Title: Mystery Girl

Summary: Takes place after the "The Cat". Goes AU from there. Luke takes a different approach to helping Grace deal with her problems. Also, Joan finds out Luke has been talking to a mysterious girl online and is determined to find out who she is.

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me…blah blah blah… all Barbara Hall's blah blah blah…

A/N: I love Luke and Grace and what the writers have done with them… but I know I am not the only one who is sick of the whole "fight about Grace's mom, not talk for a while, mysteriously make up off screen (except for in "Dive"!), then look extremely cute together" plot that seems to happen in every episode since WoN. Except, I don't complain when they look cute together in the end. Just the other stuff leading to that point...lol. So I dedicate this to anyone who has been thinking "gimme a new plot already!" Oh yeah, and the only reason for the whole Joan subplot is because I got sick of her being so freaking oblivious. I mean, come on, it's her brother and her best friend. Can't she put two and two together?

Chapter 1: Hugs, Kisses, and Hot Chocolate

GravityBoy: Hey

Blackwidow-4-U: Hey geek.

GravityBoy: So you're allowed to call me geek while I can't call you by name…

Blackwidow-4-U: Its different… besides if your sister catches us IMing and you've got my name somewhere on there, she's gonna figure it out!

GravityBoy: You and her are the only ones that call me geek.

Blackwidow-4-U: Whatever dude. I won't refer to you in any sort of naming way then… okay?

GravityBoy: You're cute when you're frustrated. -)

Blackwidow-4-U: Cute?

Blackwidow-4-U: Dude, you do remember who you're talking to, right?

GravityBoy: Right. Sorry… the extremely unappealing and definitely NOT cute girl who I find myself curiously attracted to. How's that?

Blackwidow-4-U: You're twisted, dude.

Blackwidow-4-U: I have to go. We meeting in the closet before school?

GravityBoy: Yeah, that sounds good.

Blackwidow-4-U: Later

GravityBoy: Goodnight…

Blackwidow-4-U has logged off !

The next morning, Grace crept into the biology closet. Luke was already there, his back leaning against the wall, deeply engrossed in a book. He glanced up at her with a smile of acknowledgement. She gave him a small smile in return, then dropped her bag to the floor and took a seat next to him.

"Whatcha reading?" She asked when he more or less ignored her to return to his book.

"Its about the possibility of time-travel through Einstein's theories of relativity. It's rather eccentric, but could be entirely plausible-"

"Okay Rocket Boy," she cut in, throwing her hands up as if to ward off his rambling. "I don't need the full book review."

"Sorry", was all he said as his attention was drawn back to the book. Grace blinked in surprise at him. Usually he would be kissing her by now, her unwillingness to let him ramble non-withstanding, not enthralled by some stupid book.

"It can't be that interesting," she muttered as she leaned in closer, trying to see what had his complete attention. "You'd think you have porn stashed in there or something."

Luke glanced at her and chuckled, but then returned his attention to the book, yet again.

Grace looked at her watch. They had twenty minutes before they had to be in class. They had more or less thrown out the five-minute make out rule recently. Well, more that Grace was allowing him to continue past the minimum more and more lately. So why wasn't he kissing her?

"You know class starts in twenty, right?" she asked anxiously, moving closer to him, hoping to distract him from his reading.

"Ummm hmmm," he replied, without bothering to look at her. Grace shifted so that her body was leaned against his as she looked over his shoulder to see what he was reading about. He didn't seem to even realize that she was all pressed up against him. After a couple of minutes and still no response from him, she sighed and moved away to slump against the wall next to him. He put the book down and turned towards her slightly.

"It's directly related to an idea I had for a project for us to do for the science fair," he explained. Grace's ears involuntarily perked up at the "us". Was it bad that she liked the fact that he'd assumed they'd do it together? She decided that it was.

"Us?" She repeated, wondering if he'd get frustrated with her for giving him a hard time. "I never said anything about a repeat performance of last year."

"I know. That's why I am collaborating with Freidman and Glynnis."

Grace froze at the mention of his ex. He was going to be working with her? As in the possibility of being alone together? She felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. He hadn't even asked her if she would do it with him. Instead he'd ran off to "collaborate" with ostrich-girl. Grace sat there, shocked, gaping at him as he returned to his book. Why was this bothering her so much? She didn't even want to be in the stupid science fair.

"I wouldn't mind," she found herself saying. Luke looked up at her, curiously. She tried desperately to cover the trap she had laid for herself. "I mean, are you even allowed to have groups of three?"

