~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And if I seem to be confused
I didn't mean to be with you
And when you said I scared you
Well I guess you scared me too
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two hours later, Prue was sitting at her desk, looking around her office. She'd just come from Mr. Cauldwell's office, where she'd handed in her resignation. He'd accepted it. Now, she was in the middle of packing her things, getting ready to leave for the last time.
"Prue, are you out of your mind?" Jack demanded as he burst through the door. "I just heard you quit."
"News travels fast," she remarked. She looked up at him calmly, and said, "No, Jack, I'm not crazy. In fact, I'm seeing things with more clarity than I have in a long time."
"Okay, then would you mind explaining things to me, because I'm a little confused," he responded.
"I can't work here anymore, Jack," she said, struggling to explain. "Things have changed too much. Like... Take that painting, for example," she said, pointing to a piece they'd been working to authenticate recently. "It's not a real Monet. We know it's not real. But the buyers don't know that. So what are we going to do?"
He shrugged. "Sell it. If they want to believe it's real, let them, right?"
"Wrong," Prue replied, "At least, it is in my book. When I started working here, cheating the customer was not part of Buckland's philosophy."
"Prue, it's just business," he said, surprised that she objected.
"Well I can't work that way," she insisted.
"Okay," he conceded, "We won't sell the painting."
"It's not just about the painting," she told him, "Or even about Buckland's new code of ethics. It's about pursuing something I love, instead of settling for something I'm good at. With everything that's happened recently, almost losing Piper, and then watching her marry the man I know she's always dreamed of, I feel like life's too short to not follow my heart. I'm not just doing this for me, either, as selfish as it might seem. It's the right thing for Aviva, too. How would I teach my daughter to follow her dreams if I continue to ignore mine?"
He nodded. "Okay. Valid point. I'll tell you what," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "If this is what you want, I'll support you. Anything you need, just let me know."
Prue sighed, avoiding his gaze. The truth was, there had been another factor influencing her decision to leave Buckland's, one that she hadn't admitted to even herself until now. "Jack, I need time. By myself. To... you know, figure things out."
"Sure thing," he said, backing off. "You take all the time you need. When you're done here, come find me, and we'll go out to lunch, okay?"
She shook her head. "No, Jack. I don't mean time as in an hour, or a day, or even a week. I'm saying I need a break from this, us."
"How long of a break?" he questioned.
"I don't know," she admitted. "I'm sorry, I just can't be in a relationship right now. Not even a casual sort of one, like what we have. It's too much right now."
"So you're breaking up with me," he summarized.
"I'm sorry, Jack," she said again. "It's got nothing to do with you. It's just the place I'm at right now, I need to be on my own."
"Alright, then," he replied, softly kissing her cheek. "Bye, Prue."
She watched him walk out the door, then put her head down on her desk. She'd just lied, to herself and to him. Dumping him had nothing to do with any need to be alone, and everything to do with fear. She felt like such a hypocrite, after everything she'd said about following her heart, she'd just let something she wanted slip through her fingers. Her relationship with Jack had started out so casual, so light, and she'd expected it to stay that way. She certainly didn't expect to feel what she felt now. She tried to tell herself that he didn't mean that much to her, that he wasn't supposed to mean that much to her, but she knew she was wrong. She didn't break it off with Jack because it was just a fling. She broke it off with Jack because it was getting far more serious than she'd ever intended. She was falling for him, hard, and it terrified her. And now, because she was scared, she'd just blown what was possibly the best chance she'd ever get.
****************
A/N: Don't worry, Jack fans, I can always bring him back in the far off future. Whether I do or not depends on the type of response I get, so let me know what your favourite Prue 'ship is.
~from the song "Joey" by Concrete Blonde~
And if I seem to be confused
I didn't mean to be with you
And when you said I scared you
Well I guess you scared me too
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two hours later, Prue was sitting at her desk, looking around her office. She'd just come from Mr. Cauldwell's office, where she'd handed in her resignation. He'd accepted it. Now, she was in the middle of packing her things, getting ready to leave for the last time.
"Prue, are you out of your mind?" Jack demanded as he burst through the door. "I just heard you quit."
"News travels fast," she remarked. She looked up at him calmly, and said, "No, Jack, I'm not crazy. In fact, I'm seeing things with more clarity than I have in a long time."
"Okay, then would you mind explaining things to me, because I'm a little confused," he responded.
"I can't work here anymore, Jack," she said, struggling to explain. "Things have changed too much. Like... Take that painting, for example," she said, pointing to a piece they'd been working to authenticate recently. "It's not a real Monet. We know it's not real. But the buyers don't know that. So what are we going to do?"
He shrugged. "Sell it. If they want to believe it's real, let them, right?"
"Wrong," Prue replied, "At least, it is in my book. When I started working here, cheating the customer was not part of Buckland's philosophy."
"Prue, it's just business," he said, surprised that she objected.
"Well I can't work that way," she insisted.
"Okay," he conceded, "We won't sell the painting."
"It's not just about the painting," she told him, "Or even about Buckland's new code of ethics. It's about pursuing something I love, instead of settling for something I'm good at. With everything that's happened recently, almost losing Piper, and then watching her marry the man I know she's always dreamed of, I feel like life's too short to not follow my heart. I'm not just doing this for me, either, as selfish as it might seem. It's the right thing for Aviva, too. How would I teach my daughter to follow her dreams if I continue to ignore mine?"
He nodded. "Okay. Valid point. I'll tell you what," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "If this is what you want, I'll support you. Anything you need, just let me know."
Prue sighed, avoiding his gaze. The truth was, there had been another factor influencing her decision to leave Buckland's, one that she hadn't admitted to even herself until now. "Jack, I need time. By myself. To... you know, figure things out."
"Sure thing," he said, backing off. "You take all the time you need. When you're done here, come find me, and we'll go out to lunch, okay?"
She shook her head. "No, Jack. I don't mean time as in an hour, or a day, or even a week. I'm saying I need a break from this, us."
"How long of a break?" he questioned.
"I don't know," she admitted. "I'm sorry, I just can't be in a relationship right now. Not even a casual sort of one, like what we have. It's too much right now."
"So you're breaking up with me," he summarized.
"I'm sorry, Jack," she said again. "It's got nothing to do with you. It's just the place I'm at right now, I need to be on my own."
"Alright, then," he replied, softly kissing her cheek. "Bye, Prue."
She watched him walk out the door, then put her head down on her desk. She'd just lied, to herself and to him. Dumping him had nothing to do with any need to be alone, and everything to do with fear. She felt like such a hypocrite, after everything she'd said about following her heart, she'd just let something she wanted slip through her fingers. Her relationship with Jack had started out so casual, so light, and she'd expected it to stay that way. She certainly didn't expect to feel what she felt now. She tried to tell herself that he didn't mean that much to her, that he wasn't supposed to mean that much to her, but she knew she was wrong. She didn't break it off with Jack because it was just a fling. She broke it off with Jack because it was getting far more serious than she'd ever intended. She was falling for him, hard, and it terrified her. And now, because she was scared, she'd just blown what was possibly the best chance she'd ever get.
****************
A/N: Don't worry, Jack fans, I can always bring him back in the far off future. Whether I do or not depends on the type of response I get, so let me know what your favourite Prue 'ship is.
~from the song "Joey" by Concrete Blonde~