Six*

Sometimes you have to act like nothing is bothering you. You have to act like everything is fine, even if everything is not fine.

“Okay. Everyone's here.” Sasha said once Shelby and Lulu got in the RV. “We need to go over ground rules.”

“What are we, 5?” Drew asked staring at Sasha.

“No, but this is a rented vehicle. So it needs to go back, the same way that we find it. So rule one, no fucking spilling shit, or you're gonna have to clean it up yourself. Two, no sex until we get to Vegas. Yall can all keep it in your pants until then, if I have to. Three, have some muthafuckin' fun.” Sasha said with a smile.

“WOOT WOOT!” Liz said from the table.

“Okay, now there's a map that has mapped out the route that we're taken, and has labeled our rest stops. And I made a chart that says who is driving, when, and for how long. We had to break it up so that we get to Vegas in less than a week. The chart is placed on the fridge, next to the picture that we stole from Shibbz.” Sasha said laughing. “Lets have some fun bitches!” She yelled raising her glass of juice and walking to the drivers seat, with Chanel sitting next to her.

Bre looked over at the table, where Shelby sat with all the guys, as Liz read a magazine next to her. “You think they fixed things?” Bre asked turning to see Liz peep over her magazine.

“From the looks of it, yes. But they might just be putting on an act for us.”

“You don't think they'd do that to us, do ya?”

“I have no fucking idea about them two anymore. I've stopped trying to figure them out years ago.” Liz said turning her attention back to the magazine.

“Anything interesting?”

“Not even close.” Liz said tossing it across the little coffee table in front of them.

“Have you done any planning for you and Denny's wedding?”

“No, he just asked me last night.”

“I already had Dan and I's wedding planed before he asked.” Bre said laughing.

“Damn. A little ahead of yourself?”

“I knew he was going to ask. He just had to wait until I was 18.”

“True.”

“But I didn't have as many decisions to make as you will.” Briana said looking at her feet swing above the floor.

“What do you mean?”

“You're going to have to figure out a seating chart for your wedding, reception, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner. Everything. Because you can't sit half of your friends with the other half. And Shelby's family, who is also Denny's family, seen all the shit your mother once said about Shelby, and all the shit Vici and Brittany also said, so they can't sit near each other.” Bre said looking over at Liz.

“Fuck!” Liz said realizing all the things she forgot about.

“All I can say is good luck.” Bre said walking into the bathroom, as Liz rushed to the drivers seat, sitting on the floor between Nellz and Sasha.

“Hello my love.” Nellz said looking at her.

“I have major problems.”

“What?” Sasha asked looking at her quickly.

“I have to plan a wedding, and I have to make sure that no one kills anyone else.”

“Oh shit.” Chanel said noticing what Liz was getting at.

“I have to make sure my mother is no where near you guys, Shelby, or any of Denny/Shelby's family. I have to make sure my sister and Shelby aren't close, and I don't even think I'm going to invite Brittany. I'm going to have to make seating charts for fucking everything!”

Shelby's head shot up once she heard Liz say her name. Once she realized what she was talking about, Shelby tried to quickly get up without being noticed, her heart racing fast. She rushed into the bedroom at the end of the RV. Lulu noticed what happened, and he quickly followed Shelby. He knocked on the door, and walked in when Shelby didn't answer him.

She was sitting at the end of the bed, bent over, breathing heavily. “Shibbz, what's wrong?”

“Liz is talking about the wedding.” Shelby replied, trying to calm her breathing.

“And?”

“And everyone that's going to be there.”

“And? Ohhhh.” Lulu said catching onto what Shelby was afraid of.

“She's going to be there.” Shelby said when her breathing finally returned to normal.

“Shibb..you're gonna be okay.”

“I haven't seen her since our final confrontation at fucking Burger King Lu.”

“You're strong.”

“But to see her again...I don't even want to think about! I'm going to have to go through all the pain again...all the anger, hatred, all the tears.”

“It's one day Shibbz.”

“It's not just one day Lulu. There's the wedding, reception, bridal shower, bachelorette party, and then her baby shower. And once a fucking year after that.”

“Shibb, you're not going to be alone. You're gonna have Sasha by your side for all of them. And I’ll be there for the parties and shit.”

“But I don't want to see her Lulu. I don't even want to fucking think of it all. I really don't.” Shelby said as Lulu put his arm around her and pulled her close to him.

“Shel, it's going to be okay. You're strong and you can handle this.”

“I don't know. She hurt me Lulu. She left me when I needed her most, and even when I still was her friend, she was replacing me. She caused me so many fucking tears, and so much fucking pain I can't even fucking describe it. And when I thought it was all done, they just kept fucking bringing it up. I lost 3 of my closest friends, and they made it seem easy. They made it seem easy to fucking walk out of my life, to not give a fuck about me. They even went on to talk all this shit about me, making me feel like I'm gross. They fucking called me a slore when I was a fucking virgin. Like, they were my best friends and then they weren't. They went from talking to me, to talking about me, acting like I was a fucking joke! A fucking joke! Like I had to laugh all their comments off, hearing everyone say I was the bigger person because I wasn't sitting around talking shit about Vici, Amanda, and Brittany. And for awhile I believed them. But I realized that the only reason they did that was to let out their pain, while I held mine in, thinking that that is what was best for me. I honestly never told anyone how I felt because I didn't think it mattered. People had already chosen sides, whether they heard my side of it all or not, and it didn't even matter what I had to say. No one gave a fuck about what I had to say.” Shelby said looking up at Lulu.

