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Not long after Lulu took off after Lucas, Maxie and Dillon stand awkwardly together at the edge of the dance floor. Neither one says anything as they watch Lucas brush Lulu off again. Maxie sighs, "I'll be back Dillon." She heads into the crowd, searching for a particular person. She finally catches sight of him at a table surrounded by his friends and she walks right over. "Excuse me, you're Dante right?" Maxie asks the popular student. "Can I talk to you for minute?"

"Yeah, sure." Sitting in a booth, Dante stands up and excuses himself from his friends. Maxie leads the way towards the door, where it is a little quieter. She turns around and faces a very curious Dante. "I'm sorry, I don't think I know you." Dante apologizes.

Maxie leans close. "Thats ok, I'm Maxie Jones. I think you know my cousin Lucas Jones. I saw you two talking in the Student Union. I've also seen you at Kelly's. Am I right though, you know Lucas?"

Dante nods slowly saying that yes he and Lucas know each other and that they have a couple classes together. Maxie starts to talk fast. "Well Lucas is going through some really hard times right now. Especially with his family. We've tried to get through to him but he is shutting us all out. Anyways, he's like been drinking a lot tonight and I don't think I've ever seen him like this." Waving her hands in the air, "I was kind of wondering, and I am sorry to be asking because it is sorta rude, not that I care anyway, but could you maybe talk to him? I mean look at him." She points him out on the dance floor where he is dancing sexily with Alexa. "That is not Lucas. I was just thinking..."

Dante smiles and interrupts. "Maybe I could get him out of here and stop him drinking for the night. Maybe….see what's going on. Sure, I'll get him out of here."

Maxie expels her breath. "Thanks D, I owe you one."

Dante puts his arm around Maxie and gives her a quick hug. "You are a good person to look out for your cousin like this. He should know that you really care."

Maxie laughs sarcastically, knowing that statement is about as far from the truth as anything. "Yeah well, don't tell anyone that I am a good person. I have a reputation to uphold."
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Lucas decides against taking the Ecstasy. However, he is still drinking like there is no tomorrow. He takes a couple shots and again dances with Alexa. Suddenly Lucas' head is filled with memories of that fateful night. He flashbacks to the night that Brandon was killed. In his mind he sees himself and Dillon in the bedroom and Dillon telling him that he had feelings for him. How the music was blaring. How good he felt when Dillon kissed him even thought he was in love with Brandon. And the moment when Brandon opened the door with Lulu on his heels and Brandon found Lucas and Dillon with their shirts off about to have sex. Lucas' head starts to fill up with the unpleasant memories. The room begins to spin and Lucas bolts off the floor, leaving Alexa behind.

Lucas finds a chair over to the side of the dance floor. He collapses in it and hangs his head in his hands. He starts to gasp as he sees Brandon's face before him. Lucas knows he has drank way too much tonight. He has no recollection how many beers or shots he has drank. The lights and music seem to surround him. There is no way he wants to cry in public but somehow he thinks he will. He doesn't notice when someone comes up to him and places their hand on his shoulder. "Hey Lucas, how about getting out of here."

Lucas looks up at the handsome face of Dante and nods. "Yeah." Lucas sniffs and stands up, wobbling a little bit. "Please get me out of here."

"Let's go" Dante cuts through the crowd, making sure that Lucas is behind him.
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Lulu flails her arms in the air. "Dillon you can't be serious! You have a thing for Maxie! Get out of here!" Lulu pushes back her long blonde hair. "I have never ever thought I could imagine this, you have seriously stunned me. You and Maxie, no way!"

Dillon narrows his eyes and focuses on Lulu. Sternly he says, "There is nothing going on between me and Maxie and there will never be, ok Lulu?"

"Yeah right" Lulu says sarcastically as she stands next to Dillon. They watch as Maxie walks towards them and Dante Brennan heads to the to the dance floor. Not long after Dante walks across the dance floor and Dante and Lucas head for the door. Seeing this as an excuse to leave, Dillon takes it. "Well now that this crisis with Lucas seems to be resolved, I am heading out. See you guys later." Dillon rushes out of there as Lulu mumbles, "I am so not finished with you yet Dillon."

Serena walks up to Maxie. "There you are. Maxie, I have been looking everywhere for you!"

"Well, now you found me. What's up?" Maxie finished her beer and ordered another from the waitress. "Everything ok?"

Serena pulled out her sidekick cell phone and texted a message back to Hunter. She looks up at Maxie and smiles, "Of course. Some of Hunter's friends saw you and thought you were kinda hot. Over there at the bar." Serena points to the three guys waving at Maxie. "Come on, they want me to bring you back with me."

Annoyed that Dillon brushed her off, Lulu decides to take some pot shots at Maxie. "Awwww, Look at Maxie blackmailing people to be her friend," Lulu says, her words laced with sarcasm. She turns to Serena and begins to speak to her. "Are your friends on drugs or something? Because no one ever thinks, that Maxie is hot. Unless they themselves are on drugs."

Serena doesn't look up from her cell phone. She leans the side and while still texting. "Who's this bitch? And why is she in my space?"

Maxie rolls her eyes. "Trust me; she is no one worth mentioning. If you ignore her she'll go away."

"Excuse me? Who are you calling a bitch?" Lulu said, getting up into Serena's face. "And don't talk around me like I'm not here."

"I believe I just did….and if you know what's good for you, you'll back the hell up off me." Serena eyes Lulu up and down and turns her face away in disgust. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

"Lulu Spencer."

