A/N: I'm so sorry I took so long to post this. Technically I'm still not where I want to be with part eight due to some challenges with the content and the fact that's it's turning out even longer than these other long parts. But hopefully it shouldn't be an extremely long wait.

Thank you again to everyone who's reading:) And to Katie, I hope you're enjoying your first few days of college. And Katelyn, I hope you're safely back in China.

This part is a bit…depressing and I added a song to the playlist (the link to which is on my profile) that made me think of the chapter.


Heavy Hearts


VII. I don't know how long I can hold on, if it's gonna be like this forever

Chase made it through the walk back to his hotel to get his stuff and the whole flight from Kansas to LA without exploding. As soon as he got to his bedroom, he put two more holes in the wall. His hand bled this time. He didn't care.

He got in bed intent on staying there forever. Screw the rest of the world, there was nothing in it for him anymore.

-o-o-o-

Noah had found Nicole still in the hallway where her friendship with Chase ended shortly after midnight. When he asked why she was crying she left out most of the truth and simply said that her and Chase had gotten into huge fight and he wouldn't be in her life anymore.

Noah was nice enough to take her home- understanding that she didn't feel like being at a party anymore. She cried all night.

She pretended to be fine all New Years day as she celebrated with her family, her fiancé, and her future mother-in-law. But she wasn't okay at all.

She spent the day after New Years in her bed, crying enough to run out of tears. Her parents, having seen her with Chase a few years earlier, had pretty much guessed what happened. They tried to talk to her about it.

Her mom told her that if there was someone out there that had enough of her heart to hurt her this bad, maybe she shouldn't be getting married.

She didn't respond. Just like she didn't respond to anything else either of her parents said. They found the love of their life and that person loved them back. It was simple and easy and perfect. They didn't understand. And she didn't feel like talking about it.

-o-o-o-

After two days in bed, Chase was compelled to finally get up. And by compelled he meant that Dana burst through his door, jumped on him, and started hitting the crap out of him until Logan came in and tore her off of him.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked, scrambling to his feet.

"Because you're an idiot!" Dana yelled as she tried to rip free of her husband's firm grasp around her waist.

"I'm aware," Chase agreed rolling his eyes and plopping back into bed.

"What my wife means to say," Logan began, "is that we heard about what happened. And what the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't," Chase admitted, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I just," he sighed, "wasn't thinking at all. I had, however, been drinking quite a bit. But even if I hadn't been I still would have done something moronic. I keep messing everything up and I don't know why."

Dana had stopped trying to get free and Logan had relaxed his hold, but he wasn't about to let her go, he knew her too well. Nicole had told Dana every word though and she had been plagued by one thing in particular, "Why aren't you there fighting for her though? Did you not hear the part where she said she loved you? And you love her too, right? So, what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, I heard it," Chase said softly. He had been thinking about that a lot. He couldn't believe that she had loved him. She defined love the same way as he did and she had felt that for him. It boggled his mind. No one had ever felt that way about him. He couldn't believe he missed it. He couldn't believe he lost it. "When?" he asked suddenly, "When was she in love with me?"

"Uh…past, present, and probably future," Logan answered simply.

"No," Dana quickly corrected, "Probably not future after the things he said to her. If you said anything like that to me we'd be getting divorced. And he's especially got no chance at future since he's not there apologizing." Chase looked extremely regretful and guilty and it made Dana lose the urge to glare anymore. She sighed and offered, "But she was seriously in love with you. And it's not like you haven't hurt her before and she's still continued to love you after all that so maybe you have a chance." She added, in answer to Chase's question, "She thought she just had a crush on you at the start of freshman year, but by the end of the summer she was even admitting to me that she was hopelessly in love with you. That's why she left. Since you gave her absolutely no sign that you were even slightly interested in her she left to get over you. Then you guys started talking all the time and she fell harder. But then you still never did anything and you let her get away. And she let you go, because you weren't trying to hold on- or at least that's what she says, it doesn't make that much sense to me."

Chase got it. It made him regret everything even more if it was possible. But there was something that Dana had said that Nicole had too and he had been unsure of exactly what either one of them meant. He didn't want to ask, because he knew he couldn't possibly like the answer, but he did it anyway, "What have I done to hurt her? She said it, and now you said it, and I know I hurt her the other night, but what else did I do?"

"She knows it wasn't intentional," Dana prefaced, "but it hurt her every time you'd…touch her and act like it was nothing, say something sweet and only mean it as a friend, or..." Dana trailed off, not knowing how to explain it. She decided to go with an example, "You remember at our wedding when you danced with her?" He nodded and glanced away (he had regrets that night too). She continued, "It was times like that that really broke her heart. When you gave her hope by seeming like you were catching on to the fact that you should be more than just friends, but never ever making that final move and then so easily going back to just being…friendly." As an afterthought Dana added another time, "Or when you sang to her and never said anything about the lyrics of your not so spontaneous song choice. She thought that since you never said you meant them, maybe you didn't think about the lyrics at all. But they gave her hope, made her wait for you for the hundredth time, and you did nothing. So she moved on."

Chase looked completely destroyed. He confessed quietly, "I regret every moment I spent with her and didn't tell her the truth about how I feel about her. I have no idea though, absolutely no idea, why I didn't."

"It's a mystery to us too," Logan commented.

"But maybe," Dana suggested, "you should find a way to figure that out so you can solve all of your problems and go after her. You can't let her marry this guy. She doesn't belong with him."

"But he'll never break her heart like I did," Chase reminded and truly believed. Nicole had made some really good points. And he was starting to think that maybe she was right for him, but he wasn't right for her. She deserved someone who wouldn't hurt her like he did, and Noah, he was that guy.

"Only because he can't break what he doesn't have," Dana quickly retorted.

Chase begged to differ about Nicole's heart not being Noah's, but he didn't want to say that to them. Logan and Dana were his friends and they were Nicole's friends and they were rooting for them. And he knew he could count on them to stay there with him and convince him to get up and stop Nicole from making what they believed to be a mistake. Only, he didn't want them to. So, he simply semi- agreed, "Maybe." And just like he hoped, it gave his friends enough hope in him to leave him alone.

He went back to bed for two more days.

-o-o-o-

When Nicole got back to her apartment the day before the new term started she found Dana waiting on her doorstep, because Dana was a good friend.

Dana immediately wrapped her in a rare hug and asked, "How are you?"

"I'll be fine," she responded unconvincingly, water starting to creep into her voice. She seemed to find it continuously difficult not to cry these days.

She broke away from the hug and opened the door to her apartment, letting her friend in as she added, "By the time I'm done planning the wedding everything will be perfect again."

