CB and Lainey's fake break-up rips open old wounds for CB.

~.~

"Ready for this?" He asks, rubbing his hands together, as they walk toward the cafeteria at lunch time that next day.

"Ready as I'll ever be I suppose," she replies, playing with the pendant on her necklace.

"Feel free to really let me have it." He smirks at her. "I want everyone to truly believe we're breaking up. Then, hopefully, all these rumors will stop. My morning classes were practically unbearable."

"Oh, I know. Mine too." She stops when they reach the doors of the cafeteria. "While we were rehearsing for Guys and Dolls, the Pinkies kept changing the lyrics to 'A Bushel and a Peck' to something more suggestive."

"Really? What did they change it to?" He inquires, seeming extremely curious.

"How 'bout I show you later?" She winks at him, seductively fingering his sunflower tie.

"Okay." He gulps loudly, his cheeks flushing a bright shade of crimson. "Well, then, Miss Lewis, I'm quite looking forward to breaking up with you."

She rolls her eyes.

He's so easily distracted, she thinks to herself. Especially when it comes to sex.

But then again, so is she.

He holds the door for her as they both enter the cafeteria. It's rather crowded with at least fifty students and about a dozen faculty members going about their usual lunch hour routines. All eyes focus on the two of them immediately as they stand by the double doors.

"Okay, here goes nothing," she mumbles under her breath, straightening her posture.

"Seriously, CB! I'm about getting tired of this!" She exclaims and turns toward him, holding up her arms in fake exasperation.

"What is it this time, princess? Because frankly I've lost count!" He bellows into her face.

She almost laughs at the expression on his face and the fact that he called her "princess," but keeps her composure.

"Oh, where should I start? You and your stupid Koosh balls and hacky sacks… comic books… and worst of all - Pogs!" She fights back, angling her body toward him.

"Hey, don't take it out on Pogs! I'm sorry if you don't like the things that make me me!" He screams at her. "We can't all be as refined as you, now can we?"

She glances around the cafeteria as several remarks echo throughout the room at his last little jab. Their plan seems to be working so far. She turns her attention back to CB.

"Please, CB! You wouldn't know 'refined' even if it hit you in the face!" She steps closer toward him. She reaches out and tugs on his tie. "You and your stupid ties!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, I'm an English teacher, so I do know what 'refined' is! So there!" He snatches back his tie. "At least I'm not selfish like you've always been!"

"What? Me, selfish?" She marvels at how convincing he's being. She didn't think he had it in him. She puffs up her chest. "I gave up the love of my life for you! You call that selfish?"

"The love of your life, huh?" He's basically screaming at her now. "How about taking my feelings into consideration for once? I told you how I felt about you back in February and yet you did nothing!"

"CB…" Her face falls along with her heart in her chest. Maybe the reason why he's so convincing is that he's being serious.

"Just the thought of being with me made you so disgusted, you didn't even want to sit next to me at dinner that night." His voice is calmer now, but shaky. He sounds as if he's on the verge of tears. "You knew how I felt, yet you didn't even tell me how you felt. Instead, you said nothing! Do you know how much that hurt?"

"I seriously didn't know how I felt. Besides, you said you were over me… that you wanted to be friends - that you'd moved on." Several tears are now rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh, come on, Lainey!" He backs away from her. "How can you not know how you felt? I basically poured my heart out to you and yet you stayed with Barry, completely ignoring my feelings."

"I-I… I'm…" She's utterly speechless.

"That's what I thought," he answers in finality, yet ultimately in defeat. "It's over, Lainey. Go run along back to Barry."

She winces almost as if he'd slapped her in the face, though his words seem to have cut her much deeper.

He turns around and bolts toward the double doors, flinging them open in anger.

"Ooo," the crowd responds in unison.

"Wow, Mr. Brown's pretty hot when he's angry," she hears Gina Rivera speak in a low voice to the rest of the Pinkies beside her.

Lainey rolls her eyes and bites her lower lip, trying to keep the rest of her tears at bay. She's completely heartbroken at what CB's just said. She wonders if he was only acting or if he was truly angry at her for the way she treated him several months ago when she found out about his crush. She needs to find out.

She races from the cafeteria and straight to his classroom. When she doesn't find him there, she heads toward his office. He's there, sitting at his desk with his head in his hands, his elbows propped up on the surface.

"Well, I think we convinced them," she says nervously, hoping he's not as upset as she thinks he may be. "You should definitely consider acting if this teaching gig doesn't work out-"

"I'm sorry, Miss Lewis, but we can't be seen together at work. Please leave." He lowers his hands, and she can tell he's been crying.

"CB…" She rounds the perimeter of his desk and places her arms around his shoulders. "Is everything okay?"

He shrugs off her arms, staring down at the papers in front of him.

"No, everything's not okay."

She flinches and links her hands together behind her back.

