Title: The Hardest Thing

Summery: After a night of passion, Manny finds herself harboring an enormous secret that could destroy her friendship with Emma.

Authors Note: I'm sorry if the characters seem OOC, but if you'll just bear with me for a couple of chapters, I promise they will adjust. And I'm sorry if the writing is a little crappy at first, I promise it gets better. Takes place...after what it feels like to be a ghost I guess. I didn't realize how short the chapters were when I wrote them, cuz I wrote it all in the same document. So I'm going to do two chapters at a time.

Oh, and when I wrote (chapter 6, I think) breaking all of the rules, I used the love scene here for that one, but it actually belongs in this story, because I wrote this months ago.

Chapter 3
That Night

She didn't jump at his kiss, or pull away. It was like she had wanted it, too. She didn't resist it at all, she just melted into him, kissing him more passionately. He kissed her deeply, slowly at first. But it was like someone had stuck a lighted match into a bottle of gasoline and their passion just exploded. They couldn't keep their hands off each other. She was running her hands across the back of his neck, and down to the waistband of his jeans. She ran her hands back up to his chest, tracing the outline of his muscles. He loved her touch, tender and eager but somehow teasing at the same time. He had wondered for a long time what it felt like to be touched by her, and now he knew. Now he didn't ever want her to stop. He ran his hands along her shoulders, taking in the smoothness of her skin, the softness of her hair, the shape of her body. He ran his hands down to her legs and back up again, feeling her breasts momentarily, not wanting to offend her and not wanting the kisses to end. She pressed her body against his, until there was no space between them. His touch made her feel alive. She had never had somebody touch her as lovingly as he did. It made her quiver. He ran his hands back down to her legs and lifted her up to sit on the edge of the counter in front of the sink. He couldn't stop touching her. He just kept moving his hands back and forth, feeling the skin between her tank-top and shorts, sliding one hand up the back of her top, placing the other on the back of her head.

She pulled away finally, leaving him out of breath. "We can't do this here," she whispered hungrily.

He didn't want to let her go long enough to get down stairs. But he watched her slide off the counter and on to the floor, he watched the way her body moved as she led him downstairs. When they reached the bottom, he reached out and turned her around before he could stop himself. he kissed her again, deeper than before. He ran his hands down her body, lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him, running her fingers through his hair as he carried her to her bed. He laid her down on it and pulled his shirt over his head. He tossed it aside and bent down to kiss her. She sat up and kissed his chest, his stomach and back up again, kissing his neck and his lips. He slid his hands underneath her tank top and peeled it off. He loved the way her skin looked in the moonlight. He kissed her neck and her chest and ran his hands down the sides of her legs.

"Is it okay?" he asked her anxiously.

"Definitely," she said, pulling him down on top of her.

"I wish you could stay down here with me," she said dreamily after they had finished. She watched him pull his boxers back on.

"I can," he said, "I'll just set the alarm clock for five-thirty and be back upstairs before anybody comes down."

She sat up and pulled her clothes back on. "Lock the door, then," she asked. "Just in case."

He ran up the stairs and locked the door. He climbed in next to her and she curled up in his arms. She loved the way it felt to be held by him. She would have stayed there forever.

Chapter 4
The Morning After

The alarm clock woke her up at five-thirty the next morning. She rolled over and smiled at Sean, who was just waking up. Then the reality sank in, and she jumped out of bed. "Oh my god," she said. "Oh no. Oh my god," she repeated over and over.

"What?" Sean sat up. "What's wrong?"

"I cannot believe I did this to my best friend," she ran her hands through her hair like she wanted to pull it out. "This is going to break her heart." Her eyes clouded over with tears, she started feeling sick.

The guilt began to sink in to Sean, as well, and a knot began to form in his stomach. "You can't tell anybody about this," he said, standing and going to her.

She nodded, wiping tears from her face. "I'm sorry...I..."

"Sh," Sean brought a fingertip to her lips, "it's okay. I'm sorry. I should have stopped."

She pulled away from him. "Lets just not talk about it okay?"

Sean cleared his throat, "I should go," he said.

"Yeah," Manny said, dropping down onto the bed.

He grabbed his jeans and pulled them on. He grabbed his T-shirt, and then stopped. "Are you okay?" he asked Manny, who was sitting on her bed with her arms wrapped around herself. She looked shattered, heartbroken, as if she had found out that her best friend had slept with her boyfriend.

She nodded, not saying anything.

"You sure?" He asked, lingering in front of her bed.

She nodded again and looked at him. her eyes were red and puffy, the tip of her nose was flushed. She pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I'm fine. Can you please leave?" she asked, her voice cracking.

He looked a little hurt, but he nodded his head and turned to go up the stairs. Once she heard the door shut, Manny curled up in her bed, trying not to cry. One of the best nights of her life had to be followed by one of the guiltiest mornings. It isn't fair, she thought, there had been so much passion. Had it only been lust? Or was there something deeper? It doesn't matter now, she thought miserably, because he's Emma's boyfriend not mine.

Sean plopped down on the couch, putting his head in his hands. How did this happen? he asked himself. He'd never actually planned to make a move on Manny. But he made more than a move. He made love to her. He jeopardized his relationship with Emma, but more importantly he'd jeopardized Manny's friendship with Emma. He sighed and sat back on the couch. But what's worse, he remembered, is that in the heat of the moment, he'd forgotten to wear a condom.

A/N: So, love it? Hate it? Let me know because I've got at least four more chapters written, but I wont post until I get those reviews...:)