Ben was sitting on the couch watching the television with Joshua, downstairs, when I came in. He didn’t look perturbed at all, but then, it takes a lot to bother him--unless, of course, someone says the words, “Finch Twins.” I sat down next to him, and he took my hand, but he didn’t say anything until the show they were watching was over. Then, Joshua said he was going to go check on Melanie, leaving us alone.“What’s up?” Ben asked me, knowing there was something going on. I hesitated to tell him because I didn’t want to rat Sam out and make Ben mad if he really didn’t know, but I had the feeling he did know, and he was just waiting for me to tell him.“Do you know what’s going on with Sam?” I asked him.Ben nodded his head. “Don’t

“How did your conversation with Starla go?” Melanie asked as we all sat around the breakfast table. Raven had outdone herself. I’m not sure why she decided to go to so much trouble that day, but I was glad she did. I needed it. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, biscuits… it was all delicious.“It didn’t go well,” I admitted, taking another bite of bacon and chewing it before I added, “she wasn’t exactly happy to see me.”“That figures,” Raven muttered, shaking her head. “Did she throw you out?”“Of the house that I built?” I asked, realizing Starla might be right, and it was getting a little old hearing me remind everyone that I made that house for them. “No, she didn’t throw me out, but she didn’t act very hospit

“I don’t know about this, Sam,” I said, trying my best to wipe that viscous smile off of his face. “It doesn’t seem like something the rest of the pack could possibly appreciate.”“What are you talking about, Harlow? Of course they’ll appreciate it. They’ll think it’s brilliant. And since she hasn’t fully committed to the pack yet, she won’t know. Even if everyone else in the pack knows what we’re up to, Starla won’t know.”“Unless she can tell the difference between my even tempered boyfriend and her angry boyfriend,” I pointed out. “Not to mention, don’t you think this could build trust issues between the pack mates? I mean, how will anyone know that I’m not doing this all the time? Switching people’s faces and pretending that one pers

More people were out and about in downtown Whispering Hollow than I would’ve imagined. It was the week between Christmas and New Year’s, so apparently, a lot of people had the week off. Of course, school still wasn’t in session, not only because of Fionna’s fire but also because it was a scheduled break for the holiday. A lot of students roamed the sidewalks, some of them darting into the diner or the donut shop, others window shopping the few stores that sat between those two destinations. Occasionally, someone would actually enter a store, but there wasn’t much to buy in Whispering Hollow, not that anyone our age would like anyway. Older people were interspersed between the teens, a few mothers with children, families, or older people, but most of them looked at the marauding teens like they were actually doing something wrong, other than being loud and acting like kids.Ben

 I followed the “happy” couple into the waiting room of the doctor’s office. It wasn’t very crowded. Only a few overly-pregnant women and their husbands, as well as a couple of ladies who looked like they might be there for something else, or just to confirm their pregnancy, like Starla, sat in the chairs. Sam, wearing Ben’s face, looked around the room, uncomfortable, and took a seat as Starla approached the counter. I didn’t dare sit down since I had no idea whether or not someone would come and literally sit on me, so I stood next to him.Sam/Ben covered his mouth with his hand and whispered, “You here?”I put my hand on his shoulder, and he nodded slowly, knowing that meant I was. A few moments later, Starla came back and sat in the chair next to him, filling out all of the paperwork she could&rsq