Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews! Here's an update... you're probably going to want to kill me after this, but I promise it gets better! I also promise that I will update this by the end of this week. Most likely after Alias cause I kinda get on a high after watching on Wednesday nights. So here it is and I once again am sorry...
Chapter 21.
Vaughn's POV"Danny?" Syd shrieked out. "Oh my god Danny! How are you?" The two swiftly walked towards each other and embraced.
You have got to be kidding me, I thought to myself. Why? Out of all the possible ways to bump into Danny again after two years, we see him on the night of Syd and mine's romantic anniversary date. How is that possible? Someone up there in the sky does not want me to have sex with my girlfriend… ever.
I sat there gritting my teeth watching my girlfriend reunite with her ex-boyfriend while he kept touching her where only my hands were supposed to be. I almost fainted when I saw him press a light kiss on her cheek.
"What are you doing here in San Francisco?" Syd asked after finally pulling away from his embrace.
"I'm going to UCSF now. These are my friends John and Kyle." He pointed to a couple of friends next to him while. "We were just about to head off towards this club down the street. Do you live here now?"
"Wow, Danny. UCSF is one of the top medical schools in the country. Congratulations! That is so huge!"
"Thanks!"
"Yeah, I'm going to San Francisco State now. I have an apartment about 10 minutes away from the campus. I'm going there with Vaughn." She answered.
Finally I was acknowledged. I was standing there off to the side thinking I was invisible. Grabbing me by the arm, Syd pulled me towards Danny.
"Hey… Michael, I didn't recognize you over there. How are you?" He asked.
"I've been alright. Syd and I were just enjoying a romantic night out." I emphasized romantic hoping he would get the point.
"Oh, so you guys an item now?" A hint of surprise was evident in his voice as I inwardly celebrated.
"Yeah, we've been going out for a month now. It's been the best month of my life." I swung my arm around Syd's waist and pulled her close.
I could tell Danny became very uncomfortable standing there. Shoving his hands in his pocket, he kept looking back and forth at Syd and I. I guess he was trying to take in that she was my girlfriend now. Yeah, that's right Danny. She's my girlfriend. Sydney was my girlfriend.
"I see. Listen, the guys and I have to get going but let me give you my number Syd. You know, in case you want to hang out sometime."
Pulling out a pen, he took an old receipt from his wallet and scribbled down his number. Again I felt ignored. He was practically asking out Syd in front of me. It took all of my strength not to grab the little scrap of paper and rip it into a million pieces.
"Ok, thanks. Good seeing you Danny. I'll give you a call sometime." Syd said cheerfully as we watched Danny and his friends walk away.
Walking back to the car, I climbed in then slammed the door shut. Thank you Daniel Hecht for killing the mood of the night. Everything was going perfectly until he showed up. Seriously, we haven't seen the dude in two years and then he suddenly reappears. Plus, not only did we just bump into him, he's living in the same city we are!
The car ride home was silent as I gripped the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles were turning white. Neither of us knew what to say or how to react. If anything were to come out of my mouth at that moment it would've been a string of all the cuss words that I could think of in the English and French language.
"Vaughn, are you ok?" Syd asked, shifting in her seat to look at me.
"Just dandy." I answered sarcastically.
"Ok, obviously something is bothering you now spit it out."
"Spit out what? That I'm thrilled to see that your ex-boyfriend is back and giving you his number? Yeah Syd, I am ecstatic."
"I haven't seen or talked to Danny in two years. Vaughn, I was excited to see him. What, are you jealous?"
"Syd… I had to go through a couple years of high school watching him hug, kiss and hold you and I couldn't do anything about it. Do you know how hard it was for me to be around you guys knowing that you had no idea how I felt about you? So sorry for feeling a little angry about seeing him again." It was true. Seeing Danny again brought out all of those I used to have seeing him with her.
"That was in the past, Vaughn. We were only kids back then."
"Do you still have feelings for him?" I spit out without even thinking.
"What? Are you serious?"
"Answer the question Sydney."
"I don't know! Why should it matter? I'm with you now."
"Because it does matter. Now answer my question. Do you still have feelings for Danny?"
By that time, we just pulled into Syd's apartment complex. Turning off the engine, I turned in my seat to face her. She was still sitting there silent and staring at her hands.
"Syd, look at me. This means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. I need you to tell me the truth."
