Chapter Three- So Long, Master and Commander; Goodbye, Ace

But I'm open, you're closed

Where I follow, you'll go

I worry I won't see your face

Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the wrong words seem to rhyme

Out of the doubt that fills my mind

I somehow find, you and I collide—Howie Day

Rory walked down the hall and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Why had she done that? She thought. At least before she had had some semblance of a relationship with him. Now she would have nothing.

Not looking where she was going, she slammed into something solid. Not a wall or a door, but a person. She looked up to see Marty looking down at her.

"Hey…are you okay?" he asked, noticing her tears.

Rory tried her best to smile. "Yeah, I'm-I'm fine," she insisted. Marty shook his head.

"No, you're not. You're obviously crying about something. What happened?" he asked.

"It's nothing. Just…Logan and I…had a little falling out. It's not a big deal."

"Logan? Logan Huntzberger? Are you kidding me! I'm going to kick his ass! What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?" Marty asked, obviously becoming very angered.

"No, Marty, no. Don't…No, Logan didn't hurt me," she lied. True, he had not physically harmed her, but…emotionally, she was crushed.

"Let's get you back to your room, and you can tell me what's really going on," Marty said, ushering her into her dorm.

Rory sat on her couch, crossing her arms.

"Where's Paris?" Marty asked.

"Probably off with Doyle," Rory spat. Marty sensed the hostility in her voice, and sat down next to her.

"Come on, Ror, what's going on?"

Rory looked up at Marty.

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because you're important to me. Now what's going on?"

Rory sighed, and finally gave in.

"Logan and I had sort of an agreement. We had a "no-strings-attached" thing going on. Except for the fact that I actually started to like him, things were going fine." Marty's face fell, obviously depressed to learn she had feelings for someone else, but continued to press for information none-the-less.

"Okay…so what is the problem? You like him…he likes you…I don't see the issue."

"That is the issue! First off, I don't even know if he genuinely likes me, or if he is just in it for sex-"

"Sex?"

"Well we never actually got that far, but we kept getting pretty damn close. And second, liking was no t part of the deal. I don't want to go there again."

Rory finally broke down, sobbing. Marty pulled her close, and held her, never wanting the moment to end.

What seemed like hours later, Rory was asleep, and Marty let her go. As silently as he could, he left her room, with one destination in mind, although not quite sure what he was going to say or do.

He loudly pounded on the door, and waited for someone to answer.

Logan sat on his couch with a beer in his hand, contemplating that night's events. He didn't need her. It was just a fling. Just like any other relationship he had in the past.

His thoughts were interrupted by a pounding on the door. He pulled himself off the couch, and set down his beer, opening the door, half hoping it would be Rory.

"We need to talk," Marty said, upon Logan opening the door.

"Not right now," Logan said, attempting to close the door. Marty firmly placed his hand on the door, preventing Logan from shutting it. He was finally, after two years, going to stand up to Logan Huntzberger…he hoped…

"Come on, Marty. Don't do this. I'm not in the mood. What do you want?"

"You hurt Rory."

Logan sighed, and shook his head. "Look, Ace is a big girl. She can handle herself. I didn't do anything. And by the way, it's very heroic of you to come here like this. Maybe you two can have strings.

Marty suddenly felt a rush of bravery, and adrenaline, and took his chance. He made a fist, and swung, catching Logan square in the jaw. So long, Master and Commander. He wasn't even going to bother fighting back. He just let Marty go with it.

"She's crying because of you," Marty hissed.

The old feeling of misery washed over him.

"I know," Logan said quietly.

"Stay away from her," Marty warned.

"Not a problem," Logan said, returning to his position on the couch. "Close the door on your way out, will ya?"

Marty shook his head, and left without another word.

Logan sighed, and took a swig of his beer. It would be best if he stayed away…in case he did something stupid.

"Goodbye, Ace."