Balancing Acts (sequel to You're My Little Secret), chapter 5

It was six in the morning; three hours before her flight and Ava was alarmingly wide awake. She was also a little woozy from the amount of alcohol consumed from the night before, that being one of the reasons she even had her eyes open at all. But there was also another reason she was awake, a more enticing reason, and he was lying right next to her.

This could be considered a record of sorts, Ava being awake before Tre on a weekday; it was almost unheard of. She smiled to herself as she watched him sleep. He had consumed quite a few beers the night before, making him giggly and heavy-lidded, and almost impossible to persuade up the stairs to her apartment. They had sat on the front steps until he had recovered enough to walk, both enjoying a cigarette and agreeing that since they were drunk and smoking together that it didn't count. In reality, they had both been cheating on their 'no cigarette' regiment for weeks, Tre never really getting on the bandwagon in the first place.

He was peaceful now, shirtless and lying flat on his stomach, one of his arms wrapped under the pillow that his cheek was resting on. And, he was perfect. Ava couldn't resist sinking her fingers in the soft hair that had long matted against the bedding. Tre stirred only slightly as Ava curled herself closer to his body, his warmth. He was sprawled out across most of the mattress so it wasn't difficult to find one body part or another to snuggle up to.

"Hmmnmh... " He offered as she snuggled closer.
Ava grinned. "How's your head?" She whispers, his arm falling over her stomach as he pulled her closer.
"Pretty pissed off," Was his unclear and grumbled response.

Smirking against the top of his head, Ava runs a hand up his arm. "Well you better suck it up 'cuz you're taking me to the airport, remember?"
Tre groans miserably. "Driving equals moving scenery, which equals vomit."
"I'll make you a pot of strong coffee," She offers in a bargaining tone.

Tre's head rises slowly from the pillow. "Will you have sex with me?"
Ava giggles at his pitiful look. "Oh yeah, nothing like a good round of hangover sex... " She trails off a little as his eyebrows crinkle. "Oh, you're being serious."
"I'm not going to see you for almost two weeks. You don't think we should even attempt sex?"

She had almost forgotten this piece of information, remembering suddenly that the guys had in the end agreed to participate in the VH1 charity event, and that since it was taking place in New York City, Tre would be spending a few extra days with Ramona in the hopes of getting her to forgive him for having to postpone their vacation plans.
"So you only want to have sex with me because you won't be seeing me for fourteen days?"

Tre pretends to consider his answer as his snuggles his face into the crook of her neck. "You want another reason?" He sighs. "I miss you enough as it is when I'm gone and now I can't even get sex."
"Well, you can always fondle Billie while I'm away," Ava jokes, Tre's teeth sinking into her shoulder in retaliation. She giggles, allowing herself to be pinned under him as his eyes finally fully open, his fingers brushing through the hair at her brow. "I will miss you, you know," He whispers, planting a delicate kiss on her forehead.

Ava watches him for a moment, reaching up to intertwine her arms around his neck. "I'll miss you too, but Adrienne and I need to do this because she is important to me and you are important to me. We need to figure out a way to politely remind one another of this... and I'm sure I'll be tricked back into getting along with Billie at some point in the week too."
Tre grins. "He's not so bad, and he's got a great ass."
"S'what everyone keeps telling me," Ava replies blandly.

Shifting to lie flat next to her, Tre rubs at his eyes. "You go then, Miss Fix It. Go save the world and make your sister love you. Just shut up about it."
"Your undying support is really moving," Ava replies sarcastically before shifting to her side, eyes moving to claim his. "But really... I know you think I'm crazy and off my rocker for needing to do this, but it feels right. I want to make this up to her, I want to make her understand how I feel."
"Hey," Tre mumbles, placing a kiss to her nose, "You do whatever you need to do."

Grinning over at her miserable boyfriend and his purposefully neutral comments, Ava clamors to her feet. "Thank you... now go take a shower so I can finish packing and then claim the bathroom for myself."
"Alright, alright." Tre stumbles from the bed, head planted firmly in his palms as he glides along the hallway wall for support. "I need some fucking aspirin, maybe a new brain." She could hear him say as he shuffled away.



