Teddy wasn't as scared of walking to school in the morning as he used to be. Word had spread that him and Zoe were living together and, after people heard the news and started paying more attention, they also realized that Carmen was living there as well. Nobody had actually seen her or even knew she had kids but, they had seen a car leave Zoe's house at the same time that Teddy and Zoe were leaving for school one morning. Of course, there was a lot more staring and whispering, especially now that he was covered in bruises and cuts again, but Teddy and Zoe were both used to being stared at so, it didn't effect them too much.

"I got new stickers." Zoe whispered to Teddy as she flipped open her thick, daily planner.

"I'm sorry?" Teddy asked after setting his backpack down beside his desk and looking to the seat next to him, where Zoe was sat.

"I got new stickers." She repeated.

After pulling the sheet of stickers out of the back of her planner, she held them up for Teddy to look at them. It was a collection of chibi-style cartoon puppies with their tongues out, hearts on their cheeks, or tails wagging. Teddy had seen Zoe put stickers in her planner before, to mark when a day had passed, so he vaguely understood what she was showing him. The only part that confused him was the fact that Zoe, a teenager with a full, professional career, would be giddy over puppy stickers.

"They're puppies." Zoe beamed with joy as she used a long, pastel pink fingernail to point to the stickers.

"Yes, I see that." Teddy chuckled and shook his head before he returned to his bag.

While he was busy bent over and digging in his bag, Zoe pulled a Doberman puppy sticker off of the sheet and stuck it to the front of Teddy's notebook. Very wuickly, before he noticed, she used her glitter pen to write "-Z" under it. With a proud smile, Zoe capped her pen and watched as Teddy sat up straight with a textbook and study guide in hand. Before he could set those down on his desk, the Doberman sticker caught his eye and he sarcastically sighed in exhaustion at the sight of it.

"Don't start sticking your cutesy puppy shit all over my stuff, Zoe." Teddy light-heartedly scolded as he switched out his textbook for the notebook and began picking at it to peel the sticker off.

"Why? It is too girly for you, Teddy?" Zoe mocked.

"No, nuh-uh! Don't push that stupid, toxic masculinity, sexist bullshit on me. I ain't say nothing about it being girly." Teddy retorted.

"Then, don't take it off." Zoe slapped her hand down on the sticker to reapply the ear of the Doberman that Teddy managed to peel off.

Teddy defeatedly sighed and looked up at Zoe with a straight, serious expression, which she responded to with a bright, obnoxious smile. He rolled his eyes at her and pushed her hand off of his notebook. Teddy didn't mess with the puppy sticker this time as he flipped open his notebook to a new, fresh page. Meanwhile, the bell for class to start rang loud in the air and signaled for the teacher to get up and count the heads of their students for attendance.

"When did you become so stubborn, by the way? Are you still holding an ill-placed grudge?" Teddy whispered to Zoe as everyone got settle and prepared to listen to today's lesson.

"No grudges." Zoe meet Teddy's stare with a sly smirk with far too much meaning behind it for Teddy to decipher so quickly. "I just stopped trying to make you like me. I don't have to be sweet and innocent anymore."

Teddy's eyes narrowed but, he still managed a smirk as he studied Zoe. "Haven't you learned I don't like sweet and innocent? What are you going to do if this works?"

Zoe's smirk fell flat but her eyes never strayed from Teddy's. She was surprised by his response. After all this time, she hadn't really considered being anything but sweet and innocent because that's all she'd ever been. It made sense that, that wasn't what Teddy wanted so, why had she never considered that? How had that thought never came to mind? If Teddy didn't want sweet and innocent, what exactly did he want? Did she have to be stubborn about everything? Wouldn't that get annoying?

It didn't really matter, after all. Zoe already told Teddy that they weren't meant to be. She already told him she wouldn't go after him any longer. So, even if Zoe did have this new revolution that would help her finally court him, she couldn't use that information in any useful way. That almost made Zoe want to kick herself. Why did she decide to give up when she hadn't even tried all her options yet?

