I'm sorry that it took me all weekend to update, but I was busy partying at a Fake Festival (if you don't know what one is, it's basically an all-day festival of tribute bands, the bands at mine were The Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Killers!) Anyhow, I also spent all Sunday sunbathing in this random English Summer weather, so I only just got round to typing this chapter up on Monday. Thanks for waiting, I hope you enjoy! xxxNTxxx


Day 55 (cont.) – Elliot Reid

It had been the most stressful and insane day of Elliot's life since the day after accidentally kissing the Janitor – and it had the same principle too. She was once again avoiding him in the hope that everything will blow over. The only problem was that the poor guy had no idea why she was squealing at the sight of him and running away; at least last time he had some kind of clue towards it. Now she felt like the worst girlfriend in the world, having just recently kissed another man, not just another man - John Frickin' Dorian! - and was now trying to damnedest to escape any feeling of guilt with difficulty.

So the day had dragged and now she didn't know how to feel anymore. Did she really still love JD and if so, where did that leave her with the Janitor? The choice was clear – JD had no romantic feelings towards her and the Janitor did – so why couldn't she just accept that? Why must this rejected feeling still swirl in her guts and make her life a misery? Poor Elliot Reid had never been in this kind of situation before. She didn't plan on staying that way, neither.

She had spoken to Carla earlier that day and now she was trying to seek advice once more as they sat in the doctor's lounge watching an old episode of Dr Phil.

Elliot was sat forward, biting her nail. "I just don't wanna hurt him."

"I know," Carla sympathised, obviously finding it hard to understand. "You have to weigh out your options. Think about it carefully. Which guy is the right guy, you know? Every new relationship hits a rocky patch round about now. It's not your fault that you're confused."

"But I actually kissed another man!" Elliot whined. "That's, like, cheating! I can't believe myself, I don't deserve either of them."

"Don't talk like that!" Carla warned her friend. "Now think of the Pro's of JD."

"He's kind, caring, sweet..." Elliot smiled and looked off distantly. "I love the way he day dreams about things, and that funny face he pulls. I miss his doughy eyes and awesome hair. He's so funny."

"Okay, now Con's."

"He's a jerk. He dumped me embarrassingly at your wedding rehearsal, and he's a little girly. He can be so annoying and irritating, he can be selfish, a show off, boastful and whiney and insensitive and only cares about himself sometimes..."

"Stop!" Carla laughed. "I think that's enough. Look, you've got eight Pro's and, uh, eleven Con's. Move on, do the Janitor."

"Pro's?" Elliot giggled. "Well, where do I start? He's gentle with me. He treats me different than other people, like I'm the only one he wants."

"Good."

"He loves me, he cares about me, he's like a misunderstood puppy and he's all mine! We've got things in common and he makes my heart melt when I see him. I feel like I can be myself around him, like he doesn't care how I am. I can be as neurotic as I like and he just laughs! And most of all, I can see myself spending my life with him, I really can."

"Good, nine Pro's." Carla nodded, spooning some yoghurt into her mouth and attempting to say 'Con's'.

"Right... err..." Elliot frowned and blew the bangs out of her face. "He's weird, I guess. He stuffs animals, but I guess some of them are cute, like the bunny. Err..."

Carla laughed and snorted. "I'm sorry but this is just painful. It's obvious who you really wanna be with!"

"Who?" Elliot, unaware, stood up eagerly for the answer.

"The Janitor, idiot." Carla smirked and finished up her yoghurt. "I gotta go. Find him and tell him how much you love him."

"Yeah..." Elliot half frowned, half smiled and almost tripped over herself as she headed out of the door. She had to find him. Shouldn't be too hard, one man in a five story building... not hard at all. She just had to find him.

As she was thinking this, she felt something grab at her arm, and suddenly she was pulled into darkness from the corridor. The random jerk made Elliot squeal and she realised that she was now inside a supply closet for some reason. She turned to confront whoever had done this to her, only then noticing the back of the closet opening up into a much bigger office-like space. The Janitor still had hold of her scrubs sleeve her he pulled her into the brighter, secret space. She couldn't help be gasp at it all.

"What is this place?" She wondered aloud.

"My thinking space." The Janitor shrugged. "Kelso won't pay for me to have an office because he claims I don't have an important enough career here in the hospital to qualify for one. There were some harsh words, I digressed and here we are."

"Wow..." Elliot nodded, actually appreciating his talents. "Actually, I have something important to tell you."

"Oh, is this about whatever has happened to you lately?" He narrowed his eyes, sitting in the chair behind his desk and folding his fingers together. "You were acting weird so I decided to ask what was up. Actually, Nice Nurse did."

"Did she now..." Elliot scowled.

"Yea, and Black Doctor, so tell me." He continued, indicating for her to take the empty chair in front of his desk and leaning across when she did so. "Why are your panties in such of a twist and why is Scooter covering for you?"

Frick! Think of an excuse, Elliot, think of an excuse! Panic overwhelmed her and she found herself grasping the wood of the desk with her nails, biting her lips and blowing the hair from her eyes all at the same time and within what must've been a second but felt like a lifetime. The guilt was killing her; she swore that beads of sweat were slowly making their way down her face and her eyes revealed that she was hiding something. Think of an excuse, Elliot, think of an excuse... aw, frick it. He has to know.

That's when all of Elliot's problems came spilling out in one long neurotic metaphor. "I kissed JD last night at the pictures. On the lips. And he pushed me away but I wanted it more and I feel really bad and I don't know what to do now because I'm caught in the middle of this wave of surging energies I don't know, a bit like when you're at the beach and there's two tidal waves crashing at you at once and all you can do is sink... I'm sinking! I don't wanna drown but that means having to choose which wave to swim alongside and that's hard because both seem really nice and I wouldn't mind either... you see where I'm coming from?"

The Janitor, stunned by the outburst, leaned back in the chair. It squeaked as his eyebrows furrowed and he nodded gently as he considered the facts laid before him. She sat nervously, playing with some of her hair and trying not to freak out anymore than she had already. A few minutes later, he untangled his fingers and dropped them to the arms of the chair, using his weight to lift himself up and then wiping his hands against each other. He stopped and pointed at Elliot, who almost flinched.

"You... kissed... Scooter?" He repeated slowly. "JD. Yeah?"

Elliot stayed silent, unsure what to say at this point.

"Am I right?" He raised his voice and she nodded quickly. "And you liked it. You said... you said you wanted more. Yeah?"

"Oh God... I didn't mean like that, I don't know..." Elliot began to ramble again. "I'm just confused and lost and I don't know what to do right now! It's not my fault, there are still feelings for JD somewhere."

"Even after he crushed you." The Janitor mused on that thought for a couple of seconds and that quietly chuckled to himself. "I knew this would be too good to be true."

"No!" Elliot screeched, standing too and knocking her chair over noisily. "It doesn't have to be! I came here to tell you how much I love you, I was talking to Carla you see, about how bad my situation is, how I can't decide who I care about most!"

"Well, uh," He scratched the back of his head. "I'm gonna make it simple for you then. Get out."

"Wait, no, JD doesn't love me, I chose you-"

"Out!" He barked, turning away from her and pointing at the exit. Obeying his orders, Elliot solemnly fumbled towards the exit, looking back only once to see the Janitor fall back into his chair and place his head in his hands.

How do you fix a broken man? It just can't be done. Not when you're the one who shattered him into millions of tiny pieces with one huge blow.