In the morning, Jordan knew he had to go home, or he would be in even more trouble. Melissa and he said their goodbyes and Jordan started to walk home. A big smile still plastered on his face.

At his house, he opened the door and was surprised to see Asher's dad, Harold. He was storming out and passed Jordan.

"Your dad is an ass." Harold spat out and left.

Jordan saw his sister and closed the door. "What was that about?" He asked.

"I'll tell you later. Where the hell have you been?" Olivia asked him, partly worried, partly angry.

"Out." Was his simple response.

Olivia looked at her brother and tried to figure out what was going on in his mind. "Are you high right now?" She asked him accusingly.

"What? No." Jordan answered honestly. "Not anymore."

Olivia couldn't believe what he was saying. She thought that after her history with drugs, Jordan would be more careful.

"Are you serious? You have a game today." She told him, hoping that Jordan didn't forget about that.

Jordan wasn't stupid. He knew he had the homecoming game today. "Olivia, relax."

"Relax? Dude, I covered for you. I told mom and dad that you were in your room all night. Now, get upstairs before some- "

Olivia couldn't even finish her sentence because Billy walked up to them. They, better yet, Jordan was busted.

Billy saw his kids standing by the stairs. "What's going on here?" He asked.

"Hey, dad," Jordan said to him, hoping he wouldn't get in too much trouble.

"Hey. Why are you still in your suit? And where are your shoes?" Billy asked his son.

Jordan looked down at his feet, and indeed, his shoes were missing. He didn't even notice. He probably left them at Melissa's place.

"Please do not tell me you are just getting in from last night." Billy continued.

"You know what? I had a great night. Yes, I just got home. I'm always trying to do what's right. I'm always trying to please you." Jordan told his dad.

"Please me?" Billy asked. He expected more from his son.

"Yeah, you. And for once, I did what I wanted. And it was worth it." Jordan replied.

"What, with this little Malibu cheerleader?" Billy accused him.

"Her name is Ripley, dad. And for your information, no. I wasn't with her all night. I had something more important to do." Jordan told him, thinking about Melissa.

Olivia was surprised, she thought Jordan was with Ripley. Did he bring another girl into the mix?

"What does that mean?" She asked him.

"I disappointed and hurt someone last night, and I wanted to make it right again. And it worked." Jordan told his sister, a small smile on his face.

Billy didn't share that smile with him. "I'm assuming something more important was a girl? Do you think that she even cares that you're gonna be distracted at tonight's game? Do you think she cares that you're gonna be off because your ass was out all night? Coming up in here barefooted and doe-eyed just hours before kickoff?"

"Yes, dad. She does care. She cares more than anybody else. You're just mad that for once, football isn't the most important thing in my life. I did what I wanted, and you know what? I'm happy about it. Nobody can ruin that." Jordan said, standing up not only for himself but for Melissa as well.

"Look, I know this. I know you are the team captain. You are supposed to be leading your players. You got responsibilities here. Do you not want them? Because if you don't, please just let me know. Jordan, you have to figure out what's important to you. Not for me, not for these girls. Baby, for you. So, please figure it out." Billy told his son and walked away, leaving Olivia alone with Jordan.

"Were you at Mel's place?" Olivia asked Jordan.

"Yes. Well, I left the dance with Ripley and we went to the beach. It just didn't feel right with her, you know? I really tried, but I wasn't happy with her. I wanted to apologize to Mel, so I went to her house to talk to her. Guess we lost track of time." Jordan told her.

Olivia saw the massive smile on her brother's face and couldn't help but think that something else must have happened.

"Doing what?" She smirked.

Jordan just smiled at her. He wasn't going to tell her. "Wouldn't you like to know? By the way, Mel's coming over later. She said she wanted to talk to you. Give you a chance to explain."

"Oh, ok. I honestly thought she wouldn't talk to me anymore. After what happened at the dance, I don't have many friends left." Olivia said.

Jordan put his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her reassuringly. "Liv, we both know that Melissa wouldn't do that. And you still got me. That's not going to change."

"Thank you, Jordan. Now, get in the shower. You smell." She jokingly told him. She was so grateful for her brother. One person, she could always count on.

********************************

Melissa was sitting on her bed, thinking about the night before. Jordan kissed her. Jordan Baker actually kissed her. She thought she couldn't be happier. She dreamt about kissing him for so long and now that it actually happened it was better than any dream.

