Thank you for the support! This is a crappy chapter, so I'm sorry. The next one will be much better, but I just wanted to get this updated before the weekend!

Ashley

"Chris," Ashley whispered. She was leaning into him, her eyes closed against the wind, which had been mercilessly drying out her contacts.

"Ashley," Chris replied. He wasn't leaning into her, but rather standing solid like a handsome statue. She felt protected, and hid half of her face in his jacket as her lips traced a smile.

She opened her mouth to speak, but right then another gust hit them square in the face. Chris's statue-like posture crumbled, and he stumbled back with a grunt. Taking her under his arm, he steered her back indoors.

Mike was already inside, sitting on a bench outside the restaurant. He was crouched forward, poised and prepared to hop up any second. Ashley felt a pang of sympathy for him; he was probably concerned about his girlfriend. Jess had been acting strange all week.

"What were you gonna say?" Chris questioned her as they sat down on a black cushiony bench nearby Mike.

"I was just… I was just going to say that I…" Ashley stopped herself. She had to make sure that her hands were enclosed with his, and that their eyes were connected before she could go on. He felt his fingers squeeze hers, leaking his warmth into her after the frigid deck outside.

"You…" he prompted.

"I don't want to leave you again," Ashley said. She had to break their eye contact for a moment so she could lean back her head. Tears were gathering in her eyes, but she couldn't let them fall right now.

He sighed, and his breath touched her cheek tantalizingly. "I don't want to leave you again, either," he muttered. "That's why—"

She glanced back down, searching his face. He was now looking at the ground, and his hands were buried into his pockets. Dread engulfed her. What was he gonna say? 'That's why I'm breaking up with you'? Oh God…

"No. Wait. I have to tell you something else first, before I do that," Chris said.

"O- okay."

"Ash, look. I understand completely if this upsets you, but I- I think we both knew this was coming," he told her. She looked at the shiny floor, and noticed his foot tapping rapidly. Nerves.

"I probably maybe possibly kind of definitely don't have a job," he finished, cringing away from her like she had an enormous wart on her nose.

She had to process his words for a few moments, removing all of the unnecessary words. Wow. So… he was jobless. Nowhere to go. Standing in the infamous unemployment line. "Oh," she said, swallowing her gum accidentally. "Well… that's fine."

"Fine?" Chris stared at her desperately, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Ashley, what does 'fine' mean?"

Ashley giggled, brushing a few red strands behind her ear and grinning. "It means that I'm perfectly, one hundred percent a-okay with you not having a job."

"Really?"

"Really really," she confirmed. "I mean, what happened? Did Brad the Asshat fire you?"

Chris sucked in his lower lip, smiling awkwardly. "Umm, I actually kind of fired myself."

She tried not to snort in laughter. "You mean you quit?" she demanded, disbelief weaved into every word.

"I did," he insisted. "I couldn't take it anymore. And, I mean, he still refused to give me a week off even though I legally could take one. So I just walked out, but not until after I told him to stop effing calling me 'Shartley.'"

She raised her eyebrows at him, unimpressed. "You did not swear at him."

Chris opened his mouth, then closed it, smirking bashfully. "Yeah, you got me. Though I really did tell him to stop with the Shartley crap."

Ashley finally let a full laugh out. "Good for you." She paused, scooting up so that she could lean against the wall. Enticing food smells drifted out from the restaurant, but they were easy to ignore since she was still mostly full from breakfast.

"I sense your hesitation," Chris stated.

"Your senses have spoken to you correctly," she shot back. "No, it's just… Chris, are you at least actively seeking out something else?"

"Yes," he said right away. It was almost as if he spoke too quickly, yet he remained confident with his answer, nodding vigorously. "I actually should definitely have a job within a few weeks."

"Just definitely?" she responded, playfully reaching up to push his glasses up a bit. "Not 'probably maybe possibly kind of definitely'?"

He fake-scowled at her. "Oh, shush."

They stayed quiet for a while, slouched against the wall, her hand resting under his on top of her thigh. Ashley was almost surprised with herself, too, that she wasn't bothered by him quitting his job. Brad had been pretty awful after all, and although she would miss hearing about his idiotic antics, at least it meant her boyfriend wouldn't be suffering anymore.

Deep down, however, she still wished they could find a way to be together. She had really been relying on that publisher to accept her book. There were other publishers, but that one was her best shot. With that unsuccessfully under her belt, there was nothing she could do but hope for the best and still work at the bookstore in Portland.

She couldn't help but wonder how long the road to "the best" was.

Mike

Mike had never before in his life wanted to leave a place this much.

Yeah, so the Space Needle was cool. Alright. You could see pretty much all of Seattle or whatever from the top. That was just fine.

But he hated not being there with Jess. Knowing she was sitting back in their hotel room feeling like crap made him seriously wish he'd just stayed with her, no matter how much she argued.

When Josh finally announced it was time to leave, Mike shot up from the bench as if he'd sat on a thumbtack.

Emily eyed his tense posture as they stepped into the elevator. "Jeez, Mike, if you didn't even want to go you should've just stayed back."

"What?" he replied dismissively. "I was just... ready to leave. I'd seen all there was for me to see."

Before long they emerged back out onto the street, and Mike was the in the lead as they headed back to the hotel. It was almost lunchtime, so they decided to go their separate ways and eat lunch, then reconvene in the lobby later that night.

