The Other Woman


Chapter Four: Caught Up


A giggle released itself from Amy's swollen lips and her arms wound themselves around Ricky's neck, nearly burrowing her hands through Ricky's ruffled hair…

Then she heard the click of a light switch and saw the light flood into the dining room through the kitchen opening from the corner of her eye. She stilled and felt a shiver run down her back.

"Amy?"

She put her hands on Ricky's pectorals, halting his ministrations, and then signaled for him to leave through the back door. She closed the back door just in time and heard the impending footsteps lead from towards the kitchen. She casually leaned against the counter top, straightening her shaken brown hair and the light came on. "Hey…what're you doing here?"

David stood at the opening, slightly surprised with a bag of groceries in his hand. "Um, your mother called me a while ago because she had another craving." He dropped the bag momentarily on the table. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Well, it is Saturday," She answered quickly. "And I got thirsty, so I decided to come to the kitchen for a drink." She explained as she went to the fridge, pulling out a carton of orange juice.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "So late in the morning?"

"Well," She thought quickly. "I get cravings too, so yeah, and it is morning." She said, pouring herself a glass.

David nodded and picked up the small bag. "I'm going to head upstairs and give this to your mother; she said it couldn't wait. Good night, Amy."

"Morning." Amy reminded.

David paused and looked back. "Right," David replied and headed up the stairs.

She heaved a heavy sigh and put a hand to her pounding heart. She didn't even want to think about what could've happened if David had caught her and Ricky kissing this late.

Then again, she didn't know what she would do if she was caught for a second time today. The first had already been achingly heartbreaking.

Walking towards the backdoor, she opened it and stepped outside where she discovered that Ricky was still there, lingering in the shadows. She wondered how long exactly he had been like that in her life. She bit the side of her lower lip anxiously as he approached. Somehow, it always felt like this with Ricky. An unsteady pulse, shallow breath, and an unsure prediction of what the situation would turn into. Maybe that was why she practically held onto Ben for dear life when she met him. Everything had been significantly easier. She could be secure, confident in his intentions, and would never have to worry about him straying off to some other girl.

Like Ricky did.

She had been so tired of being unsure of how her life would go and Ben had been like a prayer answered. And…could she really live her life with the first guy who happened to look her way? Everything with Ricky became complicated and hazy, as if she were in a cloud.

His hands felt cool against her cheeks and she closed her green eyes. The worry faded away from her features and she suddenly felt at peace with herself.

"Amy?"

Ricky's voice sounded calming to her ears and she nodded gently against his caressing fingers, signifying that she was listening.

"Did you mean what you said tonight?" He asked against the genteel breeze. "I mean, really mean it?"

She opened her eyes, dark green in the early morning and gave a small smile. "Of course I did." She bit her lower lip, her eyes beginning to glisten, "I just don't know if I could ever forgive myself for hurting him like that…" She trailed off wistfully.

He immediately crushed her already swollen lower lip with his, softening the mound. She could feel the fast pounding of her heart within her chest slow and speed up in the same moment. The heated frenzy they always entered when he desperately tried to make her forget. She put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself and he slows his ministrations, wrapping his arms around her…


Ricky walked towards his locker when he spotted Adrian, leaning against a locker conveniently placed near his with a far away look upon her features, making her them softer. He nearly wanted to pass them or turn in the other direction, but her amber eyes fell onto his and in a quick moment not to lose his pride, he walked over to his lock and gave it a small twist for it to open, pointedly ignoring her presence next to him to avoid any awkward conversation or confrontation.

Her eyes narrowed and she closely watched his movements, opening his locker door, putting his Statistics book in his locker, taking out his book for English Lit, until she grew tired of the charade and spoke: "How long are you going ignore me?"

"Depends. How long are you planning to stand there?"

Adrian gave a false smile. "Oh, come on Ricky. I thought we already had an understanding of each other." Her smile faded, "Or did that freshman make you forget that?"

Ricky looked at her, standing indifferently against the row of lockers as if she didn't care when they both knew how much she did. He could easily avoid this. Walk away, sweet talk her and make her feel good, but he wouldn't. She didn't deserve it, even if she was there. At the fragile juncture of his life, the birth of his first child, she told him that she loved him. Not liked, no teasing, not even a glint of mischievous intent in her eyes. And that scared him the most. He believed her. So he only promised to uphold to the one thing she told him, to stay in John's life and that was exactly what he was going to do.

With or without her.

And how was he going to do that, when she held such bitterness to the thought of him being around Amy when it inevitably meant he would be with his child?

