1

She smiled softly, "Okay," she said, giving her mother a tight hug. "Have a nice day at work."

As soon as Piper left the house her heart began to race, and she began to sweat. As much as she loved her mother, sometimes she just wanted to strangle her. After all, there wasn't anything wrong with her. There was simply nothing for her to worry about. But her mother always seemed to think otherwise. Piper was beginning to understand that perhaps she should have listened to her mother. Maybe things would have been so much easier if she had just told her mother about everything that was happening. Then at least she would be able to live her life without having the weight of the entire world on her shoulders constantly weighing her down.

Piper shook her head. Things would never be easy if she told her. She'd been trying very hard to hold on to the small shreds of hope that she had allowed herself during the past few months. Hope that somehow, her mother would see reason and decide to let her go, at least for awhile. Unfortunately, it was becoming increasingly harder and harder to cling onto those small dreams. She knew that it wasn't going to last forever. Eventually reality would catch up with her and her hopes would vanish. She could already see it happening. She could almost taste it. She' re being pushed away from her only source of support.

Suddenly she realized she was standing outside the restaurant, looking like an idiot. She quickly rushed inside. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the counter. In one of the corners was a picture of a blonde woman. She recognized her instantly as one of the women who worked behind the register. She was staring off into space with an expression that appeared to be stuck somewhere between amusement and boredom. When their eyes met, the woman turned her attention back to the person working beside her. A smile appeared on her face, but Piper could hear the sadness underneath. This woman, the owner of the store, probably understood her loss just as well as she did.

"You're not usually this late," the blonde said quietly to the person standing behind the cash register.

The guy shrugged, "I guess I got lost."

Piper couldn't believe it. That was the same answer her parents had given her. How was this guy any different? What kind of life does he lead?

"Can I get you something to drink?" the employee asked her politely.

Piper nodded, "Just a soda."

As she made her way over to the beverage table, she felt someone's eyes on her back. She glanced over her shoulder to see that the woman was staring at her. She looked surprised. It almost seemed like she was asking why she hadn't gone with her original plan. But then again, maybe that had been her intention. Perhaps she thought that telling Piper how bad things were going to be for her had given her false hope. Or was she genuinely curious?

Piper pulled a bottle of cola out of the refrigerated case and set it aside before moving towards the other end of the restaurant. She noticed another pair of eyes following her. She stopped and turned around to meet them. She didn't know how to feel about meeting the girl who seemed to be waiting by a large window, but she definitely did not want to run right back through the room to avoid confrontation. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and headed over.

As soon as Piper stepped into the light the blonde looked up. Even though Piper was taller than most of the people in here, she still felt intimidated by the stranger's gaze.

"Um," the girl whispered. "What can I get you?"

Piper tried not to seem too relieved when she saw a friendly smile spread across the young lady's lips. She wondered briefly what it might be like to make friends her age. To have someone besides her mother. To not feel like she had to prove everything to anyone. But as quickly as these thoughts came they vanished, replaced by a new feeling of discomfort. For a second she imagined talking to a boy her age who would ask her stupid questions instead of just nodding along to whatever she said. If only she had never found out her secret. If only she had lied. If only...

Piper swallowed harshly. Why had she even thought such a thing? It was ridiculous.

"I'll take a coffee," she muttered.

Piper watched as the blonde grabbed a cup and placed two ice cubes into it. Her hands trembled slightly. The thought suddenly crossed her mind that maybe the young woman had been sent to spy on her. Hadn't her mother said something about being followed home? Had she really believed that no one else cared? Piper knew that she wouldn't have put it past her.

The blondes eyes moved from the coffee to hers. For a moment neither spoke. Then Piper heard herself say, "Thank you for coming tonight."

"No problem," the woman replied.

Piper shifted uncomfortably under the intense stare. Suddenly, it occurred to her that maybe she wasn't supposed to talk to her. And then she had an idea. Maybe if she didn't try to make conversation with the girl she wouldn't notice when she left. If Piper just stood there she wouldn't need to pretend to be paying attention. She decided to try to break the tension.

"So," she started, clearing her throat nervously, "why did you agree to come?"

It sounded more aggressive than she had intended, especially since the girl had agreed to the date, but it seemed to have the desired effect, because the woman's features softened a bit as she smiled gently, "It sounds like fun."

Her words sent tingles up Piper's spine. Her mouth went dry. She had no idea why she was so nervous.

Piper forced herself to focus on the question that she needed to ask next. "So where are you from?" she asked as casually as possible.

The woman laughed awkwardly, "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Zoe. Zoe Halsey."

Zoe Halsey. Her mother had mentioned someone named Zoe earlier in the day and now the name was repeating itself in her head.

"Nice to meet you." Piper said, trying to sound as cordial as possible. "But I think we should probably start heading toward the entrance now."

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to get our drinks first? I've waited tables for years and I can assure you, they're quite expensive."

Piper blushed slightly. "Right, sorry. Let's go,"