AN: Wow, three reviews in record time! Not bad. Thanks to the people who
have so far reviewed chapter six. You know who you are. Loyal, regular
reviewers make me happy. I dunno if it's just me. And for you wonderful,
regular reviewers, I am installing.......CHAPTER SEVEN. Unfortunately,
after this chapter, I'm not quite sure where to go with the story. I
really isn't know if I'm gonna end it here or....well whatever. Why don't
you read it and tell me what you think. Magic reviews full of opinions and
advice would be very much appreciated.
Spinelli sighed wearily. She was so sick of this. She should never have come tonight. She didn't want to battle herself and everybody else. Half of her just said 'Screw it. Just listen to him, forgive him. It's been ten years.' The other part said, 'Hell no! You will NOT listen to that bastard. He is the reason that all of your other relationships went down in flames. How Dare He try and make peace?!' Both sides battled. Neither won a clear victory.
"I don't want to talk to you," she said weakly. TJ glared at her, and grasped her arm just above her elbow, and half led half dragged her to where she had been sitting before. When they had reached their destination, his hand lingered. Spinelli smacked it away. If looks could kill, then TJ would have been little more the a smoldering pile of ashes on the ground. As it were, she refused to admit just how much his touch still affected her. Each individual finger was still imprinted on her flesh, and flashes of what those hands had done in the name of love (on her part) made her face burn. She sat in her chair, and bit into her cookie, waiting for him to speak.
"So, it's been a long time," TJ began.
"Oh cut the crap," Spinelli snapped. "You must have dragged me over here for a reason, spit it out. I have better things to do."
"Like what, skulk around the snack table and glare at everybody who looks at you?' After ten years, TJ was finally beginning to lose his temper.
"No, more like go home, beat up my punching bag, and pretend that I never met you." Was it just her, or did hurt flash through his eyes for just a second? She felt a mixture of satisfaction and guilt. More guilt than she would have liked. Was it just him or was guilt in her eyes for just a second? Dammit, she wasn't supposed to be the once feeling guilty. He hunkered down so they were level.
"Listen Spin. I came here tonight fully expecting to be murdered..."
"I like to think that I've grown up a bit since I was eighteen," Spinelli muttered, staring determinedly at her lap.
"Yes, you have," TJ answered, taking the briefest of moments to look her up and down. "But anyway, I didn't want to die, or at the very least be severely injured, without you knowing why I did what I did after prom."
"Why the..." the slightest of smiles touched her lips as out of the corner of her eye, she saw TJ wince at the words he thought were forthcoming. "...hell should I care why you did that to me? After all, it was ten whole years ago. It was obvious then that you didn't care about how I felt, why don't I just return the favor?" She turned slightly in her chair so that she was looking at TJ's feet rather than her own lap.
"Well, this is gonna be kinda hard to believe, but what I did, I did because I DID care how you felt." TJ clearly heard Spinelli snort. Alright, he knew that he was going to have to work for her forgiveness.
"The thing is, I knew you liked me as more than just a friend. You were always looking at me out of the corner of your eye and smiling. I was flattered, sure, but I also felt guilty. I was beginning to be attracted to you too. I knew that you had never..well..that you were a virgin, and that just drove me crazy. But I felt awful. You were one of my best friends, more like a twin sister than anything else. So, I started going out with Ashley Q, hoping that that would help to take my mind off of you. I didn't expect her to refuse to make our relationship public. Since nobody knew about it, and she and I were hardly ever together, You were still infatuated with me, and I was consumed with thoughts of you. By prom, I had the plan formed. How could it possibly go wrong? Your dreams would be fufilled, because for that night I would devote my every attention to you. I would be at your side, and you would be the envy of all. And I would be happy, because I would have the chance to let my....feelings out, and I wouldn't think of you as more than a friend again." TJ halted his speech for a second to chance a glance at the woman beside him. She was glaring at his kneecaps now. He was making progress!
"Aren't you the modest one," he clearly heard her mutter.
"Anyway, the morning after prom, I woke up just before dawn. You were asleep, and I felt worse than ever. It was rather plain that you were still just as in love with me as you had been before. Maybe even more so. And I definitely wasn't going to forget about you now that we had done what we did." He grinned as Spinelli rolled her eyes at his abysmal use of the English language. "So I hightailed it, hoping that if I devoted myself to somebody else that I would forget about you, and you me. You weren't supposed to discover us together."
"Gretchen's room was a bit farther down the hall," Spinelli admitted sheepishly. "The numbers were sorta hard to read in the dark." Her gaze was now fixed on his left shoulder. "Out of curiosity, what was the ice for?" She would have sworn she saw TJ blush a bit in the dark.
"It was just something I read in a magazine. A game thing. You don't want to know the details. But It was after you left after finding out what I had done that I realized, that I had no desire to play games with you. At least not those kinds of games. With Ashley Q, it was all just something to keep me entertained, but I didn't need that with you. You were just you, and that was enough. And then it occurred to me that I was a moron, a bastard, and a long list of other undesirable things. And so, I'll say it again. I'm really, really sorry."
He waited. Spinelli had been looking just past his ear during his last couple of sentences. That gave him hope. She let out a deep breath, and finally, after ten long years, looked him willingly in the face. She smiled a little, and held out her second cookie to him. He took it as a peace offering, and raised it in tribute to their new understanding, before he took a bite. And another. Spinelli had a fair point, these things were extremely addictive.
