CSI: New York – The College Years

Chapter 12 – Two Can Play At That Game

A/N: I'm so sorry, I know this update is 2 days late! Eek! Been a hectic week, I apologize.

...

Don had begun walking back towards Jess & Stella's dorm; pulling out his cell phone along the way to send Jess a text to let her know that he was coming back.

'Jess, I can't go home knowing you're mad at me. I'm on my way over, please let me in? *insert irresistible puppy dog pout here* –Don'

He sighed heavily as he hit the send button; hoping she'd get the message and at least let him talk to her and try to explain; hopefully doing a better job this time then he had done earlier. They have had their share of arguments before but they had always made sure that they wouldn't go to bed still angry at each other, so with that in mind Don knew he had to see her. Stella; on the other hand was a little more stubborn and when she needed her space, well, Don was smart enough to give it to her.

...

"That's Don" Jess lightly huffed as she put down her phone; a smirk trying to tug at her lips but she wouldn't allow it. "He won't go home until he talks to me"

"It's fine Jess" Stella assured her with a small smile. "I don't expect you to be mad at Don; hell I don't even think I'm really mad at him it's just... I don't know, too much came at me all at once"

"I know" Jess frowned, reaching for Stella's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Do you think I'm over reacting?" Stella asked weakly.

"I think that you've dealt with more than your fair share of trust issues, and even though I'm sure Mac would've never meant to hurt you, I understand why it does hurt"

"That doesn't answer my question"

"I can't answer that question for you Stell" Jess shrugged. "But if Mac cares as much about you as I think he does; he's not taking it lightly either and I'm sure he's going to find a way to make it up to you"

"Ugh, I think I'm doomed" Stella sighed; allowing herself to fall back onto the bed. "Love really has it in for me. Can't anything ever just go right for me just once?"

"Love?" Jess perked up and Stella brought herself up slightly, resting on her elbows.

"What?"

"You said love"

"No I didn't" she quickly shook her head.

"Yes you did" Jess exclaimed, slapping Stella's knee. "You love Mac?"

"Little premature for that don't you think? Somebody's been watching a little too much daytime television" Stella countered and Jess laughed.

"You're the one who said it..."

"Well, you know what I meant" Stella sighed. "I knew he was too perfect" she mentioned in sorrow as she shook her head.

"Stella, are you really giving up on him?"

"I don't know what I'm doing" she groaned as she rubbed her forehead with her hand. "I think I just need to get some sleep. Will you tell Don I'm sorry for snapping at him earlier?"

"Sure" Jess nodded. "Breakfast in the morning?"

"Maybe" Stella shrugged.

"Well, goodnight"

"Night"

Jess stood up from the bed and headed out of Stella's room, closing the door behind her and walked back into the main living room just as a soft knock came to her door and she hurried to answer it.

"Don" she greeted him cordially with a polite nod while she tried in vain to downplay the smile that was creeping onto her lips as she watched him; leaning against the doorframe with his bottom lip sticking out and giving her his famous 'puppy dog eyes' that no one could possibly resist.

"Stop it" she scolded him, slapping his arm. "It's very difficult to be mad at you when you look like that you know"

"I know, it's my secret weapon" he smirked and she rolled her eyes as she stepped away from the door, allowing him to come inside.

He made his way over to the couch and sat down, expecting Jess to join him, instead she stopped in front of him, folded her arms across her chest and began tapping her foot on the floor.

"Well..."

"Well what?" Don wondered and she shook her head.

"Well, do you have an explanation for yourself? Don't think you can just come over here and show that cute face of yours and all is forgiven"

"This cute face?" Don asked, forcing his eyes to droop downwards and bottom lip to lightly quiver; not unlike how a small child looks right before tears are threatening to fall.

"I hate you" she moaned, finally dropping her arms down in defeat and easing herself onto his lap and he was quick to wrap his arms around her.

"I'm sorry" he whispered into her ear, then planted a kiss just below it on her neck.

"I know" she frowned, laying her head down on his shoulder.

"It honestly never crossed my mind to bring it up; I mean, it was weeks ago when he told me about her and I just thought a lot has happened since then, and I haven't heard him mention her since and..." his voice trailed off as he shook his head. "I don't know babe. I'm sorry, I guess I just wasn't thinking" he finished with a heavy sigh as he sunk further back into the couch.

"I know, you would've never kept something like this from Stella if you thought it was still going on"

"It's not, trust me. I already asked Mac myself. He swears up and down that it's over, he was just kind of shocked when she called. Didn't know how to handle it"

"Yeah, he doesn't really seem the 'player' type; able to juggle two women at once" Jess lightly laughed and Don nodded.

"No, trust me he's pretty torn up about it right now"

"Think they'll work things out?" Jess wondered and Don shrugged with uncertainty.

"Well, we both know how stubborn Stella can be" Don offered with a slight frown.

"Hmmm, true..."

"Speaking of which, is Stella still mad at me?"