"So the girls are gone, huh?" Mike mumbles just for something to say, a beer secured in his hand as Tre sunk down to his left on the couch, Billie to his right. They had been recording for most of the day but gave up eventually when they realized that they were still a little nauseated from last night's alcohol consumption, Tre and Billie both woken up especially early to make a run to the airport. Now here they were, being lazy in Billie's too quiet house, wondering how they were going to entertain themselves for the rest of the week. Well, Billie and Tre were wondering, Mike was just buying time until Lauren finished her late shift at the hospital.

Tre sighs heavily as he props his feet up on Billie's coffee table. "Yeah, we dropped them off this morning... but not before giving the flight attendants specific instructions of what to do in the event that they start clawing each others eyes out somewhere between here and Minnesota."
"They'll be fine," Mike replies with a hint of annoyance as Billie pulls out a cigarette and places it between his lips. "As long as they don't start talking about you two dickheads."

Mike groans in playful agony when Tre's body suddenly plows into his, almost knocking his beer to the ground as he's put in a headlock. "Hey!" Billie mumbles without much enthusiasm, watching the two men grapple from next to him. "If you get beer on Adrienne's couch... " He trails off as the two men roll clumsily to the ground, arms flailing as Tre pins Mike down. "That's better."

Billie grabs the remote from next to the couch and flips the channel away from Cartoon Network to ESPN, his heart pulling at the thought of not seeing the kids or Adrienne for two weeks. "Guys," He groans, lifting up his feet when Tre's forehead knocks against the side of his knee. "What are we going to do tonight?"



"You make the best margaritas," Ava claims, readjusting the blanket that lay over her lap as she continues to sip her blended drink. The two sisters were currently sitting out front on their parent's wrap-around porch, snuggled into giant rocking chairs, both with a drink in their hand.
"My roommate in college was a bartender," Adrienne replies, her words slightly jumbled. "She taught me all the secrets to making shots and mixing drinks."

Ava grins at her sister, propping her feet up on the railing in front of her as they both fell silent again. It was nearly three in the morning and they had been out here since around 11, just talking and taking in the calm night air. Ava had lost count by now of how many blenders full of different fruity drinks they had went through, but she knew that Adrienne, like herself, was on her way to becoming highly intoxicated. She also knew that if they continued drinking like they were, the risk of ending up on the couches downstairs would be highly prominent.

"I haven't drank like this in a long time," Adrienne finally admits, glancing over at her younger sister. "Well, wait, no... that's a lie. We all drank before we left last week... "
Ava giggles, shivering a little as a gentle breeze blew across the porch. Their vacation was quickly coming to a close; in fact they were flying out the day after next. This week had been perfect in her opinion. The girls had spent a lot of time with their parents and the boys, but mostly, they had spent a lot of time just easing back into that comfortable place with one another that they had always come to count on. There wasn't any large gestures or fancy words that had made the transition possible, it just sort of happened naturally. She was convinced it had something to do with her Mom's cooking and the comfort from being home.

Truth be told, they also hadn't really discussed Billie or Tre, in fact, they had hardly brought them up at all. Billie had called just about every other day to talk to the boys, but beyond their Mother's questions about how recording was coming along, the topic of their significant others lay rather dormant. Ava couldn't really decide if that was good or bad seeing as how the reason she had requested this trip was so that she and Adrienne could sit down and sort out their differences. She still had a lot to say, but she wasn't sure breaching the subject of Tre's loyalty while drinking was such a good idea.

"You know," Adrienne starts again, her feet joining Ava's on the railing. "I've missed this. I've missed you."
Ava nods, wondering if this was going to be their segued into Billie and Tre. "I've missed this too. We've been distant these last couple of months."

Adrienne sloshes the content of her drink from side to side before answering. "I've been a real bitch lately, haven't I?"
Ava's heart tugs at her guilty expression, her own guilt at not having patience with her sister pushing against her insides. "Not a bitch," Ava assures softly. "Just a bit too overprotective."
"I just want the best for you," Adrienne finally grumbles.

