Andie went back to bed after Balon left, but she couldn't get to sleep. And with Hannah lying next to her fast asleep, she couldn't even toss and turn in frustration. But Hannah was resting peacefully, so she didn't mind too much. She gently moved a lock of hair that was tickling her sister's nose, and looked out the window. The sky looked blue in the moonlight. There wasn't a sound. She couldn't stop thinking about what Balon had said. She had heard of people silently loving another person for years, but she hadn't expected it to happen to her... why had Bane never told her this? Was it because he thought it would scare her off?

She bit her lip. Of course he did... she had probably only reinforced that feeling when they had first started growing closer, and she'd tried to slow things down, not knowing if she wanted what Bane did. And she couldn't say she hadn't sensed a difference in the way they felt about each other. She loved him dearly, deeply, but Bane was... far more intense. She sighed and rolled carefully over. That was probably the reason the situation seemed to be hitting him so much harder than her... he must have felt he had ruined everything between them... and the worse part was that she couldn't tell if he was right or not. She still cared about him, of course... but if he didn't trust her, how could it possibly work between them? The answer was simple. It couldn't.

Andie had always grown up with the idea that trust is the basis of a relationship. And she was no longer sure she could trust Bane. And yet the thought of losing him was unbearable... but things would never be the same, and she couldn't tell which path was best for either of them. And while she was ready to do a lot of things for people she loved, she had no intention of living a lie if there was another way... she glanced at a picture of her and Bane by the Christmas tree. She sighed again and closed her eyes, wishing things could go back to the way they had been then.

Andie woke up feeling like she'd barely rested. And in retrospect, she probably hadn't much. But she had classes and rehearsal to get to. She got up quietly, got dressed and brushed her hair. Hannah could sleep a little longer. By the time she was ready, however, it was time for Hannah to get up.

"Hannah? Hey, time to get up, sleepyhead."

Hannah shifted slightly.

"Five more minutes..." she muttered sleepily.

Andie chuckled.

"I already gave you twenty," she smiled. "Come on, if I give you any more, you'll only go back to sleep. Up you get."

She turned to her dresser and took to brushing her tangled hair, wincing as the brush yanked through the knots. With a huge yawn, Hannah sat up and rubbed her eyes. Andie stepped away from the dresser and crouched before her.

"Hey... are you okay, Hannah? Did you sleep all right?"

Hannah nodded, but her eyes were uncertain.

"Am I going to have dreams about fire again?"

Andie sighed and squeezed her sister's hands.

"I don't know..." she said. "You might, you might not."

"Andie, am I going to catch fire like the napkin?" she asked in a nervous voice.

"No!" Andie said, trying to smile. "No, of course not. Fire isn't your enemy, it's your friend. You just have to be careful with it because it can get... a little out of hand. But you can always trust one thing: it will never hurt you. Okay?"

A small smile appeared on Hannah's face, and she nodded. Andie smiled back and reached up to kiss her forehead. She stood up and ran a hand through Hannah's hair.

"Why don't you go get dressed?" she suggested.

Hannah bobbed her head and headed out of the room. Andie exhaled wearily and sat down on her bead, burying her face in her hands.

"I'm barely able to protect myself, Adena... how am I supposed to protect her?" she asked unhappily.

Adena's hand touched Andie's.

"By remembering that you're not alone," she said gently.

Andie smiled sadly. She placed her free hand over Adena's.

"You're right," she said. "Thanks."

There was a pause.

"You know, I couldn't help hearing your conversation with Balon.."

Andie rolled her eyes.

"Let me guess. You're going to tell me that if I do break up with him, I should be nice about it. Because I would obviously go up to him and say "we're done, get out of my life", or something. Come on, really?"

"I know you wouldn't do that." Adena replied patiently. "I was going to say the opposite, actually. Don't let Balon force you into anything you don't want. If you want to be with Bane, then make sure it's because you want it, not because you feel guilty."

Andie wasn't sure how she would or should react if she ran into Bane that day. But she knew that it would eventually happen. She was glad they were able to speak together and be at least a little bit closer, but she still wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. She was sure many girls would have already run back into Bane's arms, but she didn't want to do anything until she was sure it was what she wanted. Her parents had always taught her that never to settle for "second best". It was probably a lawyer trait of theirs, she thought. She found the girls by the entrance as usual.