He gritted his teeth and then scoffed. "How long are you going to be jealous of her?"

She answered quickly: "Depends. How long are you going to try to make her fall in love with you before you give up and get bored? A month? Two?" She crossed her arms and looked away from him. "I'm not going to wait forever, Ricky. I think you know that, too."

And just like that, she laid down her ultimatum. He did know that she wouldn't wait forever. All he would have to do was show up at her door one night and she would take him back because it was all she could do. That, and make him forget.

He became fascinated with the thought to suddenly end it all. This sick game that they loved and hated playing all at the same time. What could he possibly offer her, or anyone else for that matter? And what did she see in him that would cause her to say such a thing? The one phrase he never heard his own parents tell him and one that he wanted to hear for so long. Adrian would've given him anything, even her all, just for him. She could've told him it over and over again and meant it and all he would have to do was say it back and hold her in his arms.

He didn't want her to. He didn't want to know why or how or even when she began to love him. Maybe it had to do with growing up, but he was tired of taking the easy way out.

"I do know that, Adrian." He began steadily, "But who says I'll get bored? Maybe you don't even have to wait for me anymore." He shut his locker.

She abruptly looked at him, her expression startled. "What?" Her fine eyebrows rose, "You don't mean that…"

He looked at her one final time. "I think you know I do."


"I hate being 'friends'."

Ben smiled, expecting that sort of statement to come out of her mouth. "Any particular reason?"

"Yeah," She craned her head to look at him better. "First, it's hypocritical because who wants to be 'just friends'? That's something you say to an ex so you won't feel bad, or to someone who can't catch a hint. It's fake."

"And it's not possible to just stay friends with an ex-boyfriend or an ex-girlfriend?" He rubbed a tress of her hair in-between his fingers.

"They're called exes for a reason. As in excommunicated or excised or…"

"Another word beginning in ex?" Ben laughed and that earned him a slap on the chest.

"You know what I mean. An ex is done, over with."

"So, is this your way of saying that you're done with Ricky?"

She grimaced. "I've been done with Ricky, in case you haven't noticed that by now." She settled herself to lean against his chest and her gaze shifted downward as her tone softened. "I thought that if I gave him time and let him know that I accepted him for who he was that he would…I don't know, accept me. And after all of that time, I realized that just because we understood each other, it doesn't mean that we should be together."

She bit her lower lip and released a breath through her teeth. Was it so bad that she still wanted to be together, or was it even worse that she wanted to stay here too?

"You guys didn't officially go out, did you?" Ben asked suddenly.

Adrian huffed. "What's your point?"

"Well, if you never went out, then he wouldn't be your ex." He stated, "Ricky could be anything you want him to be, but that. He could even be some guy you once knew, eventually."

For one moment, Adrian felt release after hearing that, wanting to believe his words. To be able to pass Ricky in the hallways without regret or resentment or to even not think about him would be an amazing feat. Then she shook her head, as if that would happen. "Ricky will never be just 'some guy I knew'. Even if I wanted him to be."

Which she did. Does.

"Then what do you want Adrian?"

She smiled, "I want-"

A series of chiming beeps were heard and Ben sheepishly produced his cell phone as Adrian fixed him with a stern glare. He flipped it open and accepted the incoming text message. Adrian leaned over his lap to see that it was from Henry and the message clearly on the small screen.

The Wicked Witch of the West is coming your way.

She blinked and looked at Ben's face, which was beginning to blossom into a look of horrification. Adrian frowned, completely clueless. "O-kay…I'm pretty sure she was melted by a bucket of water." Ben shook his head quickly and rose from the couch, gathering his leather jacket thrown carelessly on the floor hours ago. He ran his hand through his hair as he rushed into Adrian's room. She waited patiently on the couch and a few minutes later, he emerged halfway dressed. Before she asked what the message was about, realization dawned on her. "Is the Wicked Witch the woman I think she is?"

He silently nodded and moved about the room, buttoning his shirt. She gave him a look of sympathy before giving him a questioning one. "Why do you guys call her the Wicked Witch?"

He chuckled nervously, "I accidentally spilled some water on her one day and she freaked out."

"Yeah, accidentally all right." Adrian laughed over the back of the couch, "You're such a geek, Ben."

He grinned, fastening his belt. "It's all part of my charm, along with my boyish good looks."

Adrian hummed, "I almost forgot about those." Adrian's playful expression dimmed. "You better get out of here, just in case."