Reaching for her hand, Ava grins through her alcohol-induced coma. "I know you do... but you have to accept that I love Tre. And that he isn't going anywhere." She had said it with as much determination as she could muster given her current state.
"But Ava, you could do better."

And there it was, the one sentence that never failed to make her inexplicably angry. "Adrienne," Ava mumbles back rather calmly, turning sideways in her chair. "I know that Tre has a bad track record with the women he has dated in the past, but do you really think that it's fair to punish him, to throw these mistakes in his face? I mean, if I can put it aside, as I AM the one dating him, don't you think you should be able to?"
"He's a cheater," Adrienne insists, words a little more slurred than they were a second ago. "They cheat once, they'll cheat again Ava."
"Do you perhaps think that they keep screwing up because you keep REMINDING them that they screwed up?" Ava fires back. "Hell, if you're already accusing them of the act they might as well go out and do it!"

Adrienne's head lolls back against the rocking chair, a frown on her face. "I don't want what happened to me to happen to you," She insists, lips perched on the rim of her drink, her hand a little unsteady in holding it.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ava replies, reaching over to grab her sister's glass away before it fell to the porch and shattered. "Are you actually going all the way back to before you married Billie? Are you talking about that one dumbass you got engaged to? What was his name? Bran—"
"It wasn't Brandon who cheated on me," Adrienne whispers loudly, her words forcefully punching through the black canopy that hung around them.

Ava stops dead in her tracks, questions gone, as Adrienne frowns deeper, her eyes darkening even more. She could feel herself becoming more incensed, the urge to jump from her chair and scream slowly creeping through her. "What do you mean then?" Ava mumbles, her full attention set on the woman who suddenly looked horribly sorry she had said anything at all. "Look, I know it's not fair to ask this because you're drunk and vulnerable... but are you telling me that... that Billie cheated on you?"

She almost didn't want to know, afraid of what she might do to him in the event that what Adrienne was saying was in fact true. Adrienne remained mute for a moment, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Ava I'm drunk, just forget what I'm saying." She tries to pass off her words with a laugh but her eyes have started to tear and Ava's rage is on the verge of exploding.
"Adrienne." A warning sounds from her mouth, a desperate attempt at keeping calm surges from Ava.

Adrienne turns slowly, sighing. "It happened two years ago, when all the fighting began. I found... " She trails off when Ava's face morphs into that of complete fury at the confirmation. "I saw that Billie kept charging a motel in Berkeley on to the credit card—"
"So he's retarded AND monogamistically challenged?" Ava explodes, suddenly, her vision turning an odd shade of red behind her eyes.
"Ava, please don't—"
"And I suppose everyone fucking knows... Mike, Tre... " Oh God, if possible she was even MORE angry.

She clutched the sides of her rocking chair as she fought to keep her breathing calm, the alcohol making her lips feel fuzzy and her legs heavy. She had to make a plan, she had to keep calm.
"We didn't tell you... " Adrienne trails off, eyes still glistening. "Ironically, we didn't tell you because we thought we had it under control, we thought it wouldn't lead to as much complication as it did. I was going to try and forgive Billie, if only for the sake of the kids... and he was so incredibly sorry... and we both knew how much you already hated him... "
"It's very ironic," Ava agrees. "It's ironic that Tre and I keep a secret like dating each other from you, you have a coronary over it, but yet this whole time you've kept something like this from me."

Adrienne nods. "You have every right to be angry with me, but not with him Ava. He—"
"The hell I don't!" She hisses, remembering suddenly that there were four people trying to sleep upstairs. "He's a cheating bastard! And you're sitting here harping on Tre's ability to be faithful when he's done nothing but STAY faithful to me. Stop trying to fix other people's shit and fix your own!"

Ava rose from her chair so quickly it made her head ache. She ignored her sister's pleading expression, her tears. She was too angry and she was drunk, there would be no resolution tonight. "I'm going to bed. Night," She grumbles bitterly, wrapping her blanket tighter around her body as her legs wobbled through the front door and with some difficulty, up to bed.

She collapsed face down, huddling into a ball as she willed the anger flooding through her to calm just so she could sleep. She couldn't think about it tonight, not in this state of mind.


