Distraction

Eli shakes his head. "You know me. I like anything but anchovies." Leaning over a little, he positions himself in the corner of the couch where he could be comfortable.

He sees Leo looking at him, and he gives him a wry grin. "I don't look half as bad as you did, bud. And I've had worse. Just go get the pizza."

Leo chuckles and goes to put the first aid supplies away, coming back to leave with Ryan. Once alone in the car, he glances to Ryan. "You're brother's a brave man. I wish I had the strength to do what he did. All I wound up doing was making an idiot of myself. Eli... you can bet he can walk down to that raceway any time he wants, and he'll have respect."


Alone in the living room, when Eli is quite sure Leo and Ryan are gone, he fishes for his cell phone, wincing a little as he moves too fast. Scrolling through names, he finally finds the one he wants. "Hey, Chris. Yeah, it's Eli.... Oh, fine. Look, I just wondered if Jackson was true to his word." He lets out a long sigh to the answer. "I was afraid of that.... No... I wouldn't have changed it. I asked, he said no, so it was a risk and I lost out. ....Nah, I'll be alright. Hey, have Billy go check my apartment though, would you? I had that leak before I left and I don't want water all over the place.... yeah. Okay, thanks.... No, don't know now, but I'll let you know. Alright. Yeah. Later."


Jade doesn't move as Dan joins her. She was used to his company now, and enjoyed it. Her gaze joins his to the sky. "Mmm... you know how it is around here... not much more than a dusting a few times during the season. I really don't like it though." She laughs. "I never wanted to go where they get a foot or two of snow at once. It seems way too cold to me."

Sighing, she lets herself lean over, her head resting on Dan's shoulder. Though she hadn't spoken of it much, she really was worried about her brother. She just hadn't wanted to think about it, for fear of worrying more or making things worse. "They're gonna find Dylan... aren't they?"


All Wyatt has time for is to smirk at Katie before making contact with Mick. When their conversation ends though, he sits back in his chair, quirking an eyebrow. "No, Missy, I told Aerith I wouldn't be able to call her 'til the job was done. And besides, I'm not grumpy, I'm just hungry."

Jason leans back against the wall. "Hmm... well, we could always call for a pizza." A sharp pain through his temple makes him wince and he puts a hand to his forehead. "Um... or there's other stuff down the street as long as one of us is here at all times."


Band practice was over, and everyone was back at the Wiley's. They'd practiced at Theo's, as they were used to, though it was the first time with Kyle. Theo's apartment was a nice one, in a good area of town, though it was nothing like the Wiley mansion. It was explained to Kyle and Alice that though there was plenty of room at Erik's, it was nice to be somewhere else, and out in Theo's roomy garage, they didn't bother anyone. It was "their" space. Practice had gone well.Kyle and the others blended so well, one would think they'd been together for a long time, not just a few days. That in itself convinced anyone that they were on the right path, and it made Kyle happy to know that maybe he was going in the right direction, that maybe God really did have a bigger plan in mind.

"Whoa whoa, you what?" Erik stares at Kip as the group gathers in the back sunroom, awaiting the subs for supper.

"I... invited Karla." Kip shrugs. "Figured it was no big deal so I-"

Erik puts his hands on his hips, frowning. "You what? Went after someone else?"

Kip looks down at the floor, his face reddening. "She's nice and could use-"

"Come here." Erik stands up to leave the room, pulling Kip along with him.

Kyle lifts an eyebrow and looks to the others for any explanation.

Twila purses her lips. "Kip... has a habit of..." She searches for the right words.

"Picking up strays," Russ finishes.

"Russ!" Twila reprimands. "That's not very nice."

Russ chuckles. "Sorry." He looks back to Alice and Kyle. "What Twila was trying to say is that Kip often gets involved with people he shouldn't. And him not knowing this girl... Erik's automatically leery."

Out in the hall, Erik lays into Kip, their voices heard in the room, even though the door was partway shut.

"So Whitney got fed up and you found someone else?"

"This has nothing to do with that," Kip defends.

"First Breanna, then Whitney... they've all gotten you in trouble. What is it you need, huh? Why do you insist on needing their attention?"

Kip's face was still red. "This is different. Karla could use friends and... and I don't know, I just thought it was a good idea."

"You were already at her place almost all day - you sure you were just playing video games?"

"Yes! Don't you trust me?"

Erik folds his arms. "After catching you and Whitney-"

"Nothing happened!"

"Only because you got caught!"

Kip throws up his arms. "Are you always going to remind me of that? Can't I make a new friend? Can't I have someone over to dinner?"

Erik's face remains stern. He knew Kip often brought distractions into his life so he wouldn't have to focus on the bad that went on in the background. Everyone did that to a certain degree, but sometime Kip needed to stop and face his problems instead of ignoring them. And so far, he was still latching on to young women who made him feel important, just to take advantage of him until he got into enough trouble to let them go. Whitney had been the worst, until the Wiley's had banned her from the property. Even then, Kip somehow couldn't say no to her. And now he'd found someone else? Erik sighs deeply, his tone growing more gentle. "No, that's not what I mean. I just... I hope Karla is different. Because if she's not, we'll have a problem."

"I know. But she is. I just want to help her."

"Help her?"

"She's got a crappy little apartment with no heat and she's out of work right now and... I figured we got enough to at least share our supper."

It was another distraction and Erik knew it. But Kip's intentions were pure. "Alright. You know most anyone is welcome here, and it's your home too. It's fine you invited her over. Just keep clean okay?"

"Of course."

The doorbell rings and Kip is quick to leave Erik. "I'll get it!" He jogs to the front door, opening it up to grin at Karla. "Hey! Come on in." He looks at Rin and chuckles, giving the dog a scrath behind the ears. "Nice bandanna."

Leading the way back to the room, the subs had just come and Twila was finding a movie to watch. "Can we go into the other room?" she suggests.

"Ooh, yeah." Theo nods. "Food. Movie. What could be better? I..." His voice trails off as he sees Karla. "Well, hi there."

Kip brings her in and makes a quick job of introductions.

"Okay, grab a sub and something to drink," Erik directs. "Twila, you got the movie?"

Kip looks to Karla, smiling. "The settle down after a while."