No matter how happy she was, she knew that most of her friends were hurt. The dance revealed so many things and she wanted to make sure that everyone was doing ok. As ok as someone can be in a situation like this. She couldn't imagine how hurt Layla must be. Finding out that your boyfriend cheated on you with your best friend had to be one of the most horrible things.

Still, Melissa wanted to hear Olivia's side of the story. She already talked to Asher last night and she had to be honest with herself. She was angry with him. And she wouldn't blame Layla if she would never talk to Asher again.

Olivia was another story. Melissa knew that Olivia was going through a rough time last year and she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the story than just two people hooking up with each other.

She grabbed her stuff and made her way down the stairs. Haley was in the kitchen as she heard her daughter come downstairs. She turned around and smirked at Melissa.

"Long night?" Haley asked her.

Melissa innocently looked at her mom and shook her head. "Long night? I got home pretty early. Why would you think that I had a long night?" Melissa nervously asked.

"Well, I heard you leaving the house. Somewhere after midnight." Haley told her.

Melissa stopped in her tracks. She thought that she made it out without anyone hearing her. Guess she was wrong about that.

"Uhm, yeah. I thought you were sleeping. I had to fix something." Melissa told her mom, not completely lying.

Haley put down her cup of coffee and walked towards her daughter. "I was worried where you would go at that time. I'm your mom, so I had to make sure you were ok. Thankfully, I didn't have to go far. I saw you on the porch. With Jordan."

"You were spying on me?" Melissa asked, not believing her mom would do something like that. On one side she could understand her though. Something could have been wrong.

"No." Haley instantly replied. "I wanted to know where my daughter was going in the middle of the night. Should I have been spying?"

Melissa sighed. She usually told her mom everything. Some people might find that weird, but she was always really close with her mom. Haley was like a good friend to her, but when she needed to be a strict parent, she was.

"Uhm, no. I really don't have much time now. I promised Olivia to spent some time with her. See you later?" Melissa asked, hoping she could get out of this conversation.

Haley watched her daughter walk towards the door and stopped her before she could leave. "Mel? You should return Jordan's shoes if you're going to his place. It's a mystery to me why he left his shoes."

Melissa turned around and smiled at her mom. "You're right. I was gonna do that, I just forgot. Thanks, mom."

Nathan walked into the kitchen a little while later. Haley was still grinning from ear to ear.

"What's with the big grin, Hales?" He asked her while taking a cup from the cupboard.

"I just had a nice conversation with our youngest. She had company last night." Haley told him.

"Oh? What company? And where?" Nathan asked. He was scared of the answer. He knew his little girl was growing up, but he wasn't ready to let her. She was the youngest after all.

Haley seemed to know exactly what her husband was thinking about and quickly eased his fear. "Outside on the porch. It was really innocent, don't worry. But it was Jordan."

"And how does that explain the massive smile on your face?" Nathan asked, slightly relaxed.

"She blushed when we talked about Jordan. She never blushed like that before. I bet you something happened. He even left his shoes here." Haley laughed.

"His shoes?" Nathan asked confused. "Kids are weird these days."

"Oh, really?" Haley replied. "I remember adults calling us weird. We got married in high school, Nate. Remember?"

"I do remember. Best decision in my life." Nathan told Haley before giving her a long kiss. Best damn decision ever.

*****************************

Jordan was in his room when Melissa pulled up outside of his house. In her car, she checked her appearance and made her way to the door. Nervously she rang the doorbell which was opened by Billy.

"Melissa. Hello, come in." Billy greeted her and held the door open for her.

Melissa stepped inside and waited for Billy to close the door. "Hi. I told Liv I would come by. Is she upstairs?"

Billy saw that Melissa was holding Jordan's shoes in her hands. He felt bad. He thought back about what he said to his son just hours ago. The girl, Jordan spent the night with, was Melissa. Billy knew that Melissa cared more about Jordan than any other person.

"She should be upstairs. You know the way. Have fun you two. I'll see you at the game?" Billy asked her.

"Yes, I wouldn't miss it." Melissa smiled and walked up the stairs. She stopped in front of Jordan's room and knocked on his door. Seconds after, Jordan opened the door and smiled at her.

"Hey, Mel," Jordan said.

"Hi, J," Melissa replied, blushing slightly. She held his shoes up so he could see them. "You forgot them at my house, and since I was coming here, I thought I would return them."

Jordan took the shoes from Melissa's hands and put them down on the floor. He took her hand and guided her inside his room, before closing the door. Both of them were smiling at each other, not sure what to do next.