In the morning Ava slowly opens her eyes, cursing the bright morning light and the warm summer air that rose from the first level of her house and made her bedroom feel like an oven. "They need air conditioning... " She grumbles to herself, almost forgetting, as she had the last week and a half of her stay, that Tre wasn't lying next to her. Stretching, she sits up; cringing at the headache she had and the stale taste of salt that had lingered from the drinks she had consumed the night before. She wondered if Adrienne was up yet as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She could hear her nephews playing out on the front lawn and she could smell a hint of sausage from somewhere within the house.

It wasn't until she had taken the first step downstairs that her discovery from the night before came blaring back through her senses. She stumbled against the wall, having to sit down for a moment to properly deal with the onslaught of anger and embarrassment she felt for taking something as conflicting as Billie cheating on Adrienne and managing to turn it around so that she was the victim. She hated her blind anger, it made her so selfish and unable to rationally sort through any problem she faced. Cradling her pounding head, she was determined to talk with her sister before they left tomorrow, if only to try and restore some of the peace that had been gained prior to their sharing session last night. But as for Billie, well, she couldn't promise anything. He had lost any of the respect he had managed to instill in her over the past years.

Walking into the kitchen she discovered Adrienne already there, looking in worse shape as she sipped her coffee. She glanced up, giving Ava a pitiful smile as she settled next to her, their Dad hiding behind the newspaper and their Mom cooking in the kitchen.
"It's about time you joined us," Ava's Dad teased, not bothering to lower the paper. "We were beginning to wonder if you died up there."
"Thank you, that's very nice," Ava replies grumpily, accepting the coffee cup her Mom had placed in front of her.

She poured herself a cup of coffee, trying to sort out her thoughts and trying not to cringe while her Mom whistled happily, the smell of breakfast almost making her want to yack all over the table. Adrienne was staring at her coffee cup pretty intensely, but Ava found no traces of anger and resentment on her face. Instead, she saw sorrow and regret, something that made her feel worse. Her reaction to Adrienne's news left a lot to be desired, no wonder they hadn't told her when it happened. She had the restrain of a toddler sometimes when it came to suppressing her anger and frustration.

Ava exchanges a small smile with her sister, trying to convey something along the lines of sympathetic apologies. Adrienne nods a little, letting her know that they would talk later. Ava's nerves relaxe a little as she settles back against her chair. She had just slipped into a calm state once again when she heard a clamor from out on the front lawn, her eyebrows rising when she heard the boys calling out.

"Dad's here! Dad's here!" Joey was yelling, Jakob's high-pitched screeches following closely behind.
Adrienne's eyebrows almost shot up into her forehead as the sound of a car crunching over the gravel could be heard echoing in through the screened door at the front of the house. Ava noted that she looked almost panicked and she couldn't really blame her, the calm she had willed into herself was slowly fading and at the moment she desired nothing more than to kick his ass from here to Albuquerque, self-restraint and rationality be damned.

Adrienne hurried to her feet, sliding behind Ava's chair as she crossed the living room and stood at the front porch door. Billie was in fact here, and any other day she would have been delighted to see him, but after last night, she was concerned for his well-being. Glancing back at Ava, she noted that her sister was exhibiting nothing but calmness, hand systematically delivering coffee to her system. Oh God, this was bad.

She threw the screened door open as Billie was getting out of the cab, one bag slung over his shoulder. The kids got to him first, having already been waiting at the perimeter of the yard to tackle him. "Hey guys," He mumbles, kissing Jake's head and then Joey's. "Have you been having fun?"
"Yeah... " And then they both began talking over one another, something they always did to try and be the first one to get his attention.

Adrienne's legs feel like led as she crosses the front yard, chewing on her lip. "Hey Adie," Billie grins, pulling his sunglasses off as she approached. She wrapped her arms around his neck quickly before he could see her face, squeezing him tightly, almost apologetically, until he chuckled into her shoulder and tried to untangle himself. "Christ, you haven't been away that long," He murmured affectionately in her ear, pulling at one of the curly tendrils he so loved to wrap his fingers around.

