Maurice stood in front of the mirror in his bedroom and took a deep breath.

"Cree," he said, looking steadily at his reflection, "Lately I've been thinking…you and I haven't been…. Lately…." He deflated.

Ugh, how do you break up with someone?

He inhaled again, firmly staring his reflection in the eye. "Cree, I think we should break up."

No, that's not right…it's too direct and out of nowhere.

"Cree, you don't love me, and I don't love you, so I think it's time to call it quits."

That's just as bad as the last one.

"It's not me, it's you." He laughed.

How am I going to do this?

"Cree, is it just me, or have we been growing apart?"

But then she might think I'm trying to strengthen our relationship.

"Cree, I think we've been growing apart, and I like it!" He laughed again, followed quickly by a sigh.

I just hope she doesn't cry.

---

Cree bustled around the kitchen, from sink to stove to refrigerator to table and back again. She heard a knock at the door to the yard and looked over to see Chad.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she let him in before immediately returning to her culinary projects.

"You said there'd be a meeting today, didn't you? What's going on?" Chad asked.

"Did I? Oh, wait, I think I remember saying something like that. You've really got to stop remembering things I say, Chad."

"I'm sorry, I'll have to work on that," he said with mock-remorse.

"Okay, as long as you're sorry," Cree grinned. "Anyways, Dad's throwing a dinner party for his colleagues. His party, but I'm always the one who ends up doing most of the work. It's times like these that I really wish Mom were around."

"I'm sorry," he repeated, this time sincerely. "Do you—"

"Oh, it's not that bad. I don't mind it, really, we're actually getting most of the dinner catered. It's just appetizers and dessert that I have to handle; I can deal. I'm just a little frazzled right now." Cree threw a handful of chopped chives into a dip and stirred it.

"So I guess that means no big missions for now, huh?"

"Want a mission?" She threw a box of crackers at him. "Lay those out on a platter. There's a mission for you." She pointed at a cupboard and Chad dutifully went over to fetch a large, ornate plate.

He poured out some crackers and began arranging them. He sampled one, and finding it good, repeated the action.

"Hey," reproved Cree, catching him red-handed, "stop filching my hors-d'oeuvres."

"I'm only eating the broken ones."

"That one doesn't look broken." She pointed to the one currently en route to his mouth.

He scarfed it down defiantly.

She shook her head at him and continued to julienne vegetables.

Meanwhile Chad searched for broken crackers in earnest. Whole ones he deposited on the platter, but damaged goods were set aside for consumption. Once he had amassed a collection of cracker fragments, he proceeded to devour them one by one. Studying them, he realized that two of the broken pieces were clearly two halves of a former whole. He pushed the two together; it was a perfect fit. He gazed at them musingly.

"What are you doing?"

Chad crammed the pieces in his mouth. "Nuthin'."

She smirked, but then noticed the plate, where the crackers were laid out in a decorative spiral. "Nice job."

Chad shrugged. "My mom's won awards for her cheese platters, maybe it's hereditary."

"Maybe it is. Hey, speaking of cheese, would you mind slicing some and putting it on that plate as well?"

"Exploitation," Chad muttered as he walked over to the fridge.

"I know; I'm a horrible person!"

"Where's the cheese?" he asked, hunting in her refrigerator.

"It's on the top shelf."

"I don't see it."

"Hm?" Cree walked over to search, and Chad stepped aside to give her access. "Oh, that's right, I put it in the drawer. Here you go. While I'm here, I should take out the ingredients for dessert." By then she was talking more to herself than to anyone. "Milk, four eggs…." She grabbed the milk with one hand, and reached for the eggs with the other. Two eggs was easy, three was less so, the fourth was probably a bad idea. She edged away from the fridge, closing it with her foot. Just then she lost her hold on one of the eggs, and let out a small gasp. But even as she gasped, a hand reached forward and caught the falling egg.

"Wow, good reflexes. Thank—" she began then looked up to see his face surprisingly close to hers. She was staring directly into his eyes. Her heart fluttered oddly in her chest. There was something about those warm eyes gazing into hers that left her breathless. Why do I want to move even closer…?

It was one of those moments where time seemed to have frozen. The only thing that indicated the passage of time was her pounding heart. She had never been that aware of it before, it was as if her heart were trying to tell her something.

Caught in the moment, she loosened her grasp on the eggs, and one fell to the ground with a small crack! That tiny sound was enough to break the spell.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," she said, depositing the rest of the eggs into his hands, putting the milk down on the counter, and rushing to get paper towels to clean up the mess.

"Cree—"

"You know what? I should get a mop. Be back in a jiff!" She raced out the door to the living room then halfway up the stairs where she sat and sighed, burying her face in her hands. Her heart was throbbing painfully, almost as if it were angry with her.

---

Chad stood rooted in place, hands still full of eggs and cheese, as he watched Cree run from the room. He had almost told her. He was so close….

But…maybe it wasn't what he thought at all. Maybe that look in her eyes was just his own wishful thinking. The way she ran out of here like that….

"Why are you just standing there? Go after her."

