This chapter is dedicated to Crickes. She knows why. ;D

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Chapter 10:

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Liv straightened her skirt, smoothed out the napkin underneath her coffee cup, and glanced at the clock on the wall again.

Reid was late.

It was just as well, since she didn't really feel like searching for some meaningless conversation with the impulse-driven asshole, but her own feelings only served to undermine her task. A date was a date, and she had to seem like she wanted to be here, which is why, despite the biting cold, she wore less-than-appropriate clothing for the weather, just to look nice. Statistics showed that boys were seventy percent visual, after all.

Then he finally came plowing through the front door, dragging the outside snow with him. He quickly spotted her, seemed to sigh in frustration, and plopped down in the seat in front of her.

Neither spoke for a moment. He seemed to be evaluating her, something he did often.

"Due to yesterday's startling new developments," he said with a chill in his tone. "Suddenly you are the last person I want to be sitting across from me."

"To be honest," she confessed before she could stop herself. "I feel the same about you."

She slapped a hand over her mouth, fearing she had just made a critical mistake. Trying to mend the situation, she shoved the extra cup on the table toward him.

"I… I bought you coffee. I bought it black because I didn't know what you like."

Reid glared at her, but the disdain somehow seemed to dissipate.

"I like it black," he stated, then took a drink.

"So," he said after a moment. "If I don't like you and you don't like me, why are we here?"

"I do like you," Liv insisted.

"No you don't," Reid countered firmly. "I'm smart enough to know when people don't like me. Hell, even some of my friends don't like me, and I recognize that. What puzzles me is why you would go out of your way to get in my way."

"I don't follow."

He tallied them off on a finger count.

"You change your clothes, you get your friends to put in good words for you, you mess with my swim files--"

"I did no such thing!" Liv said, feeling her anger level rise. "I object to you accusing me without anything to back up your hearsay!"

He looked at her curiously for a moment.

"You're dad's a lawyer, huh?"

Liv looked back with complete confusion at the abrupt change of subject.

"My mum is."

"My dad's one," he said naturally, like there had not just been anger between them in the last second. "Means I'm probably going to be one too."

Liv furrowed her brow in bewilderment. He seemed to have let that argument go rather quickly, and of course, Liv was still cautious as to if he was still angry and just acting casual.

"Is that what you want?" she asked.

It seemed like a simple question to her, but he seemed to be quite flustered by it, and looked at her as if she had just asked him something very, very personal.

"I don't know," he admitted at length. "All of my friends are going to be, so why not?"

Liv felt the need to pursue it. She knew how people worked, and he was avoiding answering directly.

"Is it what you want?"

He looked at her as if offended.

"You sound like my friend Caleb. He likes to ask me things twice too. Bugs the hell out of me."

"Oh," Liv backed off. "I'm sorry. My Dad's actually a detective, so I get that from him."

"That explains it," Reid decided, leaning back in his chair.

"Explains what?"

"That look in your eye."

"What look?"

He paused.

"The look of a person that sees things for what they are. I sensed it the moment I saw you."

He leaned close to her again.

"See, I have this theory that there are two kinds of people. Those that see life for what it actually is, and those that don't. Those that see are very rare, so you can take that as a compliment, I guess."

"Well, then I'm honored," Liv giggled.

"You should be," Reid said with a nod and a shadow of a grin. "It's a big honor."

"Is it now?"

"Hell, yeah."

There was that cocky look again. Damn his stupid self-assuredness. Only this time, it seemed rather… funny. Liv actually enjoyed herself for a second or two there. She shoved that thought aside quickly. She couldn't possibly imagine the disaster actually liking this boy could ensue for her in the future. She had to keep things cold on the inside, and hot on the outside. So why was it suddenly becoming such an effort not to enjoy his company?

"So why are you here?" Liv asked. "If you don't like me, why did you ask me here?"

