Since Autumn had already known about she and Dan, Raleigh figured it wouldn't hurt to tell her everything that had happened between them and now they were out looking for something Raleigh could wear on Thanksgiving. Since she didn't know if they were going out or staying in, She and Autumn decided a simple dress would suffice. While at the mall, Raleigh had tried her hardest to get Autumn to go into Hot Topic. She avoided it at all costs, telling Raleigh what they needed they wouldn't find there. Raleigh of course knew this but she just wanted to look around. It had been a while since she'd been there and she wanted to see what new things they'd gotten in. Finally after much hard work on Autumn's part, she'd steered Raleigh away from the store and got her into DEB. Within ten minutes Autumn was hollering for her to come check out what she'd found.

"What about this? Its kind of dressy, but not fancy." Autumn held up a dress that was a strapless, light beige color with a brown tie around the waist as well as brown edging. The dress was elegant yet conservative with its pale green and pink flowers decorating it. It was actually a lot prettier than Raleigh would have guessed if someone had just described it to her.

"You know what, I actually like that. Let me go try it on." Raleigh took the dress from Autumn and headed over to the dressing rooms. When she had it on, she opened the door so she could show Autumn.

"Damn, Cooper won't know what hit him. You're getting it right?"

Looking at herself in the mirror, Raleigh smiled. It fit her perfectly. Falling to just above the knee and not showing much cleavage, she decided it was perfect. Since it was November and even Los Angeles wasn't absent of cold days during the winter, Raleigh picked out a matching sweater to wear over it. After deciding on a pair of shoes to go with the outfit, Raleigh cashed out and together they walked to the food court.

"So what are you doing for thanksgiving?"

"It's two days from now and you're just asking me?" Autumn laughed and shook her head as she smothered a French fry with ketchup. "Mom and Dad want me to come home so I'm gonna drive up to the Valley tomorrow morning." Raleigh noticed the hint of resistance in her voice to go home and she wondered why. Shouldn't she be excited to go home?

"Why don't you sound excited to be going home for the weekend?"

"I'm happy to be going home and seeing my family, but there's just other people I'd rather like to avoid."

"Oh." She could relate to that just a little too well. Changing the subject, they began talking about school and how they thought they'd do on the finals next month. Autumn seemed a little nervous but Raleigh was confident she'd pass everything. Then she'd be one semester closer to being able to be with Dan openly.

God, she missed him. She hadn't been able to really spend time with him the day before since he was getting the final exam together with a couple of the other instructors so she couldn't help but to feel really excited for tomorrow.

---

"Damn it! Where are you?" Rushing around her dorm room, Raleigh tried to remember just where she'd last taken off her gold locket. Carly had given it to her for her sixteenth birthday, inside were their faces as tiny eight year olds and the engraving "Friends Forever." She'd barely worn it since she'd been so terrified it'd fall off and she'd lose if forever, but now she realized she had a better chance of losing the precious piece of jewelry if she just put it in some random place. She should wear it at all times.

A loud knock sounded on the door, interrupting her rummaging for the time being. Getting off her hands and knees - she'd been searching under the futon - Raleigh went to see who was knocking on her door this early on Thanksgiving. She'd assumed everyone she knew had gone home for the holiday. She was somewhat pleasantly surprised to see Effron standing there, looking insanely good in his khaki dress pants and black button down shirt. His short blond hair was spiked with gel and he smelled incredible from whatever cologne it was he was trying this week. Whatever it was, it was her favorite so far. Effron's face adorned a bright smile that Raleigh just had to return.

"Hey Beautiful. You look amazing."

"Thank you. You do as well." She opened the door wider and motioned for him to come in. "What's up?"

"Well, I'm on my way to my dad's house and I was hoping that you would accompany me. But seeing your attire, I'm assuming you already have plans."

"I do, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I just thought I'd ask."

"Thank you for the thought."

"Anytime." Effron leaned down and wrapped his arms around her small frame. Closing his eyes, Effron took in her scent of Jasmine and lavender, and tried to imprint her in his mind. He never wanted to forget her.

