Disclaimer: No, I don't own Grey's Anatomy. Lyrics used belong to The All-American Rejects.

A/N: I was actually working on this before the spoilers concerning Mark/Lexie came out and I thought about changing this around to suit the spoilers but yeah, I can't do that because I refuse to acknowledge them. It just…This isn't character growth; this is shooting our favorite couple to Hell. Anyway, I will not rant.

This is going to be in two parts and I think this is pretty much AU because it doesn't follow any particular storyline in the show, and Sloane hasn't arrived so…Yeah. Anyway, please, let me know what you think! (:

They have a fight.

It's stupid really (and he's going to regret it later) but for now, he storms out, not caring that she's left in the room alone, her tears seeping through her skin, because right now, it's her fault. It is her fault he can't control his words because it's her damn fault she's so insecure.

It's not his fault that she won't listen to him, that she won't trust what he tells her.

It is her fault he is here.

It is Lexie's fault he knocks on her door, the sound vibrating through the quiet hallway.

It is her fault, of course, that he storms in, the door left open behind him as he crashes into her, his lips finding hers instantly.

Of course, it's always Lexie's fault.

She's drunk and upset and when he kisses her, when his tongue forces itself into her mouth, she doesn't think about the consequences. She doesn't think that she has other responsibilities. She doesn't think about her girlfriend, alone and upset, on the other side of the road. All she thinks about is him, the feel of his hands under her shirt and his hard body against her. Because that's all that matters, him, her, them in the darkened room, the only light coming from the hallway outside.

She thinks briefly, as he bites down on her lip, that she should really shut the front door. But there he is again, his tongue sweeping against hers, and she forgets about the open door, she forgets that she has a girlfriend and that he has a girlfriend. She forgets that this is wrong because right now, it feels right, it feels raw and hot and perfect.

And so, she forgets.

His breath is heavy as he kisses beneath her ear and pushes her shirt over her head. Next off is her bra, his shirt, and then simultaneously they unbutton their jeans, both hitting the floor at the same time.

They are against the wall next to the door and unwilling to wait, he pushes into her and her gasp is different to what he's used to, something he hasn't heard in so long and it produces an odd feeling within him. Later he will realize that it was guilt but for now, he ignores the feeling and pushes forward, drives into her with so much force he's surprised she doesn't break through the wall.

It's over far too quickly for their liking but they don't do it again. Instead, she moves away from him slowly.

He knows he should apologize (for a lot more things than just being rough with her) but he doesn't.

Instead he picks up his clothes and gets dressed and tells himself that he was right for doing this. Because, after all, it was her fault he did it.

It was her fault he just had sex with someone that wasn't her and it was her fault that he felt no remorse.

When Lexie sees him, she doesn't know how to react.

Frozen into place she watches as Callie runs her hand over his chest and they stare at each other for a moment and he murmurs something and she murmurs a response and Lexie is too far away to hear but she is sure the words exchanged are important, because before she has time to prepare herself, he is leaning down and suddenly his lips are on Callie's and it only takes her a second before she breaks, her heart shattering to the floor, her body soon following.

The noise alerts them to someone else in the hallway.

Mark sees Lexie on the floor, her hands scrambling to pick up the items that had fallen out of her bag when she had dropped to her knees. He knows he should move, he knows he should do something, he should tear himself away from Callie, rip his body and heart and soul away from the woman who used to control him, but he can't.

He doesn't know what to do.

Frozen, numb, unable to comprehend the fact that she must have seen him…them…

Fuck.

The thought jolts him into movement and although he hears Callie sigh and close the door behind him, Mark doesn't think twice about her. Lexie was all that mattered now.

"Here…" He murmurs, his voice hoarse and rough and heavy with guilt. He hands her the hand cream that has fallen from her bag.

Her whole body stiffens when she sees his outstretched hand and before he can react, she has jolted up and was already backing away from him. Slowly, Mark gets up, the hand cream hanging loosely in his hand. She looks terrified and crushed and a million other things that Mark caused.

"Lex…"

She winces when he whispers her name and he sees the tears trail down her face as she shakily places her handbag over her shoulder. Gripping her coat closer to her body, her voice trembles when she says, "I can't do this."

And with that, she breaks.

After she has left, her body shaking, her soft cries echoing in the hallway, Mark finds himself sitting outside his apartment. He can't go in of course, the reminders of Lexie are too apparent and far too heartbreaking for him to face. But he can't approach Callie either.

