Peachy65: Yeah I love The Apartment too! The first time I saw it, it reminded me so much about Mallory and her place in the story. I had to include it. And as for Mallory, she definitely goes through a lot of stuff between now and the end of the story. And some of the things she does isn't exactly angelic.

Lulu: You'll find out where Elizabeth is soon!

Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: I'm glad that line made you laugh. I was so nervous with all the drama in the story that people would be turned off. I'm glad you laughed because I actually like writing comedy more, but unfortunately the next couple chapters are all drama. I'm definitely going to throw in some fluff too, unfortunately there isn't any here though!

AN: Sorry it's been a while! I've been very busy these past few weeks. Anyways, here is the chapter. It was difficult for me to write because there is a lot of emotional drama, but after finishing, I am very proud of it. I guess you can say it's a character study of two character's relationship. Anyways, enough babbling, I hope you all like it!

Chapter 36

It was Tuesday night and Jim sat silently at his barstool, waiting for his friend to take the one next to his. He already ordered a beer. He drank his slowly, taking in the taste. He was thinking about Elizabeth. Where could she be? She was from San Francisco, that's where her family was. But she couldn't be there. She hadn't spoken to her parents in almost a year. That thought upset Jimmy, who spoke to his father almost everyday. He couldn't imagine more than a week without talking to his dad.

She could be with her older brother. He went to grad school at Macalester. But she hadn't spoken to him since she told him she was dropping out of school and he threw a table. Elizabeth never told Jim her feelings on that, but he could tell that that scared her. Or maybe she was with her friend Scott Hamilton? Where the hell was he from? His sister lived on the floor, but they rarely talked so that would just be awkward. She probably wouldn't say anything anyways.

Jim's thoughts were interrupted by the familiar voice of his friend.

"Hey, Jimmy. How's it going?"

Jim looked up and smiled sadly at his friend, "Hey Mallory."

The blonde noticed the open barstool next to Jimmy's and sat down. She hadn't seen too many of the guys lately because of her busy schedule. She was lucky to run into Jim when she was going to a class and he was returning from practice.

"Sorry I've been so distanced," Mallory yawned, "I've begun studying for finals. When I'm not in class or in the library, I'm sleeping. Although, I did try to teach Bah, Mac and Pav about punk music a few days ago. After the first song, they ran for the hills."

Mallory chuckled at the memory, but Jim didn't really react. He gave a small smile at his friend just for being there. Seeing Jim's facial expression, Mallory sensed something was up.

"So what's going on?" Mallory gave her friend a concerned look. She wanted to know why he asked her here.

Before Jim could answer, the bartender came up to get Mallory's order. She got water and a burger. Jim gave her a confused look. Mallory was always willing to go for a beer or two.

"This is my study break," Mallory explained, "I need to eat diner than hit the books again."

"I'm sorry to be…" before Jim could finish, the RA interrupted him.

"I wanna be here," Mallory told him, "Now what's up?"

"Well you know Elizabeth and I broke up last week?" Jim asked.

"Yeah," Mallory nodded, as the bartender gave her the glass of water she ordered.

Jim sat silent for a moment and Mallory urged him to keep up with the conversation. She knew that he wanted to talk to her because he could never talk to the guys about his feelings like this. They understood each other that way, Mallory and Jim both knew it.

"What did you see her at practice or something?" Mallory asked while taking a sip of her water.

"No," Jim looked down at his hands, which were crossed with his thumbs twiddling about, and then he looked up, "She's gone."

"Wait, what?" Mallory was confused.

"Her coach doesn't know where she is," Jim explained, "Saturday she lost her competition and left Elaine."

"Jesus," the blonde sighed, looking away from Jim, then sighed, "Uh, are you okay?"

"I feel a lot worse about everything now," Jim told her, "I kind of assumed that I would talk to her after she got back and we'd work things out…"

"Well, you know what they say about assuming things, right?" Mallory looked at him coyly.

"Yeah, that it makes an ass out of you and me," Jim groaned.

"Well I was just gonna say 'Don't!', but that works too," Mallory laughed at her own joke. Jim was not amused.

"I just don't get it!" Jim sighed, "I mean I know sometimes she can be a little immature, but she left her coach and hasn't contacted her since. I'm really starting to worry."

"I'm sure she's fine," Mallory tried, "Besides, why did you want to get back together? I thought you said that you dumped her…"

Jim had told everyone after the break up that he broke up with her. It was actually the other way around. Jim's emotions and ego couldn't stand scrutiny from the guys if they knew the truth.

"Can I tell you the truth?" Jim bit his lip.

"Yeah," Mallory said slowly.