“She was hurt too Shibbz.”

“And I fucking understand that. That's why I didn't add on to it by talking shit about her. But she didn't fucking care about me anymore, and she went on to talk all this bullshit about me, when she knows damn straight that I did not hook up with you that night in the sowing room.”

“Shibbz, just let it go.”

“I already let go Lulu. I let go of my best friend, 2 of my closest friends and every single memory I ever had with them. I let go of listening to Ne-Yo, I let go of playing with Bratz dolls, I let go of stuffed animals, I let go of writing stories for awhile, and having sleepovers. I let go of Channing Tatum, I let go of just going to the store to try on clothes and take pictures. I let go of the best friend title, because I will never be able to call another girl my best friend. I can't even look at a fucking duck or a taxi the same way. Look at a cupcake, or a lawn gnome. And why? Because she was my best friend Lulu.”

“Have you talked to Shibbz about all of this?” Nellz asked looking at Liz.

“No. I don't know what I'm going to do. Neither Vici nor Shelby wants to see each other, but they're two of the most important people in my life. They're both going to be involved in the wedding, in the baby's life, but they can't stand each other. I thought it was hard years ago, it's just getting harder now.”

“I think you have to sit down with each of them and just tell them the deal. Tell them that this is your wedding, and if they want to be apart of it then they're just going to have to deal with the other person. This is your fucking special time, and they're just going to have to grow up about the situation and deal with it. It is not going to be all about Vici, or your mother. It's going to be all about you, Boo. And you need to tell them that. I'm pretty sure Shibbz understands, cause she's always been supportive of your family, and she never stooped to their level.” Sasha said as Lulu walked up to them.

“Hey Lu.” Chanel said looking at him.

“Hey. Cuzzo, I need to talk to you.” Lulu said pulling Liz away and onto the couch.

“Whats up?” Liz asked sitting down next to him.

“I think you should bring Shelby and Vici together before the wedding.”

“Huh?”

“Like, have them talk shit out and squish whatever they have bottled up, so that your wedding will go over smoothly.”

Liz laughed. “You're not serious, are you?”

“Yeah...”

“Litho, you're insane. Shelby and Vici are never going to be able to fix what happened between them, and they can barely move past it. I'm not going to bring that shit up again, because I know that neither of them wants to do that. They hate even hearing about each other. They may have been best friends one day Lu, but they're not anymore, and I'm not going to stab them both in the back by doing that shit.” Liz said getting up and walking away.

“Then I’ll do it without you.” Lulu said walking over to the guys at the table, and joining in their game of poker.

Drew got out of the booth, and walked over to the couch where Briana was sitting, playing with her phone. “Hey.” Drew said sitting next to her.

“Hey Andy.” Bre said looking at him.

“Whatcha doing?”

“I was hoping Dan would call, but he hasn't.”

“Ain't he like over seas or some shit?”

“Yeah. It's just wishful thinking.”

“You can come play poker with us if you wanna.”

“No thanks, I think I'm gonna go take a nap with Shelby.” Bre said standing up.

“Iight.” Drew said as Bre walked away.

“Rejected!” David yelled as the guys laughed.

“Shut the fuck up!” Drew said.

“She's married! You better back the fuck up!” Liz yelled looking at the guys.

“Oh Liz.” Ace said laughing and putting more chips in the pile.

“No! That shit might not be fucking important to you guys, but it's important to us girls. And if you hit on Briana one more time Roy, I’ll call Carmen.” Liz said looking at them.

“Whatever Boo.” Drew said turning back to the guys.

“Rejected.” David whispered as they laughed.

“Hey Twin.” Bre said walking into the room where Shelby was laying down. Shelby snored loudly, and Briana continued to speak. “Twin. I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know when Dan is coming back, and I'm falling apart without him. He's like my rock...like Lulu is your rock. I hope you guys really did fix everything that happened between the two of you, because I can tell that you both love each other. He looks at you the way Dan looks at me, and that's real.” She paused and laughed at herself. “I'm talking to you like you're going to respond to me...I know it might be crazy, but some how talking out loud about it all, even if no one is listening, makes things a little bit better. I know that Dan is going to come home, and I know he's going to be okay. Because my man is strong, and he will survive.” Bre said laying down on the other side of Shelby, their back facing each other. “I really hope he does...”

Five*

When people are mad, words are often said that are meant to hurt the other. Sometimes those words are just said out of anger, but most of the time what is said is how someone feels, even if you didn't know it.

Shelby got out of bed and slowly walked down the hallway into the living room where Izzy was watching t.v. “Sasha said she'd be here in an hour.” He never looked up from the screen.

“Thanks.” Shelby said turning to walk back up the hallway.

“Wait. Shibbz.” She turned back toward him. “I'm sorry I flipped last night. I didn't mean it. I just...I didn't want anyone to know about us.”

“Why? Are you ashamed that you slept with me?”

“No! That's not what I meant.”

“Then what Izzy?” Shelby asked as their eyes met.

“Twinn!” Bre yelled walking into the apartment. She looked at Shelby and Izzy and smiled. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Nope.” Shelby said turning her attention to Bre. “Come help me pack.”