"I don't even think Stella knows who she's mad with at this point" Jess rightfully surmised.

"Should I go talk to her?"

"No, she said she was going to sleep. Wanted me to apologize to you though"

"She didn't have to..."

"I know, you don't deserve it" Jess smirked and Don frowned.

"Hey now" he moaned with mocked hurt. "Now I think you owe me an apology" he playfully demanded as he poked her softly in her side.

"And what if I don't want to give you one?" She challenged and he grinned.

"Then you'll have to think of another way to make it up to me" he countered before quickly looping one arm underneath her knees and the other around her waist and scooping her up as he stood up from the couch and carried her down the hallway; Jess giggling and squirming in his grasp along the way.

...

Morning came far too soon for Mac as he spent most of the night tossing and turning while his mind replayed his own actions from last night. By the time the alarm clock had gone off beside him he figured he maybe had gotten about an hour worth of sleep in the last 7 hours he had been lying there. He wanted nothing more but to stay in bed all day long but he knew that wasn't an option. Not only did he have a class later this morning as well as a football practice in the afternoon, but he knew he couldn't miss the opportunity to see Stella in case by some miracle she would actually be waiting for him this morning. So with that very small glimmer of hope still dancing around his tired brain he finally pushed himself out of bed and quickly changed into his running clothes.

He jogged through the deserted campus towards Stella's dorm; his weary and tired mind failing to come up with much of anything more in the way of an apology than he had already offered the night before and his exhausted body didn't want to run any further but he pushed on regardless. Finally rounding the corner to the front entrance of Stella's dorm building he came to a stop and hung his head. She wasn't here; wasn't waiting for him like she had been every day for the last number of weeks.

"Damn it" he cursed himself as he paced the front steps. In the back of his mind he had a pretty good feeling she wouldn't be here, but was secretly hoping that was just his own insecurities getting the better of him and that things weren't as bad as he thought. But then again, maybe they were; he began wondering.

'Just go inside and see her Mac' his brain insisted. 'What've you got to lose? Nothing. She's everything to you'

Finally he headed inside the dorm, stopping to pace once again outside of Stella's door as his own inner monologue argued with itself on whether or not he should be here. Before he had a chance to offer a knock his pacing came to an abrupt end when the door swung open, revealing Don throwing his jacket on and ready to walk out the door.

"Mac!" Don stated in surprise.

"Oh, Don, hey. Um, is Stella here?" he asked hopefully, but Don frowned and shook his head, immediately squashing any hope Mac had left.

"Sorry man, I woke up this morning and her and Jess were gone. Maybe they had an early class?"

"Or maybe she's avoiding me" Mac countered, offering a heavy sigh at the end.

"You don't know that for certain" Don tried to offer some comfort. "Anyway, sorry but I gotta run, have to get home and change then I got a class to get to, but I'll see you at practice alright?"

"Alright" Mac nodded slightly.

He followed Don back out of the dorm building and onto the sidewalk where they parted ways; Don heading towards his car and Mac continuing on his run.

Mac hadn't gotten very far before he noticed Adam a few yards ahead, walking towards him. Mac slowed down and eventually stopped as Adam approached.

"Adam, what are you doing out here?" Mac wondered, as it was quite a distance from their dorm room and given the direction Adam was headed in he must be on his way home, but there was no way he could've had a class already this morning.

"I uh... I didn't come home last night" Adam smirked, his eyes squinting slightly as the morning sun pierced into his eyes.

"Kendall?" Mac questioned, although he could already tell from the look on Adam's face that that's exactly where he came from.

"Yep" Adam nodded enthusiastically. "I was actually helping her study for her mid-term but it got really late and I was tired so she let me stay over... Well, let me sleep on the floor in her room" he finished with a small laugh, and Mac couldn't help but let out a light chuckle as well as he shook his head.

"Well, guess that's a start" Mac shrugged.

"Yeah, are you kidding me? The only other time I've slept in a girl's room was my cousin Shelly. It was Christmas Eve and my dad got drunk and forgot me there. And Shelly snored Mac" Adam whined. "Like a lot!" he rolled his eyes and Mac shook his head with laughter once again.

"Hey, what are you doing right now, you want to get a coffee, or breakfast or something?" Mac asked casually; not really wanting to spend any more time alone with his tormenting thoughts.

"Uh yeah sure... As long as I don't have to run there"

"No, let's walk" Mac nodded in agreement.

As the two headed towards the diner a few minutes away Adam talked Mac's ear off about his evening with Kendall and Mac was happy to listen; the more Adam talked, the less he thought about Stella and his mistakes he had made with her.

Unfortunately for Mac, being able to not think about Stella didn't last too long. The moment he and Adam stepped into the diner she was the first thing he'd noticed; sitting in the back corner of the diner with Jessica.

"Hey isn't that Stella and Jessica?" Adam immediately mentioned as he too noticed them. "We should go say hi" he stated with a bright smile which quickly turned into a confused frown when Mac put his arm out in front of Adam to stop him.

