I was fairly aware of the situation that I was putting myself into when I kissed Dani. I knew that she would most likely reject me, shut me out, or in other words, everything that she had been doing for the past week.

But reality was arguably worse than what I had imagined.

It's not that she was being a bitch about it, because that wasn't the problem at all. I wasn't sure what she was struggling with, but there was obviously something that she dealt with inside of her head every time she saw or spoke to me. I respected the fact that kissing her had made things difficult between us, and I knew she was struggling with the fact that she could get in trouble for both that and our living situation, but to be fair, we'd technically already done the crime and she had moved past it.

The fact that I couldn't understand what was different now that I'd kissed her again wasn't the problem either.

I really didn't want to make her uncomfortable, and especially not in her own apartment. But I had let her into my life, at least more so than I had to anyone besides Damon and a girl I used to know in my first group home. It had been hard to talk to Dani at first, but she'd gotten me to confess things to her that I didn't trust anyone with. Now it felt like I was losing her too, even though I had wanted this to happen and I knew that, eventually, it would. She'd been persistent in keeping me away from Brian, and now whether she liked it or not, I did trust her. I had even reluctantly told her my original last name, which was something that Damon didn't even know.

Sara did of course, but that was because it had once been her last name as well.

So I really wasn't sure if I could just give up on fixing things between us- at least not until I left her apartment for good.

I was currently leaning against her car, which was parked by the left side of the school, away from the main parking lot. I was watching her from a distance, as she was by the side entrance with her phone pressed to her ear and her hand in her hair. She was obviously frustrated, and she looked just as exhausted as I was, but I didn't want to pry. We already weren't on good terms, I didn't need to do anything to make that worse.

After a few minutes, she seemed to end her call and lean against the brick wall, eyes closed. I sat on the curb and waited for her to start walking in my direction, which she did after a while of thinking to herself. It seemed as though my work schedule was getting more and more random every week, but I knew there was nothing Max could do about that. This was the only job I was going to get that would work out for me, so I was happy, regardless of the shitty hours that I was given.

When she had made it to the trunk of her car, I spoke up. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Dani answered, pulling her keys out of her bag. She looked back up in time to see me simultaneously sigh and frown, and she sighed. "Thanks."

"Yeah," I muttered, getting into her car. It had been a week or so since we kissed, and in most of our conversations since the day that Izzy had been over, we were short with each other. I tried to talk to her because I was working less now and the silence that came with sitting around in her apartment was truly painful, but I never got very far.

We sat in silence for a while, before she looked over at me briefly and spoke. "It's Halloween today, you know."

I raised my eyebrow. "I know. I'm living under your roof, not under a rock."

"Damn," she muttered, looking out her window. "Are you always this sarcastic?"

"No.... my sarcasm usually makes an appearance when I'm annoyed."

"What are you annoyed ab-" she began, but let her words die in her throat when she saw the look I was giving her. She looked away, sighing, before speaking in a low voice.

"Well are you going to Logan's party with Andrea?"

"How do you..."

She rolled her eyes, making a left turn towards her apartment. "I'm not living under a rock either, you know. I taught Derik last year, and I teach both Andrea and Logan now. I know they're all good friends, and I know you talk to Andrea a lot, so I was just curious."

"Does Logan throw a party every year or something?"

"From what I can tell," she answered. I was actually really surprised we had gotten this far in our conversation, because in the last week, we had never made it this far. I figured it was only a matter of time before she realized that she 'couldn't' talk to me in such a 'friendly' way.

"How long have you been a teacher?"

She formed a thin line with her lips. "This is my second year."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? How old are you?"

She sighed, stopping the car in front of her building. "Twenty-five. I'm going to the gym and I have to pick up candy, so..." She gave me a look ushering me out of her car, but I tilted my head.

"Can I come with?"

"I take it you're not going to Logan's party."

"Andy invited me," I said, looking out the window. I turned back to her. "But I told her I couldn't go. Did you really expect me to?"

"No, I suppose I didn't. You really want to go to the gym with me?"

