Adriana P.O.V.

There was a slightly awkward silence as me and Zero slurped our milkshakes. We were at a local little restaurant that hands down had the best milkshakes I had ever had. Their Nutella peanut-butter milkshake? Not even Orlando Bloom in a sexy pirate outfit came close. Even though it came pretty damn close.

"So why did you move here?"

Zero paused in drinking his milkshake and looked at me.

"I'm looking for someone."

"Who?"

Zero sighed and pushed his tall glass away from him. Not looking at me, he asked sheepishly,

"Can you keep a secret?"

I rolled my eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder,

"Of course I can. I kept the fact you stole that extra cookie from Mr. Martin's lunchbox after all."

Zero grinned loftily at me,

"Well you're my partner in crime. I know you took that napkin in there that had a note from his mom on it. You are so cruel, to take a man's mommy note."

"What can I say, I'm kind of an evil conniving bitch."

"John 3:16, 'For God so loved the world...'"

Zero startled rambling Bible verses and I frowned at him,

"What are you doing?"

Zero blinked innocently at me,

"Oh sorry I heard that Bible verses make demons go away."

Then he frowned,

"How are you still here?"

I laughed and punched his shoulder,

"Oh shut up you ass. Now, who is it you are looking for?"

"Well, here is the whole dealio. I moved here with my mum. I have never met my dad. My dad is a horrible bastard that cheated on his wife with my mum. Of course, my mum had no idea till she found out she was pregnant with me. When he heard, he took off faster than Roadrunner from Loony Tunes. Unable to handle it, my mum moved to Atlanta, Georgia to raise me. Recently, however, she told me about my dad. She said he lived in San Diego and now had a daughter with his wife."

Zero broke off, looking sad. After a brief pause, he continued,

"I felt so bad, knowing I had a half-sister I had never met. So I thought, 'Hey better late than never'. I moved out here to find her. I have no interest in finding my useless bastard dad, I just want to find my sister."

That sounded rough, poor Zero. At least I had a dad, even if he was a shitty dad and he abandoned me, I still had one.

I stirred my straw around the rim of my glass, something I unconsciously did when I was nervous.

"Do you know what she looks like?"

Zero sighed and hung his head,

"No. I only know what my dad looks like. I have a picture."

I smiled. Maybe I knew him. Maybe I could help.

"Can I see? Maybe I know him."

Zero plunged his hand into his pocket but came up empty with a frown.

"Dammit. Sorry, I guess it is at my house."

Then he brightened up. He grabbed my hand excitedly,

"Hey maybe you can come to my house and meet my mum! She loves guests so much it would make her so happy!"

Seeing the enthusiastic sparkle in his wide green eyes I could hardly find it in myself to douse his hope and say no, not when he had been so depressed a few seconds ago.

"Uh sure I guess..."

"Great!"

He jumped up, still holding my hand.

"Common lets go now!"

I pictured a puppy with its butt in the air wagging its tail, waiting for someone to throw it a stick to fetch. Zero dragged me to the front register to pay. An elderly lady behind the register gave me a kind toothless smile. She beamed when she saw Zero holding my hand.

"Aw Adriana dear I didn't know you had a brother. A handsome one at that!"

I blushed and dropped Zero's hand.

"No Mrs. Maylard, this is my friend Zero."

She peered at us through her spectacles,

"Ah my mistake. These old eyes tend to make mistakes!"

Mrs. Maylard was an elderly lady that helped run this shop. She gave me a job when my dad left and even gave me extra pay, as if she understood what was going on even though I never told her. She was so kind and sweet and gave me milkshakes and cookies on the house.

Zero took out his wallet to pay but Mrs. Maylard shrieked in horror like he had pulled out a gun and was pointing it at her.

"These are on the house, dear! I could not dream of taking money from Adriana when she is so deprived!"

I blushed and dragged Zero away,

"Goodbye Mrs. Maylard I will come back soon!"