"Are you sure you're making the right choice?" Dana asked imploringly.

Nicole knew what she meant. She was asking if she thought she should really be marrying Noah. She couldn't say yes. She knew she couldn't lie like that. She wasn't absolutely, one hundred percent, sure. But she had made the decision when she was feeling far more rational and less emotional than she was at the moment. And really, nothing had happened to make her realize it was wrong. So there was no reason to doubt her previous logic. Except that she did. So instead of lying and saying yes, she responded honestly, "Noah's a good man."

"I know," Dana replied, surprising Nicole because Nicole got the feeling she didn't like Noah- which wasn't a huge deal considering that Dana didn't like most people. She picked up, "But that doesn't answer my question."

"I know," Nicole echoed.

Dana noticed the barely restrained tears in her friend's eyes and realized that this wasn't something she could talk about, especially right now. So, she changed tactics and tried to give her friend something to smile about by making margaritas and launching into a story about the passive aggressive Christmas presents she got from her mother-in-law this year.

-o-o-o-

Chase didn't attend the first day of classes for the new semester. In doing so he risked getting dropped from all of them. He didn't care.

At the end of the day he somehow ends up with Michael yelling through his answering machine saying that if he doesn't get up and go to his classes the next day apologizing to his professors with some excellent excuse explaining his absence, he'd be on a plane and dragging him to class himself. Michael warned him that if he had to fly all the way from Georgia just to get him in class he'd be angry enough to shave his eyebrows and use all of the hazing techniques him and his brother's put the pledges through the previous year.

Remembering the stories, Chase got out of bed.

Logan and Jerry were waiting for him to make sure he did actually attend his classes.

If it hadn't been for his friends, Chase was ready and willing to give up on living all together.

-o-o-o-

Gilmore Girls had always provided Nicole with good life tips in the past and as she sat in her apartment just after term started she decided to take another one from them. As she sat on her couch, as she laid in her bed, as she ate at her tiny kitchen table, something about her apartment plagued her. It finally came to her that the reason for her discomfort was because she was surrounded by things that reminded her of Chase. So, just like Lorelai and Rory, she packed up everything in boxes and shoved it to the back of her closet.

She couldn't do that with the DVD's that reminded her of Chase- there were far too many of them and her closet wasn't that big. So, she simply separated them from each other- safe DVD's from Chase DVD's. She didn't have many safe ones left. She'd have to start over.

Then she remembered she wouldn't have time for movies and TV. She had a wedding to plan.

-o-o-o-

Chase gets the news at the end of February. Nicole is not getting married anymore.

Dana and Logan had come bursting through his door, Dana clearly being intent on the one telling him, when Logan announced it.

"Why?" he asked completely confused. She deserved someone as good as Noah, so why didn't it work?

Dana sat down on his coffee table across the couch from him and answered, "She found a dress she liked three weeks ago and she said she didn't want to try the dress on every night. I asked her what that had to do anything and she said it was from a TV show that had always given her good advice. I still don't get it. Do you?" Dana knew that Nicole and Chase had extremely similar taste in TV and movies- mostly that they would both watch anything- and she had rushed over to tell Chase the news not only because she was so excited about the way now being clear for him to make a move, but because she really wanted to know what Nicole was talking about.

"Yeah," Chase responded, "it means that she realized that he wasn't right for her."

"Aren't you excited man?" Logan asked giving him a good-natured slap on the shoulder, "She's free."

She was free, but nothing could change the past. "No," Chase began, "her realizing Noah's wrong doesn't make me right. And it doesn't change what happened. It doesn't make what I said to her, what I've done to her, right. Not at all."

"But now you could make things right without having to break up a wedding," Dana volunteered.

Chase didn't respond. They had been having this conversation for two months and he appreciated his friends' optimism and concern, but they didn't understand and he couldn't seem to get them to.

"Just give the idea of fixing things a chance," Dana plead, "we know you're both miserable without each other and if you really don't think you're right for each other, fine, but you could at least…fix your friendship, or just start off even being able to be in the same room as each other again." Since Chase still wasn't responding she added, "Think about it okay."

He nodded because he thought about it all the time anyway.

Later, once his friends had left, Chase did do something. He looked in the yellow pages, called a therapist, and made an appointment. If he was ever begin to make things right, he figured it was about time he got that therapist he had been thinking he needed for the longest time now.

-o-o-o-

It was a Saturday night and Nicole didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't have a wedding to plan to distract her anymore. She could have gone to the frat house, but just like most of her movies and the things on TV, it was a reminder she didn't want.

As much as she didn't want to think about Chase, she didn't want to think about Noah either and how hurt he was when she told him she couldn't marry him. She felt horrible for breaking his heart when he had never been anything but careful with hers. Plus, she knew she probably never should have agreed to marry him or stayed with him so long in the first place if she had just been honest with herself and realized that she still loved Chase far more than she ever cared about Noah.

And here she was thinking about them again. Stupid Happy Days. She didn't know how it made her mind travel back to where she really didn't want it to be, but it crossed TV Land off of her list of channels to watch.

She ended up settling on America's Most Wanted. By the end of the hour she was terrified. She left lights on in her apartment all night, slept with her phone clutched in her hand, a kitchen knife on her nightstand, and chair lodged behind her door. It served as a very effective distraction as all she could think about for the rest of the night was whether any of the horrible violent criminals she saw on TV were in the Los Angeles area and maybe even very close by. And she was all alone.

-o-o-o-

Chase couldn't get into the psychiatrist he chose for two and a half weeks. He hoped that was a sign he was good since his basis for choosing him had been the cleaver yellow pages add. But, he wasn't doing so well waiting for real help and resisting doing something stupid in the mean time.

Like now, driving around Los Angeles at three in the morning on a Wednesday night. His psychiatrist appointment would be in ten more hours, he only had to hold on ten more hours.

The problem was he hadn't talked to Nicole in almost three months. It had been eighty-five days, three hours, twelve minutes. He had been counting. And he had a pretty good idea of exactly where she was in that moment. She was in the same city. She was probably in her apartment asleep. He wanted to see her. He wanted to talk to her. But he kept driving around aimlessly because he didn't know what he would say to her if he did see her. He figured he'd probably say something he'd regret, he seemed to have a habit of doing so.

But by three thirty and despite the voices in his head shouting at him that he was making a mistake, he had stopped at a pay phone and dialed her number. He just wanted to hear her voice and he thought she probably wouldn't answer if he called from any number he used to use.

She answered on the second ring. She had had a very difficult time sleeping given that she had taken up watching America's Most Wanted every Saturday. Completely awake she said, "Hello."

