“… and that’s my take on that,” Easy ended with a quick head nod. He looked down at the girl who was just staring up at him with a quizzical expression.

“So you’re convinced that…” she tried not to laugh as she finished her statement – laughing hurt worse than talking. She cleared her throat. “… that the chicken crossed the road because there were tacos on the other side?”

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked on cockily. “Yes. Yes I am. I have that whole theory. I just explained it!”

“But tacos?”

“Duh! Who doesn’t like tacos?”

Ashley inhaled deeply and forced herself to sit up. “What if I said that I didn’t like tacos?”

Easy’s facial expression remained entirely serious as he said, “Well, then I would have to kill you.”

Rolling her eyes, Ashley brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them as she looked up at the boy with a small smile.

He chuckled lightly and returned the smile.

—

“Yo, Kiddo!”

Spencer looked over at her aunt who was a few yards away. “I swear, if you say that you’re hungry again…”

“Oh, shut up. I just thought this would look cute on you.” Cecile held a shirt up to Spencer as she walked over.

Spencer looked the shirt over and ultimately shook her head. “Not on me,” she stated. “This is more of an Ashley shirt.”

“What? That’s bologna; this shirt shows some midriff. I haven’t seen that girl wear anything in that category.”

Suppressing a snicker, Spencer explained, “It’s the weather, Aunt C. If we were back home in the LA weather, you’d see what I mean. She shows her midriff and then some.” She noticed she was smirking with that last statement and she quickly straightened her face.

Wonder what she was thinking.

Cecile hadn’t noticed it, though. She was more hung up on what Spencer had said about LA. “So… LA’s home, now.”

Spencer looked up from the shirt to see a small frown forming on her aunt’s face. “Oh, don’t be mad at me… I’m sorry. I di—”

“I’m not mad, Kiddo,” Cecile corrected with a small chuckle. “You lived in Ohio all your life; I remember when you first learned you had to move that you were beyond upset. Your e-mails for when you had first arrived there didn’t sway much, either. What changed?”

The young girl smiled inwardly. She knew exactly why. Her first few days in LA were absolute hell, and then there was that one variable that turned it all around. “Well… I met Ash. Things got better.” She kept her explanation as simple as possible.

Cecile noticed the small smile forming on Spencer’s face, and now she knew that she was right. “I see. I bet Ashley can really dish out the LA lovin’, huh?”

Spencer came back from her thoughts to look at her aunt who was staring right back with a knowing smirk and raised brow.

“How long, Spence.”

-~-