"We got in a big fight and she left. She broke up with me…" Jim confessed.

"Yeah, I figured," Mallory replied.

"How?" the goalie was confused. They had their fair share of problems, but he didn't think the floor knew everything about them.

"Her face when she picked you up last week on that date," the RA answered, "She gave a fake smile and her eyes almost looked….pained."

Jim didn't know what to say. She looked perfectly happy to him. Mallory, who was only with Elizabeth for a few moments, knew more about her feelings than he did. And he was her boyfriend!

"Am I blind?" Jim looked despondent.

"No," Mallory shook her head, "You're just a guy."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do now," Jim said, "I want to see her, but I have no idea where she is!"

Mallory looked into his blue eyes. The first few weeks of knowing her, he always gave her a cold stare. Now, he looked desperate and sad. The blonde felt terrible.

"Do you care about her?" Mallory asked, "Or are you just caring now because you don't know where she is?"

As Mallory posed the question, Jim gave her a blank facial expression. He had no idea. He cared about her, or at least he thought he did. They did get into that fight. Things were just so complicated. He liked having her in his life and wanted more than friendship but is that enough?

"Well you need to think about that," Mallory stood up from the barstool, and offered, "You need to relax. Do you want to hotbox in my car?"

"No," he shook his head, "I thought you had to study?"

"I do," she nodded, "This is just my break."

"I don't do that…"Jim sighed.

"Oh," Mallory felt awkward. She hated being that awkward person that asked non-smokers to smoke. She assumed that he smoked a little because some of the other guys did. She shouldn't have assumed.

Mallory sat back down next to Jim and her burger arrived. She ate quickly and he sat quietly thinking. When she was done, she had to get back to work. She can hotbox a different night. She got up and said her goodbye to Jim.

"I might not see you for a couple of days because I'll be studying. But tell me how things go," Mallory gave a reassuring smile.

"I don't think anything will go since I don't know where she is," Jim sighed, looking forward and not at his side where she was.

Mallory was silent for a moment. He was so confused and upset. She didn't know what to do. Then she went behind him and gave him a hug from behind. Mallory rested her chin on his forehead and part of her face was on his hair. She gave him a kiss on the back of his head, not romantically, but a friendly one. The RA wanted to help her sad friend, who needed a hug. Jim had a beer in one hand, but with the other he held one of her arms that was wrapped around him. They were the hug for a few moments.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly before letting go.

….

It was now Thursday night, two days since Elaine told Jim that Elizabeth was missing. He was still tense and pretty quiet around most of the guys, only joining their conversations sporadically. The guys could tell he was upset, even maybe feeling a little guilty. Jim and a few of the guys were hanging out in Mac and Mark's room when they saw a familiar face walking by.

"Is that Mallory McDonnell?" Mac jokingly questioned while squinting his eyes.

Mallory chuckled, "Ha ha, very funny."

"Where have you been? I feel like it's been forever since we saw you last," OC asked.

"Studying for finals," she groaned, sounding tired. She looked tired, with her hair in a frazzled bun and bags under her eyes. The John Lennon-glasses were probably going to come out soon.

The guys did a collective groan, meaning that they were sorry for her. This lightened up Mallory's face a little bit.

"Yeah tell me about it," she nodded.

"After you can show us some real punk music," Mac told her. Mallory tried teaching them about it, but they didn't like what they heard and left.

"I did show you! And I didn't even go into the real gritty underground stuff. The Sex Pistols are pretty main stream," Mallory tried.

"What was that song you had us listen to?" Mac asked.

"'Liar'. It's a pretty simple song, I don't know why you guys didn't like it," Mallory answered, "And the Sex Pistols were a good band. I mean they're songs were good, but they killed the punk movement in America."

"Can you get us more mainstream?" Mac wondered. Mallory had them listen to The Sex Pistols because she wanted to start them off mainstream.

"How about we try The Ramones? Or Patti Smith? Or Iggy Pop? Or maybe David Bowie?" Mallory was thinking aloud, "Which do you wanna listen to?"

"The Ramones," Mac said, "Because they were in that movie."

"Alright," she chuckled.

Just then Katie came up to Mallory. The brunette hall-mate had books in her arms, much like Mallory.

"Hey. Ready to study?" then she turned to the guys and greeted them too, "Hey guys."

A few of the guys said hey back.

"Yeah, lemme get my books for that class," Mallory told her, walking towards her door right across the way, "You can come in if you want."

The two girls entered Mallory's room. The guys kept talking a little more and a few minutes later, Katie left Mallory's room alone. She was standing outside waiting for her. The guys noticed.

"What are you still doing here?" OC yelled out to Katie.

