drink up, baby down
are you in or are you out
leave your things behind
'cause it's all going off without you
excuse me, too busy, you're writing your tragedy
these mishaps
you bubble wrap
when you've no idea what you're like

so let go, let go, jump in
oh well, whatcha waiting for
it's alright
'cause there's beauty in the breakdown…

-Frou Frou, "Let Go"

CHAPTER FIVE

I had a boyfriend a few years back who tried to turn me against Frankie. I put up with it for a few weeks, just because I was so head over heels for him that I didn't realize that that was what he was doing.

He tried to convince me that Frankie was a total bitch who didn't care about anything or anyone. What he didn't realize is that I know everything about Frankie – all the good things and all the bad things. Did he think he was surprising me by revealing that Frankie wasn't perfect? But here's the thing – I'm well aware of all Frankie's faults, and she's STILL my best friend. I STILL love her like my sister, just like how she sees all my faults and loves me just the same too. People have tried multiple times to destroy our friendship, because they have that same opinion that Frankie is a bitch. No one knows all the great things about Frankie, because she doesn't let anybody in to see the real her.

That's why it was so easy for that bitch Gabriella Wicks to manipulate what Eddie thought of Frankie – just like she did 10 years ago.

Sorry, Mom… but it had to be said.

Frankie closed the door to her apartment the rest of the way and froze, squeezing her eyes closed in the hope that when she opened them again, Zach Collins wouldn't be standing behind her in her apartment by her own invitation. She heard him clear his throat and she sighed, slowly turning around.

"So… Zach… what are you doing here?"

Zach shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. "Well, I've been calling you but you haven't called me back, so I thought I'd stop by and talk to you just in case you haven't gotten my messages… did you get my messages?" He looked at her with hope and Frankie's stomach churned.

"Yes… yeah, I got your messages, Zach." She couldn't lie to him – not about that, anyway. "I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you, I've just been… um, busy… I've been busy."

"Oh. Okay. Well, um, the reason I was calling you was, well… um…"

Frankie looked away. It was like watching a car wreck – she couldn't watch, especially knowing what she would say to him as soon as he finally spit it out.

"Zach…"

"…IwashopingmaybesometimeyouandIcouldgooutfordinnerordrinksorsomething," Zach finally blurted out without taking a breath. Frankie sighed. How was she supposed to respond to that? If only he'd gotten the hint…

"Well… Zach, that's really nice of you to ask, but the thing is, I don't really date." She ventured a look at Zach, seeing a completely crestfallen expression on his face.

"Oh," he said quietly. Frankie continued.

"No really, Zach, I'm serious… I haven't dated anyone since college. I'm just so focused on my career that I really don't have time to cultivate a real relationship with anyone." She was so intent on convincing him that it wasn't his fault that she just kept talking. "And I didn't want to explain that to you, because it's a little bit embarrassing, and people think that I'm a freak for not wanting to date, but I just don't think it's right for me. So that's why I didn't return any of your calls, hoping you would get the hint that I wasn't interested…" She trailed off when she realized how that came off. Zach looked down at his hands and she winced, inwardly yelling at herself. "Not that I'm not interested in YOU-"

"Save it, Frankie," he said. He spun on his heel and left the apartment in a hurry without giving her another glance.

Eddie tapped his foot nervously under the table. Above the table, his right hand was flipping his fork over again and again while the fingers on his left hand drummed on the tabletop, occasionally stopping to run through his hair. He sighed and looked around the restaurant yet again, but when he saw no sign of Gabriella, he resumed his fidgeting.

He had called her a few days before to set their dinner date, and was immensely relieved when she had picked this restaurant – a family-owned Italian place in his neighborhood that he loved. He'd been worried that she would pick some stuffy, highbrow place where he'd have to wear a jacket and tie and devote half of his paycheck just to cover their meal. The kind of place Frankie would like.

He frowned. Where had that thought come from? He wasn't sure… but now he was thinking about Frankie, much as he tried to re-focus on Gabriella. He thought unwillingly about the other night in her apartment, when she would blush and get flustered every time he came near her. A smile played across his lips without him realizing it. She liked to act so tough, like no one could touch her – but it would seem that he could.

"Penny for your thoughts," the feminine voice jolted him out of his reverie. He looked up and saw Gabriella standing next to the table and smiling down at him. Her curls were tumbling down over her shoulders, which were bare in her black satin halter top. He cleared his throat.