"I'm trying to figure that out myself," Reid admitted, squinting his eyes at her. "There's something strange about you though. I can't put my finger on it, but it's there."

He leaned back in his chair again.

"Or maybe its just that it seems like you're easy sex."

Liv's mouth dropped in shock.

"I beg your pardon?!"

"A virgin, am I correct?"

"You disgust me more every time you open your mouth, Mr. Garwin."

"See? The truth comes out."

"I'm not sleeping with you."

"Like I'd want you to."

Liv drew back, insulted.

"And why not?" she huffed.

Reid sighed.

"Didn't we go over this already? As much as you try to be, you're not my type."

"And what is your type? Sluts? Whores? Meaningless disposable pleasure toys that will mean nothing to you in the morning?"

Reid smiled for the first time in that conversation.

"Yes, please."

Liv could barely hold back from choking him. She had to take a few moments to pull away from the high anger levels. Again, he just sat there studying her.

"I've decided something, Liv," he said, for the first time calling her by name. "You're quite a puzzle."

Liv gave him a skeptical look.

"Is that bad?"

"I gotta go visit John," he randomly announced, jumping up from his chair.

"Who?" she asked with confusion, then saw he was heading for the lavatory, and got his meaning.

She twiddled her thumbs as she waited for him, and gazed around the coffee shop in boredom. She spotted a few people she recognized from school, but since this was the only coffee shop for miles, that wasn't much of a surprise.

As fate would have it, she walked in through the front door just then. That's right.

Cassie.

She was with Rachel, and engaged in deep conversation about something she could catch by sight alone.

This was a disaster. If she saw her here with Reid…

As her first reaction, Liv dove under the table, but it was too late.

"Liv?" Rachel and her stupid mouth. "Is that you?"

"What are you doing under the table?" Cassie asked with perplexity.

"I was…" Liv sat up quickly. "I was… looking for my earring."

"But you're not wearing any," Rachel observed.

"Whoops!" Liv shrugged it off. "I must have lost both! They are quite slippery things. What are you two doing here?"

"Coffee," Cassie replied. "I'm a little behind on homework so I'm going to need the extra fix."

Liv was starting to panic. Reid was going to be coming back any second…

"Here!" Liv said a little too loudly, shoving Cassie her own cup of java. "You can have mine. I'm sure you have a lot of work ahead of you and you shouldn't waste anymore time than you have to--"

"—What's the rush?" Rachel asked. "With all three of us here again, this is a rare moment we should savor a bit, huh?"

"No!" Liv argued. "No savoring; I'm sure opportunities will come again. School comes first, you know that, and I don't want to keep you, so…"

She quickly embraced Rachel, and then Cassie in goodbye. As she was hugging Cassie, she spotted Reid coming from the bathroom, take one look at the girls, and turn and go back inside.

Rachel spotted him too, and grasped the situation quickly, casting Liv a look of surprise. The next look warned Liv that she had better do some explaining later.

"Oh, Cass?" Rachel said roughly. "I think Liv's right, we better hop to that homework."

"Since when do you 'hop' to anything?" Cassie wondered.

"Since now," Rachel said, herding her to the door. "Let's go."

"You owe me…" Rachel mouthed before she finally left the way they had come.

As the door closed after them, Liv let out a breath of deep relief, letting her shoulders relax.

"That was a close one," Reid said, coming out of nowhere. Liv jumped, and put a hand over her heart to steady herself.

"You can say that again," Liv agreed. "Thanks for saving my friendship."

"Or breaking it," Reid countered. "Depending on how you look at it."

"I guess."

He grabbed his coat and coffee in preparation to leave.

"I'll see you at tutoring session Thursday at three," he instructed, sounding like a coach himself. "Don't be late."

She nodded.

"By the way," he said on his way out. He grinned and winked. "I like puzzles."

Liv took a moment to figure out what he meant, but when she did, she couldn't help but smile and blush.

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Please review.

Signed,
--RedRogue