This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang, but with a whimper

-The Hollow Men, T.S Eliot

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"I don't love you."

She's angry, her hand tingling after she slaps him, and her lips tingle after he kisses her like they're still teenagers in high school and the Pacific Coast Academy student body is at the top of their problems.

Logan's sort of drunk and he's sort of not.

But she's all flustered and angry like it's old times again – like he's at PCA and he actually knows where his life is headed. And truthfully, he just wants to take her out of her turquoise-coloured bridesmaid dress while there's a marble statue of a Virgin Mary holding a baby Jesus right there.

He smirks. "And you love David?"

Logan's chuckling now.

Quinn places a hand on her hip, glaring at him like his laughter doesn't hurt her and bring out the Asshole (yeah, she's being crude) that probably never left.

"Nothing," he lies because this doctor David Do-Good is the ultimate punchline. "I just find it hard to believe you have with this joker," Logan looks past the flushed skin, rigid stance and the narrowed brown eyes (stillsobeautiful) behind her glasses (stillsoher). "Quinn, you don't love this guy."

He obviously over-indulges in the champagne during Chase and Zoey's wedding reception.

"Go find your wife, Logan," she says, voice hard around the edges because Logan Reese cannot weigh on her heart anymore and make her bring up teenaged memories to the forefront. It's not fair. "Be a decent human being for once and go be with your wife."

She shuffles past him until his grip on her elbow proves to be faster than her failed attempt to get out of there – away from him, away from stupid high school nostalgia because Quinn will not be stuck.

"Quinn."

Logan's saying her name evenly and she's slowly turning around, looking into the eyes of teenage boy rather the ones that belong to someone married and miserable.

She breathes in and wills her hands to stop shaking.

"I thought you were smarter than that."

Quinn loves David. She loves him so much. She loves the way he's so passionate about his job and helping others. He says things with such powerful and acts so warm with her and he will always be a safety net around her. She loves how they laugh. Quinn adores his sensitivity and the way he can just listen. He holds her close and tells her he loves her while watching old movies in black and white. There's no banter, no arguing, no palpable contention and she's breathing easier because being with David is full of simplicity. It's just easy.

"How do you know how I feel?" she questions, angrily forcing the tears back. "How do you suddenly gain knowledge about my emotions?" Quinn musters all the conviction in the world and pays to whoever's listening that it's enough. "We're not teenagers anymore and this isn't PCA. We've changed. Therefore, you know nothing."

She adds, not anymore, as an afterthought but Quinn's not supposed to counteract herself and gain some kind of leverage.

"I know you don't love this David guy. You know how?"

A bitter laugh escapes her. "Are you drunk?"

"A little."

Quinn rolls her eyes of him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Humour me."

"I'll make this short and sweet," he says loosely with a shrug because it's the one time he knows lightning won't strike him dead. God's not screwing him over this time (inyourface). It's the honest to God truth. "You don't love David because I don't love Annie. We always did click - in that fucked-up kind of way. But we did match."

Logan's wrong. Completely and utterly wrong.

"You're intoxicated," Quinn says, tightly. "Sober up and find your wife."

This time, she breezes by him this time and doesn't look back once even though she feels the heat of Logan's steady gaze along the back of her neck.

"You'll be back."

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Quinn has sex with David that night because she cares about him and loves him.

(because Logan Reese is a dirty filthy liar and cannot read her anymore .)

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And it all goes downhill from there.

A/N: Well, I didn't fall off the face of the Earth, but as I said in my profile, I feel like between me and Ariana's story, this arc has been resolved. I started this by myself at 5 am in the morning and Ariana and I collaborated and it basically blew up. But between me and Ariana's (Underneath All Elsewhere) stories, this has arc has been resolved. There was nothing I could do about it. So, I was cruising my hard drive and found this and just tweaked it a little.

This oneshot (uh, drabble) can be set before Neurotic as a backdrop. Take it as you will and review if you want. I've pretty much decided to dip my toes in another fandom, but hey, I may appear sporadic to write a drabble or two. That's up in the air. But all in all, thanks for the four of memories, love, PMs and support. It's been rad :)

-Erika

PS. The second & last part of Vanilla Twilight is twenty pages long and about seventy-five percent done. I think it will about thirty pages when it's done and posted up.

I will include an epilogue that is separate is really, it'll have three chapters instead of two.