Piper June.

Piper June sighed to herself. It was Sunday afternoon, and she had absolutely nothing to do.

Magdalyne was still out with her boyfriend and Jude was still at the movie theater with Quinn. She sat up and grabbed her keys off the floor. She decided that she'd take a nice long walk to clear her head. By the time she came back, Jude was sure to be home.

“Mrs. Presley?” Piper asked, walking down the stairs. Mrs. Presley was baking a tray of cookies, icing them as she hummed a quiet hymn. She looked up from what she was doing at Piper, tilting her head. “I’m going out for a walk at the park. I'll be back later.”

“Do you want me to give you a ride, sweetheart?” Piper smiled and nodded.

“Thanks. I just wanted to get some of my running clothes first. I’ll be right back,” Piper said before walking out the back.

She climbed over the small fence that barely reached her hips expertly, dusting herself off slightly. She walked in through her own back door, reveling in the quiet and peace that her house possessed from being empty for almost three whole days. She walked upstairs to her room. Quickly, she changed into a pair of thick leggings, pulled bright shorts over those, and pulled a tank top and a heavy black sweatshirt along with her hat. She grabbed her iPod from its dock and a pair of headphones, walking back downstairs and locking the door. She tucked her iPod into the front pocket of her shorts.

Mrs. Presley was already waiting for Piper in her car.

“How are you feeling today?” she asked, looking at her as they drove slowly. It had started to snow and Mrs. Presley just wanted to be extra careful. They made small talk until they reached the park. “I’ll pick you up in about an hour, okay? I think I'm going to do some groceries. Just call me if you need anything.” Piper nodded, thanking her quietly and getting out of the car. She turned on her iPod, scrolling through the library until she found a song that she liked. She started to jog, keeping a steady pace.

The people in the park didn't really pay her any mind. Once again, it was like she wasn’t even there. Piper didn't mind being invisible, especially there, with so many people. She liked the anonymity. She looked at the children playing on the swings and jungle gyms, the couples having private conversations on the occasional bench, the business people who walked briskly in all different directions. The constant hum of life made her feel grounded, reminded her that there were bigger things going on around her and that despite all her problems, it would all somehow work out. She was sure of it.

The hour passed by quicker than she thought it would, and soon, she was just walking around the park, waiting to see Mrs. Presley’s black sedan.

“June!” someone yelled, and since it sounded distant, and she wasn’t sure if it was for her or perhaps another June, she ignored it and trudged on, trying to keep her momentum going. “June!” the person yelled again, making her stop in her tracks and pull the ear buds out of her ears. She turned around, only to see Ezra sitting on a bench, smoking a cigarette casually.

He did everything casually.

She walked towards him, blushing and surprised to see him there. How long had he been sitting there? Piper was so embarrassed. She probably looked awful. Her hair was messy, her cheeks and nose were pink because of the cold weather. She thought that her legs made her look gangly and malnourished. She wanted to crawl into a hole.

“H-Hi,” she stammered, partly due to the cold and partly due to the fact that she was so mortified by the fact that she was actually seeing Ezra outside of school and she wasn’t even with Jude. What was she supposed to do?

Just be cool. Stay calm.

“Hey there.” He smiled slightly at her, watching as her cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink. He found her completely endearing, and that was before the bet was made with Quinn. She was innocent and clean, kind of like Eliza, but obviously a lot older. “Sit with me.” He patted the cold park bench, smiling as his gloved fingers tapped on the old wood.

“What are, um, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’m just—”

“Ezra!” Eliza exclaimed, running towards him. “Ezra! Help me tie my shoe?” she asked, looking at him inoffensively. Piper fought a smile as she watched the little girl prop her left foot on his knee shakily, steadying herself. He snuffed out his cigarette and sighed, smoke coming out of his nose and mouth as he tied her shoe.

“Finish playing. I’m taking you to get something to eat soon, okay? Scram.” He looked at Piper, chuckling. “That’s my sister, Eliza.”

“She’s adorable,” Piper said, finally caving in and smiling. “So, do you usually bring your sister to the park on Sundays?”