Not that there was any reason to really worry. Even if Henry knew where Ben was, he wouldn't be able to tell how to get to Adrian's condo. The only thing Ben had to worry about was making up a good story as to why he wasn't at Henry's. Lying wasn't much of a problem for Ben nowadays, considering how…preoccupied his father was, thanks to Betty, his largely busted fiancée. For all he knew, is must've been her fault that he was now going to get in trouble. He gritted his teeth and pushed to the back of his mind. He needed to focus right now.

Adrian rested her chin on her arms as she continued watching him. The anxiety returned to his broad shoulders and she almost frowned. She just spent the last hour and a half relaxing him. Thankfully, he wasn't in the distraught state he came in. Then again, Adrian had practice with tending to the wounded and broken-hearted with her various methods...

"When can I see you again?"

His voice broke her state of thought and she smirked. "Don't know. Can you see me again?"

She somehow found herself attracted to his blush, especially when he tried to cover up the fact that he was looking at her body. How could he not? He would either be asexual, or gay.

...Which actually happened back in middle school. Not that she had known that the guy preferred males until he made it known that their friendship was just a friendship, but that felt like almost a decade ago.

"I think I can manage it, as soon as I get things sorted out." Ben said, breaking her train of thought.

She almost wanted to ask him what things these would be, until she realized that he and Amy were still technically in a relationship, meaning that they haven't officially broken up yet. To Adrian, it seemed that Amy broke off the relationship when Ben walked on her making out with Ricky. Of course, Ben didn't see things that way considering he was the type to want to talk things out, make them known without doubt. She sighed, at least that would make it easier to know his feelings for her, harder for her to tell him what her feelings were. It wasn't as if she came from a 'let's-discuss-our-feelings' type of family, but she felt comfort in knowing that she wasn't the only one.

"I want you to meet my dad sometime soon," Ben continued. "Maybe next weekend." For a few moments, Adrian chose not to answer as she contemplated. Taking this the wrong way, Ben hastily added, "If you want to, I mean. You don't really have to...I just thought-"

"Why?" Adrian cut him off, searching his features, "Why now?"

Ben's brown eyes softened, "We've been friends for a while, Adrian."

"You've never mentioned it before." She stated offhandedly.

"I didn't think of it before." He answered earnestly.

She sighed, "Forget it…"

Ben approached her when she broke eye contact. "What is it?" He asked as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Nothing." She sighed wistfully, "Drop it." She added for good measure. When he shook his head, she gritted her teeth. "Please drop it."

"Why don't you want to meet my dad?" He withdrew his hand and stuck it in his pocket instead. "If you don't want anything to do with me, then say it," He stated steadily.

A growl emitted from the back of her throat, "Are you kidding me?! You have me admit I like you and now you want out?" He gave her reproachful glance and she let out a frustrated sigh. "It's not that I don't want to meet your dad. It's just that I'm not the type of girl guys want to take home. I'm the type of girl they want for…" She gave a humorless laugh. "Other things, so, sorry for not being used to that type of thing."

"So, you do want to meet my dad?" A smile began to form on his face.

She grinned, "Who wouldn't want to meet the Sausage King?"


"Ahhh, that guy makes me sick!"

Ashley watched her father pace about the room for the sixteenth time now. "You don't say."

"I do say!" George began indignantly, "In fact, I oughta go and give him a piece of my mind! He thinks he can just knock up my wife and then complain about it afterwards. Oh, and then have you seen the way he looks at her! It's like she's some sort of obligation to him! "

George stood, fuming as these new accusations sunk in and apart from blinking, Ashley's face remained stoic throughout the ordeal. Running through the night's events in her mind briefly –like the fact that Ben walked in on her sister making out with her baby's father being one of them- she sighed and braced herself for yet another conversation. "Dad, maybe it's not that he wants to complain about it. I mean, this is his first baby. It's not like he wanted it to happen right now, at least."

George gritted his teeth, "He asked for a blood test."

A skeptical eyebrow rose upon Ashley's face. "What?"

"Yeah," He muttered between barely moving lips. "Can you believe that? He has the nerve to think that Anne and I would lie about that sort of thing." When Ashley crossed her arms and gave him a pointed glance, he opened his mouth incredulously. "Oh, com'on Ash! I may be a lot of things and heck, do a lot of things, but I step up to the plate when it comes to kids. As a matter of fact, I've done it twice, young lady!"

