"So, why'd we come up here again?"

They were sitting atop the carport, with a full view of everyone in the yard below them.  In one corner of the yard, too wrapped up in each other to notice anything else, were Juss and Allie, all happy hands and mouths. Hiding in another corner, behind the trunk of the cherry tree were Delia and Ian, deep in conversation and looking suspiciously close to cuddling. Nearby and lying uselessly in the grass was Harper, oblivious to the fact that little Chester had a mouthful of his sweater.

"To avoid Jo," came Seven's answer.

Nodding, Cherish looked back at the window they had climbed through. Behind it was a room that housed an array of stuff that belonged to both Ian and Seven. She had to admit she was quite curious; she couldn't help remembering the first time Seven found her at Ian's place. When she had asked what he was doing there, he had said he lived there.

Looking at him again and trying to figure him out, she asked, "What makes you think she won't find you here?"

"If I'm not down there with everyone else and I'm not in the room, then she assumes I'm out."

As if on cue, Joana's voice preceded her into the cool evening air of the yard, "Hey guys!" She paused as a couple of them casually replied, "So, is Seven working again or something? Is that why he's hardly around?"

There were a few noncommittal responses and, giving up she went back inside. Straining her hearing, Cherish could just barely hear Joana's feet thumping up the stairs and a door opening. The lights in the room they had come through turned on, and seconds later, off again. Seven raised an eyebrow; you see?

Cherish nodded, "So, I take it you're here a lot."

"I kind of live here," Seven muttered.

Leaning back so she was resting on her elbows, she peered into the fading orange glow of the sun, "I thought you lived with Jackie and all the fish?"

Seven grunted, a faint smile on his face, "Nah. That's my parent's place."

"Oh."

He glanced at her, a flitting action and then peered into the sun as she did. "Yeah well, they don't put up with me much. I've pretty much lived here since before ninth grade. AJ kicked me out and Jackie was too chicken-shit to argue."

Cherish nodded and closed her eyes as a cool breeze brushed over her. She felt Seven leaning back beside her and tucking his hands up under his head. As her hand had inevitably followed his, she took the opportunity to let her fingers mingle in his hair. It had been a fixation of hers for some time now, to see if it was as soft as it looked, and now she did it without at all being obvious.

He sighed heavily and somewhat shakily, "No one wants a messed up kid."

It was awkwardly quiet as his head rested on her hand and she flexed it gently, trying to move it to a more comfortable position. She didn't say anything; what was there to say? He sat up suddenly, shaking himself as if to wake up. Looking over the side of the carport, he called out to Ian, "You ready to get out of here?"

Cherish barely had a second to register what he said, nor hear Ian's reply as he was dragging her back through the window.

Ian and Juss barged into the room a moment later, both pulling shirts off as they did.  Cherish realised they intended to change whether she was there or not and so she turned her head aside lest she see body parts she didn't wish to see. After a few more seconds, Seven's words hit her. Ready to get out of here? As in they were going somewhere. Now Allie's outfit, much too overdressed for hanging out in Ian's backyard, made sense.

"Just out of curiosity, where are you going, and when were you planning on telling me?"

"Oh yeah," she could hear Seven's slow grin. "I forgot to tell you, we're going out tonight."

"Yeah, well, you're not; I have somewhere to go."

It appeared their truce was over.

Seven laughed, "Sorry to say this, but you're clearly outmatched here, Cherry. Besides we've had this planned for months."

She had expected at least a tiny bit of help from either of the other two, but instead they both agreed wholeheartedly with Seven, citing their excitement at this long awaited party.

"What makes you think I haven't had this planned for a long time?"

"Because we were all there when your friend called to tell you about whatever you have to go to."

She frowned, they were right, "Well, why couldn't you tell me this earlier when I told Cash I'd see him later?"

Seven shrugged as he struggled with getting a new shirt on; he'd had no trouble getting the other one off. Cherish clicked her tongue in irritation and grabbed the shirt from him to help him put it on . They all looked at her, amused at the way she helped, though she clearly wanted to hit him.

As they dragged her out of the house and to her car, she grumbled vehemently under her breath about wasting time lying around she could have been warned or allowed to get dressed.

-.-

The long gravelly road was so deserted it seemed impossible that a big party was going on anywhere nearby. But sure enough, Seven turned the car into a tiny space between the trees where two dirt tracks peeked out from the underbrush. Cherish's car had been the unanimous decision as Seven's truck did not comfortably seat five and it was a long drive. They had been driving for nearly two hours before Seven swung the car into the woods. As the trees thinned, they found themselves in a clearing surrounded by lots of cars. Beyond the cars and the roped off parking lot, was a barn from which loud music was blaring.

In the lot however, were small mobs of guys admiring some of the better cars. Cherish grinned as a group of them approached her car appreciatively while Seven parked.

"Niiiiiiice," someone drawled as Seven got out.

"Great car man!"

Seven nodded as he handed the keys back to Cherish, "Her car."

The guys looked at her as she climbed from the car, their eyes widening in surprise when they finally placed her, "Malice!"

Before she was able to respond, Seven dragged her away, skirting her clear around the guys.

Ian bounced to her side, a wide grin on his face, "I would tell you to be careful with the guys around here, but it would appear you already know."

Cherish smiled and giving him a tiny nod of acknowledgment. As they neared the barn, people stopped their conversations to look at them.

"What?" Seven growled to a couple of guys they passed. A medium build boy in a tight fitting white shirt stepped away from the fence and narrowed his eyes at Cherish, a small smirk lighting his face. "Nothing."

