"This is... It's never going to happen."

Echo stared at the window of the boutique and shook her head vehemently.

"Nope. No, not gonna happen." She repeated, shaking her head and turning to point a finger at Luke. "You... You're a pig."

Luke laughed. Echo was stalled and staring at the display outside a lingerie store, her eyes wide in horror. Then, she lifted her chin and turned away.

"Ughhh... pig." She repeated, starting to walk away but he reached out and took her hand.

"I'm only teasing. Calm down- I'll leave that up to you." He said, squeezing her hand and pulling her along. "I was actually pointing at that one."

She turned, obviously furious.

"If you don't stop doing things like that you'll give me a heart attack." Echo muttered, following him as he moved towards the shop next to it.

"You're adorable." He said with a smile.

"Shut up." she replied, walking in and looking around. "What..."

"Go head, pick something." He said, hands in his pockets as watched her. For Echo, it was strange that a man like Luke would want to go shopping but so far all they'd done was walk around holding hands, Luke constantly teasing her.

"Pick something?" She repeated, looking around the shop. "Pick something?"

"Yes." He said.

"From here?" She asked, glancing at the glass displays. "Luke, I didn't think... I don't think..."

"Listen, I'm well aware that you and your sisters are practically princesses living in that castle." He said, moving over to the counter where there was a large array of sparkling diamond trinkets. "But I would love to give you something to make you think of me."

He reached out and gently massaged one of her ear lobes.

"I..." She began to say, unsure how to respond. No one had ever given her jewelry before, not even her parents and she had certainly never thought to buy herself anything more than a wrist watch. She looked down at the display case, a pretty pair of diamond studs glistening. They were small but beautiful and for some strange reason, she actually wanted them. She'd never wanted anything like that before but she wanted them because they would be a gift from Luke.

"You like them?" Luke asked, noting how she looked at them and thinking they were a pretty choice for her but before she could answer, they the heard the sound of the door opening behind them.

"If you're happy, I'm happy." Lena said as she entered the shop.

Echo quickly froze and turned away.

"Shit." Luke muttered beneath his breath as George Pine and Lena Reid entered the store.

"I'm happy to hear that, Lena. Your opinion is important to me." George said as they walked in.

"Thank you, George." Lena replied with a sigh.

"Mr. Farina?" George said, noting Luke in the back. Echo stiffened but Luke gave her hand a squeeze.

"Just go." Luke whispered turning with a smile.

"George Pine- Didn't I ask you to call me Luke?" Luke said, moving quickly to their side of the room.

"Luke and you'll call me George?" George asked, shaking his hand. Lena stared in awe. So this was the man that everyone had been talking about? She was quiet, which was unlike her. There was something about this man that screamed danger. She felt an instinctive and immediate sense of alarm. There was something unsettling about him...

"Of course." Luke said, turning to Lena. He had only see her from far but would recognize her as one of Echo's sisters anywhere. While each of the girls was so unique and different, they still managed to resemble each other.

"I'm sorry this is Lena Reid. She's Alice and Michael's daughter." George said.

"It's nice to meet you." Lena said, extending her hand to him.

"The pleasure is all mine." Luke said. "So what brings you two in here?"

Luke walked in the direction of the opposite counter as he spoke, looking behind him and glancing at Echo who had very slowly begun to stroll towards the door.

"I came to pick up Karen's ring." George said, "It had to be resized."

"And I ran into George." Lena said, "University is just down that way and I was having a bite with some friends."

"Right. Your parents told me you were still in school." Luke said, his eyes jolting to the door once more as Echo finally made it out.

"Yeah, I hate school though, I'm bored out of my mind." Lena replied, making him chuckle.

"You should take your studies more seriously." George admonished.

"Why? I'll probably just end up at the company anyway." Lena said with a shrug.

"And how are you going to do that if you have no knowledge of business?" George replied.

"Fine, I'll spend my life spending my fortune then." Lena said with a grin.

"That sounds like a great idea but I have the feeling, Lena, that you and your sisters are all very bad at being idle." Luke said, thinking of Echo as he spoke.

"They really are." George said, looking at Lena.

"Well, It's getting late." Luke said, turning to the shop assistant. "Those."

"Great choice, sir." She replied and Luke handed her his card. "Right away."

"Congratulations on the engagement, by the way." Luke said, turning to George.

"Thank you." George replied. "You know, we'd love it if you can come."

"Thank you for that." Luke replied, signing a receipt. "Deliver it here."

"I'll send you an invitation." George said.

"I'll keep an eye out. It was wonderful to meet you, Lena. I hope I'll see you both soon." Luke said, walking out the door.

Lena stared after him for a second.

"He's... kinda scary." She said, turning back to George.

"I know, I like him." George said.

----

"I'm home." Echo said, her heels clicking on the floor as she moved. Maru looked up. She was sitting on the floor of the living room, once again working on posters for a protest.

"Oh wow, Echo." Maru said as she caught sight of her. She'd never seen her that way, never imagined she could look that way.

