~Scott~

            I never thought I'd ever fall in love. It was as if the feeling was reserved for those who deserved it and I knew somewhere in the back of my finite mind that I didn't, that I don't. I know that I never should have fallen for Shelby and I also realized that she deserves something better than me, than what I could ever give her. It felt strange now, watching them, her and Cameron, together, with their heads bent low deep in conversation about things that I could never understand. I know that I should probably run in and beat the crap out of the guy but I can't bring myself too, I think it's because she's happy, sitting there talking to him, but I am completely miserable. Earlier I promised Monique to be there when they released her but she really didn't need me either. Hank had been coming around even more often, I secretly hated it when he did but I'd never tell Mo that, it seemed like everyone around me was happy but I couldn't be. Seventeen years old and I had seen more than most people my age, this time I just wanted to close my eyes.

            "Hey."

            She sat down next to me and tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. I tried not to notice that she was wearing the sweater Cameron had surprised her with yesterday, it was a greenish blue color, like the color of the sea, it brought out her eyes, I hated that sweater.

            "Hey."

            I glanced at her and then went back to my book and I hoped she wouldn't notice that I had been on the same page for half an hour.

            "You busy today?"

            "Not that I know of." I didn't bother looking up this time. She was quiet and I was tempted to see if she was even still sitting there.

            "Look, I don't know what's going on but you've been avoiding me and acting strange for the past week."

            Her voice startled me and suddenly she was standing up with her face contorted in anger.

            "I'm surprised you even noticed." I said simply, also getting up but walking away.

            "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

            She ran so that she was standing in front of me and I had to stop walking to face her. She was so beautiful it was painful but I looked away before she could see it in my eyes.

            "Nothing, Shelby, nothing."

            "Scott, Don't-…"

            "Don't what," I said incredulously. "Don't feel like I no longer exist to you, don't watch you and Cameron every freaking day together! Don't act like nothing's wrong when you damn well know that something is!"

            The torrent of words escaped me like a well aimed fist and it had drained every bit of energy from me, I breathed hard and I desperately wanted to curl up some place and sleep it off but I knew it wouldn't be that easy. Shelby stood there in shock, tears filled her eyes but her mouth remained set in a hard line.

            "So that's what this is about, Cameron," She whispered quietly. I didn't say anything, just shifted my eyes so that I wouldn't have to look at her. "I can't believe this Scott. You're jealous of him. You actually think that I would throw away every special moment we've every shared together for some five minute fling? He's just my friend, Scott. So your saying it's okay for you to have Monique but I can't have Cam. I…I can't believe you don't trust me that much."

            She brushed at the tears in her eyes and then walked away. I continued to stand there, staring into the distance, wondering when I stopped trusting my own girlfriend and when I stopped trusting myself.

~Monique~

            I picked up one last personal item and put it into my bag before moving my eyes expertly across the room to see if I had forgotten anything. Today was the day that they were going to release me from the hospital and I was so excited that I was scared I would leave something behind. The weight I had gained was considerable and after being weighed, monitored and psychoanalyzed for almost a month I was ready to get back into the real world. My parents had fought at first to send me home but of course I always won so they went home without me, Scott was distant, in his own world, I had a feeling that it had more to do with Cameron than he was admitting and I was here, sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, waiting to be exonerated. I glanced at my watch for the thirtieth time that second. Discharge was at noon and it was almost twelve o'clock so I would just have to wait a little longer for Peter to come and get me. The radio was still sitting there and I turned it on, I surfed through stations before I came to a classical one and I immediately recognized the song. It was the last one I had danced before coming to Horizon, my last recital, the last time I had ever worn a pair of point shoes. Slowly I got up and began to move fluidly with the music, turning and dancing, lost in my own world.

            "Bravo."

            The sound stopped me in a mid leap and I almost fainted when I saw who was standing at the door. It was Hank, he started clapping and once again I felt sick, my cheeks were burning in embarrassment but he wasn't mocking me, it looked like he was genuinely impressed.

            "I didn't know you danced." He said grabbing the bag off my bed.

            "What are you doing here?" I said shakily.

            "Peter had a little problem this morning so he sent me to come and get you. I hope you don't mind."
            I shook my head. "No, I was just expecting him, that's all."

            "Oh, well, surprise!"

            We laughed together as I followed him out of the hospital room. He crooked his arm so that I could slip mine into his and we walked along the corridors like a happy, eccentric couple. When we got outside he bowed low and opened the door for me, I giggled like a schoolgirl, curtsied and hopped inside. He settled down in the seat next to me and grinned while he started the car. For a few moments, we drove down the road in silence and I looked over to see him deep in his own thoughts.

            "So do you mind me asking how you winded up at Horizon?" Hank asked after a while. I knew eventually he would ask and I was ready.

            "No. In a nutshell I became anorexic, out of control, I burned a dress in the bathroom, I broke almost every expensive item in the house and I became an all around problem. My parents couldn't deal with it anymore and they sent me here… I just began thinking that something was wrong with me but I didn't know what it was and everyone else did. It ticked me off."

            His gaze bore into mine. "I'm thinking that there's everything right with you."

            I blushed, we were sitting at a red light now and I noticed how close he actually was to me. His eyes held mine again and then he leaned over and kissed me, sweetly and innocently. It wasn't anything like when Kyle kissed me, like it was a threat or an expectation, Hank's kiss asked nothing of me that I couldn't give, but in that moment when his lips were on mine I could have given him the moon if he asked it. He was the first to pull away and I found myself a little disappointed but it didn't last long because he pulled my hand into his and we drove the rest of the way to Horizon, hand in hand. For the first time in a long time I felt safe with a guy that wasn't Scott.