But you can't hide standing under these stars
they know everything they know where you are
you're in your head, you're all turned around with it
and they're shining down their light to bring you back again

Back where I can find you to crawl inside you

I'm ringing all the warning bells
careful or you'll hurt yourself…

-Guster, "Careful"

CHAPTER SIX

I couldn't believe Frankie had actually taken our advice. I mean yeah, sure, I wanted her to take it, otherwise why would I have given it? But the fact that she actually decided to act on it, and she actually asked Eddie Bennett out? It just makes my respect for her grow, especially considering what happened that night.

Frankie stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom, her hands nervously flitting from her hair, to rub off a smudge in her makeup, then to smooth out an imaginary wrinkle in her shirt. She had spent the entire afternoon agonizing in her closet, and had finally decided on jeans and a black fitted shirt with her favorite brown sweater wrapped around.

Good outfit for asking out a guy, right?

At least, for asking Eddie Bennett out. It wasn't too stuffy or pretentious, and it was comfortable, which was always a plus. She smoothed down her hair, the auburn locks hanging straight down her back. Her heart was beating like crazy. She couldn't believe she was actually going to do it.

I am totally, completely, certifiably insane.

The buzzer sounded, and her heart leapt up into her throat. A glance at her watch showed her that he was early. She hurried to the buzzer, attempting to compose herself before answering.

"Hello?"

"It's me," Eddie's voice crackled through the speaker. Her heart started beating faster – she hadn't even thought that was possible.

"C'mon up." She pressed the button to let him up before turning and looking around the apartment. She'd asked him to come over in order to go over a few last-minute preparations for the party, but that wasn't really why. She had it all planned out in her head, and if it all went according to plan… well, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

A knock sounded at the door next to her, and she jumped about a mile in the air. She looked at the ceiling and composed herself before swinging the door open.

There he was. Standing in the hallway, looking almost exactly the same as the last time he'd come to her apartment for party-planning. His eyes met hers.

"Hey," she said, her voice coming out breathless.

"Hi," he replied. "You gonna let me in or what?"

"Right, sorry, come on in." She backed away and he brushed past her and walked into the living room.

"Do you mind if we make this quick?" he asked. She frowned at his back. "I have a couple of things I have to get done tonight."

"Right… of course," Frankie mumbled. She cleared her throat. "Um, the truth is… I don't really have any preparations I need your help with." She saw his back stiffen and he turned around, a confused look on his face.

"So… why did you ask me to come here?"

She gulped. It wasn't going according to her plan.

"We'll get to that." She smiled at him, though she knew her smile was tense. She offered him a glass of wine that she'd already poured. "Wine?"

"Uh… sure, I guess," he said, taking the wine from her. Frankie ran her fingers through her hair nervously.

"Um… do you want to see my balcony?" she blurted out. She inwardly winced. It was supposed to be smoother than that.

"Sure…" he replied slowly. He followed her through the dining room and out onto her balcony. "Wow," she heard him murmur.

"Yeah, most people have that reaction when they see this," she said. The two of them stood by the railing, looking over the beautiful view of the lake. The moon was out, and it, along with the starry night sky, was reflected on the surface of the water. Frankie shifted from foot to foot nervously, taking a sip from her own wine glass.

"Listen… the reason that I asked you here tonight, was… um…" She got distracted when Eddie turned his attention from the lake back to her. Why was it that now that she had admitted to herself what she felt about him, he suddenly became irresistible to her? She tried to remind herself of all the things that she didn't like about him, but it didn't work. She looked up at him, and suddenly all the words that she had rehearsed over and over flew out of her head.

"So, the thing is, you're totally wrong for me," she blurted out. "You're rude, you're crass, you're a womanizer, your idea of culture is going to a pro football game, and you drink beer. You're everything that I never thought I wanted." She paused, unable to read the expression on his face. "But the thing is, I'm attracted to you. I don't know why, but I'm just… I'm really attracted to you. And I was sort of wondering if maybe…" She took a deep breath. "If maybe you'd want to go out. Like, to dinner or something. With me. Like, on a date." She forced herself to stop talking. They stood there in agonizing silence for what seemed like an eternity before Eddie started laughing. It started as a slow chuckle, quickly escalating into full blown, throw-your-head back laughter. Frankie felt her stomach sink.

"Am I on candid camera right now?" Eddie asked through his laughter, making a big show of looking around. "Seriously, this is the best joke I think I've ever heard."

"Wh… what?"

His laughter stopped and looked back at the lake, shaking his head, then looked back at her, and this time she recognized the anger in his eyes.

"You honestly think that I'd want to go out with you?" he asked. "You have showed me nothing since I've met you except how bitchy and cold-hearted you can be."

Frankie's jaw dropped open. "What? When? What are you talking about?"

