Change

As Adison takes his hand, Kirk just lets his thumb run over her fingers thoughtfully. "Thank you..." She was incredibly important to him, too. Through the years, he'd caught on to the subtle hints that all she wanted from their relationship was to be the best of friends, so he'd never pushed for anything more. Not to mention it was a no-no in the department. But whenever she found the lucky man to spend the rest of her life with...Kirk's own life would become awfully lonely. He'd tried dating other women, but no one made him smile like Adison did. Life would move forward though, whether he liked it or not.

"Why do things have to change, hmm?" He finally let her hand go and sat up to see where the movie was at before his mind ran away with itself. It was almost over. "I guess I need to clean up and call it an early night. I can't be late tomorrow." 

He glanced down at her again and smiled, despite all his apprehensions. Daring one last tickle to her ribs, he got to his feet and went to pick up the popcorn bowl to start cleaning the floor.



Hearing Katie was going to join them without Hunter, Jason glanced in her direction. He was a bit surprised. One, that Hunter wasn't coming, and two, that she was going to stay anyway. Maybe she really did miss this crazy bunch. 

Once Kyle was finished onstage, all three bands worked together to pack things up and load the pickups and trailers. It was getting late, but everyone was starving, and time really didn't seem to matter at that point. Carson was ready for them when they all filed into Mom and Pop's - the scent of fresh pizzas was mouth-watering. 

It was a noisy group, no doubt. There was more than just the band members, which helped fill the room, no no one cared if it was crowded. Carson had managed to get Aerith to come back in to work just a little earlier to help manage things until the bands left, and between the two of them, things in the kitchen ran smoothly. 

Background music, chatter, laughter, and an occasional outburst from Kyle's table filled the restaurant. As everyone at their pizza, Carson just stood back behind the counter and watched, a wry grin on his face. It had been a long time since this whole gang had been together here...and he had to admit, it was kind of nice. He'd lost a lot of friends through his own stupidity...but seeing at least Katie and Axel here helped. And the others...seemed halfway okay, so maybe that was an improvement. At least no one was complaining about his pizza. 

Sitting across from Katie, Jason took another bite of pizza before ducking to miss someone's crumpled napkin. The table on the end erupted once again, with Kyle screaming something about scarecrows, and flailing his arms to accidentally knock his drink over into Phil's lap. Jason just smiled and shook his head. He dared to look across at Katie - his eyes were so tired - he was exhausted, but at least it had turned into a fun evening. "Some things never change," he mused.


Travis enjoyed his day at the ranch. Helping Ashlee and Eric with feeding was fun, and even though he couldn't ride yet, he did watch Eric and Ashlee for a while as they partially just rode for fun and partially had a lesson a Eric guided her through a light workout. It was obvious the two got along great, which made total sense since Eric was dating Ashlee's mom. 

The rest of the day, things were fairly light. There was still a slight tension in the air, but it was easing off. Chance was gone. Xander and his family were trying to get settled. Lane was... Travis wasn't sure. He hadn't talked to his dad much all day, still wanting to just work things out for himself. He wasn't as mad now, but it would take a while for him to get back to a good spot with his dad. There was just so much wrapped up in all of this. 

That night before bed, Travis again found himself hesitating before going into his room. And once again, he paused in the doorway, watching Angel finish up her work for the night. 

"Hey...Angel?" He hadn't talked to her much since yesterday, other than having her give him a once-over to make sure he was still recovering. "Um... I've been thinking a lot today... about what you said... and, um..." He tucked his hands in his pockets and studied the floor. "Well...I think I want to stay here a while. I mentioned something to Mick today and he seemed to think I could at least work for my room and board and was gonna discuss it with Rosetta. But, um..." He looked back up at her. "I do need to go to my mom's to get my stuff. And... I don't have my own car and I don't want dad going with me 'cause it'll just be a mess. So... I...I was wondering if you might take me?" 

He knew she'd offered to help, but he still didn't know if it was asking too much of her. After all, they really had just met this week. "I shouldn't have more than just a car load, really. Like, I don't need to bring any furniture or anything, obviously. I can't imagine it would be more than filling up a car, or the back of a pickup." He searched her face, hoping to find a clue as to whether or not she'd be willing. "It would prolly take about an hour and a half to get there....so... it shouldn't take too long..."