“Um, yeah, sometimes,” he replied shyly, taken slightly caught off guard by Piper’s interest in his life. Most girls were interested in his body and not much else. He didn't know what to make of it. “She’s kind of persistent and she wanted to go out today, so here we are. What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to go for a run today. Jude and Maggie are busy and… I don’t know. I just wanted to get out for a bit.” She shrugged, fixing her hat self-consciously, hoping she didn't look too bad.

“I see. Are you doing anything later?”

“Uh, I-I was planning on studying for this test I have tomorrow.” She looked at him and he shrugged. "Why?"

“Oh, nothing, I just wanted to see if you wanted to get a bite to eat with me and Eliza.”

“Eliza and me,” she corrected quietly, unable to help but to laugh. She felt slightly embarrassed and was kicking herself because she could have actually gone somewhere with Ezra and turned him down without even knowing it. What if she never got another opportunity?

“Yeah, that. You’re so smart, June. So, how’s your weekend going?”

“It's okay, I guess,” she said, moving her hair out of her eyes as she took her glasses off to clean them. “Jude and I spent all of Saturday trying to get Maggie out of bed to go shopping with us but I guess she wasn’t feeling well and—” She stopped herself, looking at Ezra. He was looking at her with a look she had seen all week but hadn't really understood. “What?”

“N-Nothing, it’s just, uh, your eyes. They’re sort of… I don’t know. Blue?”

“I don’t know either,” she shrugged. “They change a lot.” Actually, Piper did know. They were bluish green, varying from day to day. She didn't mind them all too much, and since she wore glasses, it wasn't like people noticed them all too often either. “It’s annoying.”

“I think they’re pretty.”

That was the first time a boy had called her pretty and she wasn't sure how to react. It wasn't like she was complimented very often to begin with, so to hear it from Ezra was quite a special treat indeed.

She smiled and tried to beat down the blush on her cheeks to no avail.

“Thank you,” she laughed, looking down. “I guess?”

“Why do you do that?”

“What?” she asked, slipping her glasses on.

“You look away whenever I say something nice to you. Don't most girls like compliments?”

“I don’t know.” When it came to Ezra, that was the phrase she could use the most, because she really didn't know what to say about him. "Maybe I'm weird." He was just different because he was one of the few people who was aware of her existence. A loud horn interrupted their conversation, and Piper looked behind her. Ava Maria was waving at her with a smile from her car. “That’s my ride,” she said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “See you tomorrow.”

“Maybe. ’Liza!” he exclaimed, figuring that now was as good a time as any to leave. “Let’s go!” He turned to say goodbye to Piper, but she was already halfway to the car. “June!” he called out again, this time on a whim. He didn’t know what he was going to say, he just wanted to see her face again. She turned around, looking at him. “Do you, uh, well me and Quinn are skating on Saturday and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?”

“Maybe. See you later,” she replied, waving her fingers at him. She turned around and got into the Presley family car, adrenaline coursing through her. She felt… different, somehow. She couldn’t quite place it, but she was looking forward to telling Jude.



Eliza sat on the couch, untying her shoes and kicking them off. Ezra looked around the living room, frowning. What happened to his house? He frowned at his feet. When did they get an area rug? Ezra told his sister to go upstairs and put her things away, looking around the house curiously. There were place mats on the table. The sink was actually clean. The fridge had a bunch of frou-frou healthy food. Someone locked the liquor cabinet. The bathroom was now basically pink and had a matching frilly toilet seat cover, shower curtain, and rug. He opened the medicine cabinet, only to see some tampons, razors, makeup, and other girly things. He made a face but said nothing and went back downstairs, heading to his room in the basement. Charlie and Rose were in the dining room, eating dinner. He waved disinterestedly at them as he went downstairs.

He hummed softly as he turned the lights on, tossing his shoes in a corner. He looked around in surprise, confused and slightly upset. His room was clean. His books weren’t stacked in messy, soon-to-topple-over towers all over his room. His records and record player were gone. In fact, the whole basement was spotless. He had clean sheets, his bed was made, and his books were on new shelves that hadn't been there when he left that morning. She had even gone so far as to organize his sheet music. He scowled, stomping up the stairs.

