Flying the Coop

Turning the knob and pushing the door open, Whitney took one step into the master bedroom when a noise down the hall caught her attention. The tail end of what looked like a suitcase rolling toward the front door sparked her interest.

"What the hell?"

Abandoning her original purpose, the curious teen began walking back toward the foyer. Her level of interest shot up as she saw Kimberly quickly rush toward the front door too. By the time Whitney reached the intersection of halls, she noticed several others from the kitchen and dining room making their way in her direction.

"Where are you going?" Kimberly asked, right before Whitney turned the corner. "What happened?"

"I-I have to leave," Skye answered, shocking Whitney but not some of the others that came up behind her.

"Why?!" the teenager cried out. "Did something happen back home?"

"No, I just can't stay," the young woman replied, eyes glistening as she fought to hold back her tears.

"This is about Fred not telling you, isn't it?" Kimberly asked. "Did you talk to him about it?"

The only response was a slight nod before Skye turned her body and faced the corner near the door.

"What didn't Uncle Fred tell you?" Whitney questioned, growing increasingly agitated.

"He never told her this whole trip was about Aunt Cassie," Lacey revealed, surprising Whitney at her appearance. Curious over why her friend opened the door and left, the redhead had followed Whitney down the hallway. "Or that the charity for this year's ball is in honor of her. Nor did he tell Finn that he was dating Skye."

"What!?" Whitney's head swung around in shock. She also couldn't believe the number of nodding heads around her. When did this happen? How the hell didn't I know?

"Skye," Kimberly started to say softly as she moved closer to the young woman. "What did Fred say when you confronted him?"

The tiniest shake of her head didn't stop the platinum blonde from pressing on as she gently placed a hand on the upset woman's back.

"Skye, what did he tell you?"

"Th-that I need to find a new sug-sugar daddy." The whimpered words were said at the softest level possible, but it sounded like a shout to the people huddled in the foyer.

Whitney's mouth dropped open in utter shock. Uncle Fred said that to her? At the back of the group, the late-arriving Harvey grimaced at the news while wiping his hands off with a towel.

"He didn't?" Bridget asked to no one in particular, while next to her, Rachel gasped in horror. An action mimicked by her youngest daughter a few feet away. However, Peyton's thoughts of concern were more on Fred's son as Finn's whole body appeared to sag at the revelation.

"I n-never...I thought he..." Skye trailed off, unable to complete any sentence. She found herself wrapped up into a gentle, caring hug by the usually bitter platinum blonde, who turned during the embrace and shot a questioning look back at the others over what to do next.

Snapping out of her shock, Whitney rushed forward to join the hug with Lacey, only a couple of steps behind.

Stepping back to let the two teens comfort the shaken Skye, Kimberly asked the second question on everyone's minds. "Now, where do you think you're going?"

"I have to leave; I ca--"

"NO!" shouted Whitney. "You don't have to leave!"

"Skye, you have to stay. We're, uh...ice skating!" Lacey said, remembering the day's upcoming activity. "We're going ice skating today! You have to stay and go."

"I c-can't. I'm Fred's guest, and he wants me to leave."

"No!" Whitney and Lacey both said at the same time before the ginger let the blonde take the lead. "You're our friend now. You don't have to leave if you don't want to." Whitney then turned to look at her dad at the back of the group and whined," Dad!"

His daughter's pleading whine snapped Harvey from his thoughts. He moved forward towards his friend's emotional ex-girlfriend.

"The girls are right, Skye. You're here as my guest, not Fred's, and you don't have to leave unless you choose to."

"Thank you, but I shouldn't stay," she said with a sad smile. "I don't want to be a bother, and if I stay, I don't think he'll like it."

"Well, that's not an issue you need to worry about. I'll deal with Fred," Harvey stated, with an edge in his voice.

"That's very kind of you, Harvey," Skye said, looking around the foyer. "You've all been so kind to me and welcoming. But Fred was so cold until I mentioned Cassandra's name, lashing out at me. I don't want my being here to take away from her weekend. To avoid that tension, I think it's best if I leave."

