Marshall and Lataya left the hotel, and decided that breakfast at McDonalds would be good. They drove for a few minutes, listening to the radio in a comfortable silence. Marshall pulled up into the McDonalds parkinglot, and drove the car around to the drive through, pausing in front of the menu board to see what they wanted.

"What do you want?" He asked, looking out the window at the large menu.

"Um...Pancakes I guess." She shrugged.

"Aight." He said, looking over the menu again as the girl on the intercom spoke. "

Good morning. Welcome to McDonalds, how may I help you?" She said, her speech sounding broken from the microphone.

"Yeah, can I get a...pancake breakfast thing, um, and an egg McMuffin, and a hashbrown, and, that new sausage thing." He said, waving a hand at the intercom box.

"A sausage mcmuffin sir?"

"Yeah that thing." He nodded. He looked at Lataya,"You want anything else?"

"No..." She said slowly.

"Aight." He turned back to the intercom.

"Will that be all?"

"Yes. Thank you." He said, pulling out his wallet.

"Ok, 14.65. Pay at the first window please."

He drove up to the first window and pulled a 10 dollar bill and a 5 dollar bill out of his wallet. Lataya saw him and grabbed his hand, stopping him before the window could open and take his money.

"I got it this morning." She said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a 20. He shook his head.

"Naw, I got it. Put that back." He argued, waiting for the person at the window to finish whatever she was doing and take his money.

"You paid last night!" She argued.

"So? Ima pay this morning too." He shrugged. "No problem."

"No, I wanna pay this morning Marshall." She said, starting to get mad.

"Like fuck you are. Just lemme get it." He said, giving her a weird look.

"Okay, Ill pay for mine, and you pay for yours ok?"

He hesitated, wanting to pay for her. "Uh," He thought for a second.

"C'mon!" She whined.

"Fine." He said. She sighed and dug around in her purse for 5 bucks, and handed it to him. They ate their breakfast in the parkinglot and after that, they took off to the studio.

Lataya had fun hanging around with the guys in the studio, Marshall was surprised. DeShaun was suspicious as to why Marshall brang her, but it was a pleasant surprise.

DeShaun watched Lataya and Marshall, and knew that there was something there besides just being friends. Maybe it was because of everything that had happened before with them going out, but he definatly saw something there that was different. Marshall always found some excuse to touch her, even just walking past her and bumping their shoulders together. The exchanged smiles they gave each other, the flirting jokes, something was just different. And they acted all, coupley. Coupley, if that was even a word, was good for describing them. If he didnt know better, he would think there was something between them.

He decided to ask Marshall about this, so later on that day he took him aside to an empty conference room, leaving Lataya to talk and joke around with all the guys in the studio.

"What is going on with you guys?" He asked as Marshall sat down at the conference table and stared up at him.

"What do you mean?" Marshall asked carefully.

"The flirting, the touching, the looks u give each other, and why the fuck did you bring her today? Not that Im not happy to see her, because believe me I am, but its weird, I didnt know about this." DeShaun sighed.

"Yeah, neither did I. Well, not until last night." Marshall shrugged.

"Why? What went down last night?" DeShaun asked with interest.

Marshall hesitated. They were supposed to keep what happened between him and Lataya, she didnt want anyone to know because if Matt or Kim found out, they would be in big trouble. But this was DeShaun, they had known him for years, and he wouldnt say anything to either of them about it, right? So he could tell DeShaun.

"Okay well, see I took Lataya out for dinner. Outback steak house." He started.

"Ohh, what did you get?"

"Well I got the steak and a house salad, and she got a pot roast and some potatoes or something, um, why is this important?" Marshall asked slowly.

"Oh I just wanted to know. Sorry, continue." DeShaun cleared his throat.

"Okay, well, so we talked and we drove around for a while after that, and when I brang her back to the house, I kinda, kissed her when we were in the car." He said. DeShaun raised an eyebrow and cringed.