She grinned in return, jumping a little when she heard another car door slam. She turned, wanting to crawl into the soil, when she saw Tre climbing out from the other side of the cab. He was brushing at a dark stain on his white t-shirt, hence his delay for getting out of the car. Apparently, he had a little accident with his coffee, exchanging words with the cab driver about the mess in the backseat.

"What are you guys doing here?" Adrienne finally grumbles, trying to appear inconspicuous and happy to see her husband and his best friend. Joey and Jake continue to swarm Billie before moving on to Tre, realizing that their Dad was too busy talking with their Mom. She could hear Tre scuffling with the kids before he paid the cab driver and the cab was gone, leaving her still staring at Billie.

Billie noticed her strange behavior right away, wondering suddenly if he should have listened to Mike when he had said it was a bad idea for he and Tre to crash their sisterly bonding weekend. He wasn't sure if that was the case or not, but there was definitely something wrong her; he could see it in her eyes. And he was very familiar with those big brown eyes.

"Tre and I decided to stop in before we flew to New York tomorrow for the VH1 thing," Billie explained as Tre wandered over, looking a little sleepy.
"Hey Adie," Tre greets as she smiles and diverts her attention to Jake who is trying to climb up the back of Tre.

"Piggy back ride!" Jake was yelling as Tre grinned and bent over so he could climb on. Securing his feet, he took off for the house where he assumed his girlfriend was. He wasn't surprised at all that she hadn't run out to greet Billie, and he was more happy that he had the chance to stroll in and catch her off guard.

At the door he saw her sitting at the kitchen table, still in a tank top and shorts, her hair all kinds of tousled. He grinned to himself; he had missed waking up next to her all week.

Ava, completely oblivious to Tre's presence, continued to sip her coffee. She was busy steeling herself for when Billie finally got in the house and she had to play nice. She refused to make a scene, not in front of her parents or the boys. So, she was completely unprepared when she heard the screen door open and Jake's voice call, "Aunt Ava, look! Uncle Tre is here!"

She spun in her seat, the action causing her head to go blank with dizziness for a second. "Hey," She murmurs, noting the giant coffee stain on his white t-shirt. "What are you doing here?"

Like Billie, Tre immediately noticed a difference in his girlfriend's brown eyes. He frowns a little, letting Jake slowly slide off his back and on to the floor. "We thought we would drop in on our way to New York," He supplies as she nods.

He was surprised, just by the look she was trying to suppress, that she got out of her chair and wandered over to him at all. He immediately flashed back to Mike shaking his head in the studio a couple days prior as he and Billie discussed stopping in Minnesota. He could vividly recall Mike telling them that they should heed his warning about not interrupting girl time, that they should just see them when they got back from New York. But they hadn't listened. And here he was, on the receiving end of a cold stare that Ava was apparently trying to warm up.

Ava placed a tender kiss on his lips, softly apologizing in his ear for her appearance and her slow reaction to everything today as they hugged. He assumed that she meant she was hung-over, but that still didn't ease his discomfort at the strange air in the house. Adrienne had looked pretty shaken up too.

When Ava pulled away her parents quickly accosted him, but he was glad for the hugs and warm greeting he received. Ava poured him a cup of coffee, seeing as how he was wearing most of the first cup he had tried to drink, and refilled her own mug.

"Uh, actually," Tre mumbles as Ava's parents move out to greet Billie who still hadn't even made it to the porch yet. "I was wondering if I could change my shirt first."
Ava nods distractedly, moving to make another pot of coffee just in case someone else wanted some. "Yeah, go up stairs and freshen up," She murmurs in reply, not even making eye contact with him.

Tre frowns at her reaction, running his fingers up the back of her tank top. "You don't want to come with me?" He whispers coyly, snuggling up to her as she starts the coffee maker. He pulls her close, planting a kiss against her temple. "Come on, I don't remember which room is yours... " He trails off as she pulls away and turns to look at him.

"I'm pissed at you about something," She says bluntly and just as calm as the weather outside. "But I'm trying not to be, I'm trying to be rational."
He stares at her for a moment, ready to be angry with Adrienne for whatever barrier she had forced between them this time. "What are you pissed about?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. He certainly hadn't done anything wrong lately, at least not that he could think of.
"I know—" Her reply is cut off when the sound of the screen door opens, the pack of people outside chatting and struggling to get through the front door.

