A/N: Witty Evan/Sadie banter? Check. Drama? Check. Advice session with the best buddies? Check. Useless information? Check. All systems are go for chapter twelve. You even get to discover the origin of Sadie's infamous nickname! And do I even need to say how much I love all of you guys? Didn't think so. By the way, this story has broken the 50k word mark. Woohoo!

Fun Fact #1: The first rubber band was made and patented in 1845.

Fun Fact #2: A team of medical experts in Virginia contends that you're more likely to catch the common cold virus by shaking hands than by kissing.

Fun Fact #3: The star Sirius B is so dense, a handful of it weighs about 1 million pounds.

Fun Fact #4: A pound of houseflies contains more protein than a pound of beef.

Songs for this chapter: "Wasted" – Cartel; "Pen & Paper" – Red Jumpsuit Apparatus; "Angels on the Moon" – Thriving Ivory

-

I didn't even notice when the movie ended. Or when people started to move around and talk. I was too lost in my own thoughts. Suddenly someone shoved my shoulder, causing me to topple over sideways. I looked up into the grinning face of Evan Sharpe.

"Earth to Ducky," he said with a chuckle. "I've only said your name five times already. Is someone in need of hearing aids?"

"Yeah," I replied sarcastically. "I'll get right on that."

He rumpled my hair before pushing himself off the floor and then extending a hand towards me. Evan pulled me up and I was in his arms for a moment before he dropped them back to his sides.

I turned around and saw that my friends were leaning over the back of the couch, happily chattering with some of the other girls who had come over.

"Would you like something to drink?" Evan asked. I suddenly realized that I actually was pretty thirsty. I nodded and he led me into the kitchen. A few guys were grabbing beers out of the fridge. They eyed us knowingly before exiting. "What can I get for you?"

"Just water would be great, thanks."

Evan wrinkled his nose before turning around to retrieve a glass from the cabinet. "So unadventurous, Ducky. I'm disappointed."

I smirked. "Well in that case, I'll take a half prune juice, half vodka with four shots of Tobasco sauce. Y'know, since we're being adventurous and all."

He turned around and handed me my water with a grin. "That's the spirit. Prune juice from concentrate?"

"Oh, but of course," I replied, as though he were a fool to think otherwise. Internally, I was celebrating. Things had not changed at all because of that conversation.

"So," Evan said, pulling a beer out of the fridge, "What did you think of the movie?"

"Umm…the m-movie?" What movie had we been watching again? Oh yes, Miracle. I tried to recall a single scene, but was unable to. "It was uh…great?"

He chuckled, his dark eyes glinting. "Can you name a single character?"

"Yeah, Kurt Russell was the – the coach, right?"

Evan nodded slowly – that stupid grin still on his face. "Y'know, Ducky, that movie is about one of the greatest upsets in sports history. One of the greatest American feats of the last century. You should have paid attention. Tsk, tsk." He shook his finger at me like I was a five-year-old.

"Well excuse me if my thoughts were elsewhere. It was your fault, you know."

"Yeah," he said, his voice ashamed. "You're distracted by my very presence. I know, I know. I'm not going to apologize though, I just have that affect on women."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "You are too egotistical for your own good, you know that?"

He held his hands up in the air defensively – beer still in one of them. "Whoa, whoa, tone down the hostility, Marlow. I'm just speaking the truth over here." He lowered his arms and took a swig of his beer, chuckling softly.

"So," I said, deciding to change the subject. "I've been thinking."

"Congratulations. That's a pretty big accomplishment for you."

I glared at him, but continued, deciding to ignore the jibe. "I was thinking about my nickname. Ducky."

"What about it?" His face was quizzical.

"Well, what about all your other girls? What are their nicknames?" I was genuinely curious. I thought that my feelings of being 'special' might be unfounded. I had to know for sure.

"What other girls?" His face was still somewhat confused.

I sighed in exasperation. "Tess, Kate, any of the other girls that hang around you. Don't play dumb here, Evan, you know what I'm talking about."

"Well okay, what about them?"

"What are their nicknames?"

"They don't have any," he said, as if it were obvious. As though I had absolutely no grounds to ask such an absurd question.

