A/N: I'm back again! and actually within a reasonably amount of time XD. but yeah, I finally got this chapter out of my notebook and typed up on the computer, and now it's posted. wheeeee -is proud of self- anyway though, a little bit more drama in this chappie. and cheesy clishes as well, isn't that cool? ahahahaha.

oh and you know I realized that I never really thanked you all for your reviews before! OO I am ahsamed. but THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! you're what keeps me posting, and I love hearing what all of you think of this story :D Makes me smile all the time. I appreciate it SO much! many hugs!

Disclaimer: see chapter one.

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"There Was Only You and Me"

Chapter VI - "And We Spoke to You"

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When I woke up the next morning, he wasn't there. Looking over at the clock in the kitchen, I realized why. It was already past nine, and I had slept in. I guess he just didn't want to wake me up on his way out. Though I wished he had so that I could've at least seen him off.

But I guess I would have to visit him at work later today to make up for it. I hoisted myself up off the couch, where we had ended up sleeping again. And, once again, I had to pick up my clothing from the floor on my way to the bathroom.

A few minutes later as I stepped into the shower, I began to think. Last night we agreed to let our friends know about what was going on between us. When and how, was something we hadn't discussed, though. It made me nervous just to think about it. Even though Mater convinced me to trust our friends with this, it still made my stomach lurch every time I thought about telling them. But I'm sure Mater was just as nervous about it as I was.

But you know, at the same time that I was nervous, I was also sort of… excited, in a really anxious way. I mean, if they did accept it, then things would be absolutely perfect. We wouldn't have to worry about it anymore, and Mater and I wouldn't have to hide anything. He wouldn't have to leave here to early in the morning, we could be open with how we feel, and maybe he could even move in here…

I had to stifle a childish giggle at the thought. How nice would it be to have him here all of the time like that?

I was smiling as I turned the water off and stepped out of the shower.

You know, I don't think I've ever smiled so much in my life. Every second I'm with him, I'm smiling, and when I think about him I smile. But who wouldn't? He's just got such a happy persona that fuses itself into you. And… I just felt so damn lucky to have him.

Later, once I was finished eating and my hair had dried out, I threw on a shirt and headed outside. I had gotten my car back from Doc last week, and was now parked in my driveway. But it would be silly to drive it such a short distance, so I decided to walk.

I didn't think much as I made my way over to the junkyard. Mainly I just admired the scenery, and waved to people going by. It seemed like quite a while before I got there, but once I did get there, I checked to make sure he wasn't outside. When I didn't see him, I walked over to the shed, but as I got closer to the doorway, I heard someone laughing.

A woman's voice laughing. And Mater's laughter mixed in as well.

Confused, I made my way into the shed, and was finally able to see Mater and the other person over by one of the junk piles. Mater had his back to me, and it wasn't until the girl noticed me that I saw who it was.

It was Sally. She looked over at me with her bright aquamarine eyes, alight with happiness to see me. She smiled and waved with a pleasant, "Hey, Lightning!"

Mater spun around at her words, and his entire face lit up. "Hey, buddy!" he exclaimed, waving as well.

I smiled and walked over to them. I voiced a happy 'hello', and had to hold back on making physical contact with Mater as I stepped up next to him. I was so used to hugging or kissing him as a greeting now that it was like a reflex. But I obviously couldn't do that now, so I just kept to myself.

"So what're you guys going?" I asked casually.

"Oh, I just stopped by to give Mater a hand," Sally stated. "Business over at the Cozy Cone was unusually slow today, so I figured, why not?"

Mater nodded in agreement.

"So what brings you here?" she then asked.

Oh, that was a great question. Well let's see, I'm really here because I wanted to see Mater, since I slept in this morning and didn't get to see him before he left my house. Basically, I missed him.

"Oh, I… same thing as you," I managed. "Just thought I'd stop by and help him out over here."

I was lying to her again, and it really did make me feel terrible. He was my friend, and here I was spitting lies out at her.

But she just nodded, then turned to Mater and smiled. "Well it looks like you don't have much to worry about today, Mater," she said to him.

He smiled as well. "Nope, doesn't seem so," he replied happily. "Not so long's I got friends like you guys."

Oh how I wanted to hug him right then and there. He was just so… nice. Nothing new to me, but still.

So we all set to work, piling the things that were in piles into boxes, organizing them for later use. We chatted about this and that, and I found myself having fun. I had to admit that when I saw Sally there, I was kind of disappointed that I couldn't be alone with Mater. But I actually sorta preferred this, the three of us spending time together. It was nice.

A while later, Mater was called outside by a customer. He told us he'd be back in a minute to help in a few minutes, and left the shed. I stared after him for too long.

"Lightning?" Sally questioned, noticing.

I jumped. "Huh?" I replied, spinning around.