Chad turned to see Abby standing in the other doorway. How long had she been there?

"I…I don't…." He stared at the door through which Cree had disappeared just seconds ago. Then he looked down at his hands. "She asked me to do something. I'll talk to her when she gets back." He clumsily placed the eggs on the counter then found a knife to slice the cheese with. Besides, I told myself I'd wait until she broke up with Maurice. I should wait until then, right?

"Coward," Abby muttered as she walked out the door to the living room herself.

---

Cree, still seated on the stairs, heard footsteps coming and she stood quickly to continue her ascent.

"Hey, Sis."

"Oh, it's you, Abby."

"So what was that? I saw you and Chad having that close-range staring contest in the kitchen just now."

"What? What was what? It was nothing. Nothing happened."

Abby stared straight at her for several seconds. "Idiots. Both of you." Then she walked away.

Cree frowned at her sister's words. What is she suggesting? Nothing happened. It was a weird moment, that's all. I was caught off-guard by Chad, and that's it. It was just that I've never looked into his eyes up-close like that before, into his beautiful, warm eyes that made me feel like the only person in the world that matters….

She gasped. What's wrong with me? Maurice is my boyfriend; I love him. I'm in love with Maurice.

---

Chad looked up from his cheese platter when Abby entered the kitchen.

"Sit there and cut cheese…it's none of my business…stupid teenagers," she grumbled to herself and walked straight out the other door.

He pondered why she even cared what he and Cree did. Then he sighed and returned to his assigned duty. But after a couple more slices he paused and thought. It wasn't just he who thought that Cree was looking at him with an expression that was more than friendship. Abby thought so too. And the way she was tilting her face up towards his—was she…could she possibly have been asking for a kiss?

The cheese could wait. He stood and walked to the living room.

---

I'm in love with Maurice. I am, I always have been, Cree was repeating to herself as the doorbell rang. She descended the stairs to open it.

"Hey, Cree," greeted her boyfriend.

"Maurice!" she exclaimed, not noticing the uncomfortable expression on his face. She threw her arms around him. "I'm so happy to see you!" She pulled back to stare into his eyes, willing her heart to beat faster.

Nothing.

Stupid heart, what does it know? I love Maurice, I know I do, I've always loved him.

"I love you, Maurice," she said, and kissed him.

---

Chad heard the doorbell ring just as he entered the living room. He saw Cree answer the door, and saw who it was. When she hugged Maurice, Chad knew he should have turned and left, but his motor skills were dulled as he felt the same, familiar pain in his chest, the same one he felt every time he saw the two of them together.

But it was then that he heard the words he never wanted to hear. I love you. She was saying them to him. The familiar ache in his chest instantly became a horrible, twisting pain that filled his entire being. He could only stare in shock as he watched the two of them kissing.

Finally he was able to tear his eyes away from the scene. He turned and blindly pushed his way through the door he had just entered, into the kitchen then staggered outside through the back door.

Chad stumbled down the street, walking aimlessly. The same thought cycled endlessly through his brain:

She loves him, of course she loves him, she always did and always will. I never had a chance; I should just give up. She loves him….

He felt completely crushed. It was worse, far worse, to realize the truth now when he had been so full of hope and more in love with her than ever. Why did we have to be friends; why did we have to be teammates; why do I have to love everything about her? What purpose is there to life if I can't be with her? He realized now the real reason he continued to part of the team all this time—it wasn't only so he could be near her. It was because of the infinitesimal hope that one day she would turn her head and see him.

But it would never happen. How could I have been so stupid? He plodded sluggishly. There was no reason for anything anymore. How did I ever fool myself into thinking she'd ever…. The pain he felt earlier was subsiding, being replaced with exhaustion and weakness. It was as if his heart had been ripped out, leaving nothing but a gaping, empty hole in his chest. He wanted to lie down and sleep and never wake up.

Never wake up….

It was the first time Chad had ever seriously contemplated suicide. He knew where Dad hid the gun and the bullets. He wondered how painful it was to be shot through the head. All of Mom's kitchen knives were meticulously sharpened. What was the proper way to slit your wrists? The lake was quite deep in some places—if he threw himself in, would he float to the top? Or would weighing himself down with rocks do the trick?

Pondering over his own death was a cold comfort. At least it took his mind off of Cree. If he never thought of her again, then maybe he'd be okay. But she was constantly on his mind—he might as well try to go without breathing. If only I could forget her….

A single, clear thought crystallized in his mind.

He didn't have to die; he could start over and never think about her again. It was the perfect solution.

---

Abby checked her voicemail. A message from Chad. She opened it.

"Abby, I just wanted to say…well, goodbye, I guess. You've been a real friend; I really appreciate it. But I can't do this anymore. I'm done with it. Sorry I couldn't say this in person…. Bye."

---
---

author's notes: it's pretty obvious what Chad's going to do, so it's hardly a cliffhanger, right? ha, i'll try to get the next chapter up soon anyways.
i still haven't decided whether the next chapter should be the last one or if i should split it in two. decisions….