"Mac?"

"Maybe we should just grab our coffee to go" he mumbled, lightly pushing Adam towards the counter.

"But I thought... I thought you and Stella were pretty tight; no?"

"To be honest Adam, I don't know what we are. Now can we just get a coffee and get out of here" he huffed and Adam just shook his head.

"Just two coffees, to go I guess" Adam grumbled towards the waitress.

...

"Hey, Mac's here!" Jess exclaimed as she saw Adam and Mac make their way inside the diner. "Are you going to say hello?"

Stella twisted her head around slightly to see the front entrance just as Mac was holding Adam back from coming towards them.

"Apparently he doesn't want to see me" she mentioned in sorrow, turning back to face Jess.

"Maybe he just wants to give you some space?" Jess shrugged and Stella rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, either that or he thinks I'm a total head case and wants nothing to do with me" she huffed, staring back into her coffee mug.

"What? Why would you think that?"

"Well let's see, we were dating all of two days and I pulled the infamous 'jealous of the ex-girlfriend' card on him and threw him out"

"Hey, you had every right to be upset about that" Jess mentioned softly and Stella shook her head.

"You weren't there Jess, I jumped all over him, barely let him get two words in. He tried to explain and I practically bit his head off. I don't know, I was just scared that it was Frankie all over again..." her voice trailed off as her eyes began glistening with fresh tears.

"Yeah but Stell, you know Mac isn't like that..."

"Exactly!" Stella exclaimed. "Unfortunately I wasn't thinking all that clearly last night, and I jumped to conclusions; regardless if what he did was wrong. And you're right, he's not like Frankie; he's not going to come over here and make a big scene and beg me for my forgiveness"

"So why don't you go and talk to him?"

"I can't" she quickly shook her head. "I don't think I could take the rejection right now"

"You don't know he's going to reject you Stella" she tried to reason. "Don told me he talked to Mac last night and Mac was really upset about what happened"

"Well, don't you think if he wanted to talk to me he'd come over here?"

"Who knows, maybe he's just as stubborn as you!" Jess countered before hanging her head slightly. "I'm sorry Stell; I didn't mean that the way it sounded" she stated remorsefully.

"Well it doesn't matter now because it looks like they're leaving"

...

As the young waitress handed Adam the two coffees he shoved one towards Mac then stormed out of the diner, stopping at the front entrance until Mac finally caught up and offered a look of confusion.

"What's wrong with you?" Mac immediately wondered.

"No, it's not about me anymore Mac. Every time something is going on with you you turn it around and make it about me. You know things about me that I've never told anyone but the second something is happening to you you shut me out. Well it's about time you let me in and tell me just what the hell that was about in there" Adam snapped and Mac was fixed in a state of shock as a new side of Adam was revealed.

"Now tell me what's going on with you and Stella" he insisted once more and Mac finally let out a heavy sigh before going into his explanation.

"I screwed up Adam" Mac began, shaking his head. He continued to tell Adam the rest of the story, starting from the night at the concert and ending with the fight he and Stella had last night and Adam listened intently; never interrupting as he wanted to make sure he got the whole story.

"Okay, so...?"

"So, what?" Mac asked with a questioning glance.

"So you're just going to give up now?" Adam scoffed in disbelief.

"Look Adam, I must've called her 10 times last night, I think she's made it pretty clear that she doesn't want to talk to me" he snapped back.

"So she was upset last night, maybe she wants to work things out now"

"Yeah well if that was the case, why didn't she come and talk to me just now? Or wait for me this morning like she used to"

"Maybe because she's just as thick headed as you" Adam threw back at him.

"Yeah well that would be the best case scenario" Mac huffed.

"Come on Mac..."

"Look Adam, I get that you're trying to help" Mac began again in a much softer tone. "But you don't understand, I hurt her and betrayed her trust and... damn it! I'm no better than that neanderthal ex of hers. She'll probably never forgive me and I can't say I blame her"

"Mac..."

"Can we just drop it please? The ball is in her court now, if she won't talk to me then there's nothing more I can do" he stated in sorrow as he hung his head and rubbed his forehead with his free hand.

"I'm sorry Mac" Adam offered weakly as he noted Macs defeated posture. "Maybe she just needs more time, I'm sure she'll come around"

"I don't know, but I hope you're right" he sighed heavily as he finally looked back up to Adam. "Let's get out of here, I have to go home and change and get to class" he lightly huffed, turning to head back towards the dorms with Adam following closely behind.

...

**Okay, time for a chapter break. Sorry, no happily ever after for SMacked (yet) but stay tuned for more! Up next is the football game as well as another famous 'after party'. So what's in store for Mac and Stella? Will they finally get past their stubbornness and re-connect? Who will make the first move towards reconciliation? Well, you'll have to wait and see**

Also, if you're a fellow SMacked fan, be sure to check out my other multi-chapter story entitled "Family Ties". It's been kind of flying under the radar and needs some love and reviews, so head on over to my profile and check it out! ;)