Disclaimer: Still don't own Dollhouse, let you know if that changes :) JK JK Day Twenty,
Author's Note: So, I think I"m gonna do a sequel when this fanfic is finished... (It's getting close!) Would any of you guys read it if I did?
"Wh-what?! What did I do this time?!" Topher asked, jumping when he came in.
"What do you think you're doing? Flirting with my daughter? Do you know how much younger she--"
"Woah, woah, woah, woah! What? Flirting? No! Man friend! No! We're friends!"
"Does Miriam know that?" Boyd asked sternly.
"Of course she does!" Topher said quickly, though not quite sure it was the truth.
"You better be sure, because if you hurt my daughter--"
"I'm sure!" He lied, raising his hands in defense.
"Alright then," Boyd said, leaving.
A little while later, Topher wanted to make sure there wouldn't be another encounter like that with Boyd, so he sought out Miriam.
"Oh, hey! How are you doing? You seemed a little down..." She said, looking at him in a concerned way.
"Can we talk, for a second?" He asked, seriously and a little nervously. He had to be very gentle, or Boyd would kill him.
"Sure." She said, confused.
"I need to tell you...I just mean that...I think..." He hesitated, but then dove right into it. "I think you're really cool, and a fun friend...But I don't want you to have the wrong idea...I want to be friends...But Just friends, you know? I'm...I'm sort of interested in someone else."
Miriam took it way better then he expected. "Oh I know, I'm not oblivious, Topher." She smiled at him. "Don't worry about it, I like you, but I know your not interested. And I'm cool with being friends...Can I give you a suggestion, though?"
"Um...Yeah?" He asked, surprised but pleased at her reaction.
"Tell Bennett how you feel."
"I couldn't...She can't stand me..." He said, quietly.
"You really believe that?" Miriam shook her head.
Days Twenty One through Twenty Four,Topher was still completely miserable. It wasn't something that went away quickly, and he couldn't work up the guts to follow Miriam's advice about Bennett.
He and Bennett had barely spoken since she'd freaked out of him. She appeared to still be angry with him, and he didn't want to bother her, so he left her alone.
Both of them were hurting quite a lot, but neither of them knew how to do anything about it.
So the days passed in painful silence between the two geniuses.
Day Twenty Five,It was late during the day, and Topher had spent the day debating what to do about Bennett. There were six days left of her visit, and Topher didn't want her to leave still mad at him. He'd have to find out what he did. Which meant gathering up some courage he didn't think existed.
Bennett was turning to leave the room, and finally Topher got up the guts to say something to her. "Bennett, wait."
She stopped, a little bit frozen. Why was he talking to her? They hadn't spoken hardly at all since she'd exploded at him.
She glanced at him, to acknowledge she'd heard him, but then looked away again. Facing away from him.
Topher couldn't take it anymore, if Bennett really hated him, then fine. But he had to know. And he had to make sure she knew how he felt.
He rushed forward and took hold of Bennett's good arm. He looked at her, and suddenly felt very brave, which was odd. He wasn't usual so bold...Not with girls, anyway, not that he'd ever thought anyone was as amazing as Bennett was.
She looked a little startled and tried to take a step away from him. "What are you doing?" She asked, confused.
"Tell me what I did, please...Please just tell me what I did?" He asked, the hurt in his eyes was quite obvious. "Am I just annoying? Because I thought we were...I thought we could at least be friends, and then suddenly you hate me...So just tell me what I did, please!"
"Topher...Let go of my arm." She said, trying to pull her arm away from his grasp.
He loosened his grip, so that he was barely doing more then touching her arm. If she tried to pull away again she could easliy. But he wanted to see if she would, he wanted to know if she truly wanted to be left alone.
"Just tell me if you hate me, Bennett, I need to know. And I need to know what I did. What was it? I don't want you to leave here in six days without knowing what I did."
She didn't try to pull her arm away. She looked at him for a moment, then looked away. "You're a terrible flirt, Topher Brink. You act like you like someone and encourage them, and as soon as they let you in and give you hints of their affection, you go off and flirt with a stupid handler's daughter." She said softly.
Topher stared at Bennett for a moment, totally surprised. That was why she was angry? Because he'd been hanging out with Miriam? If he'd have known that, he would have done this a long time ago.
And Topher kissed her.
He hoped that hadn't been a stupid move, because the last thing they needed was to be in an even more awkward friendship.
Author's Note: Okay. I know Topher would never be that bold. But, someone had to say something, so it was him :) Hope that wasn't way to cheesy for you. Reviews are loved :)