“You haven't packed yet?” Bre asked as they walked up the hallway.

“I didn't really unpack, so I don't have much to pack. I just needed to get out of there.” Shelby replied once they were in her room with the door closed.

“I was interrupting something.”

“He's mad because I told Lulu that he and I hooked up when we were living together.” Shelby said sitting on the bed.

“WHAT!”

“Yeah. And I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but apparently, Izzy thinks it is. He like flipped on me last night when I came in and told him. So now he's mad at me, and something I said last night made Lulu on edge, and I don't know what it was.”

“What'd you say to him?” Bre asked sitting down next to her.

“He asked if I blamed myself for the whole cheating thing and I told him yeah.”

“Maybe he blames himself, after all it was his fault Twinn. You loved him and you did nothing wrong. He's the one that cheated.”

“Yeah I know, but I don't know. I felt like maybe if I did something differently then he wouldn't have cheated.”

“It's not your fault.” Bre said after a moment of silence.

“How's things with you and Dan?” Shelby asked changing the subject.

“Good. He's fine, but he's in Iraq.”

“Damn. When's he suppose to come home?”

“I don't know. I got a letter from him yesterday, and I put it in my suitcase.”

“Awww.” Shelby smiled at Bre and could see that they were happy.

“You're on my leg!” Drew yelled looking at David.

“Yo, my bad.” David said moving over closer to the window.

“Litho, hurry up and drive! It's fucking cramped back here.” Keith said moving closer to the other window.

“What would you know about cramped? You have a fucking seat to yourself. I'm over here squished next to Ace.” Drew said as Liz laughed in the passenger seat. “I don't know why you're laughing. If you weren't pregnant, then your ass would be back here, not mine.”

“Whatever.” Liz said looking out the window as Lulu pulled in front of Shelby and Izzy's apartment. Without warning Drew lunged himself at the window and climbed out.

“I would have opened the door.” David said opening it once Drew was on the sidewalk.

“I couldn't wait.” He replied as everyone else got out of the clown car. They grabbed their bags and put them in the living room next to Bre's. “Hey Izzy.”

“Hey Drew.” He replied not looking away from the t.v.

“What's wrong with him?” Ace whispered to Keith.

“The hell if I know.” Keith said walking into the kitchen to get a cup of water.

Lulu walked down the hallway and knocked on Shelby's door. “Come in!” Bre yelled as Lulu opened the door. His eyes met Shelby's and Bre got off the bed. “I'll go see Liz.” She said quickly leaving the room. When she shut the door Lulu sat down next to Shelby on the bed.

“Hey babe.”

“Don't babe me, Lulu. What did I say last night to make you not want to stay?”

“I had to pack.”

“Don't lie to me. I'm so fucking sick of being lied to!”

“Shel. It's not that serious.”

“Yes it is! You and Izzy are both fucking mad at me, and why? Because I told the fucking truth. Did you want me to lie to you?”

“How could you sleep with Izzy?” Lulu asked looking at Shelby.

“How could you cheat on me with Jasmine? We both did things that we're not proud of, but we can't change that. If I can move past you cheating on me, then you can move past me sleeping with Izzy when I was single.” Shelby said quietly.

“Okay.” Lulu said taking a deep breath.

“The past is the past, we don't need to bring it up.” Shelby said looking at Lulu.

“Yes.” Lulu said taking Shelby's hand. He looked at her and smiled. “I love you Shibbz.”

“I love more.” Shelby said kissing Lulu as Drew walked into the room.

“Sasha's here.” He said smiling at them.

“Lets go, Babe.” Shelby said getting off the bed. Lulu rapped his arms around her waist and they walked down the hallway, to the RV.

Four*

Just because you've been with someone for the past 4 years does not mean that you know the person they are. But at the same time, knowing someone for years does not mean that you know who they are either. There will always be things about people that you'll never understand, and you'll never know. But that's just human nature.

Izzy, Keith and Liz walked into the restaurant and left Shelby and Lulu in the parking lot. “You still available to come with me and see my nana later?” She asked looking up into his big brown eyes.

“Yeah Shibbz, anything for you.”

“Anything?”

“Yeah.” He said smiling down at her.

“You wanna sit next to me?” She asked motioning toward IHOP.

“I wouldn't want it any other way.” Lulu replied taking her hand. She smiled at him and they walked into the restaurant, walking to a separate section where 6 tables were pushed together and everyone was sitting down. At the head of the table was Izzy and counter clockwise from him was Liz, Sasha, Nellz, Bre, Lexi, Daniel, Denny, David, Keith, Ace, Drew and 2 seats were empty for Shelby and Lulu.

Shelby smiled at her friends, but didn't say a word. She wasn't sure what to do, and she quickly looked back and Lulu motioned for her to sit down. “I'm right here.” He whispered as Shelby took the seat closest to Izzy.

“So I called this breakfast so that we could all see Shibbz.” Sasha said with a smile on her face.

“Did you ever think that 9:30 was too fucking early?” Drew asked rubbing his eyes.

“If you thought it was too early, you wouldn't have showed up.” Ace said rolling his eyes at him.

“Sasha also had something she wanted to talk to everyone about.” Chanel said, barely able to contain her excitement.

“Wait babe. Shelby needs to tell everyone something.” Keith said from his end of the tables.

“She does?” Izzy asked looking at her.

