A/N: Once again it would appear I must apologize for how long it has taken me to update! Senior Year is turning out to be insanely busy! I'm very glad that you have stuck by this story however and am extremely grateful for your support. Hope it was worth the wait! I'll try my hardest to keep the updates more frequent! Lots of love =)

Best Friends? More like Soul Mates

Daniel stormed through the streets of Paris barely noticing the beautiful sites that generally caught his eye in this fabulous city. But one scene kept replaying itself over and over in his frazzled brain, as though it was on constant replay and there was no way he could pause it. Betty chose Connor. The rational part of his brain told him this wasn't true, the she didn't wish to be forced to make a choice at all, and that he had been the one to storm out. But he felt too betrayed to be rational at that point.

Betty chose Connor, Connor Owens, Molly's ex-fiancée, his mortal enemy. The man who single-handedly almost destroyed the company his father had built, the man whom he had once been foolish enough to call a friend. That fact stung worse than anything else. True, Connor had been a friend for a long time, but he was able to move past getting betrayed by him. Lord knows enough people he had once called friends had betrayed him in the past. This however was different because Betty was different. He had never let anyone in as completely as he had let her in, not even Molly. And the thought that she could betray that trust, the one it had taken him an entire lifetime to give it away, made him question if he would ever truly be able to open his heart up to someone else so fully.

Daniel wasn't sure how long he sat on the park bench that day, but when he finally decided to glance up he noticed the street lights had come on and the city had darkened before his very eyes. He wrapped his jacket around as a cool chill developed in the night air and slowly made his way back to his hotel, trying hard not to think of much of anything. As Daniel arrived at his destination he could still feel the sting of Betty's betrayal aching so clearly in his wounded heart.

He traveled up the elevator and down the hall toward his room still in a foggy daze. Considering for the first time how he could go about his life now that Betty would no longer be a part of it. He vaguely wondered how he had even lived prior to her arrival four years ago in a ghastly Guadalajara poncho and a smile full of braces that oddly fit her completely. He tried his hardest to imagine a life without her insane little pep talks, brightly colored outfits, and cheery disposition, but nothing seemed right. His world without her was like a rainbow with no pot of gold at the end, a meaningless show.

"Daniel…" he heard when he opened the door to his room, and had he not recognized the soft, sweet voice he might have remembered to be frightened that someone was in his room.

"Betty, what the hell are you doing here?" he questioned, the relief he felt at having heard her voice being replaced with the anger he felt was only appropriate in the given situation.

"I've been here for hours, where were you, I was starting to get really worried." She stated, not moving from the spot in which she sat while she watched him close the door and approach her, the anger in his voice echoing the pain in his eyes.

"I'm sorry; I was sitting in the city. Wait, no I don't need to apologize and I don't have to tell you where I was. I don't owe you an explanation."

"You are right, Daniel. You don't owe me anything, except the respect I deserve. Maybe you forgot but we are…were friends at one time, not too long ago." She finished, knowing she had no right to be angry, but feeling hurt just the same.

"Friends? Betty what the hell would you know about friendship? Friends respect each other, confide in each other, and friends understand that certain boundaries aren't meant to be crossed. Friends know they don't fuck their friends mortal enemy and then go out to coffee and act like nothing has changed." Daniel saw the hurt look in her eyes as his words escaped his mouth and he knew he should resend them immediately, that he never wanted to see her in that much pain, but something about the pain that she put him through made it seem almost okay to hurt her, almost.

"What? So that's how you see me now? Less than a friend because I dared to fall for a guy that you don't like? Not true because I happened to find love in the most unexpected of places. Oh wait no you refuse to see that I love him because you think I did this for sex? Or wait how did you phrase it? I fucked him? How vulgar Daniel, I really thought that you had changed, but way to prove everyone, most of all me, wrong." she cried out, tears falling from her cheeks as she spoke, and with each one that fell Daniel felt the most important person in his life slipping away from him.