She sighed, knowing he was right. "Fine, but how do you want him to feel about this? Mom didn't even reach the third date and she was already having morning sickness. It's been months and you still haven't divorced her-" A pained look crossed George's features, "-not to mention the fact that he has to see you everyday because we live next to Mom and there's a distinct possibility that he may want to marry her soon so that his first child isn't a bastard. Of course he can't do that if you're still married to her, but…" When George began to fidget, Ashley continued. "That's your plan, isn't it? If you divorce Mom then she'll be free to marry David, so that's why you don't want to sign them."

"It's not that I don't want to sign them…" George began anxiously, scratching the back of his head.

"Then what is it?" Ashley asked, "If you don't love her and she doesn't love you, then why…?" George began to pace again with a renewed fervor and Ashley uncrossed her arms. "You love her." The statement was said with an unbelievable finality and George coughed in response. "How long?" Ashley asked.

George stopped, "How long what?"

"How long have you loved Mom, Dad?" Ashley asked quietly.

"I never stopped loving her!" He blurted out, "She's frustrating and opinionated and hard-working and pregnant and I still…"

"Love her," Ashley finished for him.

"Right. That." George agreed, "It's not that easy though, Ash."

"It is that easy. Why is it that adults make everything so complicated? So, you cheated on her and she got pregnant with her boss' kid." George appeared slightly stung with that one sentence. Ashley continued, "It's as if you expect each other to be perfect or, God forbid, normal. If you think about it, both of you were wrong, but that doesn't mean that everything should be thrown away over a mistake."

George sighed, "I'm an idiot, Ash." Ashley nodded her agreement and he continued, "And idiots don't get easily forgiven."

Ashley gave a slight smile, "They can be, if the other person realizes that they're an idiot too."


"Is there a reason why you're still talking to me?"

It was lunch and yet again, Adrian found herself sitting in front of Ben. She took another bite into her sandwich when he flushed of embarrassment and her eyebrow rose when he began to stammer uncontrollably. He cleared his throat and tried again, "Yes actually, there is. You said something to Amy yesterday, something that upset her."

Adrian swallowed, "Yeah, what's your point?"

Ben's face turned stern. "My point is that you won't say anything to upset her again. She just got back to school, the last thing she needs is someone making her feel bad, especially in her situation."

"You make her sound like she's diseased or something," Adrian began, placing her sandwich back on her tray. "Amy's a big girl now, she doesn't need you fighting her battles and if she has something to say to me, then she can say it to my face."

"I know that Amy can take care of herself," Ben began soundly. "But I'm her boyfriend and I can't have someone antagonizing my girlfriend without saying anything about it."

Adrian rolled her eyes. "Are you always so melodramatic? Jeez…" Ben continued to stare her down and she huffed, "No one's antagonizing your precious little Amy, but if I have something to say, I'm going to say it regardless of how she feels about it, okay?" She finished with a falsely sweet smile and left the table with Ben in tow.

"Adrian, promise me." He quickly fell into step with her.

"Promise you what?" She said with a flippant shake of her head.

"Promise that you'll leave Amy out of whatever is going on with you and Ricky."

"I don't make promises I can't keep," She muttered carelessly under her breath.

Ben stepped in front of her and grabbed her by her shoulders. "Promise me, Adrian!" She glared up at him and he slowly let go of her, still staring her down, "Just say that you won't upset her again," He sighed.

"I told you," She said through gritted teeth. "I don't make promises I don't plan on keeping."

"Fine, then we'll just keep having this conversation until you understand that I don't give up and believe me, I can be very persistent."

She paused, seeing the clear determination set in his brown irises and narrowed her eyes. Finally, Adrian growled in frustration, "Fine! I promise already, okay? Satisfied?" She sauntered off quickly in hopes that he wouldn't follow her and Ben watched her depart in the still hallway.

He quietly answered, "Yeah, I am."


Wow, it's been a while, but at least I'm writing again! The season premiere was pretty good for getting the ball rolling again as well. (Ah, the drama begins! It's like a novella!) So far everything's going according to plan, but this story won't be directly following canon (in some instances, yes, but not in others).

Oh, I um…did jump up and down when I saw that Ben/Adrian hug, though. Just couldn't help myself.

In other news, thanks to secretlifeaddicted44, hollowmeadow, KibaCanLickMe, Dance Alice Dance, and major ups to Princess Pinky. Probably the biggest compliment(s) I've ever received and by the one who set the standard for Ben/Adrian stories nonetheless. If you haven't checked out her story "Disoriented", I suggest you do so.

Next Chapter: Pressure

DAC