~* When it Rains, it Pours *~ “Hello?” Kristen, Heedless Despair’s lead guitarist, responded in an uneasy tone. “Robin? Thank God, Nicole wasn’t answering.” “It’s six A.M.” I whined, rubbing my eyes with my free hand. “I’m sorry,” she offered. “I didn’t know what else to do. There’s been an accident, and I was wondering if Moira ever gave you her girlfriend’s number.”

---

“I knew it was coming,” Allison whimpered, trying to bury her face in her locker. “We’re just too different.” She turned back to face me, giving me a forced smile. I pulled her into a hug just as Jennifer and Nicole came around the corner. They immediately ran over to us.

“Oh my Gawd, what happened?” Nicole demanded.

I stroked Allison’s hair as I held her, letting her cry on my shoulder. “Mark dumped Ally.”

Jennifer scowled as she stepped closer, putting an arm around her. “Ally I am so sorry! You know it’s his loss though right?”

She sniffed, letting me go. Nicole pulled a tissue from her purse to offer as she added, “Really though. And this close to V-day? Christ, he can be a blockhead sometimes, but that was just cold.”

Allison tried to smile more genuinely. She failed, but it’s the thought that counts. “It’s okay. Don’t blame him Nikki. We only dated for like a month or two.”

“That doesn’t make it any better,” Jennifer advised gently. “I mean, rejection sucks no matter the source. Let’s get you cleaned up. Robin, would you let Coach Wilson know we’re going to be a little late?”

I nodded and gave them both a hug before I turned to head for the nearest exit. Nicole caught up with me a few seconds later, along with Maria. The latter bumped her shoulder playfully with mine as she smiled.

“Hey, what’s up? You look like you swallowed your gum,” she asked. I laughed quietly despite myself.

“Mark dumped Ally,” Nicole answered somberly. “With Jen and Josh dating other people now, that just leaves us and you and Jason.”

Maria frowned. “Yeah, about that,” she trailed off. Nicole’s face fell.

“Jesus, not you too?”

Maria smiled a little. “No, it’s not like that. It’s just, well papa’s having trouble with the paperwork for me revisiting next year. I’d rather not talk about it though. I hate politics. So what happened with Mark and Ally? They were so cute together.”

“Dunno,” Nicole answered, shifting her gaze to me. I just shook my head.

“How’s the wedding plan going? Not to change the subject,” she added with a sly grin.

~oOo~

P.E. went about as expected. I don’t think any of us really felt like doing more than just going through the motions that day. We all really felt bad for Allison. For a teenage girl, Valentine’s Day is the greatest rush in the world, so I’m told. Back in San Francisco, I certainly saw many a giggly girl bubbling about roses and balloons from friends and boyfriends.

That night we threw a sympathy slumber party to try and raise her spirits. While she was upstairs getting her hair brush, I took a minute to practice on Kelly’s baby grand piano. Timing seemed like my biggest obstacle.

“That’s really pretty. What is it?” Nicole asked from behind me, giggling when I jumped. “Sorry,” she cooed, wrapping me in a hug. I tilted my head back to kiss her cheek.

“It’s something Moira showed me. I don’t know the words though. She said it was an ‘air’, whatever that means.”

Jennifer stepped in from the kitchen with a smile. “Tacos are ready. Can one of you carry the ice cream?”

“I’ll get it,” Nicole replied, turning back to me. “You’ve got the trashy movie right?”

“The trashiest. It’s downstairs in my backpack. I can’t believe we’re doing this on a school night.”

“Yeah, but Ally needs us, whether she’ll admit it or not.”

I smiled as I nodded, standing from the piano. “Yeah, I know. I just wish I could do more.”

“I kinda blame myself,” Nicole confessed, but only after ensuring that Jennifer had left the room again. “I mean, I really pushed them together because Mark said she was cute. He was right, of course,” she added. She started to blush. “I mean- you know what I mean!” she fumbled.

I tried not to laugh too much. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Before I met you I thought what I felt for her was what love was like. I never had a friend like her before-”

Jennifer cleared her throat. We both looked over to see her standing with a plate of tacos in-hand, Allison standing next to her, holding two tubs of ice cream stacked in one hand, and bowls in the other. Allison grinned for the first time that day. I could feel my cheeks burning already.

“I love you guys,” she mused then tilted her head back toward the hallway. “Now come on already. You can keep talking about how awesome I am if you want, though,” she added. Jennifer giggled, shaking her head slowly.

~oOo~

Thursday and Friday passed mostly uneventfully. We won our basketball game by a wide margin, Allison made the local gossip chain, and poor Mark got an earful from Laura. Allison actually tried to come to his defense, insisting it was mutual, but that just made it worse because Mark felt he didn’t need her to defend him.