"He was my first boyfriend, Vaughn. Of course I'll always have feelings for him. And truthfully, tonight when I saw him, sure it stirred up some feelings from the past. But, you're my boyfriend now. I chose you."
I nodded my head silently, not really knowing what to think.
"C'mon. Let's go inside and I'll make us some tea." She was about to open the door when I pulled her back.
"Actually, I'm kinda tired right now. I should probably head back to my apartment. I'll call you tomorrow, ok?" A stunned look came to Syd's face before she answered.
"Oh… ok… good night."
Syd's POVWaking up the next morning, I felt empty and cold. Empty from having a fight with Vaughn and cold from not having his warm body next to mine in the bed.
I guess part of me understood what Vaughn was getting at, but the other part of me didn't. I didn't know how bad he felt when Danny and I were going out and he was suffering while watching us. I thought Vaughn would be fine about seeing Danny again since he and I have grown so close. I really didn't think he would react the way he did.
I couldn't have been more disappointed with the way the night ended. Vaughn and I didn't even get to sleep with each other for the first time. Plus, things ended badly. I knew he was mad when he didn't call me to say goodnight. Every night that we've spent apart since we started dating, he would call me to say goodnight and tell me to have sweet dreams.
I knew it was bad when I didn't get a phone call last night or didn't have any messages on my cell phone this morning. It left me with a horrible feeling.
I couldn't lie though. I was happy to see Danny after all of that time apart from him. It was really good to see that he was doing well. I wanted nothing but the best for him after we broke up.
Hearing Francie mulling around in the kitchen, I strapped on my robe and made my way out of my room.
"Hey Syd. How are you feeling? I heard things didn't go too smoothly?" Fran asked while pouring herself a glass of milk.
"Everything was going perfect and we were just about to leave the restaurant when I ran into my ex-boyfriend." I explained.
"Oh, that would explain why Vaughn came in the door last night throwing stuff and mumbling something about some dude named Danny."
"Was he really mad? Is he ok?"
"I think so. What happened? Why is he so angry?" Taking a set on one of the stools, I grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl and started to peel it.
"He started freaking out on me in the car asking me if I still had feelings for Danny."
"Well, do you?" She questioned.
"He was my first serious boyfriend so yeah, I'll always have some sort of feelings for him. But, I love Vaughn. He's the one I want to be with. I guess he just got jealous last night and didn't want to spend the night with me."
"You need to tell him that Syd. He needs to be reassured that you're not going to get back with your ex because I think he's scared."
I took in Francie's advice and decided that she was right. First, I needed to settle things with Danny though. I needed to properly end communication with him so he would know that I wanted to be with Vaughn.
After showering and cleaning up, I called Danny and asked him to come over in the afternoon. I didn't know how he felt about me since we didn't get to talk much the night before, but I wanted to let him know that I have moved on.
Vaughn still hadn't called me and I was starting to worry. I really wanted to talk to him and hear his voice. I promised myself that I would go right to his place after meeting with Danny.
Right before he called to tell me that he was coming over, Fran informed me that she wanted to give us some privacy and that she would be over at the library to study.
When Danny finally arrived, we quickly hugged and made our way over to the couch.
"So, what's up Syd?" He asked. "I'm really glad you called. I was hoping we could go catch a movie or dinner some time this week. We have quite a bit to catch up on."
"Actually, I called because I needed to talk to you about something. I know that it's really good to see you and all, but I don't think I can see you anymore." I explained.
"What? Why?"
"Because Vaughn's my boyfriend now Danny. I really don't know how you feel about me, but things can't go any further. I love Vaughn and I want to be with him. I think seeing you last night freaked him out a little."
"I see. After seeing you last night, I was hoping that we could maybe start things up again. I couldn't believe you were here. I mean, out of all the places in the world that we could be we ended up living in the same city? But, when Michael announced you two were together now, I couldn't help but feel bad."
"I'm sorry Danny. I wanted to tell you this in person because it is important and I didn't want to do it over the phone. But, he's everything to me and I don't want to lose him."
Vaughn's POVI took out my anger and frustration by going to the gym and beating the crap out of the punching bag the next morning. I kept imagining Danny's face and wanting to punch it in. I know the guy didn't personally do anything to me, but I envied him.
I'm sure I scared the living day lights out of Weiss and Francie when I walked in last night, but I didn't have the patience to explain to them what I was doing home.
