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Chapter 14: Once More With Feeling

Blake

I feel like I blinked rather than slept, but when I crack open my eyes a fraction of an inch sunlight creeps in. I groan a little and struggle against whatever Andie mummified me in earlier. This is not good. This is very not good. I should have left hours ago. I should have done a lot of things that I always forget to do with her distracting me. But if I can at least get out of here before she wakes up…

"Morning, Blakey."

Never mind. "Morning, Andie."

"You want breakfast before we go?" she asks, hopping down the stairs in her usual sportswear.

"We just ate."

"I ate. You nibbled like a rabbit. The smell must have been strong, though," she grimaces, stopping a few feet shy of me. "There is a hint of cheddar about your person."

I resist the urge to check for myself but she laughs like she knows that I want to. "Not funny."

"Oooh," she drawls in a low, teasing voice. "Somebody got up on the wrong side of the couch."

"Still not funny."

"All right, all right…seriously now. We should stop by your place on the way to the hospital. You look like death reheated."

"Gee, Andie, tell me what you really think."

She bites back a grin and I roll my eyes, walking around her to get my coat. When I look back she's staring like she's never seen me before. "What?"

She blinks. "What what?"

"What?"

Andie snorts and shakes her head. "Let's go."

I open the door and follow her out without another word, but cannot shake the feeling that she had something to tell me…

Andie

In my almost 18 years of existence I have done some pretty bad stuff. And I owned up to all of it, if only to put an end to the torture of skulking around, waiting to get caught. But where do I get the chutzpah to own up to something that never happened? And how do I get over feeling bad about it? Especially when it felt kind of good at the time…

"Do I have something on my face?"

"Huh?"

"You're staring again."

"Oh…no. I'm not staring. I'm…contemplating."

"Contemplating what?"

"What…to get you for your birthday."

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?"

"Better late than never. And anyway…what do you get the guy that has everything?"

"I don't have everything."

"Bull," I go on, happy for a diversion. "You have a job. A job that kicks your ass but you have one. You have a family that loves you. As much as you hate to hear it. You have friends with a high tolerance for your bitching…what more could you want?"

Blake smirks, shakes his head… "I don't know. Maybe that special someone…" and looks at me in a way that makes me freeze like a doe in the headlights. "What? What now?"

For this batshit crazy moment I want to tell him. I want to tell him that I had a dream about him touching me in a non-professional way. I want to tell him that right now he looks like he did then and it is freaking me out. I actually want to tell him. Like I do about everything else, whether or not he wants to hear it…

"You have spinach in your teeth."

Blake frowns and turns away to check for imaginary vegetation in the mirror. I lean back in my seat and stifle a groan. Everything else is not like this. This is a comet-sized epiphany crashing into my consciousness:

Blake Collins is hot.

Blake

She walks in like she just landed on an alien planet and it occurs to me that Andie has never seen where I live. I watch her drift in and out of the living room, the kitchen, the coat closet…and find myself biting back the urge to ask her to stop. Being observed so makes me feel a little…"naked" might be the wrong word…

"Blake, this place is epic. Why didn't you have your party here?"

"90% of the people there were 'friends of the family'."

"I'm a friend of the family, aren't I?"

"You're an actual friend. The rest were acquaintances. Thinking of them here made me uncomfortable. That being said I would prefer it if you-"

"Too bad," she interjects, popping into sight like a Whack-A-Mole. "I mean, I get that you have a thing for personal space. But this is a lot of space to keep to yourself. Is that the only piece of furniture you own?" she asks, disappearing again before I can answer. When I find her she is staring up at the music shelf against one wall…

"No," I say, joining her by The Verve. "I have chairs. And a…bed." She only glances at me, but it lasts long enough to make me feel like my brain is short-circuiting.

"CDs…" Andie continues, oblivious to my discomfort, "and vinyl? You are a real old-timer, huh?"

"Well, I was born before the iPod…"

"Oh, so you've heard of the iPod?"

"I try to keep up."

She looks both amused and bemused. "You know that you're not really old, right? Old enough to teach, sure, but still young enough to learn."

"How profound."

"I know, right? That's your fortune cookie wisdom for today."

I nod, trying not to look too gratified. "I'm going to take a shower. Stay down here, will you?"

"Aw, and there was me planning to go with you." What felt like a short circuit before is more like a complete meltdown now. It must show because Andie laughs in my face. "Chillax, Blake, I kid! I've seen it all before anyway. Or…half of it all." I start to rack my brain for any one time when she could have seen half of anything but she clarifies: "Big ol' Swan Lake picture in the hallway at MSA? Not very modest."

I cringe at the thought and she sniggers, endlessly entertained by my distress. "I'll be done in a minute. Don't touch anything…"

Andie

'And there was me planning to go with you?' What the hell is wrong with me? Why does every word out of my mouth sound flirty all of a sudden? Do I always talk like this? If I do I have to stop. Right now…

"All done," Blake announces, strolling into the kitchen where I sit, eyeing a fruit bowl on the counter. "Shall we?"