She waved as the bell on the door jingled cheerfully as I pushed Zero out into the crisp afternoon air.

~~~~~~~~~

I slid into Zero's car, which was a beat up Toyota Camry. It looked the old Jeep me and my dad used to share; like the car gods blessed it with a single golden screw that refused to fall out and held the entire thing together. When I moved to Jake's house I have a sneaking suspicion Jake scrapped my Jeep.

R.I.P. Rusty ol' Jeep.

Zero continued to gush about his mom,

"She is the sweetest lady you will ever meet. She hardly gets visitors so she will be really happy to meet you. But, fair warning, she does tend to be a hugger and you probably wont leave without eating something."

I chuckled. Having a mom sounded nice.

"She sounds wonderful Zero."

Still looking at the road, he smiled broadly,

"When am I gonna meet your mum?"

I stiffened and looked out the window. There was a pregnant pause before I whispered,

"Maybe some day..."

As if sensing the change in my demeanor, he didn't press me any further. He pulled into a cute little neighborhood and pulled into the driveway of a humble little white house. Zero quickly turned off the car and ran over to open up my door. I smiled at his gesture and followed him inside. He put his key into the door, jiggling and twisting the doorknob vigorously before it let him in.

"I hate that doorknob..."

I giggled and followed him in.

The house was littered with unopened boxes and half opened boxes. Everything was dusty and smelled musty. Bootprints could be seen against the dark hardwood.

"Mum I'm home!"

A faint voice replied from somewhere deep in the house,

"Oh welcome home Max darling! How was your first day?!"

Zero rolled his eyes and yelled back,

"Mum I am not going to keep screaming at you! Come here!"

I heard the rapid sound of footsteps and I tried not to smile. She rounded the corner with a big grin on her face but froze when she saw me.

Her bright blond was pulled back in a bandana and she wore a faded pink t-shirt and baggy jeans. Her face was make-up free and her shockingly pale blue eyes sparkled at me. She was very beautiful.

She slowly brought her hands up to her mouth and gasped. I froze uncomfortably. Did she not like me?

Oh how wrong I was.

"MY MAX HAS BROUGHT A GIRL HOME!"

She flew at me and pulled me in for a crushing hug. I gasped like a dying fish and desperately patted her back, trying to make her let me go. Her hand brushed the bulging scars from the cuts my dad gave me and I stiffened. Pleasant memories of my mom hugging me battled with the terrifying memories of my dad.

Zero flushed and pulled her away, looking embarrassed,

"Geez mum let her go your about to kill her."

Mrs. Andrews gasped and pulled away from me, leaving me wheezing and clutching my chest. Damn did that woman have a grip. Did I look like a giant teddy bear? I probably needed to fix that if I did.

Mrs. Andrews squeezed her cheeks and rambled at me,

"Oh Zero she is so beautiful! You have never brought home a girl before! I am so happy! I was so worried you were gay but here you are, bringing a girl home!"

I tried not to laugh at the insulted look on Zero's face when his mom said she suspected he was gay. I failed miserably.

Zero had to steady me from falling over as I howled and snorted with laughter, quite unattractively might I add.

I pointed a shaky finger at Zero and struggled out,

"Y-Y-our own mom thinks you are g-gay."

As I proceeded to crack up to the point I couldn't speak Zero's face light up like a jacked up out of control radioactive tomato.

He stomped his foot,

"Mum!"

She cracked a smile and raised her hands in surrender.

"Fine fine. Oh! Dear, I was just about to bake some meatloaf! Maybe your girlfriend would like to stay for dinner?"

I finally composed myself enough to speak,

"Oh no Mrs. Andrews I am not his girlfriend and I could not possibly impose on you."

Her face fell slightly when I told her I wasn't his girlfriend and she frowned when I told her I couldn't stay. Her eyes were narrowed slightly as she threw an arm over my shoulders,

"Oh no dear you really must stay. My meatloaf won grand champion at a state fair in Georgia once."

Was it bad all I could think of when she did that was evil Charles Muntz from Up?

~~~~~~~~~

I mumbled around my mouthful of meatloaf to Mrs. Andrews,

"I need to go pack my bags and book a flight to Las Vegas because I want to elope with this meatloaf."

She beamed at me,

"Thanks, sweetheart! Maybe you could take Max with you and he could find a girlfriend."

Zero's face flushed and he grumbled as he stabbed his meatloaf repeatedly in anger.

"MAX ANDREWS WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING TO MY MEATLOAF?!"

Mrs. Andrews launched herself across the dining room table and smacked him across the head.

