Plans were made to be broken. Katie still had to find a way to seduce the lady guard, and James had to find a way to make them all look like guys. As everyone gave Katie a crash course in fashion for lesbian seduction, James went online to find cheap male makeup sites.

Bella found herself alone in the astronomy tower one evening. Astronomy had been her favorite class during her second year at Olympic National Academy. She remembered that she would study in the astronomy tower, especially after finding out that she was pregnant with Mike's baby. As part of the adoption agreement, she was allowed to see pictures of her son, and write him letters, and see him during summer vacation. She'd also been permitted to name him, and she'd called him Geoffrey, after her paternal grandfather.

She peered out the window at the stars. One shot across the sky, and she shut her eyes in a quick wish. She then sat on the window seat when her wish had been completed, and let out a sigh. She took out her latest letter from Liam and Maggie O'Leary—the lovely couple who had graciously adopted Geoffrey. It reported that he was in excellent health, and was beginning to crawl around the house. She slowly took out the picture from the letter, and allowed her eyes to fill up to the brim with tears. He looked just like Mike.

She remembered confessing to her parents that she was pregnant, and how the look of disappointment had drifted from one face to the next. Her mother, Renee, and stepfather, Phil, had learned about it over Skype, as they lived in Jacksonville; her father, Charlie, whom she lived with in Forks when not in school, was the local police chief, and very disappointed in his daughter; Bella ruefully thought it was high time her three parental figures agreed on something, no matter how negatory it was.

Since Bella hadn't figured out her pregnancy until the summer holidays, it was too late to get rid of the baby, and there was no chance in hell any of them would let her keep it. A lump had formed in her throat when she'd told them that she'd already found a wonderful family for her child. They looked dismayed nonetheless, as if they wondered if she was truly competent enough to carry a child. But nothing had really been said more about the subject, thankfully.

She'd spent her summer giving into cravings, writing stories, and going to her pregnancy appointments. She'd found out about having a boy within sixteen weeks, and her heart filled with pride as she looked at the sonogram. It had also filled with slight disappointment, because she wanted to separate as much as she could from her night with Mike. It was humiliating to think about, especially considering that he said he was still gay after sex.

She smacked herself in the head, bringing her back to the present. She was raised to know that there was nothing wrong with a person if they were gay or black or whatever. She was just so intent—and so drunk and so high—on losing her virginity that evening, at that moment, that she didn't see any consequences coming her way at all. Not the next day, not the next month, not even the next year. Her mind had drawn a complete blank, and had stayed that way until Mike had gone in—

"Don't even think about it," Bella said through gritted teeth. "It wasn't even that good, you know that. Forget it, now."

Rain had started to fall outside the high windows, covering the cedar and fir trees, as well as the grass. Bella touched the window, and didn't flinch back from the coldness it brought to her fingers. She remembered the look in Mike's eyes—almost as if he didn't want to be there, at that party, with her...

"Of course he didn't," Bella said out loud, pulling away from the window. "Who would want to be with you anyway?" She stared at her reflection in the window—her hair a wavy mess; lips parted slightly; eyes wide in sadness—and quickly looked away. "You're hideous, you know that..."

She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head against them.

"Don't forget it," she whispered to herself.

~*~

In the weeks that followed, Bella noticed more than usual that a girl named Lauren was constantly staring at her. They had study hall, American Literature, and homeroom together; they would also walk many of the same halls between classes. Bella couldn't fathom why Lauren constantly seemed to be watching her, but she wasn't about to just find out.

She was a little freaked out by the attention. She confided in her journal, which she would only write in the astronomy tower during full moons. The full moon meant that everything was different, and that anything could happen. She nibbled at her lip during biotech as she took her notes, and again, tried to fathom why on earth Lauren was showing an interest in her.

"Bella!"

Bella quickly looked up. "Yes, Mrs. Goff?" she asked.

Mrs. Goff smiled sympathetically. "I was simply making sure that you were paying attention," she replied.

