A/N: Yeah, I ship this. Well, I kinda ship her with almost everyone except Adam. As long as my OTP, Diana/Happiness, happens then count me in, except if it happens with Adam. lol There will be five parts to this, sadly only this part and more than half of the second one are written. I'm posting it in hopes that this might encourage me to finish it sooner. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is the work and play of fanfiction. I don't own anything. Everything belongs to their respective owners.

seeing smoke and waiting for the fire

Part I: square one

[The first time, he tried to help her]

Diana and Melissa had been at the abandoned house. They had spent all afternoon talking and laughing about anything and everything that came to mind. Melissa had suggested sharing something they had never, ever told anyone before to make things a bit more interesting. Melissa confessed that before Nick, she used to have a huge crush on the captain of the chess team and that he'd been her first kiss. It was something she never shared because she didn't want to deal with what other people, Faye, had to say. Not that she cared what they'd think in the first place. Diana knew Melissa loved the girl but Faye had the tendency of being insensitive towards a lot of things. Diana, herself understood first hand. She could never do right by Faye, the girl seemed to get a kick out of mocking her every opportunity she could get. Faye would always be Faye, they knew nothing would change that and they accepted it.

It was Diana's turn to share. "Remember when we were about 7? We were over at Nick's aunt's place for his birthday part-" She never got a chance to finish because both Adam and Cassie had walked in laughing, and holding hands. Their faces froze and they untangled their fingers as quickly as they subtly could when they saw her.

There was a pang in her chest. Her mind was reeling with so many questions. Diana wanted to ask them when had they started dating. Why had they kept it a secret, but in truth, it wasn't her place to question them. She should have known, though. Them coming together was inevitable. They were meant to be; written in the stars. It was the reason why she had let him go in the first place. It had been the right thing to do. She couldn't stand on the sidelines and watch Adam fall in love with Cassie anymore. She couldn't force Adam to stay in a relationship when he wondered about being with Cassie. It wouldn't have been fair to either of them. Yet, here she was, still hurting over a boy that had clearly moved on already. Diana couldn't hold it against them. It wasn't like they could go up against fate. They were all simply puzzle pieces coming together to be a part of something bigger than them. There was reason for everything happening. At least she'd like to believe that. She might feel slightly betrayed and forgotten but deep down, she was happy for them. Two of the people she genuinely cared about were happy and that's all she every really wants for those who surround her. For them to love and be loved.

Cassie watched her warily, as if she were a wounded animal who she had to keep her eyes on in fear that if Diana felt any more threatened she would strike her down. Adam knew better. He knew Diana would do no such thing. She would always be the better person, no matter what. It was who she was.

They both gazed at her, waiting for her to say something, anything about what was going on. Diana's thoughts and feelings were such a jumbled mess that there wasn't much to say. And if there was something, what exactly could she say or do? Lie and feign happiness or get mean. She was tired of the former and she wasn't about to start getting mean. Her father had taught her to be better than that. All these conflicting emotions swirling inside of her were too much for her to handle. So she did the first thing that came to mind, she ran. Diana stood up and rushed past them, her name leaving Adam's lips or maybe it had been Melissa who had called out to her instead, she couldn't really place who it had been, all she wanted to do was leave as quickly as she possibly could. She didn't understand why they hadn't just told her. Her running away was probably why, she realized. She didn't exactly take the news well and gracefully. They had probably not wanted to come off as inconsiderate towards her feelings. Either way she just wished that they would have told her something. That way they could have avoided whatever it was that just happened. She could have kept moving on and not have a part of her hope that maybe someday her and Adam could still come together again. That this was something Adam needed to figure out on his own and once he did, he would come back to her. She now knew that would never be the case. Something told her that Adam had already figured it all out and sadly for her it didn't included her in any shape or form, at least not like she had hoped it did. At least now she knew, and maybe she could let go of that hope she had. Now, she could come to terms that they were together and she would try and show them that she was happy for them. No matter if it killed her a little.

As she had walked through the forest she had receive a text from Melissa asking where she was and if she was ok. Diana had replied letting Melissa know that she was fine and not to worry, there was still enough sunlight to illuminate her way home through the forest. She told her she would call her later and that she was sorry for just rushing out on her, that she just really needed to leave and that she would make it up to her soon. Melissa agreed to let her go on her own but not before making her promise to call her if she needed anything at all, she'd agreed.