I giggled and watched them banter back and forth at each other. Even though they were fighting it was so easy to see the love and affection between each other. Would I have had that with my own mom if things had been different? I would like to think so.

My heart hurt slightly and tears began to prick at my eyes. Dang it I was not usually this emotional. I discretely tried to wipe away my tears but I obviously looked like a fat seal slapping my face because Zero immediately noticed.

He scooted his chair over to me and shyly cupped my cheek.

"Hey honey are you alright?"

All I could hear was my mom asking me that when I fell and scratched my face on the sidewalk. My hair was up in little pigtails and I was learning to ride my brand new Pink Princess Monstrosity bicycle Dad got for me. I went straight for approximately three seconds before face planting on the sidewalk.

After my face was done embracing and having a get together with the sidewalk, my mom had ran over, helped me up, wiped my tears, and asked if I was alright.

Zero pulled my into his chest and cooed soothingly to me as he stroked and brushed my hair. My heart started doing summersaults in my chest, which was impressive considering I couldn't even do a tuck and roll. My brain started going a million miles an hour.

Why was he hugging me? Why is his mom freaking out over there? Is this ok? I only just met the guy and now I am getting tears all over his polo shirt after eating his mom's meatloaf.

I decided it was probably better to pull away and pulled away from him, even though he smelled really good.

I chuckled humorously and wiped my eyes. I bet my cheeks looked like a splotchy newborn baby.

"I'm sorry I don't know what came over me."

Lie, lie, lie. Anyone with a lie detector should be able to pick that up but Zero just nodded,

"It's cool. Hey maybe my moms homemade cookie would make you feel better?"

Just so you know, depressed eating is bad. Thats when you pack extra pounds and hate yourself even more while you eating it. If I ate every time I was depressed you would have to roll me everywhere and use a crane to help me use the bathroom. I would be too big to go on the TV show My 600-lb Life.

Yet, I find myself sniffling and nodding pathetically. Dammit depressed brain.

Zero runs off to the kitchen and his mom turns to me and smiles brightly.

"Even though you two haven't known each other for long he obviously cares about you."

I make myself smile back but I probably look like a Joker on happy pills.

"Your son is a nice person."

Mrs. Andrews takes a deep breath and I brace myself for a long hard lecture or speech. I fell asleep in Martin Luther Kings 'I Dreamed a Dream' speech so if she expected me to stay awake for this she was going to be disappointed.

"I am so glad he has you now. Did you know he never brought a girl home? Ever? I was so worried cause I really want to be a grandma. Not now of course, I have made sure my son knows to wrap it."

Ew.

"But if he was gay I would never have that. Oh God if he was gay then he would being home a boy with a toy poodle. I hate poodles. Then if something happened my poor Max would be all alone as a male stripper. Then he would adopt a big pile of Asian babies. Oh God then I would have to learn how to make Chinese food! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO MAKE WANTONS AND CHOW MEIN?!"

How did she descend from her son being gay to making wantons...? This woman has a crazy mind. Sweet, but crazy.

"I cant say I do..."

Her eyes stretched wide and she whispered very dramatically,

"It is impossible."

I stood up from my chair and stretched my okay as I went to find Zero. Zero beamed when he saw me in the kitchen and lifted up a cookie the size of my face.

"There you are! You want chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin?"

I raised an eyebrow,

"Do I look like I drink prune juice and have a cane? Chocolate chip please. Then, I really should be getting home I bet my family is worrying about me."

I almost wanted to laugh. What family? My fake Collins family? Ya right they probably don't even know who I am and Jake hates me now for some reason.

Zero nodded and wrapped up my cookie for later. Zero yelled to his mom as he grabbed his keys from their hook.

"Mum I'm taking Adriana home!"

"Please don't get in accident God knows you are enough of an accident to be able to afford causing more."

"Love you too Mum."

I chuckled as I slid into Zero's car. Their relationship was so comfortable. I hadn't had that in forever. Maybe I could never get that again.

Dammit depressing brain shut up. What would really fix this was that wrapped up cookie but I probably already looked enough like a pig.