"Okay. Exhibit A." He held up one finger. "You were a complete bitch to Zach. You lead him on, then you ignored his calls and broke his heart without a smidge of guilt." She opened her mouth to defend herself, but he just kept talking. "Exhibit B, you have done nothing but look down on me since the moment I met you. Even now, when you ask me out, you do it by insulting me first! And that's supposed to make me want to go out with you?" He laughed out loud, a callous laugh that she never thought she'd hear coming from him. "And lastly, Exhibit C… do you really think that I would date someone who was such a bitch to one of her closest friends?"

Frankie frowned. "Who?"

"Gabriella Wicks."

Frankie's jaw dropped open again.

"Gabriella Wicks?" she asked incredulously. He just nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. She felt the anger building up in her stomach. "Gabriella Wicks," she repeated, her voice coming out in almost a snarl. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides.

"Yes. Gabriella Wicks. She told me about how she was such good friends with you, and how you totally did a 360 on her, even when she was trying to help you."

Frankie crossed her arms over her chest, not bothering to correct him. "Well if you think I'm such a bitch, then maybe it's better if you just leave," she said, her tone flat. She would not let him see how he'd gotten to her.

"I think that's the best idea I've heard from you yet." He turned around and stalked out of the apartment. Frankie waited until she heard the door to her apartment slam closed behind him before wrapping her sweater tightly around her chest and leaning back against the railing.

"Ms. Darcy?" Frankie looked up to see her secretary standing in front of her desk. When had she gotten there? She sat up straighter in her desk chair.

"Oh, sorry… um… what?" Lisa had a concerned look on her face.

"Mr. Portman is on line 3." Frankie frowned.

"Mr. Portman…?"

"Mr. Portman… from Portman & Keller…" Frankie's eyes widened.

"Oh! God, oh, yeah, right, thanks Lisa." She picked up the phone.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… Frankie? Frankie Darcy?"

Eddie nodded, looking at his brother's stunned expression.

"Frankie actually asked you out?"

"Yeah, she did."

Silence.

"Well what did you say?"

Eddie looked at him in disbelief. "What do you think I said? I said no, of course. She asked me out by insulting me. Why the hell would I say yes to that?"

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Sometimes, Eddie, you can be so completely dense."

"You better damn well let me up, Francesca Darcy," Jane's voice came up through the speaker. Frankie sighed, leaning her forehead against the wall next to the intercom. She was a total wreck – she'd had the worst day she'd ever had at work, and now she was dressed in pajama pants and an old, smelly t-shirt, eating ice cream and trying to forget about how horrible the day had been. She loved Jane to death, but the last thing she needed right now was company.

"I'm serious, Frankie, you haven't answered any of my calls… I'm dying here!" Jane's voice continued to crackle through the speaker. Frankie reached up and fumbled for the button, hearing the buzz as she let her in before stumbling back over to the couch where she'd made her nest. She had just picked up her carton of ice cream again when she heard Jane let herself in.

"Holy crap," Jane said as soon as she rounded the corner into the living room. "This cannot be good. I came to find out what happened with Eddie… but clearly this is not good news. What the hell happened?"

Frankie rolled her eyes, shoving another bite of ice cream into her mouth. "I was an idiot," she replied. "And you were an idiot for talking me into doing that."

"What happened?" Jane repeated.

"I did it. I asked him out. But I did it totally wrong, I didn't…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "See, this is why I don't like doing things that I have no control over. Cuz I had no control over what I was saying, and I shoved my foot so far into my mouth…"

"What did you say?"

"A lot of stuff that doesn't need repeating."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Okay fine, then what did he say?"

"Well he had quite the little bits of evidence to prove his point," she said bitterly.

"What?"

"His rejection was 3-fold," Frankie started. Jane's eyes widened. "I am a bitch, apparently. A cold-hearted bitch. For 3 reasons. One, I was a bitch to Zach Collins, who lead him on and then callously broke his heart. Two, I was a total bitch to him, even when I was trying to ask him out, and lastly…" She paused, the anger welling up in her stomach again just thinking about it. "…I was a bitch to Gabriella Wicks."

"Gabriella Wicks?" Jane asked incredulously, sounding exactly as Frankie had the night before. Frankie nodded. "What the fuck does Gabriella Wicks have to do with this?"

"I have no idea. I don't know how he knows her or what…" Frankie shook her head. "All he said was that she told him about how the two of us were 'such good friends' and I did a total 360 on her and was a total bitch to her, even when she was trying to 'help' me."

Jane's jaw dropped open. "You're not serious."

"Dead serious."

"Well what did you say to him? Did you tell him about how ridiculously wrong he is?"

"What's the point? He's absolutely convinced that I'm a cold-hearted bitch. There was clearly no point in arguing with him."

Jane scoffed. "No way. C'mon, Frankie, you gotta tell him the truth."

"No, Jane."

"But if you did-"

"NO, Jane," Frankie said emphatically. "And you're not going to tell him either. As a matter of fact, you're not even going to tell Charlie, because then Charlie will tell Eddie, and… I just… don't tell him. Please," Frankie pleaded. Jane sighed, scrutinizing her.

"Alright, fine, if that's what you really want. I think you're making a mistake though."

"And that's your opinion, and you're entitled to that… but it's my life."