The shame and guilt is eating him alive.

He can't speak to Derek because that was just a lecture waiting to happen. Without Lexie, Derek or Callie, Mark realizes that he has no-one.

He doesn't know what hurts more, the loneliness or the guilt.

Lexie stares at Meredith's door for a good five minutes, unsure of whether or not she should go in. Although she was sure Meredith would be accepting, she also knew her sister and her husband well. They were going to lecture her. They would remind her that Mark would never change, that this was who he was. That this was the longest he had ever gone without cheating or hurting someone. It should be in the Guinness Book of World Records.

When she raises her hand to knock on the door, something pulls her back. She can't do this. People, she can't face people. Not yet. Not when her wounds were open and her heart was bleeding.

She needed to be alone.

He sees her on the floor, her knees up against her chest, and she is staring off into space as the tears roll down her face.

Approaching her slowly, unsure of himself, he wonders briefly if he should just turn around. Surely, him being here was an invasion of privacy but for some reason this thought doesn't stop him. Silently, he sits down on the bench in front of her and after a moment of watching her hiccup softly, he says, "Hey."

When she doesn't look up or show any signs of recognition, Jackson sighs and is about to stand up and leave when her soft voice breaks the silence.

"He cheated on me."

She blinks and as more tears fall, Lexie murmurs, "With his gay best friend." Her face scrunches up and her words are sharp when she says, "How wrong is that? He just…" Her bottom lip trembles and unable to control it, a sob escapes her mouth with the words, "He cheated on me."

Jackson doesn't know what to say. He doesn't even know why he is in here because really, they weren't friends and he didn't care about her in any way. He was still an outsider (he probably always will be) and she didn't particularly like him. But as he walked by the locker room, he had spotted her on the floor, and his first instinct was that perhaps she needed help, perhaps she was hurt.

Well, she was definitely hurt.

Just not in a way that Jackson thinks he can fix.

Jackson sighs as he watches Lexie take a deep, shaky breath. When he had moved into the room, and noticed she was crying, he should have left.

He wasn't good with women and tears but instead, he stayed because she was upset and there was something wrong and although she may not like him, he found her…interesting. She amused him, with her crazy logic and hardcore ways. He doesn't quite know why that mattered now, but it had contributed to why he was in here with her, trying to find something to say that would comfort her.

Luckily for him, he didn't need to say anything because Lexie suddenly looks up at him, her eyes wide and dazed as she says, "He cheated on me. He…He, he slept with Callie and, and…I gave him everything. I, I trusted him and I…he was the one that I…He was…" She breaks off suddenly, and she frowns hard as anger shoots through her. "He said I was different. And, and I thought I was different because for once, he saw me. He really saw who I was. He didn't care that I'm not the prettiest or sexiest or, or…Before him, there was no-one that knew how I…"

She stops abruptly and it looks as if she is ready to punch someone because when she opens her mouth, the words shoot out of her like daggers. "God. I let him convince me that he had changed. I-I thought I changed him but no, he's still the same whore he's always been. God, how can I have been so stupid? Why am I so fucking stupid?"

Although he is initially shocked at her use of language, Jackson recovers quickly and says, "You're not stupid."

Of course, that is the wrong thing to say because her eyes narrow instantly and she hisses, "And how do you know that? Why are you even here?"

He ignores her last question and says, "You're not stupid for wanting to put your faith in someone else. You love him, of course you trusted him. You did nothing wrong. He's the stupid one for cheating on you."

Lexie calms immediately and her eyes are steady on his when she simply (and a lot more calmly) replies, "Thank you."

And that is all that is said between them before she begins to cry again. After a minute, he moves and sits down next to her. After another minute or two, his hand reaches out to cover hers and he rubs comforting patterns on her skin because he realizes that although they may not have known each other for long, Jackson already knew that Lexie Grey was probably the most kind-hearted, intelligent, interesting person he would ever have the privilege to meet and there was no reason why she deserved to be treated like this.

When Mark walks past the locker room and sees her on the floor, Jackson's arms now wrapped safely around her, fury rages through him and he wants to crash into the room and drag the little punk to his feet.

But he doesn't.

He holds back because Lexie is asleep and Jackson looks peaceful and at least, Mark thinks, someone is there for her.

Someone that could give her what she wanted.

Mark realizes that he is too screwed up to ever have a real relationship.

Too bad he realized this when it was too late.

He had already found the love of his life, and now, he could never have her.

