Part 3
By starstruck
Disclaimer: See Part One.
Author's Note: I was thinking about it . . . and I decided that I'm going to stretch this story for most of the third season until Day Of Honor. So it's going to be a long ride . . . just to warn you.
**
B'Elanna was decidedly cheerful.
Most days, this would make Harry's day better. After all, B'Elanna was his friend, and he liked it when she was happy.
Alright, if he was being completely honest, it wasn't just that – it was more that he didn't really like having to deal with a pissed engineer. When B'Elanna was pissed, everything seemed to scatter in fright and stay out of her way.
Harry didn't seem able to stay out of her way.
He needed to learn to say no.
Today, B'Elanna was chipper and excited – why, Harry didn't know, but then, he never knew the why of B'Elanna's moods.
But today, Harry wished she was grumpy.
Harry stared at his food.
If B'Elanna were grumpy, then maybe Tom would decide that he didn't like her so much after all and give up.
Yes, give up.
That was what Tom needed to do.
But B'Elanna and Tom were talking animatedly, and Tom sounded blissful.
So much for giving up.
He should not have sit next to Tom – because B'Elanna and Tom seemed to prefer being across the table from each other. It gave them the opportunity to talk to each other better. Harry couldn't hear what they were saying. It was just blah, blah, blah to him – words with no meaning to him.
Alright, maybe they did have a meaning to him. It was just probably different from the intended meaning.
And he didn't understand why he had thought that it had been important to keep B'Elanna from sitting next to Tom. It wouldn't limit their physical contact.
For all he knew, they were playing footsies under the table.
The thought made him distinctly sick to his stomach.
"Harry?" asked Tom suddenly.
Harry moaned.
"Starfleet?" asked B'Elanna. "Are you okay?"
"No," said Harry, looking up at his two best friends, who were both looking at him with concern. At least they weren't staring into each other's eyes.
He was getting paranoid.
"Are you sick?" asked Tom, in a funny, almost-but-not-quite-concerned voice. Of course Tom wasn't quite concerned. He knew what was going on. He probably knew he was the cause of the sick feeling in Harry's stomach.
"Yes," said Harry. "I think I'm going to go."
"To sickbay?" asked B'Elanna.
Tom was looking delighted at the prospect of Harry leaving, and Harry sent him a glare.
It wasn't fair. He was giving all this up for Tom, and Tom just wanted him to go away.
"No," said Harry, picking up his plate. "I'm going to get some more casserole."
"Uh, Harry," said B'Elanna. "I don't think that such a good idea . . ."
"It's probably why you're sick," said Tom not-so-helpfully. "You just warfed it up."
"I wish," said Harry, staring at Tom pointedly, "that it was just the casserole."
Tom gulped.
Harry felt slightly better.
It was a small victory, but he needed it desperately.
"Neelix," said Harry. "I want some more pleeka rind casserole."
He put his plate in the talaxian's face.
"Hungry today, are we?" grinned Neelix.
Harry thought about that.
"Not really," said Harry. "I just like it."
Neelix beamed.
"Really?"
"Yeah," said Harry.
Neelix gave him some more, doing a funny little dance at the time.
Harry thanked him and headed back to the table.
Both B'Elanna and Tom were staring at him like he had gone insane.
He had a feeling he had.
His friends watched soundlessly as he warfed up another serving of pleeka rind casserole.
He was scaring them, he knew.
They deserved it.