He yelled at her to back off, and she slapped him pretty hard. The poor idiot turned around to face Laura, who slapped him even harder, or so I’m told. I was doing damage control with Allison along with Jennifer while Nicole tried to calm Mark.

High school drama at its finest, basically: I never realized how lucky I had been with Nicole. Even for all her problems, and for everything that had happened to her before we started dating, our relationship just seemed not to follow the ‘normal’ rules for high school romance.

Saturday morning, I thought I would get a reprieve to sleep in. I was in the middle of the most wonderful dream when my cell phone, sitting precariously close to my head on the nightstand started blaring the opening riffs to my favorite Heedless Despair song-turned-ringtone. I yawned, groaning as I fumbled to open it.

“Hello?”

Kristen, Heedless Despair’s lead guitarist, responded in an uneasy tone. “Robin? Thank God, Nicole wasn’t answering.”

“It’s six A.M.” I whined, rubbing my eyes with my free hand.

“I’m sorry,” she offered. “I didn’t know what else to do. There’s been an accident, and I was wondering if Moira ever gave you her girlfriend’s number.”

I sat bolt upright. Never in my life had I gone from half-asleep to wide-awake so fast. “What happened?”

“We’re at the London Royal Hospital. Moira slipped and bumped her head, and she might have broken her ankle. She’s being examined right now. God, this is all my fault.”

“Wait, calm down. Tell me what happened,” I asked in as even a tone as I could manage. Kristen slowly inhaled then exhaled.

“We had an argument. It was stupid really, not even worth arguing about. She stormed out, wasn’t watching where she was going, and hit a patch of ice. Our big tour’s coming up, and we were supposed to leave next week to start setting up and doing live rehearsals. Oh God,” she frantically continued until another female voice, possibly Lucia, interrupted her.

“It’s okay. Accidents happen.”

“I don’t have Regina’s number, but I know someone that will. Can I call you back?”

“Yes, of course, if you don’t mind the phone bill, or you can call her yourself if you want. I’ll be in touch as soon as I know something. Oh, hang on, here comes Jessica; Jess!” she called. I could hear her put her hand over the receiver for a moment, then Jessica, their lead singer, came on the line.

“Robin?”

“Hi Jessica,” I answered sheepishly. “How’s Moira?”

“She needs a few stitches, and she’s to stay off her ankle for at least a month, but the doc says there’s no sign of concussion yet. We just have to make sure that doesn’t change, but since she’s staying with me anyway so it isn’t a problem.”

“That’s a relief. Hey, about Regina, isn’t her number on Moira’s cell phone?”

A long pause followed. I could just picture Jessica staring blankly at Kristen. “Wow. I can’t believe we didn’t think of that. I’m so sorry.”

I tried so hard not to giggle. “It’s okay. I’m glad you guys called and let me know what happened. If there’s anything we can do to help don’t hesitate to ask okay? I know we’re on the other side of the Atlantic and all, but we really care about her.”

“You’re sweet,” Jessica answered gently, “But I don’t know what any of us can do at this point. We’re going to have to move back tour dates or just flat cancel the concert in Alpine Springs,” she exhaled slowly.

“Ouch. Well, I guess if that’s what it takes though,” I offered, trying not to sound let down.

“It’s not that simple,” she sighed. “See, our new publicist just leaked an internet rumor about our new songs debuting at that concert. Tickets go on sale next week and since this is our first major cross-country U.S. tour, it’s kind of a big deal. If we don’t make that concert, it sets a bad precedent. We’ve never, ever missed a concert.”

“Well, keep in touch at least? Let us know what you decide so we can get front row seats at the next one at least.”

“Oh, please. Like we would let you buy tickets,” she responded almost condescendingly.

“I’m sorry?”

“Well you do know the band. You’re the only ones who know who we are off-stage.” She hesitated. “Moira DID tell you we were going to give you backstage passes right?” She paused again. “Oh dear. I think I just ruined the surprise. Erm, well, act surprised when she gives them to you. Oh, here comes the doctor. I’ve got to go. I’ll be in touch!”

I stared at my cell phone a moment, not realizing Margie had been standing in the doorway. She stepped closer, sitting on the edge of my bed and smiled as she took my hand in hers.

“I heard you talking to someone. Is everything okay?”

I shook my head. “Moira’s in the hospital,” I answered simply as I slid from my bed. As Margie helped me into my fleece bathrobe, I explained what had happened.

“Poor Regina,” she finally answered as we stepped out into the hall together.

“I know. If it was Nikki I’d just die not being able to be there for her.”

“Let’s get you some breakfast,” she offered.

“What about Mom?” I asked as I hit the bottom step.