On the other hand, Teddy was smirking to himself as he realized Zoe had actually taken his words to heart. He could see it in her expression. It was written clear as day on her forehead. Teddy wasn't going to fall for Zoe just because she decided not to be a saint anyways. He had grown to like the sweet and innocent version of her because he knew it was real. She was a good person. Some of it was a little played up and obnoxious and inconvenient but, it was Zoe.

When the teacher pulled up a presentation for The History of Bloodletting and Other Cure-All's, Teddy abandoned their little conversation and went searching for his pencil. Zoe reluctantly started writing said title in bubbly letters at the top of her notes, which she could color in and design while the class was going. She was slightly distracted, though, since Teddy wouldn't stop moving as he searched for something to write with. Not to mention the intense revelation she just had. But even Teddy pushed that thought away with how desperately he was searching in his bag.

"Do you have a pencil?" Teddy whispered very quietly to Zoe.

Zoe turned her pen over to point towards the floor, where her bag was. "A colored pencil?" She cheekily asked.

"No.." Teddy dragged the word with a look on his face that displayed just how unamused he was by that question. "A real pencil."

Zoe ignored his desire for a boring, lead pencil and grabbed the blue glitter pen that was hidden between the pages of her daily planner. When she revealed it to him, Teddy scoffed under his breath. He couldn't have a puppy sticker on his notebook and blue, glitter writing all over the inside. It was absolutely ridiculous.

"I'm not taking that." Teddy smirked.

"Yes, you are." Zoe smirked right back at him, challenging his stubbornness with her own. She used the pen to gesture towards the front of the class, where their teacher was quickly reading through bullet points on the board before they flipped to the next slide. "You're missing valuable information, Teddy. What else are going to do?"

Teddy cursed under his breath as he listened to his teacher ramble about things that he wasn't retaining, which would probably be on a test or homework or something. He couldn't risk not having perfect grades. He was such a fuck up in every other part of his life, he wanted to make sure that he was, at least, a hard worker. He worked hard at the auto repair shop and he worked hard in school. Now, he had to work hard for Rin but, that was another story all together.

"Give me that!" Teddy quietly hissed as he snatched the pen out of Zoe's hand.

Zoe happily giggled and watched Teddy look between the front of the class and his notebook like he was flipping a light switch on and off. The pen was scribbling over his paper like crazy, but his handwriting remained neat and uniform. After a moment, Zoe got the feeling that she had been staring for too long, though, and averted her gaze back to her own notebook. There were still more bubble letters to draw designs inside. That wasn't as fun as bickering with Teddy, though.

"I heard she cussed out some senior guy the day she got back. Like, she snapped.." Someone whispered behind Teddy and Zoe, causing Zoe to stop writing and focus her attention on them without looking back. "I know. She acts like a perfect angel, but she hangs out with Teddy and snapped on a senior. I don't believe she's actually the sweetheart that she tries to be. There's something weird about her."

"She doesn't just hang out with Teddy. Didn't you hear? She lives with him." The other whispered with a slight snicker. "I'm not joking! For real! She said it herself and people have been seeing them leave and go into the house everyday this week. They live together."

"Oh my god... That's wild.. So, if she's secretly evil and they live together, does that mean the bruises are from her? I mean, he's poor and she has a crush on him, right? Does he get to stay over as long as she gets sex and he acts like her punching bag?"

Zoe couldn't help but roll her eyes and grip her pen in her hand. How could people make up things that vulgar? They didn't know anything. Even Joseph went as far as telling her that Teddy was violent enough to hit his sister. Why did it always have to be so intense? Why did people always assumed the worse? Just to entertain themselves or did they actually believe it? That didn't matter, Zoe supposed. Either way, they were unfair and it made her blood boil. Still, Zoe remained stiff and silent as she continued to eavesdrop.

There was a quiet gasp from one of the gossipers. "Oh my god! That's possible! I mean, every time he gets in a fight with Chuck, everybody gets to watch. He's been bruised how many times recently, when the last time he fought Chuck was, like, months ago? Who else would be hitting him, right?"

