~Reilly's mine…so is Tricia…that's about it!~
Chapter 17: Beautiful (aka: Reilly has Poetic Tendencies)
"Good to see you Ri!" Elijah announced enthusiastically as Reilly ducked into the small coffee shop and joined him and Tricia at their table. He leaned across the table and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as she shook off the hood of her raincoat. "It's been too long since I've seen anyone," he added, and Tricia nodded in agreement. "It's feels like forever since you came to see me before Christmas! I'm so happy you're here now," she smiled at him, scooting her chair closer to his.
It does feel like forever since Christmas, Reilly thought to herself. It was the second week of February already, and she and Tricia had returned to Regents about 3 weeks ago. Forever since Christmas…but does time heal all wounds? Reilly smiled slightly to herself at her own poetic introspectiveness, but it faded quickly. She hadn't seen Dominic or Orlando since…that night. She had spoken to Dom once. He had called her dorm room the night she had returned and she had nearly fainted with happiness at hearing his voice, but it quickly passed. He had attempted to sound all cheery and normal, as he inquired about how the rest of her break had been and told her how busy he'd been with all of the Two Towers publicity. She had sat quietly, just enjoying hearing his voice on the line. But it was quickly apparent that all was not right, and that he had simply been calling to make sure she had made it back alright. He had told her that he had a lot upcoming, and would be much more busy than he had been before Christmas. She accepted this…but when he failed to call again…it was hard. She didn't want to call, because he had made it rather clear that he was unavailable to her, so she was left to feel her heart race and then break every time the phone rang and it was someone else. As for Orli…she didn't have a clue. She had no idea what they both thought of her right now…if they thought of her at all. Orli must hate me for sure, she thought to herself, the idea just short of killing her. And Dominic…what could he possibly think of the girl who he spent the night consoling only to have her turn around and treat one of his closest friends like a toy? Reilly frowned at the thought…of course she hadn't meant to use Orli, what happened had just happened. But she knew how it had looked.
"Ri? Reilly? Hey…you still with us?" Elijah laughed as Reilly's head snapped up, focusing on the two people sitting across from her. She smiled embarrassedly. "Sorry…I'm a little distracted right now." She ignored the sympathetic look in Tricia's eyes, knowing her roommate knew exactly what was distracting her. Smiling brightly, she turned back to Elijah. "So what are your plans for this little trip to London, besides of course your entirely honorable intentions for my roomie here?" Elijah laughed, then shrugged. "Not too much…I have some interviews lined up of course, couldn't get away without those…and Orli's party Saturday, which should be a blast." Reilly's heart sank as Elijah continued. "I'm glad he decided to celebrate his birthday late this year…we were all so scattered in January…like one minute we were all together, the next we were each at one of the four corners of the earth. But it's perfect now…I think we'll all be there! Have you heard from Dom since he got back home?" Reilly dropped her eyes, shaking her head. "I…I didn't know he went anywhere." Elijah looked confused as a voice from beside Reilly spoke. "He went to LA with Sam for a bit…she had pressing publicist…things…and he went with her. And yes, they're back." Reilly raised her head slowly, immediately recognizing to whom the voice belonged. A pair of deep brown eyes met hers. Orlando.
"Hello Reilly," he breathed, and she struggled to find her own voice. "Orli…hi…" she didn't know what to say. Thankfully, Elijah took care of any awkward silence by jumping on Orlando to greet him. The two laughed and did that guy thing (the one where they have to punch eachother to say hello properly) and all in all made quite the scene for a few minutes, before sitting down. Reilly looked with wide eyes at Tricia, who shrugged apologetically. "We were just talking 'bout your party," Elijah commented to Orlando, whose eyes were now fixed back on Reilly. He nodded, his gaze still not leaving her face. "So you're all coming then, yes?" Reilly looked up. "I…um…I mean…" she stammered, not knowing exactly what an appropriate response would be. "You should come," Orlando told her seriously. "I want you to come." Reilly's eyes were wide as she looked at him. "But…I…what about…" Orli shook his head. "It's done. And it's not worth losing a friend," he replied. "But we can talk about it some more…clear up some things that were said, if you want. Later. That would be nice," he added, and Reilly nodded, stunned. He was thinking about forgiving her? And more than that…he really wanted to? Elijah and Tricia watched their friends, taken aback by the way they had seemingly forgotten where they were and launched into an obviously private discussion. "Um…am I missing something?" Elijah asked, incredibly confused. "No," Orlando answered him, still looking at Reilly. "I am." Reilly felt her heart melt at the comment. "I am too," she added quietly. Across the table, Tricia smiled.