“I do?” Shelby asked turning to see Keith.

“What you told me in your room.” He said as everyone turned to look at Shelby.

“No. I think Sasha should speak first.” Shelby said looking at her empty plate.

“Shibbz felt abandoned. She felt like no one gave a fuck about her cause no one called. Denny she felt most betrayed by you, cause you never once asked why she was no longer at any of your family party things. And no one else called or shit unless it was her birthday. I told Shibbz that the only reason we didn't call or anything was cause we thought that she wanted nothing to do with us. We thought that we were the reason that she left, when truth be told it was all Lulu and Liz. Just keeping it real.” Keith said putting his hands up.

“Is that true Twinn?” Bre asked.

“Yeah. I felt like you guys didn't want to be bothered by me anymore and you forgot about me. That’s the only real reason why I never came back until now. I didn’t think you guys wanted to see me.”

“Of course we did Shibbz. Shit wasn't the same without you!” Nellz said looking at Shelby.

“Okay. It's settled. Now lets talk about something else.” Shelby quickly said as trays of food were brought out and spread across the tables.

“Back to what Sasha had to tell us?” Liz suggested and they all agreed as they began taking food from the trays and placing them on the plates in front of them.

“I think we should do a road trip. To Vegas.” She had a smile spread across her face and they could all tell that she really wanted to do this.

“Seriously?” Bre asked sharing in Sasha's excitement.

“Yes! Like lets just pack up and leave. Lets not turn back or think twice about it. I already talked to Liz and Chanel about it, and we thought it could be like our big summer adventure.”

“I'm so fucking in!” Bre said pouring herself some orange juice.

Shelby sat back in her chair, with her coffee cup in her hand, thinking the idea over. “What do you say Shibbz?” Sash asked looking across to her.

“When would we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning. That gives everyone time to pack, and say the necessary goodbyes.”

“You really wanna do this.” Keith said laughing.

“Hell yeah! It's like the ultimate party!”

“Us dudes invited too?” David asked with a mouth filled with pancakes.

“Duh! I mean a girls only party would be cool as shit, but I know some of them need their men by their sides.” Sasha said winking at Shelby.

“Iight! I'm down!” Drew said laughing.

“Okay, we're going to go around the table and say if we're in or not.” Sasha said looking at Izzy to start.

“Hell yeah!” Izzy said with a cheesy smile.

“I'm deff in!” Liz said looking at the other end of the tables at Denny.

“I'm fucking in!” Sash said, obviously.

“Hell yeah!” Chanel said with her gangstah face.

“Duh!” Bre said drinking her OJ.

Lexi looked at Daniel and let go of his hand. “I'll pass.” She said quietly and walked to the bathroom, Daniel watching her leave.

“I don't know.” He said following her. Shelby's eyes watch Daniel walk through the curtain and disappear.

“I'm in.” Denny said smiling at Liz.

“D is in this bitch!” David said looking down at Lulu.

“HBTV!” Keith said smiling.

“I can't. I get my daughter for a week as of tomorrow.” Ace said looking over at Drew.

“I'm down!” Drew said patting Ace's back.

All eyes turned to Shelby and Lulu. “I'm in.” Lulu said looking over at Shelby.

“Ummm...”

“C'mon Shibbz.” Liz said in a begging tone.

“Okay.” Shelby said forcing a smile.

“Yay!” Sasha said smiling.

The rest of breakfast was quiet. Everyone had small side conversations. When everyone was done, Drew was the first to get up. “Well I better get home to Carmen.”

“She's more than welcome to come on our trip.” Sasha said as everyone else stood up.

“Aha, she'll pass.” He gave dap to the boys and walked over to Shelby. “I'm glad you're back Shel.” He gave her a hug and shot a smile her way before he left the restaurant.

She smiled back, but then turned her attention to Daniel and Lexi as they silently walked toward the door. She walked away from Lulu and over to them. “Just gonna leave without saying bye?” She asked sounding upset.

“It's not like that Shel.”

“Then what is it like Daniel? I haven't heard from you in over 6 months, and today you didn't say a single word to me. What did I do Daniel?”

“It has nothing to do with anything you did Shel.”

“Then what Daniel? Why can't you and Lexi come on the trip?”

“Cause I can't leave the state.”

“Huh?”

Daniel lifted his pants to show Shelby an ankle bracelet. “It's part of my parole.”

“Buddii. Why didn't you tell me?”

“Cause I know you would have come to see me. To make sure I'm okay, and I just want to forget about it all and just move on.” He gave Shelby a kiss on the cheek and quickly left with Lexi following.

“What was that all about?” Bre asked walking up to Shelby. She turned to look at her and a smile was spread across Bre's face. “I missed you Twin.”

“I missed you too.”

“So what's the deal with you and Lulu?”

“What do you mean? There's nothing going on between Lulu and I.”

“Bull shit. I seen you two!” Bre said laughing.

“We're just friends.”

“For how long?”

“I don't know Twin. He hurt me and I don't know if I can forget that.” Shelby said looking over at Lulu talking to David, Keith and Ace.

“I just don't want you to miss out because you can't put the past behind you.”

“It has nothing to do with putting the past behind me and everything to do with me not being able to put my all into a relationship.” Shelby said. She stopped talking once Denny walked up to them.

“I'll go talk to Sasha and Liz about Vegas.” Bre said quickly walking away, leaving Shelby and Denny alone.