"Zoe must have a pretty gnarly swing to hit him like that."

"She doesn't have to hit him with her fist to cause bruises like that. She's probably got some expensive shit in that house to throw at him. It's not like she'd risk breaking a nail."

"Wow... That almost makes me pity him. Teddy really must be desperate for a place to sleep."

"Ignore them." Teddy whispered as he continued scribbling notes, effectively catching and taking control of Zoe's attention.

"You can hear them too?" Zoe whispered back to him, trying not to look directly at him or make any movements that would reveal she was listening to her classmates conversation. "And you're not saying anything?"

"What's there to say?" Teddy sighed, glancing towards Zoe with only a slight crane of his neck. "It's all wrong. We both know that. Even if we make a big scene and tell them they're wrong, it doesn't matter. It would actually make us look worse and fuel the gossip. People believe whatever they want to, Zoe. Just ignore it."

Zoe frowned and returned her attention back to the teacher as she tried to zone out the people behind her. At this point, it was nearly impossible. The fact that she was actively trying to tune them out only meant that she was listening even closer to the very thing she was trying to ignore. It was like putting a big, blinking sign on something to remind yourself not to look at it. It was impossible and highly frustrating.

When she couldn't tune them out and couldn't focus on the things everybody else was taking notes of, Zoe began doodling in her notebook. Surprisingly, that was helping. She ended up focusing more on the curves of the intricate flower petals than the people whispering behind her. And then, her usual smile returned to her when she drew a little bee flying around the flower with a dotted line being left behind in it's wake. It was a cute little bee and effortlessly cheered Zoe up a little bit.

Inevitably, though, Zoe got sick of drawing on her own paper and carried her glitter pen over to Teddy's notebook. He side-eyed her hand, keeping careful watch on it to make sure she didn't ruin his notes. Teddy hadn't even reached the bottom of his page yet, so that gave Zoe more than enough room to start doodling a little teddy bear. She drew the teddy bear with a cut in one of his round ears, a stitch across his round belly, and stuffing sticking out of his shoulder, as he sat sloppily on his butt.

A smile spread across Teddy's lips as he watched Zoe carefully and meticulously draw this teddy bear and all it's details. He figured it was only a matter of time before Zoe started making teddy bear references towards him. Up until now, he had been trying to appear hard and stoic so he couldn't be compared to a cute plushie, but this was inevitable. He let his guard down for one second and this happened. Of course, Zoe of all people, would be the only one allowed to get away with something like this, though.

When Zoe was done with the bear, she signed her name under it and flashed Teddy a smile. He shook his head at her, his actions full of disappointment but his expression full of joy. Zoe was beaming again, already returning to her happy self and completely forgetting about the people behind them. As long as she was by Teddy's side or drawing a cute little animal somewhere, she could return to her happy place. Teddy made it much easier to do that so, she felt lucky to get to sit beside him.

"Oh!" Zoe quietly perked up and reached over to Teddy's notebook again.

Zoe couldn't help herself from adding one last detail. She drew little, obviously sewn circles on the teddy bear's feet and then, in one of those circles, she drew dash lines in the shape of a Z to brand the teddy bear with her own initial. Zoe happily wiggled in her seat after she was done. Her little teddy bear drawing was all done and Teddy hadn't even yelled at her for it yet. Either, his smile revealed just how happy he was with it or, he had given up fighting her on everything she did and simply accepted the teddy bear as his new note taking buddy. She favored the latter.

Teddy retaliated by carrying his pen to her notebook before he began drawing something. Zoe didn't bother to stop him as she anxiously watched and waited to see what he was making. She wasn't at all surprised at what she saw when Teddy pulled his hand away again. It was a small hand drawn in the space that wasn't taken up by flowers and it's focal point was it's middle finger sucking straight up from it's closed fist. Zoe wanted to be offended but she actually thought it was kind of hilarious.