* * * * * * * * * *
"I don't think I can do this!" Reilly turned desperately to Tricia as the two girls approached Orlando's front door. Tricia shook her head, and took her hand, dragging her up the steps. "YES, you can, Reilly! You have to!" Reilly shook her head, looking terrified, and Tricia laughed a little. "Where's my cool, confidant little roommate?" she asked, and Reilly shrugged. "I think she's back in a hot tub in America invoking the devil," she muttered, and Tricia sighed. "Reilly, he wants you here. If he can get past this, then you can too. And you owe it to him, you know," she added, not too harshly but still firmly. Reilly nodded and followed her inside.
"Hi loves!" Orli approached them immediately, giving Tricia a hug and a kiss, then turning to Reilly. She held her breath, preparing for the worst, and was a little surprised when she felt his arms around her. The shock didn't last long, though, as she felt herself relax against him, his arms tightening around her. "I miss you Reilly," he whispered, his mouth close to her ear. "I miss you too," she answered, overwhelmed. "And I'm sorry, Orli..so, so…" he cut her off, giving her one last squeeze, and then holding her at arm's length to study her. Her eyes were huge, full of fear and regret and pain, and her usually tanned skin was more pale than usual, as if she were frightened or sick. Looking up at him, her lips quivered a little as she waited for him to say something. "Come dance with me," he finally said, leading her out amongst the large crowd that was rowdily gathered in the living room.
"Reilly, listen…what happened…well, it happened. We can't change it," Orli spoke softly as they danced. "And I won't lie and say that your reaction wasn't a little…unwelcome," he told her. She looked up at him and shook her head. She had never meant to hurt him. He smiled softly, as if reading her mind. "I know, Ri, I know. And I knew all along that we were just friends, with maybe some attraction between us…but…well, I think we've pretty much proven that we're better off as friends, yes?" Reilly looked stunned. "You mean, you still want…?" Now it was Orlando's turn to look shocked. "Of course I still want to be your friend, Reilly! Don't you know how much I care about you?" Reilly leaned against him, feeling a 5,000 pound weight lifted off her heart. "So…can we go back to how we were?" she asked, and felt Orli smile, his face tucked down against her shoulder. "Well, I'd like that. But you do realize what that means…" Reilly shrieked as she felt his hand on her ass, and swatted it away. "You're impossible!" she laughed, and Orlando grinned back at her. "Yep. And that's why you love me!" Reilly nodded. "Yes it is."
