Greg Weisman is the genius behind Gargoyles, not me.

Rejection
Chapter 2
by Zzilly14

"What an exhausting day!" Sarah exclaimed to Elisa as they waited for the sun to set at the clocktower. "I haven't had so much fun since... ever!"

"I'm glad you had a good time playing tourist," Elisa grinned.

Sarah observed the gargoyle statues. "Okay... so after sunset, they all break from their stone cocoons?"

"I've never heard it put like that. But it's a perfect way to describe it. Now, don't stand too close, or stone fragments might hit you."

"I'll be careful," she grinned, staring at the Brooklyn statue expectantly.

The sun dipped below the horizon, and moments later the clan broke through the stone encasing them, their bellowing roars causing Sarah to almost trip backwards.

"Sarah!" Brooklyn smiled. "I didn't think you were coming until later."

"Well... you thought wrong," she replied jokingly.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?"

The large lavender gargoyle cleared his throat. "Brooklyn, you and Lexington have patrol."

"Goliath... we did it last night. Can Broadway and Angela do it? I want to spend time with my new friend, Sarah. You haven't met her, have you?"

The two shook hands before Brooklyn had Sarah meet the rest of the clan.

"And this is Bronx," he laughed as the garg beast jumped on Sarah, licking her face happily. "He sure likes you."

"That's good," she giggled as she pet the blue animal, "because I love dogs!"

"Brooklyn, you may have the night off," Goliath relented.

"Thanks. Come on, Sarah, I've got something to show you."

She quickly put her arms around him, causing both to blush. Brooklyn refused to look in her eyes as he took off and glided towards the southern part of the city.

Moments later they arrived at the Statue of Liberty, landing on Lady Liberty's torch.

"What did you want to show me?" Sarah wondered.

Brooklyn pointed to the starry sky. "You can see the stars better out here. I've been learning about the constellations, and many nights I'll come out here and just study it. It's pretty amazing."

The two sat and stared at the vast scene above them.

"When I was a little girl," Sarah said, "I liked to look up at the sky and anticipate seeing a falling star."

"What's a falling star?"

Sarah beamed. "It looks like what it sounds like, but it's actually a meteoroid falling into the atmosphere, and it makes a brief streak in the sky. Lots of people wish on them, myself included."

"What do you wish for?"

She drifted her eyes to the red gargoyle and smiled softly. "Happiness. I want to wake up in the morning and be happy to begin another day."

Brooklyn stared at Sarah curiously. "You don't wake up happy?"

"Not in a long time. I wake up and wish I was someone else. Live another life. Be somebody special."

"But you are special, Sarah." He held her soft pale-colored hands and smiled into the beautiful face before him. "I barely even know you, and yet... never mind."

"What were you going to say?"

"Nothing."

"Yes you were. And if it's what I think you were going to say," she laughed, "I feel the same way."

Brooklyn's eyes grew wide. "Okay, we're probably not on the same page here. What did you think I was going to say?"

"That you like me. Yes, Brooklyn, I'm attracted to you. There, I said it!" Sarah giggled as she squeezed the gargoyle's talons. "I like you. You're the sweetest male I've ever been on a date with."

"Date?!" he squealed, suddenly letting go of her hands.

"What else would you call what we're doing?"

"Hanging out? That's what you said last night!"

Sarah grinned, "Hanging out. Date. Same thing!"

"Okay, okay... yeah. So, uh... what do you want to do now?"

"I'm hungry," she nodded. "Can we grab a bite to eat?"

"If we order delivery. You know, me being a gargoyle, I can't really go out to a restaurant."

"I know. I was thinking the exact same thing. What do you like on your pizza?"

"Pizza?" Brooklyn groaned. "When I was thinking delivery, I meant Elisa picking it up for us. I definitely did not mean pizza!"

"Oh, sorry," Sarah blushed a bright red and looked at the ground. "I... I had no idea."

Brooklyn took her hands once more and smiled softly. "It's okay, you didn't know. But now you do. No reason to get upset. I mean, it's just food."

She looked up into his eyes and nodded. "Okay. So what food do you like?"

He grinned devilishly. "You'll find out later. I want our breakfast... dinner... whatever meal it is, to be a surprise."

...

"Hey guys, we come bearing gifts!" Elisa's voice echoed throughout the clocktower.

"We?" Sarah thought aloud.

Brooklyn and Sarah were sitting on the couch, watching television, when Elisa and Matt Bluestone entered carrying bags of food.

"I don't think I'll eat that much," Sarah laughed.

Elisa shook her head as she set her things on a table nearby. "You don't need to. We decided to get enough for the rest of the guys. They'd get mad at me if I didn't bring them some goodies."

Brooklyn smiled, "Especially Broadway!"

Matt placed the other bags on the table, and then he noticed Sarah.

"Uh... hi!" he greeted with a goofy grin. "I'm Matt Bluestone. Elisa's partner." He stuck out his hand and Sarah shook it.

"Sarah McDonald. I'm a friend of Brooklyn's. He kind of saved my life."

"He tends to do that," Matt smiled, winking at the beaked gargoyle.

"So... we should probably leave you two alone," Elisa interjected, dragging Matt with her to the exit. "See you later!"

"Ready to be surprised? Brooklyn asked with a wicked smile. The smile slowly faded when he saw Sarah staring towards the exit. "Oh..."

"Oh what?" she wondered, turning her eyes to the gargoyle. "You okay?"

"It's... nothing."

"So, what do we have to eat? My stomach's growling!"

"Uh... go see for yourself. I need to... get some fresh air."

"Okay, I'll just check out... Yum! Sub sandwiches! How did you ever..." She stopped when she realized Brooklyn had gone outside.

"I wonder what's wrong..."

...

Brooklyn stared hard at the city, sadness enveloping his body. He should've known rejection was coming. It always happened to him. Always. He should've realized it was too good to last. He should've...

"Brooklyn?"

He refused to look at her. He didn't want her to see the tears begging to come out of his eyes. "What?" he asked quietly.

"Okay, something happened back inside, and I don't know what, but you're definitely displaying a change of attitude. I want to know why. And don't give me the 'it's nothing' bull crap."

He sighed.

"Come on, Brooklyn. You can talk to me. I'm here to listen."

"Bluestone," he muttered.

"Huh?"

"I... I saw the way you were looking at him. I thought maybe that... well, you know."

"Actually, I don't."

"I thought you'd start liking him and forget all about me."

Sarah walked over to the gargoyle and turned his face towards her. She caressed his beak tenderly. "You're not someone forgettable, Brooklyn. Don't think that. And you know what? Yes, I think Matt's an attractive guy. But what am I doing right now? Who am I spending time with? Who am I getting to know?"

Brooklyn lifted his talon and brushed back Sarah's golden hair away from her face. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for acting like a child, I just have some self-esteem issues to work through."

"Hey, you and me both. We're in this together, remember? We're gonna help each other boost our self-esteem. What are friends for, you know?"

The crimson gargoyle had the sudden urge to kiss her passionately on the lips, to connect with her in a deeper way than with anyone else he knew. But he simply smiled and nodded. "Friends," he repeated. "Friends."

TO BE CONTINUED...