This silent back and forth between herself and Teddy was inspiring Zoe to go even further. She grabbed Teddy's whole notebook this time and slapped it down on her desk. Of course, Teddy tried to grab it back but Zoe silently fought him until she could hunch over his paper and block his view of her new drawing with her hand. Teddy tried to steal a peek but Zoe tried her absolute best to hide it, a shit-eating grin on her face all the while.

Finally, when she was done, she slid Teddy's notebook back onto his desk and sat up straight in her seat again. Teddy's jaw dropped the second he spotted the drawing and he looked at Zoe with such a dramatic, hilarious expression that she had to cover her mouth with her hands and slump into her seat, both hiding her embarrassment and trying to hold back from bursting out laughing. Teddy's reaction was so perfect yet, her cheeks still turned bright red.

"You shouldn't even know what one of these looks like, Zoe. You're a virgin." Teddy whispered to Zoe with a playful glare. "You even drew little hairs on the balls! What is wrong with you?"

The temptation to laugh made Zoe curl up even more as she forced herself to hold in her laughter. Luckily, they had the type of desks that held the desk and the chair together by a metal bar so Zoe could lean against that in the fetal position and not fall over. Watching this little ball of joy and laughter try not to explode was very amusing to Teddy. He simply stared and smiled and only shook his head when she managed to meet his eyes through her unbroken tears.

After Zoe finally sobered up from her intense urge to laugh her ass off, they both collected themselves enough to return to their attention to the teacher and the lesson they were teaching. Still, Teddy fought a smirk every time he spotted the small, inappropriate drawing and even Zoe cracked a smile when she glanced over to look at it. The memory of Teddy's face when she showed him the drawing replayed in her head over and over again and it made Zoe very happy.

"Do you have no shame?" Teddy finally spoke at full volume as everyone around him, as well as himself, began packing up their things and chatting with their neighbors at the end of the class.

"What!?" Zoe exclaimed as she also put away her things. "I didn't do anything!"

"You know, sometimes, I wonder if your halo is so obnoxiously bright because you're trying to hide your little devil horns." Teddy teased.

Zoe gaped at Teddy for a moment before she raised her pointed fingers to her forehead to act like horns. "Oh, so you want to see my true form, Teddy? How brave of you.."

"Oh, shut up!" Teddy laughed and jutted his hand out to her side to poke her just under her ribs.

Zoe not only jumped but nearly screamed, smacking her hand over her mouth to silence herself. She got a few confused stares from her fellow classmates, which made her furiously blush. Teddy looked pleased with himself, though. He had such a cocky grin on his face since he made Zoe embarrass herself like that and, when she saw it, she glared at him as hard as she could.

It wasn't until now that Zoe was reminded of what Teddy said after he apologized for everything that happened. He said they would have fun this time, as real friends, and it was actually happening. This is the most Zoe had seen him smile since they met. It made Zoe happy. She figured, maybe, she was right about them not being meant for each other. Maybe, they were just meant to be friends so there was no pressure on their relationship.

-

"You know I love you, right?" Teddy sweetly smiled at the woman sat face to face with him on the couch, scooping her hands gently into his as he spoke.

Zoe beamed happily back at him as her head tilted. "No, you don't. You just want to get into my pants." She joked.

"Pfft!" Teddy lifted Zoe's hands out of her lap and looked at her pajama bottoms that were pink with patterns of a poodle all over them. "Into those pants? Why the fuck would I want to touch those hideous things?"

"Screw you!" Zoe exclaimed and pulled her hands out of Teddy's to playfully push his chest.

Teddy gently fell back from Zoe's push, catching himself on his elbows against the couch cushions as he snickered at his own home. Zoe tried to smile the smile pulling at her lips but eventually failed and simply shook her head at Teddy. He looked so pleased with himself.

Teddy still wanted a kiss, though, so he pushed himself up so he could sit straight again. "Come on, baby. Give me a kiss. You know I love you."

"I'm not kissing you now." Zoe chuckled.

"Yeah, you are. Come here. Come give me a slice of that good Zoe love." Teddy grinned and wiggled his eyebrows as he leaned towards Zoe.