"REILLY! Oh you're here, brilliant!" Reilly turned to find Sam standing behind her. The blonde girl grabbed her hand and threw Orlando a wink. "Sorry Orli, I'm about to steal this one away from you!" Orli grinned and held up his hands in surrender. Sam tugged Reilly over to a couch. "Oh, it's so good to finally see you! Dom told me you were back in London the end of last month, and I kept telling him we had to see you soon, but it never seemed to work out!" Reilly felt a pang, but smiled. "Yeah…I'm sure you've both been real busy," she replied, and Sam rolled her eyes. "Well I certainly have, trying to keep that child in line!" Reilly smiled again, but a bit more quizzically. "What do you mean?" Sam gave her a knowing look. "You know Dominic, he can never take anything seriously. I've had to literally explain to him how to behave every step of the way the past few months at all of the interviews and functions," Reilly stopped smiling. He can too take things seriously, she thought to herself. And why don't you let him act like himself? Sam continued talking. "I was really hoping our relationship would be good for both of us…you know, I could help him with publicity etiquette, and it would be nice for me to have someone in the business to go home to and relate to…but, eh. He's really never going to grow up, is he?" Publicity etiquette? Reilly wondered to herself, then her eyes widened. "Wait…do you mean you're thinking about breaking up with Dom?" Sam laughed lightly. "Oh, love, I already did that. It just wasn't meant to be…I need someone more…mature…more special." Reilly's head nearly exploded. More special?! Dumbass girl, that Sam. Did she really think there was a better guy out there than Dom? "Anyway, I've got a few more people I must speak with before I get out of here…but I'll ring soon, alright?" Sam smiled obliviously at Reilly, and walked away.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Reilly stood up and caught her breath as she saw Dominic across the room laughing with Billy. Where the 5,000 pound weight had been lifted off her heart by Orli, there still remained another 10,000 pound one that crushed her every time she thought about Dom. "So you think you might suck it up and go over there and speak to him, for godssakes?" Reilly jumped at Tricia's voice beside her. "Um…" Reilly stalled, but Billy had spotted them. "Tricia! Reilly!" he ran over to them, Dom following behind. "It's wonderful to see you both!" Billy exclaimed, genuinely happy. "You know I'd attack you, but I'll try to be the gentleman and refrain seeing as SOMEBODY spilled something on me, and you needn't have it all over you as well!" Dom shrugged innocently as Reilly wrinkled her nose. "Is that cheez whiz?" she asked, looking at the front of Billy's pants. "Accidents happen," Dom announced in response. "Hi Reilly," he added, avoiding her eyes. "Hi…" she trailed off, waiting for him to say something more. And she waited. Eventually the silence became blatantly uncomfortable, and Dom excused himself to get a drink. Reilly watched him go, dismayed, and felt Billy's hand on her arm. "Don't let him fool you…he's lost without you." Reilly smiled weakly, always amazed at how Billy's beautiful Scottish accent always made things sound even more profound.
The party went on, Reilly's head spinning all the while. She watched as Orli and the hobbits went through their usual hysterical antics, laughing sadly as she remembered all the times she had been the sole witness to some of their hilarious moments late at night. Isn't it funny, she thought, how life can change in an instant? She sighed. Ok Ri, that's about enough of the poetic clichés.
"You know…I'd say now would be a good time for you to talk to him," Orlando bent down and announced, startling a dazed Reilly a while later. "Who?" she replied lamely, and he made a face. "He just left Reilly, and I'm well aware that the two of you spoke two words to eachother the entire night. And it's MY party, and I'm kicking you out, so get your ass over there and fix this!" Reilly smiled gratefully as Orlando hauled her off the couch and pushed her to the door. "Thanks Orli. You are amazing," she told him as she left. Orli closed the door behind her and sighed a little wistfully. Not amazing enough, he thought.
* * * * * * * * * *
Dominic raised an eyebrow as he opened his front door. "You know, there's this thing called public transportation. I know it's not too highly regarded in America, but here in Europe we think it's just grand…especially for going places in the pouring rain." Reilly ignored him as she stood dripping wet and breathless in his doorway. Pushing her hair off her face, she spoke. "Yeah, so I woke up this morning, and I missed you." Dom's eyebrow arched some more as remembered the last time Reilly had said that. She continued. "And I thought about not coming over, cause I wasn't sure if you wanted me here, but then I decided, hey, if he doesn't want to see me anymore, he should just fucking tell me so to my face!" she burst out, all the composure she had intended to keep flying out the window. "Why didn't you talk to me at Orli's?" she demanded. "Why didn't you call me ever?" Dom retorted, his arms folded. "You only called once!" Reilly exclaimed, her voice rising. "Well that's once more that you called me, now isn't it?" Dom's voice rose to match hers. "Well I didn't think you wanted me to!" she was almost yelling now. "Of course I wanted you to!" Dom was yelling. "Well I didn't know what I was supposed to say! You were so angry, and I don't know why…I mean, I know you were upset that I'd be such a hardcore bitch to Orli, and I love that you're so loyal to your friends, but what the hell was I supposed to do? It was in your court, Dom! What was I supposed to do?" she repeated, then went on as Dom stared at her with wide eyes. "I don't know how to apologize for this! I don't know how to fix it, because somehow you got just as hurt as Orli, and I don't understand why! Why did it have to have anything to do with you, Dom? Why?"