Angered by the boy's attention to Cherish, Seven shoved her roughly behind himself, "Don't talk to anyone," he muttered to her. "I came here to party, not to keep an eye on you."

"I'll talk to whoever..."

"Do I need to remind you what happened the last time you partied with us?"

The words silenced her and she looked appropriately sheepish.

"Malice!"

Cherish spun around to see a girl a little taller than herself hurtling out of the barn and across the space between them. It took her a moment to identify that the long curly bombshell hair was Audrey's even though it was now dyed platinum-blonde. She threw her arms open and braced herself for the force of Audrey's hug. It didn't come. Instead Audrey stopped just short of colliding with her and cocked her head to one side, "You cannot be dressed like that."

Cherish laughed at Audrey's blunt remark and the utter confusion of the friends she had come with. Rolling her blue, blue eyes, Audrey grabbed Cherish by the hand, "Good thing you messaged me earlier."

Seven stared in surprise at Cherish as Audrey dragged them around the side of the barn to where a small tent was set up alongside a beat up truck. "You boys wait out here," Audrey commanded, and then noticed Allie. "You, Chèrie, I could use your help."

When Seven inevitably followed them into the tent, she looked at him as if he were stupid, "Ay-oy, I told you to wait outside!"

"It's okay Audrey, he's kind of stuck to me."

Audrey eyed the handcuffs distastefully and then shrugged, "D'accord." Emptying her purse, she turned it over Seven's head and began her work. "Chèrie," she said absently to Allie, "pick something for her to wear."

As Audrey combed through her hair, Cherish looked around and smiled; the tent covered the back end of the truck, and the truck bed was stocked with boxes of her clothing. A makeshift store. Audrey followed her gaze and grinned, "Oui, we are selling out of Jeb's truck. Sit still, will you?"

"Rish, how about you wear this?"

Audrey looked over her shoulder and shook her head, "That is not Malice."

"Why does she call you Malice, Rish?"

Cherish smiled, "I'll explain it later, Allie. That one, over there- I'll wear that."

"D'accord. Now, Allie, please wait outside with the boys."

Within fifteen minutes, Audrey sat back and admired her work. Dragging a long skinny mirror out of the truck bed, she held it out in front of Cherish. As she looked into the glass, Cherish saw herself squeezed into a halter bustier that ended where her rib cage did, leaving her entire midsection vulnerably bare above the top of her pants. The neckline was low cut, dipping in the center, leaving her homage to Len open to the eye. She had traded in her tattered running shoes for a pair of four inch patent leather pumps with peek-a-boo toes; a pair of Audrey's.

She smiled as she smoothed the top down. She had been tempted to throw a sweater over top because of the cool breeze, but now she decided to bear the slight chill and show off her ink.

"Here," Audrey handed her a button up cardigan. "It will get cold later, but if I know you, you won't even wear it."

"Uh, can I take this bag off my head now?"

Audrey giggled and instructed him to close his eyes before she yanked the purse from his head. She replaced all her things in the bag, locked up Jeb's truck and pushed them both from the tent.

"Holy Shit!"

"Woah!"

"What? Can I open my eyes yet?"

Cherish laughed, and followed Audrey back to the entrance of the barn. She could feel the eyes of the dumbstruck boys and Allie on her as she walked. From the way Seven was stumbling along behind her, she assumed he still had his eyes closed. "You can open your eyes, you know."

He didn't say anything for some time, but as she leaned against the big open doorway of the barn, she found his staring quite awkward.

"Wow."

She frowned. That definitely was not the reaction she had been expecting. She wanted to gloat about the fact that they had all pegged her completely wrong. She wanted to gloat about the fact that he thought she was drop dead gorgeous. She wanted him to have to take back every comment he had ever made about her, and her body, and feel like the idiot he was. But what she got instead was a very lack luster 'wow'.

Audrey smiled warmly, squeezing her side and looking at her in admiration. "I'm so glad you came. You're red again!" she squealed. Red? Cherish looked at her, unsure of what to say.

"You know what I mean, non?"

"No."

"After Len... you lost all your colour. You were like Black Cherry... now you're Red Cherry again!"

She supposed it was true. Very true. She felt awkward for the fact that Seven and the others were there to have heard that assessment of her attitude and behaviour of the past few months. Though for their part, they all pretended not to notice, or maybe they really didn't for all their gawking at her.

"When did you get all that done?" Juss motioned to the lines inked all over her.

"Past five years," she shrugged as if it were nothing.

"How come we never noticed?"

"Didn't want anyone to see."

"So how come you don't care now?"

"Because, Cherry Malice is back!" Ian grinned.

Cherish stared at him in shock, "You knew?"

Ian's grin only grew as the others gave him the same confused incredulous look. He didn't get a chance to explain, however.

Cherish suddenly ran across the barn, jumping mouth first onto a tall skinny guy, "Babe!"

"Hey Sweets!" He laughed, as he looked over her shoulder, "Hey guys, I'm Jeb."

As her new friends and old friend talked, Cherish looked around and soaked in the scene she had been so long removed from. It was awkward seeing her two worlds collide; her past and her present.

"So, Sweets, is there any reason you're cuffed to Seven?"

"Ari."

Jeb was puzzled she could tell; if there was one thing all her old friends knew it was that Ari McKinley did not like them or their appearances. She would rather handcuff her sister to a known killer if he was clean cut, than stick her to anyone that looked like them.

"But..."

"Trust me, you really don't want to know."

He nodded and shrugged it off with a laugh, "So, I hear you've been cheating on me with Cash."

"Oh, Jeb, you really do need to stop fooling yourself. Cash has always been first."

* Title song is by The Cramps