"What do you mean 'they don't have any'?" Now I was confused. I was the only one with a nickname? That didn't make sense. I thought that was one of his womanizing tactics.

"Oh, well what I meant when I said 'they don't have any' is that they don't have any." He almost looked annoyed now and shook his head slightly as he took another swig of beer.

I shook my head too, but not out of annoyance. Out of shock. "Well, why not?"

"What, you think I just go around giving nicknames to everyone that I meet? Yeah, this is my friend Danny, a.k.a. 'Bugsy'. And over here we've got my buddy Derek, but everyone calls him 'Kitten'. Oh, and let's not forget about –"

"Alright, alright, I get it," I managed to sputter out in between giggles. "Then why me? Why do I have a nickname and no one else?"

Evan's face took on a calculating look and he scratched his chin while letting out a gentle "hmm". His eyes appraised me. "Well, you presented the perfect opportunity."

"How so?" I asked, taking a sip of water.

"Well that shirt was priceless. And I had to retaliate somehow," he explained.

"Retaliate?" My brow furrowed in confusion. "Retaliate for what?"

"For you!" He held his hand out towards me in an accusatory fashion.

"Me?" I asked, incredulous. "What did I do?"

"You told me my fly was open," he said obviously.

"So? I was trying to save you from embarrassment," I explained, unsure of where he was going with this. Retaliation? What on earth did he have to retaliate against?

"You were the direct cause of said embarrassment," he pointed out, leaning back against the counter.

"What are you talking about?" Now I was really confused.

Evan rolled his eyes. "Sadie, do you think I just waltz around all day with my fly open, hoping some beautiful girl will point it out to me? What, like it's some sort of pick-up line or something?"

"Well, you certainly made it seem that way," I explained with a grin.

"What?"

"You didn't even fix it! You acted like it was a completely normal occurrence, you having your fly open. I thought you were insane!" I couldn't hold back my giggles now. Evan was grinning widely.

"I was trying to keep my cool," he informed me.

"Keep your cool?"

"Yeah," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "You caught me with my fly open, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Gee, I don't know," I said, voice dripping with sarcasm, like it wasn't the most obvious answer in the world. "Maybe say 'whoops' and zip it back up before thanking me profusely for sparing you from showing the entire world that your fly was down."

Evan shook his head slowly and closed his eyes, scoffing. "So not my style, Marlow."

I laughed at that. True, that was not his style at all. Evan Sharpe was one of a kind, there was no denying that. If he wanted to walk around with his fly down then dammit, he was going to do it. Still, it made me somewhat smug to know that I had embarrassed him. Evan does not get embarrassed very easily, and what's more, he almost never admits to it, like he was doing now.

"Well that's true," I finally agreed with him. "But getting back to the original point." I narrowed my eyes at him for having changed the subject. "Why am I the only one with a nickname? Is it just because I presented you with the opportunity?"

He shrugged. "That was part of it. I knew it would embarrass you. And then it just kind of stuck. You're my Ducky."

I looked down at the floor, blushing. My stomach filled with butterflies at his words. Finally, I looked back up at him. "Well I'm honored."

"As you should be," he replied, taking another sip of beer.

At that moment, Nora peeked her head around the doorjamb. "Hey guys, sorry to interrupt, but Sadie," she looked directly at me, "We should probably get going. Anna's really tired and we have to walk all the way back to Foxley."

I nodded in agreement, placing my glass in the sink. While I didn't really want to leave, I was already extremely grateful to them for coming with me. I didn't want to push it.

"Hey," Evan jumped in, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I could give you guys a ride back if you want."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," I replied, shaking my head.

"No, it's not a problem really. It's on the way to my building anyway. Plus it's cold out and I don't really like the thought of you three walking back alone in the dark," he said, making no room for argument.

"Wait, you don't live here?" I had always assumed that he lived in the hockey house.

"Hell no," Evan responded, leading us into the hallway to retrieve our coats. "Are you insane? I'd rather swallow cyanide than live in this house. Too rowdy."

"How very 1940s Germany of you," Nora replied, smiling as he handed over her jacket.

