"What's going on, kids, is everything alright?" Robin asked when they reached 24 Mountain Road. Penny tried to wipe her eyes and look presentable.

"Mar, why don't you take Penny to your room and I'll talk to mom and dad." Sebastian said.

Penny followed Maru in a daze. Everything felt...just awful.

This was more than a fight; she and her mom had had plenty of those. This was worse. Maybe much worse.

Penny took a shower and borrowed a change of clothes, and after a while she and Maru joined the family for dinner. Demetrius and Robin did their best to act normal; they were very kind and didn't ask any questions about what happened. Sebastian didn't say much, but he would pat her arm or hand every so often.

"Should we watch a movie?" Maru asked when they went back to her room. Penny couldn't remember what they watched, but it was nice to be distracted. She was more tired than she thought and managed to fall asleep quickly.

Robin made breakfast in the morning. In the light of day, Penny was able to act a little more herself and thank the family politely for letting her stay with them. Truly, she was incredibly grateful.

And behind all the painful memories of yesterday, her memories with Sebastian began to bleed through. He liked her, he cared about her, he wanted to date her.

"Could we talk, Penny?" Sebastian asked after they finished eating.

"Alright." Penny had been trying to offer to do the dishes, but he pulled her away.

They went outside and sat on a grassy ledge in front of his house. The morning view of the valley was beautiful. A layer of fog draped over the town, but they could see through it the oranges and pinks of the trees in all directions.

"You can stay here as long as you need," Sebastian said. "Someone can go get your stuff."

"Thank you." Penny twisted up her fingers. "But I think I need to talk to my mom today. I said some harsh things."

Sebastian bristled. "Harsh? What you said was nothing compared to—"

Penny put a hand on his leg. "I know, and I happen to agree with you. My mom can be...difficult. And I'm sorry especially for what she said about you. You didn't deserve it."

"Neither did you."

"No, but I understand why she said it." Penny sighed. "She thinks men are all like my dad. Her biggest fear is that I'll end up alone with a baby, like she did. She always wanted better for me, even if she didn't know how to get it."

Sebastian faltered as he answered. "Well I wouldn't...I mean, in that situation, I'd never just leave, or..."

Penny smiled. "We're getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we? I mean, we're not—we haven't even..." She made herself blush by bringing it up, and the tips of Sebastian's ears reddened.

"Um, anyway," Penny said. "Will you walk down with me? I'll be fine once I get there, but right now I need a bit of a push."

"Your wish is my command." Sebastian stood and helped her up, then jokingly pushed on her back toward the path.

"Perfect, thank you," Penny said with a small laugh.

She didn't hold his hand as they walked, though she would have liked to. But she was trying to tackle one emotional upheaval at a time, and for right now, she was focused on her mother.

"You can walk back if you like," she said as they reached the trailer.

"No, I'll wait," Sebastian said stoutly.

Penny pushed open the door.

Her mom was sitting by the phone. She hadn't put on her makeup. She looked...tired and small.

"Hi mom," Penny said.

Pam got up and came toward her. "Penny..."

"I slept at Maru's house."

"I know. Robin called me last night." Pam reached out for Penny's hands and petted them. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, sweetheart. You know I just worry about you."

Penny's throat constricted. "I know, mom. I'm sorry too."

"Now, you need to be honest with me, honey," Pam said sweetly, taking her time. "Are you pregnant? If you are, it'll be alright, we can sort it out."

"What?"

Pam continued, holding Penny's hands comfortingly. "Robin and her husband, I bet they've got a good chunk of money, and—"

Penny pulled her hands out of her mom's grasp. "No! What are you talking about?"

Her mom looked relieved, and didn't seem to notice the anger building in her daughter's face. "Oh, good. Thank goodness." She patted Penny's face, but Penny jerked away.

"Is that what you thought this was about?" Penny asked.

Pam didn't register the question; she just said, "I don't want you seeing that boy anymore. He's no good."

"You don't even know him!" Penny yelled.

Pam raised her tone in turn. "I know what I need to know. I know that his daddy was just like your daddy. I know that men like him don't care about nobody but themselves."

Penny could have screamed, but somehow she held it together, and spoke through gritted teeth. "You don't know what you're talking about. Sebastian is nothing like Dad. Or you. He doesn't drink, and he's got a good job. He's responsible and works hard, and he's got a real future."