“She’s still asleep. I think she and Ash were up late talking last night.”

“He’s not having second thoughts is he?” I asked nervously. It seemed like the month of love was turning out not to be so. Margie gave me a funny look.

“Not at all. What gave you that idea?”

“It’s a long story,” I mumbled. “See, it all started with Jen and Josh, and then Mark…”

~oOo~

Margie and I gossiped over breakfast preparations, first about the soap opera, and then about what we were giving Mom and Ash for wedding presents, though we both clammed up as soon as we heard Mom on the stairs. The alluring scent of fresh peppered bacon proved too much for her to sleep through.

After breakfast, and a quick shower, I headed over to the Joneses to collect Allison, catching her up on my early morning phone call on the way to the chapel. Aunt Jane called on the way over to let us know she and Regina would be there shortly, but Coach Greer was waiting in the parking lot for us. Her daughter Amanda, bundled up in an adorable pastel blue parka, bounded over to me as I stepped out of the car.

“Spirit!” she squealed happily. I laughed as I bent down to hug her. A quirky smile crossed Allison’s lips for just a moment as she watched us.

“Hey sis!” I replied as I kissed the top of her head. Standing, I took her hand, walking back over to Angela. She smiled as I let go of Amanda’s hand to hug her. “Hi Coach. Thank you for letting us borrow Amanda for the ceremony.”

“Oh, please, it’s the least I can do. Besides, she looks absolutely precious in her flower girl dress!” Her contagious grin quickly spread to the rest of us. After a few exchanged pleasantries, we decided to move our meeting inside, where the wind wouldn’t give us all frostbite.

I watched Amanda slowly walk down the center aisle. I couldn’t honestly remember the last time I had been in a church, let alone a cathedral this size, but Mom and Ash wanted a traditional wedding. I could tell just by her expression that Amanda felt as overwhelmed as I did.

“Hey, um, Coach?” I began, turning back to Angela while Amanda was occupied. “I’ve been thinking. Have you thought about signing Amanda up for Kenpo?”

Angela shook her head briefly. “Honestly, the thought never really crossed my mind. Do you think she’s old enough?”

“Absolutely; you’re never too young to start. It’s good to know how to defend yourself, but the lessons in discipline are something I wish I’d had when I was her age too.”

I pulled off my heavy coat, setting it aside just as the main doors opened behind us. Regina and Jane stepped through, both laden with camera bags. Regina offered a reserved smile; she looked as though she’d been crying, though her makeup did well to hide most of it.

“Hi Robin,” she offered. I stepped closer to hug her.

“I guess they called you? I’m sorry. I was going to call, but I wanted to tell you in person. She’s going to be okay though.”

“I just hate that I can’t be there with her. They gave her something for the pain, so that’s something, but this is going to wreck their tour plans.”

She paused, her cheeks turning red. “Anyway, we can talk about it later. I don’t want to ruin your mom’s wedding rehearsal.”

She turned to Jane with a forced professional smile, “Jane, if you could set that bag down by the door, I’ll start setting up my tripod.” The two disappeared off to the side to discuss technical details that went well over my head, so I started walking down the aisle.

An elderly man I hadn’t noticed previously, dressed in a plain black suit stood at the front of the hall. His soft, blue eyes remained focused on me as I stepped closer, and he smiled warmly as he offered his hand.

“You must be Linda’s daughter. Ash said you were as beautiful as your mother. I’m Reverend Payne.” My cheeks flushed as we shook hands.

“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” I offered, trying to be polite. He chuckled quietly as he shook his head.

“Please call me David. Who are we missing, besides the groom?”

“I think my best friend’s sister Kelly will be coming to play the organ for the rehearsal, and there are two more bridesmaids that should be on their way.”

“Is everything alright?” he asked gently after a moment.

“It feels kind of weird being here, to be honest. I wasn’t raised in a very traditional setting. Dad left home when I was five, and I never saw him again, so it’s just been me and Mom, and sometimes my sister Margie, plus there’s-” I had to pause to find the right words. “Well, a lot of other stuff.”

He nodded slowly. “Being a teenager is difficult enough these days.”

“You have no idea,” Allison grumbled as she stepped closer.

“Sorry we’re late,” Nicole’s voice echoed from the back, drawing my attention to the far door where she and the others were just entering. “I turned right off of Maple when I shoulda turned left.”

“It’s fine; we’re still waiting on Kelly and Ash,” Mom answered. I moved back down the aisle again, taking Nicole’s hands and pulling her into a hug.

“C’mere you. I need to talk to you and Jen a second.” I tried to keep my voice down.

Jennifer’s smile faded. “Robin, what is it?”

“It’s about Moira.”