Echo was no longer wearing the skirt and blouse she'd worn earlier in the day. She'd waited for a bit, hoping Luke might come out of the shop but then it occurred to her that it could be Lena or George that appeared. That had been enough to make her run into the nearest department store. Once there, she'd wandered around while she waited to see if Luke would text or call her. Eventually, she'd found herself actually browsing.

"Don't make a big deal. I'm just trying something." Echo said.

"It's good." Maru said, thinking it suited her.

"What in the world?"

Echo and Maru turned, finding Lena standing in the doorway.

"What?" Echo asked.

"You look... nice." Lena said, admiring the high-waisted pants and fitted blouse. It was the first time she'd ever seen echo in anything that wasn't too big.

"Thanks." Echo said, turning back to Maru. "So, what are we protesting now?"

"Is that for the women's march?" Lena asked, moving towards her.

"Yeah, I'm almost done." Maru said, "What do you guys think?"

"It's actually good." Echo said, "When is it?"

"Tomorrow morning." Lena replied.

"On a Saturday?" Echo asked.

"Yeah, we're going to block traffic on Day Street." Lena said with a grin.

"Day street? That's crazy. That's the busiest street- everything is on it." Echo said, "The office is on Day street."

"Well yeah but it's Saturday and it'll be closed." Lena said.

"The point is to be disruptive. Get people to see us." Maru replied.

"I'm sure you will. This is really awesome. I wish I had done more things like this when I was in school." Echo said, making Lena lift her brow.

"You do?" Lena said, "It's nice to see you this way."

"What way?" Echo asked, surprised.

"Like this. coming out of your shell." Lena said.

"Far from it." Echo said, shaking her head. "But I admire your efforts."

"Come with us." Maru said, standing up and dusting herself off.

"What? me? No." Echo said, "That's not my thing."

"Why not?" Lena asked. "Unless you don't support the cause?"

"Of course I do." Echo said, "But you guys know I don't do well in crowds."

"Yes." Maru said, "But it would still be nice to have you there."

"I'll root you on from here." Echo said with a sigh, turning to walk out of the room.

"Hey, we're home... woah." Vera said, appearing in the doorway. Echo sighed, she could see she would be dealing with this response from everyone.

"Hi." Echo said with a nod, turning to Vera, trying to be cool.

"Echo..." Vera began to say, looking her over.

"God I'm starving, anyone else mind if we order in tonight? Mom and Dad are eating in the city." Romy said, trailing into the room and looking around. "What? What is everyone staring at?"

Romy turned to Vera who was staring at Echo and then she saw it, raising her critical brow.

"I could go for pizza." Echo said, trying to break the awkwardness.

"Me too." Maru said.

"Sounds good." Lena said. Romy nodded, turning to Vera.

"What about you?" Romy asked.

"Pizza... maybe a beer too." Vera replied, still watching Echo.

"Great. I'll order." Maru said, moving towards the kitchen.

"OH, extra cheese..." Lena said, following behind her.

"Where are you going to order from?" Vera finally managed to sound normal as she snapped out of it. She trailed behind them.

"I'm going to go change into something more comfortable. It's been... a rough week." Romy said, looking at her phone. "Number changed by the way."

"Again? Why? Is it that guy?" Echo asked with a frown and Romy sighed.

"It's always a guy. Men are just a nuisance." Romy said, looking over to Echo. "I like your pants by the way."

Echo watched Romy as she walked away, thinking with a grin that it was just like Romy to be so calm and cool over everything. She should have known that she could count on Romy not to make a big fuss or make her feel uncomfortable about the slight change in her wardrobe.

Echo hadn't meant to create any waves or rock the boat- she just couldn't feel comfortable in her old clothes. Not anymore,not after standing around in Luke's closet. She glanced back in Romy's direction as she moved up the stairs.

It was strange for Romy not to be going out. Maybe this thing with that guy had really freaked her out. She frowned, not liking the situation one bit. Romy could be a lot of things, she'd heard cold-hearted bitch more than once but she knew Romy was direct and not the type of girl to lead someone on. She would have definitely told him that she wasn't interested.

"Holy shit." Echo said, surprised by the vibrating in her pocket. Her thoughts scattered quickly as she pulled the phone out. She stared at it for a second, recognizing the number. She hadn't saved it yet because she wasn't sure it was a number she'd wanted to save.

"Hello." She said softly.

"Hey." His voice came through clear and deep, deeper than it was in person actually. "Sorry I lost you earlier."

"No, Thank you for distracting them." She replied. There was some silence as she tried to think of what else to say.

"I'm sorry again, about everything." She said, "I didn't mean to be so rude the other day."

"Well, I should have known better" Luke said, "But thank you for coming to look for me."

"Of course." Echo said.

"You okay?" He asked when she remained silent for several seconds.

"I am." She said, "I was just thinking about my sister."

"Which one?" He asked. "What happened?"

"Romy. She had a problem with this one guy last year and even though it's been months... she had to change her number today." Echo said, wondering why she felt so comfortable telling him this.

"Is she okay?" Luke asked.

"She is. It's fine, I'll be fine. It's just a little creepy." Echo said.

"Don't worry. I'll keep the creeps away." Luke said, making Echo chuckle. She knew he was joking but she felt absolutely confident he could.