AN: Yah, thats it for chapter seven, maybe for the whole story. I'm not sure. I want to continue, but I'm not quite sure how. Suggestions would, as I said, be most welcome. So REVIEW! All of you! My old, loyal fans, and those who have just recently started reading. I WANT INPUT! WEEEEEEEEEEEE! If what I ask is accomplished, then cookies will fall from the sky, and the world will be filled with magic and Cake, and rainbows and lollipops. OK...I need to calm down now. Have a nice day.
Spinelli sighed wearily. She was so sick of this. She should never have come tonight. She didn't want to battle herself and everybody else. Half of her just said 'Screw it. Just listen to him, forgive him. It's been ten years.' The other part said, 'Hell no! You will NOT listen to that bastard. He is the reason that all of your other relationships went down in flames. How Dare He try and make peace?!' Both sides battled. Neither won a clear victory.
"I don't want to talk to you," she said weakly. TJ glared at her, and grasped her arm just above her elbow, and half led half dragged her to where she had been sitting before. When they had reached their destination, his hand lingered. Spinelli smacked it away. If looks could kill, then TJ would have been little more the a smoldering pile of ashes on the ground. As it were, she refused to admit just how much his touch still affected her. Each individual finger was still imprinted on her flesh, and flashes of what those hands had done in the name of love (on her part) made her face burn. She sat in her chair, and bit into her cookie, waiting for him to speak.
"So, it's been a long time," TJ began.
"Oh cut the crap," Spinelli snapped. "You must have dragged me over here for a reason, spit it out. I have better things to do."
"Like what, skulk around the snack table and glare at everybody who looks at you?' After ten years, TJ was finally beginning to lose his temper.
"No, more like go home, beat up my punching bag, and pretend that I never met you." Was it just her, or did hurt flash through his eyes for just a second? She felt a mixture of satisfaction and guilt. More guilt than she would have liked. Was it just him or was guilt in her eyes for just a second? Dammit, she wasn't supposed to be the once feeling guilty. He hunkered down so they were level.
"Listen Spin. I came here tonight fully expecting to be murdered..."
"I like to think that I've grown up a bit since I was eighteen," Spinelli muttered, staring determinedly at her lap.
"Yes, you have," TJ answered, taking the briefest of moments to look her up and down. "But anyway, I didn't want to die, or at the very least be severely injured, without you knowing why I did what I did after prom."
"Why the..." the slightest of smiles touched her lips as out of the corner of her eye, she saw TJ wince at the words he thought were forthcoming. "...hell should I care why you did that to me? After all, it was ten whole years ago. It was obvious then that you didn't care about how I felt, why don't I just return the favor?" She turned slightly in her chair so that she was looking at TJ's feet rather than her own lap.
"Well, this is gonna be kinda hard to believe, but what I did, I did because I DID care how you felt." TJ clearly heard Spinelli snort. Alright, he knew that he was going to have to work for her forgiveness.
"The thing is, I knew you liked me as more than just a friend. You were always looking at me out of the corner of your eye and smiling. I was flattered, sure, but I also felt guilty. I was beginning to be attracted to you too. I knew that you had never..well..that you were a virgin, and that just drove me crazy. But I felt awful. You were one of my best friends, more like a twin sister than anything else. So, I started going out with Ashley Q, hoping that that would help to take my mind off of you. I didn't expect her to refuse to make our relationship public. Since nobody knew about it, and she and I were hardly ever together, You were still infatuated with me, and I was consumed with thoughts of you. By prom, I had the plan formed. How could it possibly go wrong? Your dreams would be fufilled, because for that night I would devote my every attention to you. I would be at your side, and you would be the envy of all. And I would be happy, because I would have the chance to let my....feelings out, and I wouldn't think of you as more than a friend again." TJ halted his speech for a second to chance a glance at the woman beside him. She was glaring at his kneecaps now. He was making progress!
"Aren't you the modest one," he clearly heard her mutter.
"Anyway, the morning after prom, I woke up just before dawn. You were asleep, and I felt worse than ever. It was rather plain that you were still just as in love with me as you had been before. Maybe even more so. And I definitely wasn't going to forget about you now that we had done what we did." He grinned as Spinelli rolled her eyes at his abysmal use of the English language. "So I hightailed it, hoping that if I devoted myself to somebody else that I would forget about you, and you me. You weren't supposed to discover us together."
"Gretchen's room was a bit farther down the hall," Spinelli admitted sheepishly. "The numbers were sorta hard to read in the dark." Her gaze was now fixed on his left shoulder. "Out of curiosity, what was the ice for?" She would have sworn she saw TJ blush a bit in the dark.
"It was just something I read in a magazine. A game thing. You don't want to know the details. But It was after you left after finding out what I had done that I realized, that I had no desire to play games with you. At least not those kinds of games. With Ashley Q, it was all just something to keep me entertained, but I didn't need that with you. You were just you, and that was enough. And then it occurred to me that I was a moron, a bastard, and a long list of other undesirable things. And so, I'll say it again. I'm really, really sorry."
He waited. Spinelli had been looking just past his ear during his last couple of sentences. That gave him hope. She let out a deep breath, and finally, after ten long years, looked him willingly in the face. She smiled a little, and held out her second cookie to him. He took it as a peace offering, and raised it in tribute to their new understanding, before he took a bite. And another. Spinelli had a fair point, these things were extremely addictive.
AN: Yah, thats it for chapter seven, maybe for the whole story. I'm not sure. I want to continue, but I'm not quite sure how. Suggestions would, as I said, be most welcome. So REVIEW! All of you! My old, loyal fans, and those who have just recently started reading. I WANT INPUT! WEEEEEEEEEEEE! If what I ask is accomplished, then cookies will fall from the sky, and the world will be filled with magic and Cake, and rainbows and lollipops. OK...I need to calm down now. Have a nice day.