“Hey.” Denny said looking down at Shelby.

“Why didn't you call?”

“Why didn't you call Shibb?”

“Because I had to get away.”

“And I had to give you your space.”

“Really or are you just saying that so I’ll forgive you?” Shelby asked looking up at him.

“Both. I knew that by me calling you'd cry and you'd miss your life back here...or at least the good part. And I didn’t want to do that to you. I needed to give you your space, even if that meant acting as if I no longer cared.”

“But you did still care, right?”

“Always Cuzzo.” Denny said pulling Shelby into a hug. She looked at him and she knew he was going to be a good dad.

“You ready Shibb?” Lulu asked as they stood outside of her grandmothers apartment building.

“I'm as ready as I'll ever be.” She looked at him, and he gave her a reassuring smile.

They walked up 3 flights of stairs and stood in front of her door. Shelby took a moment to breath in, and then she knocked on the door. A lady came and opened it, and stared at Shelby. “I don't want any Girl Scout Cookies.” Mary said, attempting to shut the door.

“Nana, it's me.” Shelby mumbled.

“Huh? I don't know you deary.” Mary had a sad look on her face, as if she were sorry that she forgot who her granddaughter was. When Shelby didn't say anything back, she shut the door and left Shelby and Lulu standing in the hallway.

“Shel...” Lulu said as she looked up at him, crying.

“I told you I didn't want to come.” She turned away and walked down the stairs quickly. When she reached the last 4 steps, she slipped and fell onto her butt.

“Shibb!” Lulu yelled rushing down to her. He stepped in front of her to make sure she didn't fall any farther.

But she didn't. She just sat there and let the tears stream down her face, falling down her neck and onto her shirt. She sat there and let Lulu tell her everything was going to be okay, even though Shelby knew that everything was not going to be okay. She even sat there and let him hold her, even though that just made her cry even more.

Denny pushed his plate away from him and watched Liz push the left over food around her plate. He loved that about her. Loved that she could amuse herself no matter where she was. “Babe. I have something I need to say.”

“Me too.” Liz said taking a deep breath.

“Let me go first. So I know we haven't been going out that long, but that doesn't really matter.” He stopped talking and walked over to Liz's right side. She let out a short gasp as he continued. “But I want you to know that I love you with all my heart and there is nothing I wouldn't do for you. And that's why I want you to marry me.” He knelt down on one knee and took out a box with a 4 caret diamond ring in it, and held it up to her.

Liz smiled as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “I'm pregnant.” Denny smiled up at her and took the ring out of the box and placed it onto Liz's hand, then he stood up and embraced her in a tight hug.

“Bets on Shelby and Lulu?” Drew asked looking around the table.

“On what?” Izzy asked looking up from his cards.

“Whether or not they're gonna get back together.”

“I think they've fucked already.” Ace said tossing more poker chips into the middle of the table.

“They haven't.” Izzy stated drinking his Corona.

“How would you know?”

“Cause I live here. I think I'd hear if they fucked or not.”

“They could have been quiet.” Drew said laughing.

“Nah, we've been here every time Shibbz and Litho were together, they really haven't gotten freaky yet.” Keith said laughing. “I fold.”

“They're together right now, and ain't none of us with em.” David pointed out.

“They're going to see her grandma.” Izzy said shaking his head.

“Okay, well they're gonna. Especially since we leave tomorrow, and they'll get like no alone time until we actually get to Vegas.” Drew said putting down his cards. “3 of a kind.”

“But just cause they fuck, doesn't mean they're back together.” Ace looked at Drew and then put down his cards. “Full house.”

“Damn.” David said putting down his 3 of a kind.

“Fuck!” Izzy said turning over his cards.

“You were really tryna win with 3 2's?” Keith asked as the guys started laughing.

“How was I supposed to know they were good at poker?!” Izzy asked grabbing another Corona out of the fridge.

“What's that?” Drew asked pointing at the fridge.

“What's what?” Izzy asked trying to figure out what he was pointing at.

“The picture.”

“Ohh. Shibbz put that up. It's a picture from Shibbz 18^th birthday party.”

“Whose in it?” Ace asked turning to look.

“All of us. Legit, it was the last time we were all together. There's Drew on Ace's shoulders, Keith with an arm around me, looking at Sasha acting like she's grabbing Liz's boob, while Chanel grabs the other one. Bre on Denny's back as he's staring at Liz. Daniel standing on a table, acting like he's about to jump on Lexi. David standing behind Shelby kissing Lulu, making a killer face.” Izzy said putting the picture on the table.

“Damn. I remember that night. Shit was crazy!” David said laughing at himself.

“Shit really was.” Ace said smiling.

“Why ain't party's all like that one?” Drew asked staring at the picture.

“That's what I'm saying.” Keith said.

Shelby walked into the house, eyes puffy and red. Lulu followed behind and shut the door. “Shibbz, you okay?” Izzy asked looking away from the the game.

“She didn't remember who I was.” Shelby responded looking in the kitchen at the boys playing poker.

“Shibbz, I'm sorry.” Keith said looking at Shelby and Lulu.

“I knew it was going to happen. I guess I just tried to convince myself that it would be hard to forget me.” She looked at them drinking, playing poker, happy. Without another word she walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to her room, shutting the door behind herself.