Zoe leaned back just as Teddy leaned forward. "Ew! Don't say it like that! That's not going to make me want to kiss you!" She laughed as she shot Teddy a twisted and confused expression.

"Come on, Zo! Let me kiss my girlfriend!" Teddy whined as he reached for Zoe's arms to try and pull her closer.

As Teddy pulled Zoe closer to him and made kissy noises at her, she burst out laughing as she fought him to try and get away. They were nearly horizontal on the couch as Zoe tried to lean back and away and Teddy leaned forward more and more to reach Zoe's face. Eventually, he managed to reach her chin and started rapid-firing kisses all over her chin and jaw. Zoe still laughed and squirmed in her attempt to escape but Teddy wasn't giving up.

Zoe was laughing so hard and already pinned against the couch that she could no longer get away. So, Teddy now realized he had the upper hand and crawled fully on top of her and planted kisses all over Zoe's face. Zoe squealed as she turned her face from side to side to avoid his lips. Teddy chuckled as well but didn't give up. It was easy once he grabbed her chin gently in his hand and held her face still so he could plant his lips on her.

The second his lips were on hers, Zoe stopped fighting and kissed him back with a smile still on her face. Because Zoe was smiling, it made Teddy smile too. Zoe always liked seeing Teddy smile and feeling it when he kissed her was nice too. She could tell he was happy with her and that made Zoe's heart swell and her stomach flood with butterflies. He was so much fun now that they were in a relationship and in love with each other. Dating Teddy Morgan was so, so different than just being his friend and it was amazing like this.

"These little shorts are so ugly, I could just tear them right off of you." Teddy continued to joke against Zoe's lips as his hand was suddenly crawling up her thigh and sliding under her shorts to grope her ass.

"I dare you." Zoe whispered against Teddy's lips with a smirk on her face.

Teddy snickered and gave Zoe one last, passionate kiss before he stood up on his knees and reached for Zoe's shorts. She sat up on her elbows and watched as Teddy easily slid her shorts down and slid them off her long legs until he could toss them aside. Once they were gone, Zoe placed her legs on either side of Teddy's body and bit her lip as she looked at his tall, broad figure stood in between them. He was so hot, she couldn't even fathom how it was possible. There were so many places she wanted to bite him but he was far too clothed for her to admire those spots.

"I hate that shirt. Take it off." Zoe smirked at Teddy.

"Funny. I hate yours too." Teddy winked with an even more smug expression.

Zoe rolled her eyes and nudged Teddy with her knee. He took her hint and grabbed the back of his shirt to tear it over his head. The sight of his naked abdomen almost made Zoe drool. He was so hot, she couldn't help it. She was totally and completely in love with this man and his body. His sexiness only made Zoe rush to tear off her own shirt so she could hurry and get to the good part of this exchange.

When Zoe's shirt was gone, it was obvious that Teddy was happy to find out that Zoe wasn't wearing a bra by the obvious smirk on his face. Zoe smiled right back at him before she placed her hands on Teddy's hips and planted a kiss just above the waistband of his pants. As Zoe peppered his skin in gentle kisses, Teddy's fingers deeper into her hair and combed his fingers through her golden locks. That gentle gesture of encouragement made Zoe bite the part of his hip one that was carved out by the V-alone dipping into his pants.

"Ow!" Teddy flinched and grabbed a good handful of Zoe's hair.

With a gentle tug, Zoe breathlessly gasped and look up at Teddy's towering figure. Zoe happily grinned up at Teddy as he playfully glared at her. Something about Teddy made Zoe uncontrollably playful. All she wanted to do with joke with him and laugh with him and tease him. He made her happy and even he could tell, which made him crack a smile and look at her with so much love in his eyes that Zoe grew even happier.

"That hurt." Teddy said.

"Sorry." Zoe shrugged.

"No, you're not." Teddy scoffed.

"No, I'm not." Zoe said as he leaned towards Teddy's body again to bite him.

