Author's Note: Once again, special thanks to Angelscribe and Elane for reviewing. Come on guys, I know those two aren't the only ones with a keyboard! I'm craving input here. Oh, plus, I don't own Tylenol. Well, I own some of them, but not like, the company or the trademark of anything. So...yeah. Oh, and I know this chapter's a tad long, but I don't write them based on length, but rather by how I think the story should be split up. I hope you'll have time to read it and will like it anyway, though. It's one of my favorites.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bright light bursting through the cracks of the blinds awoke Raven the next morning. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned.
"Face it like a man," he heard Lita say, and opened his eyes to see her leaning beside him holding a pair of Tylenol in one hand and a glass of water in the other. She fed him the two pills as one might a baby, and put her hand behind his head to help him lean up and get a sip of water. Once he had been medicated, he dropped his head back onto the pillow and groaned again.
"What happened last night?"
"Don't get your hopes up. Notice that you're still fully clothed?"
Scott opened his eyes a little bit to look down at himself and realize that not only was he fully clothed, he was also lying on top of the covers, making the bed hardly even look like it had been slept in. "So you didn't get me drunk to take advantage of me?" he joked.
"I didn't get you drunk at all. For some reason you took it upon yourself to get into a drinking contest with, well, yourself. So don't blame me for that vicious hangover I know you've got right now."
"I would never. So did I do anything too embarrassing last night?" he asked a little nervously, and apologetically.
Lita laughed. "I didn't know you were capable of embarrassment. But no, you didn't throw up on me or anything, so I guess not." She kept quietly to herself his previous night's marriage proposal.
"Well, that's good. I'm sorry I took over your bed."
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, I ended up not sleeping on the couch," she hesitantly confessed. "I took the other side of the bed. I was worried about you. I didn't know if you might end up with alcohol poisoning or something," she admitted, trying to sound casual. It was the truth, she really had been worried about him, but she didn't know how he would feel about her sleeping next to him when he was passed out.
Actually, the main thought running through Raven's head was, "I had Amy lying next to me all night and I was too drunk to realize it? I really screwed this one up." Another, crueler voice in the back of his mind said, "It's not like it means anything. She was just worried that you'd drunk so much that you'd stop breathing right here in the hotel room. That would have been a beautiful mess, wouldn't it? Way to give a girl a good time. You're supposed to take her out for the night and have fun, and instead you end up smashed. Forget ever being a good boyfriend; you're not even a friend."
"Amy...I'm so sorry I put you through all this stress. I don't know what I was thinking. I-"
"Just don't worry about it, okay?" she interrupted him, brushing his hair back off his forehead. "I know you're going through a lot right now. I wish you'd talk to me about it, but I'm not going to put any pressure on you."
He reached up and took her hand. "You're such a great person, Amy."
Amy's breath caught in her throat and she looked away from his eyes, remembering what had come after he'd said those exact same words the night before. He saw her emotionally draw away from him, and wondered how much she'd been lying when she'd said he hadn't done anything embarrassing last night. "I just mean," he went on, trying to sound more casual. "Thanks for taking such good care of me."
Lita shrugged and laughed, just a little nervously. "It's nothing. Besides, you've always taken care of me."
Scott sat up and brushed a piece of hair back behind her left ear. "I've tried," he murmured, tracing the small scar that lingered there down the side of her cheek.
She angrily slapped his hand away. "Don't."
"I just don't understand why you won't tell me who it was that did it."
"And I don't understand why you won't drop it," she snapped at him. "It was a long time ago."
"It hasn't even been a year."
"One year next week," she admitted a little more softly. "But there was nothing you could have done about it at the time, and there's definitely nothing you can do about it now."
"I just wish you'd tell me."
Lita shook her head, her eyes filling with tears has her mind filled with memories. Hunter cornering her in the hallway late after a show one night...Hunter coming onto her...Hunter getting angry when she repeatedly turned him down flat...And then Hunter, hitting her over and over, his ring cutting once into the side of her face so deeply that it still left a faint scar there, to this day.
Scott saw her thinking deeply, and scooted over to gently wrap his arms around her. He let out a small sigh of relief when she didn't sink away from him but instead leaned further into him, laying her head on his chest. He stroked her hair absent-mindedly. "I could never stand to let anyone hurt you."
"I know that. But I couldn't stand to see you get hurt, either. And if you tried to go all vigilante for me, that's exactly what would happen." She looked up at him. "It's not as if I don't trust you. But that's why I could never tell you."
They paused like that, wrapped in each other's arms, their faces inches away from each other. Abruptly Lita pulled away and stood up. Raven let his arms drop with a slight sigh.
