Author's Notes: Woot, chapter 8 already, eh? And they still haven't even gotten to the tournament. Oh, when will this little fanfiction move on? Anyway, I got a couple comments on how two beers wouldn't be enough for Lily to get smashed on. Let's just pretend it is, k? I write fanfiction, not novels. There's a reason for that. Anyway, I like this fic a lot, let's hope I don't abandon it, yes?

I now have a (semi-secret) agent to keep me on track for this story. Her name is Lea.

Music I was listening to while writing this chapter:

Alien Ant Farm - Movies

Frou Frou - Must Be Dreaming

Frou Frou - Let Go

Fall Out Boy - Grand Theft Autumn (remix)

Enigma - Sadness

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle

We 3 Katamari songs, woot.

And a few others but eh, you guys don't care. On with the fanfiction!

Disclaimers: Obviously I don't own DDR. There's also a few lines from Red vs Blue that I took. I am a theif. Or a pirate.

Chapter 8

The ride to his apartment was relatively short, but it seemed to take forever with Lily's head on his shoulder, dozing off every now and then, only to jerk awake whenever they hit a bump or he made a turn. With her this close to him, it reminded him of the past...

"Why do you think we were chosen for this tournament?" She asked, without moving beside him.

"Well, because we're the best, or at least the best in our school." He replied, shrugging somewhat.

"No... I mean like, do you think there was more of a reason? We hate each other and all... Think it was some... plan to get us to like each other again?"

"Two things wrong with that theory. One, I've never ever hated you. Ever. Two, the school doesn't care enough about its students to plot some elaborate scheme like this." They pulled into his apartment's parking spot and he turned off the car but continued sitting there, waiting for her to move, but almost hoping she wouldn't.

Slowly, she sat up and opened the door. He got out quickly and went around to help her down and up the stairs. Unlocking the door, he opened it and brought her inside, letting it close behind him

"I'm gonna let you sleep on the couch. It's pretty comfortable, so don't worry about it. I also don't think you'd like to wake up tomorrow morning in my bed. I'll take you home whenever you want tomorrow. Most likely immediately." He led her to the couch, sitting her down. Going into his room, he grabbed a fleece blanket and one of his pillows, bringing them back into the living room. He set up the pillow for her and watched her almost fall onto it, her eyes closing immediately.

Leaning over, he removed her shoes for her and threw the blanket over her body, making sure to cover her completely, he remembered how cold her feet got without anything on them. Turning back to her face, he smiled softly as she snuggled into the pillow, taking a deep breath and sighing contently. He reached out and brushed a stray piece of hair away from her eyes.

Suddenly they fluttered open and she stared at him. He inhaled quickly... He'd forgotten how beautiful her eyes were.

"I've never hated you, either, Brendan..." She murmured before they closed again and she drifted back into a deep sleep. Brendan half smiled and traced a finger along the side of her cheek.

"I know..." He stood up and tore his eyes away from the sleeping angel, moving quietly into his room. Shedding his shirt and pants, he slipped into '' leet pajamas he'd bought online a few years ago, awaking his computer and checking e-mail and a few webcomics for updates before stretching and turning off his monitor. Crawling under his comforter, he rested his head on a pillow and closed his eyes, willing his brain to think about anything other than the beautiful girl sleeping just outside his room.

It wasn't working.

3:04 A.M. That's what the clock read several hours later. He still wasn't asleep. He swore he could hear every breath, sigh, sleepy murmur that escaped her lips out there. The lips that she wanted him to kiss again. Oh, what he wouldn't give to taste her just one more time... But of course, that one more time would only leave him wanting one more time and one more time. What a vicious cycle this all was.

Suddenly, he heard his door creak open. He froze, listening to footsteps as they came in. His door shut then they continued to the other side of the bed and he shut his eyes most of the way, but left them open enough to where he could see her sliding into the bed next to him, but turning away and curling up under the blankets, shivering slightly.

She must've been really cold to want to come in here in his bed. Or really cold and still drunk. Either way. He watched her back as she slowly began to stop shivering as her body heat made the rest of the bed warm, her blanket pulled all the way up and almost covering her face. She sighed softly and nuzzled her pillow, obviously feeling much better. Brendan paid close attention to her breathing and after several minutes, it returned to its deep and slow state, letting him know she was asleep. Tentatively, he reached out and touched her hair, which lay spread across the pillow. Curling a lock around his finger, he smiled softly and let go, drawing his arm back next to him. He'd nearly forgotten what it was like to watch her sleep next to him. Before, they'd been a lot closer, though.

At 3:58 A.M., Lily rolled over in her sleep, hands stretching out across the space between them, grasping the sheet a bit. He reached out once more to touch her hand and immediately her fingers grasped his, a soft smile tracing over her lips before disappearing into her dreams. Fearing he might wake her up, he pulled his hand back, content with just watching her sleep. The moment his hand drew back from hers, she frowned, pushing her head slightly into the pillow.

"No... Wayne..." She whimpered quietly, her fingers gripping the sheets between them. "Stop, it hurts..."

She was dreaming about what Wayne had done to her. And it was all his fault. If he hadn't have left her for a stupid reason without any proof behind it, she wouldn't have lost her self-esteem and wouldn't have dated Wayne in the first place, much less let him get away with what he did.

His heart nearly broke as a tear slipped down her cheek and her hand gripped the sheets, her eyes squeezing shut even more. Lily's legs began thrashing under the blanket and whithout even thinking about it, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up close to him. At first she cried out, trying to pull away from him.

"It's ok... It's just me..." He whispered, his hand entangling in her hair as he held her close, resting his forehead against hers. Her eyes flew open at the sound of her voice, tears running down her cheeks. Wiping them away with one hand, his other stroked his hair as her breathing calmed slowly, her hands resting upon his bare chest. "I'm so sorry, Lily... If I hadn't have been so stupid, you wouldn't have been hurt like this... It's all my fault..."

"No... It's mine... If I hadn't been such a bad girlfriend to you, you wouldn't have left me... I really did love you and I'm sorry for doing whatever I did to make you believe I'd be unfaithful to you..." She whispered, her eyes closing as another tear slipped out, her hands clenching somewhat.

"You were never a bad girlfriend... I was just an idiot for believing anyone other than you. Believing anything other than the truth." He hand covered hers, fingers entwining with each other. "I would have done anything to get you back, Lily... Anything. But by the time I found you, it was too late."

"I just couldn't look at you anymore. In the hallways, in lunch... I just planned my routes to completely avoid you, to make it easier to forget you. But it didn't matter, because the routes I took to never see you, only reminded me of you even more." She closed her eyes, moving closer to him and nuzzling the side of his neck, inhaling his scent, remember nights long ago when they lay together just like this, not even speaking, just enjoying each other's warmth.

And now, as he held her close, listening to her soft breathing as it deepened and she drifted into a peaceful slumber, he wished this moment would never end; that all the things keeping them from each other could just disappear and they could stay this way forever.

But his wishes had never come true.