AN: I do a '1,000 reader's for last month' thank you story to post within the first week of the next month, but this month just blew me away! I want to thank the 1,739 visitors that went to my stories this month! This is my gift to you, I hope you like it!
She could remember it happening, one time in two different realities; standing in the shower, tears pouring down her face, covered in soap and conditioner, feeling a level worse than awful and disgusting.
"You're not very nice to him, are you?," Her mother had commented, in the universe without the Doctor.
"You were very rude to him, Amelia Pond!" Aunt Sharon said, in the universe with the Doctor.
She had called him to yell about how wrong they were, to complain about it, and when she mentioned it, he had kind of gone quiet. And, even though Rory had tried to assure her that she really wasn't, she remembered the hurt in his eyes from all the times she blew him off, or sat outside crying, praying someone would take her away 'from all this'. She'd pressed him, begged him, to tell her what she had done wrong.
He said, "Nothing, Amy. You didn't do anything wrong at all."
"Then what's wrong? What did I do?"
"You didn't do anything." And he had sounded sad.
"What didn't I do then?"
"Amy, it's nothing. They're making mountains out of mole hills." He sounded annoyed then, and she couldn't understand it. And it was only a 'she', not a 'they'. And a mole hill implied that there was something to make of 'it'. Not that she was quite sure what 'it' was yet.
"I have to take a shower." She said, bluntly. "Gotta go."
"Okay," He replied, a bit hesitantly, "See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah." She said, confused as to why it sounded like it was a question, "Course." She paused, "Definitely. Yeah."
"Yeah." He replied softly, "Course. Bye then."
"Bye." She didn't even bother sounding upbeat. She thought she heard a soft, confused, 'okay' before she hung up the phone.
And as she coated her violently red hair with conditioner, it hit her. She was a bad girlfriend. The idea had never occurred to her before, but, looking back, not just at Rory, but her other boyfriends, she was. Before Rory, being a bad girlfriend could go unnoticed; the guys she dated were worse boyfriends.
The problem with Rory was that he was a good boyfriend. A really good boyfriend.
(There were other problems with Rory, that she would discover when they traveled with the Doctor. He had this awful habit of dying in noble ways, and that gave her nightmares, even worse than the one she used to have. The one where one day, Rory would wake up and discover that she wasn't worth it, that she wasn't what he deserved, and he would leave her, like everyone else.)
She slid to the floor of the shower, allowing the water to pour over her, and wash away soap and conditioner as it mingled with her tears.
Then she heard the doorbell ring. She wrapped herself in a towel as she stepped out of the shower, not even wanting to waste the time turning off the water, in case it was Rory.
Her mother-or aunt, depending on the reality-answered the door first. It was Rory, but he look mad, madder than she'd ever seen him. She stepped back from the railing, and pressed herself to her wall. She didn't want Rory to yell at her-ever.
But he didn't ask for her. He just glared at the one who answered the door and asked, "What did you say to her? Don't look at me blankly, you've upset her. Amy is fragile. She doesn't need someone under-cutting her all the time. Amy needs to hear that it's all okay even if it isn't. And she needs to hear that it okay when it is. Even more so, because she can tell when everyone's lying to her, so if it really is okay, you tell her. But that's not the point, because Amy and I are okay. And she is wonderful." And her parental guardian in this world took a step back, insulted. "So what did you say to her to make her think we weren't or she isn't? Amy!" He yelled up, calling for her, "What did she say?"
Amy took a step into their sight, and repeated the phrase that was running though her head, making her feel more guilty with each passing second. And he stared at her for a second and then gave her mom or aunt this look. It was a scary look, and Amy didn't even know Rory could do a look like that. (But, when she was older, she remembered it as the look in his eye when he shot that Dalek to save her.)
"Thank you Amy," It sounded as if he was dismissing her from class, and she took a step back where they couldn't see her to open and close the bathroom door. She tiptoed back to where she could hear his quiet voice.
"You will not make comments about our relationship anymore to either Amy or I. Because, frankly, I don't want to hear it, and Amy doesn't need to. I am perfectly content to be Amy's kinda-sort of boyfriend, because being allowed to be her anything is better than nothing to her. She's scared, and she's hurt, and she's the best thing that ever happened to me. And I don't mind much that she flirts with everyone but me, or that she ignores me for all of her friends. She'll always come back. No matter how far she goes, no matter with who, or for how long she's gone, she will come back. And I would wait forever for her." And then, Rory, being cursed with good manners said, "Good night." opened the door, and went home for the night.
She stood there, opened mouth for a few moments, before she went and sat in the shower. "I'm the worst girlfriend." She whispered to the pale almost-refection of the water pooled in the bath.
In one reality, her father jovially called up the stairs "to leave some water for the rest of Leadworth!"
In the other, her aunt yelled at her to come down stairs and explain herself.
In both, she went to her room and sat there, waiting for tomorrow.
Thank you so much, all of you reading this! That made my day when I finally checked the stats, I'll have you know! Please drop a review, compliments and critiques and criticisms all welcome!