He nodded towards her in appreciation. "No, I live in the Weston Building."

"Oh," I said, surprised. "Hey, the director of my play lives there. Maybe you know him. Vincent Close?"

"Nope," Evan said quickly, walking over to Anna and giving her jacket to her. He then fished a set of car keys out of his jacket and turned back to face us. "You ladies ready?"

We all nodded and followed him towards the door, saying goodbye and thanking everyone along the way. Evan led us down the path towards the driveway and over to a big, shiny black Range Rover. My jaw dropped.

"This is your car?" I asked incredulously.

"Yup," he replied proudly. "My pride and joy." He opened the passenger side door for me and I plopped my butt down onto the smooth, (freezing) tan leather seat.

"Umm, it's very nice," I finally managed to say after he'd gotten into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Thanks." He was once again wearing his lopsided grin and I turned my face towards the window, trying not to let it affect me.

-

When Monday morning rolled around, I was nervous to go to Philosophy. I didn't know how to approach Ryan. Would he already know that I knew? That possibility was slim, because there was probably no way in hell Evan would have told him. The only possibility would be if Evan told Grace that and then she told Ryan. Did Grace even know that I existed though? This was the dilemma that I had struggled with all Sunday long and was currently struggling with on Monday morning.

I decided to just go with the flow. If Ryan already knew, then he already knew. Nothing I could do about it. If he didn't, though, I would confront him after class and just fess up. It made no sense to keep it from him – that would only make things worse. Honest is the best policy. I hope.

From the way Ryan smiled at me as I took the empty seat next to him, I could immediately tell that he did not know. Drat. I had almost been counting on Grace to do my dirty work for me. Telling him would be hard and I didn't want to do it.

"Hey," he said happily, turning towards me. "Do you want to get coffee afterwards? You can tell me all about your weekend." I had a pretty good feeling that Ryan wouldn't want to know about my weekend, but nodded anyways.

"Yeah, that would be great," I agreed. The teacher walked in a moment later, sparing me from having to talk with him further. I had all of class to compose myself and rehearse what I was going to say in my head. I could do this. Everything would be all right.

Class flew by and before I knew it, Ryan and I were exiting the building together and walking towards the coffee shop. He was talking about the Philosophy paper we had just been assigned, wondering about possible topics. I nodded and 'hmm'ed right along, giving the impression that I was actually paying attention.

"So how was your Saturday?" Ryan asked, once we were seated in the coffee shop, sipping our drinks. "No more fires I hope." He was grinning wryly at his joke and I kicked him lightly.

"No, I didn't play firefighter this weekend," I told him, taking a big gulp of coffee and grimacing slightly as it burnt my throat. "Actually, on Saturday night I was at the hockey house."

Ryan's grin immediately faltered and his mouth formed a hard line. "Oh?" His tone was not pleased.

"Yeah," I replied with a firm nod, trying to keep my confidence. "Evan invited Anna, Nora, and me to watch a movie with some of his friends."

"Did you enjoy yourselves?" His body was tense and it sounded like it took him physical effort to speak the words.

I nodded again. "Yes, we did, thanks. Evan and I actually had a really good talk."

"What did you talk about?" Although his tone was still strained, I could tell there was genuine curiosity behind it.

I took another big gulp of coffee and sighed. This was where it would get difficult. "You," I responded, looking up to meet his gaze.

Ryan's eyes narrowed immediately. If I thought his body was tense before, it was positively rigid now. He ground his teeth together. "What about me? Specifically."

"Ryan," I said softly, sitting up and leaning forward in my seat. "Evan told me what happened between you two."

"Did he now?" Ryan spat the words, but didn't move. "What exactly did he tell you?"

"He told me the whole story."

Ryan scoffed. "Yeah, the whole story according to him. What, did he spout some bullshit about how my father is an insensitive bastard who killed his mom?"

I stared at him in confusion, my mouth agape. "No, Ryan, it wasn't like that at all."

"Like hell it wasn't!" The entire coffee house was silent as everyone's eyes snapped to Ryan. I still stared at him in shock. I had been expecting Ryan to be angry, but not this angry. Without another word, he grabbed his bag and stalked out the doors. I rushed after him.

