"L A B E L S"

Episode 86

Joe grabs a plate of toast, eggs and a glass of juice and begins walking down the stairs to the basement. He flips on a light and immediately hears a loud groaning. He walks over to the couch in the middle of the basement and sets the plate and juice on a table. "Wakey, wakey, it's a brand new day full of new mistakes and old worries!" He gently begins slapping Mia on the legs and shakes her a bit.

She groans and turns on her back, covering her eyes, but making a small hole so she can see his face. "Not for me." She turns back on her side. "For me the days all blend together."

"Not anymore. Today's a new day and today's the day everything goes back to the way it was. What if today's the day that your life goes back to being how it was? Do you really want to just sleep and let that day pass you by?"

She turns back on her back and looks at him with confusion. "Why would I want my life to go back to the way it was? It pretty much sucked then too."

"You don't mean that. What about Scarlett...Logan...even Jake?"

She sighs and stares at the ceiling for a moment as she runs through everyone in her life she had isolated herself from. "Scar hates me...for good reason. Logan...I don't even know...and Jake...Jake should hate me. I ruined everything."

Joe shakes his head and sits down on the edge of the couch by her feet. "You know that's not true. You made a mistake. Scarlett's your best friend. Do you honestly believe she's the type of person that would hold this against you for all of eternity?"

She shrugs and speaks with a small voice. "Why wouldn't she?"

Because of all the times you didn't kiss her boyfriend…and all of the other times you were there for her."

She looks back at Joe with hope. "You really think so?"

He shows a small smile. "I guess we'll never know if you don't get your ass off this couch and back to school, where you belong...at least until June." He smiles and stands up, grabbing Mia's blanket and throwing it off of her.

She gasps and glares at him as he walks up the stairs with a smirk. She shows a small smile and shouts after him. "Joe?"

He stops on the stairs and turns to her. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for the couch."

"It's fine. Just make sure you're back by 6:00 at night and don't leave until after 8:00 in the morning. Mom's not exactly fine with the whole “girl staying over” thing."

She nods and gives a small smile as he turns to continue his walk up the stairs.

~~~

Scarlett walks into her first class just as Jake walks in behind her she turns, about to sit at her desk but stops when she sees him and starts to walk towards the door.

Jake steps in front of her and gives her a pleading look. "Don't leave...please."

She sighs and glances at the floor as a sign that she was waiting for him to continue.

"I’m really sorry about everything. I know it seems like the most insincere and cliché thing to say but...it's not. I mean it in the most sincere and honest way...I'm sorry. I’m not asking for you to take me back or go on pretending like nothing happened...I just hope that we can be friends and maybe one day you'll be able to forgive me."

She stares at him for a moment and nods before shrugging. "I’ve never been known to hold grudges."

He shows a small, hopeful smile. "Friends?"

She shakes her head. "No, but we can work on it."

He nods. "Works for me."

~~~