A/N: Here's another response to pyrolyn-776's Lyric Challenge. This didn't turn out the way I thought it would, but there it is. I would guess it's a bit of AU and a Futurefic. But take it as you will. Please vote in the poll on my profile. Enjoy! R&R! Thanks! –Mac


Disclaimer: I don't own CR.

#85: "Lately nothing I do ever seems to please you and maybe turning my back would be that much easier.

Easier To Walk Away

"Hey baby," Tess murmured as she opened the door for Shane.

She leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. Shane turned his head at the last minute and her lips found his cheek instead. Tess stepped back, a frown forming on her face. He still wasn't looking at her and she knew she should be worried but she was only thinking about how happy she was to see him (he had been on tour for God knows how long and this was the first time she had seen him in person in a long time). Besides they were Shane Gray and Tess Tyler, Tess Tyler and Shane Gray—they didn't have problems (she kept telling herself).

"Come in," Tess gestured him inside. "Dinner's ready and I poured us some wine."

Shane nodded and followed her toward her dining room. He remained silent as they sat down to eat. Tess picked at her food as she attempted to catch his eye. This was not how she had hoped their reunion would be like.

Tess tried to start a conversation, "Do you like the dinner? I cooked it all by myself. Well, Peggy gave me a few pointers over the phone, but I did all the work. Do you like it?"

"Sure," Shane answered, not drawing his gaze away from his plate.

"Is something wrong? You're awfully quiet," Tess questioned.

"No, Tess. There's nothing wrong," Shane suddenly snapped, his eyes shooting up to meet hers momentarily.

"Believable," Tess responded coolly. "What's going on with you Shane? You've been on edge for awhile now. It's like lately, I can't do anything to please you. When I talked to you while you were traveling, you'd get off really quickly, making excuses about being busy. I always seemed to be saying the wrong thing. And now you won't kiss me, you won't talk to me, you won't look at me…"

"Nothing's wrong Tess," Shane repeated more firmly. "Okay? Drop it."

"There's someone else isn't there?" Tess whispered, staring down at her lap.

"No Tess of course not," Shane shook his head vigorously. "Everything is fine. Can we just talk about something else?"

Liar, her mind screamed, but she responded, "Okay."

Maybe it would have been easier for Tess to just walk away while she could (before she found out for sure that Shane was really falling for that Mitchie girl that had been touring with them). But Tess Tyler was never one to admit defeat, admit failure. She couldn't turn her back on Shane (even if she ultimately was the one hurt by her own determination to succeed).