Disclaimer: I do not own Psych in any manner nor am I associated with it in any manner.

This is for fun.

There was a knock on the door, Carlton answered it to find a face he had come to adore over the past year. A female he met under less than your ordinary circumstances. She looked sad however. Carlton let her in and was going to give a welcoming kiss, but she turned away.

"No, Carlton, I didn't come over to spend time." She covered her lips and tried her hardest to keep the lump in her throat from crying out. Tried to keep herself from letting his lips graze her own. She couldn't understand how she ended up here, not that part of her minded, but the other part knew how very wrong it was.

"You called and said you needed to come over. I said come over. Why else would you come over if not to spend time?"

"To tell you that I'm leaving Santa Barbara. To tell you these things just don't match up. I'm just inconvenient for you. I'm… All I could ever do for you is cause problems, problems socially, problems with your jobs, problems everywhere. I tempted you into this. I know I did. So… I'm leaving. I've been seeing this one guy for a while now. He's my age. We're going to run off together, move upstate. Make things easier for both of us. I'll just leave and you won't ever have to deal with me, okay? This makes it easier. Easier for you. Easier for me." Amelia wanted to kiss him so bad. One more kiss, a good-bye kiss it would be.

"Look, we've been fine so far. There's no reason we couldn't continue and what do you mean you've been seeing this guy for a while? You mean while we've been together?" Carlton expressed with a mix of concern and confusion, but still layered with his unique attitude.

"No, we haven't been fine. I'm too good to be anyone's little secret. I may be young, but I am not naive. I understand a scandal like this could not be let out. We started seeing each other before I even turned 18, not good for someone in your position. Not to mention, the fact that you're legally married, and as some people see, actively trying to repair your marriage. Could you even really say that we've been together, Carlton? He's someone who can take me out and treat me like we can be seen together. I'm not saying I have any issue with the way our relationship has been, but we both deserve the right to be happy, even outside from behind closed doors." Amelia began to turn back to the door she had hardly walked away from.

"Amelia, it will be fine. I promise. I don't understand when this happened. I, you're really leaving?" She nodded without turning fully around again and her hand clutched the doorknob. She urged herself to turn it, knowing it was the best choice for Carlton and her. She didn't want anyone to find out about the possible stain she could place on his record. He didn't need her. He shouldn't even think about her. The best thing she could do for him was leaving, explain nothing, just leave him.

'Wonderful, a get together with all of Victoria's friends, I absolutely love these. This is what I requested the day off for. Unbelievable.' Carlton thought to himself while looking around for a drink to put in his hand and waste the time until it was time to go home.

While Victoria was being chummy with all of her friends, which Carlton did not find the least one pleasant, his eyes perused the crowd. He hated to actually express he was miserable at these events. Every time they had gone out recently, he felt as though she was testing him. He loved her, he really did. He just felt something breaking. He knew it would be irreparable, but that didn't stop him from trying to prevent any fracture that could appear. All he had to do was pretend to not be absolutely miserable, it was a manageable feat. Five o'clock going to 'until'. He could go all the way to 'until' o' clock. 'Just grin and bear every time she looks at you, Lassiter' he thought.

"Hello," he heard a voice break his terrible crowded thoughts of avoidance. It's not that he didn't like to be in a group of people, it was just this particular crowd of people he did not like to be amongst. He shook his surprise and kept a cool and slowly turned to the direction from which the voice came.

"Yes?" he responded in a tone that clearly was asking 'why are you speaking to me?' and gave annoyed smile.

"Well nothing. I just saw you sitting by yourself and I went with the assumption that perhaps you are like me, and don't really find yourself coming up with much to say to most people who are here. You're Victoria's husband, right, the detective?" she held her hand out for an introduction. "My name is Amelia. I've met her a few times."

He shook her hand politely.

"Are you not having a good time? I wish I didn't have to be here but I'm kind of being forced to stay here." Amelia nodded towards the hosts of the backyard get-together. "Margaret and Wesley practically pushed me out here."

"Yeah. Kind of the same situation here, however, probably completely different reasons for being in a mandatory attendance to a bar-be-que" He took a drink of his beer. He didn't want to let out too much information. He didn't know this Amelia, who she knew, or how she was related to anyone at this party. He figured she seemed nice and innocent enough to have a little bit of chit chat. They continued to converse practically the whole time. Now when Victoria were to glance over in search of a miserable Carlton, she actually some him somewhat enjoying himself. He had found someone who wasn't just passed unbearable. This girl was smart and entertaining. His first instinct to treat as just another annoying friend of his wife's was incorrect he came to realize.

Eventually, they had escaped the sounds of the hustle and bustle of the party. Carlton surprisingly found himself very relaxed around Amelia. He was kind of disappointed he hadn't met her before tonight, not that he would let on to that. He was still trying to come off as his hard self but she wasn't phased by it. Most of all other acquaintances of Victoria's thought he was an absolute jerk. They were all wrong, they were just shunned by their first impression. He didn't care enough to trying and push past that. If that's what they thought, then that's what they would think. Did Victoria try to defend him in that sense? He didn't know. He never really thought about it. Regardless, Amelia was an interesting person. They shared interests. They were both deeply interested into history amongst other things. Too many other things to point them out.

Lassiter had continued his adult drinking as they spent the time talking. By this time, he was in a very comfortable state. Amelia hadn't been drinking, he had inquired for her reasonings. She just giggled and said she couldn't and brushed it off nonchalantly. He assumed she had a bad past with alcohol or with someone who was an alcoholic. He didn't care why should wasn't drinking. He's glad she was talking. Perhaps if she had been drinking he wouldn't have learned what an extraordinary person she was. If he didn't know better, he would recall his feeling he felt bubbling up inside of him as what it felt like to have a crush on someone. As if, as soon as they were separated, all he would be able to think about is the next time he would see her. With that being said, he didn't know if he'd ever see her again.

'Definitely need to see when the next get together is' he thought to himself, just hoping to see her again. He watched her and she lifted her wrist and adjusted her watch to check the time. He hadn't realized he had not heard a word she said until she repeated his name at least three times.

"What? Sorry, what did you say? Must be the alcohol getting to me." He gave a buzzed smiled. She laughed lightly at him.

"I said it's about 10 o'clock. Do you need to get going?"

"Probably do. However," he leaned in towards her "I need to tell you something before I get up to go. I've enjoyed this night, a lot. You give me hope for Victoria's friends. I think they were all assholes. But you, you are, you are not an asshole. You are whatever the opposite of the asshole is, not like anatomically speaking, because that would make you a mouth. I don't think telling someone they are a mouth is complimentary, however, you are an awesome mouth." He smiled and blinked slowly. "You're very pretty as well. Beautiful even. You made my night. I enjoyed it. I thought I'd be terribly miserable and pulled my hand piece out and shoot someone for entertainment." Amelia giggled. Carlton kissed her.

"Carlton?"They separated.

It was just a bunch of silence with a little bit of ums scattered. They said nothing. Carlton got up and headed to go find his wife.