“Damn Litho.” David said, feeling bad.

“She'll get through it.” Lulu said looking down the hallway.

“You should probably go be with her.” Ace said as his phone rang. He got up from the table and went into the bathroom to answer it.

“Good luck.” Drew said as Lulu walked down the hallway.

He took a deep breath and stood outside of Shelby's door. There was no way he could fix this. He couldn't take away her pain, after all he didn't even know what it was like for someone so close to you not to remember who you were. He opened the door, surprised that it wasn't locked. He seen Shelby sitting on the bed, knees up to her chin just staring across the room at the wall. He thought about walking away, but thought against it. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. “Shel, I'm –“

“Don't say it.” She looked at him, eyes dark.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Just tell me I'm pretty.” There was a slight smile forming in the corner of her mouth.

“What?”

“Just tell me that I'm pretty, even with my eyes all red and puffy.”

“But you're not.”

“What!” She asked moving from sitting on her butt, to on her knees looking at him.

“Shibbz, you're beautiful, whether you're crying, laughing, sleeping, or in the shower.” He stared at her, smiling before he continued. “I don't care what you look like, because no matter what you're wearing or what you're doing I will always see the women of my dreams.”

Without another word, Shelby moved toward Lulu, until their lips met. After a minute she pulled away and stared at him. “Sorry.” She bit her lip.

“Don't be.” He said pulling her close, kissing her again. This time she didn't pull away. She let him kiss her. She let him slide his tongue into her mouth, pulling her closer and closer. With one swift movement, she pulled his shirt off, looking at his body. He smiled at her and pulled off her tank tops, kicking off his sneakers. She got on her knees and he unzippered her pants, quickly sliding them off of her legs and onto the floor. She reached for his body, pulling off his pants and shorts. And they sat there, her in a bra and panties. Him in boxers.

He watched her, waiting for her to make the next move, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. When she didn't, he spoke, “You okay?”

She smiled at him and bent over the bed and reached for her pants. “I didn't mean to rush you.” He said.

When she leaned back on the bed, she had her phone in her hand. “Take a picture with me...Hubbz.” She had a smile on her face and he smiled back at her, pulling her against him. She opened her camera and looked at him. Then she turned back to her phone, holding it out in front of her so she got them both in. He kissed her neck and she smiled.

The flash went off and the picture was taken. She moved into his arms, and posted the picture onto facebook, with the caption, 'Hubbz and I; The start of a new day'

“You fucking promised that I'd get her this week! I don't fucking care if you and your fucking boyfriend are going out of town. I fucking canceled with my boys cause you told me that I'd get her! You can't just fucking do that shit!” Ace was yelling, while on the phone with his baby mama. “Fuck Carlos! Give me my damn daughter! Don't you even fucking hang up with me you bitch!” He took his phone from his ear, and seen that she'd hung up. “Fucking bitch!” He yelled looking at himself in the mirror.

“What'd I tell you?” Drew asked looking up from his phone.

“What are you talking about?” David asked looking over at him.

“Look.” Drew handed him his phone, showing him the picture Shelby had just posted.

“What's that mean?”

“That they're obviously dating.”

“What?” Izzy asked looking at Drew.

“Shel posted a picture and the caption says, 'Hubbz and I; The start of a new day'.” Drew replied as Ace walked back into the kitchen.

“That bitch is taking my daughter. After she fucking said that I got her this week. I fucking hate that bitch!” He angerly took his seat and guzzled his Corona.

“SHELBYYYYYYY!” Liz yelled rushing into the house, Denny following behind.

“She's in her room with Litho.” Keith informed her looking at her and Denny.

Shelby and Lulu walked down the hallway, hand in hand, with just their under clothes on. “Yes?” She asked with a smile on her face.

Liz looked around the house, and held up her hand. “We're getting married!!!” She had a giant smile spread across his face, as did Denny.

“Oh my god! Liz! Denny!” Shelby said rushing to hug Liz. She let go and walked toward Denny.

“Don't hug me til you put on more clothes.” Denny said as David laughed.

“Congrats Cuzzo.” Lulu said smiling at Liz.

“Thanks Litho.” Liz said looking from Shelby to Lulu.

“Well I’ll asked.” David said looking at Lulu. “You and Shelby back together?”

Shelby looked at him and smiled. “Yup.”

“I fucking knew it!” Drew yelled putting down his cards.

“Shut up!” Shelby said laughing.

“Just saying.”

Shelby looked at Liz, and quickly pulled her into the bathroom. “This is weird...considering the fact that you're half naked and you probably just had sex.” Liz said as Shelby shut the door.

“No I didn't. I'm not ready to do that with him yet. But I didn't pull you in here to talk about me. I did it to talk about you.”

“What about me?” Liz asked pushing the seat down and sitting on it.

“Did you tell Denny?” Shelby asked sitting on the edge of the tub.

“Yeah. But I didn't mention that it's James'. I don't think I'm going to tell him that Shibbz.”

“Then you have to tell Keith, Izzy and Lulu not to say anything.”

“Shit. I forgot all about them.”

“Yeah, and you should do it quickly.” Shelby didn't finish her sentence before Liz rushed out of the bathroom and pulled Lulu, Keith and Izzy down that hall, into the bathroom with Shelby.

“Woah Liz, I didn't know you were like that.” Keith said winking at Shelby.