"Come on," she muttered, all-business now. "We've got to get you back to your hotel so you can get your stuff or you'll miss your flight."
He looked at the alarm clock over on the nightstand. She was right; he only had 30 minutes to get to the airport. "Whatever you say," he agreed softly.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bright light bursting through the cracks of the blinds awoke Raven the next morning. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned.
"Face it like a man," he heard Lita say, and opened his eyes to see her leaning beside him holding a pair of Tylenol in one hand and a glass of water in the other. She fed him the two pills as one might a baby, and put her hand behind his head to help him lean up and get a sip of water. Once he had been medicated, he dropped his head back onto the pillow and groaned again.
"What happened last night?"
"Don't get your hopes up. Notice that you're still fully clothed?"
Scott opened his eyes a little bit to look down at himself and realize that not only was he fully clothed, he was also lying on top of the covers, making the bed hardly even look like it had been slept in. "So you didn't get me drunk to take advantage of me?" he joked.
"I didn't get you drunk at all. For some reason you took it upon yourself to get into a drinking contest with, well, yourself. So don't blame me for that vicious hangover I know you've got right now."
"I would never. So did I do anything too embarrassing last night?" he asked a little nervously, and apologetically.
Lita laughed. "I didn't know you were capable of embarrassment. But no, you didn't throw up on me or anything, so I guess not." She kept quietly to herself his previous night's marriage proposal.
"Well, that's good. I'm sorry I took over your bed."
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, I ended up not sleeping on the couch," she hesitantly confessed. "I took the other side of the bed. I was worried about you. I didn't know if you might end up with alcohol poisoning or something," she admitted, trying to sound casual. It was the truth, she really had been worried about him, but she didn't know how he would feel about her sleeping next to him when he was passed out.
Actually, the main thought running through Raven's head was, "I had Amy lying next to me all night and I was too drunk to realize it? I really screwed this one up." Another, crueler voice in the back of his mind said, "It's not like it means anything. She was just worried that you'd drunk so much that you'd stop breathing right here in the hotel room. That would have been a beautiful mess, wouldn't it? Way to give a girl a good time. You're supposed to take her out for the night and have fun, and instead you end up smashed. Forget ever being a good boyfriend; you're not even a friend."
"Amy...I'm so sorry I put you through all this stress. I don't know what I was thinking. I-"
"Just don't worry about it, okay?" she interrupted him, brushing his hair back off his forehead. "I know you're going through a lot right now. I wish you'd talk to me about it, but I'm not going to put any pressure on you."
He reached up and took her hand. "You're such a great person, Amy."
Amy's breath caught in her throat and she looked away from his eyes, remembering what had come after he'd said those exact same words the night before. He saw her emotionally draw away from him, and wondered how much she'd been lying when she'd said he hadn't done anything embarrassing last night. "I just mean," he went on, trying to sound more casual. "Thanks for taking such good care of me."
Lita shrugged and laughed, just a little nervously. "It's nothing. Besides, you've always taken care of me."
Scott sat up and brushed a piece of hair back behind her left ear. "I've tried," he murmured, tracing the small scar that lingered there down the side of her cheek.
She angrily slapped his hand away. "Don't."
"I just don't understand why you won't tell me who it was that did it."
"And I don't understand why you won't drop it," she snapped at him. "It was a long time ago."
"It hasn't even been a year."
"One year next week," she admitted a little more softly. "But there was nothing you could have done about it at the time, and there's definitely nothing you can do about it now."
"I just wish you'd tell me."
Lita shook her head, her eyes filling with tears has her mind filled with memories. Hunter cornering her in the hallway late after a show one night...Hunter coming onto her...Hunter getting angry when she repeatedly turned him down flat...And then Hunter, hitting her over and over, his ring cutting once into the side of her face so deeply that it still left a faint scar there, to this day.
Scott saw her thinking deeply, and scooted over to gently wrap his arms around her. He let out a small sigh of relief when she didn't sink away from him but instead leaned further into him, laying her head on his chest. He stroked her hair absent-mindedly. "I could never stand to let anyone hurt you."
"I know that. But I couldn't stand to see you get hurt, either. And if you tried to go all vigilante for me, that's exactly what would happen." She looked up at him. "It's not as if I don't trust you. But that's why I could never tell you."
They paused like that, wrapped in each other's arms, their faces inches away from each other. Abruptly Lita pulled away and stood up. Raven let his arms drop with a slight sigh.
"Come on," she muttered, all-business now. "We've got to get you back to your hotel so you can get your stuff or you'll miss your flight."
He looked at the alarm clock over on the nightstand. She was right; he only had 30 minutes to get to the airport. "Whatever you say," he agreed softly.