"Your apartment isn't any more entertaining."

Dani looked at me for a while, before shrugging and stepping on the gas pedal. I spoke, "You don't do anything on Halloween?"

She stayed silent for a few moments, before shaking her head. "Not anymore."

I could tell she really didn't want to elaborate, and since she was in a better mood than usual, I decided not to ask why. I'd have the pleasure of spending tonight with her since I told Andy I couldn't go to her party, and I didn't want to turn her okay mood upside down.

After a few more minutes, she pulled up outside of what I assumed to be her gym and reached behind me to grab her bag. "You can sign in as a guest. But uh... I.. I know Taylor works out here occasionally, so please keep your distance until I'm done, alright?"

I knew we couldn't really be seen out together in public, regardless of whether or not we were doing anything like kissing, but for some reason, her asking me to stay away still hurt a little bit. I nodded absentmindedly and she got out of her car, starting towards the building. I lingered for a few minutes, before signing in as a guest and sitting down by the water fountain. Eventually I saw Dani come out of the locker room and start what I assumed to be her routine.

She ran around the track for half an hour while I sat and watched, occasionally looking at my phone to read through the dozens of texts from Brian that I had chosen to ignore. Eventually she moved on to use the machines, and I looked up from my phone to see her speaking with none other than Principal Taylor himself. I could tell she was forcing a smile as she talked to him, but he didn't seem to notice. I was going to get up and make my way to the bathroom so I didn't run into him, but when he turned away from Dani and started in my direction, we made eye contact.

"Oh hi Rebecca," he said, nodding and wiping his forehead with a towel. "What a coincidence, I actually just ran into your favorite person."

I raised my eyebrow and tried to seem interested. "Oh? Who's that?"

"I meant to say your favorite teacher. Ring any bells now?"

"A few," I muttered, looking over his shoulder to see Dani watching us. Her expression held worry and I tried to tell her to ease up with my own, but I wasn't sure if I succeeded.

He set a soft smile on his face. "And how's detention going?"

"Fine I guess, I'd rather it not be going. Can I ask you, when can I have my Thursdays back?"

He shrugged. "That's up to Ms. Parker. I gave her my heavily-weighted opinion, but she gets to decide when you've done your time. I have to get going, but I'm glad I ran into you. Don't blame her too much, okay? She's just doing her job. If you're not going to put the blame on yourself for using the ID in the first place, you may as well blame me."

"I'm not blaming anyone, Mr. Taylor."

"Are you sure? Because you seem to direct a bit of ill-will in Ms. Parker's direction."

I honestly wasn't sure what he was talking about, but I just shook my head. "I don't."

He stared at me for a moment, before nodding. "Well okay. Have a good Halloween. Don't get into too much trouble."

I nodded him off, and Dani made her way over to me a few moments after he left the gym. She raised her eyebrow. "Did he say anything to you worth mentioning?"

"No, he didn't suggest that we're sleeping together," I mumbled, sinking into the chair that I was sitting in. "I think you're safe for now."

She sighed. "Am I allowed to look out for myself, Beca?"

"Yeah," I said, standing up. "You are. He just asked me not to give you a hard time about the whole detention thing."

Dani raised her eyebrows in response, before shaking off the initial surprise. "He's... a sweet guy."

I took in the look on her face and scrunched up my nose in distaste. "Gross."

She rolled her eyes, leading me out of the gym and to her car. "All I said was that he's sweet."

"Yeah, that's all you needed to say. You... have quite a few people interested in you, you know that?"

"Yes, unfortunately. Taylor and I will never, ever, ever happen Beca. There's probably a better chance of you and I happening."

I raised my brows in a bit of shock. "There's a chance of us happening, huh?"

She looked at me, frowning. Her expression told me that she hadn't meant to say that. "No."

I sighed, not expecting her to answer in any other way, and got into her car. She stopped at the store and bought candy, before pulling up outside of her building and guiding me inside. We didn't say much else after that, and though I kind of wished I had taken Andy up on her offer to bring me to the party, I told myself that I had done the right thing. She knew I didn't have a car, and she would have offered to pick me up, which would have been another whole ordeal. I'd probably have to lie, and I didn't want to do so any more than I had to.

