Cherish giggled where she sat, feeling rather silly for doing it because she was alone in her room. There were unfurled rolls of wrapping paper all over the place, not to mention the bows and ribbons scattering the floor. She was perched atop a pillow in the middle of the mess, singing along to the music blasting from her laptop. Beside her were the bags she'd bought home from her shopping trip, each one holding a Christmas present that would soon be covered in the paper she sat amidst.

The wrapping mess had been something she and Len had started in the third grade, the first year they'd begun buying Christmas presents for friends and family members with their allowances. It usually ended up that there'd be more paper, tape and bows on both of them than were on the presents they were wrapping.

Cherish sighed happily and pulled the first gift from its bag and held it out in front of her. It was the new pair of jeans she'd bought for Harper, since most of his existing pairs had gone through some sort of hell over the summer months and now were doing little to keep out the cold as full of holes as they were. If he were to keep wearing them, he might be held responsible for the scandalizing of many a younger student.

She scanned the mess of papers, selected one and bundled the jeans into it; gift wrapping had never been her thing. That had been Len's job; it was always more than apparent to people when a gift had come from Cherish. It usually looked like it had been chewed up by some mammoth sized animal before falling into the hands of the intended gift receiver.

Admiring her less than attractive job, she set it down on the bed behind her, and repeated the process till she had them all done. Sighing, she looked at the four gifts sitting on her bed and smiled. She tacked a bow onto each one, and to each bow a tag with the fancy writing that Len had always begged her to do on the labels because she was so good at it.

Now that the gifts were done with, and the wrapping things cleaned up, Cherish put away the things she had bought for herself. Then she tackled the mess of empty bags and tags that was left on her floor, stuffing all the garbage into one of the bags. Picking up the bag from the lingerie store, she found it peculiar that there was something still in it. She had already gone through everything she'd bought.

Sitting on her bed, Cherish turned the bag over and was surprised when the babydoll she'd tried on tumbled out of it. She checked her bill and sure enough, the babydoll was not on it. With a sigh, she stuffed it back into the bag; she could not believe the cashier would be so stupid as to give it to her accidentally. Then again with all the fuss Chester had been making, it wasn't all that unbelievable. Grabbing her jacket, she bounced down the stairs intent on fixing the mistake the cashier had made.

It was already dark out by the time she reached the mall again, only five'o'clock and pitch black. Oh the joys of daylight savings. Pulling her jacket closer around her, she hurried through the dark parking lot and into the mall. She made a beeline for La Senza, and plunked her bag on the counter. "I think you made a mistake," she told the cashier who was thankfully the same lady she'd dealt with earlier.

The lady blinked at her, "I'm sorry? What mistake?"

Cherish opened her bag and pulled out her receipt, "You didn't charge me for the babydoll but you put it in my bag."

The manager's head snapped in their direction, and the cashier flushed in what Cherish saw as annoyance. "Oh that. It was paid for. No mistake."

"But... I didn't pay for it."

"Your... you didn't open it did you?" When Cherish only stared in confusion at the lady, she smiled genuinely. "Unfold it."

Cherish unfolded the babydoll as she was told and found a La Senza bra club card folded into it. Picking it up, she held it out to the cashier with a perplexed expression; the cashier sighed and turned the card over in her hand. On the top side of the card was a writing she knew all too well by now.

"Your husband bought it for you."

Cherish flushed as she simultaneously heard the lady's words and read the card; it was a shame to let it gather dust on the shelf, when it looked so good on you.

"He's not... um... can you please just take it back?"

"Do you have the receipt?"

"No. I just told you. It's not on my receipt!"

"Well then I can't return it," the lady was beginning to sound snotty.

Cherish glared at her and then sighed, "Fine!"

Rolling the bag up and stuffing it under her arm Cherish stomped out of the store rather childishly. She was so angry that she forgot to be scared of the dark and barely populated parking lot. She was so angry that she forgot to think before driving all the way to Ian's house and barging in the front door as if she owned the place.

In fact, she was so angry she didn't stop to think until after she had stalked downstairs to where she heard Seven and Ian laughing, brandishing the babydoll in her hand as if it were evidence to some crime.

"What the heck, Seven? You can't just buy me this... this... thing! It's so weird!"