"Nice one asshole." He sighed.

"I know." He gave DeShaun a dirty look, and continued. "And like she pulled back and she got out of the car and stuff, and while she was at the door she forgot to bring her housekey. So, I offered for her to stay at my hotel for the night; she could have the bed and I would take the couch. So, she said that would be fine and we went back to the hotel. Ok, so like we were there, and she started saying how she missed me, and did you know that Matt isnt very nice to her? And she thinks that hes cheating on her. So anyways I said that like I would kick his ass if she needed me to and she KISSED ME!"

"Wait, SHE kissed YOU?" He asked in disbelief.

"Totally unexpected and yes, she was the one that kissed me. So it wasnt like I made a move on HER, she made the move on me." He sighed.

"So what did you do about it?" DeShaun raised an eyebrow.

"Well, um, we fucked." He said hesitantly. DeShaun rolled his eyes. "No, wait, its not like that though. I mean, its like, wow. She was just, whoa."

DeShaun wrinkled his nose. "I dont wanna hear that...she was like my SISTER! God," He sighed. "Look, you guys better cut this shit out. Make up your fucking minds, you wanna be together or you dont, but dont go behind Matt and Kims back, it just aint right, and eventually yall are gonna get caught. And thats when the shit hits the motherfucking fan."

"I know, I know." Marshall said exasperatedly. "I just, I dont know. She, shes like, the best fuck I ever had."

"Okay, I dont wanna hear about that..." DeShaun said slowly. "If it was any other girl, okay, but I just, its Lataya."

"Ok, sorry. Anyways, my point is that I really like her alot. Shes like, different from Kim. And I like it." He said, looking up at DeShaun. "But, what if she dont feel the same way about me? What if she wants Matt?"

"Then, she wants Matt, you guys never fuck again, and you go back to Kim." DeShaun shrugged. "But at least you would know that she wants Matt. What if she wants you, but shes thinking the same thing, she could be thinking that you want Kim. Talk to her about it."

"I cant."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Marshall trailed off. Why couldnt he talk to her about it? He was nervous. He didnt really want to know. What if she picked Matt? Then he wouldnt have her anymore. And right now, they both seemed to have her. He didnt mind, as long as he got her sometimes. If he didnt have her at all, he would be crushed.

But what if she picked him? Then he could be with her all the time, and Matt couldnt. But what about Kim? How would he tell Kim? He shook hs head. He didnt fucking care about Kim. If he had to pick Lataya over Kim, it would definatly be Lataya. No contest. Kim didnt stand a chance in his mind. But still, Lataya couldnt possibly want him. His life just didnt work like that. He was constantly being dissapointed.

"Well just talk to her, or, do you want me to?" DeShaun offered.

"No!" Marshall stood up quickly. "Dont, I dont know what I wanna do yet."

"Okay, lets go back in the studio then. Save her from the guys." DeShaun joked. Marshall grinned and they walked out the conference room and back into the studio.

"Do you carry those around with you?" Lataya asked Kuniva as he grinned at her, showing her his 'Rondell Beene' teeth. They were crooked and messed up, and he used them when he wanted to be in character.

"Sometimes." Kuniva laughed, his voice sounded different, because of the teeth. He took them out, revealing his regular teeth and she grinned at him. "I use them for like, interviews, shit like that."

"Cool." Lataya laughed as Marshall and DeShaun entered the studio. Immediatly, Marshall walked over to the couch and sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Kuniva was on the other side of her, looked at DeShaun, who nodded for him to get up, and hesitantly he did.

"Hey, what time is Matt getting back at?" Marshall asked.

"Why?" Lataya asked blankly.

"Because you need him to get into the house..." He trailed off.

"Oh, oh yeah! Sorry, completely forgot." She laughed nervously. She had forgotten that she purposely locked herself out, but now she remembered. "Oh I think his plane comes in around, 3."