“Eww, gross. You guys can't tell Denny that the baby's not his. Cause I'm not gonna tell him.”

“Don't you think he's gonna find out?” Izzy asked as Lulu sat next to Shelby, taking her hand.

“Not as long as you guys don't say anything.”

“What about James? You don't think he's going to say anything?” Lulu asked looking at Liz.

“Fuck! I didn't think of that.” Liz said sitting back down on the toilet.

“Fake a DNA test. They can do that shit while you're still pregnant.” Shelby said.

“They can?” Liz and Keith asked.

“Yup. I seen it on General Hospital.”

“What if the baby really isn't James' and it is Denny's?” Lulu asked.

“Yeah, is that a possibility?” Izzy asked.

“Maybe. But if I'm as far along as I think I am, then its James'.”

“Then we'll just have to take a real test. And if it's James' then we rewrite it, and make it say Denny is the dad. It's not like James will be hurt. He'll probably be relieved.” Shelby stated.

“Okay. But how are we supposed to get James' DNA?” Keith asked.

“We don't need it. We just test Denny.”

“How do we get his DNA?”

“Easy. Babe, will you go get a little plastic bag?” Shelby asked smiling at Lulu.

“Iight.” Lulu said as Shelby took Izzy's shirt off of him and threw it on herself. She then walked into the living room and over to Denny.

“Hey Cuzzo.” He said looking down at Shelby. Without warning she stood on her tip toes and pulled out a piece of his hair. “Ouch! What the fuck?”

“Nothing.” She smiled and walked back into the bathroom, after Lulu walked in. “Here.” She put the piece of hair in the bag and put it in Liz's purse. “I'll go get dressed and Lulu and I will go with you to the hospital.” Shelby smiled and pulled Lulu out of the bathroom and into her room.

“Why do I have to go?”

“So you can drive us.” Shelby said picking up her pants.

“You look better with those off.” Lulu said walking over to her. He put his arms on her waist and pulled her into a kiss.

Shelby moved her head back, and smiled at him. “We can't. We need to take Liz. And make sure that this baby is my cousin's. Because if it's not he'll be crushed.”

“True.” He kissed he again and then let go.

Shelby pulled on her pants and then watched Lulu put his back on. “You spending the night?”

“Why don't you come to my crib?” He asked putting on his shirt.

“Ain't Liz staying with you?”

“True. Here's good.” Lulu said laughing. “Wait. Ain't Izzy gonna be here?”

“We can ask him to join.” Shelby joked.

“REALLY?”

“No! I was kidding!” Shelby said fixing her shirt and looking at him.

“Okay, good. Cause I'm not sharing.” He said pulling Shelby close.

“You don't have to.” She said kissing him.

“Is this what you want to do?” Shelby asked sitting down next to Liz in the hospital waiting room.

“I need to know.” She replied looking down at her feet.

“Are you sure? You sure you don't want to just wait until the baby's born and go on Maury?” Shelby asked with a smile on her face.

“Shibbz. This is no time to fucking joke.”

“Just trying to lighten the mood.” Shelby mumbled looking at Lulu.

“I thought it was funny.” He mumbled as a doctor walked up to them.

“What can I help you with?”

“We need to have a DNA test done.” Liz said standing up.

“Okay. Is he a potential father?” He asked looking at Lulu.

“Nah, I'm a cousin.” Lulu replied as Shelby laughed.

“No. We have the guys DNA. And she's with a baby, so you have to do that new type of DNA testing shit.” Shelby said looking at the doctor.

“Okay, come with me.” He said slightly walking away.

“We'll be out here waiting for you Liz.” Lulu said as she walked away with the doctor. “Now what?” He looked at Shelby and she put her head on his shoulder.

“I guess we just wait.”

“Okay, what should we talk about, cause I can't just sit here in silence.”

“Denny and Liz are getting married.” Shelby mumbled, still trying to process the idea.

“Wait, that’s my cousin and your cousin. Ain't it incest if we hook up?”

“No! If she was your sister, then it would kinda be like that. But I only think it's considered incest if you're blood related.”

“Oh. I knew that.” Lulu said laughing.

“Mhm...sureeee.” Shelby said joining him.

“So, what do you think about this road trip?”

“I don't know. I think it has the potential to be really fun. But I have a feeling something bad is gonna happen.” Shelby said looking up at him.

“Like what?”

“I don't know. Just something. When we're all together it's either really fun and everything is on point. Or it's horrible and nothing right happens. There's like no in between.”

“Maybe this is gonna be one of those times when everything goes right and we all have a good fucking time.”

“Maybe. But I really don't think that's gonna happen.” Shelby said putting her feet on the chair next to her and putting her head in Lulu's lap.

“How come Daniel and Lexi backed out?” Lulu asked starting to play with Shelby's hair.

“I guess Daniel's on parole and he can't, like, go within a certain distance or some shit. He has like a fucking ankle bracelet on and everything.”

“Damn, what happened?”

“I don't fucking know! He wouldn't tell me. He said he just wanted to forget about it all and be done with it. It must be serious if he doesn't even want to tell me about it.”

“Maybe. He's never been in trouble like that before, has he?

“Not that I know of. But I don't know. Me and him don't really talk like we used to and it's kinda my fault.”

“How?”

“Cause, when I was away the only time I'd like talk to him was when...I was having problems or something.” She paused and took a deep breath.