I did act like a jerk to Syd last night, but I really couldn't help it. My anger got the best of me and I just wanted to be alone. I couldn't deal with the fact that my girlfriend could possibly still have feelings for her ex.
When I got home after the gym, Weiss was sitting on the couch reading the paper.
"What the hell happened last night Mike? Are you ok?" He asked concerned.
"No, everything was ruined when we ran into Syd's ex-boyfriend."
"No way! Seriously, you have the worst luck in the world. You finally get to do it with your girlfriend and you run into her ex-boyfriend? What are the chances of that? That's like 1 in a million. Dude, that sucks." He replied.
"You should've seen the way he was looking at her. It was like being in high school all over again. Seeing him made my stomach turn." Gripping my fists hard again, I felt like going back to the gym to hit something.
"I get the feeling you don't like this guy at all." Weiss replied.
"I don't. And to top it all off, Danny gave Syd his number and told her to call him. He did it right in front of me like I wasn't even standing there!"
"What an ass! What did Sydney say?"
"She really didn't say much. I asked her if she still had feelings for him and she said she didn't know. I was so mad after hearing that, that I dropped her off and came home."
Weiss patted me on the back a few times to show his sympathy. Groaning again in frustration, I put my head back to rest against the top of the couch. Not talking to Sydney was killing me. But, after what I pulled the night before, I doubt she wanted to talk to me.
For a couple of hours, I wouldn't move off of the couch. I kept lying there, destroying my brain cells by watching useless television programs. I was so distraught, I found myself watching Newlyweds.
I secretly kept hoping that my cell phone would ring and it would be Syd calling me to tell me that she wanted to see me or talk to me. I was being stubborn and knew I should be the one calling to apologize. But, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Weiss couldn't take anymore of me moping around and motioned for me to sit up so he could take a seat with me on the couch.
"I can see the misery this girl is putting you through." He said as opened up a bottle of beer and handed it to me.
"She makes me the happiest guy in the world. It's my fault we're not talking Weiss. I acted like an immature, jealous jerk last night."
"No, you acted like any other guy would if he felt threatened by an ex."
"Yeah, but there was no excuse for my behavior. I shouldn't have pushed Sydney away like that." I explained.
"So go see her."
"What?" I asked surprised.
"Go see her and told me everything you just said. All of this isn't a big deal. So you guys had your first fight. It's about damn time this relationship gets interesting anyways."
"Are you sure?" Still being a bit skeptical, I thought it out for a minute or two.
"Yes. I'm dead serious. Apologize and tell her you love her. And when you get back, give me a hug cause I guarantee you she'll not only forgive you, but you two will do what you were supposed to do last night."
Standing up, I ran a hand through my messy hair. Weiss was right. I needed to go see her and apologize.
"Should I call first?" I questioned.
"No. Don't call. Pick up some flowers on the way and surprise her. Girls like to be surprised."
In less than no time, I was out the door and on my way to Syd's place.
Syd's POVAn awkward silence came over Danny and I as we continued to sit on the couch not looking at each other in the eye. I had a feeling this isn't what he was expecting when I called him to come over.
"Well, I can't say that I'm surprised." He finally said, breaking the silence.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You and Michael Vaughn. What, you guys have been best friends for how long now?"
"Ummm, since we were around 6 I guess." I replied.
"Yes, well I could see that he had feelings for you even when we were together. I guess it was just a matter of time, right?"
Glancing down at my hands, I continued to wonder how I never saw any signs. How could I have been so blind to Vaughn?
"Ok Sydney. I better get going now. But thanks for having me over."
Danny walked to the door with me closely following behind. I felt good about what was said and the understanding that we reached. Now that I ended things fully with Danny, Vaughn and mine's relationship could continue to grow stronger.
I was about to hug Danny one last final time, when he put his hand up to stop me.
"It was good seeing you Danny. Take care of yourself."
"Wait, I just have to have one final kiss." He said quickly and captured his lips with mine.
I was shocked at first. So shocked I didn't know what to do. I couldn't even push him off of me because my body froze up.
Finally breaking apart, I stood there agape, not really knowing what to say. That was, until I looked to my left and saw Vaughn standing there with flowers in his left hand. Before I could say anything, he threw down the flowers and dashed down the stairs.
"Vaughn! No wait!" I screamed when I ran outside to catch him. But, he was already gone.
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