"Thats in 20 minutes. Do you want to go back to the house and wait? I dont think they need me here, do you guys?" Marshall looked over at DeShaun, Kuniva and Swift, and they all shook their heads. He glanced at Kon Artis, leaning back in a chair on the opposite side of the room, one of their mixing engineers, Jimmy, and Bizzarre, and they shook their heads also.

"Sure." Lataya nodded. She didnt really want to go back yet, but she figured that she would have to eventually, and now was as good a time as any. Right?

"Aight then, lets go." Marshall stood up, so did Lataya.

"Bye Lataya!" DeShaun said as she stepped forward and hugged him.

"Bye D." She grinned. She hadnt called him D since they were in high school. She waved goodbye to all the guys, and Marshall led her out the door, nodding to them all as goodbye.

They walked out to the car, the NICE car that Lataya loved, and got inside it. Marshall turned the key and turned the car on. He fixed the radio and glanced over at Lataya as she leaned back against the leather seat, not bothering to buckle her seat belt.

"Wanna go sit in your driveway for a while...until Matt gets back, or...?" Marshall trailed off.

"Sure. Thats fine." She smiled at him and he smiled back. He always smiled back at her, he couldnt help it. She just that kind of smile, that kind of power over him. She was the only person on this earth that had the ability to make everything that was going wrong in his life, better again, and back to brand new. Better than brand new. He felt like he was worth something when he was with her.

He looked out the back window and backed the car out of the parkingspace, pulling out into the parkinglot and then into the street. They drove back, mostly in silence, except for Marshall swearing at the passing cars that tried to cut him off, or the slow driving old people that he felt shouldnt be on the road. About 10 minutes later they pulled up into Latayas driveway, and he shut the car off.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and Marshall glanced at his watch. "Its 2:57."

"It takes him a few minutes to get from the airport and then home, with traffic and all that fun stuff. He probably wont be back until 3:30-4 o clock." She looked over at him.

"Thats like, a half hour." Marshall said quietly.

"I know." She sighed.

"So, whatchu wanna do til then?" He asked, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Mmm, I dunno..." She trailed off and leaned over, kissing him slowly on the mouth. He leaned into her more, and put a hand on her cheek gently.

They made out, and talked, and mostly made out, for around a half hour. Marshall was in heaven here. He loved sitting here talking with Lataya, and he liked making out even more. They were right in the middle of kissing again, Lataya was an awesome kisser, she had always been, since as long as he could remember. There was something familiar about her lips, something that wasnt there when he kissed Kim.

They heard a car pull up in back of them, and they jumped apart, each taking a deep breath, Marshall smoothing out his shirt and looking in he rear view mirror at Matts car that had just pulled in behind them, Lataya fixing her hair and clearing her throat nervously. They werent expecting that.

Matt didnt seem to notice, he just got out of the car and walked around to Marshalls convertable. Lataya smiled over at him and he grinned back at her.

"Hey." He said, looking in the car at the two.

"Hi baby." Lataya forced a smile and opened the side of her car.

Marshall grinned, gritting his teeth together. He didnt want to hear her call him baby, it killed him. Struck him somewhere right in his gut and made him want to puke. "Hey Matt." He reached out and gave Matt a pound, hitting his hand a little to hard, but not hard enough.

"Hey man." He said, giving Marshall a weird look. "So, what you guys doing here?"

"Oh, I um went to the studio, with Marshall and DeShaun this morning. Marshall just dropped me off." Lataya answered quickly before Marshall could say anything.

"Oh thats cool." Matt said. They all heard another car door slam shut, and Marshall and Lataya both turned their heads to see a girl getting out of Matts car. Lataya looked at Matt, giving him a questioning look, and Marshall raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah, um, this is Elena, my cousin. Elena, this is Lataya, my girlfriend,"

"Fiance." Lataya corrected, giving him a dirty look, knowing damn well that he didnt have a cousin named Elena.

