Author's note: This just kinda popped into my head. It's loosely inspired by the Katy Perry song 'Thinking of You', but it's not a songfic. It's also the first time I've ever written anything in the first person, and it's going to be short. Enjoy! F.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters etc.
The worst thing about unrequited love is not that you've got this massive amount of emotion for someone that doesn't share it. I always thought that it would be; that is, until it happened to me. No, the worst part about it is that the person you love dates other people. And when the person that you love is your best friend, they tell you about it. So I'd been unable to escape the knowledge that tonight was the night of Abby's date with Sean.
Which is why, at 2 o'clock in the morning, I was sitting in front of my typewriter. I hadn't published anything in a long time; not since Landon tried to kill Abby. But there was a difference between not publishing and not writing. Agent McGregor was truly my alter ego; and his relationship with Amy Sutton was as complex as mine and Abby's was, but with one notable difference. Amy loved McGregor. Abby had said she loved me many times, but she'd always qualified it- like I love puppies- rendering it not meaningless, as I valued our friendship, but definitely worlds away from how I felt about her. I'd given up hoping that it would change, but as the years went on it seemed less and less likely. When we were dating I wanted a commitment from her; now I just wanted Abby, on whatever terms I could have her. But as that wasn't going to happen, I wrote about Amy and McGregor instead. I hadn't submitted much of what I'd written to my publisher- otherwise my next book would be in danger of ending up as a romance novel instead of a crime novel, and I didn't think Tony would ever let me live that down.
The sudden quiet as the soft jazz music in the background finished playing startled me. Snapping out of my reverie, I glanced at the clock. 3.06am. Even Jethro had gone to sleep, curled up in his dog bed. I'd been sitting there for hours, doing one of the few things I hated- feeling sorry for myself. It was time to get some sleep.
...
The sound of Jethro's soft yip woke me. Groggily I looked over to his bed. He was standing, ears pricked, tail wagging gently. Being the highly trained animal that he was, he didn't alert to just anything. "What is it, boy?" I asked sleepily. He yipped again just as someone started to knock on my door. Grumbling under my breath- who on earth was here at 4 am? - I reluctantly crawled out of bed and half stumbled down the hallway. In the short time I'd been asleep, the storm that'd been threatening all day had finally broken. There was so much water on the peephole that I couldn't see through it. I pulled the door open, then hung onto the door jamb in confusion. Abby stood on my doorstep, soaked to the skin. Her presence wasn't that unusual- one of the things you got used to when you were friends with Abby was her turning up at any time of the day or night. After the first time she'd picked my front door lock, I gave her a key. One day it could prove awkward, I supposed, but I rarely brought dates home. When you were a computer geek that worked odd hours, dates were few and far between. When you were a computer geek that worked odd hours and were in love with someone else, dates tended to be even rarer.
What was unusual was the fury on her face, and the fact that she'd obviously been drinking. "This is all your fault, McGee" she snapped.