Pulling away, Effron said, "Don't have too much fun."

Smiling, Raleigh couldn't help but to be a little teasing. "You know I always have too much fun." He gave her a smaller smile than she liked and backed away.

"I'll see you on Monday, love." He winked at her before turning around and walking out of the dorm.

Just standing there, Raleigh felt conflicted. Something was obviously bothering Effron and she wanted to see if he was all right, but then she remembered that she'd been looking for her necklace. And she was now running late.

"Shit!" After completely destroying the room, she finally found the locket under her bed. It must have fallen off while she'd been asleep. After fastening it securely around her neck, Raleigh threw on her sweater and grabbed her purse and bag that contained the ingredients for the dessert. After giving the room one last once over to assure herself she had everything, Raleigh shut the door and headed to Dan's, receiving a very welcoming phone call on the way.

"Hey, Bobbie. Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Turkey Day, little sis!"

"Bye five minutes, Bobbie."

"Yeah yeah." Raleigh could hear the smile in his voice and it made her really miss home for like the hundredth time since being in LA. "So what are you doing on this glorious holiday in LA since you refused to come home?"

"I refused to come home because I'll be there in three weeks. And I'm on my way to a friend's house."

"Ah. And could this friends be a guy that is really more than a friend but you don't want to tell your favorite sibling?"

"And just who said that you were my favorite sibling?"

"Process of elimination, my dear sister. Nick and Alan are just assholes and Janie's a bitch."

Raleigh felt the laugh as it escaped her throat but she still felt like she had to defend her family.

"You're just jealous because they protect me and not you. And Janie isn't so bad." Raleigh thought back to the night of the carnival back in July. She and her big sister really had a heart to heart. A much needed one that had cleared a lot of the tension between them. It turned out that they weren't so different after all and all of Janie's confessions had had them crying together for the first time since Nick and Alan had given all their Barbie dolls crew cuts.

"Right. But you didn't answer my question. Who's this guy?"

"He's just a...wait. I don't believe I said it was a guy."

"No, but you just did."

Shaking her head, Raleigh decided to confide in her brother. If she couldn't trust her own twin, who could she trust?

"Alright, I'll tell you but you can not repeat this to anyone. I mean it!"

"Ok, ok I promise."

"His name is Dan and yes, he's more than a friend."

"Oo, great. How'd you meet? He in one of your classes?"

"Uh..." Raleigh hesitated for a moment. Could she really tell him? "Kind of."

"Kind of? What do you mean, kind of?"

"Well, let's just say we really shouldn't be seeing one another."

"You are not sleeping with your teacher!"

"Bobbie! Could you say it any louder? I don't think the ambassador of China heard you!" She hissed into the phone, positive everyone in the house had heard him yelling. One of the other members of her family calling and lecturing her about her dating choices was just what she needed.

"I'm sorry, Ray but Christ! How old is he anyway?"

"Twenty five."

"Really?" She wasn't surprised to hear his surprise over the mans age. Usually when someone thought of a professor in a college they immediately thought old timer. "Well, I guess that's not so bad."

"What, you thought I'd sleep with an eighty year old man?"

"I don't know. Maybe you have a sick fascination for wrinkly old balls."

"Robert, you are absolutely disgusting." Raleigh scrunched up her nose with disgust but she laughed none-the-less.

"I know. Just tell me he treats you well and I'll sleep better at night." Raleigh knew her brother well enough to know that he was no longer joking around. Ever since James he'd been so protective over her. That's why he'd been so happy she and josh had reconciled. He was always good to her.

Walking up Dan's front porch, Raleigh had no trouble answering honestly as she rang the doorbell. "He treats me really well, Bobbie. You have nothing to worry about." She knew she was smiling like a fool, but she couldn't care less. For the first time since she came to LA, Raleigh felt truly and utterly happy.

"Good ‘cause I'd hate to come all that way just to chop his balls off. You tell him that for me. He better treat you right or your psycho twin will be at his front door, smiling like a maniac and holding a machete." Raleigh heard a muffled sound in the background and knew Bobbie was getting beckoned away. "Listen, I gotta go."