There was no response. Chase, he knew that whatever he said, there was a better than good chance that it would be the wrong thing. Just remembering the past, he had said so many wrong things already.

When there wasn't a response, just silence, she thought she knew who it was. But she didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't think of anything except to wonder why he called.

He gripped the side of the phone booth. Stared at his distorted reflection on the payphone. He sighed softly.

It was him. She was positive. She unconsciously held her breath. She waited for him.

The silence stretched on for three minutes. She waited for him to say something. He waited for her to hang up as he had expected her to do.

After six minutes that seemed like forever she realized that he wasn't going to say anything. It took her another two minutes to accept this thought. And a minute after that to actually press end to the call on her phone.

When he finally heard the click on the other end, he didn't know what to think except to wonder why she had stayed on the line for so long.

-o-o-o-

All day long, through classes, through discussions, through talking with friends, Nicole didn't love Chase. He had hurt her unintentionally hundreds of time and broke her on purpose. So she didn't love him anymore. She didn't miss him from her life. And she was perfectly okay.

Then after hours of restless tossing and turning, she'd fall asleep and dream of him. Of him suddenly springing up in her life and apologizing and declaring how much he loves her and that's what made him insane and hurtful in the first place- because he thought he was losing her without ever having her to begin with. He'd kiss her, he'd beg her forgiveness, he'd do all the things the male lead in a romantic movie would do. And in her dream, she'd love him again, just as much as she had freshman year.

Then she'd wake up. She'd remind herself that it was only a dream and the Chase that was in reality wouldn't do any of the things in her dreams.

She'd wake up and she wouldn't love him anymore.

-o-o-o-

Dr. Denton was brutally honest, and after just one appointment, Chase didn't know if that was something he liked or hated. The doctor told him that he'd see him three times a week because his kind of case was easy- lots of people had big regrets, they'd work through them and the fast the better for fixing people's lives usually and letting him return to more troubling cases that deserved more of his attention. Chase didn't know whether that should make him feel better or insulted.

That feeling of, "Wow, that was helpful," and "Hey, that's incredibly offensive," was a feeling that lasted through his appointments with Dr. Denton. For example, on his third appointment, at which point Chase had pretty much re-counted his entire history with Nicole, Dr. Denton said he agreed with Jerry and Zoey. He said that part of what had led Chase to do absolutely nothing is that he puts the women in his life up on a pedestal and then feels like he doesn't deserve them and he was especially inclined to feel that way after going after the first woman he loved, getting her, and then letting her break his heart. While Chase thought it could have been a good point, he was also affronted by the horrible things that the doctor was, in his opinion assuming, about him and his friends.

Yet, Chase kept coming to his tri-weekly appointments and increasingly felt like he was just a punching bag for his doctor.

Finally Dr. Denton said something that made him snap. At his thirteenth appointment in mid-April, when talking about the Nicole situation still, Dr. Denton said, "I'm sure Nicole is not at all the person you believe her to be, Chase. In fact, the real Nicole, the one you've been blinded to see since you seem to have a very romanticized version of the women in your life and of love all together, is probably who you were describing when you blew up at her on New Years Eve. She probably is willing and eager to change for a man that she's leading on under false pretenses, pretending to love someone so she doesn't end up alone. That desperation alone could mean that she's at least slightly psychotic. Not to mention this…habit she has of singing in grocery stores, so absurd. Messing things up with her may have not been what you wanted to do, but it sounds like you may have dodged a bullet, so to speak."

"Shut up," Chase ordered forcefully, finally having enough of what felt so much like an attack on him. He stood up and confronted, "You have no right to say anything you've said in any of these sessions. It's like you haven't even listened to me, you just sit there and make horrible assumptions. And maybe I believe in a romanticized version of love because I watch too many movies or because you think I'm blind around my parents. I know they're not always blissfully happy, but they always love each other and that's enough. And that's what I want. And I know that I probably should have seen that Zoey was sixteen and selfish and we wouldn't work out because we…just weren't right. But Nicole, she is everything I've said and nothing that I accused her of being that night. She broke up her engagement because she does believe in real love, the same kind that I believe in and she realized she didn't have it. Maybe it would have been better for her and Noah and for me if she realized it sooner, but…she just didn't. And I didn't "dodge a bullet." I missed out on the one person who may be truly perfect for me and I did absolutely nothing to stop the woman I love from leaving my life completely. If anything, I helped her do it because I was too afraid of making the same mistakes twice."

The doctor didn't seem the least bit startled or surprised by Chase's impassioned rant. He just sat in his chair calmly, pen still poised in hand, and asked, "Feel better?"

"What?" Chase asked completely confused.

"Just thought I'd see if you'd defend this supposed love of your life," Dr. Denton said, gesturing for Chase to take a seat on the couch across from him again. Once Chase had he continued, "Chase, you don't seem to go after the things you want. You had your friend Jerry propose a reason why, you had Zoey give you one, and you never tried to work on either of their reasons and if you had, you could have probably still had Nicole. So, I decided that first of all, you weren't listening to what other people had to say, you had to realize some things on your own. And secondly I wanted to see if you really love this Nicole. I attacked Jerry, and you very slightly defended him. I attacked Zoey and you didn't defend her, which surprised me a bit considering you said you're friends with her again, but then it also told me that what happened with her still hurts you. And finally, I attacked Nicole and you sprung to defend her so I suppose I do believe in your feelings for her. And, at the same time, it seems like you finally came to admit, with certainty it sounded like, exactly why you failed to let yourself have her."

Chase's brows still furrowed, trying to comprehend everything that had happened, asked, "So, you're not really a jerk?"

"Depends on who you ask," Dr. Denton joked.

Chase leaned back on the sofa with a sigh. For the first time in a while, he felt much better. He questioned, "So, what next?"

"Chase," Dr. Denton began, leaning forward, elbows resting on knees, "I don't believe you're as…screwed as you seem to think you are. Yes, you completely blew many opportunities to be with this girl. But, as you told me, she said she loved you and if you truly define love the same way, as you said you do, then that's not going to go away easily. I believe that you should simply live your life and everything will work out."

"That's it?" Chase asked thinking that that sound far too simple and not at all the kind of thing he was hoping or expecting to hear.

"Yes," Dr. Denton confirmed. Since Chase still seemed wary he posed, "You believe in fate, don't you?"

Someday fate will bring us the people we're supposed to be with at the exact moment we need them most Chase recalled Nicole saying from years earlier. He had believed her then. Why not now? "Yeah," he responded.

"Then have a little faith in fate. That someday, she will get everything right for you and you will be with the woman you love," Dr. Denton suggested, "In the mean time, I suggest concentrating on the other things you want out of your life besides love. What are your other dreams? Do you have any future plans you'd like to accomplish?"