"You want to?" Luke asked her, clearly surprised. Grace squirmed under his eyes that had that annoying tendency to see right through her.

Well, wouldn't it be boring if there weren't someone there to shake things up a bit? And besides, its always fun to ruffle Price's feathers," She said casually.

Luke's eyes lit up, so obviously excited to share this experience with her again. He gave her a cute little smile and leaned towards her slightly.

"Truthfully, Glynnis is rather traditional, and this idea of mine is quite radical. I don't think she would have gone for it. It would be an even bolder move then last year's original idea."

"Who's bolder than me?" Grace asked, finding herself grinning. She raised her finger in warning. "But no computer generated hypothetical crap."

"Right. You like the more..." he looked her up and down. "...hands on projects."

Grace felt herself blush at his possible double meaning. He needs to stop hanging out with Freidman, she thought. But somehow she didn't mind the innuendos so much coming from Luke.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized how close they were sitting and the way he was staring fixedly at her mouth. Trying to keep her breathing steady, her gaze flickered between his lips and eyes before she slowly leaned in towards him. Suddenly, he moved away and picked his book back up. Grace wanted to scream in frustration. Why wouldn't he just kiss her already? And what was in that damn book that was so interesting anyway?

She sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to think of a way to subtly trick him into make out mode. She was considering a couple of different options when she felt his fingers nudging her own. She automatically entwined her fingers with his so that they were essentially holding hands. She glanced at him only to find that he had put the book away and was staring intently at her. She looked down at their joined hands, then back up at him with a question in her eyes.

"Grace…" he started in that soft tone that always made her melt. Yes, hardened, sarcastic, bitchy Grace Polk melted. And the cause was a fifteen-year-old science geek no less. "I really don't know much about this kind of thing…"

Grace just looked at him in confusion, not sure what he was getting at.

"Your mom," he clarified. She ducked her head in shame. Of course, her alcoholic mother, who she had told him about only days before. "I don't really know what to say or do… but, I'm here for you."

Grace lifted her head to look at him, emotion welling inside of her. Was that why he hadn't tried to get in his quality make-out time? Why he had been so quiet and gentle lately? Because he thought she needed him to back off a little and give her emotional support? She knew the Grace-like thing to do would to be peeved at him, but all she could do was be touched by the way he cared.

"If you ever need to talk… or anything else at all," he continued, squeezing her hand lightly. "I just want you to know that you can come to me. That I'll be here."

Grace only nodded, not trusting herself to speak when she felt so choked up. Luke leaned in oh so slowly and pressed his lips softly against hers. He pulled back slightly to look at her, his hand coming up to rest lightly against her jaw line. Grace sucked in a deep breath before wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him back to her, kissing him with everything she was feeling at the moment.

-

That afternoon, Grace was back in the biology closet, having agreed to meet with Luke again after school. What he had said that morning had been running through her head all day. And that kiss had made a few guest appearances as well. It had been mind-blowing to say the least. They had never kissed quite like that before. It was less rushed, more gentle, but every bit as heart pounding as the rest.

She had to wonder if this was the thing that made all those other couples lose their minds; couples like Joan and Adam. Was this love? Could she, Grace Polk, be in love with her best friend's little brother? It seemed a little too daytime soap-ish for her tastes, but with moments like that morning she had to wonder if she too had completely lost her mind.

She remembered watching Joan freak out when her and Adam had finally hooked up and thinking to herself that she never wanted to end up like that. And yet, at the same time, she felt a pang of…something…deep inside of her every time she saw Luke and Glynnis together. It was then that she found herself wondering if you could even stop yourself from falling… that maybe it was inevitable, no matter how much you wished against it…

Luke made his way to the closet, excited to see Grace again. Every time he was with her, he felt ridiculously giddy and found himself constantly thinking about her when she wasn't around. As a man of science, it was hard to comprehend these feelings. He knew all about the chemicals in the brain, hormones, and all the other scientific explanations for love, but it didn't seem to justify what he felt. He knew science, was a master of it. And wasn't love, like all other things, a part of science? He thought he had known, but the way he felt about Grace didn't feel like science. It went deeper than just chemicals and hormones. He couldn't reason out the way his heart sped up when he was about to see her. He couldn't blame it on hormones that he wanted to kiss her every time she was close to him. And he couldn't say that chemicals were the reason he wanted to gather her in his arms and take her away from her problems. For the first time in his life, he couldn't rely on science to give him the answers. He started believing in the possibility of things that scientists should scoff at. Like love at first sight and the possibility of the one other person in the world you were meant to be with.