"All right. Give everyone my love?"

"Of course. Love you, little sis."

She heard him snicker and she just shook her head. The door opened just as Raleigh said, "I love you too, Bobbie." and hung up her cell phone.

"Happy Thanksgiving." Raleigh said before leaning up and planting a kiss firmly on Dan's lips.

"Happy Thanksgiving. Who was that?"

"Bobbie. He says if you hurt me you're going to find him smiling like a maniac on your front porch holding a machete fully ready to chop your balls off." Raleigh was completely surprised she had gotten all the way through that before bursting into laughter. And it wasn't repeating what her brother had said, it was the look of pure horror and confusion on Dan's face.

"Who is Bobbie? And you told him about us?"

Shrugging, Raleigh turned around to face him as she walked backwards to the kitchen. "I figure if I can't trust my own twin, who can I trust?" She noticed the smile as it formed on his beautiful lips and she knew exactly what he was thinking as he slowly stepped closer to her, putting a hand on her hip to pull her forward.

"Twin huh? Too bad he's not a girl."

Laughing, Raleigh smacked Dan on the arm. "Pig."

"Yeah, but you love it." Feeling the closeness of his body, Raleigh decided that it would be better if she backed off a bit. There would be plenty of time for them later.

"I have to go and start our dessert. It's going to need a while to sit." Dan followed Raleigh to the kitchen and leaned against the counter behind her.

"Just how many siblings do you have?"

"Four. My older sister Janie, my two older brother, Nick and Al, and of course Bobbie. My twin."

"So they're really protective of their baby sister, huh?"

"You have no idea. You should have seen them when Josh came home for the summer. I thought Janie alone was going to tear him a new asshole when he showed up at my show." Dan's smile faltered and Raleigh felt like sticking her foot in her mouth and choking on it. Why did everything have to lead back to Josh?

Awkward.

Turning around, Raleigh took his hands in hers. "I'd really like you to meet them sometime." Putting her hands on either side of his face so he'd look at her with those gorgeous emerald pools, Raleigh added, "As my boyfriend."

Allowing the smile to return to his face, Dan slowly leaned down. "I'd love nothing more." Then he met her lips with his own. The kiss wasn't hard, fierce, or insinuative. It was gentle and everything Raleigh loved about a kiss. It was perfect.

He was perfect.

Pulling away, Dan rested his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. "Here, with you, it's finally beginning to feel like the holidays again."

Raleigh knew Dan's parents had died when he was young so all he had left for family was Leslie. That in itself said a lot. She couldn't imagine being alone on every holiday. It was difficult enough for her to be away from her large family just this once.

After kissing him once more, Raleigh turned away from him and opened her bag, pulling out the ingredients and spreading them all out on the counter top.

Resting his head on her shoulder, Dan tried to think up what exactly she was making them. There was chocolate pudding, vanilla pudding, oreos, cool whip, butter, and a can of cherry pie filling.

He was clueless.

"What the hell are you making?"

Raleigh smiled as she took one of the mashers out of the drawer to her right and a bowl from the cupboard.

"Sex in a pan." she said matter-of-factly. "It's really good."

"And is it as good as sex?"

"Sometimes it's better."

"Well, I'll leave you to it then." And that's just what he did. He went into the living room and turned on what she assumed to be football from the sound of his yells.

"Men and their sports." She mumbled to herself as she mashed up the oreos and melted the butter to begin forming the crust. Just as she was spreading the cool whip over the cherry filling, Dan came back into the kitchen complaining of boredom. She watched as he opened the fridge and pulled out a white casserole dish with something that looked like seaweed inside.

"What the hell is that?"

One look at the disgusted look on her face and Dan busted out laughing. "They're called cigars." Taking off the glass lid, Dan lifted the slimy green leaves to reveal some neatly rolled links. "It's lamb and rice rolled in grape leaves. It's really good."

"Ok." Finally noticing the number of dishes around the kitchen, Raleigh's eyes widened. "How much food did you make?"

"Well, of course the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and devilled eggs. Then there's the shireae..."