Chase told the doctor about Nicole's suggested plan for his life and how it had become his dream over the years. To try a few things out before directing some fantastic movie and then writing, producing, and even maybe directing some unbelievably good television show. The doctor told him to do that and that while he continued to live out his other dreams, him and his dream girl would eventually find their way to each other again.

The doctor bade him farewell and told him to call if wanted any further appointments, though they didn't seem necessary.

Chase left therapy feeling extremely hopefully. He left the way Nicole made him feel actually, like he believed in love again and in fate and that everything would be okay eventually.

-o-o-o-

Every time Nicole went over to Dana and Logan's there was a picture that haunted her. They had a small wall of wedding photos and of course there was one of her and Chase. It was one of those stupid posed pictures where the photographer had instructed them to tilt their chins just so. But her back was to him and his arms were wrapped around her, and their hands were intertwined.

The picture was right by the front entrance and it was impossible to avoid. It was impossible to avoid the thoughts that always came with seeing it too. Like how much he had seemed to care about her even if it was just as a friend. So how could he have done that to them? How could he have said the things he did? How could he have attacked her and been trying to hurt her?

Seeing the picture made her blame the alcohol, and only the alcohol, for everything that happened that night. It made her forgive Chase and want him back in her life.

Then she'd remember when the picture was taken and how right it felt to be in his arms. And how easily he let her go. How easily he always let her go.

She tried to forget and she tried to move on.

-o-o-o-

When Chase had left Dr. Denton's office in April he was fully prepared to wait for fate as long as it took. It turned out, however, that he was not that patient. By the end of May as finals approached he was so anxious waiting for destiny to bring him and Nicole back together that he couldn't concentrate on anything.

Not being able to concentrate as finals approached was extremely unfortunate because Chase had been struggling in his classes for the past two years. The upper division classes were much harder than he had anticipated and he kept getting absorbed in self-loathing and pitting that he had trouble dedicating as much time as necessary to any of his assignments. And now, he had a senior project to complete that would either give him the extra push he needed to get into the post-grad film school program at USC he'd applied for or ensure that he didn't get in and would be doomed to working on local commercials forever.

His short senior film piece was supposed to be something creative that showed that he had a unique perspective that must bee seen by people- well, it had to be that good if he wanted to get into film school. He had to write, direct, pick actors, design sets, do the lighting, basically everything for it because it was supposed to be entirely his.

The problem was that whenever he sat down to work on it all he thought of was Nicole.

Finally, thirty-seven hours before the project was due inspiration hit when he remembered all of the footage he had of Nicole. Sometimes when they'd hang out he'd have his camera practically glued to his hand, just for fun and mostly because he loved using his camera and did so with any excuse. He also had found a way to record their video chats, but the motivation behind that was simply that even when they stretched on many hours the still seemed far too short and he just wanted to see her again.

So, he went through all of the footage he had of Nicole, selected clips, put together a script of her saying things and wove it into a story of sorts. He integrated a few new things involving him and a late night mission, added some background music at key places, and finished his senior film short.

He thought that there was an awfully good chance that those grading it and looking at it for his film school application wouldn't think it was good. But it felt really good to do.

Thirty minutes before his deadline he slid his DVD into the mailbox of his professor. Across the top of the DVD, the title was scrawled. It read: Nicole.

-o-o-o-

With only slightly over two weeks left until graduation, Nicole, Dana, and Logan were having what had become a tradition for them since January- Thursday night dinner together. Nicole was telling a story that her mom had just told her earlier that day about her dad had mistook a young male customer in the juice store for Bonnie Hunt, when Logan interrupted speaking to his wife, "Are we really going to sit here and listen to this?"

Nicole thought that that was awfully rude of Logan to say. But then again Logan could be in a pissy mood sometimes, especially if he and Dana had had a fight recently, so she didn't take it too seriously. She responded, "Well, I know it's not the most interesting story ever…"

"That's not what he meant," Dana cut off. She sighed and gave Logan a look that said that he wasn't supposed to bring it up. She told her husband, "Since you seem eager to talk about it, you tell her."

Logan rolled his eyes at his wife-what, he had to do everything around here?- and turned to Nicole. He explained, "Not once, since January, have you ever asked us about or even mentioned Chase. I know, what he did sucked, but he always asks us about you. He asks because he cares. What? Did you just stop caring because he said a few mean things to you."

"Broke my heart, Logan, repeatedly," Nicole corrected, her voice watery, "I wouldn't expect you guys to understand just like my parents didn't understand. The first person both of you gave your heart to loved you back so you couldn't possibly comprehend how it feels like my heart's been ripped out of my chest over and over again every time he…just didn't feel the same way. Or how it felt like he ripped out my heart and then stomped on it for a few hours last New Years Eve. Or how bad it feels to know that he's not even sorry-"

"He's sorry," Dana interjected, "he's extremely sorry. He regrets everything. He even started seeing a psychiatrist three times a week because he thought he was irreversibly screwed up if he couldn't manage to…do the right thing with you."

"Why hasn't he even tried to apologize then?" Nicole asked because that was one thing that had been killing her.

"I don't get it," Logan admitted. He told his wife, "You explain it."

Dana sighed tired to think of how Chase had put it because when he said it, her first thought was that it would probably be a good thing for Nicole to hear. She recalled, "He said that you told him that fate brings together two people who are right for each other when they really need each other…or when the time's right. Something like that. And then he said that he's just waiting for fate to bring him you again. I…we suggested that he not wait for fate to apologize, but he said that if he doesn't he'll screw it up again and maybe you won't want to talk to him or see him. But when you want to see him again and when it's right, fate will bring you back to each other because it has to, because there's no other girl for him."

Nicole had begun chewing on her lower lip, trying not to cry. Logan and Dana always seemed so uncomfortable with tears. But she just couldn't believe it. She never expected that his reason for not apologizing would be because of her. Or that he thought that she was right for him. Dana and Logan had said it before. But he had never said anything to her and she just thought that her friends were interpreting, not quoting. "Really?" she asked hopefully, "He's sorry and he regrets everything and…he's relying on fate, for us?"

"Yeah," Dana confirmed as Logan nodded in agreement beside her.

"Oh," she responded simply. She didn't know what to say. It was a lot of information to think about. She had spent so long telling herself every minute that she didn't feel anything for him anymore, but this changed everything.

She didn't stay at Dana and Logan's much longer. She had a lot to think about.