Luke opened the door to the closet, and made his way in. Grace had her notebook and physics textbook open in her lap, but was fiddling with her pencil and staring off into space.

He shrugged off his backpack and sat across from her. She startled slightly, not having realized that he was there until he was right in front of her.

"I'm guessing you probably weren't pondering scientific theory," Luke said as she started writing in her notebook.

"What?" Grace prompted, looking up from her notes, when he gave no further explanation.

"You looked like you were having deep thoughts just a minute ago," he explained, leaning forward so that his arms rested on his legs.

"Just thinking about stuff," she responded quickly, not wanting to admit that she had been analyzing her feelings for him.

"Okay. Did you do any of the homework yet?" He asked, well aware that she wouldn't react favorably if he pushed.

"Yeah. I finished it. I showed up for study hall today, go fig," she said, slightly disgusted at herself.

"Hmm, actually showing up to class, doing your homework on time," Luke listed, looking her over, a grin on his face. "I think I might be rubbing off on you."

"Shut up, you are not," she denied, a small smile appearing, unwanted, on her face as well. "So are you gonna check my answers or not?"

Luke took her notebook from her and looked over her answers. After a couple minutes he handed it back.

"Looks good. Are you sure I'm not rubbing off on you? Getting all the answers right…"

Grace pointed her pencil at him threateningly.

"Watch it, geek. You know I could take your scrawny ass."

"Hey," he said, offended. "My ass is not scrawny. And who says you could take me? You are pretty short…"

Grace glared at him for a few more seconds before she burst out laughing. Luke joined her, glad that she seemed lighthearted today.

After they were both done laughing, Grace eyed Luke cautiously. She cleared her throat and nervously looked down.

"Last night…" she started, her voice trembling a little. Was she really going to do this? "I had to go because my mother had just gotten home."

Luke's smile faded as he watched her start fidgeting with her pencil. Was she opening up to him, finally?

"She had been at the bar," Grace continued, her eyes fixed on her pencil. She couldn't look at him while she bared herself to him like this. Because then she might breakdown, much like she had just the other day, when he held her as she silently cried. "She was singing at the top of her lungs. I was sure that the neighbors had heard her coming miles away. She was so drunk that she couldn't even walk up the stairs. I had to practically carry her up them. She passed out at the top, and I had to drag her into her bedroom and watch her until my dad got home. He works as late as he can possibly manage so he doesn't have to deal with his own wife. You see, if she isn't watched, she might vomit and choke, or if she's out too long, it could mean she's drunk herself into a coma. Literally. I've already had to call an ambulance for her more times than I can count…" Grace trailed off, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She was not going to cry. No one was supposed to see her cry. It was one of the things she had promised herself a long time ago. She'd already broken that rule once with him; she didn't need to be doing it again. It made her vulnerable, and there was nothing Grace hated more than being vulnerable.

Luke was silent, trying to control his own warring emotions as well. Sympathy, anger towards her father for making her deal with this alone, and that urge to take her far away from all her pain. Grace still wouldn't look at him; she just sat there, staring at the floor. Luke had never seen her look so…small and vulnerable. He slowly reached out to touch her. His fingers ghosted down her cheek to her arm. She looked up at him, her eyes betraying her need for comfort. All the walls she had built to keep the world away were crumbling before his eyes. He urged her towards him, and after a moments hesitation, she crawled into his lap. He cradled her in his arms and she buried her face into his neck, a choked sob escaping her. He held her close to him as she began to cry in big, heart-wrenching sobs. He stroked her hair and rubbed her back until her cries tapered off into soft sniffles. She pulled back just a little, looking rather embarrassed. Luke gently wiped her tears away with his thumb before cupping her face in his hand, gently. Grace just looked at him in wonder, amazed at how sweet and gentle he could be. Not knowing what else to do, she leaned in and kissed him softly. He returned her kiss and she ran the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip, as if to ask permission. He responded by opening his mouth against hers, allowing her tongue to explore his mouth.

Grace felt tingles run down her spine at the first brush of his tongue against hers. She didn't have any prior experience, but she was pretty sure his kissing talents were far above average. He certainly had no trouble in melting her into a gooey puddle within seconds.

Several minutes later, they pulled back from the kiss, eyes closed, recovering from the intensity behind it. Luke gave her a small smile when she opened her eyes to look at him.

"How about you go clean up in the bathroom and then we can get out of here," he suggested. Off of her confused look, he told her, "I have an idea."

10 minutes later…

Luke tugged on Grace's hand, leading her over to a secluded coffee shop.

"Hot chocolate, my treat," he said in way of explanation as he held the door open for her.