"The what?"

"Shy-re-ay. Then the grape leaves, rolled cabbage, kubbeh, and baklava. Oh, and khubz arabi, which is bread. I think you'll really like the bread." Staring at Dan, Raleigh felt like a complete idiot.

"Are you even speaking English anymore?" Dan just laughed at the look on her face.

"It's Syrian."

"Are you Syrian?" It's funny, she didn't even know his nationality.

"Mostly. My grandparents on my mother's side came over from Syria. Let me tell you right now, we're like the Italians and Greeks. We love our food."

"I just can't believe you're making all of that for just us."

"Well, I like variety and I eat a lot." he began picking at the counter top and she knew there was something he hadn't told her.

"Dan, What's up?"

"I uh...I invited Leslie."

Well, she hadn't been expecting that. "Oh."

"Leslie's my only family. I couldn't let her spend today alone. We're usually together for the holidays unless she's off on one of her adventures."

"Dan, its ok. I love that family is so important to you. I just didn't think you'd tell anyone about us."

"Well, if you can't trust blood, who can you trust?" He smirked at her before pulling her into his arms and planting a kiss on her lips. "Besides, she's happy I'm finally getting laid."

"Oh my God, Dan!" Raleigh smacked his arm once again with mock dismay before laughing. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Well, its true." just as he leaned down to capture her lips once again, the doorbell rang. Groaning, he pulled away reluctantly.

"Are you ready for this?"

"Are you?" She retorted, laughing as he shook his head while walking away.

Dan would be lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous to be having Leslie meet Raleigh, but she owed him a lot for all those times he bailed her out of trouble. And he wasn't lying when he said that he trusted her. They were always close and nobody could keep a secret better than Leslie.

Opening the door, Dan braced himself for the powerful hug she always gave him.

"Hey, Danny! I missed you."

"Missed you too, Les. Staying out of trouble?"

"I'm trying. I got a job."

"Really? That's great."

"Yeah. I'm just a secretary at the high school but its something. Can you believe it was a high school of all places that hired me?"

"That is surprising. But I'm proud of you, Les." And he truly was. She needed to turn her life around.

"So, where is she?" Leslie was obviously excited to be meeting Raleigh. Dan hadn't dated anyone since his fiance left him for his best friend four years earlier. She'd been pregnant and he was so happy he could hardly stand it. He'd gone nuts, buying cribs, clothes, toys, a stroller that came with the car seat - he'd bought everything any baby would ever need. Then one day, two months before the baby was due, she'd told him that she'd been cheating on him and the baby wasn't his. He never questioned her, never asked for a paternity test. All he did was kick her out of his home and his life, saying he never wanted to see her again. He was hurt and angry from being betrayed by the woman he loved and the man he called his best friend.

If he ever saw either of them again, whether they're still together or not, he didn't know what he'd do. The pain may have dulled, but it never went away.

She had sort of ruined him until Raleigh had come into his life, making him feel the things he had forgotten once again.

Leslie liked the girl already.
---

It was funny how easily Leslie lied and kept secrets from Dan. He trusted her unwaveringly. When nobody else was there, he always was, backing up her every word. Raleigh had no idea how she kept this secret for so long.

Yes she did.

If Leslie admitted it to Dan, he'd say she was a liar and throw her out. Mostly because he didn't want to believe his own father had been so unfaithful and cruel to both his wife and his own brother or that she knew for however long and never mentioned it.

Raleigh hated the position she was now in. Leslie had gotten slightly inebriated at Thanksgiving and spilled her guts to her. Did she tell Dan herself or keep quiet, telling Leslie she had to tell him? But on the other hand, what was it really hurting, hiding the truth?

Besides, Raleigh didn't really care how they were related, just that they were. Leslie was gorgeous.

Good lord was she gorgeous.

The woman stood about 5'9", was attractively thin - obviously fit- and she had legs that seemed to go on for days. Her smile alone would have been enough to make any man go weak in the knees. Her eyes were almond shaped but contained the same emerald green as Dan's. Her long hair, falling to her mid-back with longer bangs that framed her heart shaped face, was also the same dark chocolate, except hers was void of the curls Dan's held.

