A/N - Between Parker breaking his heart and the teaser for next week...I find myself wondering what would happen if Annie fell for Auggie while he's hung up on someone else and still only sees her as a friend...this is an exploration of how that might play out.

Disclaimer: CA is not mine.


Auggie had not technically done anything wrong. In fact when she reached out to hold his hand on the way home from Allen's and he pulled away, he had only been trying to respect the boundaries of their friendship, especially given that both of them were more than a little bit tipsy.

He was just being a gentleman.

So why was she so angry at him right now?

Perhaps it was because when she had leaned her head against his shoulder and whispered to him that she was falling for him, he had frozen up and completely pushed her away, informing her that they would talk about it when they were both sober.

It was the first time he had ever rejected her, and it hurt more than she had expected.

Mainly because she had no idea why. Why would he push her away now when he had never complained about the blurring of the lines that held their friendship back from becoming more.

He had moved to the other side of the cab and the rest of the ride was spent in stony silence, neither of them willing to lower their pride and begin the awkward conversation they now knew was inevitable.

Auggie had gotten out of the cab without saying a word to her, merely paying the cabbie and telling him to make sure Annie got home safely.

That was the first night Annie cried herself to sleep because of Auggie, and she vowed it would be the last. He had made it clear that he didn't want anything more than friendship between them, and she would simply have to crush any deeper feelings that had been developing. If only she had some idea how to do it.


Auggie closed the door of his apartment and made his way to the couch, sinking wearily into the well worn cushions which covered it. He had not meant to upset Annie but it had only been a week since Parker broke up with him and he was still reeling and heartbroken.

He had invested a lot of his emotions in Parker. Although it had been a short relationship, the shared connection over her brother had drawn them together quickly and intensely. She was the first girl since his revolutionary ex-girlfriend that he had filled in a Close and Continuing Relations form for, and receiving the approval for the relationship from Joan that afternoon had reopened the wounds that he was only just beginning to mend a week after the not-completely-unforeseeable break-up. He had known that 2 years was a long time to maintain a long distance relationship, but part of him had hoped that if he stuck around she would realize how well-suited they were for each-other. And he could have found ways to make it work, even if it meant using some of his build up of vacation days from work to visit her in the Peace Corps. But Parker had taken that decision out of his hands, and he wasn't sure how long it would take to piece his heart back together.

He didn't get deeply involved with people often, and when he did, it was wholehearted. It was only reasonable that he take some time out from the dating scene to heal. Or better yet, find the nearest hot girl and let her make him feel better. But Annie was too important to him to allow her to be one of those girls. The last thing he wanted to do was to use Annie as a rebound.

He had suspected for some time that Annie's feelings for him were beginning to deepen into something more than friendship but he had been so immersed in his relationship with Parker that he had ignored the warning signs. Now she had made it clear that her feelings went deep enough that he could hurt her unintentionally and he had no idea what he was going to do.

He should have told her about Parker while they were together but he had wanted some time to develop the relationship without everyone around him giving their opinions.

Clearly he would have to tell Annie about Parker now and it was not going to be an enjoyable conversation. How was he going to tell his best friend that he was completely hung up on someone else, who had just broken his heart? Was there any way to let her down gently and tell her that he just wasn't into her like that?

Burying his face in his hands Auggie groaned. He couldn't handle losing the two most important women in his life within the space of a week. He would have to find some way to make things right with Annie.

A/N Any interest in seeing where this goes?