Teddy flinched with a quiet wince at the harsh press of her teeth into his skin before he gripped Zoe's hair and pulled away. Before Zoe could get at him again, Teddy moved his hands to cup Zoe's face as he bent over and captured Zoe's lips with his own. Very slowly and carefully, Teddy guided Zoe backwards and resumed his position on top of her. Their kisses were no longer gentle and sweet and loving but passionate and intoxicating to such a level that they kissed each other even harder to get more of one another.

Zoe actually found it a bit off how much she enjoyed being groped by Teddy. His hands were gripping at her thighs and then her ass before they traveled up her body to grip her waist before a hand settled on one of her breasts. Even as he fondled her with such a passionate grip, he never slowed his lips over Zoe's. Even when they were both breathless, their tongues tackled and lips captured one another's with such desperation. They just couldn't get enough of each other.

Zoe didn't get to enjoy that fantasy for long, though, as Bailey hopped onto Zoe's back and woke her up. Her eyes popped open first and her head rose from the coffee table with a quick snap. Bailey giggled at the way Zoe shot awake like that as she continued to crawl onto Zoe's back and link her arms around Zoe's neck. That was definitely not the way Zoe would've wished to wake up from such a glorious fantasy, but maybe being yanked out of that scene was for the better.

"Wake up, Auntie Zoe! I want to play!" Bailey giggled behind Zoe.

"Bailey! You said you wanted to help me cook! Get off of Zoe before you hurt her!" Carmen yelled from the living room as she held Malik on her hip.

Bailey groaned and slid off of Zoe's back before she clumsily ran towards the kitchen. Meanwhile, Zoe awkwardly cleared her throat and ran her fingers through her hair to push it all back and out of her faces. When her eyes raised and the excited buzzing in the back of her mind from that dream settled, she was met with Teddy's stare and coy smirk. He was also sat on the floor with his textbooks and notebooks laid out on the coffee table with Zoe's. She forgot she had fallen asleep while studying with him.

"Tired?" Teddy asked with a similar, charming smirk to the one in Zoe's dream.

Zoe's face flushed as she stared into Teddy's eyes, which made her drop her gaze and nervously gulp. She couldn't believe she was just dreaming about making out with a boy that was sat right next to her. Teddy had never even been shirtless around Zoe yet, she could clearly see his amazing torso in her dream before she kissed it. It was embarrassing to even acknowledge the fact that her brain had conjured all of that into her dream somehow.

"I guess so.. How long was I out?" Zoe asked.

"Half hour, maybe. Not long." Zoe nodded and scratched the back of her neck as she tried to push that dream out of her head. "Were you dreaming?"

"What? No! Why?" Zoe panicked as she looked up at Teddy with wide eyes. "Did I say something in my sleep?"

"No.." Teddy snorted a laugh and gave Zoe a funny look since she so obviously just freaked out. "You were just smiling a lot. It was funny."

"Oh.." Zoe's face flushed even more and slowly pushed herself up from the coffee table. "I guess that's the least embarrassing thing I could do while dreaming about something like that.." She muttered awkwardly to herself.

"Hey, Teddy! Do you work this weekend?" Carmen asked as she picked Bailey up to set her on the counter, after already strapping Malik into his high chair at the dining table.

"No!" Teddy yelled from the living room as he watched Zoe stand up from the coffee table and walk around it to start towards the kitchen. "Marvin agreed to cut back on my hours since I'm barley going to work anyways."

Very briefly, as he spoke, Teddy's eyes ran up and down Zoe's body. The second he realized he was checking her out, though, he mentally cursed and jammed the eraser of his pencil into his forehead a couple of times. Zoe wasn't even dressed in anything seductive. Hoodie and a pair of leggings, like she always wore when she was home. There was just something about her that Teddy was subconsciously tempted by. It didn't help that she, apparently, wasn't trying to seduce him anymore.