Thinking back on her initial reaction when she'd entered the kitchen, Raleigh was unwaveringly happy they were family. She had no doubts that Leslie and Dan would be together if they weren't.

Not only was the woman stunning to look at, but she was incredibly brilliant and talented. How she always got herself into trouble was beyond Raleigh.

She'd gotten a full ride to Harvard Law but she dropped out in her second semester for reasons she refused to tell anyone except Dan. She was also musically inclined, playing the violin with absolute precision and grace. When she'd asked her why she didn't go back to school to put her brains and talent to good use, she just looked down at her folded hands on her lap. The girl, like so many others, had a hurtful past that she refused to speak of, so Raleigh changed the subject.

"Hey, Raleigh!" Snapping back to the moment at hand, Raleigh acknowledged Autumn as she tried to get her attention.

"What?"

"Welcome back to the land of the living. You coming? We have Cooper's lesson in ten minutes."

"Oh, yeah." Raleigh grabbed her bag and books and headed out to the main school building with Autumn. They only had a little less than two weeks left of school and Raleigh couldn't have been happier. She was so excited about going home she could hardly contain it. She had even been contemplating asking Dan if he'd like to go back to Shelby with her. She wanted him to see what a real family Christmas was like since he hadn't known one in years.

All week she knew she'd been stealing glances at him, and Autumn warned her that some people were beginning to notice, especially since nearly everyday Dan found a reason for her to stay after class. But she couldn't care less. She was young and in love and if people didn't like it, too bad for them.

When class was over, Raleigh told Autumn to go ahead, she'd meet up with them for lunch later on. After every student was out of the classroom, Raleigh sashayed up to Dan's desk, not wasting anytime in pulling him down for a head spinning kiss. She found that the longer she waited to touch him, the crazier she got about wanting to. She knew they were being careless and it was only a matter of time before they were caught, but Raleigh had a one track mind when it came to him.

And with the way he was holding her and kissing her back, Dan apparently did too.

Finally pulling away, Dan refused to release his hold on her. "I've been wanting to do that all day."

"Me too." After staring into his eyes for a moment, Raleigh finally gained the strength to look away and back up. Taking his hands in her own, she met his gaze once again. "Listen, I've been thinking."

"Oh really? I hope you didn't hurt yourself."

"Shut up!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. What's up?"

"Well, You know that I have to go home for Christmas since I didn't go for Thanksgiving."

"Yeah." What was she getting at?

"Well, I was thinking that, maybe you'd like to come with me. I know that you have Leslie and you probably don't want to leave her alone for the holiday so if you don't want to I completely understand."

Silencing her babbling with a finger on her lips, Dan lowered his head closer to hers.

"I'd love to come home with you for Christmas."

A slow smile began to form on her lips and Raleigh could hardly contain her excitement. She felt like she'd just been given the best Christmas present ever.

"Really?"

"Yes. Really." Then he leaned down to capture her lips once again, not even bothering to look around to see if there were any spying eyes.

If they had, they would have noticed the man standing in the doorway, eyes narrowing with fury.

---

Pacing back and forth in his bedroom, the young man ran his fingers through his messy hair for the hundredth time in the past two minutes.

How could she do this to him? Didn't she care at all?

Of course not. He had just been some ploy to pass the time for her. Just a stupid toy waiting to be discarded when she'd had her fill of fun. She'd used him. She told him she wasn't toying with his emotions like a lost puppy, that she truly cared for him. And of course, like the idiot that he was he'd chosen to believe her.

Surely she wouldn't lie to him like that, straight to his face?

But she had. All because she wanted to go get laid.

God, I'm such an idiot! That stupid bitch never cared about me or my feelings.

He'd never felt such a rage like this before. What was he going to do? What could he do? It was obvious she'd chosen who she wanted. Maybe that was a game to her too. After all, she did have that pretty boy back in New York. Was everything just a game to her?

No, he knew better. He had just been a game. But she wouldn't get away with it that easily.

That little bitch is going to pay.