Without a second thought Tre grabs his bag and Ava's hand, mumbling briefly to her parents about changing as he pulls her up the stairs and into her old bedroom. Shutting the door, he exhales. "Jesus, you people need to get air conditioning," He grumbles as the heat in the room surrounds him.
Ava moves to flick on a small fan in the corner as Tre sheds his shirt and then turns to look at her. "What are you pissed about?" He repeats again, planting himself on the edge of the bed where he knew the fan could reach him.

She wasn't sure she was going to be able to do this, to let the floodgates open. She knew once she started talking about it she would be furious, that's how her anger always went. "I know that Billie cheated on Adrienne."
Tre froze, a loud humming, almost like a warning, beginning to sound in his head. Oh shit. "When did she tell you?" He wasn't sure why he asked, it certainly wasn't important, but it seemed safer than saying anything else.
"We got drunk last night, we started talking about you and she made reference to it."

She was so calm it scared him. "Ava, it wasn't my place to—"
"I'm trying not to be pissed at you," She stated again, crossing her arms across her chest. "Because I know that if Adrienne cheated on him I wouldn't tell you. But I am pissed at you... I'm pissed for all those times I came to you out of concern and you pacified me by telling me that it was between them and there was nothing we could do. Of course you could sleep at night, you knew what was going on!"

And then suddenly Tre was angry, but he was angry for whole other set of reasons. "You know, it's really convenient she brought this up right now. Don't you think?"
"Don't be stupid," Ava replies shortly, earning a glare from Tre. "She would have taken this to the grave with her if she hadn't been drunk and I hadn't provoked her. She never wanted me to know."
"You don't think it's at all possible that she brought it up on purpose just to drive a wedge between us?"

Ava stares at him, dumbfounded that he was focusing on such a moot issue. "Do you really think that she would do all of this to try and break us up? Hell, if she wanted to do that she could have used another method, one that doesn't involve me wanting to kill that son of a bitch she calls her husband." Tre opens his mouth to respond, but Ava stops him. "And don't you dare defend him. He's an asshole and he doesn't deserve her."

Tre throws his arms in the air as he stands. "It's not your business, Ava. Bottom line. It's not yours, it's not mine—"
"Bullshit! She's my sister and her well being and her home life are my business."

Tre shakes his head in disagreement, noting that this discussion was quickly getting out of hand. "Ava, she didn't tell you for a reason. Shouldn't that tell you something? She didn't want you to know about it because—"
"Because she knew I would hate him more than I already do!" Ava cuts in with a yell.
"No!" Tre yells back, silencing her briefly. "She didn't tell you because she didn't want to hear 'I told you so'! She didn't need that triumphant grin that you get every time you hear that Billie screwed up, it's fucking annoying!"

Ava's mouth drops open in shock, tears flooding her eyes. She had forgotten how mean, how straight to the heart he could be sometimes. Tre sighs, his chest tugging a little at the look on her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that."
He receives a shrug in response, remembering suddenly that Ava tended to fight hurtful words with hurtful words. "I'm not actually surprised by your reaction," She mutters plainly, ready to drop the bomb she had been holding. "In fact, it just goes to show that one cheating bastard will defend another." This time, his mouth dropped open.

They had done it, both taken each other's past insecurities and planted them firmly against one another. They stood staring for a moment, both appalled, both sorry. Both incredibly stubborn.
"Maybe I should just go," Tre finally says when the silence had become too much and the look on her face began to hurt his stomach.
"Good idea," Ava loudly agrees, even though it wasn't a good idea and she didn't really want him to go.

She followed him downstairs after he put a clean shirt on, her family glancing up with smiles that quickly fell when they saw the looks on their faces. "Ava, is something wrong?" Her Mom asks, eyebrows knitting in concern.
"No... but Tre isn't staying," She simply offers, grabbing the keys to the car off the counter. "I'm taking him to the airport. I'll be back."