"No, Betty, I don't see you like that. You want to know what I see when I look at you? I see an incredibly smart, talented, resourceful, interesting, funny, brilliant, and beautiful young woman. I see a girl who had a dream and did everything she could to accomplish it. I see someone who is loyal and kind, someone who would do anything for a friend, and a girl who always, always puts herself second if you need a helping hand. But I can't reconcile the girl that I know with the one I saw standing in front of me a few hours ago. How could this girl, my best friend, hurt me on such a huge scale? How could you do what you did, knowing it would break my heart? Just…how?" he questioned, laying his heart on the line and falling to the floor, tears rolling down his face, the unanswered question lingering in the air.

Betty's heart broke to see this man, her best friend, laying in front of her on the floor, a messy heap, and tears streaming down his face, unable to voice how hurt he truly was. Seeing Daniel in this state made her wonder how she could hurt him in such a way. She knew everything he had been through in his life. How could she of all people add onto that pain? How could she let herself be the one who broke him? She flew across the room and flung herself onto the floor near him, attempting to put her thoughts together, to explain herself in a way that made sense. In a way that didn't seem so bad.

"Daniel, I don't know what to say. I wasn't thinking. I ran into Connor and he told me everything I wanted to hear. He was a handsome, interesting man who told me that there was a time when he was just like me, that he knew what it was like to be looked down on and seen as not really equal to the company he kept. I was intrigued that a man like that would look twice at me and when he thought me worthy to go after, attractive, I was dumbfounded but I felt special. That a man as attractive as Connor Owens would think I was a worthy date made me feel giddy. He was everything I wanted, and then he was more than I expected. He was kind and attentive. He listened to what I had to say and cared. He made me feel special and I feel for him. I ignored your history and what you would say when you found out because you wouldn't ever find out. He was a fling, a guy who makes you feel special and then leaves. But then he wasn't. He fell for me too. And then you were going to come and he was going to be here and I was scared, but I thought you would understand. I thought I could reason with you, I didn't think about the pain it may cause you. I'm sorry I didn't think how I can make it up to you. What can I do to make you forgive me Daniel? I'll do anything. I promise!" and then he looked up at her his eyes shining a gorgeous blue with newly fallen tears and she knew no matter what he asked she would do it. Even if it meant giving up Connor, because Daniel Meade was her best friend, and she suddenly knew no matter what it meant, making him happy meant the world to her, even if it meant she couldn't be.

"Betty I could never stay mad at you forever. You know that. You are the one person in my life that knows me completely and utterly and still cares about me. I'd be a fool to give that up. But please just for tonight at least leave me alone and let me think. I promise you that this is not the end of our friendship. I would never do that to you, but I really need to be by myself for a while and sort all this out in my head. It's a lot to process."

Betty wasn't sure whether she was relieved or terrified, regardless she understood and wanted to whatever Daniel thought would be best for their friendship. "Okay, Daniel, I understand completely. And when you are ready to talk call me, I'll come alone. I know it doesn't always seem like it, but I need you in my life Daniel. You aren't someone I simply want to be a part of my world, you are someone I need to go on." she smiled as she noticed his eyes refilling with tears, wondering if her own tear filled eyes made her look as vulnerable to Daniel as he looked to her at this moment. She bent down and placed a tender kiss on his forehead before turning and giving him the space he asked for, she just really hoped she was right to oblige.

As Daniel watched her sway out the door he couldn't help but be relieved by the words she had just uttered. She needed him in her life as much as he needed her in his. It wasn't a one sided dependency, they were co-dependent on each other. Something about the fact that she felt he was indispensable calmed him somewhat. He was still unsure about how he was going to handle the situation she had brought them into, but he knew with her at his side, whatever happened he would somehow make it through all right. With that thought he slipped under the covers and drifted off to sleep. He would think about everything in the morning when the world was full of possibilities, and coffee.


Okay so I don't really feel great about this chapter, but it is a stepping stone. They have matured so maybe their arguing has somewhat as well. Hope you enjoyed it, if so reviews would be loved!