"Funny… can't remember what I was just thinking about."

Gabriella giggled and kissed his cheek before sitting down across from him, giving him a clear view of her long, tan legs as they crossed daintily at her ankles. "You look pretty nice, all cleaned up like that."

He smiled. "Thanks… you don't look half bad yourself."

She smiled back. They made small talk for the first half hour of their dinner, talking about everything from the weather to their respective jobs.

"So you just moved back to Chicago?" Eddie asked over their appetizers. Gabriella nodded.

"Yeah… I moved with my parents to Boston when I was 17, and I went to college out there, and now my company transferred me to the Chicago office, so I'm back."

"Do you have many friends or family here?"

She shook her head. "Nope. What about you? Where are you from?"

"Here. I've always lived in Chicago. My dad owns the Bennett construction business, and my brother and I work there."

"Ahh yes, Bennett Construction. I hear they do good work there." They smiled at each other for a moment before she continued. "So how is your brother doing?"

"Good, he's doing good… he's a little nervous for Christmas, because we're going to be spending it with his fiancée's family, and he wants to make a good impression and all that."

Gabriella's face lit up. "Aww, I didn't know Charlie was engaged! That's so great!"

"Yeah, he seems to think so."

"What's her name?"

"Jane Bell."

Gabriella's eyes widened. "No way."

Eddie chuckled. "I take it you know her?"

"Yeah, we went to high school together. Actually, we were pretty good friends before I moved… blonde hair, blue eyes, sweet disposition?"

Eddie nodded with a chuckle. "Yep. That's Jane."

"Wow. What a coincidence. I haven't seen her for over 10 years."

Eddie took another bite as the conversation dipped into a lull. In an effort to save it, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"So you must know Frankie Darcy too then." Eddie practically groaned out loud. He was having such a good time with Gabriella, why the hell was Frankie still on his mind? Gabriella's eyes widened again.

"Oh wow, Frankie and Jane… they're still best friends?"

"Oh yeah."

"Well that shouldn't surprise me, they were inseparable in high school."

Eddie nodded. "Still are." He took another bite and chewed. "You should hang out with us sometime. You could see Frankie and Jane, reminisce. That's always fun. Actually, Frankie and I are planning a surprise engagement party for Charlie and Jane. You should come, I can get you on the invite list."

Gabriella smiled at him. "That's really sweet of you, Eddie, but um… I don't think Jane and Frankie would really want to see me."

Eddie frowned. "What? Why not?"

She wrinkled her nose. "I dunno… it's kind of a long, very high-school-drama story…you sure you want to hear it?"

"Sure. Lay it on me."

"Alright, well… our sophomore year of high school, Frankie dated this guy for a couple months. They broke up, and about 3 or 4 months later, her ex asked me out. I went to her first and I asked if it was okay, if she didn't mind, and she said she was totally fine with it, because she was never that serious about him anyway. So we dated, and then a couple weeks later I went to a dance with him, and she saw us there and just totally flipped out. She started ranting about how could I do this to her, she denied that she had ever given me permission to go out with him… anyway, she stormed out of the dance in a huff. Everyone saw it, and of course, the next day at school, rumors were flying. I tried to stop them, I told everyone that it was just a misunderstanding… but the thing about Frankie is that people are just looking for an excuse to call her a bitch. Everyone kind of already thinks it, so if something happens… well, it's the first assumption people jump to." Gabriella shrugged, and Eddie just sat there, stunned. "So that's why I'm not sure that Frankie, or her best friend Jane, would really want to see me. It wasn't too long after that whole fiasco that we moved, and things were never really resolved between us."

"Wow," Eddie muttered, leaning back in his chair. It was the only thing he could think of to say. "I mean… wow. I had no idea… but I guess it kinda fits, with what I know of Frankie anyway." He shook his head, feeling a sense of anger welling up in his stomach when he looked at this beautiful girl and thought about what Frankie had done to her. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen her cold-heartedness before.

"Well, enough of that," Gabriella said, her beautiful smile gracing her face again. "It's all in the past anyway, right?"

"Right," Eddie replied, smiling as well. He reached across the table and touched her hand. "Let's focus on the present."

