Seven*

Love has a weird way of working out. No matter how many fights you get into, nothing ever changes between the two of you.

Shelby rolled out of the bed and seen Briana sleeping next to her. “Fucking Twin.” She mumbled laughing. Shelby rubbed her eyes as she walked out of the room.

“Hey Beautiful.” Lulu said walking over to her.

“You must see some other person, because I'm a hot mess.” She said laughing.

“Nah.” He placed him hands on her waist and pulled her into a hug. “You're always beautiful.”

“Whipped!” David yelled as Ace and Drew started laughing.

“I love you.” Shelby said hugging him tighter.

“I love you more.” Lulu whispered in her ear.

“Pussy whipped!” David said, louder than before. Denny turned to him and slapped him upside the back of the head.

“Say it one more time, and it'll be my fist meeting your face.” Denny said, not looking up from his cards.

“Iight, sorry. Forgot she was your cousin.” David said putting his hands up as a way of surrendering.

“Yeah, you better be sorry.” Denny mumbled as Shelby and Lulu walked over to the table.

“What'd you say D? That Lulu was pussy whipped? Well at least he can get pussy..and not someone's sloppy seconds.” Shelby said with a devious smile on her face.

“Oh shoot. Shortie got jokes.” Ace said giving Shelby a high-5.

“Just saying. When was the last time you got laid David? Was it Lela? Or maybe it was Monica...no wait...I think it might have been Jasmine.” Shelby said with a laugh.

“Okay Shibb. That's enough.” Lulu said looking at her.

“But I could go on for days.” She replied turning away from the boys and going to sit on the couch.

Nellz walked over and sat down next to her. “Shibbz, ya know that Liz is super upset about this whole wedding thing, right?”

“Who isn't? I'm going to have to relive my childhood for the rest of my life. Because even when the wedding is over, she's still having a baby.” Shelby said looking at Nellz.

“She's worried that someone is going to mess up the wedding.”

“Someone probably will. But it won't be me. I can be civil. Whereas her ape fuck of a mother can't be.” Shelby said rolling her eyes.

“All I'm trying to say Shibbz is not to put anymore pressure on her. She's going through a lot.”

“And I'm not? I understand that Liz was effected by the fight with her sister and I, but she didn't lose her best friend because of it. She didn't lose two of her closest friends because of it. She wasn't made a joke because of it! Fucking, I was. And for one god damn second I wish people would fucking realize that. I understand that I was strong through it all, and I may not have cried as much as the next person but I was fucking broken by it. Vici wasn't the only one hurt at the end of the day, and neither was fucking Liz. Shelby was fucking hurt too!” Shelby said staring Chanel in the face, with a blank, painful stare. All eyes turned to look at Shelby, she had spoken too loud for anyone not to hear her.

“What do you mean Shibbz? I lost something that day too!” Liz said walking up to her and Chanel.

“What Liz? Please enlighten me. Because at the end of the day, you still had me, Vici, Brittany, and Amanda, whether you wanted them or not.”

“I lost the bond between two of the most important people in my life after that fight. Nothing was the same in my life. I couldn't talk about you around Vici, and I couldn't talk about her around you. I had to manage my time between the two of you because you guys couldn't be in the same area as each other. I had to make time for both you, and my sister and try not to fuck shit up.” Liz said staring at Shelby.

“But at the end of the day Liz, did you lose anyone? Where you stabbed in the fucking back by someone who would constantly tell you that they would never leave you? Were you talked about behind your back by 3 of the people you considered to be your best friends? Were you trash talked about by a fucking 50 year old women? But most importantly Liz, were you being replaced right in front of your own eyes?” Shelby asked as Lulu walked over to her.

“Shibbz I know that you were hurt by my sister--” Liz started being cut off.

“No you really don't Liz. You honestly don't. And you really won't, unless it happens to you. And you can try and compare your loss of Heather to this, but when push comes to shove, it's not. Your sister and I were inseparable. We did almost everything together. We were know as Shelby and Vici. Because we were always together. No matter what happened, and who came into our lives, we were always there for each other. Kirstin, Heather, her Dad, Kristen, Briana, Daniel. They all left, but there was always her and I. But then she goes to another continent and she finds a new best friend. I think that's what hurt most. That she replaced me before I was even gone. Sure our friendship wasn't ideal, and most people didn't get the point or understand it, but we were happy. She made me laugh and I made her laugh, and that's what a best friend is good for. I trusted her with my fucking life, and she did the same.” Shelby paused and Lulu took her hand while sitting on the arm of the couch. “And I may not know what she blames for the termination of our friendship, but it wasn't the fucking fight we had that night were I went over to Sasha's. It had nothing to do with Lulu, and everything to do with the simple fact that we were drifting apart...and it was all because of Lexi.”