Only when she was faced with the blinking eyes of not only Seven and Ian, but Liz, Joana and two more of their friends did she realise that maybe waving a see through babydoll around was not a good idea. Not when it pertained to the comment she had just thrown at Seven along with the babydoll and the little card that spilled out of it.

She flicked her eyes momentarily to Joana who had noticed the card, lying face up on the floor between Seven and Cherish. She could read the words and she looked about ready to tear Cherish to shreds. Flushing a myriad of reds, Cherish turned sharply on her heel and ducked out of the room before all hell broke loose.

"You're buying her lingerie??!!"

Cherish cringed when she heard both Ian and Joana burst out at the same time. Oh how she wished she was in possession of better logic. It would save her the embarrassment of embarrassment. It might have saved Seven too.

She was surprised when it was Ian who stopped her in the driveway, the babydoll scrunched up in his hand. His face was red and he paused a moment to take a deep breath, dropping the babydoll in her hands awkwardly and looking away from it instantly.

"Seven says he's sorry if it was weird, and that he didn't mean anything by it, except you wanted it and said you couldn't afford it so he bought it for you. He says if it makes you feel better you can pay him back for it after Christmas."

"Is Seven capable of speaking for himself?" she frowned when she realised what she'd said. Ian looked shocked for a split second, then nodded at her and went back inside without another word, and it was too late for her to take it back. Cherish cursed herself, wondering if she should turn and go home, or if she should wait and hear the same thing again from Seven's mouth. Staying might be a better idea, because maybe...

"What, you didn't believe Ian?" Maybe leaving would have been a better idea. Seven was staring down at her with his hard green eyes, a straight expression on his face. She almost wished he was teasing her, so she could react some way. She wasn't sure how to handle this.

Joana's livid face appearing in the window gave her a push and she looked up into his face with a grin, "Wow, Joana let you live?"

He glanced momentarily at the window and chuckled, "Uh, yeah. I think she was about to kill me when Ian dragged me out here."

"So she didn't buy your explanation either?"

"What's there to buy?" he asked with an innocent look on his face. Cherish crossed her arms and raised a brow at him before turning away from the house and sitting heavily on the front of her car. With a sigh, Seven sat beside her, "I had to say something, I think Ian was about to take my head off with his fork."

"I doubt he believed you."

"I don't think so, but it was either he come up and tell you that, or kill the only other sane person in the house."

"What makes you think that's you? Personally I think Mickey wins that prize."

"You know," he cocked his head to one side thoughtfully, "I think you're right."

Cherish laughed softly, "I know I'm right."

Seven looked down at the babydoll in her hands and blushed, "Listen, I don't know why I did it, but, I just did it, okay? And now it occurs to me that it might have been about the stupidest thing I've ever done, especially since you asked Ian to make me leave you alone. So I'm sorry."

"Just so you know, it's a weird thing to do."

"Uh... you think?"

"Uh, you think?"

Seven chuckled when she shot his words back at him, "Clearly, no I didn't."

"Not with your brain anyways. Oh well, it's done"

He stared at her as if she'd sprung an extra head suddenly, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Um... well... E... Ian... Uh...?"

"Let me guess, Ian said? And what Ian said makes what I just said weird?"

"Yeah."

Seven looked very uncomfortable in that moment, like he was making things awkward for more people than he cared to. Cherish rolled her eyes, "Would it be better if I got mad at you and stormed off yelling about how I can't trust you because you're a guy and you think with your dick and then didn't talk to you for another month? Because I can do that if it'll make things less awkward."

He was taken aback, that much was obvious in the way he looked at her, but there was also a tiny bit of hurt mixed in with the shock. "Please don't."

Cherish nodded with an air of finality, "That's what I thought."

With a smirk, Seven mimicked her curt nod and flushed when she thwacked him with the baby doll. "Uh, yeah. You don't have to keep it you know, you can take it back to the store."

"I already tried that. The stupid cashier said I couldn't return it without the receipt."

"Oh. Right. If you want, I can take it back."

"Nah. I think I'll keep it," she hoped she wasn't blushing, and if she was maybe it would look like it was just because she was cold. "So apparently, I look old... the lady thought you were my husband."