Somehow, that made Teddy find her even more attractive. He was like a child wanting something he couldn't have. Yet, he didn't really find himself wanting her, he was just constantly turned on by her. Again, like a child that didn't even know how to control their perverted hormones. These disgusting, perverted, inappropriate desires were below Teddy. He couldn't let himself keep thinking of Zoe like some kind of object for him to just take and have..

"Well, if you don't work this weekend, maybe you'd like to help me house hunt." Carmen cheerfully offered, causing both Teddy and Zoe to snap their attention towards her before they briefly glanced at each other from across the house. "Zoe, you can join too, if you're not busy. I'm sure you have a good eye for nice houses."

"You mean.. for fun?" Zoe hesitantly questioned Carmen from the other side of the kitchen island. "Or... Are you planning on moving out?"

"I think it would be smart to consider it. I'm getting divorced, Bailey needs to start kindergarten soon, and I don't want to mooch off of you forever, Zoe." Carmen nonchalantly explained.

"You're not mooching off of me, Carmen. I welcomed you into my home. I thought you would stay."

"Forever?" Carmen smirked at Zoe.

Zoe opened her mouth to speak but, no words came out. She really liked having Carmen here. It was really nice to chat with Carmen when they were both out in Los Angelos and, when she was here, it was nice to have someone to exist around. Zoe was always alone and, if she wasn't, she was trying to play up her personality to try and bond with another person. It was exhausting doing that but it was easy with Carmen. She was either sitting on couch and chatting with Zoe or playing with the kids or doing something in the kitchen.

It was just nice to have people around and it was even better to have a family around because, it almost felt like Zoe's family. Bailey liked Zoe so, she often tried to get Zoe to color and draw with her. And, when Malik was in a good mood, he sat in Zoe's lap and bounced around and giggled with her. Zoe was happy with people around. Even when Bailey was throwing a temper tantrum or Malik wouldn't sleep and just cried all night, they were Zoe's family so, she didn't really mind.

Not to mention, if Carmen bought a house for her and the kids, would Teddy follow her? All Teddy wanted was his family. It made sense that he would leave Zoe behind to stay with them and she wouldn't blame him for that. It just sucked that it had to be that way. It sucked that she wasn't actually bound to them like real family was bound to one another.

"I'm not saying I'm moving tomorrow or next month or anything but, I want to keep the idea in the air." Carmen admitted, still seeming completely unbothered by this conversation.

"Well then, I'm going with you. I can't let you buy a dumb house." Teddy declared as he also pushed up from the coffee table and started towards the kitchen.

"I told you, I'm not buying anything. The only money I have is off a card very generously lent to me by Zoe. I'm only browsing until I'm officially divorced."

"I don't care. I'm going with."

"Alright. That's fine. You can come with." Carmen chuckled. "Zoe, what about you? Want to join the family on a house hunt?"

Zoe smiled solemnly at the idea. Carmen was really sweet to invite Zoe along, as if she was apart of the family as well. It made Zoe's heart warm in her chest to know that Carmen wanted Zoe to come along. It sounded like fun for sure. She could even imagine she was house hunting with Teddy, her fiancé, and their adorable children. Not that, that wasn't totally creepy but, Zoe was a hopeless romantic. She couldn't help it when those thoughts popped into her head.

"No. I can't go." Zoe frowned with a shrug, gaining Teddy's attention now. "There's a studio downtown that I have to go to for a photoshoot tomorrow. It's nothing special, just headshots for my portfolio, but it'll take awhile so, I probably won't have any time tomorrow."

Teddy immediately recognized what Zoe was talking about. When Rin told Teddy that Zoe was now, entirely, his responsibility, she told him that he had to drive Zoe to that studio and train in the art of combat while she was busy. Teddy didn't know how Rin would know if he drove Zoe to her destination but, trying to be slick about it and slip away without her knowledge sounded like a bad idea. Especially, if one of her henchmen was at the studio and waiting to keep tabs on him and/or Zoe.

"I thought you don't drive. How are you going to get there?" Carmen asked.

"I'll drive you." Teddy blurted before Zoe could reply with a different solution.