“But you weren't the only one fucking hurt Shibbz.” Liz said.

Shelby quickly looked at her and slapped her across the face. “You were friends with Lexi! Everyone was friends with fucking Lexi! And I honestly think that everyone likes her more than me anyways.” Shelby quickly got off of the couch and rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind herself.

“Damn.” Drew mumbled putting down him cards.

“I didn't know Vici meant that much to her.” Ace said.

“That's cause you weren't around to see it. They legit were inseparable.” Denny said.

“I remember the first time I met the two of them. They tag teamed me and Litho at the park, and then back at her crib.” David said laughing.

“Dude. Shibbz became a part of our fam because of Vic.” Drew paused and looked around the RV. “I had nothing to do with fucking Litho. It was all cause of Vic.”

Denny knocked on the bathroom door and walked in, even though Shelby didn't tell him he could. “What?” She asked looking up at him, her stare blank.

“You really need to let go.” He said sitting on the floor.

“I know I do...but I can't...”

“Why Shelby? Because she hurt you? People hurt you all the time and you let go. Why is Vici so different?”

“Because Denny!” Shelby said looking away.

“Because why Shelby?”

“Because I think I might have been in love with her!” Shelby said staring at Denny, as his mouth opened, flabbergasted by the news.

Lulu walked into the bedroom and sat on the end of the bed, pulling out his cell phone. He looked up and seen Bre, fast asleep and thought it was safe to make his call. It rang 5 times then went to voicemail.

“Hey, you've reached Vici. Can't get to the phone, so leave a message.”

Beep. “Hey Vic, it's Lulu. We need to talk, so call me back. Bye.” Lulu said hanging up the phone. “This is for the best. Just get the two of them in a room and have them fucking work it out. Just the two of them. If there's someone else in there, shits not going to be resolved. I need to do this...I need to make Shelby better.” Lulu said as Briana slightly gasped. He got off the bed and left the room.

Once the door closed she sat up in bed, and quickly looked around. “He's really going to get Shelby and Vici together.” Briana said, trying to let it sink in. “Now do I tell Shelby?” She questioned looked at her bag, picturing the picture of her and Dan she had put in there. “I wish you were here to tell me what to do.” She said flopping her head back on the pillows, putting one over her face and screaming.

Izzy walked over to the passenger seat and sat down. “Did you know any of that?” Sasha asked quickly looking at Izzy.

“I mean...I knew that she's been hurting because of the shit that went down between her and Vici. But she never really mentioned Lexi.”

“From my understanding, Vici brought Lexi over to Nina's house one time. And the only other person she ever brought there was Shelby.”

“You think Shibbz knows that?”

“Yeah. I think that's when she finally realized that this is what happened, she really was replaced.” Sasha replied, sadly.

“I just think it's fucked up.”

“What?”

“From what Shibbz says, everyone only listened to Vici's side of the story, and they all feel bad for her. And of course her story makes Shibbz out to be the bad guy.”

“Well if we asked for Shibbz story, would she had told it?” Sasha asked, changing lanes.

“I don't know...Did you ever think she was hurting?” Izzy asked after he sat there for a few seconds looking at the passing trees.

“Honestly...no. I just thought that she held in hatred of Vici. Because when we'd talk about her or bring her up, Shibbz would want to change the subject quickly. I thought that it was just because she hated her, resented her even. But I never seen pain in her eyes.”

“Me either.” Izzy said sinking into his chair.

“What?”

“What what?”

“What are you thinking about? Are you scolding yourself for not noticing? Cause I'm pretty sure none of us noticed it.”

“Nah. It's not that. It's just that I always went to her with my problems. On how I felt like the bad guy. And she'd occasionally throw in that Vici made her seem like the bad guy, but I never once asked her how she felt about the whole thing. How she felt after losing her best friend.”