"My, FIANCE." He corrected, nodding to Lataya, "And her friend Marshall."

"Hello, Elena." Lataya said, still sitting in the car beside Marshall, one leg out the door, her hand on the door handle.

"Hey." Elena said cheerfully, walking up to Matt and standing beside him.

Marshall glanced at Lataya, and then back at Matt and Elena. Matt was staring at Elena out of the corner of his eyes, and Marshall knew that look a little to well. That was how he looked at Lataya, he wouldnt look at any of his cousins like that, that wasnt a 'cousin look'. Matt raised both eyebrows at Lataya. "Elena is staying with us a for a few weeks, is that alright?"

"Fine by me." Lataya said flatly. Matt and Elena started towards the house, and Lataya sighed and looked at Marshall. "I should get going...call me?"

"You bet." Marshall said, quickly glancing back at Matt, and then deciding that he wasnt looking, leaned over and kissed Lataya quickly on the mouth. Lataya pulled away after a second, and licked her lips, smiling at Marshall.

"Oh, and thats not his cousin. His parents were both only children." She shrugged and got out of the car, shutting the door behind her and walking around towards the house. She was about 10 feet away from the car when Matt and Elena went inside the house, and she jogged back to the car, leaned over the door and kissed Marshall one last time, before taking off towards the house. Marshall grinned and looked in back of the car. Matts car was there but if he was careful, he could probably back out of the driveway between the car and the fence, and it wouldnt be so bad.

He backed out of the driveway, just barely making it past Matts car, and drove down the street. He didnt know how Lataya could stand know that the woman her fiance was cheating with was going to be staying under her roof at the same time that she was. He wouldnt be able to do that, he didnt have that kind of patience or self control.

He hated Matt now. Matt had an awesome girl like Lataya, and he didnt appreciate her. He took her for granted and cheated on her, treated her badly. If Lataya was Marshalls girl, he would treat her how she deserved to be treated. Like, a princess or something. She was so, beautiful and sweet, so kind and gentle, she was Lataya. She deserved better than Matt. She deserved someone who could treat her better, someone who knew what she was all about, someone who would cherish her, not play her like Matt. She needed, Marshall. He sighed.

But he had Kim. He shouldnt be thinking like this, but then again there was many things that he shouldnt do but he did anyways, and Kim was being such a bitch to him, she was always such a bitch to him. Lataya was so nice to him, she appreciates him.

He continued driving, all the way back to the hotel, where he stayed the rest of the afternoon, only leaving to get Taco Bell, and called Hailie that night as he usually did before she went to bed. After he hung up with Hailie, he decided to call Lataya, just to talk to her and see how she was doing, even though he had just left her a few hours ago.

"Yeah?" Lataya asked, sighing into the reciever.

"Its me." Marshall said, smiling once he heard her voice. It was like music to his ears, just what he wanted and needed to hear.

"Hey!" She said excitedly, looking around the empty kitchen before taking the cordless phone out to the back porch and sitting down on a lawn chair.

"Sup babe?" He asked softly.

She took a deep breath, that tone of voice he used with her sent shivers down her spine. It was soft like his kiss, gentle like his touch, and amazing like him. "Nothing much." She whispered, grinning despite herself. "Yourself?"

"Ah, same thang. Kim still doesnt want me home." He sighed.

"That really sucks Marshall, Im sorry." She sighed, feeling bad for him.

"Yeah well shes a bitch. Fucking whore, cant believe her stupid fat ass, kick me out of my own house." He mumbled.

"I can sense the love in your voice." She said sarcastically.

"Oh can you now?" He played along, grinning.

"Hell yeah." She sighed.

"Hows everything goin over there?" He asked, sensing something was wrong.

"Like shit. At least, for me." She looked across the yard at a cat that was hanging around the trash cans out back, sniffing at a candy wrapper on the ground.

"Whats wrong?" He asked, frowning.