-o-o-o-

"Professor Walsh," Chase said knocking on the open door, "You wanted to see me." Chase barely got those few words out without his voice cracking. He was terribly nervous. Professor Walsh was his advisor and one of the directors of the graduate program for film. He had guessed that this meeting was probably to let him know whether or not he had gotten into the graduate program.

"Mr. Matthews, please have a seat," Professor Walsh greeted warmly and gesturing to the brown leather club chair. He closed down whatever he had been working on, on his computer and wheeled his chair across from Chase. "I asked you hear today," he began, "to discuss your final film project." Chase simply nodded, waiting to hear if it was good news or bad. "First let me assure you that you did pass and you will be graduating," Professor Walsh continued and it sounded like quite a bad beginning to Chase.

"And what about the grad program, Professor?" Chase asked eagerly.

Professor Walsh smiled and answered, "You're in."

Chase let out the breath he had been holding, extremely relieved.

"It was your last film that got you in," Professor Walsh explained, "Your work has always been good, competent. But this was…inspired. I've honestly never seen anything like it. So, I was hoping to get your permission to show it in a screening we'll be having of the best senior film projects."

"No," Chase denied immediately, "I can't do that." Other people couldn't see it, he didn't have his subject's permission not to mention fate had yet to bring them back together so he could apologize for all of the horrible things he had said to her last time he saw her. His professor seemed confused so he tried to explain, "The girl in it…she goes here and she can't…"

"Oh I see," Professor Walsh interrupted with an knowing smirk, "Well it's a shame that other's won't get to see it, but understandable." He suggested, "Would you mind watching it with me now though? I thought it was…brilliant and I have so many things I'd like to ask you about. And if you don't mind watching with me, while we do so, maybe you'd be willing to give some thought to assisting me with a project I'll be working on over the summer?"

"I'd be honored to work with you," Chase replied sincerely, "And I'd love to watch my film with you now and know what you thought about it."

"Great, I had a feeling you'd agree," Professor Walsh said excitedly, suddenly with a remote in his hand and he turned on his TV as he whirled around in his chair and wheeled it next to Chase.

Suddenly, Chase had Nicole in front of him again on his professor's huge projector screen. "Hi," she greeted with a sweet smile on the screen. Chase had to resist the urge to say hi back.

-o-o-o-

A week later graduation finally came. They each graduated with their majors, luckily at different times of day and at different areas on campus, which allowed for Dana and Logan to see both Nicole's and Chase's.

Nicole and Chase both took a chance and each went to both Logan and Dana's graduations, neither daring to seek out the half of the pair not graduating though just in case the other was there. There were so many people there though, they never crossed paths.

Despite Logan and Dana's encouragement (and Michael's and Zoey's over the phone) neither Nicole nor Chase went to each other's graduations.

Chase's parents were at his graduation, as well as most of his family, and he was happy that he could now say that he had a bachelors of art in film. But the day still didn't feel right and he knew that it was Nicole that was missing from hit. He hoped fate would finally intervene soon.

Nicole was thrilled to finally get to graduation. It felt like it was a long time coming even though she had enjoyed her major. But the day still felt wrong. Her whole family was there. As enthusiastic and fantastically odd as ever, but it wasn't right and she knew it was because she hadn't gotten to cheer as Chase graduated and she didn't have him there to run up and tackle in a hug after she graduated. For the first time since the year began, she admitted to herself that she missed him and she wished he was still in her life, despite everything.

-o-o-o-

Nicole moved.

She had decided on the credential program at CSULA so there didn't seem to be any point to stay in an apartment right next to USC.

She didn't have to go through the hassle of moving alone though. She had Dana and Logan help and in return she helped them move. Logan had gotten an internship with the mayor's office and Dana wasn't sure what her next move was exactly so they decided there was no need for their house close to campus either and followed a long time dream and bought a house on the beach. Surprisingly, it took longer to move all of her stuff than it did Dana and Logan's combined. She was a huge packrat.

In her new apartment her "Chase" boxes were put in the back of a closet. She still wasn't ready to bring any of the stuff in them out. But, she had made progress, because when she filled up her DVD shelves, she didn't practice the same "Chase reminder," "non-Chase-reminder" division.

And the first thing she did in her new apartment was watch When Harry Met Sally. Not only did it remind her of Chase because they had watched it together many times, but Billy Crystal had dark curly hair like Chase. But despite their radically different opinions about relationships and years of nothing more than friendship, in the end, Billy Crystal's character ended up with Meg Ryan. She was troubled, however, to notice that it wasn't thanks to fate, but because of intervention.

It was just a movie though, she'd remind herself. Her parents were brought together by fate. They had both lived in Lincoln their whole lives and never crossed paths until one day when her dad was heading out of town to the airport to pick up an old friend and her mom was heading there to pick up her cousin. Her mom's car broke down and the first person to come along was her dad. He couldn't fix the car, but he offered her a ride so she wouldn't be late picking up her cousin and then offered to drive them both back. The rest was history.

Despite the fact that movies had let her down, reality gave Nicole hope. If Chase was trusting fate, she would too. And if fate should bring her Chase she'd try to give them a chance. She'd put her heart through it one more time on the slim chance that next time, he'd feel the same and next time they'd work out.

She was resolved to it, she was waiting for fate, she was waiting for Chase. Only the question kept plaguing her, how long was she supposed to wait?

-o-o-o-

It turned out that the summer project Chase's professor asked him to work on was actually a romantic film and by "work with him" his professor had meant "be his assistant." Chase didn't really get to do anything with the making of the film in his first week working for his professor and based on his main job requirement so far to be getting coffee and food for numerous people, he didn't think he'd ever get to. But he would get to see a movie made from start to finish.

Chase, however, was wrong in believing his title of "assistant" wouldn't allow him to be involved.

Nearly two weeks into the job they were spending their days attempting to cast the film. The people watching the auditions consisted of Professor Walsh, who was the director and co-writer, two other writers, a producer, and some woman who claimed to be in charge of casting. And Chase was there, as per his professors instructions, "just in case." Chase took that to mean "just in case someone wanted something to eat."

They were searching for a male lead, their was an actress standing in for the female read for the auditionees to read with, but the three young men to audition so far had only done okay.

"June, I'd do anything for you. I love you big. More than all the sand in the desert," read the latest actor without any sincerity at all.

Chase rolled his eyes. This was beyond painful. First, the line was crap in his opinion. "I love you big"? Were they kidding? And, "More than all the sand in the desert"? Why didn't they just say, "More than a fat kid loves cake?"

Chase's inner mocking monologue was interrupted by the actor being ushered out and Professor Walsh asking the room at large, "Thoughts?"

"Pretty good. His read was a little weak, but he looked the part," the supposed casting expert commented.

"Yeah, girls would love him. We could sell him," the producer added.