“I wouldn't use the word 'best friend' to talk about them. I mean I didn't really see their friendship as much as Liz, Denny, Andy or Luisto, but from what I did see, Vici had control over Shibbz. If Vici wasn't happy, then she'd pull Shibbz under her black cloud. And from the stories I have been able to get out of Shibbz, Vici was a pathological liar, and I don't see why Shibbz would fall for all the shit she did.”

“I just wish I could have done something more. Like found a way to help Shibbz. Take away some of her pain.”

“I know you care about her Israel.”

“She's like a little sister to me.”

“I know.” Sasha said looking at him. She smiled before she turned her eyes to the clock, quickly pulling the RV over. “Chanel! It's your turn!” She yelled getting out of the chair.

Chanel walked over to Sasha and whispered, “I'm the reason she went off.” She motioned toward the bathroom before taking a seat in the drivers seat.

“Don't worry about it Babe. We'll fix it.”

“She slapped Boo across the face.”

“What!”

“Exactly. I guess it's because she was friends with Lexi...And that's been hurting Shibbz.”

“If I got my hands on this Lexi bitch, I'd spazz.” Izzy said walking away from the girls.

“So wait, she slapped Boo?” Sasha asked taking the seat next to Chanel.

“Yeah, I fucking seen it. Boo tried to say that Shibbz wasn't the only one hurt by everything and then Shibbz turns around and slaps her, and says that Boo was friends with Lexi.”

“What do you think they're talking about?” Ace asked the guys, motioning toward the bathroom

“He's probably giving her a pep-talk, telling her to be strong.” Keith said putting down his cards. “I fold.”

“Maybe, he is really protective of her.” David said rolling his eyes.

“But what could he possibly have to say? What could he possibly tell her after that shit?” Drew asked putting his card down. “Full house.”

“4 OF A KIND!” Izzy yelled throwing down his 4 2's.

He was about to pull the pile toward him when Lulu stopped him. “4 Queens.” He had a smile on his face, and took the pile.

“Aww fuck you!” Izzy said folding his arms.

“I don't fucking know. You ever seen Vici break like that?” David asked, shifting his glance between Lulu and Drew.

“Nah. I don't see her much.” Lulu said quickly looking at the bathroom.

“I only see her when she's over Nana's, and she barely talks to me.” Drew said shuffling the cards on the table.

“Well what would you tell her if she said some shit like that to you?” Izzy asked.

“I don't fucking know. I honestly don't.” Drew said as all eyes shifted to Lulu.

“I guess I'd tell her that she needs to work shit out with Shelby. They were once best friends, I don't see what changed, and what caused shit to change.” Lulu said as Sasha pulled up a chair.

“What changed was there was a new chick in their friendship.” She said as Liz followed her lead and brought over a chair.

“Lexi.” Liz said looking around the table.

“Okay. So who the fuck is Lexi?” Ace asked as Drew dealt out the cards.

“Shelby's replacement.” Sasha said looking at her cards.

“I met her once. She came to my house.” Lulu said with a skeptical look on his face.

“And the only other person besides Lexi that Vici ever brought to your house was Shelby.” Liz said staring at Denny's empty seat.

“What does that mean exactly?” Keith asked picking up another card.

“Nina's house was Shelby and Vici's spot. It was where they went to make brownies and cupcakes, and hang out with Nina and Luisto. And Vici never brought another person over there, until she ditched Shelby.”

“And that's how Shelby knew she was ultimately replaced?” Ace asked, trying to understand.

“She never brought Brittany over there?” Izzy asked looking from Sasha to Liz.

“Nope, just Shelby and Lexi.” Liz answered.

“So it was like a place where Vici would bring her best friend?” Keith asked.

“Yup.” Liz said putting her cards down.

“Damn.” Ace said looking around the circle.

“Have you told anyone?” Denny asked, after what Shelby said finally sunk in.

“Just you...and Goku. But he can't tell anyone.”

“Why have you kept it in so long?”

“Because. I felt stupid. I knew nothing would come of it. And then when we stopped being friends I tried to hate her, Denny. I really did. But I couldn't and it made me feel like I was pathetic.”

“Honestly Shibb, I've seen what she's posted on her facebook, and she still thinks about you too. Did you ever think that maybe you two could be friends again?” Denny asked looking up at her.