He laughed, hard at first and then awkwardly, "That would mean I look old too.  But she wasn't the only one who thought something like that today. This is why we don't take Chester shopping with us."

"What makes you think I'm ever taking you shopping with me again?" The fact that she hadn't actually taken him shopping with her was besides the point. 

"But everyone at the mall will think I've abandoned you."

"I'm sure that would work fine for you, with all the cashiers lining up for you," Cherish accused with a laugh.

Seven grinned, "But the old ladies will think I'm a jerk!"

"And it serves you right!" she smacked him again. "Abandoning your baby momma!"

"I refuse to have the old ladies hating me because you decided to ditch me," Seven proclaimed in mock indignation, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at her with a barely concealed smirk.

The conversation which was weird to begin with, was only getting stranger, but Cherish rolled her eyes and played along, turning on him and playfully poking his chest. "Well they might not, if you weren't too proud to let everyone know it was me who left you!" From the corner of her eye, Cherish could see Joana still in the window.

"Why would I want to do that? I'm the man, I do the leaving."

"I see how it is!" Cherish grinned. "If that's how you see it then, I'm sorry, I have to leave." She got up off her car and pulled her keys out of her pocket, intent on leaving the conversation that way. A joke was the best way to end this almightily strange conversation. But Seven was apparently not about to let her have the last word. No, not at all.

He got down on his knees, grabbed the edge of her jacket and yanked her back, "No! Take me back! We can work it out! I can change!!!!!"

Of course, from the window where Joana and her friends were watching, their entire conversation would have looked like an argument. It might even have appeared to be going in Joana's favour. Now however, Joana was attempting to barge out of the house, and Liz and another girl were holding her back. "Uh. Yeah, whatever. Do you want to get up now? Joana's about to go on a rampage."

"Shit. I shouldn't have done that," Seven chanced a glance at the house and winced.

"Mmm. You, uh, want to get out of here now?"

"Please."

She was glad at least that asking that question wasn't awkward, as it might have been if Joanne wasn't freaking out. She would have to thank Joanne for that someday. Seven was soon sitting beside her in her car as she pulled away from Ian's house, and somehow it felt normal. "Where to, Bunny?"

He watched her driving for a silent moment and then closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "Well, you kind of interrupted my dinner, Pumpkin."

"So, dinner it is."

They were quiet for some time, Cherish just driving aimlessly, "So, where to, Bunny?"

He opened one eye and looked at her, "Food. Hungry."

"Where, Genius?"

"Oh. Right. Anywhere. Seriously I don't think anything could live up to Pam's Mexican night anyways."

Cherish grinned and swerved her car down the next street, "What the hell, Rish? Are you trying to kill us?"

"No. We're going for Mexican."

-.-

"Good choice."

Cherish grinned at Seven over her giant chimichanga, "I told you it was the best." Within what barely seemed like five minutes, Cherish stared in shock at Seven's plate and the lack of food on it. "How in the world did you manage to do that?"

"What? I was hungry!" he proclaimed, while lazily stretching out and sliding lower in his chair.

Cherish tensed only slightly when his leg brushed hers, but didn't bother moving for fear of making things awkward again. Seven's arms were now stretched across the small table, resting on either side of her plate, and he was fiddling with the small tea light candle. She watched him run his fingers through the flame numerous times, hypnotically fixated on the bright flicker.

"Doesn't that burn?"

"No. Here, try it," he tipped the candle towards her.

"I don't believe you," she was skeptical and pulled her arm away from the flame that he was inching closer to her hand.

"It doesn't even feel like anything if you do it right," he smirked as he set the candle down. "I'll show you."

Cherish held her breath as Seven took her hand and ran both their fingers through the flame, and sure enough she felt nothing. He smirked at the comical 'O' her mouth made, "See?"

She jumped, pulling her fingers from Seven's when her phone went into a violent fit of beeping and vibrating. She was a little flushed when she peered at the message that she had just received.

Just got a call from Juss who got a call from Ian... Seven bought you lingerie? The hell? What's going on? Why didn't you tell me?

"Oh no."

"What?" Seven asked in concern.

Cherish smirked awkwardly, "Nothing important really, but you should be a little worried."

"Why?"

