A Do Or Die Situation (Sequel to To Offset The Shakes) // Andy Hurley/Trohley

Face It (Andy's POV)

We've been home for almost half a month now, and it feels like we never left. Things are perfect, just the same as we left it. But, with September approaching, Joe and I have planned a little talk with Libbie. We were both dreading it, and once Libbie would realize what it's about, we knew she'd be dreading it, too.

"Joe, when are we going to talk to Lib?" I asked, sitting on the edge of our bed.

"Not now, let's not ruin her whole day by talking about first thing in the morning."

He made a good point, but then again, I didn't want to ruin her whole night either by waiting. Maybe the middle of the day? No, that would ruin the rest of her day and her night. Talking about things like this with Libbie was always like walking on eggshells. She instantly shuts down and almost refuses to talk. It's not always an easy task, but welcome to the life of being two gay parents with two daughters.

"Well, babe, maybe we should bring it up now, like over breakfast or something," he shrugged. "If we talk to her now, we'll have the rest of the day to cheer her up. If you think about it, if we did it at night, we wouldn't be able to."

"That's actually a good point," Joe said, flashing me a smile. "Sounds like a plan."

We got up from bed and started towards the kitchen. We poured the girls their cereal - Summer liked Fruity Pebbles and Libbie liked Cinnamon Toast Crunch - and set a glass of milk next to the bowls. Joe heated up from of his leftover pasta from the other night when we went out for a date, and I had heated up a bagel with cream cheese.

"Girls!" I yelled down the hallway. Summer's door was the first to open, and she shot down the hallway faster than I could even say 'Good Morning.' It made me laugh, "Libbie!"

Her door remained closed. I chuckled again, knowing she was still in bed, her covers pulled halfway over her head, her pillows all over the place, and the curtains closed. She's such your typical teen, I swear. I walked down the hallway and opened her door. My guesses were correct, and I laughed again. I walked to the side of her bed and gently sat down.

"Lib," I said, nudging her shoulder. "You gotta wake up, babe."

She didn't move, so I nudged her again, and this time she pulled one of her pillows over her head. I smiled, then got up. I walked to the curtains, opening them all the way and letting the bright, early morning sunlight illuminate her room. She always hated when I did that, but that was the only way to get her up. You see, after I did that, she's get pissed at me, which led her to jump out of bed and chase me throughout the house. It was a fool-proof way to get her up, and also get her exercise in!

"I hate you," she glared at me as she sat down at the kitchen counter. "I just want sleep, man, is that too much to ask?"

"In this family, yes," Joe smirked, his mouth full of pasta. I hit his shoulder, then took a bite of my bagel.

"So, when you're done, Lib, Joe and I need to talk to you," I said.

"What did I do??" she asked, already acting like she was being accused of something.

"Nothing," I chuckled. "You didn't do anything, you're fine."

"Oh, okay, good," she shrugged, then shoved a huge spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

-------

"So, what'd you guys want to talk to me about?" Libbie asked, skipping out of her room, all dressed, hair done, and makeup done.

"Sit," I said, patting the couch next to me. She walked over and sat between Joe and I, crossing her legs.

"So, it's almost September ..." I started, and her head already dropped. "You know, we've got to get you enrolled into a high school around here. I already called your old school a few days ago and explained the situation and told them that you're no longer attending. Joe and I have been researching some high schools in our area, and we wanted you to look at them with us and see if you like any of them."