“No. I honestly don't think we could ever be friends again Den. Too much has happened between us being done with each other and now. And honestly, if I was given the chance to be her friend again I wouldn't take it. I don't like the person that she's become and I never will.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean once we stopped being friends...even before that, she let her mother get into her head. She let her mother influence who she is and what she did. And it's pathetic. She made her mother one of her best friends, and if her mother was unhappy, then Vici would be too. She let her mother change her life, and while doing so she fucked it up. Every horrible thing that Vici said about me, was not her own judgment. It was her mother.” Shelby said firmly.

Briana walked out of the bedroom at the same time that Shelby and Denny walked out of the bathroom. Bre quickly looked away from Shelby, as she and Denny walked over to the booth. Denny slid in and Shelby sat back down next to Lulu. Briana looked at them all sitting at the table and decided that she would sit in the passengers seat with Chanel.

“Hey Bre.” Nellz said looking at her.

“Hey.”

“What's on your mind?”

“What do you mean?”

“I seen the way you didn't look at Shelby.”

“Oh...if you knew that someone was going to do something, and that something involved one of your best friends and you knew she wouldn't approve, would you tell her?”

“It depends. Do you know for a fact that she'll hate it, or do you just think she will?”

“I know it will. And it will definitely change her life.”

“Well maybe you should just wait it out a little bit longer and see what happens. Because you don't know for sure if what someone has planed will actually go through. And if it has anything to do with the people in this bus thingy, I know for a fact almost none of them are good at keeping plans.” Nellz said with a smile on her face.

Bre looked out the window and thought, “I know this is going to happen, and I know that it is going to be bad. Shelby is going to freak and it will break her and Lulu...”

“Hey.” Shelby said sitting down.

“Hey Shibbz.” David said.

Izzy looked at Keith and laughed. “Shibbler.”

Keith smiled. “Shibbarino.”

“Really though?” Shelby asked laughing.

“Yup.” Izzy said laughing.

“Yall are stupid.” Shelby said laughing as Lulu put his arm around her.

“You okay?” He whispered as she nodded her head.

The rest of the game was quiet, no one really sure what to say.

At 12 o'clock, Chanel handed the driving off to Lulu, she didn't enjoy driving in the dark. “How are we sleeping?” Bre asked Sasha, rubbing her eyes.

“There's the drivers seat, passengers seat, the table turns into a queen. Over the table is a twin. The couch turns into a queen. The bedroom has a queen, and so does the side room where all our stuff is. And then someone can either sleep on the floor or in the tub. Sorry Ace, I didn't know you were coming when I rented the RV.” Sasha said turning to him.

“Its iight.” Ace replied.

“So who's sleeping where?” Bre asked looking around the RV.

“I got the tub.” Ace said laughing.

“I thought Liz and Denny could have the side room, cause she needs a bed. Izzy and I will take the bed room. Nellz and Bre can have to couch. Lulu's driving, and I thought Shibbz would like to be near him, so she has the passengers seat. And the 3 boys can fight over the table and over the table.” Sasha said fixing her shirt.

“I got over the table!” Keith quickly yelled as Drew sucked his teeth.

“David, go sleep in the tub.” Drew said as Ace laughed.

“Fuck you! I ain't sleeping in the fucking tub.” David said walking over to the bags.

“Fuck my life!” Drew said walking over to Shelby.

“Yes?”

“Will you switch with me?”

“Aha, no.” Shelby said taking her bag into the bathroom to change.

“Fuck!” Drew said walking over to the table.

“AHH!” Shelby said, forgetting that Ace was in the bathroom.

“Sup?” He asked laughing.

“Will you turn around so I can change?”

“Sure.” Ace said turning to look at the wall.

Shelby quickly changed and looked at Ace. “You can turn around.” She said turning her attention to the mirror.

“Thanks.” He said putting 5 blankets into the tub.

“How many blankets do you have?”

“5. This fucking tub is hard!”

“When I'm done talking to Lulu, I'm going to go into the room with Sasha and Izzy, if you're still awake I'll come and tell you and you can sleep there.” Shelby said splashing water on her face. She looked at him and smiled.

“Good looks.”

“Yup.” She said turning to look at Ace laying in the tub. Without warning she started laughing.

“What?”

“You look hysterical!” she said walking out of the bathroom. She seen Drew arguing with David on who got which side, as Bre and Nellz fought with the couch to try and open it, while Keith was already laying in his bed.

“Hey.” Shelby said sitting down next to Lulu.

