"Luke? Hey, dude you want some..."

Michael stopped and stared at the scene before him as he stepped into the hotel room. This was honestly the last thing he would think to see in Luke's room. He wasn't gonna say he didn't expect it though.

"Oh.." For some reason Michael saying 'oh' got Luke and Victoria's attention.

Luke craned his neck to see his friend standing astonished a few feet away from them and spread his lips into a lazy smirk,"Hey Mikey!"

Victoria made a point to roll her eyes and scoff, then gathered all of her arm strength to push onto Luke's chest and shove him off of her. The sound of Luke's grunt as he hit the floor satisfied her as she got up to her feet.

She blew past Michael's shoulder and stomped out of the room, fists clenched. You could still hear her as she stormed down the halls.

While Luke collected himself, Michael turned his head back to his friend and band mate to give him an incredulous look. "Okay..do you mind telling me what the fuck that was?"

Luke brushed himself off and spoke while eyeing his knees,"None of your buisness..that's what the fuck it was."

Michael shook his head and gestured to the path Victoria took to the door,"So if I hadn't come in what would've happened? Hmm?"

When Luke brought his head up to look at Michael he gave him a nasty glare. Now that Victoria had stomped out he had come to the realization, and it hurt him.

Luke's band mate shrugged off the dirty look and watched as he trudged over to the couch with his head downcast. There was a moment of silence, then Michael glanced out the hastily swung open door,"You gonna tell Fionna?"

"Fuck.." Another factor he needed to deal with. Luke sighed heavily and grabbed at a tuft of his hair so it was now sticking straight up. "I can't.." He finalized. "I can't tell her.."

"I'm not against you snogging with Tori..but..you know how Fi's gonna act."

Luke held his face in his hands and used the tips of his fingers to massage his forehead, as if that may calm him down.

"This shouldn't have happened. None of that should not have happened. Not her coming here, not her bringing a kid with her..not.." Luke was breaking and his voice showed it, almost dampened by his hands,"Not me kissing her.."

Michael began to see his friend almost crack, and it damn near broke his own heart. He leaned over to grab the door knob and close it for privacy then whipped his head around when Luke's voice raised an octave,"For fuck's sake why did she have to come here?" He was almost shouting, only one hand on his face and the other was held out in front of him to express himself. "Why now? Why ever?!"

"Luke.." Michael started to walk towards Luke but hesitated when Luke quickly got up to his feet.

His face was contorted into a painful face of hurt, anger and all sorts of negative emotions. The worse thing was to Luke was that he was fighting off tears he thought he'd already shed long ago.

"Just when I damn near forget about her, she waltzes her ass in here like nothing ever fucking happened! And with my kid.."

"You don't know if hes yours--"

Luke firmly shook his head and set his jaw,"He's five years old Michael. The dates match up..if I hadn't fucked her the night she left.."

He felt his blood begin to boil in anger, his vision was almost turning red so he shut his eyes and let two tears fall simultaneously out from under his eyelids.

"Michael..please. Leave."

His band mate just stared and shook his head,"No..Luke I--"

"I said leave!" Luke shouted and snapped his eyes open, allowing more tears to fall.

Michael knew Luke. He knew him well enough to know he hated feeling vulnerable anyways, especially in front of others. The two had a short stare off, then with a small huff of his flared nostrils Michael turned around and went on his way out the door. He even had the courtesy to close the swung open door.

Once he was gone, a stifled cry left Luke's mouth he had thought he'd snap shut. His lips were trembling too much to stay still and firm. He felt the seams of the corner of his mind that hid away Victoria begin to break away. Slowly, eyes shut tight, Luke dropped to his knees in front of the coffee table in the room and sat there.

After a few moments of silence and stillness, Luke began to curl up and hid his face in his knees. The only sound that was uttered was a sad and muffled,"Tori.."

---------------------

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"He fucking kissed me Amy! It wasn't my fault!"

Amy narrowed her eyelids at Victoria,"It doesn't matter who's fault it was! What does matter is that it happened, Victoria!"

"I-I didn't want to!..I-I.." Victoria lied through her teeth and grasped at her chest while sadly looking at her feet and leaning against the armoire of the hotel room.

"Oh, stop lying to yourself!" Amy scoffed rudely and waved her hand in a non specific direction.

"Amy!" Victoria shrieked, almost hysterically in tears at this point. Her feelings were so torn, and she had to think now, was Luke's?