Diana slowed her pace, she had put enough distance between her and the house. She doubted they would come after her now, even if a small part kind of hoped Adam would. She scolded herself, he wasn't hers anymore. He was Cassie's now. She should not think or hope for such things anymore. The pretty brunette reached the edge of the forest and walked along the road and sighed, hoping she would make it back into town before the sun completely set. 'Maybe running off like that had been a bad idea,' she thought. A few minutes passed when she heard a car approaching from behind. She had every intention of just letting it pass her by but it slowed down next to her. She cautiously turned to see who it was and was a bit caught off guard when she saw the person behind the wheel… Jake. The last person she expected to see. Not that she expected anyone, really.

She stopped walking and Jake shifted the gear to park. He rolled down the window and stared at her through it, clearly not knowing how to approach her. Not that she had any idea on what to say either. They had never really interacted outside of those moments with the circle before, and even then they wouldn't share words unless it was necessary for them to do so.

Jake shifted in the driver's seat uncomfortable with the current situation and cleared his throat, "Um, do you need a ride back into town or something?"

Diana opened her mouth and hesitated for a second before biting her lower lip and nodding. She figured the faster she could get home, the faster she could forget or come to terms with what she just found out. He unlocked the passenger's door and she climbed in. He shifted the gear into drive and they drove off. They rode in a semi-awkward silence. They knew each other enough to be near one another within close proximities but not nearly enough to be one on one. She bit the inside of her cheek nervously and every few minutes she would steal sideway glances at him. She couldn't tell what it was that he was thinking. Not that she ever could really. She wondered what he was doing out here alone. There was so much that she didn't know about him, like why he left all those years ago. What he thought about Nick dying. She would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about him but she never let her curiosity win and also because of Adam. Jake usually just showed up when the circle or Cassie needed him then went on, on his merry way. She knew that he had worked with the witch hunters but had come back to help them. Diana still didn't trust him completely but she trusted him enough to know he wouldn't hurt her. He had proven as much on past occasions. A part of her felt guilty for not bothering to try and make him feel like he was part of the circle, because he was. They lost Nick but gained him in his brother's wake. And even though mistakes were made, he seemed to be trying now. That should count for something, right? She must have been full on staring at him because he spared her a quick glance before asking if something was wrong.

She shook her head and dropped her gaze to her folded hands that were resting on her lap before turning to stare out the window. Another silence stretched out between them before she broke it.

"Cassie and Adam are together," she whispered. Not fully comprehending why she voiced it out loud. 'Because he understands what it is to love someone who's in love with someone else', her inner voice said. She bit her lower lip and slowly turned to look at him. At first glance he appeared unfazed, almost like he hadn't heard her. But, the tight set of his jaw told her otherwise. He had heard her. Something else, she couldn't figure out what it was, told her he already knew. Had probably known for a while if not from the start. Was she that oblivious to the people around her? How had she missed it? Wow, was she pathetic. Everyone in the circle probably knew except her. She felt like laughing, and she would've done so if it weren't for Jake being there. He probably already thought her to be some poor sad little girl, she didn't need him to add crazy to the list too.

"So you finally found out," he said. Not bothering to beat around the bush. She could only nod in response. Something that she had come to know about him was that he didn't sugar coat anything. He was straight up and told it how it was and not in a patronizing way or to make you feel bad. He just saw no need to go around in circles. He went straight to the point of the matter. It was something she appreciated in people.

Jake turned the car onto her street and drove past a few houses before stopping in front of her home. She mumbled a quiet thank you and reached for the door handle. Before she got the chance to open it, she felt his hand on her shoulder, confused she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. He licked his lips and said, "Knowing won't make a difference. It won't hurt any less. He won't choose you. There's no point in crying over it. Just deal and move on." She frowned at his harsh words and he pulled his hand away so she could continue to get out of the car. He might have been too harsh on her but his intentions weren't to hurt her, or at least she didn't think he wanted to hurt her. With Jake you weren't always sure what his intentions were, he was so good at keeping things to himself. Which was also one of the reasons she still didn't fully trust him. She took a few steps on the sidewalk then stopped and turned around to look at him once more before continuing towards the porch of her home.

As she stepped through the threshold, into her home and heard the sound of his car's engine as he drove off, she understood what he had tried to do.