"I thought you were studying with Mal," Mac was curious why they hadn't gone to the library yet.

"We're going to. She's just on the phone with Elizabeth again," Katie sighed.

The guys gave her a confused look and Katie suddenly realized she shouldn't have said what she just did.

"Wait, what?" Jim stuttered.

"I gotta go," and with that Katie took off in a flash.

Jim couldn't believe it. Mallory had been talking to Elizabeth and didn't tell him. How many times had they talked? It had to have been more than once, since Katie said 'again'. He confided in Mallory about Elizabeth and how worried he was. Why the hell didn't she say anything?

Jim's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Mallory leaving her room. She had her book bag on. Instead of talking to the guys, she walked right down the hall, probably looking for Katie so they could study.

The goalie stood up and left the room without telling anyone.

"Jimmy, where you going?" he heard someone call out to him when he was already out the door.

Jim followed Mallory, who didn't notice that anyone was behind her.

"Mallory!" Jim shouted down the hall at her.

The blonde turned around and looked at Jim. She looked perfectly fine.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked as if nothing was going on.

"You tell me," Jim said tensely, "How's Elizabeth?"

Mallory gulped when she heard that. She wondered how the hell he knew that Elizabeth called. It must've been Katie…

"Answer me!" he said loudly.

Mallory breathed and looked around. She saw that the no one was in the floor's common room.

"Let's talk in there," she nodded towards the common room.

Mallory started walking, but Jim put his hand on her back, helping her along. The pair reached the common room and Mallory closed the door behind them.

"Why did you lie to me about Elizabeth?" Jim almost yelled.

"I didn't lie!" Mallory tried, with a weak argument, "You never asked if I spoke to her!"

"That's a load of shit! Why didn't you tell me that you guys have talked?" Jim asked.

"She didn't want me to," Mallory sighed, "She made me promise that I wouldn't tell you."

"When was the first time you spoke to her? Was it before we went to the bar?" Jim asked.

"She called me on Sunday. Then again yesterday and just now," Mallory answer, "She's called me three times."

"So you knew she was gone when we met up at the bar?" Jim was really pissed, and then shook his head in disbelief, "You acted so surprised. How could you lie to me to my face? You were the only one…The only one who knew how I felt. You were the only one I could trust!"

"I'm sorry," Mallory tried, "But I already promised her I wouldn't tell you!"

"You're so full of shit!" he said angrily, "A few months ago, you two hated each other. Why the hell would she call you?"

"Because she's not in a good place right now and she wanted someone to talk to about it. Since you never wanted to hear what she had to say…" Elizabeth must have told Mallory about their break up fight, because that's what it was about.

"Don't you dare bring that up!" Jim warned her, pointing a finger at her, "You don't know what happened!"

That stern finger prompted Mallory into attack mode.

"I know what happened. Jesus, you two were complaining about each other or weeks before this happened. And you're so full of shit, Jim! You lied to her and told her you loved her just to sleep with her!" Mallory began to raise her voice, "What the hell was that about?"

"You're the last person on the planet who should be judging me on sleeping with people," Jim told her, "You've slept with like half the team!"

"You have no idea what I've been through," Mallory shook her head.

This fight wasn't about Elizabeth anymore; it was about Jim and Mallory. They were two people with similar pasts, who have dealt with them in different ways. This small confrontation about Elizabeth was becoming a huge personality clash.

"I've lost my mom too," Jim told her, "And I didn't sleep around like a whore. Or smoke in the car when I was supposed to be studying!"

"I ONLY ASKED YOU THAT BECAUSE YOU WERE SAD!" Mallory screamed, "And you don't know anything I've been through! You had family and support after your mom died! I had no one! I had to leave school and take care of my younger brother! Don't you dare judge me on my personal choices! I've sacrificed so much! "

"You don't think I haven't given up anything! I almost didn't come here because of my family. They needed the money so I was going to go pro. The reason everyone lives in the dorms is because of me, because I couldn't pay rent. And everyone knows that!" Jim yelled, "A lot of bad shit has happened to me too but I don't sleep around and smoke all the time! I take care of myself so I don't end up dead like my mother!"

"Are you telling me I'm going to die?" Mallory asked, "My mom didn't smoke a day in her life and she died of liver cancer. My dad wouldn't hurt a fly and he was shot in the face because he was an unfortunate American man that got drafted! People don't die because of what they do. Everything is circumstantial! You can't control life, Jim!"

"I can try!" Jim yelled, "Because at the end of the day, I'm not lying awake in my bed regretting the choices I've made. I can't say that about you though!"

"You know what, you don't lie awake at night, but you try to control life…and that's what drove Elizabeth away from you," Mallory clenched her teeth, "Now, I gotta go. I've got bigger things to worry about besides me and you!"