He didn't mind that she had moved in and gotten rid of all his junk food and made it look like a bottle of Pepto-Bismol had thrown up in his bathroom. He didn't even mind that she was dating his father as much as he used to. What really made him mad was that she went into his room, which really wasn't even part of the house, and made everything look the way she wanted it to. He was a creature of habit and he liked his mess. It made him feel at home.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Rose?” he yelled, glaring at her.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, looking at him. Charles knew better than to interject. Ezra had his mother’s temper, and he knew better than to get in his way when he was upset. He would just have to wait it out. Rose, on the other hand, had no intention to let Ezra get what he wanted whenever he wanted it. She thought that Charlie just spoiled him.

“Where’s my stuff?”

“What?”

“My stuff," he enunciated with a bit of irritation. "You cleaned my room, didn't you? Where'd you put my stuff?”

“Put what? That junk? It’s in the attic.”

He narrowed his eyes at her.

“It’s not junk.”

“It was thrown all over your floor and everything. If it weren't junk, which it obviously is, it wouldn't be all over the place. It'd be put away neatly. Aren’t you happy I cleaned your room? It was so messy, dear.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply.

“Obviously not. Charles, really? Really? I’m going upstairs. Can you do me a favor, Rose? Stay out of my room.”

He stalked up the stairs, taking them two at a time. The reason he was so upset with Rose was because most of those records were his mother’s. They held memories of her and who she was, and it was one of the last things that he had that belonged to her. They weren’t “all over his floor” like Rose said. They were in boxes under his bed. He was winded by the time he reached the attic, but he didn’t care. His eyes scanned over the catastrophe that his once neat attic had become, scowling.

Things that belonged to both Eliza and him were scattered all over the place, boxes stacked haphazardly on top of each other. There was hardly any space to move, and he noted that some of Rose's things were there as well. Why did she have to move in and move everything? Who told her it was okay? Charles was losing it, he thought as he started to pull down one of his boxes. It didn’t matter now if Rose made his father happy or not—she had to go.



“What are you doing?” Jude asked Piper on Monday morning. Jude had gotten back from her movie date with Quinn later than Piper expected, so Jude had yet to know about Piper’s tentative plans for the weekend. Piper was looking at her eyes in the mirror, frowning. Were they really pretty? Her thick rimmed glasses rested on the sink, almost falling off. “Earth to Piper?”

“Huh? Sorry. I was just, um, looking at something,” she replied dismissively. Jude looked at her expectantly. “It’s nothing.” She slipped her glasses back on, running a hand through her blonde hair. “So, how was your date?” she asked. Jude blushed, looking down at her shoes. That had to be a good sign, Piper thought, resisting the urge to smile. She had the tendency to be right most of the time, and it seemed that her thoughts about Jude and Quinn were no exception.

“I’ll tell you in the car. C’mon, let’s go.” Piper gathered her things and walked downstairs with Jude. Magdalyne was painting her nails on top of the newspaper on the kitchen table. Every couple of seconds, she’d dip her spoon into a slice of grapefruit. “Maggie, what are you doing?” she asked, looking at her strangely.

“I’m on this new diet,” she explained quickly, eating another spoonful. “I've gotta look good.”

Jude simply rolled her eyes and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on top of the refrigerator. Mrs. Presley left the girls their lunches on the counter. She was gone by the time the girls were even out of bed because she had a rather long commute to the preschool where she taught, all the way in Jersey. But, still she took time to make something for Jude to eat, and, for now, Piper. She was the caring, motherly type.

“Are you going to tell me now?” Piper pressed, looking at Jude as they pulled out of the driveway. Jude bit a chunk out of her apple, laughing a bit.

“Well, um,” she started, swallowing thickly, “there’s not much to say. O’Malley’s not such a bad guy after all, okay?”

“Oh, really?”

Jude laughed, throwing her head back. She bit into her apple again.

“Yes, really. And that’s all you’re getting.”

“Oh, please,” Piper scoffed. “He didn’t try anything?”

“I don't kiss and tell, Piper. You know that,” she giggled. “So, what did you get up to while I was gone?”

“Um… I went to the park for a run and I ran into Ezra.” Jude raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

“We talked for a bit and oh my God, Jude! You have to see his litter sister, she’s adorable!” Piper gushed, smiling a bit. “They’re so cute together. Anyway, he asked me to go skating with him on Saturday.”