"What ISNT wrong Marshall? God, my life sucks. You know, it couldnt suck more if my wife divorced me, turned my kids against me, and then I had to send my whole paycheck to support the bloodsucking leeches while I live in squalor and despair!" She exclaimed.

Marshall burst out laughing, and then cleared his throat and stifled it. "Sorry. I just, thought that was funny."

"Its alright, it was supposed to be funny. Lighten the mood, yanno?" She sighed. "I jus, I jus dunno Marshall. Hes cheating on me with Elena, I walked in on them making out and pretended I didnt see anything. They dont have a fucking clue. They are so fucking stupid. I just wanna kill stupid Elena, and while Im at it I wouldnt mind killing Matt!"

"Can I help?" He asked sarcastically.

"I need all the held I can get!" She sighed and leaned back against the chair.

"Yeah well," Marshall sighed and threw himself down on his bed, his bed that Lataya and him had made love in just last night. "Why do you stay with him? Why dont you like, bust them and dump him?"

"Because, you know, I just, I love him." She sighed and bit her bottom lip. She hadnt meant to tell him that, it was just, when they talked she felt like she could tell him anything, and he had this way of making you talk, making you say what was on your mind. She just felt so comfortable with him. They were best friends when they were kids, told each other everything, before they had dated, she told him about guys that she liked and it didnt seem to phase him in the least. But times like this she had to be careful.

Marshall felt like he got punched in his stomach. She loved Matt. He knew it. He was silent for a minute, not sure what to say, feeling like shit. It hurt when you love someone, but you have to watch them love other people. He wanted to kill Matt now more than ever. He didnt know what he had.

"Shit, Im sorry." She sighed, realizing what she had done. "Im really sorry, I feel bad now."

"No, dont feel bad. I dont want you feeling bad because of me. Um, its alright. Okay?" He said, staring at the ceiling.

"Okay. Marshall, I dont know what to do."

"I know. But listen, whatever you do, just always remember that I am here for you, and that I would never treat you the way that Matt treats you. Okay?" He asked, closing his eyes.

"I will." She smiled, crossing her arms because it was kind of cold at night. She stared into the darkness at her backyard. "What are you doing?"

"Laying in bed. You?"

"Sitting outside."

"Cool." He said, pulling the covers over himself. "I called Hailie."

"Awww. I have to meet her. She looks and sounds adorable."

"You do have to meet her. Hey whatchu doing tommorow?"

"Besides sitting here watching Matt cheat on me behind my back...nothing." She smirked.

"Well, Im taking Hailie out tomorow, the whole day just me and her, because Im going to California the day after, the day after tommorow." He said. "Maybe, I can make it so that its just me and her and you, and you can come along with us. I can swing by in the morning and pick you up, lets say around 9:30?" He offered.

"Sure!" She said eagerly. She looked down and played with the end of her hair, twirling it around her finger carefully. "Your going to Cali?"

"Yeah, for a week. Ill be back in a week, hopefully Kim wont make me stay in a damn hotel. But Ill only be back for like 4 days, because then I have to go back to Cali for 2 days, and then up to England." He said, rolling his eyes. "Im constantly somewhere else, but Im used to it."

"Oh." She looked down.

"Hey, if you wanted, you could like, come down to Cali for a few days?" He asked. "Ill fly you out, you want to?"

"Aw, you dont have to fly me out there." She laughed. "Ill buy myself a ticket."

"Aight." He said, having no intention of letting her buy her own ticket, he was going to get it for her, and surprise her with it. "So, we can talk more tommorow, okay? Im kinda tired, it is almost 11:30, and, as you know...I had quite a night last night." He grinned.

"Marshall!" She hissed, blushing furiously. "Ill see you tommorow."

"Night baby."

"Night." She said, taking a deep breath. She loved it when he called her baby. They hung up, and Marshall fell asleep almost immediatly. Lataya couldnt wait to see him tommorow.