"You know damn well you wanted his punk ass! You haven't gotten over him and coming here sure as hell didn't help those feelings! I honestly don't know why you even wanted to come here!"

Victoria gawked at her with wide eyes,"Because of our son, Amy!"

Amelia raised her voice and pushed herself off of the bed so she was now standing up in front of her friend. "Wouldn't you rather have him not know his father rather than him knowing that he was a stupid, poor as dirt skater punk?"

"I don't care!!" Victoria screeched in turn, fists both clenched as she leaned forward off the armoire. "I think Max deserves to know no matter what you think of Luke!"

Amy could've cared less if Victoria was inching closer and closer to her,"Don't you think the same?"

That's when Victoria could've snapped, she could've screamed and let out all of what she felt, but she didn't. Her son had peeked through the door at that instant and was frowning, not scared, but looking sad at both of the grown women.

"M..Mommy? What's wrong? Why you guys shouting?"

Both girls turned their heads to the small boy who was now out of the door and walking to them, a few of his action figures stuffed into his tiny fists.

Amy turned her gaze back to Victoria, her expression now neutral.  Victoria wanted nothing more than to look away from her so she did and kneeled down to Max's height and kissed her forehead,"Nothing's wrong sweetie..why don't you go back and play with your toys? Aunt Amy and I are--"

"You're crying Mommy..why you crying?" He simply asked, one of his hands outstretched as if to touch Victoria's face.

This made Victoria laugh a little. Touching his outstretched hand, she kissed her little boy's fingers and shook her head while wiping tears.

"I'll tell you later Max..okay? Now please..go play alright?"

The little boy gave her a quizzical look, pouting his bottom lip. It wasn't every day he saw his own mother cry. It confused him. But, like a good little boy, he would do what his mother had told him.

"Okey Mama." He mumbled and got on his tiptoes to kiss Victoria's cheek, then raced out of the room and back to the living space of the suite.

This left Amelia and Victoria both alone again. Victoria rose to  her feet and strayed from facing Amelia head on again. There was a chilling and at the same time heated, tight string of tension in the room.

"Vicky.." Amy started.

Torn, Victoria shook her head. She shoved down a few hiccups and moved her hand from her chest to her wrist to hold tightly,"I-I figured you'd be more supportive than this.."

While watching Victoria walk away, Amelia started to feel the painful, harrowing guilt that began to slide its way down to her gut. The worst part was she was left alone with it when Victoria shut the door to enter the living room and join her son. She frowned at the closed, oak door, and plopped down on the bed. Shifting through her head she held the sides of her face and just looked at  her knees, listening to the background noise that was the cartoon Max was watching in the other room.

----------------

"Mommy!" Max exclaimed with a toothy grin when he saw his mother enter the room. He sat straight up on the floor among all of his toys and a few crayons.

Victoria mirrored his smile as best she could, but she only mustered up a faint upward turn of her lips.

Almost unphased, but knowing something was wrong, Max kept smiling until Victoria had made her way to the couch behind him. She patted the cushion beside her gently, and in a flash Max had jumped up to that spot.

With the cartoon still going on, Victoria sighed and glanced at the screen before turning her head to her baby boy. She gently rubbed his soft head of blonde hair,"Baby..do you know who that man was earlier?"

Not even missing a beat, Max said,"He's my Daddy right?"

Victoria shivered while she took time to let her heart ache some more than nodded,"Y..yes..he is."

"I like him." Max said with some cheer, turning his head back to the TV screen as his legs began to kick back and forth. "He seems really nice. I like the pictures on his arms."

"Yeah.." Victoria whispered, more so to herself than her son.

"Is he gonna come live with us now?"

The question hung in the air than comfortably acceptable because Victoria blanked out into melancholy. Her body was trembling now.

When his mother hadn't given him an answer he became curious and tilted his head up at her. He spotted a few shiny streaks falling down both of her cheeks,"Mama..?"

Victoria whimpered, then sniffled. Her arms flung out to wrap  her little boy in her arms. Max adjusted quickly and settled his head in the crook of her neck, with the rest of his body curled up in her lap.

She held him tight, but not too tight. He was her treasure, her only treasure. She started to cry softly into Max's shoulder, her hand clutching the back of his head. Not fully understanding the situation, but knowing his mother was upset, Max curled up tighter,"It's okey Mama.."