“Hey Shibbz.” He said smiling at her.

“I came to keep you company until I got tired.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. If Sasha really thinks I'm going to sleep in a chair she is out of her mind.” Shelby said laughing.

“Yeah I didn't expect you to sleep on the chair.”

“I love you, but I'm a bitch if I don't get my sleep.”

“Well if you can stay awake til 6, I hand the driving over to Denny, and we can crash in the bed with Boo.” He said looking at Shelby.

“I'll try Babe, but I can't guarantee anything, I get tired easily.”

“Yeah I know. But I can usually keep you up by talking.”

“Okay, work your magic.” Shelby said smiling.

“If I were to ask you to marry me, what would you say?”

“Like right now?”

“Yeah, like right now.”

“I...I...I don't know. I really don't think I'm ready for marriage. And I'm honestly not sure if I ever will be.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, sure every girl dreams about having the perfect wedding, getting the perfect dress and all the fun things that come with a wedding. But for me to actually make that commitment, it will be difficult.” Shelby pulled her knees up to her chin and sat there, staring out the window. “I can't for sure say that I want to spend the rest of my life with someone. Yeah, I always said that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, but that's because I couldn't think of life without you. But now that I was without you for 4 years, the thought of being with only you is hard to process again.”

“Damn.”

“You weren't thinking of asking, were you?”

“Nah. I ain't ready for that shit. But HB had me thinking the other day.”

“How?”

“He was just saying how if he had a girl that loved him how you used to love me, he wouldn't let her go. And then he told me I have to think about where I want to see himself when I'm 30, and honestly, I seen myself with you; married or not.”

“Are you saying that whether we get married or not, you want to actually be with me?”

“That's exactly what I'm saying Shibbz. I lived without you for too long, and I don't want to have to do it again. Cause I missed you too much.” He paused and smiled. “And you still owe me 3 kids. And we haven't even gotten to practice.”

“You always did have a way with turning a sentimental moment into a sexual one.”

“You know it.”

“If we really did have 3 kids, what would you want to name them?” Shelby asked after a few seconds of silence.

“2 boys, 1 girl?”

“Umm...3 boy names and 3 girl names I guess.” Shelby said turning her attention toward him.

“All I really want is for one of them to be named after me. I don't really care what you name the other 2.” Lulu replied with a laugh.

“So if I wanted to name the other two Orange and Margarita, you'd be cool with that?” Shelby asked laughing.

“No...you have a point. I do care, but I trust you to not give our kids ridicules names like that.”

“I think Margarita is a nice name!” David said laughing.

“Shut up!” Drew said hitting him with a pillow.

“Just giving my input.”

“They don't want your input.”

“How the fuck do you know? Just because they don't want yours doesn't mean they don't want mine either.” David said turning his back toward Drew.

“Okay, well legit, if I had to pick two boys names I would pick Jason and Dominic.” Shelby said.

“Dominic?”

“Yes Dominic. I love that name.”

“Okay, what about girl names?”

“Jaydan, Melony, and Adrianna.” Shelby said turning to look at Lulu's reaction.

“I like the name Melony...or like Jaydan Melony.”

“Oh my god, yes! Jaydan Melony Miranda.” Shelby had a smile on her face, as did Lulu.

“Okay, enough baby talk, it makes me want to strip you and give you that baby.” He winked.

“Fine.” Shelby said sucking her teeth.

“What else do you wanna talk about?” Lulu asked slightly looking at Shelby.

She yawned and looked at him. “I don't care.”

“You tired?”

“Obviously.” Shelby laughed.

“You can go to bed if you want to.”

“No. I can—yawn--stay awake.”

“How about I talk you to sleep?”

“That sounds great.” Shelby said taking the blanket off the top of the chair and putting it around herself. She then turned her attention to Lulu, closing her eyes.

“I just want you to know that I love you Shibbz. I really do. And I know that the past 4 years have made it seem like I don't, but there wasn't a day that went by where I wasn't thinking about you. And if I could go back in time, I wouldn't have cheated on you. I wouldn't have made you hate me, and I sure as hell wouldn't have fucked up. Maybe it's true what they say...Maybe you don't realize what you have until it's gone. If anything my mistake just made me appreciate your presence even more.” Lulu looked over quickly and heard Shelby start to snore quietly. “Goodnight Babe.” He leaned over and kissed her quickly.