Chase couldn't believe what he was hearing and his look of disbelief was caught by his professor. "Chase, what did you think of the audition?" Professor Walsh asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I don't know. You guys are the experts. Whatever you think, I'm sure you're right," Chase lied.

"You must think something," Professor Walsh insisted, "I'd love to hear your honest opinion."

Chase really wasn't that good at lying and he knew that this probably wasn't going to get let go until he said something honest. He figured he could get fired for it, but he was an intern so it wasn't like he was getting paid anyway. He confessed, "I thought he was awful. He was supposed to be declaring his love, for the love of his life, and he said the lines without any conviction at all. Though the lines would be kind of difficult to say convincingly."

"You don't like them?" Professor Walsh was quick to question, increasingly intrigued.

"Honestly? No," Chase declared and explained, "I always hate to admit it, but I watch a ton of romantic movies and my parents have one of those…perfect relationships that just oozes romance. And even if love makes you stupid, which it does, that doesn't mean that your male lead has to be stupid. Especially in this moment, because reading the rest of the script, it didn't fit to me."

"That is," Professor Walsh began and paused to leave Chase in nervous suspense, "exactly what I was thinking." He elaborated, "Marty, we must have had a hellavu lot to drink when we wrote this part it's…awful. And that boy may have gotten girls to like his picture on a poster, but acting like he can't, he won't get any to fall in love with him- which is of course what we're looking for in a male lead."

Chase let out a giant sigh of relief.

Over the next twenty excruciating auditions Professor Walsh asked Chase to join the rest of the main staff at the table (instead of his place on the floor towards the back of the small room) and he was asked his opinion on every single audition. They had decided to stop having the actors read the crap on the page and had them complete a simple test, to say "I love you," to the girl standing in as the female lead convincingly. And they decided to do the re-writing later- Chase was asked to sit in on that as well.

The twenty-first actor came in and began by greeting Chase. "Dude, Chase. You stopped coming to parties. How you been?" Max asked, the president of the frat him and Nicole had gone to a few parties at, at the start of the previous school year.

"Okay," Chase responded, shocked to see Max there, "What are you doing here? I thought you said you were a business marketing major?"

"I was," Max confirmed, "and I got a degree in it, but then I started this internship at this huge firm about a month ago and I realized last week that I hated it. I was miserable. So, I've decided to try out some other stuff. Today alone I've applied to be a bar tender, male exotic dancer" (he said with a wink to the actress next to him) "and a manny. Then I saw an add for this and figured, I could totally act."

"Right," Chase agreed.

"Indeed, let's see if you're right," Professor Walsh broke in and waved his hand as if to say "begin."

Chase had a feeling that this was going to go badly, especially since Max glanced at the paper with his one line on it again. It was three words, did he really need to see it again? How could he not remember just three words?

Max took a deep breath, bounced on the balls of his feet, walked over to the actress and stopped a foot away. He simply stared at her, straight in the eyes, for almost a minute. Somehow, in the way he was looking at her, he managed to make the tension in the room grow exponentially. "I am, in love with you," he said simply and sincerely and with just a hint of vulnerability about him and still staring deep into her eyes.

Max turned back to the tables of people watching, clapped his hands together, and asked, "Alright, is that it?"

"Yes, we'll be in touch. Thank you for coming," Professor Walsh said, giving their standard line.

As soon as the door shut behind Max, Professor Walsh turned to Chase and questioned, "Well Chase, you know him, how do you think he did?"

"Shockingly good," Chase said honestly, "I went to a couple of parties at the frat he was president of and he's a nice guy, and I know he's been in love and had his heart broken, but I didn't know…he'd be good."

"Very handsome," the casting expert commented.

"Intense," the actress added, though she hadn't dared offered an opinion all day. She knew she was only a stand in.

"Marketable, charming, seemed likable," the producer agreed.

"And he offered the most believable performance of the day so far," Professor Walsh offered, "I think we've found our first call back."

At the end of the long day, Max was being called back along with two other actors for the male lead. As he was leaving Professor Walsh told Chase that him and his co-writer would be working on the script over the weekend and he should be there. Also, he should come prepared with a list- preferably long- of things to go with "I love you" that the character would believably say. This gave Chase two days to compile his list. As he was writing it, he once again he wished he had Nicole in his life, that fate had already brought them back together. Because when it came to lines of love, he could think of no one who knew them better or who inspired them more than Nicole.

-o-o-o-

"What's the emergency," Nicole said running into Dana's house, "You didn't see Saul Aguilar did you? Because he's still at large and wanted for murder in the Los Angeles area." She had still been watching America's Most Wanted, it had become an odd addiction.

"There's no emergency," Dana said coming out of her kitchen and meeting Nicole in the living room, "Why did you think there was an emergency? I just said I needed to talk."

"But you never want to talk so I assumed something was up," Nicole rationalized.

Dana plopped down on her couch and admitted, "Maybe."

"You're pregnant!" Nicole guessed, jumping excitedly, "I'm going to be an auntie, right?"

"No," Dana denied, "And before you ask, yes, I'm sure."

Nicole sat down beside Dana and simply waited. She had learned over the years that if there was something Dana wanted to talk about, she would, on her own terms and in her own time.

She was right. After only half a minute Dana began, "I just, I have no idea what I'm going to do. What was I thinking getting a degree in Women's Studies? The only thing that does is allow me to know more facts to back up my arguments with Logan when I accuse him of doing something chauvinistic. Now, I have no idea what I want to do."

"What does Logan have to say about this?" Nicole asked, in her clever way of finding out if Dana had talked to Logan about it yet.

"He said that I don't have to do anything. He's only interning at the mayor's office right now, but he seems to think that his political career's going to take off at any moment and he'll earn plenty of money. Until then we can continue to live off his trust fund and I don't have to do anything," Dana ranted with disgust, she hated living off his parent's money. She continued, "Which of course is ridiculous. I can't stay at my job forever though. I like being a line cook, but it's not…I just don't love it and I don't know what I'm going to do."

"I know what to do," Nicole said with a reassuring smile, "when I don't know what to do, I close my eyes and picture my future. I picture different scenarios and the one that makes me smile, that's the one I know I'm supposed to follow, the one I'm supposed to make come true. So close your eyes."

"This is stupid," Dana declared as she closed her eyes. She insulted the idea just for good measure-it was just in her personality to be disgruntled with anything even slightly cheesy.

Nicole ignored the expected barb and continued, "Now, Logan's definitely going to be in any version of your future since he's your husband so go ahead and picture him." Nicole watched as Dana smiled, "Aw, just Logan makes you smile. I told you, you are so meant for each other."