"It had everything to do with me!" Dominic exploded. "You were my friend first, Reilly! And then you went to him…and you started to care about him as much as you cared about me, and I was jealous god dammit, alright? Because that's how it always is! I'm ok to start, but then someone comes along more exciting and attractive than me, and I'm the friend that gets kicked to the curb! And then when you fucking went and did THAT, but couldn't handle it…what was I supposed to think? Obviously there was something there that you wanted that you didn't want from me, and when it all went to hell and you and Orli lost in on eachother…well where the hell does that leave me?" Dom stopped, realizing how he sounded, and took a breath as Reilly stared at him in shock. "I'm just a selfish bastard," he said softly, the anger melting from his face to be replaced with pain. "I didn't want to share you…I didn't want you to love him more…" he trailed off and turned away, embarrassed and hurt, as Reilly felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. "You are a bastard," she said quietly, still standing in the doorway, rain falling all around her. Dominic turned back to her. "You stupid, stupid bastard. Don't you see that you're my whole world? That I could never have loved him more than you? You're the only one I ever want to talk to, the only one I'm comfortable with…you're the one who made me realize who I am and that people really do care about me…don't you see that no matter who it is that either one of us falls in love with, they had better be prepared to deal with me still loving you more? You're the most incredible friend I've ever had!" Reilly smiled wryly. "Don't you see how you can make me break out into every sappy cliché in the book about how much you mean to me?" she finished, and Dom smiled weakly back at her and crossed the room to pull her inside. "You're going to catch your death of cold."
Reilly walked down the stairs, dried off and in Dom's clothes and wandered back into the living room. Sitting on the couch, facing away from her, he spoke. "It was so hard…not having you to talk to…I need you, Reilly," his voice was strained, and Reilly made her way over to the couch. Momentarily stunned by the sight of tears on his cheeks, she sat down beside him and put her hand on his arm. He turned to her miserably. "You said you'd always be there…you weren't…" Reilly shook her head, trying not to cry herself. "I am," she replied, tentatively wiping away his tears and turning his face to hers. Smiling a little embarrassedly again, Dom looked down, then back up at her. "I told Sam I missed you once…she told me you probably got tired of how immature I was, and that if I wasn't careful I was going to end up all alone with no one because they'd all get tired of my childish antics." He laughed bitterly as more tears came to his eyes. He didn't want to be all alone. "That was her very eloquent dumping speech." Reilly stared at him, furious. I'll kill the bitch, she thought silently to herself. How dare she? Dominic did look like a child beside her at the moment, his eyes wide and wet, so innocent, his hair tousled. She reached up to run her fingers through it. "Sam's an idiot," she replied flatly, and Dom laughed a little. "I think she has a thing for Orli now. I know for a fact he's not interested, but isn't that just my luck? All the fans like him the best, and now my own girlfriend goes for the prettier boy too!" Reilly put her arm around him and he leaned over and rested his face against her knees, which were pulled up onto the couch. She was wearing his clothes again…hers had been soaked through, of course. He could smell his scent mixed with hers. It was nice. It worked. Reilly stroked his hair. "You're beautiful," she told him. She felt him shake his head, and his voice was muffled against her knees. "You are," he replied.
A/N: whew! All this drama is wearing me out! Don't worry, Dom and Ri aren't going to be sad forever, there's more lighthearted fun to come…and…anyone have any suggestions on any other, say, major plot developments that they'd like to see? (hehehe!)