"Will you please just talk to me? Is this about what you said in the cafeteria?"

"I don't want to talk right now. I need some time to think… alone."

"No!" She walks over to the door and closes it defiantly. "We're talking about this right now. You can't just shut me out. I won't let you."

"Lainey, please just go…" he begs, looking up from his desk.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong," she says, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, you're going to be standing there a long time then." He picks up a pen and begins grading the stack of papers.

She reaches down and yanks the pen out from his hand. He sighs, throwing up his hands, and sinks back into his chair.

"Lainey…" he says through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry, CB…"

"For what? Stealing my pen or not leaving me the hell alone?"

"No… I'm sorry I hurt you." The tears well up in her eyes again. "I'm sorry I was so blind that I never realized how much you loved me…"

He looks up at her then and presses his lips into the flat line.

"I think part of me was in denial that Barry wasn't the one for me. I was so scared of letting him go, of letting go of the past… and if things didn't work out with you, I would've lost my first love and my best friend too. I just couldn't face that possibility at the time… I didn't want to face it."

"I would've never let you go, Lainey… I knew you were the one for me."

"I know. I know that now."

She walks around the desk to him, and he pulls her into his lap, hugging her waist fiercely. She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him close.

"I can't go back and change things, but I know one thing is true…" She pulls back and takes his face into her palms, gazing lovingly into his eyes. "I love you, CB, you and only you. I can't believe I was so blind that I couldn't see what was right in front of me."

Several tears seep from his eyes as he listens to her.

"Remember what you said to me yesterday afternoon… that you loved me and wanted to spend the rest of your life with me…"

"I do… I still do," he says without hesitation, tightening his arms around her waist. "And I forgive you. I already forgave you a long time ago. I guess our little 'fight' brought up all those repressed feelings and I just couldn't hold them back anymore."

She reaches down and wipes away the tears from under his eyes with her thumbs.

"The past few days have been the best days of my life…" he admits, sweetly kissing her hands. "I thank my lucky stars every second that you're in my arms, praying that it's real… I keep thinking you're going to realize you made a mistake and go running back to Barry."

"Never," she whispers. "I want you, CB… forever."

She barely remembers anything else before his lips are on hers, his hands clutching her neck and pulling her closer to him.

Her lips immediately respond in fervor and the surges of desire pulse through her like a raging tide. She quickly switches her position to straddle his waist. His strong hands come to rest on her bottom, thrusting her against his body. She moans in satisfaction.

His soft lips mark a path down her neck along the hemline of her low-cut top. The scruff of his cheeks lightly pricks her skin all the way down, turning it to gooseflesh. God, she loves the way his stubble feels against her skin.

She throws her head back, allowing the long tendrils of her blond hair to cascade down her back as she begins to grind against him. One of his hands reaches up and gently cups her left breast, the thumb running back and forth over the hardened nub there.

"Oh, Charlie Brown," she cravingly groans, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as his lips hurriedly meet hers again.

God, she wants him. She's been wanting him ever since she walked into his office. She wants to crawl inside him and completely surround herself in all that is Charlie "CB" Brown for every second of eternity.

And he wants her too all the same; she can feel it. The thought makes her desire him even more.

She seizes his hand from her breast and maneuvers it between her legs, desperately seeking release. He longingly moans against her lips, obviously pleased with his new task.

"Lainey…" He breaks off their kiss and removes his hand, placing his forehead to hers. He forcefully exhales. "We can't."

"I know." She sighs frustratedly, realizing they still have to keep up their boundaries at work. At least until the rumors die down.

"Later…" His hands cup around her chin, and he places a soft reassuring kiss to her forehead.

"Can't wait, Mr. Brown." His surname lingers on her lips. She loves the sound of it.

She gives him one last peck on the lips before heading toward the door. She turns back to him, her right hand on the door handle.

"CB?"

"Yeah?"

"I think Lainey Brown has a nice ring to it, don't you?"

She smiles at the sound of the words as they cross her lips. It's amazing to her how easily she can imagine herself married to CB, sharing the rest of her life with him. It scares her, yet thrills her at the same time.

He reciprocates, the smile blooming across his face.

"The most beautiful words I've ever heard."

They share one lingering glance before she leaves him. She peeks back only to see him spinning in his chair, holding up his arms in utter elation.

~.~

I always wondered how CB felt after Lainey found out about his crush and then she never said anything about how she felt. Obviously, she was with Barry at the time and CB assumed she wanted to stay friends, which was very mature on his part, but it had to hurt deeply, knowing the girl you loved (who knew you loved her) didn't think about you in that way. We know she discovers her feelings for him in the finale next week, so I'm hoping he's not going to hold that against her or say she's too late. ONE FEAR, right?

Hope you enjoyed reading! We are going to time-jump just a bit in the next chapter. Thank you for sticking around! ~ Dazzy xxoo