"Shut up," Dana played as she cracked her eyes open and attempted to look at Nicole menacingly. But she knew she should give up this jig entirely, there was simply no denying anymore that she was head over heels for her husband.

Dana closed her eyes again so Nicole continued her descriptions of various futures for Dana. She suggested both things she thought Dana may like, like being a chef or a lawyer or an artist and stuff she had no idea if it'd have any appeal to Dana like a pilot or an actress or an accountant. After twenty minutes and Dana not smiling for a single one of them, as Nicole struggled to come up with another suggestion, Dana opened her eyes and declared, "This is hopeless."

"No," Nicole countered immediately because she personally refused to believe that any task was hopeless. However, this was proving quite difficult. She suggested, "But it may be a bit easier if you…help out a little. How about you close your eyes and imagine your life in ten years. Tell me what you want and what you definitely don't want."

"What do I want when I'm thirty-two?" Dana clarified and Nicole nodded. She rolled her eyes, but closed them again. She began, "I want Logan. I want to still be by the ocean. I want…kids with Logan. Not tons, but maybe a couple. At least one by then. And…I want to be around to be with the kid or kids a lot. Maybe be that combative parent on the PTA. Or the one that's always getting kicked out of their kid's sporting events for harassing the ref. And…" she trailed off.

"Those are awesome goals," Nicole quipped. Most people didn't want to get kicked out of children's sporting events, but Nicole knew that Dana was being her usual realistic self and they both knew that if Dana had a kid and he or she got even slightly or even accidentally hit or injured in a game, there was a pretty good chance that the ref who didn't stop it would be the victim of a homicide.

Dana opened her eyes and said worriedly, "They're so…Suzy Homemaker-ish. And I'm not that girl. I've spent years making fun of that girl."

"I know, I remember the insults well," Nicole agreed, but added, "And maybe you weren't that girl. Maybe you're her now though." At Dana's glare she rushed to explain, "I mean, it makes sense. You're married to a guy you're so in love with and your parent's weren't around for you and his weren't for him. If you had kids it makes sense that you'd want to be around a lot, that you'd want to be involved- both of you. And you love Logan, and you're going to be with him forever, it makes sense that you'd want a family with him too."

"I guess," Dana relented, "You're right. I don't want to have kids who grow up the same way I did, without anyone around. But I also don't want to have kids for a while. We're still young. And I want to have some kind of career to go back to when the kids get old enough."

Nicole sighed, this was so much more difficult than even deciding between two cute pairs of shoes, both of which went with the same outfit flawlessly. She asked, "What are your hobbies?"

"Cooking," Dana came up with easily, but amended, "But I already know from being a line cook that I don't want to be a chef. I like eating, but I really don't find the idea of being one of those people that enters eating competitions as a profession appealing. And I write sometimes, but usually just…criticisms of various ridiculous things people post as blogs or articles."

"Food critic!" Nicole exclaimed immediately, "You can write well, and criticize, and you know about food. It's perfect."

Dana seemed stunned by the unexpected suggestion, but after a minute responded, "I think you're right, that is something that sounds pretty good. Now, I just have to figure out how to do it."

"You will, and you'll be brilliant. I have no doubt," Nicole said supportively.

Since she didn't have future-unknown-crisis plaguing her mind anymore, Dana realized something she had missed asking earlier, "Wait, you said you do the same thing? Picturing your future? So what's the version that makes you smile?"

"You know, teaching," Nicole said vaguely and changed the topic quickly, "Speaking of, I have a class tonight, and I have work to do for it. I know I'm getting much needed classes out of the way this summer because their will be too much to juggle during the year, but I really should have kept in mind how much taking classes during the summer sucks before I signed up for them. Oh well, let's distract me from the stuff I have to do for a while by going to the beach! I have a swimsuit in my car, I'll be right back."

She knew it was obvious, but Nicole didn't want to talk about the future she pictured, especially since fate, so far, had seemed intent on not giving it to her. The truth was, when she closed her eyes she did picture herself in a classroom of high school students trying to persuade them how wonderful written words could be. Then, on Valentines Day, she'd have the biggest display in her room than any other teacher and better gifts than any of the students that would come through her room throughout the day. And it'd all be Chase's doing. Some sweet young girl would ask her who it's from and she'd say it's from her husband. All the flowers and chocolates and cheesy cards and small personalized things that only they would understand because it'd be so them- like a can with the Jolly Green Giant on it, or a boxed set of Dawson's Creek DVD's. And then she'd see herself on his arm at his first big premier and they'd both be glowing- him because he'd be living out his dream, her because she'd be just pregnant enough with their first child that she could no longer hide it. She'd feel fat and he'd tell her she's beautiful with such sincerity that she'd have no doubt that he truly thought so. Or she'd simply picture herself waking up in the morning in some cute bedroom, with a hand that had become familiar in hers, and she'd be absolutely content. She'd always smile when she'd close her eyes and imagine futures like those, but then she'd open her eyes, like now, and she'd be in her car, alone. She'd be forced to remember how it'd been seven and a half months since they saw each other or spoke, and the strong possibility that none of her imagined futures would come true.

But then again, Nicole refused to believe anything was hopeless. So, she continued to have faith in fate and closed her eyes again to imagine the future she wasn't nearly ready to give up on.

-o-o-o-

Nearly six weeks after the initial meeting to rewrite the script, the script was still in the process of being re-written. They had even begun filming, and many changes had been made to the script in the long re-writing session Chase spent with Professor Walsh and his co-writer Marty. But somehow, that pivotal scene, the confession of love, it wasn't coming together despite trying various lines and set-ups for it.

"Dude, you look like, really serious," Max observed through a mouthful of turkey sandwich. He had gotten the part as male lead and Chase frequently found himself hanging out with Max around the set or, like now, while they had a lunch break.

"That part in the script just still isn't working and at some point we'll actually have to shoot it. Professor Walsh keeps asking my opinion, but I don't know how to fix it. It's just bad," Chase explained.

Max nodded along. He got it, but he didn't think it'd be the worst tragedy if the lines weren't perfect. It was just a movie. All the guys making it, they'd make more. If it wasn't perfect, none of them would be ruined by this. "Stop worrying, you'll get it right," Max offered because Chase seriously needed to relax. He decided to try and help take his mind off of it, though, later, he'd realize he probably didn't choose the best replacement topic, "So, you never told me, what did happen between you and Nicole?"

Chase sighed into his meatball sandwich. He knew this question would come eventually. He recited his already prepared answer, "I ruined it. Said and did everything wrong and now we haven't spoken and I haven't seen her in eight and a half months."