Carmen and Zoe both perked up at Teddy's offer, both exchanging intrigued glances in the silence that hung low in the room. Teddy nervously shifted his stance from the uncomfortableness of the stares he was getting and tried to avoid Zoe and Carmen's stare. He had to figure out a way to justify his offer without revealing the fact that he basically worked under Rin's command and had to drive her or sound like he was obsessed with Zoe.

"No, you don't have to. I don't want you to drive all the way downtown just to come back and-" Zoe began but Teddy quickly cut her off.

"The last time you were downtown, you were with me, right? On my birthday?" Teddy asked as he reached for Bailey and slid her across the counter to sit in front of her, which made her giggle. "I'll bring you there again and make sure you don't get lost or kidnapped or anything."

"But then, you have to drive all the way back here and then drive all the way downtown to get me and bring me home again. That's a lot of backs and forth, Teddy. It'll just be easier if I call a cab." Zoe pushed, trying to shake the feeling of guilt for possibly making Teddy feel obligated to do this.

"Then, I'll stay downtown with you and not drive back and forth." Teddy countered.

"And miss out on house hunting with me?" Carmen asked with a knowing glint in her eyes.

Teddy looked up at his sister to spot that very glint and glare at her for being so cocky. "You're not buying anything anyways. Sounds boring."

"Alright. Suit yourself." Carmen snorted a laugh and shook her head. "You and Zoe will go downtown for her photoshoot and I'll take the kids on a little adventure around town."

"Agreed." Teddy finally turned his attention to Zoe as he stopped fussing with Bailey. She held his stare with a bit of surprise and intrigue in her own. "Agreed?"

"S-Sure.. I guess." Zoe awkwardly shrugged.

"Now that, that that's settled, who's going to help cook?" Carmen called as she made her way around the kitchen to get to the fridge.

"I'll help. Might as well hone my cooking skills since only one person in the house ever does it." Teddy teased.

"Two people!" Bailey blurted as she held up two of her tiny little fingers, referring to herself and Carmen since Bailey always wanted to help her mother cook.

"You can count to two?" Teddy's eyes widened and jaw dropped as he jokingly teased Bailey. "Well, my god! Carmen, she's a genius!"

Bailey burst out laughing and even Carmen and Zoe cracked a smile at his dramatic humor. Zoe couldn't help but stare at Teddy as he continued to play with Bailey and tease her. Teddy was a whole different person when he was around his niece and nephew. Even if him and Zoe had made some progress in their friendship in order to goof around with each other, he still didn't smile with her as often as he did with them.

That wasn't to say that Zoe was at all jealous, though. Not of Bailey for getting so much of Teddy's attention but, maybe, jealous of Teddy. This was his family, after all. And, family was suppose to make you happier than anything. It made Zoe wonder what divine power out there didn't think she deserved to have one of her own and, instead, gave her the parents she had and nobody else. It was cruel, really.

"So... Date tomorrow? Five o'clock?" Zoe quietly asked Teddy when Carmen rushed off to wipe Malik's spite-up off his shirt and chin.

"Date?" Teddy scoffed and shook his head. That was a funny word to use for a deed that Teddy was being blackmailed into doing. "Don't worry. I'll be ready by five."

"I'm sorry if you feel like I've dragged you into this.. I truly didn't mean to..." Zoe solemnly whispered.

Teddy stole a glance at Zoe, curious as to why she sounded so upset. She looked guilty and a bit distraught. "It's fine, Zoe. Trust me, I don't blame you."

"Okay.. I'm just saying.. you know.." Zoe awkwardly cleared her throat and looked down at her fidgeting fingers. She wouldn't even look him in the eyes.

"I know. Don't worry, Zoe." Teddy reassured with a slight determination underlining his tone. Zoe simply nodded, keeping her head down, and scurried away. Teddy was caught off guard by their little exchange, but eventually returned to helping Carmen cook.

Not a super fun chapter but we've got placed to go and I need to lay a path first. Don't want to throw y'all at something without allowing you to brace yourselves. Am I right??