The City Calls to Her

Gabe knocked on the door and took a step back. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he waited. After another minute, Mrs. Douglas opened the door.

"Is Rachel in?"

She let him into the house. "I'm not sure she wants any visitors but just let me check first." Gabe nodded his head and watched her go upstairs. He looked around the living room as he waited. She came down a moment later and told him Rachel would see him.

"Thanks," he said and headed in the direction she previously had. He knocked quietly on her door and she let him in. He took in her appearance. She looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"I look horrible, I know."

"No," Gabe said and shook his head. "You're still just as beautiful as ever."

She blushed and quickly threw her hair into a ponytail.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "All right I guess. I've obviously been better."

"Hey, come here," he said. He stood up from sitting on the edge of her desk. Despite him being part of the reason why everything happened, she couldn't be mad at him. She walked into his open arms. "We're going to find out who's behind this but something tells me it was Melody. I can't see anyone else doing that to me--to us. It just reeks of Melody."

"I don't care who did it. I just don't think I'm ever going to trust again."

Gabe put his hands on either side of her face. "Please don't say that. Please don't fade away. You are so amazing and you make so many people happy. Don't take that away from us. I know you're hurting and saying you're never going to trust again. I'm not going to blame or fault you for hurting but if you say you're never gonna trust again, you're just setting yourself up for failure. You'll be able to trust again. When? I don't know but that's what makes life so amazing. One day you're just going to have to take that jump and not look back."

"Gabe-"

He shook his head and put his finger on her lips.

"I don't like seeing you this way. I wish I could take all your pain and fears away. I wish you could see how alive yet weak you make me. To me, it feels so amazing. I hope one day you'll let me give that back and make you feel strong enough to take that chance and just jump. Just know that when you do, I'm going to be right there beside you. I hope that made sense because I was just saying whatever came to my mind."

"That made plenty of sense," Rachel said as she grabbed onto Gabe's shirt. She got up on her tippy toes and kissed him. Gabe lowered himself so she wouldn't have to do that. She pushed him towards her bed. He stopped her.

"Are you doing this because you want to or are you doing this because you're feeling vulnerable?"

"Does it make any difference?"

"Actually yes."

"I'm doing this because I want to."

"All right," Gabe said. He was hoping that was the answer. He lied down on her bed and pulled her on top of him not once breaking their kiss. She straddled his waist and pulled his shirt off.

"I love you Gabe," she told him.

"I love you, too," he responded as he pushed her hair out of her face. He knew that was her being vulnerable. He watched her as she pulled off her shirt and dropped it on the floor. He put his hands on her hips as he brought her closer to him.

* * * * *

Mrs. Douglas looked at the clock and noticed it was 10 o'clock.

"I'll be right back," she told her husband and got up from the couch. She went upstairs to Rachel's room and turned on the light. Rachel and Gabe, both fully dressed, were asleep in her bed. Rachel was asleep on his chest and he had an arm wrapped protectively around her. Mrs. Douglas wanted to leave them alone just for the fact that Rachel was finally sleeping peacefully. It's been a couple days since whatever happened happened but it hasn't gotten any easier for her daughter. She was constantly waking up in the middle of the night damn near screaming.

"Rachel, your friend has to go home now," she said. They both stirred awake.

"Okay," Rachel said as she sat up. She gently shook Gabe until he woke up.

"I'm up," he mumbled.

"It's a few minutes after ten. Gabe's gotta go now." Mrs. Douglas left the room. She knew what happened despite the fact that they were both dressed. She trusted her motherly instinct and she had once been sixteen herself.

Rachel and Gabe walked to the door a few minutes later. Gabe leaned over and kissed her not once but twice. The second one lasted a little longer than her father would have liked. He loudly cleared his throat. They pulled apart and looked at each other.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Gabe asked.

"Yeah, you will," she responded before she quickly kissed him one last time. She watched him walk out the door. Her parents stared at her as a goofy grin covered her face. She shook her head and went back upstairs. After a couple minutes, her mother walked in and closed the door behind her.

"I'm making a doctor's appointment for you for next week."

"Why?"

"I know that you're now sexually active and I just you to be safe."

"We are being safe mom. I mean, were."

"Are?"

"We've only had sex twice mom. We were safe both times."

"That's exactly why you're going to the doctor's."

"Fine mom. Can I go back to bed now?"

"Yeah, sleep well," Mrs. Douglas said she quietly left the room and shut the door. She turned and came face to face with Jon.

"You know he's eighteen, right?"

"Who?"

"Gabe."

"Okay and…?"

"Technically that's illegal."

"What are you gonna do, call the cops?"

"No."

"Jon, it's not such a big deal. Don't think I don't know about that twenty year old girl you lost your virginity to when you were seventeen," she said referring to when he went to California to do a campus visit with Freddie. Jon blushed and walked away. She shook her head and walked to her bedroom.

* * * * *

Gabe grabbed his hoody out of the locker after putting his shirt on.

"Hey Gabe," Keith approached him. Keith was one of the football players. He acted like he was a big deal when in reality, he really wasn't. On top of that, he was a mediocre football player at best.

"What Keith?" Gabe turned to him.

"I hear your girlfriend is pretty easy, is that true? You should bring her to my house sometime."

"Really? According to some of my sources, your mom is pretty easy too." That wiped the smirk off Keith’s face.

"Come on Keith. It's really not worth it," one of his friends said.

"Don't talk about my mom!"

"Don't talk about my girlfriend. Oh wait; you're jealous, aren't you? It's because she's really hot and your girlfriend is well…she honestly doesn't even begin to compare. Just admit it. Rachel is the epitome of hot and Donna…what is it that they say, she looks like a dog or something like that? Yeah, I'm gonna go with that." Gabe nodded his head. He grabbed his hoody and left the locker room. He shook his head once he was out of there and went to find Rachel. He found her upstairs at her locker.

"Hey," Rachel said as she hugged Gabe and then went back into her locker. People kept glancing at them as they walked past. Then Matt and Nathan walked past. Nathan and Rachel caught eye contact and maintained it until he had fully passed. He had called her the night before and broke things off with her. He had heard "through the grapevine" that she and Gabe had slept together the night of the party.

"Rach," Gabe said pulling her attention back to him. "Someone called you my girlfriend earlier today."

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing. I mean, hopefully one day soon it'll be true."

"It'll be true one day. Trust me," she said and smiled at him. She could have sworn he just blushed.

"Come on, we better get to class," he said as he took her hand and they walked off to Music Theory.