Chapter 17: Beautiful (aka: Reilly has Poetic Tendencies)
"Good to see you Ri!" Elijah announced enthusiastically as Reilly ducked into the small coffee shop and joined him and Tricia at their table. He leaned across the table and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as she shook off the hood of her raincoat. "It's been too long since I've seen anyone," he added, and Tricia nodded in agreement. "It's feels like forever since you came to see me before Christmas! I'm so happy you're here now," she smiled at him, scooting her chair closer to his.
It does feel like forever since Christmas, Reilly thought to herself. It was the second week of February already, and she and Tricia had returned to Regents about 3 weeks ago. Forever since Christmas…but does time heal all wounds? Reilly smiled slightly to herself at her own poetic introspectiveness, but it faded quickly. She hadn't seen Dominic or Orlando since…that night. She had spoken to Dom once. He had called her dorm room the night she had returned and she had nearly fainted with happiness at hearing his voice, but it quickly passed. He had attempted to sound all cheery and normal, as he inquired about how the rest of her break had been and told her how busy he'd been with all of the Two Towers publicity. She had sat quietly, just enjoying hearing his voice on the line. But it was quickly apparent that all was not right, and that he had simply been calling to make sure she had made it back alright. He had told her that he had a lot upcoming, and would be much more busy than he had been before Christmas. She accepted this…but when he failed to call again…it was hard. She didn't want to call, because he had made it rather clear that he was unavailable to her, so she was left to feel her heart race and then break every time the phone rang and it was someone else. As for Orli…she didn't have a clue. She had no idea what they both thought of her right now…if they thought of her at all. Orli must hate me for sure, she thought to herself, the idea just short of killing her. And Dominic…what could he possibly think of the girl who he spent the night consoling only to have her turn around and treat one of his closest friends like a toy? Reilly frowned at the thought…of course she hadn't meant to use Orli, what happened had just happened. But she knew how it had looked.
"Ri? Reilly? Hey…you still with us?" Elijah laughed as Reilly's head snapped up, focusing on the two people sitting across from her. She smiled embarrassedly. "Sorry…I'm a little distracted right now." She ignored the sympathetic look in Tricia's eyes, knowing her roommate knew exactly what was distracting her. Smiling brightly, she turned back to Elijah. "So what are your plans for this little trip to London, besides of course your entirely honorable intentions for my roomie here?" Elijah laughed, then shrugged. "Not too much…I have some interviews lined up of course, couldn't get away without those…and Orli's party Saturday, which should be a blast." Reilly's heart sank as Elijah continued. "I'm glad he decided to celebrate his birthday late this year…we were all so scattered in January…like one minute we were all together, the next we were each at one of the four corners of the earth. But it's perfect now…I think we'll all be there! Have you heard from Dom since he got back home?" Reilly dropped her eyes, shaking her head. "I…I didn't know he went anywhere." Elijah looked confused as a voice from beside Reilly spoke. "He went to LA with Sam for a bit…she had pressing publicist…things…and he went with her. And yes, they're back." Reilly raised her head slowly, immediately recognizing to whom the voice belonged. A pair of deep brown eyes met hers. Orlando.
"Hello Reilly," he breathed, and she struggled to find her own voice. "Orli…hi…" she didn't know what to say. Thankfully, Elijah took care of any awkward silence by jumping on Orlando to greet him. The two laughed and did that guy thing (the one where they have to punch eachother to say hello properly) and all in all made quite the scene for a few minutes, before sitting down. Reilly looked with wide eyes at Tricia, who shrugged apologetically. "We were just talking 'bout your party," Elijah commented to Orlando, whose eyes were now fixed back on Reilly. He nodded, his gaze still not leaving her face. "So you're all coming then, yes?" Reilly looked up. "I…um…I mean…" she stammered, not knowing exactly what an appropriate response would be. "You should come," Orlando told her seriously. "I want you to come." Reilly's eyes were wide as she looked at him. "But…I…what about…" Orli shook his head. "It's done. And it's not worth losing a friend," he replied. "But we can talk about it some more…clear up some things that were said, if you want. Later. That would be nice," he added, and Reilly nodded, stunned. He was thinking about forgiving her? And more than that…he really wanted to? Elijah and Tricia watched their friends, taken aback by the way they had seemingly forgotten where they were and launched into an obviously private discussion. "Um…am I missing something?" Elijah asked, incredibly confused. "No," Orlando answered him, still looking at Reilly. "I am." Reilly felt her heart melt at the comment. "I am too," she added quietly. Across the table, Tricia smiled.
