Lemme just take a little moment for a bit of self promotion... I've recently started a new Double Life book called If He Loves Me which you guys should definitely go check out, wink wink nudge nudge, and I have a not-so-recent-but-still-sort-of-new book called A Cup of Coffee to Ease the Pain out, as well. You don't have to, but I'd really appreciate it if y'all went and gave them a quick look-see. :D /lh

*   *   *

"I'm leaving for Joel's now," Lizzie called to her father from the kitchen as she gathered three bento-style boxes into a plastic shopping bag.

Daniel looked up from his laptop, his thin-wired glasses resting on the tip of his nose. "Have fun, sweetie," he said. "You're staying the night there, right?"

Lizzie hummed in confirmation before gently grabbing the arm of a pacing Jimmy and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. "Love ya'," she whispered. "Tell me if you find Scott."

Jimmy nodded before turning back to the phone in his hand. He'd been trying to get a hold of Scott for the past two hours, sadly to no avail. Since having their argument at drama club, Jimmy hadn't seen Scott once, and Scott didn't bother coming home, either.

"Bye, Papa," Lizzie called to Daniel, who smiled and waved. "See you two tomorrow!"

"Goodbye, sweetheart," Daniel said just as Lizzie shut the front door.

"Come on," Jimmy whispered, stopping his pacing about the kitchen to tap his foot on the ground. He went silent a moment, holding his breath until he was met with Scott's voicemail. Again. "Dammit-"

"Language," Daniel called from the dining room.

Jimmy sighed and sat down at the island counter, crossing his forearms over the marble and planting his face in the fold of his elbow. "I'm an idiot," he sobbed. "I ruin everything." He went quiet for a moment before mumbling, "Maybe this world would be better without me."

That got Daniel's attention real fast.

"Woah, woah, woah," Daniel said, peeling himself away from his laptop to rush over to Jimmy. "Slow down, kiddo." He nudged his son's shoulder, coaxing Jimmy to lift his head. "Look at me." Jimmy did. "What's going on?"

Jimmy stared at his father for a moment. "I ruined everything," he said finally, and Daniel pulled him in for a comforting embrace. "I shouldn't have stayed home. I should've gone to school this morning."

"Why's that?" Daniel asked softly, in stark contrast to Jimmy's crying.

"Because Scott hates me!" Jimmy yelled. His grip on Daniel's flanel tightened and Daniel responded by whispering sweet little reassurances into Jimmy's ear. "He hates me..."

"I'm sure he doesn't-"

"He said it!" Jimmy shouted, pushing Daniel away now. "He said he hates me!" Jimmy's face was red and soaked, and the defeated, angry look in his eyes was something terrifyingly unforgettable to his father. "He hates me 'cause I'm a jerk and an idiot-" He cut himself off with a sob, but barely gave himself time to breathe before he continued, "I should've shut my stupid mouth, I'm so dumb-" His poor choice of not taking another breath before talking caught up to him as, between already being a blubbering mess and still trying to speak, he struggled to get air back into his lungs.

Daniel took note of this. "Hey," he said calmly, putting a hand on each of Jimmy's shoulders. "I need you to breathe for me, okay?"

Jimmy shook his head. "I'm t-try-"

"Shh," Daniel whispered. "Give yourself a moment to relax." Jimmy opened his mouth to talk again, but Daniel spoke first. "Don't talk," he ordered. "Just breathe."

It took him a minute or two, but eventually, Jimmy's breathing had returned to something close to normal, and he'd stopped crying as well.

"Better?" Daniel asked, a gentle smile spreading on his face as Jimmy nodded in response. "Can I ask what you said to Scott? Or is that something you can't answer right now?"

Jimmy shook his head. "I can-" He paused to take a deep breath. "I can tell you," he answered. There was a moment of hesitation before he spoke. "We were fighting, a-and I told him that- that I'm not the one who thought it would be a good idea t-to- to lose my virginity to a s-senior-" He broke into another wail, burying his face into his hands. "A-and- and now I don't know where he is, and he's not answering any of m-my calls-"

"Jim..." Sighing, Daniel pulled Jimmy into another gentle embrace.

"I'm s-such an idiot-"

"It's okay," Daniel whispered. "It's okay, we'll figure this out." He began to rub soothing patterns into Jimmy's back. "We'll find him and we'll fix this, alright? Just relax a bit, kiddo." When Daniel said this, Jimmy let out an exhausted sigh and went limp in his father's arms. "Just relax."

Jimmy took a moment or two to calm himself.

"You alright?"

"Mhm."

Jimmy ended up crashing on the sofa before finishing the first half of The Wizard of Oz with Daniel.

Daniel looked down fondly at his son, who was splayed across his lap. Jimmy's cheeks were still wet from his panic attack earlier, but his face showed peace as he slept nonetheless.

After finishing the movie, Daniel carried Jimmy back to his bedroom upstairs. He sat on the bed with Jimmy for a while when the latter wouldn't let go of him, and only got up when he heard the front door open and close.

Daniel had hoped it was Scott, for Jimmy's sake, but it was Lizzie instead.

"I thought you were staying the night at Joel's," Daniel whispered. His voice was hoarse from lack of using it.

It wasn't until Lizzie stepped closer to her father that he realized she was crying. "Didn't really feel like it," she said quietly with a joyless huff. There was a brief moment of hesitation before she stepped forward again and latched onto Daniel, a soft sob breaking loose. "I didn't mean to make him angry."

Daniel stood in near shock. "Angry?" he echoed. "Who? Joel?"

Lizzie nodded against Daniel's chest. "He- he got ups-set b-because I brought up Ara- Arabella, and-" She completely lost it then, sobbing and shaking so violently that she couldn't manage to get a single word out.