Instead of asking Chase whether or not he was still in love with Nicole, Max, from personal experience, knew another question to ask, "How long exactly since you've seen her?"

Chase shrugged and tried to say nonchalantly, "Eight months, thirteen days, fourteen hours and thirty-seven minutes."

Max simply nodded. He'd been there himself and, if he was being honest, he still sort of was there and probably always would be. He hadn't planned on asking or mentioning Nicole anymore since he knew what it was like to be Chase, but an idea occurred to him, "You know that part of the script you're having trouble with? The declaration part? Well, what would you say if it was Nicole?"

"I don't know," Chase said, running a hand through his hair. He sat back in his chair and said thoughtfully, "If I was giving Nicole one of those "I love you speeches," as she calls them, I'd probably just tell her I love her and say…something that would mean something to us, something based on our history." Chase honestly hadn't put that much thought into what he would say to Nicole and he really didn't want to, just in case fate never gave him the chance to say it. He was trying to stay positive like Nicole had always encouraged him to be, always made him feel, but as the months dragged on, he was having trouble still believing in fate. Turning the tables, he asked, "What would you say to the girl you said you screwed up with?"

He really should have seen that coming. But, Chase had manned up and answered so Max replied, "I'd tell her that…I'm an idiot and I'm sorry. I still love her and if she'd still have me, I'd spend the rest of my life being any guy she wants me to be."

"That's based on your history too?" Chase asked, an idea creeping up on him.

"Yep," Max confirmed and happily went back to inhaling his massive turkey sandwich.

Later that night, Chase went to Professor Walsh with a fully formed idea and a suggestion of lines. By the next morning, he had been such a help, his professor was so thankful, that he was going to be credited as one of the writers of the film. His professor thanked him profusely, so thankful to have help on his and his writing partner's first romantic film (they had successfully brought back the western and thought they'd be up to this new challenge). At the start of filming the next day, Professor Walsh go the attention of everyone working on the film and declared to them that Chase was a young film genius and they should be nice to him, for in the future, he'd be a man they'd want to know.

All the praise, it felt really good. Of course Chase doubted that it was all true and it also felt like a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations to live up to. However, Chase also couldn't help thinking that Nicole was maybe right, maybe he'd be great.

-o-o-o-

Fall came and passed.

Nicole did fantastically through her first semester in her credential program in everything from her classes, to her observations, to the few times she got to teach a lesson.

Chase had always struggled at least a bit in his film classes, but somehow, now in his graduate program he found himself finally feeling at ease. Like he was exactly in the right place. On his weekends he helped with the post-production tasks on the film.

They both lived in the same city. They both visited their mutual friends frequently. They were both experiencing success with their chosen careers. But they both still felt like something, someone, was missing. They both knew who it was.

But fate had decided that fall was not their time, so they waited still.

-o-o-o-

On New Years Eve Nicole found herself once again at her aunt's house. Thankfully everyone was nice enough not to grill her about or even bring up her broken engagement from the previous year. Though, she had already gotten those questions at Easter.

As midnight passed and everyone celebrated outside, watched the fireworks, Nicole found herself in the hallway upstairs. It had officially been a year since she saw Chase. She remembered all of the horrible things that had been said, but still, she knew she missed him and that wherever he was, he was sorry and missing her too.

Later, when she had rejoined the party, a friend of one of her cousin's asked her to dance. He was cute and sweet and charming and there. She wondered if fate was trying to tell both her and Chase something with the year they had spent apart.

The song changed as she stalled in answering and "That's All" began to play. She declined the nice guy asking her to dance. She could give fate a while longer. For Chase, she could give fate forever.

-o-o-o-

Chase spent New Years Eve at home with his parents. That idea alone seemed like a depressing thought. What twenty three year old doesn't have anything better to do or can't come up with anything else to do than spend New Years Eve watching his parents cuddle on their family couch as they watched the ball drop over Time Square on TV?

He was distracted from those depressing thoughts though by one other that had been plaguing him day and night. Just after eleven o'clock his time, it was officially a year since he saw Nicole. And by the time he rang in the New Year it was officially over a year since he saw Nicole; one year, fifty-eight minutes.

He told himself that Nicole would have endless faith and so should he. But it had been over a year and fate had done nothing to bring them back together. He couldn't help but think that maybe it was never going to. He had long since started to doubt fate, but he decided he'd wait anyway. It was Nicole after all, he'd wait forever for her.

-o-o-o-

Dana and Logan were not as patient as their friends.

Upon each of their returns to Los Angeles after the holidays, they decided to split up and each talk to one of them about the on-going situation.

"It's been over a year and you still haven't done anything?" they both opened up with, Logan to Chase at Chase's house, Dana to Nicole at Nicole's apartment.

"I'm waiting for fate," both Chase and Nicole reminded their respective interrogators.

"That's so stupid," Dana told Nicole.

"You're an idiot. And such a girl," Logan declared to Chase.

Nicole and Chase both rolled their eyes at their friend's expected responses.

"You can't wait for fate," Logan began to Chase.

"Fate brought you and Dana together," Chase reminded to Logan.

"No it didn't," Dana denied, refuting Nicole's claim to her that it was fate that brought her and her now husband. Dana explained, "It brought us to the same area. I had to show him that I wanted to stay with him. I had to come back to his house and kiss him. I had to stay. Fate…just put us in the near vicinity of each other, we had to do the rest."

"And if she hadn't come back I was about five seconds from racing after her because…if you want something, you actually have to do something to get it. That's just life. Sittin' around doing nothing gets you nowhere," Logan wrapped up to Chase.

Nicole thought maybe Dana had a point. Dana did have to make a move in order to be with Logan, fate didn't do that for her.

Chase thought maybe Logan was right. If one of them hadn't had the courage to go after it when it was there, Logan and Dana might not be together today.

The thing that kept both Chase and Nicole in their respective homes after the talking to from their friends was that Dana and Logan were still brought to the same place, same time and whether they wanted to admit it or not, that was thanks to fate.

So both Nicole and Chase knew the other was in the same town, their friends believed they should just go to the other person and finally end this, but they both decided to wait for fate to bring them to the same place at the right time.

They didn't know it, but in two more months, they wouldn't have the option of waiting for fate anymore, something else entirely would intervene. When it did, they'd see each other again, after one year, one month, twenty-six days, seven hours, and six minutes.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading! Please be sure to REVIEW:)

Part VII title: And the only heart I own for you and you alone, that's all, that's all ("That's All"- there are many artist who cover it, the most recent of which was probably Michael Buble)

Oh, and some good news (or at least I think it is), I've decided to add on a short epilogue after part eight so the next posting won't be the last.

Thank you for reading!