* * * * * * * * * *
"I don't think I can do this!" Reilly turned desperately to Tricia as the two girls approached Orlando's front door. Tricia shook her head, and took her hand, dragging her up the steps. "YES, you can, Reilly! You have to!" Reilly shook her head, looking terrified, and Tricia laughed a little. "Where's my cool, confidant little roommate?" she asked, and Reilly shrugged. "I think she's back in a hot tub in America invoking the devil," she muttered, and Tricia sighed. "Reilly, he wants you here. If he can get past this, then you can too. And you owe it to him, you know," she added, not too harshly but still firmly. Reilly nodded and followed her inside.
"Hi loves!" Orli approached them immediately, giving Tricia a hug and a kiss, then turning to Reilly. She held her breath, preparing for the worst, and was a little surprised when she felt his arms around her. The shock didn't last long, though, as she felt herself relax against him, his arms tightening around her. "I miss you Reilly," he whispered, his mouth close to her ear. "I miss you too," she answered, overwhelmed. "And I'm sorry, Orli..so, so…" he cut her off, giving her one last squeeze, and then holding her at arm's length to study her. Her eyes were huge, full of fear and regret and pain, and her usually tanned skin was more pale than usual, as if she were frightened or sick. Looking up at him, her lips quivered a little as she waited for him to say something. "Come dance with me," he finally said, leading her out amongst the large crowd that was rowdily gathered in the living room.
"Reilly, listen…what happened…well, it happened. We can't change it," Orli spoke softly as they danced. "And I won't lie and say that your reaction wasn't a little…unwelcome," he told her. She looked up at him and shook her head. She had never meant to hurt him. He smiled softly, as if reading her mind. "I know, Ri, I know. And I knew all along that we were just friends, with maybe some attraction between us…but…well, I think we've pretty much proven that we're better off as friends, yes?" Reilly looked stunned. "You mean, you still want…?" Now it was Orlando's turn to look shocked. "Of course I still want to be your friend, Reilly! Don't you know how much I care about you?" Reilly leaned against him, feeling a 5,000 pound weight lifted off her heart. "So…can we go back to how we were?" she asked, and felt Orli smile, his face tucked down against her shoulder. "Well, I'd like that. But you do realize what that means…" Reilly shrieked as she felt his hand on her ass, and swatted it away. "You're impossible!" she laughed, and Orlando grinned back at her. "Yep. And that's why you love me!" Reilly nodded. "Yes it is."