"Wow, man. It's like you left a trail of breadcrumbs for us to follow," Josh commented as Mike swooped around the corner into the stairwell.

"I sure did," Mike said absently, barely hearing the door slam behind him.

Mike burst into the room and found Jess laying on the bed with eyes wide like an owl's. He leaped onto the squeaky mattress, tossing his jacket on the floor and holding her close. "How are you?"

She gulped, barely registering his touch. She remained limp as a ragdoll in his arms. "Fine. Just fine." After hesitating, she asked, "How was it?"

"It sucked," he grumbled, relaxing against his pillow. "Wasn't much to see."

"Yeah, right."

"Yeah, really. And I felt bad that you didn't get to see it too," he said honestly.

Words faded on his tongue, and neither spoke for a bit. She finally seemed to notice that she was wrapped in his embrace, and at last she melted into his side. He tried to kiss her cheek, but her head turned away, perhaps accidentally.

"Jess," he whispered. One of his arms was around her shoulders, and he used that hand to gently stroke her jawbone. "Please just tell me."

"There's nothing to tell you," she said, leaning her head on his hand. "I just feel sick. That's the end of it."

Doubt filled every fiber of his body. She was hiding something from him, and it really freaked him out.

Then she said something barely audible. "Michael..." He watched her hands clench and unclench the sheet. "Do you like kids?"

It was an odd question, and his immediate answer would be yes, because it was probably the answer that would please her most. And yet he was reminded of something that happened a few days ago when he and the guys were walking around the city.

They were heading back to the hotel, and Mike had taken his hands out of his pockets for once because it wasn't as chilly. They stopped at an intersection and waited to cross.

From across the street, a little kid was clinging to his mother's coat. He was smaller than most kids his age, no older than two or three, and barely able to stand on his stubby legs. His nose was running and and it was rubbed raw, giving it the appearance of a bright red clown nose. Against his better judgment, Mike actually thought he was a cute little guy, with his wide blue eyes and perfect set of tiny baby teeth.

He was planning on waving hello to the kid as he and the others walked by, but just as Mike lifted his three-fingered hand in friendly greeting, the kid gasped and pointed a grubby finger at it.

"Mommy, where did his fingers go?" the kid shrieked.

Shame flooding him, Mike right away crammed his hands back into his pockets before the woman could even look. He picked up the pace, ignoring the multiple pairs of eyes on him.

Mike returned to the present. Jess's question was still unanswered. Grimacing, he shook his head. "Eh, I actually don't really-"

There was a loud knock on their door, and Matt's voice boomed through the old, flimsy wood. "Mike, my man! We going or not?"

"What?" Mike yelled back, irritated that they were interrupted. Jess sat up, crawling all the way under the covers and staring at the ceiling. She looked like she'd just watched all of her loved ones get murdered.

"Just you and I are going to the sports bar down the street, 'member?" Matt said.

Mike groaned as he recalled that he had, indeed, agreed to do that. His eyes darted to his girlfriend, but her eyes were closed. "Jess..."

"Go ahead," she said. A forced grin sat on her face.

"Are you sure, because I-"

"Really, you can go. It's fine," Jess assured him.

A deep frown creased his forehead and he watched her breathe a few more seconds. It relaxed him; yeah, she'd be fine. He climbed off the bed, picked up his windbreaker, and joined Matt.

Sam

It was nearly dusk. Shadows were draped over the sidewalks as the sun dipped behind the buildings.

Sam was was moving at a brisk pace, trying to keep her hair under control in the breeze. She had it down for once, and the feeling of it tickling her neck was strange. She'd always kept it pretty short, but now the blonde waves reached down past her chest. I guess I forgot to keep track of it.

She couldn't quite understand why she had agreed to do this. She still really hated him, but at the same time she was intrigued. So, so helplessly intrigued. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

It had taken her ages to get dressed. After sporting yoga pants and an old t-shirt all day, she decided to change her outfit. She wanted it to seem like she'd made an effort, but at the same she didn't want him to think that she cared too much.

So, naturally, it had been difficult to choose, especially when she refused to confide in any friends. Not even Hannah, who clearly wanted them to get together. Because Sam didn't have her best friend to instruct her on what not to wear, she was utterly lost.

Finally, however, she had settled on a nice pair of dark wash jeans and a flattering red blouse. After debating it for a solid ten minutes, Sam decided to let her hair be free from its usual confinement.

She arrived at the address he had given her, and stood dumbfounded as she was bathed in the bright lights of an old-fashioned movie theater. The countless lightbulbs were blinding, standing out harshly against the dying daylight.

"Seriously? The movies?" She sighed, crossing her arms and leaning against the the overwhelmingly-colorful building as she waited.

It took only a few minutes for him to step out from the shady sidewalk and into her view. For once he was wearing a crisp, eggplant-colored button down, something other than his signature flannel. "Hey," he greeted her.

"Hello," she answered nonchalantly.

"Your hair-" he started.

"One snarky comment and I'm putting it back up," she interjected, sending him an additional glare for good measure.

He put his hands up in surrender. "I was just going to say that it looks- you look- great."

"Oh," she said. She straightened, taking her weight off the wall and approaching him as he headed inside the building. "Great?"

He turned, smiling over his shoulder at her. His dark eyes gleamed, reflecting the glow of the light bulbs behind them. "Greater than great," he confirmed.

Sam walked stiffly beside him, mumbling a "thanks, you too" and wondering what she'd gotten herself into.