The murmurs of disagreement over her statement faded as Finn stepped forward. "Harvey's right, Skye. This isn't my father's decision. You should feel free to stay if you want to."

"But your dad and your mom--"

"My dad's an asshole, and he doesn't get the lone claim to deciding how to remember or honor my mother. I've only met you a few times at the restaurant, so I don't really know you," Finn noted before motioning to the side of Skye. "But Lacey here has taken a liking to you. She's basically my little sister, so if she wants you to stay, then I want you to stay."

The petite redhead beamed at the comment from her sister's lifelong friend and ex-boyfriend. "See, Finn wants you to stay, and in my book, he gets the final say."

"Look, at least give it another day to see how you feel," Finn continued. "I can't imagine it was easy to get a week off from your job during the holidays. Things didn't work out with you and my dad, but maybe you'll have a good time another way. The girls always have a fun time ice skating, so give that a try with them."

"But there's isn't enough room," Skye brought up, although she seemed to be wavering in her intention to leave.

"Nonsense, there's plenty of room," Harvey argued. "You can have the den for now. Chastity is heading back to town this afternoon. And I can find another place to sleep. We'll see about shifting anyone else around later this afternoon if we need to."

"Honey," Bridget said, turning to Sean, who had arrived mid-conversation. "Go bring Skye's bags down to the den, okay?"

"Sure, Mom," Sean responded, moving forward to pick up grab her suitcase and bags.

"See, now you can't leave," Harvey announced as Sean turned the corner.

"But I called for a car. They should be here soon; I'll need to pay them."

"Don't worry, I'll handle it," the cabin owner responded, dismissing her concerns. "Kim, how about you get Skye into the kitchen for some breakfast?"

"Sure. Come on, honey." Kimberly gently directed the still distraught young woman back into the main section of the cabin. "We'll get you some of the waffles that Bridget is making."

"Oh, we have several different options..." Bridget started before listing the different fruit toppings as she and Rachel helped usher the jilted beauty into the dining area.

Sean wheeled the rolling suitcase behind him down the hall. Reaching the door to the den, he started to turn the knob when he heard someone start to talk before hesitating. Turning his head, the teenager saw his five-year crush looking at him nervously.

"Uh, hey, Tarver, uh, what's going on?" Ramsey inquired, still unsure if the teenager had done something to Lacey the day before.

"Oh, Skye's moving into the den with Mr. Diamond," Sean explained, distracted by the wary way she looked at him.

"She is? With Mr. Diamond? I thought she was with Mr. Singer? Hmm, maybe Austin was right ab--"

"No! Sorry, I meant that Mr. Diamond told me to bring her bags down to the den. I don't know where he's going to sleep now," Sean hurriedly tried to correct what he said. "She did break up with Mr. Singer and wanted to leave, but everyone convinced her to stay."

"Oh, well, okay," Ramsey said, not sure if she liked that woman staying across the hall from her. "Thanks for the information."

"Sure thing. Are you looking forward to ice--" Sean's attempt to make small talk was cut off by the door closing in his face. Shrugging at his luck, he finished placing the bags into the room and returned to the foyer.

"I'm going to go have a talk with dear ol' dad, right this minute," Finn angrily announced, once Skye was out of earshot.

"Finn, let me handle your father," Harvey stated, causing the younger Singer to argue. "No, let me do it. It's well past time I had this talk with him. It's better that it comes from me than you. Trust me on this one, okay."

"I think his idea is better. You know your dad doesn't always listen to you," Peyton interjected before Finn could argue further.

"Always? Try never," the brown-haired young man remarked in frustration. "Fine, I'll let you deal with him for now, Uncle Harv."

"Good, now let's go show that poor girl that at least one Singer is a gentleman," Peyton said, hooking her arm with his. "You want to help, Lace?"