"Okay, I get it… I won't tell." The two of them sat there awkwardly for a moment, Frankie twirling her spoon in her melting ice cream.

"So… are you okay?" Jane finally asked.

"Not really," Frankie said, so softly it was almost a whisper. "It's not that I expected Eddie to just take me in his arms and kiss me or something, but… I didn't expect him to tear me apart like he did."

"Oh Frankie…" Jane sighed.

"And it sucks, because I didn't think I cared about what anyone thought of me, and now…" She let out a frustrated groan, slamming her ice cream down onto the side table next to her and burying her face underneath the blankets surrounding her. Jane just sighed again before reaching over and touching Frankie's hair.

"Oh Frankie…"

Suddenly something snapped inside Frankie, and she popped up out of the blankets and stood there. "Look at me! Look at what I've been reduced to!" she said, grabbing at her clothes and her hair as if she hadn't dressed herself and someone else had broken into her apartment and forced her to be depressed. "This is totally ridiculous. I've known the guy for all of, what, a month? The majority of which I hated him? This is stupid." She started to pace across the room, Jane watching her, back and forth. "I am Frankie Darcy. I am beautiful, successful, and confident. I don't need some guy. This is crap. I've had enough of this feeling-sorry-for-myself crap, and it all stops right now."

"Good. That's the spirit," Jane said weakly.

She didn't believe a word Frankie said.

Frankie unbuttoned the top button of her blouse as she walked into the grocery store, anxious to pick up the few things she needed and head home. Today hadn't been much better than yesterday – she was distracted and cranky the whole time, and even though she had promised herself she would snap out of it, all she wanted to do was get home and change into her PJs. But her fridge was empty, and she supposed she needed something other than ice cream. She made her way through the produce, picking up a couple of random items, then turned into frozen foods. She was looking at the Lean Cuisine frozen dinners when she saw them.

Eddie Bennett and Gabriella Wicks, giggling and picking up a bag of chicken at the other end of the aisle.

She just stood there, staring at them, unable to bring herself to move or hide or even look away. She watched as Eddie dropped the chicken into the cart in front of him, watched as Gabriella touching his arm…

Watched as the two of them started strolling towards her.

She snapped out of it about two seconds before they were going to see her, spinning on her heel and abandoning her cart in the middle of the aisle in her hurry to run out of the store.

"Try that," Gabriella said, holding out a spoonful of her homemade guacamole. She fed it to Eddie. The two of them were standing in her kitchen cooking dinner together, though it was really Gabriella cooking and giving Eddie little jobs to keep him occupied, since he couldn't cook to save his life. It was their third date in a week and a half.

"Wow, that's great," Eddie said through the food in his mouth. Gabriella giggled.

"Thanks. How's that chicken coming?"

Eddie looked down at the pot of chicken he was supposedly "cooking." "Um… still looks pink."

Gabriella came over and looked over his shoulder. "Yeah, you're right. Give it another three minutes or so." She walked back over to the cutting board and started dicing tomatoes. He watched her for a minute, a smile spreading his lips. She was really beautiful.

"Hey," he said, getting her attention. She smiled up at him.

"Yes?"

"So… I have a friend that's getting married next weekend… would you want to come with me to the wedding?"

She didn't answer right away. "A friend, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, my friend Lance… a friend of mine and my brother's, actually." He was getting a bit nervous – the look on Gabriella's face was less than thrilled.

"Um… are Frankie and Jane going to be there?" she asked. Eddie's brow furrowed.

"Yeah, actually… why?"

Gabriella put down her knife and looked over at him. "I would love to go with you Eddie, really… but I probably shouldn't."

"Why not?"

"Well, there's just so many unresolved issues between Frankie and Jane and me, and I know it's going to be really awkward and tense when I see them again, and I don't want to ruin your friend's wedding."

Eddie sighed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. "It sucks, though… you're so great, and I want to spend more time with you… and now I can't because of Frankie Darcy?"

She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "We'll do something else… something way better than a boring wedding." She kissed him, and he grinned.

"I like the sound of that."

Frankie didn't let herself slow down until she got into her apartment and the door closed behind her. She dropped her briefcase and purse onto the floor and leaned against the door behind her, slowly slumping down. She dug her fingers into her hair and squeezed her eyes closed.

She groaned. That was a mistake – all she could see when she closed her eyes was images of Gabriella and Eddie, laughing, buying groceries like they were friggin' married or something.

The control was gone. Completely gone. She couldn't even control her own thoughts anymore. It was a mistake, she'd opened up Pandora's Freakin' Box, and now there was nothing she could do, the emotions were practically seeping out of her.

A: Thanks guys! Don't forget to read and review! Also, a couple of you have told me that you went over to fictionpress to read the whole thing since it's already posted there, but I thought I'd let you guys know that I am editing before re-posting these chapters here... it hasn't had a big effect on the plot yet, but it will, starting in about two chapters. So please keep reading here on fanfiction and don't forget to review and let me know what you think of the changes! Thanks everybody!