She looked at me for the longest time, and it started to unnerve me a bit. It almost seemed like she was reading me or something, finding out everything I was keeping from her. I wished she would at least say something.

My wish was granted. "You know, Lightning, I've been wanting to – ah!"

She had taken a step toward me, and all of a sudden, she was falling. Instantly, I reached out to catch her so that she wouldn't end up on the dirt floor. Her hands clamped onto my arms as I managed to grab hold of her shoulders.

"What was that about?" I gasped out.

She looked up at me, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. "I twisted my ankle yesterday, I guess it's still a bit wea-,"

Her sentence came to a halt, and her gaze drifted past me. My stomach dropped to my feet as I realized the only thing she would be looking at. But I prayed that I was wrong…

Slowly, I turned my head to look, and I could only hold back a groan as I saw Mater standing there. He looked surprised, but hurt as well. Oh, God no. This couldn't be happening; there was no way I was actually caught in one of those cliché-romance-movie accidents.

In one quick movement, I separated myself from Sally, all the while never breaking my gaze from his.

How I wanted to speak, tell him something. Anything. But all I managed out was his name.

This seemed to bring him around, though, for he finally moved, and his shocked expression melted into a calm one. As though nothing had fazed him at all. But then he smiled a smile so fake that it made me want to vomit.

"Sorry," he said "I just, uh… the customer's callin' again… I'll be back." And with that, he just turned and walked back out.

I stood there, completely thunderstruck. I wanted to chase after him, but I was frozen stuff, staring wide-eyed at the empty doorway. This was bad… so very, very bad. Mater thought I was doing something with Sally behind his back, but… how could he believe that?

Didn't he trust me? But then, I guess the fact that Sally and I were once an item didn't help in the least bit.

Finally coming to my senses, I rushed out of the shed and looked around for him. He wasn't anywhere in sight, so I walked further into the junkyard. I almost had to wonder if he had gone home, but then I found him behind the shed, leaning his back up against it. His head was hung low, his gaze locked on the ground. I couldn't see his face at all.

"Mater," I spoke tentatively. His head snapped up, his expression almost frightened. But… why would he be scared?

I took a step toward him, and he visibly flinched. This hurt me.

"Mater, I…" I tried, taking another hesitant step. "You gotta believe me, nothing was… Sally and I, we…"

Why couldn't I say it? Why was it so hard to tell him that it was all misunderstanding? I opened my mouth, but then closed it dejectedly. This was only causing him to look even more hurt now, and that didn't help my nerves at all.

"Nothing was going on, Mater."

I jumped, the voice startling me. I looked over to my left to see where it had come from, and my eyes widened as I saw Sally standing there. She walked a bit closer to us, and looked over at Mater, who looked just as shocked to see her there as I was.

"We were talking, I tripped, and Lightning caught me," she explained to him in a serious tone.

Then she turned to me, and all my questions as to why she was there, why she was doing this, why she would know to do this… they were all answered. Her eyes were knowing, telling me that… she understood. She knew. My heart rate quickened, and I was suddenly extremely nervous. But then… she smiled. She then walked over to me and took my hand. I raised an eyebrow at her, but she just turned around and walked me over to Mater. Then she took one of his hands in her free one, and gently placed his atop mine.

For a moment, she held her hand there. But when Mater slowly enclosed his fingers around my hand, she let go.

Mater and I looked up at one another, smiling softly. Misunderstandings forgotten completely. We then looked over at Sally, who stood beaming at us.

Mater took a step away from the shed, toward me, and I intertwined our fingers together. I felt so entirely happy… Sally knew, and she was happy for us. She had helped us as well.

"Thank you, Sally," I said to her, feeling truly grateful to have her as a friend. She just smiled and nodded in response. She then came closer to the both of us, and first gave Mater a hug, and then me.

"Good luck," was she said before turning and leaving. It was all she needed to say, though. And it meant so much.

Mater gave my hand a squeeze, and I let my head fall onto his shoulder as we stood there.

"I'm sorry, Lightnin',"

I looked up at him, confused. "For what?"

His eyes met mine. "For not trustin' ya. I shouldn't'a thought you was doin' somethin' with Sally," he said, and I could tell her really felt bad. "I know you would never do that, but… when I saw you two, it was like one of my nightmares come ta life, n' I just assumed the worst…"

I reached up my other hand t his face, pushing some loose hair back behind his ear affectionately before settling it on his cheek. "It's fine, Mater. I don't really blame you for assuming the worst," I told him.

He smiled. "You're too good ta me," he spoke gently.

We stood there for a moment more in silence, just enjoying the happiness that we both felt. But after a few moments, we looked at each other, knowing that tonight was the night. Sally knew now, so everyone else had to as well.

I told him this, and he nodded firmly. I took a deep breath and gripped his hand tighter.