! Speaking of which, I should probably go put it all away, actually."

She scooped a few of the bags up off the floor before making her way towards the stairs.

"I don't get what the point of all of this is," I said once she was gone. "It's not like you're going to be staying here long. You're not a permanent guest or anything. Where are we even going to keep all of this?"

Cris shrugged. "You guys have plenty of space. The guest room closet is a walk in and it is practically empty."

I glared at her.

"Hot," Jose commented with a whistle.

I frowned in confusion and turned to see what he was talking about. To my surprise, he was holding a Victoria's Secret bag in one hand and a lacy black bra and pair of underwear in the other.

"Jose!" Ro squeaked, her face going bright red.

Despite myself, a mental image of Ro in the aforementioned undergarments popped into my head. I shook my head, turning away from her. Now was definitely not the time.

"You totally just pictured her in her underwear, didn't you?" Cris whispered accusingly from beside, a smirk on her face.

My eyes found Ro again, watching as she smacked Josey up the side of the head before taking back the bra and underwear and stuffing them into the bag, her cheeks still flaming red.

"Of course not. I hate her and everything about her," I defended, my voice hard.

Cris snorted. "Even if you did hate her- which I don't think you do, by the way- that wouldn't necessarily stop you from thinking that she's hot."

"I hate her," I repeated, more to myself this time.

Cris shook her head at me. "Actually, I really don't think you do. I think that you're mad at your dad, but he's never around. So, you decided to take it out on the next best thing: one of his patients. I personally think that you're acting like a bratty little kid and you should really give Ro a chance. I think that you two would get along. I like her."

Ro was now scolding Jose, and telling him that he had no right to do what he'd done, but I could tell that she was honestly just really embarrassed. It was kind of cute.

"Maybe."

+++++++++++++++++

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