"REILLY! Oh you're here, brilliant!" Reilly turned to find Sam standing behind her. The blonde girl grabbed her hand and threw Orlando a wink. "Sorry Orli, I'm about to steal this one away from you!" Orli grinned and held up his hands in surrender. Sam tugged Reilly over to a couch. "Oh, it's so good to finally see you! Dom told me you were back in London the end of last month, and I kept telling him we had to see you soon, but it never seemed to work out!" Reilly felt a pang, but smiled. "Yeah…I'm sure you've both been real busy," she replied, and Sam rolled her eyes. "Well I certainly have, trying to keep that child in line!" Reilly smiled again, but a bit more quizzically. "What do you mean?" Sam gave her a knowing look. "You know Dominic, he can never take anything seriously. I've had to literally explain to him how to behave every step of the way the past few months at all of the interviews and functions," Reilly stopped smiling. He can too take things seriously, she thought to herself. And why don't you let him act like himself? Sam continued talking. "I was really hoping our relationship would be good for both of us…you know, I could help him with publicity etiquette, and it would be nice for me to have someone in the business to go home to and relate to…but, eh. He's really never going to grow up, is he?" Publicity etiquette? Reilly wondered to herself, then her eyes widened. "Wait…do you mean you're thinking about breaking up with Dom?" Sam laughed lightly. "Oh, love, I already did that. It just wasn't meant to be…I need someone more…mature…more special." Reilly's head nearly exploded. More special?! Dumbass girl, that Sam. Did she really think there was a better guy out there than Dom? "Anyway, I've got a few more people I must speak with before I get out of here…but I'll ring soon, alright?" Sam smiled obliviously at Reilly, and walked away.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Reilly stood up and caught her breath as she saw Dominic across the room laughing with Billy. Where the 5,000 pound weight had been lifted off her heart by Orli, there still remained another 10,000 pound one that crushed her every time she thought about Dom. "So you think you might suck it up and go over there and speak to him, for godssakes?" Reilly jumped at Tricia's voice beside her. "Um…" Reilly stalled, but Billy had spotted them. "Tricia! Reilly!" he ran over to them, Dom following behind. "It's wonderful to see you both!" Billy exclaimed, genuinely happy. "You know I'd attack you, but I'll try to be the gentleman and refrain seeing as SOMEBODY spilled something on me, and you needn't have it all over you as well!" Dom shrugged innocently as Reilly wrinkled her nose. "Is that cheez whiz?" she asked, looking at the front of Billy's pants. "Accidents happen," Dom announced in response. "Hi Reilly," he added, avoiding her eyes. "Hi…" she trailed off, waiting for him to say something more. And she waited. Eventually the silence became blatantly uncomfortable, and Dom excused himself to get a drink. Reilly watched him go, dismayed, and felt Billy's hand on her arm. "Don't let him fool you…he's lost without you." Reilly smiled weakly, always amazed at how Billy's beautiful Scottish accent always made things sound even more profound.
The party went on, Reilly's head spinning all the while. She watched as Orli and the hobbits went through their usual hysterical antics, laughing sadly as she remembered all the times she had been the sole witness to some of their hilarious moments late at night. Isn't it funny, she thought, how life can change in an instant? She sighed. Ok Ri, that's about enough of the poetic clichés.
"You know…I'd say now would be a good time for you to talk to him," Orlando bent down and announced, startling a dazed Reilly a while later. "Who?" she replied lamely, and he made a face. "He just left Reilly, and I'm well aware that the two of you spoke two words to eachother the entire night. And it's MY party, and I'm kicking you out, so get your ass over there and fix this!" Reilly smiled gratefully as Orlando hauled her off the couch and pushed her to the door. "Thanks Orli. You are amazing," she told him as she left. Orli closed the door behind her and sighed a little wistfully. Not amazing enough, he thought.
* * * * * * * * * *
Dominic raised an eyebrow as he opened his front door. "You know, there's this thing called public transportation. I know it's not too highly regarded in America, but here in Europe we think it's just grand…especially for going places in the pouring rain." Reilly ignored him as she stood dripping wet and breathless in his doorway. Pushing her hair off her face, she spoke. "Yeah, so I woke up this morning, and I missed you." Dom's eyebrow arched some more as remembered the last time Reilly had said that. She continued. "And I thought about not coming over, cause I wasn't sure if you wanted me here, but then I decided, hey, if he doesn't want to see me anymore, he should just fucking tell me so to my face!" she burst out, all the composure she had intended to keep flying out the window. "Why didn't you talk to me at Orli's?" she demanded. "Why didn't you call me ever?" Dom retorted, his arms folded. "You only called once!" Reilly exclaimed, her voice rising. "Well that's once more that you called me, now isn't it?" Dom's voice rose to match hers. "Well I didn't think you wanted me to!" she was almost yelling now. "Of course I wanted you to!" Dom was yelling. "Well I didn't know what I was supposed to say! You were so angry, and I don't know why…I mean, I know you were upset that I'd be such a hardcore bitch to Orli, and I love that you're so loyal to your friends, but what the hell was I supposed to do? It was in your court, Dom! What was I supposed to do?" she repeated, then went on as Dom stared at her with wide eyes. "I don't know how to apologize for this! I don't know how to fix it, because somehow you got just as hurt as Orli, and I don't understand why! Why did it have to have anything to do with you, Dom? Why?"