Jordan stepped forward and pecked Melissa's lips. It was just a short kiss, but both were smiling from ear to ear.

"I missed you," Jordan said, not moving away from her. His lips still lingered above hers.

Melissa could feel his breath on her face and she looked up into his eyes. She wanted to close the space between them again.

"I missed you too, J." She replied.

Jordan cupped her cheeks and moved in again. With no complaint, Melissa welcomed the feeling of the boy's lips on her own and her hands found their way around his neck. She collided with the door as Jordan deepened the kiss.

Eventually, they both had to come up for air. Foreheads resting on each other, they smiled.

"I could get used to this." Jordan laughed and Melissa soon followed. It felt natural. It was nothing like kisses she shared with other guys. It felt like it was meant to be.

"Me too." She admitted.

They suddenly were interrupted by someone knocking on Jordan's door. "Jordan? Is Mel in your room? I can see her car outside."

Jordan kissed Melissa on the forehead before opening his door to see his sister outside.

"Liv. Nice timing." He said. He was a little annoyed that Olivia interrupted them.

Olivia looked at her brother and Melissa and saw the flushed faces. She knew that she wouldn't get anything out of Jordan, but Melissa was easier to crack.

"Well, she's here to talk to me. So I don't see how my timing is off." Olivia smirked and took Melissa's arm. "See you later, bro."

"Really, Liv? You're just gonna take her away from me?" Jordan asked with a pout on his face.

Melissa smiled at him and blew him a kiss, before following Olivia in her room.

"So, last night was something, huh?" Melissa started the conversation. She wanted Olivia to know that she was willing to listen and understand.

"Yeah. I can explain, I promise." Olivia told her and sat down on the bed next to Melissa. "It was just a one-time thing. I was high, and Ash was devastated about his home situation. We were both depressed and it just kind of happened. I regretted it the second I realized what we did." Olivia explained.

"Liv." Melissa sighed. "I know that you never wanted to hurt anyone. And it's not my place to be angry. You know that I will always be here for you, but what you and Ash did. It was more than wrong. I mean, I wouldn't say anything if Asher wasn't in a relationship, but that wasn't the case."

"I know, I know. I totally get that. I'm mad at myself. I didn't say anything because I was trying to protect everyone. I'm really sorry." Olivia apologized.

Melissa hugged her friend when she saw that Olivia was nearly crying. Melissa wasn't ok with what happened, but as she said, it wasn't her place to be angry or hurt. And Olivia needed her, just like she needed Olivia.

"Have you talked to Layla?" Melissa asked.

"Not after last night. We both said some pretty nasty stuff. I get it, I mean, I gave her advice knowing that I'd betrayed her. She called me a treacherous bitch and I responded by calling her a hypocrite. I even called her a messy human who screws up like the rest of us. I feel so bad about saying all of that. She had a right to be angry, she still does." Olivia explained the fight Layla and she had after Asher revealed their affair.

Melissa didn't want to get in between her two friends. She would be here for both of them, but she would try not to choose a side. It wouldn't be fair to them, and she hoped that they would understand.

*****************************

The girls decided to get a bite to eat before the game and went to the restaurant. Olivia was constantly trying to get Melissa to talk about the night she spent with Jordan. Melissa was keeping quiet. It wasn't like she wanted to keep it a secret, but Jordan and she haven't talked about what it meant to them, and she wanted to talk to him first.

They were sitting together on a table when Layla walked inside. Layla looked at her two friends and nearly walked back out the door. She changed her mind and walked up to the girl's table.

"Look, we both said some pretty harsh things last night, and I am still mad as hell at you." Layla started the conversation.

Olivia understood that. "I am sorry that I slept with Asher, and I will keep saying it until..." She started, but Layla interrupted her.

"I get it. You were high. But I'm still really hurt, and not just about the Asher thing. I'm upset about us. You let me believe you didn't want to be my friend anymore, and you let me be with a guy who would cheat on me with one of my best friends."

Melissa felt like she should leave the girls alone so that they could talk. She got up and took her phone. "I have to call someone. I'll be right back." Before leaving she hugged Layla and smiled at Olivia.

Melissa stood outside the restaurant and was contemplating if she should call Jordan. She missed him already, but she didn't want to be a clingy girl.

"I'll see him at the game." She thought to herself, smiling at the contact photo she had of Jordan. There was one thought in her mind, Jordan kissed her, and nothing compared to that.