Pam started to speak, but Penny didn't let her. "But that's not why I like him, mom!" she shouted. "He's kind and thoughtful and he gets me. He cares about me, and he's shown me in a hundred ways that he does." Penny was still angry, but her heart warmed as she spoke about Sebastian. "And he knows that I like him, but he has waited for me. And—and I don't want to wait anymore, I want to be with him!"

As Penny became more expressive, Pam burned in cold anger. "Do you think I didn't love your dad?" she said. "Do you think he didn't love me? You can have the greatest love in the world and still get left alone. Who's to say that boy won't end up just like his own dad, no matter what sweet words he's telling you now?"

"I don't care!" Penny shouted. "I don't care! If I knew that he would leave me tomorrow, or a year from now, or a decade from now, I still wouldn't care! It'd be worth it to me to spend today with him."

Pam became silent, and shuffled over to the couch.

"He's a good man, mom," Penny said more softly, but with no less strength.

Finally Pam spoke, and her voice came out weakly. "You've got such a bright future, kid. I don't want you to throw it away on some guy."

"I know. I won't." Penny's instinct was to move toward her mom, to comfort her. But she held back. As much as she understood her mother's intentions, Pam was wrong.

Penny had won this argument. She didn't win many, and for the first time she wasn't willing to sacrifice that just to make peace.

Instead, she asked, "How did you find out, anyway?"

"From what I heard," Pam said with a sigh, "Lewis saw him come out of the trailer and told Marnie. Marnie's little girl overheard her talking about it, and told that other kid, Sam's brother. Of course he told his mom, and Jodi came to me real concerned yesterday. Yoba, I've never been so surprised. You know, I thought you might lose your job over this."

Penny let out half a laugh. "Well, Jodi's always been a busy body, and Mayor Lewis needs to mind his own business. I don't care what they think."

The whole town would know by now. And so what? Let them talk. Jas and Vincent will probably tease her about it, and they wouldn't get much tutoring done this afternoon. But they'd move on soon enough, same as the rest of the town.

Penny sighed. "Next time, I hope you'll trust me."

Pam looked smaller even than when Penny had first come home. "Will you come home tonight? I won't give you a hard time no more."

"I will. But right now Sebastian's waiting outside for me."

Pam didn't say anything more, so Penny left her and went back out the door. A weight she hadn't known was there was lifted. She felt free.

Sebastian was leaning against the trailer with his hands in his pockets. He stood up straight when she came out, raising his eyebrows. Penny practically skipped towards him, smiling widely and hugging him around the neck.

"It went well, then?" Sebastian hugged her back around her waist.

"Not exactly, but it went how it needed to go. Could you overhear any of it?" Penny pulled back enough so she could see his face, resting her hands on his shoulders.

"Mmm...Do you want me to have overheard any of it?"

She smiled and tilted her head in indecision. "I guess not. Some of it I want to tell you myself some time."

"Good, because I couldn't hear a thing." Sebastian tapped the metal side of the trailer. "These walls are surprisingly thick."

She smiled at him and shook her head. "You probably have to work, now, don't you? It's gotten late."

"Work? Me? Never." Sebastian checked the time and changed his tune. "Shoot, you're right. Well, do you want to come back with me? You can hang out until you have to tutor. You left some stuff in Maru's room anyway."

"I thought you didn't like people around while you worked."

"Well, compared to some other friends of ours, you're a good deal less distracting."

"I'm not distracting?" Penny frowned in mock disappointment.

Sebastian coughed and avoided eye contact. "Well you are, but in a very very different way..."

Penny laughed, but then the door of the trailer opened. She stepped away from his arms.

Pam stood in the doorway and cleared her throat. She addressed Sebastian. "We, uh, got off on a bad foot, there, kid, and I'm sorry for it. Welp—" Pam thrust out her hand toward Sebastian.

He looked confused, but returned the handshake. "Thank you."

"Have a good day then, you two. See you later, Penny." Pam turned around and went back inside.

Penny and Sebastian both turned to each other.

"That was a bit awkward, sorry," Penny said.

He shrugged. "Could have been worse." He held his hand out to her, palm up. "Shall we?"

Penny took his hand gladly, intertwining her fingers with his; his skin was cold from standing outside. She rubbed his knuckles warm with her other hand, and they started back up the mountain.