“We can talk about something else if you want. I know how sensitive you are when it comes to Daniel.” Lulu said smiling at her.

“It's not that. We would just always fight when we talked, and I don't even know why. It was just an every day thing and it got to the point where we just stopped talking. I mean he's my best friend, but I really don't know what goes on in his life, if that even makes sense.” She laughed. “Like how can I call him my best friend if we don't even really talk anymore. Like I didn't even know that he was on fucking parole.” She looked away from Lulu and he could tell that she no longer wanted to talk about Daniel.

“Okay I have a question.”

“What?” She asked turning her attention back to Lulu.

“Was there anything going on with you and Izzy while yall were away?”

“Like were we dating, or did we hook up?”

“Yeah.”

“I mean...we weren't together. That's for sure. But when we got drunk a few times we did hook up. But it was only cause we couldn't be with the people we really wanted to be with. I don't know. For the first few months, he kinda resented me. And hated me for bringing him down there. We'd always fight and argue. He obviously wanted to come back here and I wanted nothing to do with here. But I guess he eventually got over it and started being my friend again because for awhile, I was all he had and he was all I had.” Shelby said looking up at Lulu. When he didn't respond she spoke. “It didn't mean anything. Absolutely nothing.”

“Oh. I never really thought that you and Izzy would happen.”

“We didn't 'happen'. We were never a thing. It was simply hate sex I guess.” She paused and looked around the empty waiting room. “What about you? What about the people you hooked up with?”

“I mean. It was really just Jasmine. I really thought that I was in love with her. But like, she wasn't really feeling it. Even went after David. I think it was then that I was thinking she was a different person then she really was. Like I guess I was kinda picturing her being someone else. Kinda hoping she would magically turn into the person I wanted her to be.”

“And who did you want her to be?”

“I wanted her to be you. Like I took you for granted Shel, and I'm wicked sorry for doing that shit. I guess I never really realized that you were the person I was meant to be with no matter how many people told me that it was you. I didn't want to hear it. It was kinda like I had to lose you to realize that.”

“Well I really wish you didn't...”

“I tried to call you. I really did. But before I pressed the talk button I'd always chicken out. I was like afraid that you'd like hang up on me or something.”

“I'm not even sure I would have answered.” Shelby looked at him and took a deep breath. “I mean. Like a part of me kept telling me that I loved you, and the whole cheating thing wouldn't change things between us. But it did. I felt disgusting being near you, knowing that you were with someone else.”

“Did you ever blame yourself?” Lulu asked thinking back to what Izzy had said earlier.

“Yeah. I guess it was stupid, but at the time it seemed right. Like I thought that I must had pushed you away or something, because that's what I do. I push people away before they get close enough to hurt me. And I never fully let them know who I am. I thought that maybe you got sick of it and finally gave up.” Shelby looked up at him, and could feel him shift in his chair.

Without having to respond to Shelby, Liz walked into the room and over to them. “We can go.” She said looking at them.

Shelby got up, and walked to the exit, followed by Liz, and had Lulu walking out last.

They dropped Liz off at Lulu's house, since she was staying with him, and then he drove Shelby to her house. “You gonna stay over?” She asked once they pulled up to her house.

“I have to pack for the trip.”

“Oh. Okay.” He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was disappointed, but he couldn't stay. Not after they had their talk. He had things to think about, and so did she.

He kissed her goodnight and then drove away once he watched her walk into the apartment. He turned his Spanish music all the way up and didn't care how late it was. Once he got to his house he parked the car in the drive way and locked the gate. He walked up to the front door and Liz was watching t.v in the living room. Her head shot up when he walked in and she smiled. “So you and Shibbz are back?”

“I don't know.” He shuffled over to a chair next to her and seen that she was, yet again, watching reruns of Jersey Shore.

“Are you guys fighting already?”

“Not really. I don't know.”

“What happened?”

“I fucked her life up. That’s what happened.”

“What are you talking about Litho?”

“I fucking mentally destroyed her and it's all cause of fucking Jasmine. I fucking hate that bitch!” Lulu yelled starting to get annoyed.

“Just don't think about the past. Think about the future. The horse ain't a part of your life anymore, so there is legit no one in the way of you and Shibbz.” Liz said trying to calm Lulu down.

“She hooked up with Izzy.” Lulu said turning to look Liz in the eyes.

“What!”

“Exactly.”

“Well. It's not like she's still doing that. She loves you Litho. What don't you get about that?”

“I don't know Cuzzo. I really just don't fucking know.”

“Well you better fucking fix what ever crawled up your ass before tomorrow, because you're not backing out of this trip. I won't fucking let you.”

“Whatever Liz.” He got up from the couch and walked into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

Shelby walked into the house and shut the door behind herself. “Hey Shibbz.” Izzy said from the couch.

“The guys leave?”

“Yup, they had to go pack and shit.” He replied as Shelby sat down next to him.

“I told Lulu that we hooked up, and now I think he's mad at me.”

“Why'd you tell him?”

“I don't know. We were being honest. And he asked.”

“So you should have made some shit up! Sometimes I swear you don't think!” Izzy yelled getting off the couch.

“I'm sorry!”

“Whatever Shibbz!” He quickly walked out of the living room and into his room, slamming his door behind himself.

“I guess everyone's mad at me...” Shelby said silently walking into her room.