It's been two weeks.

Two weeks of sleeping on Meredith's couch because the attic held too many memories for Lexie. Two weeks of ducking behind walls when either of them comes into view at the other end of the hallway, two weeks of feeling drained and faint and avoiding being on their services.

After two weeks, Lexie thinks she should be capable of dealing with this. She is a grown woman; she should not be jumping into store closets in order to avoid her boy–ex-boyfriend.

But when she sees them together at the end of the hallway, her heart stops and Lexie feels all the life drain away.

She couldn't do this.

Even after two weeks, she couldn't do this.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

But then, before Lexie has the chance to run, Mark walks away and Lexie is left to stare at Callie who seems a lot more drained compared to the last time she had seen her.

Neither of them notices her.

Of course, she thinks dryly, because everything has regressed backwards and once again, Lexie Grey is invisible.

Suddenly, Lexie wonders if Arizona knows.

She hasn't heard anything. Lexie had been so consumed with how this ordeal affected her that she hadn't taken the time to consider Arizona's feelings.

The thoughts cause a surge of rage to hit her.

They didn't deserve this. Arizona didn't deserve to be pushed and shoved to the side because of a cheap fuck, and neither did she.

With a new flare of life, Lexie turns around and storms in the direction of Peads.

"I'm giving her time to think about what she's done."

Lexie blinks rapidly at Arizona, the woman's calm response causing Lexie to pay full attention. "How…" She breaks off as she shakes her head. "Why are you so calm about this?" Suddenly, her arms are flying in the air and Lexie leans in, her body demonstrating her outrage for her. "They cheated on us! Th-They…God, why are you so calm? Why are you acting as if this doesn't matter because they had sex with each other, they didn't care that they had partners because they fucking ch–"

When Arizona's hand slams down onto the table, Lexie stops abruptly.

Slowly, Arizona turns to face Lexie, the burn of tears glazing her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she looks down briefly before glancing up at Lexie, her back rigid. "Because, Grey, they had their reasons, and don't look at me like that because I am not saying what they did was right, it was so, so wrong, but I'm trying to be understanding here because they had their reasons, as messed up as they were, they had their reasons and there is no use in going over this again because…" She breaks off and sighs, "Just give them time."

They stand in silence for a moment, Lexie unsure of what to say before a thought occurs to her and although she is trying not to cry, the emotion slips into her voice as she chokes, "So…It's our fault?"

Arizona shakes her head and sadly wipes away the tears that have slipped down her face. "No. No, I'm not saying that. But in their mind they had their reasons, whether or not the reasons to cheat involved us or not…Well, we don't know that yet." She shrugs and tries to smile. "We just have to wait until they realize that they still want us."

Her words cause Lexie to take a step back. "And…you're just going to accept her back?" Her voice is low and hoarse and Lexie begins to shake her head slowly, the thoughts running through her mind completely absurd. "After what she did to you, you're just going to accept her back? You…You're going to forgive her?"

When Lexie takes another step away from her, Arizona sighs and looks at her dejectedly. "Yes," she whispers, her voice heavy with unshed tears. "I love her Lexie, and I'm not throwing that away because I can work through this." She sniffs and tries to look anywhere besides Lexie's shiny, bright eyes. "I know we can work through this and call me crazy, but I want to have faith in her. I need to do this because…She is the best thing that has happened to me in so long and if forgiving her means I get to be with her for longer, then so be it." Finally, Arizona looks at Lexie and when their eyes meet, Arizona whispers, "If she still wants me, I'm taking her back."

Lexie stares at Arizona, her eyes not giving away to the fact her heart is slowly breaking again, and after a moment, she slowly says, "I guess, it's your choice."

Arizona nods and sighs, before she runs a hand over her face. Although she tries to smile, it doesn't quite reach her eyes when she says, "When he comes back to you, I hope you give him a chance, Grey, because we've all seen the way he looks at you. He loves you so much and if he's sorry, if he says he's truly sorry, then believe him."

Turning around, Arizona gathers her files from the desk behind her before she sighs and walks towards the door. When Arizona approaches Lexie, she touches her arm and smiles slightly before gently squeezing Lexie's arm.

"Have faith in him, Lexie," Arizona murmurs as Lexie looks up at her, her eyes wide and her breath stuck in her throat. Arizona averts her eyes and despite her dejected voice, she whispers, "Have faith."

It's a new day
It's a bright day
It's just that
You've been broken
...fifty pieces