~Shelby~
It could have been the she was edging on insanity or that she was desperate for closure to the many open endings in her life because she found herself agreeing to go to New York to see Monique even though she hadn't seen her for the past five years. Three years was a longer space in time than it seemed, a lot had happened in five years and she wasn't sure if she could face it herself, let alone explain the past to another person. She wished that she had just kept her mouth shut and not let Monique con her into leaving her class behind, jumping on a plane and going to a place that she hadn't visited in five years and to a past that she had no desire to revisit at all. The memories of him were the one reason that she had run in the first place, run straight to California, on the other side of the continent, as far as she could get from Washington, D.C. But the reason why never ceased to keep her awake at night. She couldn't even bring herself to think about it as she threw clothes haphazardly into her large leather suitcase. It was just like Scott had said a long time ago, "Something things are too painful to say, even to think about." This was one of them and she had spent a good part of her life escaping from the crushing reality of what had happened and she wouldn't allow herself to dwell on it now, it was too hard.
"Shelby! It's Monique!" She heard Cameron yell from the living room after the phone rang twice. Her couch had been occupied since last Thursday when he had popped in for a surprise visit and now had agreed to stay and watch the apartment while she was away, not that she had much to steal anyway. Shelby threw one last shirt into the quickly filling suitcase before striding into the living room and picking up the phone.
Hesitantly she answered and tried to sound as cheerful and as excited as possible. "Hello?"
"Hey, Shel its me, I was just making sure that everything's squared away." Her voice was unusually low, like they were sharing some well guarded secret but Shelby ignored it, probably just the phone line.
"Yeah, everything's fine, I got the tickets and everything you sent. You know I could have just scheduled a flight, you didn't have to send your personal jet."
Shelby still couldn't believe those words were coming out of her mouth, personal jet. It had been somewhat of a shock to her to find out that Monique had left Horizon and subsequently been discovered while arguing with a bank manger on a road trip to California. She hadn't changed much, except for the fact that she had money at her disposal, sometimes it worried her to think about Mo all alone in that apartment but every time she had brought up the subject it was quickly quelled.
"No, that's alright, I wasn't using it this week anyway. Oh and the limo will be at the airstrip to pick you up….I really can't wait for you to get here."
Shelby smiled softly to herself. "Neither can I."
The conversation ended with spoken goodbyes and Shelby went back to packing, her mind was a little more at ease but her heart was still twisting in little knots, some things never changed.
~Monique~
"Who were you talking too?"
Monique swirled around and tried to hide the phone behind her back as Scott walked casually into the living room dressed once again in a polo shirt and khakis, this time he had varied it though because the shirt was red. He had been there for a week already and still refused to allow her to buy him some sleek leather pants or a Dolce & Gabana Hawaiian shirt which added to her growing frustration. When he wasn't on the phone with his law office he was on the phone with his fiancé who never ceased to call him at least once every hour to critique wedding plans or to find out what he was doing. Monique hadn't even met her and she disliked her already.
"Oh, no one, telemarketer."
"I thought your number was unlisted…virtually everywhere."
She racked her brain. "Well…uh…this is a Hollywood telemarketer."
He cocked in eyebrow dubiously. "A Hollywood telemarketer…"
"Yeah, they were calling about…uh…awards."
"Awards?"
"Yes, awards…you know you can never get to many of those Grammy's, Oscar's and Academy's can you.
He looked at her oddly but didn't ask any more questions. Instead he glanced at his watch and informed her that he was going out to buy something for Heather and that he would be back soon. Monique protested loudly but he refused to listen, he was still as stubborn as always, another form of frustration for her.
He was gone for three hours and when he finally returned to the apartment he had a small teal Tiffany box in his hand. She was sitting on the couch watching Animal Planet when he walked in smiling broadly.
"Mo, look at this." He raised the top of the velvet box to reveal a stunning Harry Winston diamond bracelet. It sparkled even out of the presence of light, it looked as if it were priceless yet to delicate to wear. Monique knew her jewelry and when she carefully lifted the bracelet out of the box she was impressed.
"God, Scott, how much did you pay for this?"
"I got it for three thousand, a steal."
She quickly put it back in the box and stood up.
"You paid three thousand dollars for a bracelet!"
"It's her wedding present, besides I can easily afford it."
"Would you stop saying that!"
She stomped towards her bedroom without even looking at him.
"Saying what?" He asked simply.
"Wedding this, Heather that, I can't take it anymore!"
She slammed the door to her room and left Scott standing puzzled and shocked in the hallway. After a while he shrugged his shoulders and deposited the box into his bedroom. Although at a loss as to what was eating up his best friend he decided against dwelling on it and instead changed, got a towel and went out for a swim. There was plenty of time to discuss the wedding and he knew that eventually she would love Heather. Even if I Don't. The words shocked him and he pushed them from his mind with every force he had in him. It's easier for him to deny his feelings than to deal with them, some things never change.