"Are you okay? You look exhausted." Isabelle said, frowning in concern.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep that well last night."

She told them in a low voice what had happened.

"Is Hannah okay?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah, she'll be all right. I think." Andie answered. "She's still scared, though... and I hate not knowing how to help her..."

Emily touched her shoulder.

"We're all here to watch over her. She'll be fine."

"I know. Thanks. But that's not all..." she said. "Bane came last night."

The girls exchanged stunned looks.

"He did?" Isabelle asked. "Why?"

"... Adena told Balon, who told him. He came to check on us."

Jessica snorted.

"Yeah, right. Probably getting information for his dear father and brother."

"No, he was really kind," Andie said. "And don't talk about him like that, Jess."

Jessica's eyed suddenly became huge.

"Please tell me you didn't..."

Andie blinked, then caught on.

"What?! No! Of course not!" She exclaimed indignantly. "God, Jess! But Bane's still important to me, I can't just shut him out."

Andie wrapped her coat more tightly around her. March was starting, but the weather was still chilly.

"Come on, let's go get our things, the bell will be ringing soon." she said, cutting across Jessica before she could argue and walked off.

Isabelle and Emily went off to their class while Jessica walked with Andie to her locker. She didn't say so, but Andie had a feeling she was keeping an eye on her. She didn't roll her eyes, but it was close. They paused by Andie's locker and she went around gathering her books. Just then, she noticed Jessica glaring at something. She turned to look. Jessica must have noticed, because she tried to stop her.

"No, Andie don'-"

But it was too late. Andie had looked round and froze. Just a few feet away, Bane was standing by his own locker, a dark haired girl laughing and brushing his arm with her manicured hands. Vicki Chase. Andie felt a sudden burst of anger spark inside her. She closed her locker and leaned against it, watching them. Her arms crossed over her chest, her fingers digging into her skin. It was true she wasn't sure what to do about Bane, but she had no desire to see Vicki Chase get her hands on him. She half had a mind to go up to her and give her a piece of her mind. But in the current circumstances, she didn't think it was a good idea. It would only confuse them both further. She sighed and turned away.

"I told you not to look..." Jessica said sympathetically. "But hey, it's his loss. If he wants to replace you with that shallow bimbo..."

Andie raised her hand to silence her, closing her eyes wearily.

"Jess, just don't, please..."

Jessica fell silent. She made to walk off to class.

"You coming?" she asked Andie.

Andie glanced back at Bane, whose eyes met hers. He said something to Vicki and walked towards Andie, leaving Vicki looking very put out.

"I'll be there in a minute," she said. "You go ahead."

Jessica shrugged and marched off. Andie looked back at Bane, who was just coming up to her. She breathed in and lowered her arms.

"Hey. How are you and Hannah?"

"We're good," Andie answered. "Thanks."

Bane gave her a shrewd look.

"Are you sure? You look ex-You look tired."

She had a feeling he'd almost said "exhausted", but changed his mind mid sentence. She wasn't sure why. It didn't matter right now, anyway.

"I'm okay. Thanks." she said.

She glanced at Vicki, who was moving away. She turned back to Bane.

"You and Vicki seem to be getting along," she commented, trying to sound detached.

"Huh? Oh... she just noticed we weren't spending as much time together and was wondering what was wrong."

Andie shook her head.

"You must see what she's doing, right?"

"Being nice?" Bane replied, raising an eyebrow. "I know you don't like her, but-"

"She's not being nice! She's just jumping at the chance to try and win you over!"

"Well, maybe it would help to know if we've broken up or not." Bane said shortly.

Andie sighed.

"We're not broken up, I'm just... figuring things out, and I'm sorry, I know I owe you an answer, but..."

She exhaled in frustration.

"I mean, put yourself in my shoes for a minute..." she began.

"What about you walking in mine?" Bane asked in a low voice, taking a step towards her. "I know you and Balon talked after I left."

Andie's mouth opened slightly in surprise and hesitation. She hadn't expected him to find out about that...

"I..."

"It's true. I love you. I've loved you since I first saw you. But I can take it if you don't want me anymore."

He held her gaze, his eyes suddenly a little too bright.

"But if you don't, for God's sake, just say so."

And before Andie could answer, he stormed off. Andie watched him leave, her eyes shining. She wiped her cheek with her palm and walked away.