"Ryan, wait!" I called, as soon as we were outside. He stopped, but didn't turn to face me.

"Evan didn't make anybody out to be a villain, he just told me what happened," I explained hurriedly.

Ryan chuckled humorlessly. "I'm sure."

I walked in front of him and turned around to face him. "It's the truth, Ryan. He gave me a pretty unbiased version of the story. I don't think any less of either of you. None of this is your fault – or his."

Ryan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms defensively. "I find that hard to believe. Evan shouldn't have told you. It's not just his story."

"I know that," I jumped in. "Evan told me the same thing. He didn't even want to tell me at first, but I sort of forced him to. You refused to tell me, Ryan, what was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to back off!" I'd never seen him so angry before. I tried to stand my ground.

"Ryan," I whispered, my eyes pleading with him. "You can't hate each other forever. I know you have a painful history, but you can move past it. It's not your fault. I was just trying to help."

"I don't want your help." His eyes were cold, his voice icy. "You should have just minded your own business."

I decided to try again. "Ryan, I –"

"No, Sadie," he spat, furious now. "Just stay away from me!" With that, he pushed by, shoving me roughly out of the way. My eyes were hot with tears as I watched him walk away. How had everything gone so horribly wrong? Anger, defensiveness, frustration, despair – I had prepared myself to deal with all of that. But not this…this blatant, furious denial. Just pushing me away like that. It hurt more than I wanted to admit.

I crushed my palms against my eyes, sniffling furiously. The chilly weather was not helping my runny nose, but I refused to let myself cry. Wiping away any tears that threatened to fall, I glared at the ground and hugged my coat tighter around me.

After standing there uselessly for a few minutes, I started to walk. I didn't have another class until one o'clock, so I had plenty of time to kill.

Finally, I yanked my cell phone out of my pocket and flipped it open, sniffling again. There is one person a girl can always count on in a situation like this. Pressing the correct speed dial button, I held the phone up to my ear, praying that the other person would answer. Thankfully, after only two rings, they did.

The line crackled before the other person said, "Hello?"

"Mom?"

"Viddy, it's so wonderful to hear your voice!" I smiled and my insides relaxed upon hearing her nickname for me – a shortened version of Vidonia, my middle name and my grandmother's first name.

"Likewise, Mom," I told her, sniffling again.

"Oh no. I know that voice. What's the matter, baby?"

I sighed before plopping down on a bench and staring down at my feet. I struggled to find the right words. "It's kind of complicated."

"Well I have plenty of time for you," she assured me lovingly. "I have the day off because there's a math teacher's workshop at the middle school today."

"Your favorite subject," I tried to joke.

I could hear her chuckle. "Hardly." There was a brief pause before she spoke again. "Tell me what's wrong, sweetie."

I nodded for my own benefit before launching into the entire story. She knew a little bit about Evan and Ryan from brief conversations before, but now I gave her the unabridged version of their story (unlike when I had told Nora and Anna). I explained all of my frustrations and concerns. My mother listened patiently, commenting and making listening noises in all the appropriate places. She was a fantastic listener.

I managed to keep from crying and instead ended up in a bit of an angry mood. I was bitter as I reiterated the conversation that I'd just had with Ryan. My mom gave me a moment to compose myself after I was finished.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. It sounds like those boys have a lot to deal with. I know you mean well, Sadie, but you can't expect to fix everything between them immediately. This is a feud that's had years in the making. Everything's not going to get better overnight." Her voice was soothing and I knew that what she said was true. It was just so hard for me to accept.

"I know that," I admitted with a sigh. "It's just really hard for me to not get involved. I want to make them see that they shouldn't be angry with each other. This argument – I know it's complicated and upsetting, but it's not between them. They're just blaming each other so that they have someone to blame."

"Well from what you told me, it sounds like Evan understands that."

"He does," I agreed. "But he's been angry at Ryan for so long that I think it's hard for him to stop. And he's a bit more passive about the situation than Ryan is."

"I see."