At around five, Dani came out of her bedroom in jeans and her leather jacket, and I wondered why she had changed back into clothes for going out. She tilted her head. "There's been a recent development in my plans for tonight."

"Okay?"

"How interested are you in spending tonight with an overly perky seven-year-old?"

I smirked. "Izzy?"

She nodded and I saw a hint of a smile. She was actually in a pretty good mood today, and I was starting to wonder why. It was almost as if she had suddenly forgotten about our kiss a week ago and decided that we could act civilly towards one another. "Adrianna really needs to get a babysitter."

"But she has one."

Dani smiled then, letting herself chuckle. "Yeah, she has one alright."

The door bell rang and the blonde in front of me shook her head, jogging to the door. She opened it to reveal Izzy in a racing suit, also wearing a helmet way too big for her tiny little head. Adrianna ushered her inside quickly, squeezed her daughter's hand before speaking with Dani, and then hastily making her way down the stairs.

Dani smiled at Izzy, picking her up. "That's your daddy's helmet, isn't it?"

Izzy pulled the helmet off and put it on Dani's head, provoking me to smile. "Yep. It looks better on you."

Dani set her down, pulling the helmet off too and shaking her head. "I don't think so, I think it suits you perfectly. Didn't you want to be Belle for Halloween though?"

Izzy put her hand on her hip. "That was last week, Aunt Dani. We talked about this."

The blonde quirked an eyebrow and smirked, looking at me to see me smiling because of Izzy's response too. I had to admit, as much as I tried to keep people out of my life, Izzy had wormed her way into my heart and if anything ever happened to her, it would really take a toll on me. I knew that I would eventually have to leave Dani's apartment and I wouldn't see either of them again, but I hoped it wouldn't affect Izzy as much as it would affect me.

Dani set her niece down, who then looked over at me and immediately grinned, running in my direction and jumping onto my chest. "Beca!"

I laughed, hugging her and making eye contact with Dani, who stood by the counter, watching us. "Why do you act so surprised to see me? I'm here every time, Izzy."

"You said you're going to move out sometime soon. I don't want that to happen."

I bit my cheek and looked at Dani again, before pulling back from our embrace and squeezing her shoulders. "That's not for a little while. Are you going to take Aunt Dani trick-or-treating?" I asked, smirking as I tried to steer Izzy's attention away from the previous topic. She grinned, nodding.

"Yep. Right Aunt Dani?"

Dani rolled her eyes. "Right. We should get going."

"Can Beca come? Please?"

The blonde looked at me, and I knew she was thinking the same thing that I was. She briefly turned to her niece, who was situated in my arms. "Maybe. Go use the bathroom real quick before we go, okay?"

Izzy nodded and scurried off, and Dani started in my direction, sitting down on the coffee table in front of me. "Do you want to go?"

"Aren't you worried about someone seeing us together?"

She sighed. "Yes, I am, but you shouldn't have to sit here and do nothing all night. You can... wear a mask or something?"

"That's a great suggestion. Well I did tell you I was a good magician. Here, let me just pull one out of my magic hat-"

She rolled her eyes, cutting me off and standing up. "I think I might have a few. No need to resurface the sarcasm."

"It has a mind of its own," I joked, and she just shook her head and disappeared into her bedroom. Izzy came back out of the bedroom and started rambling about her friend April, and I listened until Dani returned holding a few masks.

"Why do you have these?"

"They're one of my friend's. I think she brought them over a few Halloweens ago."

I nodded, grabbing the thin purple masquerade mask and putting it over my face. I looked at Izzy, grinning. "How do I look?"

"Not scary," she responded, sticking out her tongue and grabbing her bag, scurrying off towards the door.

I smiled, watching Dani as she picked up her niece's helmet and nodded me toward the front door. She locked it behind her and started down the stairs, but my voice stopped her.

"You're not going to go to the rest of the apartments in this building?"

