The rest of the day was spent with tears and ice cream

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The next morning, at 4 am on the dot, Alex woke to her phone vibrating under her head. She got up and put on her running shoes, grabbed her Ipod, headphones and a key. She snuck out the door and took the elevator down to the street. She stuck in her headphones and started her run.

After running for about 15 minutes she was back in the elevator and headed up to the apartment and took a quick shower then snuck back into bed. All without Kate even knowing, because at 5am on the dot, Kate knocked on her door and told her to get up.

Alex got out of bed and changed out of her shorts and t-shirt she put back on, never know when she might pop in, and into her jean shorts there were slightly ripped from the time Alexis had taken her rollerblading, and her favorite t-shirt. She also grabbed a tank top for after school. She walked out and poured herself a bowl of cereal and waited for Kate to come tell her it was time to go.

She came in at 6:45 and they left and headed off to her school.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

She got into school at 7:15, grabbed a few things from her locker, then headed down to Mr. Cerimele's office.

"Good morning Alex."

"Good morning Mr. Cerimele, I apologize for leaving school early, without telling anyone. I needed to see someone."

"Next time you do it, it will be a week's worth of detention."

"Noted, now can I please take my exam? I was ready yesterday but some issues came up."

"Absolutely, do you need me to go over the exam rules?

"No thank you, I've heard them plenty of times in the last few days."

"Okay, here's your exam you have until 8."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The rest of the morning went by quickly. Since it was an exam day, school only lasted half a day. Alex had finished her final exam and looked back on her day. She had only gotten two punches, a couple of scratches, and a bunch of insults from the blond triplets, so it was a good day. She had finished James Patterson's newest book for teens, Maximum Ride, after her second exam. Wow, she was getting to read James Patterson's advanced copies. This time last year she was spending her nights in a hospital, now she was reading advanced copies. Her life had taken a complete turn. Sure, her family had been your average middle class family, but now, her best friend was the daughter of Richard Castle, she was living with Nikki Heat (but you could never call her that) and she was even apart of the secret group who were trying to make sure Kate and Rick got together.

Alex was knocked out of her thoughts by the teacher saying, "Have a nice summer ladies and gentlemen, this exam is over." With that Alex jumped out of her seat and headed to her locker. She grabbed the tank top she put in there and changed into it then headed back to pick up a few more of the things she had in there.

She picked up the picture of her mom, her dad, and her taken a year before her mother got sick. She stood there staring at it when all the sudden she heard, "Well, what did we tell you about tank tops and is that a picture of your dead mommy and daddy." the voice scratched her back, the fingernails going deep in the skin.

"Oh and look a picture of your cop mommy and more people. That's so cute, well I'll see you next year, you waste of life." then the girl who had made the year a living nightmare walked away.

Alex stood strong and didn't flinch at all. After they left, she went back, grabbed her pictures and magnets then put them in her purse and headed outside.

As soon as she saw Alexis, she ran towards her and gave her a giant hug. "Alexis, Oh My Gosh, I can't believe your hear. I've missed you so much."

"You too, it was like being without my little sister for a while. Come on, I brought the Mustang and we have a lot of shopping to do. Dad wants us to get dresses for us and one for Kate."

"Ooooo, that last one sounds fun. We have to make sure its something that will drive your dad crazy."

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

They pulled up the first shop and stopped in. Alex walked around and saw a couple of dresses but they didn't stand out enough for her. They were very boring but then she saw a couple of eccentric dresses. She picked them up and headed to the dressing room to try them on.

Alexis wanted something that was simple. She had done the big and wild dresses at these events and now they had just lost their appeal. She grabbed a couple of dresses and headed over to the dressing room.

Alex stepped out first in a bright blue dress that was covered in sparkles. Seconds after Alex stepped out, Alexis came out wearing a white dress with flowers.

"There's a bright outfit but I don't like the blue."

"The white on that one washes you out."

So that's how it went until they were both on their last dress. Alex came out in a metallic green dress that went over on shoulder and along the neck and strap it was ruffly. Alexis came out in a simple grey dress with a black belt that had a flower on it. It also had an intricate design lightly on it.

"Alex, that dress is bright and perfect. It's so you."

"That intricate flower design is really pretty."

"We are getting these. Now to find one for Kate."

They walked around for a few minutes. Then Alex shouted out, "I found it." Alexis walked over and saw the dress. It was beautiful. It was a knee-length blue dress that had thin straps that crossed in the back. It had a slight sliver ring connecting the straps to the dress. It was bunchy around the bust area but then flowed into a skirt that would be easy to dance in. "Its perfect." was all Alexis said.

They bought their dresses then went back to the loft where they would stay hidden in Alexis' closet until the night of the bash.

Sorry about the long wait. I kept getting stuck on this chapter and then school and life got in the way. I'd like to say now that school's out I'll have more writing time but I'd be lying. I'll try to be better about updating though because I'm taking this into a fun place. Trust me, but don't give up on me yet.

Cook