Ill Conceived Plans

The Kiss of Death

Margaret and Edward took her to her first appointment with the psychologist, the diagnosis floored Edward but not Margaret she'd had Dane tested wondering if he was on the spectrum. Dane was there too and Neville, Dane knew what to expect, his diagnosis was borderline, but he sat with Fox holding her hand while they waited in the ante-room at the expensive specialist. It was a quick process, her condition was obvious to those in the know, Aspergers isn't a disease to cure, it's a difference to enjoy and to manage the doctor explained and somehow Sarah finally felt better with herself. She'd known she was different – now she knew why.

She didn't change overnight, the diagnosis wasn't some magic wand that made her like the other girls suddenly.  She didn't really change much at all.  Yoga helped her manage her anxiety and the school gave her support, extra time for exams, a safe place to go when she felt overwhelmed and slowly but surely her marks skyrocketed and her friends' circle at school increased. Her friendship with Petra blossomed and both she and Dmitri were invited to the Huntington manor in time for Sarah's 16th birthday, along with two other new "girlfriends" Emily and Beatrix. Charlotte, now worried her beautiful, blossoming niece spent too much time with the boys and she wanted a much more "mixed" group for her party, something her son encouraged wholeheartedly.

Sarah didn't mind too much, she'd already spent time with Dane and Neville alone –first all going to the theatre with Margaret and to the Rugby World Cup with Malcolm Hilditch and then a week on a dig with her father in Greece. Neville had watched his friend, now his best friend, and his cousin, now a sister of sorts, flirt (without realising it) and share secrets in Greek and Latin. But he didn't watch them too closely - he had other things on his mind now.  At 16 and a half, he was older than them, more worldly in his eyes and Greek girls and university students on digs were good kissers.

So he was a very relaxed man by the time they got to his parent's place, relaxed and looking forward to meeting up with Sarah's friend Emily. Now there was a woman, mmmm and Petra – tall dark and fun and Bea was weird but nice. Yeah, Neville liked having Sarah as a sister, he liked the fringe benefits. What he didn't like though was how HIS friends were starting to notice Fox. She didn't realise it yet but she was blossoming into a beauty – when she wasn't in ripped jeans and oversized shirts. He didn't mind Dane flirting with her, it was innocent and almost brotherly and to be honest he thought his friend and "sister" were pretty oblivious to the way they felt about each other. But Dmitri had smiled at her just a little too long and George had made comments about Sarah in a bikini. They were supposed to be brothers, they weren't supposed to notice that Sarah was a girl, Neville worried what would happen if, heaven forbid, one of the boys took a liking to her. He liked the group the way it was.

The whole group was coming for the weekend; his mother had gone all out, all out for Sarah's birthday, all out for the weekend. Friday night would be movies in the library/movie room, Saturday was the party with a band and Sunday would be horse riding and then a big bonfire and cooking outdoors. Neville was looking forward to it, Sarah was less impressed. She just wanted a quiet celebration with her friends. She didn't feel "sweet" or sixteen. They'd had a similar party weekend for Neville but his birthday was in winter and to be honest in the end she and Dane had spent most of the time playing chequers in the study and avoiding people rather than mixing with strangers. But the Huntington's, Neville's family at least, liked to splash out big, invite a lot of people – any excuse for a party.

However for Sarah, the little cake with her dad, Dane, Neville and some of her father's colleagues was birthday party enough, as was the cake at Dane's, but she managed to survive movie night. It was just their core group and had proven a fun night with the boys showing off a little too much in front of the girls.

Saturday morning was also pretty relaxed just hanging around the house and "vegging out" – until aunt Charlotte stepped in and dragged the girls off for mani-pedis, make-overs and hair styling to celebrate Sarah's birthday and prepare for the party. Hell Sarah didn't even know what a mani-pedi was until she got there. She'd never done those sorts of things, though her friends seemed to be old hands. She'd have rather gone hiking with the boys. But she supposed it was fun, though it wasn't as good as shopping with Margaret and Jane or fishing with the boys. Aunt Charlotte insisted on buying her heels and a dress she didn't think she'd ever wear again, having her eyebrows plucked and making sure her wild hair was under complete control. By the time she came home Sarah hardly recognised herself. In fact, she could have slipped past her friends and she was sure they would have just thought her any other girl.