Serena starts to laugh, infuriating Lulu even more. "Oh this is priceless. You are Lulu Spencer!" Serena says sarcastically. "Allow me to introduce myself." She puts out her hand and smiles calmly. "Serena……Serena Baldwin."
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Lucas and Dante are walking along the pier near the club. Dante shoves his hands in his pockets and glances over at a dishelmed Lucas. Lucas looks so angry and so sad. However just in walking with Dante in silence, his anger is starting to dissipate. After about ten minutes, Dante asks, "Want to talk about it Lucas?"

Lucas keeps walking. After a while, he responds, "Not really." He raises his head and looks at Dante. "I mean, everybody keeps asking me what's wrong, like I am going to break. Everybody wants me to talk to them but no one gets that I don't want to talk about anything going on right now."

"Hey that's cool." Dante replies. "Just so you know that you can talk to me if you want to. I've been told I am a great listener."

Lucas stops. "Not to be rude or anything, but you don't even know me Dante. Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?" Lucas asks suspiciously.

Dante shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know Lucas. You are really nice guy. A guy who has had some bad breaks. I have heard about the stuff that has happened to you and it sucks. I figured you could use a friend."

"I don't need your pity." Lucas starts to walk away from Dante.

"I'm not offering you pity. I'm offering you friendship." Dante calls out.

Lucas turns around and walks back towards him. "It's just that everybody tries so hard with me, like I am going to break or something. I feel so much pressure now, even more so than before. Ever since I found out that Bobbie was the drunk driver, everyone has tried to hover over me. I just can't stand it! I see him everywhere and no one can understand that. I feel so guilty going on with my life! And my mother is the one that took his life away all because she can't stand that I am gay!" a very frustrated Lucas shouts. He grabs his stomach. "I think I'm gonna get sick." Lucas runs to the edge of the pier and leans over.
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"Maxie, why am I not surprised that you would attract a bitch like Serena Baldwin. Now you have another whore to hang around with." Lulu spits out.

'Whore?" Maxie says, leaning back on a table. "Pot. Kettle. Black. See Serena, Miss Lulu thinks that there is a pedestal up high and she is looking down at us little people. Let me warn you, I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her. She's a backstabbing tramp who hates it when other people are happy."

Serena steps into the conversation. "It seems to me that the only bitch around here is you."

"Shut up both of you." Lulu throws up her hands in between them. "I don't have to take this from either of you." Looking from Serena back to Maxie, Lulu says, "You two deserve each other. I am so outta here." Flicking her blonde hair off her shoulder she haughtily stomps off into the bar area.

Serena and Maxie watch Lulu head off into the crowd. Serena glances up at Maxie who picks up her new beer from the waitress. "What's her deal with you?" Serena looks down at her cell phone. "Ooh, message."

Sighing and rolling her eyes, Maxie explains, "Lulu and I have never gotten along. She decided she wanted my sister's boyfriend so she went after him, broke them up and when he didn't want her she blamed me for it. They aren't together anymore, but still. She knowingly went after him. There is just a lot of other stuff that has gone down and we just don't like each other."

"Ok," Serena shrugs her shoulders. "I really want you to meet Hunter and his friends. Let's go."
<HR>
Lucas wipes the back of his sleeve over his eyes. He feels horrible from all the alcohol that he has drank this evening. He feels horrible for yelling at Dante tonight, because at least he can yell. Thanks to Bobbie, Brandon can't. Even if it was just pain, it was more than Brandon was feeling. His eyes filled with anguish, he looks at Dante, "I'm sorry."

Dante's handsome face is filled with compassion. "Hey, you have nothing to apologize for. But why don't we go sit on one of those benches. Maybe you will feel better."

Lucas stands up and wipes his hands on his jeans. "Well, at the very least, I didn't throw up." Lucas cracks.

"Yeah cuz you know I've been told I am a good friend, but I really don't like to clean puke up." Dante shoots back, lightening the tension between the two. They sit down on one of the benches and Dante asks, "You sure you are ok?"

A mass of emotions contort Lucas' face. Anger, pain, disappointment, sadness and even hope all cross his face. "I just feel so much, I don't know, so much pressure right now. It's like I am constantly being scrutinized. Every action someone is watching me. I can't be just me. Because Brandon is gone and it's like everyone is watching to see if I will fail."

Leaning back, Dante asks, "Why would anyone think you would fail?"

"Because Bobbie, my mother, the woman who raised me, hates the person I am. Everyone in my family knows it. I love my sister Carly, but she calls me constantly. She is smothering me. She has her own worries and I wouldn't want to bother her anyways. Everyone is hovering trying to anticipate my next move and I hate it!" Lucas kicks at a rock and watches as it skips into the water.

"You know that they are doing it because they care." Dante counsels.

"I know but," Lucas looks at Dante, who is staring intently at him, "I sound selfish don't I"

"No," Dante whispers, "You sound like someone who has gone through more than their share of problems."

A wave of intense feeling shakes Lucas to his very core. Just looking at Dante makes him feel very warm inside. Lucas doesn't say a word, he just listens to the sounds of the pier. He looks deep into Dante's brown eyes. Dante smiles ever so slightly. They lean closer to each other....
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Next…on Port Charles
- Dante and Lucas get closer
- Robin gets a strange phone call
- Lulu sets her eyes on Hunter
- Maxie & Serena clash with Lulu