Hey guys! Sorry the chapters haven't been that exciting recently. I'm trying to make them more exciting. Thanks to all of you who have been reviewing. Your reviews make me want to write more and more! So here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!
An entire week had passed since Cory and Dave First met. Ever since the day Mark stormed out, things had been strange between him and Cory. But Cory barely noticed. She was too busy these days. With Dave and the play, she didn't have time to notice. She was rarely home. She'd wake up early in the morning, meet Dave down at the Life Café and the two would take the subway to rehearsal. Cory convinced the director to hold the play at The Space. This made Mark happy. But what didn't make him happy was the fact that he never saw Cory anymore. He hated it actually. He missed her like crazy.
One day, while Mark was home alone, sorting through some of the things he filmed, he heard a tap at the window. He got up and looked out. There he saw the most wonderful sight—it was Cory. Her face was pressed up against the window. Mark chuckled. Why was Cory so damn cute?
Cory, who apparently didn't realize anyone was in the apartment, heard him laugh and looked up. She smiled at him and slammed her fist against the window. "Open the window!" Mark shrugged like he didn't know what she was saying.
"It's cold!" Mark put his hand up to his ear like he couldn't hear.
"I said, it's cold asshole open the window!" He just shook his head and laughed at her. It was almost like old times.
"Open the damn window!" Mark opened the window and helped Cory in. As soon as he touched her hand, he automatically went into panic mode.
"My God Cory! Are you alright? You're freezing. That sweater isn't good enough for you. Do you need a heavier coat? Here I'll—".
"Mark, I'm fine," Cory pulled away and walked towards the kitchen. "I came to get a coat, and something to eat. I'm starving."
"Don't you have rehearsal?"
"No we finished early today."
"Really?" Maybe this meant he and Cory could hang out like old times.
"Yeah. Dave's picking me up in about thirty minutes or so." Just then, the door to their apartment opened and in walked Collins, Mimi and Roger.
"Hey losers!" Roger chimed.
"I'm hungry!" Collins added.
"Hey stranger!" Mimi said to Cory, "how are you? Haven't seen you around lately."
"I know. I guess I've been busy with the play."
"And Dave-y," Collins teased. Cory stuck her tongue out at him, and continued.
"Well, I don't have rehearsal today."
"Do you have a minute?" Mimi asked, "I don't have to work and I was hoping we could catch up."
"Actually, Dave's coming over and we're gonna go to his place, or maybe out to eat. I don't know."
"Oh."
"Yeah, but you can come with me while I get ready and we can talk."
"Okay." Cory and Mimi walked into Cory's bedroom to get ready, leaving Roger, and Collins alone with Mark.
"Cory seems pretty happy," Collins said biting into an apple.
"Yeah. She and Dave are getting along really well," added Roger.
"Yep. She's real happy. She's almost too happy. We never hang out anymore." Mark said disappointed.
" You've really been missing our feisty little redhead aren't you?" Collins asked.
"Yeah I mean she is my best friend and—," he was quickly stopped by a knowing look from Collins and Roger. "What?"
"We know how you're feeling about this whole Cory and Dave thing," Roger said.
"You do?"
"Yeah. You loooove her," Collins added.
"What? No way."
"Right. Then why are you acting so weird about it?"
"I'm not."
"Mark—"
"Okay, fine. To tell the truth, I have no idea what's going on. Cory's supposed to be my best friend right? Then why am I having all these weird feelings?"
"What weird feelings?"
"When I see her—I don't know. It's like I'm looking at a totally different Cory. The old Cory was beautiful. But it was a platonic beautiful. You know? Well, now. It's defiantly not platonic. It's like—I don't know what it's like, but I'm scared. I'm scared out of my mind. It's not supposed to be like this. I mean, maybe it's because we're best friends and I'm so used to seeing her with me all the time and when she's not with me it's—well, it's weird. I don't know. Something inside of me is telling me that it's more than just a friendship with us now. There's something there and I'm—I'm scared."
"So, tell me about you and Dave," Mimi asked Cory inside her bedroom.
"It's amazing. He and I really do share something special. In the mornings, we'll meet down by the Café and he'll ride with me to the subway and we'll go to rehearsal. Afterwards, we might eat dinner with the rest of the cast, and sometimes we'll go over to his house and hang out. He makes me feel beautiful."
"That's great Cory."
"You wanna know the best part about it?"
"What?"
"He doesn't pressure me to do stuff like Ray did. He respects my morals and the way I was raised. He doesn't want me to feel uncomfortable. Isn't that sweet?"
"Yeah. It is. But . . . what about Mark?"
"What about Mark?"
"Cory, I'm not stupid. I know how you feel about Mark." Just then, Cory's face fell from a grin, to a look of panic."
"You do?"
"Yeah. And Roger, and Collins. And I'm pretty sure Joanne and Maureen do too."
"Oh my god! What about Mark? Does he know?"
Mimi laughed, "no. Just about everyone in the entire state of New York City knows except Mark."
"And Dave."
"So about Mark, do you still love him?" Before Cory could answer Mimi's question, the telephone rang.
"If that's Dave tell him I'm getting ready!" Cory yelled from her bedroom. Mark answered the phone.
It was Dave.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Matt. This is Dave."Great.
"Mark."
"No, Dave. I'm calling for Cory." What a jerk.
"Yeah, she's getting ready do you—"
"Tell her I can't make it tonight. Do you think you could do that for me Marty?" What does she see in this asshole?
"Sure Dave. I'll do that."
"Thanks Marty," with that, Dave hung up the phone.
"Was that Dave?" Cory asked. She was now dressed in a short, flirty skirt with black tights and red t-shirt with a black sweater over it. Mark thought she looked great.
"Yeah. He can't make it today. I guess he was busy or something."
"Oh." The disappointment that came across Cory's face when Mark told her that Dave couldn't come, made Mark fell terrible. Of course, it wasn't his fault that Dave had cancelled on her, but she was his best friend, and despite all of these crazy feelings he feeling for her, he'd rather see her happy with Dave, than sad without him.
"Maybe now we can all hang out." Cory said to her friends.
"Oh, well Mimi and I just made plans to well . . . we're hanging out downstairs for the day," Roger said with a smirk.
"Yeah and I'm having dinner with Maureen and Joanne." Collins said, "which reminds me, I've gotta go."
"Bye Collins."
"Bye Tommy." Roger, Mimi, and Collins all left the apartment, leaving Mark and Cory alone.
"I suppose you're busy too?" Cory asked sadly. Mark looked over at his filming equipment. He was really hoping to finish his film before Christmas. He only had a little less than two weeks to finish it. But he saw the disappointment on Cory's face and couldn't resist.
"Actually, I was hoping you and I could hang out today." The look on Cory's face when he said that, made his unfinished film worth risking.
"Great. Just like old times," she said sweetly and hugged him. And at that moment, the scared feeling in Mark's chest came back as he smelled the sweet scent of Cory's hair.