"Hey girls, come on in," Frankie greeted her friends after opening the door of her apartment. Jane, Carly and Rachel's faces smiled back at her as they made their way inside. They were having another girls' night, this one in celebration of Jane being promoted at her publishing firm. The girls followed Frankie in, carrying bottles of champagne and a couple of pizzas.

"Mmm champagne and pizza… nice," Frankie said with a laugh. Jane rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry we can't all be as classy as you, Francesca Darcy, but hey, this is my night. I picked out the food."

Frankie giggled. "Well all hail Princess Jane," she said with a cheesy bow. Jane swatted her on the arm as the rest of the girls made themselves comfortable in Frankie's living room.

"Man… first she gets engaged, now she gets a promotion," Carly said, shaking her head. "Some girls get all the luck." She took a huge bite of her pizza.

"No kidding… we can't all marry guys like Charlie Bennett," Rachel said. Jane frowned.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that he's more put together than every guy I've ever dated. He's cute, he's sweet, he has his own business… hell, he has a JOB…" Jane laughed at Carly.

"Charlie is great, and I love him, but he's not some sort of saint. He's got his faults too."

"Like what?"

"Well… like…" Jane drifted off, but when she remained silent after a few moments the rest of the girls laughed. Jane made a face. "Okay, I can't think of anything right now, but I'm still in the pre-marital bliss. Ask me again 3 months after the wedding."

"Y'know what I think?" Rachel interrupted loudly. "Screw guys. That's what I think. Who needs 'em? I mean seriously… even to reproduce. Haven't people heard of invitro? I mean, come on, it's the 21st century here!"

"Now there is a girl who has some sense," Frankie said, laughing and pointing to Rachel. Rachel pointed back.

"Solidarity, sister."

"Hey now wait, no guy bashing," Jane said. "I happen to be very happy with my guy, thank you very much."

"So? Why does that mean we can't guy bash?" Frankie asked. "It happens to be one of my favorite pastimes."

Jane got a mischievous look on her face as she looked back at her best friend. "Well why don't we focus your considerable guy-bashing skills on one guy in particular, instead of mankind in general?"

"Oh really? And who'd you have in mind?" Frankie asked coolly. She knew perfectly well who Jane had in mind, but she'd be damned if she let her best friend see anything but a cool, controlled exterior when it came to discussion of Eddie Bennett.

"Hmm, I don't know, what about… Eddie Bennett?"

"Eddie Bennett?" Carly asked incredulously. She laughed. "Please tell me you two haven't been in the same room recently. Wait, no, you must not have been, because if you had the world would've imploded."

"Actually they were in the same room. And more than that, they flirted for the entire evening."

Carly and Rachel's mouths dropped open. Frankie scowled at Jane. So much for a cool exterior.

"You have such a big mouth," she muttered… but Jane wasn't done yet.

"And, get this… Frankie let Eddie…" She paused for dramatic effect. "…get her DRUNK." The girls gasped audibly, and Frankie rolled her eyes.

"He did not GET ME drunk, I got myself drunk. It wasn't like he was pouring tequila down my throat," Frankie tried to defend herself, but the two girls continued to gape at her.

"No… way…" Rachel said slowly.

"Oh yeah. Totally true, guys," Jane said, nodding vigorously. "Charlie and I forced the two of them to go out to dinner with us so we could make them get along… and they got along, all right."

"Please ignore her, guys. Jane has a way overactive imagination. She's a writer, remember? Comes with the territory," Frankie tried desperately to convince her friends, but it was too late – Rachel and Carly had turned their attention fully onto Jane.

"So what kind of flirting was it? Like, giggles and tossing hair? Serious, intense looks? Witty banter?" Rachel asked.

"What do you think?" Jane asked.

"Definitely not giggly," Carly said. "I'm guessing the witty banter."

"Bingo. It was like Charlie and I no longer existed – the two of them were totally going at it."

"Okay, can you guys please stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Frankie asked, irritated. Jane turned to her best friend, folding her legs in front of her.

"Truth time?" she asked.

"Um… sure…" Frankie replied slowly.

"No really, I mean TRUTH time. No lies, no pretending, no denial… we're all your good friends here, it's okay to tell us how you really feel, okay? In fact, it's even BETTER than okay. We WANT you to tell us how you really feel. Okay?"

"Alright, fine," Frankie agreed grudgingly.

"How do you feel about Eddie?"