Daniel let out a quiet sigh. I guess everyone's getting into fights today, he thought. He rubbed circles into Lizzie's back in attempt to help her calm down, but she always was much more difficult to soothe than Jimmy was. Once she gets going, she goes.

"He's s-such a jerk," she cried, her words muffled into Daniel's shirt. "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him-"

"Slow down," Daniel said softly, gently nudging Lizzie just far enough away so he could see her face. "What happened?"

Lizzie didn't look at Daniel as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, sniffling as she did so. "It's dumb," she huffed, crossing her arms. "It's all so fu-"

"Watch it," Daniel warned in a whisper.

"-freaking stupid," Lizzie finished. "I was just..." Her tense shoulders relaxed and her eyes fell to the floor, those bright blue hues glistening as they began to water again. "I was just trying to help," she whispered. "I didn't mean to upset him."

Sighing, Daniel gave Lizzie a small, quick hug before beginning to guide her gently toward the living room. "Why don't we sit down and talk about this, okay?"

Lizzie nodded, sniffling. "Okay."

*   *   *

"A promise ring?" thirteen-year-old Lizzie echoed Joel's own words as he slipped a silver band over her finger. "What for?"

Joel smiled at her. "So we remember to get married one day, silly," he teased.

Lizzie's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yep!" Joel stepped back a bit and put a hand over his heart. "I swear I'll always love you, and you'll always be my favorite person."

A joyful giggle left Lizzie's lips at the cheesy comment. "I promise to always love you, too."

*   *   *

Lizzie knocked on the door to Joel's flat with a suitcase and plastic shopping bag in her free hand, her silver ring making a soft dinging sound as it hit the wood. It was a cooler night, just above freezing without the wind, so she had to wear earmuffs and wool scarf. She'd grown out of her mittens.

It's nearly the end of April, she thought, sighing. In most places, it's warm now. She let a small giggle slip loose. Then again, Rivendell is one of the coldest places in the nation, so...

Metal clanking came from on the other side of the door but no one came to let Lizzie inside. She knocked again and waited, yet still no one came.

"Well, it's a good thing I have a spare key, isn't it?" she mumbled as she shifted to reach into her coat pocket. Her cold fingers fumbled with the several little things inside her pocket until she finally found the key, pulling it out and letting herself inside the warm home.

"Isn't that heaven?" she laughed as a wave of warm air hit her rosy cheeks. Even if Joel's air conditioning never works, at least the heater does. Lizzie shut the door with a nudge of her hip and turn toward the coat rack to take off her earmuffs, scarf, and thick coat. "That's better."

Joel was standing over the cooktop in the kitchen, grumbling under his breath as he fiddled with something.

Lizzie gave him an almost concerned look. "You alright, Joel?" she asked.

He must've not known she was there, because he jumped at the sound of her voice. "Oh," he breathed. "Hello, Lizzie." He flashed a strange smile, but it never met his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Lizzie asked again, slipping into the kitchen with the plastic bag in hand.

"'M fine," Joel answered plainly.

Lizzie scoffed as she set the bag down on the island counter. "You don't seem fine," she pushed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Joel grumbled. "Now, shut up, would you?"

"Well, that's hardly nice," Lizzie frowned as she came around the counter to stand next to Joel. He was trying to get one of the burners on the cooktop to turn on. "Oh, I made food," the pinkette said. "You don't have to coo-"

"I'm not," Joel interrupted. "I'm trying to make tea because Grian said his throat was sore, and this dumb thing-" A small flame lit on the gas in a poof, though only long enough to catch the hem of Joel's shirt. "Fucking-"

Lizzie gasped. "Joel-"

"I've got it," the brunette growled as he patted his shirt aggressively. "Can you just... leave? For fuck's sake..."

It took Lizzie a moment to register what Joel had said. Did he just... tell me to go away? Huh. That's... odd. Huffing, Lizzie turned away. "Fine," she sighed dramatically. "I'll go hang out with Grian, then." She marched away and stopped in the doorway, watching as Joel rolled his eyes and went back to fiddling with the cooktop. I guess he's serious, Lizzie thought, shocked. Must've had a bad day.

She glanced over at the clock. Seven forty-three... She shook her head. We can still eat together once he's cooled down.

Assuming Grian was in his room, Lizzie skipped down the hall. "Hey, Gri-" She'd begun to open the door, but an opposing force slammed it in her face. "Grian?"

A sniffle came from the other side of the door. "Lizzie?" His voice was nasally, and he was sniffling like crazy.

"Hun, are you crying?"

Grian's response was hesitant but he eventually mumbled a quiet, "No."

"Can I come in?"

"...Is Joel with you?"

"No."

Grian was silent as he let go of the door and let Lizzie inside his room. All of his blankets were in a messy bundle of polyester on the foot of his bed, and his pillows (he had a lot more since the last time Lizzie was there - they must've gone shopping) were all on the floor. An empty tissue box and it now snot-filled contents laid in place of his pillows on his bed in a pile. Worst of all, Grian's face was flushed and he looked ill beyond words.

Turns out, Grian was telling the truth - he wasn't crying. He was only sniffling because he was sick.

"Oh, dear," Lizzie breathed. She immediately reached to press the back of her palm against Grian's forehead, which he tried to pull away from at first. If his desert-hot forehead was anything to go by, Grian had a really high fever. "You poor thing..." Joel probably doesn't know he has a fever. "Let me go get Joel real qui-"

"No!" Grian latched onto Lizzie like she was a lifeline. "No, I'm fine," he promised despite his ill apperance. "And- and he might yell at me..."

"He what?"