Ava had managed to completely avoid looking at Billie or Adrienne, but she felt their eyes on her. "But Ava!" Her Mom calls, causing her to turn around even though Tre was already slamming through the screen door. "You're in your pajamas, dear."
"Oh, I won't be getting out of the car."

She barely managed to slide into flip-flops before running out the door, trying to catch up with Tre. "I could call a cab, you know," Tre mumbles as he throws his bag in the backseat, and then slams the door with an unnecessary force that only manages to piss her off even more. Ava completely ignored him as she backed down the driveway and pulled on to the street. The car was silent, Ava squinting through the bright sun as she drove towards the airport, each mile marker flying by making her feel worse and worse.

After a moment Tre sighs, leaning between them to rifle through his bag in the back. A second later he's sitting straight in his seat again. "Here," He grudgingly mumbles, handing her his favorite Dior sunglasses. "I'm tired of watching you squint."

Ava accepts the glasses, sliding them over her eyes. "You have a big head," She mumbles, noting the way they don't fit very well along the sides. She has to bite her lip from laughing because the deadpanned expression he's glaring into the side of her head is hilarious.
"Yeah, well, you have arm fat."

Ava can't help it, she snorts with laughter, eyes tearing again behind Tre's sunglasses. A few minutes later she's pulling into a McDonald's parking lot that is about ten minutes away from the airport that she refused to drive to until this was settled. In the back of their minds they both knew they wouldn't have made it to the airport, that if Ava had really wanted him to leave she wouldn't have offered to drive in the first place.

The car was silent, Tre picking at the skin around his thumbnail as Ava tried to work through her thoughts. Finally, she turned to him. "I took how I was feeling out on you just like I always do. I'm sorry."
Tre glances over, shaking his head as he plucks the sunglasses off of her nose. Bright, glistening eyes are staring back at him and he immediately caves. "I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have said what I did."
"We're mean when we fight," She mumbles, reaching out to run a hand over his stubbly chin. "You especially."

He grins, reaching over to cuddle her neck between both hands. She leaned forward at the same time he did, pressing her lips against his. He had to remind himself they were in public when he felt her hand sliding down his torso, making him sigh against her lips. Ava broke contact first, planting a kiss against the side of his mouth before pulling away. "What am I going to do?" She whispers against his shoulder as she awkwardly lets him embrace her over the console between them. "I'm angry with him all over again. And I'm sorry that I have to talk to you about this, and that I'm badmouthing your best friend... but Tre, what am I going to do?"

Tre sighs. "You have a right to be angry with him for what he did to Adrienne, but Ava, he made a mistake, he's only human. And I know that doesn't justify it, but he has to think about what he did every damn minute of the day. Isn't that torture enough?"
Ava shakes her head. "He deserves to be strung up by his balls and left for dead."

Tre stifles a grin at her stubbornness. "I know it's hard for you look at it as him screwing up and needing forgiveness because you understandably feel protective towards Adrienne, and, well, you already hate Billie anyway."
"He's a dick," She agrees, sniffling a little against his shirt that smells like a suitcase.
"But he's Adrienne's dick... " Tre trails off at the odd word choice. "Well, you know what I mean."

Chuckling, Ava lifts her head. "Can't I just kick him really hard? Just once?"
Tre shakes his head and reaches for his seatbelt. "If Adrienne can forgive him so can you."

Ava froze, hand reaching for the keys in the ignition. "What?" Tre asks upon seeing her haunted look, unknowing that Ava had used those exact words last night when she told Adrienne she needed to stop worrying about Tre's past.
"Uh, nothing," Ava mumbles, starting the car and backing out of the parking space. "You ready to head back?"

He nods. "Yeah, but can we run through the drive thru real quick? I'm hungry."
Ava shakes her head. "Mom made an entire buffet back at home, I'm sure she'll be happy to feed you. And besides, you'll need your strength to keep me from mutilating Billie."

Tre chuckles. "Just ignore him Ava, at least until you and Adrienne talk things through. That should be easy to do."
"Maybe I'll just shave his head," She replies, like she wasn't evening listening to him. "That'll make him feel a million times worse than me running over him with Mom's Sedan."

"We should have listened to Mike... " Tre was mumbling as they pulled out from McDonald's and headed home.