Oh well cookie we will just have to wait.

~~~~~~~~

There was a comfortable silence between me and Zero as he drove me home. I felt like I had know him forever, which was weird considering I had met him today after getting slapped by Miss Whoreable.

"Pardon my French but holy shit woman that is a HOUSE!"

I giggled and picked up my cookie.

"Yes, yes it is Zero. Now, how do we spell house?"

I spoke to him like a kindergardener and he played along.

"Hm... H-O-W-S-E?"

I rolled my eyes and got out of the car,

"Go home Zero you are drunk."

"When am I not?"

I laughed and was about to close the door when I whispered,

"Thank you Zero."

He smiled sweetly up at me,

"No problem girlfriend. How is your neck by the way?"

I hardly felt the pain where the crazy psychotic bitch shoved a pencil in my neck but I was too focused on the girlfriend part of his sentence.

Had I sent him the wrong signals? He was a great but for some reason I felt like I could never date him. Like ever. The though alone give me chills in a bad way.

He blushed and waved his hands frantically,

"That came out bad! We are completely platonic right? I meant nothing by that!"

I laughed and brushed it off,

"Good night Gay Max."

"Shut up woman or Imma take that cookie back."

I yelped and held the cookie to my chest. If he wanted this cookie he was gonna have to pry it out of my cold dead hands. No one steals my sweets, not even friends. If Saint Mary herself asked for some of my chocolate peanut butter ice-cream someone would not get ice-cream, didn't matter how many old ladies she helped across the street.

Zero winked and drove off, leaving me embracing a cookie on the doorstep. Best hug ever, 10 out of 10.

I quietly opened the door and tip-toed inside. It was nearly 9 and since school got out at 3 I had been gone for a while. The foyer was dark and I could barely see. I felt along the wall and tried not to fall.

I made it to staircase without a sound. See? Maybe I shouldn't put my ninja dream on the shelf just quite yet.

"Going somewhere Bookworm?"

I screamed and dropped my cookie as a bright light filled the room. I spun around and found Jake glaring at me from a cosh chair by the hallway.

I grabbed at my heart and gasped,

"What the hell are you doing, trying to kill me? And whats up with the chair, who are you, Doctor Evil?"

His beautiful blue eyes narrowed at me,

"I am Doctor Evil when it comes to you vanishing for 6 hours without me knowing where you are."

I chuckled nervously,

"You were supposed to say 'One million dollars' but you answer is ok too. And why didn't you just text me? I do have a phone you know."

"I don't have your number."

I popped my hip and rolled my eyes,

"How would that stop you? Cant you hire some secret service to get my number? Or ask Lucas, he has it."

Jake's fingers gripped the armrests of the chair. It made his biceps bulge and I couldn't help but stare. As I tried to rein in my estrogen Jake started to talk,

"Not that I care, but its a huge pain in my butt if I don't know where you are. I was expecting to give you a ride home but you made me wait for no reason."

I never thought I would make him worried about me. I didn't think he cared. Mt heart started to warm up and soar and I smiled at him,

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you worried."

He snorted,

"Don't flatter yourself. My mother told me to drive you home and I have to listen to her so its not that I was worried."

Well someone just dumped a huge bucket of ice-water on my warm heart. Ouch that stung. What did I expect? That he would care? I am delusional.

I tried to cover up my hurt,

"Well whatever your reasons, I am sorry I made you wait. I kinda made a spontaneous decision to leave early."

Jake's jaw twitched.

"About that, I would stay away from Max."

I snorted and tried not to full on laugh at his frowny face. Oh dear God did he think Max was a freak rapist now too?

"Oh common Jake. I know you were right about Norman but Zero isn't like that. He's a nice guy that I have no intention of dating."

He raised an eyebrow and for some reason I found that really hot.

"Zero?"

"Zero lays apparently. Its his nickname."

Jake smirked playfully,

"So I can call you Zero?"

I blushed and my heart pounded against my chest. Good God was Jake joking about my virginity? Thats so not cool and so so awkward.

"Only if I can call you 157."

"Well we can always make it 158."

He winked and stood up from his chair while I gawked at him in shock. Oh my God that playing asshole. He did not just say that I did not just blush about it. He's joking Adriana snap out of it!

"I need some intervention..."

When I grumbled under my breath Jake smirked at me,

"Ya you should. Thinking about me that much deserves serious therapy."

Oh dear ground please just swallow me up. Six feet under might be better than this. The lovely visual of my blushing cheeks exploding from too much blood popped in my head. Ew.