A/N: I don't own BH 90210. Dylan and Brenda breaking up in S2.

"I need to break up with you." Brenda said, quietly, with determination.

"No." Dylan shook his head. "No." he gripped the steering wheel as if it was a life preserver.

"I need this."

"I need you." Dylan closed his eyes and rested his head against the steering wheel. He could feel Brenda slipping away from him, and he suddenly felt his whole world shift around him.

"And I need you to listen to me." Brenda turned his face so he had to look at her. "This is too fast, and too scary. I need time to think."

"I know." Dylan nodded. "I know that you need time, and I want so badly to give you all the time you need. But I'm selfish, and I'm only thinking about myself, and my needs. The only thing that keeps me from going over the edge most days, Brenda, is you."

"That's not fair."

"I know it isn't. It isn't fair, but life isn't fair. My life certainly isn't."

"You're doing so well. You're sober, and you're happy, and you've been doing great."

"I do so well because of you. You're my lifeline. I'd be lost without you."

"I can't hold that burden for you. I can't, Dylan. I'm not strong enough. You can't put that on me."

"What should I do?" Dylan asked. "What do you want me to do? I can't lose you."

"Talk to someone about it. Someone who can help you."

"You mean a therapist?"

"Or Brandon, or Steve, or someone else you trust."

"I'll do anything that you want me to do." Dylan said, desperately. "Just tell me I haven't lost you."

"As a friend, you'll never lose me." Brenda touched his shoulder, and he flinched as if she had burned him. "But as your girlfriend, I need time."

"How can you do this to me?"

"And how can you do this to me? I need time, and space, to think about my life and what I need it to be. How can you justify this? Demanding that I stay with you so that you won't spin out of control? You need to have control of your life before it has anything to do with mine."

"You're right." Dylan nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Take me home?" Brenda asked, softly.

"Yeah, okay." Dylan nodded, and sooner than he liked, he was dropping her off at her house. "Brenda," he said, before she got out of the car. She paused, unsure of what he would say. "No one has ever stood up to me like that. I love you, and I needed that more than anything else. Maybe while we take a break I can figure out who I am supposed to be, too."

"See you around?" she asked, hopefully. She knew that he understood.

"Definitely." a rare smile crossed his face, and Brenda smiled in return. In time, everything would work out. She knew it, and best of all, Dylan knew it, too.