She sighed. She knew it was coming, and of course her first instinct was to continue insisting that she felt nothing for him… but if she was being completely honest with herself, she knew that wasn't the truth.

Intellectually, she knew that he was everything she didn't want in a boyfriend. Even more than that, she didn't want a relationship period, with anyone. Relationships were work, heartache, and most often not worth it. She had been focusing on her career for the past 3 years and it hadn't let her down yet… why should she abandon a lifestyle that has worked so well for her? She had always thought of herself as one of those people who was just better off alone. It wasn't a bad thing, it didn't make her sad… it was just there, just… true.

But then she met Eddie. And all of a sudden, this guy, this irritating jerk, was making her heart pound faster, making butterflies grow in her stomach, making her breath lodge in her throat, and the most infuriating thing about it was that she had no idea why. It was clear that she was attracted to him, but that attraction defied all logic and reason.

She looked up. The girls were all looking at her expectantly. She took a sip from the glass of champagne that had somehow materialized in her hand, her mouth going completely dry.

"Okay, here's the thing…" she started after she'd swallowed. "I don't know what I feel for Eddie. I know that he can make me so angry I literally see red… he's obnoxious, he's completely tactless, he's basically the exact opposite of me…" She looked down. She didn't want to see their faces when she admitted her attraction. "But then, when I'm around him, I get butterflies, and my palms sweat, and my heart pounds, and then he gets close to me and I can smell him, and he smells like soap and aftershave, and… he's just so, so very broad, and strong, and…" She stopped her rambling, squeezing her eyes closed. "I'm attracted to him, I admit it. But the thing is, I don't want to be. And not just because of all those things that make me so mad about him, but just because… because I don't want to be attracted to ANYONE. It's too complicated, too unpredictable and uncontrollable, and I don't LIKE that." She finally stopped talking, and the room remained silent for a few moments.

"Wow," Jane said. Frankie finally brought herself to look at her friends, seeing that they were all wearing similar expressions of pure disbelief. Jane continued. "Frankie… did you ever think that this attraction you have to him is some sort of sign? Don't you think you should trust your emotions and your gut and not your preconceived notions of what your life is supposed to be?"

"But these emotions make no sense, Jane," Frankie said emphatically. "It makes no sense. Why should I change my life just for a few little butterflies? I like my life. I like having this apartment to myself, I like cooking dinner for one, I like being able to make my own choices."

"Why do you think that will change?" Carly asked. "Just because you admit that you're attracted to him, that doesn't mean you have to change who you are."

"But it does! Because who I am has always revolved around the fact that I don't need anyone to be happy."

"Why is that a good thing? You can be independent and be in a relationship, you know. And besides, you may be happy now, but did you ever think that maybe you could be happier?" Rachel pointed out. Frankie bit her lip, surprised at the thoughts that were running through her own head. She shook her head, attempting to shake herself out of it.

"No. It doesn't matter anyway, because Eddie hates me, so what's the point in even thinking about this?"

"Eddie does not hate you," Jane said. "He was flirting with you just as much as you were with him. Did it ever occur to you that this attraction might go both ways?"

Frankie didn't know how to respond to that. It was a few minutes before her next question came out, barely audible by her friends.

"So what should I do about it?"

Jane broke out into huge beaming grin. "Tell him," she insisted. Frankie paled. "No seriously, Frankie, tell him. Ask him out."

"Actually that's a really good idea," Rachel chimed in. "Eddie is used to women falling at his feet, used to being the one in the driver's seat, but if you're the one who asks him out… it would set you apart. I think he'd really dig it," she finished with a definitive nod. Frankie gulped, feeling like she was about to throw up.

"Really?" she asked meekly. All three girls nodded.

"Do it, Frankie," Carly said. "Even if he says no, or whatever… at least you tried, right?"

"Right! And if he does say no, so what? That's his loss. You're an independent woman, so you can go back to your life and be just as happy as you were before."

Frankie sat up straighter, setting her shoulders. "You're right," she said, her voice louder and more confident than it'd been a few minutes before. "I AM a confident, independent woman. Why shouldn't I go after what I want?"

"Exactly!"

"Anybody else have the urge to listen to 'I'm Every Woman'?" Rachel asked. The four of them laughed.

"Another round of champagne!"

A/N: Thanks for reading guys! it was just pointed out to me that I'm not supposed to respond to people here, so I'll just say thanks and keep reading and reviewing:)