Grace smiled to herself as he ordered their drinks, finding herself once again amazed at how wonderful this guy was. He handed her a decent sized cup of chocolaty goodness and they went to sit at a small table in the corner.

-

Glynnis took her coffee from the woman from behind the counter and turned to look for a table. She was supposed to be meeting up with Freidman to go over ideas for the science fair. She was rather peeved that Luke had cancelled out on them at the last minute. Was it her? It couldn't be, he probably never even gave her a second thought anymore. She was mostly over him, mostly because she knew his interests lay elsewhere and she never truly had a chance. In fact, she suspected those other interests were the reason why he had dropped out of the group. Well, speak of the devil, she thought. There they were, sitting off in the corner. She slunk over to a nearby table so that she could spy on them. They were probably discussing the science fair. Glynnis narrowed her eyes at the other girl, staring her down from where she sat. She couldn't help but be envious of the girl that had captured Luke's complete and total attention. What did Grace Polk have that she didn't? What was it that made him so infatuated with her when Glynnis could hardly make him realize that she existed?

She couldn't hear what they were saying from where she sat, but it looked like Luke was telling a story of some sort. And instead of slumping down in her seat and acting bored like Glynnis would expect her to do, Grace was listening attentively and laughing at some parts. Glynnis was pretty sure she had never seen miss-anti laugh before. She hadn't even thought that the ice-queen was capable of it.

She continued to stare them down as they finished their drinks and gathered their stuff to leave. Curiosity getting the better of her, she followed them out. They walked side-by-side until they reached they corner. They then stopped and faced each other. Glynnis hid from sight, just within earshot.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" She heard Luke ask.

"That's okay," Grace responded, gesturing with her skateboard. "Not walking anyway."

Luke glanced around them, as if he was making sure no one was watching, and laid a hand on Grace's shoulder.

"I'll keep Instant Messenger on tonight, so if you need to talk…"

Glynnis' eyebrows shot up when Grace nodded, did a quick check around her as well, and tilted her head up to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

As they walked off in different directions, Glynnis leaned against the tree she had been hiding behind, shocked.

-

Luke was working on his computer when an IM window popped up on his screen.

Blackwidow-4-U: What are you wearing?

Blackwidow-4-U: LOL…j/k

GravityBoy: Nothing… lol...j/k too

Blackwidow-4-U: Let me guess … creating another "file folder of ideas"?

GravityBoy: You know me too well

Blackwidow-4-U: Ha, I knew it. Yes I do.

GravityBoy: How are you?

Blackwidow-4-U: Is that supposed to be a loaded question, or am I just reading it wrong?

GravityBoy: Is there anything you need to talk about? We could always use the phone too if that would be better.

Blackwidow-4-U: Oh… nothing happened. I just wanted to talk.

Blackwidow-4-U: About stupid stuff, not about… you know.

GravityBoy: Are you sure?

Blackwidow-4-U: Yeah. She's just downstairs watching TV.

Luke looked up when his sister suddenly appeared in his doorway.

"Hey. What are ya doing?" she asked, plopping down on his bed.

"Umm… trying to create a list of possible science fair projects," Luke told her as he typed in a response.

GravityBoy: So what kind of "stupid" topic did you have in mind?

"You need to get a life outside of science," Joan informed him.

Blackwidow-4-U: I dunno, just whatever. I just…

Blackwidow-4-U: I just don't want to be completely alone.

"I have a life," Luke insisted.

"Uh huh," Joan said, not convinced. "And what does this life consist of?"

GravityBoy: I can probably sneak out if you want to meet up…

"Of… stuff" Luke stuttered, obviously he couldn't tell her that it consisted of his girlfriend that no one knew he had.

Blackwidow-4-U: Sneak out? You sure I'm not the one who's rubbing off on you? LOL

Blackwidow-4-U: And its okay, just IMing is fine.

Luke was so focused on talking to Grace that he didn't notice that his sister had gotten up off the bed and moved behind him by this point. Joan saw the unmistakable IM screen before Luke noticed her and minimized the window.

"Who are you talking to?" she asked curiously, a smile forming on her face. "Is it a girl?"

"Its no one," Luke answered quickly. "Just someone I know."

Joan didn't believe him for one second. So she played it casual and made her way out of his room, keeping the screen name she had caught a glimpse of in the back of her mind.

As soon as Joan entered her room, she sat at her computer, pulling up her Instant Messenger. She typed in the mystery girl's (because she was sure it was a girl) screen name and a message.

JaneZ6: Hi, you don't know me, but I was in my brother's room and saw that he was talking to you…