Dani plastered a sly smile on her face. "It's probably best if we don't."

I raised my eyebrow. "Okay, why?"

She ushered Izzy down the stairs, briefly turning back to me. "I don't think my neighbors have very nice opinions of me. I used to be a... very loud neighbor."

I took in her statement and almost immediately gave her an odd look. "Oh?"

Her expression held confusion until she realized how I had interpreted her comment, and she rolled her eyes and lightly punched my shoulder. "Jesus Beca, not like that. My friends, they used to get loud. When they came over." She shook her head. "It's really hard to have an appropriate conversation with you, do you know that?"

"I wonder why that is," I murmured, following her down the steps and out of the door. There were a few people on the sidewalk, but there weren't many houses around here. Dani nodded her head in the direction of the school and ushered Izzy forward.

"I hope you're up for walking."

I shrugged. "I don't mind."

Izzy saw a few other people, running forward and looking back at us. "Come on slowpokes! All the candy is gunna be gone!"

Dani rolled her eyes and quickened her pace. We walked for a while until we made it to the development near our school and started our walk around. Dani and I stood on the sidewalk as Izzy scurried up to the door at each house, and even if we were just walking together, I was still enjoying myself. I greatly preferred this version of Dani, because her company was enjoyable even if we weren't really doing anything or talking very much.

I spoke after a while, "You know, I've never gone trick-or-treating before."

"You haven't?"

"I haven't done a lot of things."

Dani looked over at me, placing her hands on Izzy's shoulders and guiding her forward. "That I probably could've guessed, but none of your foster parents let you go out for the holiday?"

Izzy ran off to another house and I shrugged. "Well most of my foster parents didn't have any other kids and I just didn't want to go out by myself, especially not when I was that young. I was supposed to go one Halloween with my foster-brother and sister, but uh, I kind of fucked that up. And in the group homes... we just stayed inside and scared the shit out of each other."

She tilted her head, responding, "Scared the shit out of each other in a good or bad way?"

"I guess it depends on who you're talking to. I usually stayed in my bedroom; it was impossible to scare me."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Don't scare easily?"

I shook my head. "I don't scare, at all. The girls in my last group home just gave up trying."

"I doubt that's true, everyone has a weakness. You're bound to be scared by something."

"Brian's face, maybe?" I offered, joking. She narrowed her eyes and I gave her a different answer. "Seriously, you wouldn't be able to scare me if you tried."

She smirked. "I'll keep that in mind. I don't know if you know, but I like a good challenge."

"Even when the challenge is impossible?"

"We'll see," she answered. When Izzy scurried back, we walked in silence until we reached the next house. Dani was the one to speak up first.

"You said you haven't done a lot of things?"

I lifted my eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Like what?"

I thought about her question for a moment, before shaking my head and readjusting the mask I was wearing. "Like, everything. My life has consisted of going to school, drawing, and moving around this shitty town and a few others. There hasn't been very much room for adventure."

She stayed silent for a while, before speaking up again. "Tell me something you'd really like to do, but haven't gotten the chance."

I tried to think about it, but even though I literally hadn't been anywhere or done much of anything, I couldn't think of anything on the spot like that. After a few moments, I was able to answer her. "Go to the beach?"

Dani stared at me for a while, seeming to be figuring something out in her head. She nodded, "What else?"

"I've always wanted to go to an amusement park. Or, a carnival or something. And I'd really love to go ice-skating.... and bowling, and as stupid as it sounds, you have no idea how much I've always wanted to jump on a trampoline. Oh, and I'd love to go to a concert someday--"

Dani chuckled a little bit, stopping me. "Okay, okay, it sounds like you've got a pretty big bucket list." She paused and smirked. "Jumping on a trampoline is really at the top of it?"

I smiled, nudging her shoulder. "Don't judge me, they look like fun. One of the foster homes I was in when I was ten had a trampoline, but it was broken. I cannot express to you how frustrated it made me."

She smiled back, chuckling. "Oh no, I can imagine."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're totally judging me right now."

She held her hands up. "I am not! I had my first