Whitney waited until her friend left with the two young adults before turning to her father to ask a question. "Dad, why would Uncle Fred not tell Skye about Aunt Cassie?"

"I don't know for sure, pumpkin, but I think I have some idea," Harvey said with a shake of his head. "That's why I wanted to talk to him instead of Finn. Why don't you finish checking on Rammy and getting dressed."

Standing around awkwardly until now, Sean finally found a reason to speak up. "Uh, what about the car? I mean the car that Skye called for."

"Dammit, I forgot about that," remarked the older man. He stopped for a second to give it a thought. "Sean, I hate dumping more chores on you, but could you wait up here and deal with the driver?"

"I guess."

"Good, now here's some--damn, my wallet's in the den. Come with me, and I'll give you some money." Sean followed the cabin owner down the hall as he continued to give instructions. "Make sure to give the driver a generous tip for their time, okay? That's a long drive."

Troubled by Fred's actions towards Skye, Whitney found herself left all alone in the foyer. Before she could follow her dad down the hall and finally put on some clothes, she heard a strange noise.

"Psst! Psst, Whitney! Over here."

Turning around and looking upward, Whitney saw a face peering through the stair spindles at her.

"JoJo?"

The brunette motioned for the blonde to come closer. And once she did, JoJo started to whisper, far too faintly for Whitney to head.

"I can't hear you, JoJo. Speak up." The shy soccer player shook her head no, motioning again for her classmate to come closer.

Sighing, Whitney moved over and climbed the stairs. There she met the secretive girl halfway up to the second floor.

"What's the big secret?"

"Did you really mean it before?"

"Mean what?"

"Oh, sorry, I meant did you mean it about giving me some of that...underwear," JoJo whispered the last word even though nobody else was around.

"Oh! Did you want to wear some?" Whitney smiled as the blushing brunette nodded. "That's great, JoJo! You can have as many as you want from upstairs. It's like I said last night; they're just a little too small for me these days."

"I don't want to take all of them, but I thought I could try out a few this week while we are still here. Um, you know, just to see if I like them enough to go buy my own."

"Well, there's plenty in those drawers, so you don't need to run out and buy more. And like I also said, most of those have never even been worn once," Whitney reminded JoJo but stopped as she had another thought. "However, if you do want to go shopping for some colors or styles that better fit your personality, I can go with to help you."

"Really?" JoJo said, shocked at the offer. "B-but we aren't even friends."

"I think this week is changing that, don't you agree?" Whitney asked with a smile.

"Thanks for much, Whitney. You've been awesome." JoJo surprised even herself by giving the most popular girl in school a quick hug. "Um, I know you said most hadn't been worn, but I kinda would like to wash them first."

"No problem. Did you think I would be offended?" Whitney replied with a laugh at seeing the blush return to JoJo's face. "You remember where the laundry room is from your tour? Oh, that's right; you didn't get a tour. Well, it's downstairs, at the end of the hallway, the opposite hall from the bathroom."

Watching JoJo scamper up the stairs toward her room, Whitney felt some pride in helping the shy girl come out of her shell, even if it was just underneath her clothes. It helped make up a tiny bit for the depressed mood she felt over Skye's situation. Climbing back down the stairs, she planned to get ready for her day finally.

"Hey, uh, Whitney, do you think we can talk?" Owen said from the foyer.

"Why not? It's not like I'm ever getting dressed today!"

"Uh, I can wait until you get dressed," Owen replied, not wanting to piss her off.

"Nope, why bother. I'll just get interrupted again," the blonde remarked with a dismissive wave. "Okay, what's up?"

"Maybe we can talk somewhere more private?"

"I guess we can talk outside, but I don't have any pants on," Whitney said, glancing down at the short, sexy red robe she wore. An idea popped into her head, causing her to open the closet door.

"Well, then I can wait until you get dressed."

"Nope, I'll just wear this," Whitney said as she pulled out a trench coat. "I probably don't want to imagine why Shenai wore this out to the cabin, but it will work."