“What did you say?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? That’s it? Playing hard to get, are we?”

“Hard to get what?” Piper asked, looking over at Jude, confused. She wasn’t exactly the most experienced teenager. She had seen enough many romance movies, but had never really experienced it. There was the occasional 'ooh, he's cute' moment here and there, but things with Ezra were different. She just didn't know how yet.

“Never mind. We’re here.” They sat in the car and talked for a few minutes. Piper smiled slightly to herself, looking forward to the afternoon. She didn’t know what that week would hold in store for her, but she honestly couldn’t wait to find out. Piper hardly expected much of anything, because most of the things in her life were constant and boring, so this was a feeling she embraced with open arms.



Piper fidgeted in her seat, uncomfortable and ill at ease, as she sat in front of Mrs. Clearwater. She sat on her hands, willing herself not to reach over and organize the messiness that her principal called a desk.

“Ms. Fleming, you've made Mathletes. But I'm sure you already know that,” Mrs. Clearwater said smugly. Piper was kind of upset that they pulled her out of last period just to tell her something she already knew. The test was really easy and she was pretty good at math and so it didn't surprise her that she had made the team. She'd been on it since the 6th grade. Big deal. She did things like that all the time, so she stopped caring about them after a while. She'd just leave the competition with another trophy that would be added to her father's ever growing collection.

“That’s great,” she replied, trying to not rest her gaze on the unkempt desk. She gnawed on her thumbnail as she looked out the window, sighing.

“It's such an honor to be representing our school in the upcoming competition, don't you think? And you know that if you win, you could bring an untold amount of honor and prestige to our school. You do know that, right?” Piper resented that condescending tone. Of course she knew how important this was—courtesy her father shoving book after book on all sorts of mathematic theories in her face every chance he got. Piper bit her tongue and nodded, smiling a little.

"I'll do my very best."

“Excellent.” The woman grinned, cheeks stretching in a way that made Piper feel uncomfortable. “How is tutoring going for you?”

“Huh?” she asked, her attention now caught.

“Ezra. How’s tutoring going with him?”

“F-Fine,” she stammered. She felt her cheeks starting to heat up.

“Good. All very good. You may go back to class,” she said dismissively, signing Piper's pass and sliding it towards her.

Piper gathered her things and almost booked it out of Mrs. Clearwater’s office. She walked towards the library, trying to squeeze in between all the bodies that made up the student body. She didn't know why she signed her pass if the bell had already rung. She set her things down at their usual table and waited for Ezra.

And she waited.

And she waited.

And she waited some more.

After a half hour or so, he hadn't shown and she started to do her own homework. Despite the fact that she hadn't seen him in school, she still figured he was there. They didn't have any classes together, after all. She bit her lip and glanced at the door every few minutes, sure that he would show up. Except he didn't, and when she realized that she was the only person left in the library, save for the librarian on the other side, she shut her books with a heavy sigh.

Why did she feel so disappointed?

She glanced at her phone. She shoved her books into her bag and threw it over her shoulder. Jude sent her a text, saying that she was outside. She waved halfheartedly at the librarian and made her way out of the empty school. Jude's car sat right at the school steps. Piper climbed in sadly.

Did she miss him or something? No. She was just upset she hadn't gotten to help him. That was all. She didn't miss his smile or the way his hair fell into his eyes or how he laughed. No.

“Hey, PJ,” Jude said brightly, offering her a small smile. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. Can we just go, please?” She was kind of tired, and all she wanted to do was sleep. Even though what she should have done was go and study for Mathletes—which, as far as she knew, were on Saturday—all she wanted to do was take a long and resting nap. Maybe he had just been kidding about her being pretty and going skating.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I made Mathletes,” she mumbled softly, looking out the window.

“Really? Piper, that’s great!” Jude tried to be enthusiastic about anything and everything Piper did, really, but sometimes it was hard—especially because she usually had no idea what Piper was even doing.

“I guess so.” She shrugged. Why did she miss him? It wasn't like they were anything more than friends. She didn't like him. It was just some stupid crush and Ezra was just a stupid boy who was failing his chemistry class. That was it. Right?