Mallory opened the door to the common room and walked out. A few of the guys were listening from down the hall. It wasn't very hard, considering they were yelling the whole time. She looked back at them and glared, then turned and walked away. Jim followed her out the room.

"None of the guys respect you!" Jim yelled down the hall at her. He knew that would be a low blow, because respect was something she vied for the most.

Mallory turned and shouted back, "Tell me something I don't know!"

The blonde trudged away and Jim angrily walked in the other direction, towards the guys. He didn't want to talk to anybody right now. He opened his door and slammed the door shut.

….

Jim was still rattled a few hours after the fight. He had never honestly yelled at someone like that before. It kind of scared him. But another part of him was still very angry and upset. He truly felt like he could confide in Mallory and she lied to him. Mallory knew more than any of the guys how much he was really concerned about Elizabeth. How could she do that to him?

The goalie was hanging out with a few of the guys in Mark and Mac's room. It was good for him to be around people and try to calm down than to be in his room alone and getting angry by constantly thinking about it. Jim was on and off following their conversation. It was about hockey, like always.

"The Bruins aren't going to trade Bourque," Mac tried reasoning with OC, talking about the new hotshot rookie for the Bruins.

"He's wearing seven, just like Phil Esposito," OC said.

"And the Bruins are sometimes so dumb. I mean, we let go of Orr," Silk added.

"That was his agent's fault!" Mark exclaimed.

"The Bruins make mistakes sometimes, but a lot of teams do," Jim said half-heartedly, "I mean it hasn't been that long since we won that cup. How many more times can we fuck up?"

Just then, the guys saw through the open door that Mallory had returned. She didn't look at the guys and just unlocked her door and let herself in. She kept her door open, which surprised everyone. They assumed she'd want her privacy after that confrontation.

"Keep cool," Rizzo warned Jim in a hushed urgency.

Rizzo tried to start up a conversation, in order to prevent Jim from trying to confront Mallory and having part two to their argument. The guys joined in, including Jim, but he spent every few seconds looking at Mallory, who was looking for an album in her room.

Jim was paying attention to the guy's conversation when a song began playing from Mallory's room.

If you're going to San Francisco

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair

It was Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco". Jim quickly looked up towards Mallory's room. She wasn't looking at him. Instead, she was getting books and binders out of her desk, exchanging them with the ones in her bag and getting ready for round three at the library that night.

If you're going to San Francisco

You're gonna meet some gentle people there

The goalie than realized where Elizabeth was. She was in San Francisco. She must have been with her parents. Jim smiled at the thought. It upset him that they hadn't spoken in almost a year.

When Mallory was done getting her books together for the library, she looked up and out the door towards Jim's direction. She looked directly at the hockey player and nodded with a straight face. That was her way of confirming it. Elizabeth was definitely in San Francisco. She physically wasn't able to tell Jim because of her promise to the ice skater, but playing a song wasn't saying it. She wouldn't have to break her promised to Elizabeth.

The short song quickly ended and Mallory turned off her record player, grabbed her backpack and went out the door. A few seconds later, Jim got up. The guys saw this all transpire, but didn't understand the full meaning of what went on, that Mallory in her own way told Jim where Elizabeth was. When Jim got up, they thought he was going for round two.

Jim got out of the room before any of the guys could react quickly enough. Mark and Phil were the quickest to get out of the room to try to stop Jim from fighting with the RA. When they reached the outside of the door, they saw what they never expected. Jim was embracing Mallory. The blonde stood there, looking tired and upset, and not hugging back. Even though they were hugging, Jim's words still hurt her.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered in her ear. Mallory couldn't help but think of a few nights ago at the bar when they were standing in opposite positions, with Mallory hugging and unresponsive Jim while whispering the exact same thing in his ear.

Jim let go and Mallory said something to the goalie that was inaudible for Phil and Mark, who watched the whole thing. Mallory walked away and Jim turned around and went back to where he was before.

"What the hell was that about?" Phil asked his friend when he returned. He was still stunned by the hug.

"We just…understand each other," Jim said.

"What?" OC was confused.

"San Francisco," Jim told OC and the rest of the guys, "Elizabeth is in San Francisco."

"That's great!" Rizzo encouraged, he knew, but not to the full extent, that Jim had been upset about Elizabeth leaving, "Are you going to call her?"

"No," Jim shook his head, "I'm going to her."

"Come again?" Mac was dumbfounded. He hoped he heard wrong.

"I'm going to San Francisco," Jim answered.

Please review! I love them and they inspire me to write and get the next chapter out quicker!