"I am," Bella said, and quickly returned to her notes.

It seemed that the teacher's efforts at teaching were suddenly returning with a vengeance. Bella was still unsure if she was all right with that.

Her thoughts soon drifted to Lauren again. And this time, there was only one question on her mind: What did she want with her?

~*~

Lauren hadn't been a student at Olympic National Academy long, but she'd soon fit in with the the clique that somehow seemed to rule the school. She was very taken with Bella—one of the main members—in particular. She would constantly see Bella writing a story or something of that nature, and always want to be a part of it. She had a shy disposition though, so it was quite difficult to ask such a thing, at first.

She came upon Bella sitting alone one afternoon in the library. She was perplexed at that, but soon realized that this was an opportunity. Lauren felt her spirits rising as she crossed the carpeted floor of the library and walked over to the computer cubical where Bella sat. She pulled up a chair and sat next to her, and couldn't believe the next word out of her mouth. "Hi," she said breathlessly.

Bella turned, quickly seeing Lauren. "Hi," she replied.

Lauren pushed her silky blonde hair behind her ear. "So...are you working on any stories?" she asked.

"Didn't your roommate throw you out?" Bella asked.

Lauren lushed. "Yes," she said.

"Why?" asked Bella.

"I was too quiet," she whispered.

Bella laughed. "Jane moved out a week ago," she said, mentioning a child prodigy who had been accepted into the University of Washington. "We have an extra bed in there if you want it."

Lauren gasped. "You mean that?"

"I do," Bella said. She turned back to her notes for biotech.

"Biotech?" asked Lauren.

"Yep," Bella said.

"With Mrs. Goff?" she asked.

Bella nodded. "Yes."

Lauren pulled out her more extensive notes. "I have her fourth," she said, and handed over the papers.

Bella smiled. "Thanks," she said, taking them.

Lauren nodded and slung her bag over her shoulder. "So I guess... See you at the room later?" she asked.

Bella nodded back. "Do you need the number?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lauren said with a grin.

"411," she replied.

Lauren nodded. "Okay." She scribbled on a piece of paper.

"What?" asked Bella.

"My cell...in case I get lost," she said quickly.

Bella took the paper. "You mean...if I lose your biotech notes?"

"Right," Lauren said quickly, trying not to blush.

Bella got back to the room at three-thirty. She let herself in and saw Alice on her bed, headphones in her ears, and her marine biology notes in front of her. Bella nodded at her and placed her bag down by her bed. She got out her notes for biotech, along with Lauren's. She quickly remembered what had transpired between them in the library, and quickly texted Alice about it.

Alice's phone buzzed and she looked down at it. She gave a quick look to Bella and gave her a thumbs up.

There was a knock at the door and Bella went to answer it. Lauren stood there, a suitcase behind her and a duffel bag draped over her arm. "Hi," she said, a quick grin coming to her face.

"Come in," said Bella.

Lauren came inside the room and crossed to the bed by the window with nothing of personal value by it. She put her things down and sat, looking around. "I guess you have more than one person staying here," she said.

"Well, there's Alice," Bella said, nodding at Alice. "And Angela, Jessica, Katie..."

Lauren nodded. "Full house," she said.

"Except no scary dad," replied Bella.

James came out of the bathroom then, wearing nothing but a towel. "We're out of conditioner again," he said as he dried out his ears.

Lauren stood up. "One of your boyfriends?" she asked.

James grabbed a table lamp and covered his upper body. "Bella...who the hell is this?!" he demanded.

"James, this is Lauren," said Bella slowly. "Lauren, I should've told you...this is Victoria, who just moved in."

Lauren looked back and forth between them. "But you just called him..."

"He's technically both," said Alice, removing her headphones, remaining utterly unfazed by the situation.

"Have you ever wanted to see Tillicum Park Prep?" asked Bella.

Lauren blinked. "What?"

"Tillicum Park Prep," Bella repeated. "The boys' school..."

Lauren nodded. "No, I know."