I glance at him…and then do a double take. He is wearing a blue sweater. With jeans. My eyes need a minute to adjust to the sight of him in colors other than black and white.

"Andie, why do you keep staring at me like I have leprosy?"

"Sorry," I mumble. "It's just weird seeing you out of uniform."

"Well, don't get used to it," he mutters, picking a bright red apple from the bowl and walking out. I stumble after him, trying to drag my gaze away from those freaking denims and anything in them…

"Sleep well?"

For somebody that sleeps like a dinosaur, Chase doesn't look particularly recharged. Chuck looks fresh out of a spa treatment. And Edie looks good. So good I can never imagine her looking bad. Hard as I try…

"I asked you to call me as soon as anything changed," she says, sounding indignant.

"I didn't want to wake you," says Blake.

"I didn't sleep. I was too worried. But your brother called this morning."

"Yeah. And I asked her to bring Dad some clean clothes. It was very considerate of me."

"Chase-"

"Where're Moose and Sophie?" I ask, trying to stamp out anymore incendiary statements.

"I sent them home," Chuck helps. "They did their time…"

There's nothing angry or accusatory in his voice. And it makes me feel even guiltier…

"Hey, sorry for ditching you last night, Mr. C. I know how lonely these places can get…"

"There is nothing to be sorry about," he assures. "The house is actually lonelier than the hospital right now. But I talked to Cybil and if the good doctor gives me the all clear I will be back in time to throw her a homecoming party…"

Dr. Hunt walks in just as my cell rings and "Diary of Jane" bounces off the walls of the quiet room. He turns his steely blue eyes on me and I walk out, wincing my apologies.

"Missy-"

"D! Sarah told me about Mr. Collins! Is he okay? Is Chase okay? And Blake?"

"Missy, it's cool. He just hit his head. He'll be out of here soon."

"Really?" She exhales. "Okay, cool. Moms is givin' me the evil eye for usin' my phone at church so I gotta go. See you tomorrow?"

"Maybe the day after? I have after school sessions with Blake tomorrow…" Oh, shit. I have after school sessions with Blake tomorrow.

"All right. Catch you lata-"

"Hey, Missy?" I blurt out before she hangs up. "Do you ever…have you ever had dreams of a…romantic nature?"

"What, like sex dreams?"

"No! There was no sexing. Just…have you ever had a dream about somebody you're not supposed to have dreams about?"

"Girl, those are the best ones!"

"Maybe…but they don't have to mean anything, right? They could just be the result of bad cheese or whatever…"

"I guess so. Between you and me, I had this freaky dream about Pee Wee Herman- oh, snap, Pedro just walked by- anyway I was sweet on him for while after that…so who was yours about? Not Chase obviously."

"Can't say. Won't. Too cringeworthy."

"Aw, dude, you suck! And not in a good way…"

"Missy, you are so freaking nasty…"

"You know you love it…"

I hang up, turn round and feel my smiley face shatter at the sight of Chase, lurking behind me. He looks not angry, which may or may not be a good thing…

"So this isn't really the right time or place," he says, approaching carefully, "but after last night I figured there might never be a right time or place. I mean life is short, right? And why am I taking relationship advice from Blake? The guy can barely keep his own family together."

"Huh?" I say, only really grasping the fact that he must have missed my conversation with Missy. Thank you, God…

"I was going to give this to you after what was going to be our romantic Italian dinner. But that didn't go according to plan so…" He reaches into his pocket and draws out a silver chain (ooh, shiny) with two letters on the end…AC. Air conditioning? Or Andie and Chase. Yeah, that makes more sense… "Happy first date."

I smile stupidly and let him put it on me. It feels cold but I touch like it might burn me. "I didn't get you anything."

"All I want from you is commitment. Andie West…will you be my girlfriend?"

Oh, wow. This must be it. "Do you even have to ask?"

His mouth is still smiling when it presses against mine. "Uh…" I utter when he pulls back. "What was that you said about Blake?"

"He said you wouldn't like it. But what does he know?"

A lot more than either of us apparently. He was totally right.

A/N: Thankee sai to all who are reading and reviewing! It is heartening to see that there are Blandie shippers out there, supporting the cause…

Now if all who read, wrote (romance fics, humor fics, friendship fics, AU fics, future fics, all revolving around- or at least involving- Blake and Andie), I would jizz with joy. I know that there are writers who could voice these characters better than I. Not fishing for compliments here, I really know this…

Or maybe we need more fics about the supporting characters: Moose, Sophie, Fly, Kido, Hair, Smiles, Cable, Monster…they all deserve to be fleshed out. This archive deserves to be fleshed out. Because Andie and Chase are hot, no doubt about it, but their story has been told…

So if you can, please do!