"Ian called Juss and Juss called Allie. And I'm only guessing that if he called Juss then he called Delia too, and Delia might have called my sister, and um..." she trailed off turning a little red.

"Aww, Fuck." He thumped his head on the table momentarily before peeking up at her, "From Allie? What does it say?"

"Yeah. Uh she just wanted to know why I didn't tell her."

"Why didn't you tell her?"

"I was kind of more interested in returning it when I thought the cashier made a mistake. And then when she was being stupid and wouldn't return it I was kind of more occupied with finding you and stuffing it in your mouth."

"Um, kind of happy you didn't!"

"Yeah, well I didn't think I'd have a huge audience."

"Again, kind of glad you did."

Cherish grinned and stuffed her face with some more rice to prevent the conversation from getting any longer or weirder like the last one had. Her phone buzzed again, another message from Allie, this time wondering why Cherish wasn't responding and where she was. Cherish looked apologetically at Seven as she tapped out a reply to Allie.

Eating dinner. Ttyl.

With who?

She didn't reply; unsure of whether or not to share details with Allie when she knew Allie was holding out on her.  What was going on with Juss and with David?  She wasn't even sure she really wanted to know, because then she'd probably feel the need to say something.  She was sure she was reading way more into the morally ambiguous situation than she should have been.

"What's up?" Seven asked quietly, noticing her scowl.

She flicked her eyes up to him in surprise, "Hmm?"

"You look pretty pissed off. Did I say something?"

"No. Just..." she shifted in her seat and nudged at the remaining rice on her plate. She dropped her fork and looked up at him, "Okay. I don't know what to do. I'm good friends with both the guy and the girl, and I know something that I should tell but can't because one of them made me swear not to. I said I'd stay quiet, but it's really killing me and I know it's going to be a huge mess."

"Who...?" Seven began to ask but Cherish shook her head vigorously.

"Not important at all, let's just call them Cindy and Pat. I just want to know what you'd do if you knew that one of your friends was potentially cheating on another one of your friends with their ex."

"Is it one of my friends?" he asked carefully.

Cherish had to force herself not to shake her head, she was lying enough as it was. "One of my friends."

"I dunno," he shrugged lightly. "It depends on which one of them I'm closer to. Or I'd just stay out of it and let them figure it out."

"But what if the one being potentially cheated on finds out you knew?"

"Well then you say you didn't know. You said potentially, which means you aren't even sure yourself, right?"

"Yeah.  I guess.  They're only kind of together anyways, so... So I shouldn't say anything?"

"Kind of?" he laughed.  "And no, don't say anything.  Unless you're absolutely sure that kind of is actually, and potentially is.  Make sense?"

It shouldn't have made any sense, the jumble of words he said, but Cherish nodded as she plucked up her ringing phone, "Fine.  Thanks."

"No problem, Pumpkin," Seven smirked as she answered it.

"Cherish? Where are you? And is that Seven I hear in the background?" Seven chuckled outwardly when he heard Allie's voice bursting through the tinny speakers of the phone.

Cherish rolled her eyes again, "Hi Allie. I went out for dinner. I told you I'd call you later."

"But... Rish! You can't leave me hanging like this. Are you eating dinner with Sev? Ian said he took off after you went over there."

Before Cherish could respond, Seven slid the phone from her hand, and clicked the speakerphone button, "Hey Allie, what's up?"

"Oh, Hi, Sev!" she said loudly, too obviously; she was with Ian and Juss and they were all wondering what was going on.

Seven grinned holding the phone away from Cherish's reach, "D'you think maybe you could call back later. We're kind of, um, busy right now."

Cherish's jaw dropped and she lunged for the phone, desperate to keep him from saying anything else that Allie might misconstrue. Of course he let her have the phone; it didn't matter since he had already hung up.

"Sev!" The phone rang again almost instantly but this time Cherish only looked at it before laughing uncontrollably. "Sev! I can't believe you! Now she probably thinks that we're not even having dinner!"

"Eh! Not a problem for me." Seven laughed easily, a teasing expression on his face.

Cherish crossed her arms in mock anger, "Augh! Whatever!"

"Hey, you know I'm only kidding."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

*Title song by Stray Cats (originally by Buddy Holly)