"What's the matter?" asked Bella.

Lauren looked away from all of them. "James's...exposed," she said, blushing up and down her face and into her neck.

"Sorry," James said, and quickly returned into the bathroom.

Once Angela, Jessica, and Katie had returned from their classes, yelled at Bella for not consulting them about a replacement for Jane, calmed down and apologized, and been introduced to Lauren, everything was totally and completely smooth sailing. Angela and Jessica had taken a particular liking to their new dorm mate, and had invited her to play princesses with them; a game which Bella believed to be laughable and childish.

There was a full moon that night, giving Bella a reason to slip away. She took her journal and her latest letter from the O'Leary's up to the astronomy tower, and thankfully it was deserted. Her watch said nine, and she knew that the moon would be by at any time. She sat cross-legged on the window seat and opened her letter. She read quickly that Geoffrey had peed on the doctor—something Mrs. O'Leary thought was wildly funny—but something that annoyed Bella. How dare they pollute the page with the embarrassing bodily functions of her son!

She began writing in her journal when she heard a noise. Upon turning around, she saw Lauren standing there.

"Hi," said Lauren.

"Um...hi," replied Bella.

Lauren came into the tower and sat across from Bella. "Alice told me that you come up here," she said quietly. "So I thought I'd come and see it for myself, you know..."

Bella looked away. "Yeah," she said.

Lauren looked down. "Is that your baby cousin or something?" she asked, smiling at the picture of Geoffrey. "He's got your eyes."

"Not my cousin," Bella said quickly, shoving it back into the envelope.

"Oh," said Lauren. "Then...?"

"It's my son," Bella said quietly.

Lauren's eyes widened. "But..."

"What?" asked Bella.

"Nothing, I just thought...you didn't like..."

"Men?" asked Bella, letting out a snort. "No, I love men. Just not Geoffrey's father," she said gravely.

"And who's...?"

"Mike, the quarterback and captain of the football team over at Tillicum Park Prep," she answered.

"Why don't you like him?" Lauren wanted to know.

Bella shrugged. "Because the only reason I slept with him is because I wanted to lose my virginity and because he wanted to make sure he was straight."

"And was he straight?" asked Lauren.

"No, he's dating James," Bella replied.

Lauren's eyes widened. "Wow," she said. "That can't be easy for you."

Bella shrugged. "Life is hard."

"Have you ever considered...?"

"What?" asked Bella.

"...the alternative to men...?"

Bella's eyebrows knitted together. "I'm not really sure I follow you."

Lauren sighed. "It's nothing..."

"What?" asked Bella. "You can tell me."

She shrugged. "It might mess it up."

"Mess what up?" demanded Bella.

"Our friendship... I mean, we are friends, right?"

Bella grinned. "Sure we are," she said.

"Well...this might mess it up..."

"Can you explain, or show me, what you mean?" asked Bella, feeling totally in the dark at this point.

Lauren sighed. "Okay," she said quietly. She leaned in and—

Bella immediately pulled away. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," she said, standing up and backing away, arms outstretched. "What are you doing?"

"I was just showing you..."

"Are you gay?" asked Bella.

Lauren sighed. "Well, I like both..."

"Well, that's fine, but I just like guys," she said, grabbing her things and quickly running out of there.

~*~

Bella ran back to the room. She hid her things before anyone saw them and grabbed Alice by the arm. "We need to talk," she said, and pulled her into the bathroom and locked the door.

"What's up?" asked Alice.

She hesitated, quickly locking the door. "You told Lauren where I like to go during the full moon!" cried Bella.

Alice shrugged. "I didn't think you'd care... Why do you have lipstick on your cheek?" she asked.

Bella blushed. "Because 'I didn't think you'd care' tried to kiss me!" she cried out, shaking her head at Alice.

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?" she asked.

"I am dead serious," Bella said, turning to the mirror and washing it all off of her face, her blush constant.

"What'll you do?" asked Alice.

"I don't know," Bella admitted.