"And more than all that, I wish the fact that I know didn't bother them so much. What if Ryan never talks to me again?" I worried, scrunching my eyes shut.

"He will," my mother assured me.

"He said he wanted me to leave him alone though. You should have seen his face, Mom. He was so angry with me. I've never seen him that angry before."

"It was probably the heat of the moment, honey. You're stirring up very difficult emotions for both of them," she explained, and I knew that she was correct – as always.

"Do you think he's right?" I whispered. "Am I being too nosy? I didn't mean to pry – honestly."

My mom chuckled softly. "Well you always have been one to try and mediate, but no, I don't think you're being nosy. You're just concerned for them, which is completely understandable. Maybe they both just need some time to calm down before you push it any further though. They probably haven't even tried to deal with this for some time now."

"True," I admitted.

"Just give Ryan time, Viddy. He'll come around sooner or later."

"I think I can do that."

"Alright, sweetie." I could hear the smile in her voice. "I have to take Bartleby for a walk before he pees on the floor."

I laughed out loud, thinking about my insane chocolate lab. "Okay Mom. I love you. Give Bartleby a kiss for me."

"I will. Love you."

I ended the call and sighed. Talking to my mother always put me at ease. I would have to call her more often. I felt a little bit bad that I'd been neglecting my parents. We were all very close, actually.

Thinking back over her advice, I knew that she was right. I needed to let this go for a little bit. Maybe I was pushing it too hard. I knew that I meant well, but maybe they didn't know that. And Ryan would hopefully come around soon. Although, after that story, I know he's one to hold a grudge. I almost chuckled at the thought.

I had my own life to worry about, too. My schedule was starting to fill up with play practice, which I had practically every day this week. I grimaced, realizing that I still had the Peter problem to deal with. Well, not 'deal with' so much as 'accept'. Would it be weird if I talked to Vince about it? He's the director, so we're all supposed to feel comfortable going to him with our problems, right? Maybe I should consult Nora and Anna on that one. Yes, that's what I'd do. I would talk to them after class today before play practice.

I nodded to myself, glad that I had a plan. For now, though, I had to focus on English.

-

I was happy to see that Nora and Anna were already in my room when I got back. Clara was there, too. Good, even more opinions.

"Alright, girls, advice time," I announced, going to sit beside Clara on my bed. They all sat up in attention.

"Oh, I love advice time," Anna said giddily.

Nora smiled. "And what, exactly, are we giving you advice about?"

"Well if you would give me a moment," I shot a fake glare at my roommate, who chuckled. "I will tell you." I cleared my throat dramatically before continuing. "So you all know about my Peter problem." I glanced quickly at Clara to make sure that someone had filled her in. She nodded in affirmation. "Right, well, I was thinking about talking to Vince – the director – about it. Would that be weird? I don't know him all that well, but he is the director, and these are the type of problems he's supposed to deal with. Plus he's a pretty genuine person, so I'm sure that it would stay between us."

"Well what exactly would you tell him?" Nora asked.

"I would just tell him that I felt a little bit uncomfortable kissing Peter so much. I mean I wouldn't go into all the gory details about how I've only kissed two boys in my entire life – that's a little bit too much information. But I'd ask if he had any advice for getting over my nerves or anything like that. Basically, whatever he can tell me would be great. I'm sure he's dealt with on-stage kisses before."

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought over my words. Finally, it was Clara who broke the quiet, much to my surprise. "I think it's a good idea," she said.

"Really?" I looked to her hopefully.

"Yes. You're right. Vince should be understanding about how you're feeling. It is his play, so all he should really care about its well being and you feeling comfortable is a big part of that. Plus, you said he's a pretty genuine person, so I'm sure he'll understand."

"She's right," Nora agreed. "I'd just find a time to talk to him privately and you should be golden."

"Maybe show up early to practice," Anna suggested. "Directors are supposed to get there early, right?"

I chuckled. "In theory, but Vince is somewhat scatterbrained."

"Is he hot?" Nora asked idly, picking at her nails.

"Nora!" I threw my pillow at her.

"What?"

Anna laughed, shoving Nora playfully. "One track mind, huh Nora?"