"It had everything to do with me!" Dominic exploded. "You were my friend first, Reilly! And then you went to him…and you started to care about him as much as you cared about me, and I was jealous god dammit, alright? Because that's how it always is! I'm ok to start, but then someone comes along more exciting and attractive than me, and I'm the friend that gets kicked to the curb! And then when you fucking went and did THAT, but couldn't handle it…what was I supposed to think? Obviously there was something there that you wanted that you didn't want from me, and when it all went to hell and you and Orli lost in on eachother…well where the hell does that leave me?" Dom stopped, realizing how he sounded, and took a breath as Reilly stared at him in shock. "I'm just a selfish bastard," he said softly, the anger melting from his face to be replaced with pain. "I didn't want to share you…I didn't want you to love him more…" he trailed off and turned away, embarrassed and hurt, as Reilly felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. "You are a bastard," she said quietly, still standing in the doorway, rain falling all around her. Dominic turned back to her. "You stupid, stupid bastard. Don't you see that you're my whole world? That I could never have loved him more than you? You're the only one I ever want to talk to, the only one I'm comfortable with…you're the one who made me realize who I am and that people really do care about me…don't you see that no matter who it is that either one of us falls in love with, they had better be prepared to deal with me still loving you more? You're the most incredible friend I've ever had!" Reilly smiled wryly. "Don't you see how you can make me break out into every sappy cliché in the book about how much you mean to me?" she finished, and Dom smiled weakly back at her and crossed the room to pull her inside. "You're going to catch your death of cold."
Reilly walked down the stairs, dried off and in Dom's clothes and wandered back into the living room. Sitting on the couch, facing away from her, he spoke. "It was so hard…not having you to talk to…I need you, Reilly," his voice was strained, and Reilly made her way over to the couch. Momentarily stunned by the sight of tears on his cheeks, she sat down beside him and put her hand on his arm. He turned to her miserably. "You said you'd always be there…you weren't…" Reilly shook her head, trying not to cry herself. "I am," she replied, tentatively wiping away his tears and turning his face to hers. Smiling a little embarrassedly again, Dom looked down, then back up at her. "I told Sam I missed you once…she told me you probably got tired of how immature I was, and that if I wasn't careful I was going to end up all alone with no one because they'd all get tired of my childish antics." He laughed bitterly as more tears came to his eyes. He didn't want to be all alone. "That was her very eloquent dumping speech." Reilly stared at him, furious. I'll kill the bitch, she thought silently to herself. How dare she? Dominic did look like a child beside her at the moment, his eyes wide and wet, so innocent, his hair tousled. She reached up to run her fingers through it. "Sam's an idiot," she replied flatly, and Dom laughed a little. "I think she has a thing for Orli now. I know for a fact he's not interested, but isn't that just my luck? All the fans like him the best, and now my own girlfriend goes for the prettier boy too!" Reilly put her arm around him and he leaned over and rested his face against her knees, which were pulled up onto the couch. She was wearing his clothes again…hers had been soaked through, of course. He could smell his scent mixed with hers. It was nice. It worked. Reilly stroked his hair. "You're beautiful," she told him. She felt him shake his head, and his voice was muffled against her knees. "You are," he replied.
A/N: whew! All this drama is wearing me out! Don't worry, Dom and Ri aren't going to be sad forever, there's more lighthearted fun to come…and…anyone have any suggestions on any other, say, major plot developments that they'd like to see? (hehehe!)