~Shelby~

            There was a certain tension in the air all around and it grew increasingly hard to ignore the constant twisting of her stomach but all in all she prided herself in her resolve. Even if she had chickened out it was a little late now because she was facing the front door of Monique's chic apartment, with only a slab of wood between her and her old friend. Shelby breathed in deeply before glancing down at a white slip of paper crumpled between her fingers, it said the same thing it had five seconds ago and she confirmed for the thousandth time that this was the right apartment. Slowly she raised a hand to the door and rapped lightly. She hadn't expected the door to fly open so quickly.

            "Shelby!" Monique grabbed her into a tight hug and ushered her inside the apartment. With a sincere grin she turned to her friend.

            "It's so good to see you and so nice of you to invite me out here. I needed a vacation."

            She smiled warmly. "Anytime, I hate being all alone in here anyway."

            Shelby thought of commenting but refrained, there would be plenty of time to talk about that. Instead she hugged her again and asked her general questions. How she was doing, fine, how was work, exciting, when she would next be in town, not for a while. Monique was in the process of explaining the plot of her new movie when a door slammed and footsteps were heard in the hallway.

            "Monique! Have you seen my green polo shirt! I'm going to kill you if you threw it away."

            In that instant Shelby's world crumbled around her, mercilessly taking every bit of security that had been so dear to her for the last five years. It was him, that was the only way she could describe it to herself, it was him and he was here. Her first instinct was to open the door, hop on a plane and be back in California before she knew it but her feet wouldn't work and when he walked into the room she was standing dumbly next to a worried looking Monique.

~Scott~

            His heart stopped for a moment and luckily it started up again, this time throbbing with the blood that was pulsating at record speeds through his tense body. His mouth moved up and down but no sounds came out, then he just stared with disbelief. In that room, standing next to his best friend was the one woman that he had given his heart too and who had subsequently crushed it without a second thought. She looked the same radiant blond, light, beautiful, he closed his eyes briefly and wished her away with all his might but when he opened his eyes she was still standing there.

            "Monique," He started slowly, not taking his eyes off Shelby and choosing his words carefully. "What is going on?"

            She cleared her throat and shifted her weight slightly from one foot to the other.

            "Uh…Shelby's here."

            "I can see that." He answered through gritted teeth. Shelby glanced from Scott to Monique quickly.

            "I have no idea what sick joke you two are playing but I'm getting out of here right now."

            She turned to leave but Monique caught her arm.

            "You can't I brought you both here for a reason." She jerked her arm away but stood still, deathly still, and Scott, recovered from his shock, walked forward.

            "Monique, you have no right to interfere in our lives!" He bellowed but she didn't flinch.

            "Did you even bother telling her, Scott?"

            "Tell me what?" Shelby said hesitantly. His eyes met hers for a second but then bored back into Mo's.

            "I can't believe you did this." He said softly.

            "Tell her, Scott. She deserves to know." Monique said matching his tone.

            "Fine," He wearily turned to meet Shelby's eyes once again.

            "Shelby, I'm getting married in a month."

            A deafening silence engulfed the room. It was hard to even tell if anyone was breathing, it was as if everyone was waiting for some inexplicable event that could be catastrophic or divine. Then she spoke.

            "Congratulations, Scott." And with that she walked past him and into a random room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Monique and Scott stood in the room together, not speaking until he looked her in the eye.

            "I hope you happy, Monique." Then he too walked away leaving her with bitter tears forming in her eyes.

A/N: I hope your enjoying these chapters. The more reviews I get the more likely I am to finish something so keep them coming!!

Next: A VERY surprise visit…