"Oh, segue!" I shouted, looking to Nora excitedly. "Have you talked to Grayson recently?" Now it was my turn to sit in attention as we all looked to my roommate expectantly.

"I may or may not have had a conversation with him this afternoon," she said casually, leaning back and tucking my pillow behind her.

"And?" We all urged at the same time. It felt like that scene out of Grease to me. 'Tell me more, tell me more!' I chuckled softly to myself.

Nora's eyes flashed up and we could all see the happiness bubbling in them. "He asked me on a date this Friday night!" We all squealed and Nora practically bounced in excitement.

"See, we told you!" Anna exclaimed, leaning over to give Nora a tight hug.

"So now you know that you should always listen to us," I informed Nora with a smile.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"What did he say, specifically?" Clara asked lightly.

"Well," Nora said firmly, sitting up straight to explain. "I was flirting with him and then he got all nervous and started stuttering – it was so adorable. Anyways, he asked if I had plans for Friday night because he had the night off from football. I told him I didn't and then he asked if I'd like to go out to dinner with him!"

"Where is he taking you?" Anna wondered dreamily.

Nora shrugged. "I don't know. I'll ask him if it's fancy sometime this week so that I know what to wear."

"Good thinking," Clara agreed.

"That's so exciting, Nora," I told her.

"Thank you." She smiled at us all genuinely before her eyes flashed to me and her brows furrowed. "Hey Sadie, weren't you supposed to confront Ryan today?" Suddenly the mood shifted and I frowned.

"Yeah, um, it didn't go so well," I told them with a shrug, sitting back in defeat.

"What happened?" Anna asked in concern.

"He got really angry," I explained. "Started yelling about how it was none of my business and I needed to butt out of his life. He said that Evan had no right to tell me, yadda, yadda, yadda." I was trying to downplay the situation, but I don't think that I fooled them.

"Oh no," I heard Nora whisper. "What did you say?"

"I told him the truth. I told him that Evan didn't make him out to be the bad guy or anything, but he wouldn't even listen to me. He just got angrier and angrier. Then he told me to stay away from him and he just left."

"I'm sorry, Sadie." I smiled gratefully at Clara as she placed a comforting hand on my knee.

"It's okay," I assured them, ignoring the burning in my eyes. "I talked to my mom about it earlier and she gave me some good advice. I'm going to give him some time to cool off before I bring it up again or anything. I have plenty of other stuff going on in my life to keep me busy. Maybe I was being a little nosy."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Anna asked, still worried.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I replied. "Honestly."

"Well I think that's a good plan then," Nora said. "Just let Ryan get over himself. He's probably jealous."

"Jealous?" I stared at her, confused.

"Of Evan," she explained, like it was completely obvious. "He's probably afraid that Evan will steal you away from him."

I rolled my eyes. "That's ridiculous. My relationship with Ryan isn't like that."

"For you," Clara reasoned, squeezing my knee. I thought about that for a moment. I had never felt anything more than friendly towards Ryan. Yes, he was attractive and nice and funny but…it was different between us, right?

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "I can't really think about that right now. I'm more concerned about getting him to talk to me again."

"Just give him time," Anna said. "I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

"Well we know he's pretty good at holding grudges," I joked, making them all laugh.

"True, but he likes you more than he likes Evan," Nora said.

"I don't think it takes him much effort to like someone more than Evan," I told her with a smile. They all nodded in agreement.

"Hey, on a less depressing note, my parents sent me baked goods in the mail. You guys want some?" Anna asked excitedly.

"I guess it's better than making them ourselves," Nora said while we all giggled.

Anna sprinted towards her room to retrieve the food. I guess, due to the current circumstances, I could allow myself a cookie or two. I hadn't really had lunch today.

I thought back on my day with a sigh. I would give Ryan his space for a while and in the meantime, I'd deal with my own problems. My Peter problems. Hopefully everything with Ryan would work itself out in time. I couldn't force him to talk to me. Maybe I should explain the situation to Evan. Is that something he should know? Gah, more confusion. I couldn't take it anymore. Luckily, Anna returned a moment later bearing chocolate chip cookies and effectively distracting me.

-

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