"See if I ever try and help you again!" Caleb said, slamming the door.

Pogue shook his fist. Caleb's face was really hard. Punching him had hurt. But it was no less than he deserved for going to Branwen. She already thought he was a joke and now Caleb went and informed her Pogue couldn't even pass a philosophy class. It was only Philosophy, for Christ's sake, it was supposed to be a walk in the park.

But a week and another failed paper later and Pogue's pride was growing less important as he got closer to failing his classes. So after Wednesday's class, Pogue took a deep breath and followed Branwen out of class. He waited for a less crowded part of the hall before tapping her on the shoulder.

She turned and gasped. He didn't know why, but he found himself mildly amused by her gasp. "Pogue. Hi."

"Hi." Yes, all he did was mumble a 'hi'. Because he was cool like that. "Uh, so Caleb mentioned you might be able to help with class. I'm not catching on as easily as I'd hoped."

She slowly nodded and he had to commend her; her words weren't forced and awkward like his. "Yeah, it can take some time at first. I have a class right now but maybe we can set something up tonight. Or I have from ten to one open tomorrow. After that I have…"

Branwen stopped, looking guilty and Pogue felt the stab to his soul. And yet despite the pain he couldn't pull himself away from her. "Wedding stuff?"

Slowly, she nodded. "Cake tasting."

They both stood there in silence for a little while before Branwen pointed over her shoulder. "I really need to get to class."

Nodding, Pogue tried to think about his schedule. "Uh, my last class tonight gets out around nine. Maybe after that we can meet at the library?"

She nodded and smiled. "I'll see you there."

Turning, she continued down the hall and Pogue went to get something to eat before his next class. But despite stuffing his face and having schoolwork to focus on, he couldn't keep his mind off his study date with Branwen. He spent the last half hour of his final class fidgeting with his bag. He told himself he was pathetic. Despite what Caleb had said about not giving up, Branwen was still getting married. She was going cake-tasting tomorrow, for Christ's sake. He had no business being so anxious to see her.

But he was and his anticipation had him running across campus to the library. Had he known how absolutely frustrating learning about philosophy would be he might not have rushed. Three hours into their session and not only was Pogue's confusion completely distracting him from his attraction to Branwen, but he was only minimally closer to understanding their reading material.

She tried philosopher after philosopher until finally even she sighed. "Pogue, why are you doing this?"

He stopped and looked at her. "Because if I don't make it through these classes I will never qualify for my next semester."

She smiled and he was drawn back to just how much he loved that smile. Her full lips and shimmering pale eyes. The way she tilted her head like by doing so she could see just a little further into his soul. It was bittersweet given that she belonged to someone else.

"I meant Law. Why are you trying so hard to be a lawyer when it's not what you love?"

Because Harvard didn't have a course in Branwen Argall. God, listen to him; he was so far gone. What was he going to do in a few weeks when she was gone for good? How could she not see how much he cared for her? He had never felt like he was so transparent.

She looked down at the books and shook her head. "I mean philosophy is something that I think everyone has a use for at some point, despite needing to come to it in their own time, and I know Caleb's father taught you guys all about Law, but it's not truly what you love. You're good at it, clearly, or you wouldn't have gotten this far. I just think you would enjoy it all a little more if it was something you really got into. Then it wouldn't feel so much like work."

"Is that your philosophy?"

She smiled and looked down at her notes before looking back up at him, her eyes a little sad. "My philosophy is that you should always try to do what makes you happy. Sometimes, however, that doesn't work. Sometimes you have to be happy helping others be happy."

It was then he saw it. She was sad. She wasn't the happy bride-to-be. She wasn't hopeful and looking forward to the future. Something was up. Maybe Caleb was right. Maybe Pogue shouldn't toss in the towel. Maybe if he spent more time with her he could win her over, or at least figure out what was going on that had her looking so sad.

"What would you suggest?" He asked, wondering if he was a masochist for wanting to spend more time with the girl he wanted but might never have.

She looked at Pogue for a few seconds before shrugging. "I always thought something more like Mechanical Engineering would suit you. You like to build things; to see the fruit of your labor. Plus you're good with your hands."

She didn't mean it the way he heard it but he couldn't help the smile that grew over his face. The moment she saw his smile she blushed and smiled too. "Not what I meant. After all, I don't exactly have first-hand experience."

He was surprised by how he enjoyed their banter. If he didn't know any better he would think they were right back to the place they were before Christmas. In the back of his head he knew it probably wouldn't last but he wasn't going to give it up early. "As I remember you've sampled them a couple times."

Sure enough, it didn't last. Sadly it was his fault. He never should have said that. As soon as he did her smile vanished and she looked away from him, not just sadness but pain on her face. It was clear she was suffering just as much as he was. The question was why? She was getting married. Wasn't that a good thing? What was going on?

"Maybe we should call it a night for now. I can look into finding something better for you to look through. Obviously what we have here isn't helping."

Good job, Pogue. You made it awkward and now she wanted to bail. He wanted to apologize but he had a feeling that would make things more awkward. When she began packing up their things he knew it was his last chance to say anything.

"You said you have some time tomorrow morning?" Technically he had class but Caleb was in that one and surely he wasn't still too mad about the punch Pogue had thrown; he'd cover for Pogue.

She paused for a moment before nodding. "A couple hours."

"Maybe we could come back then, or find somewhere with better philosophy books?"

She actually giggled. "Pogue, you realize there is like 18 million books that comprise the Harvard Library system."

He didn't. "So?"

She smiled and shook her head at him. "So it's not that these books aren't good, we just need a topic that you can relate to better so you can see what I'm trying to teach you. Once you get it then you'll be able to understand these ones."

Why did that make him feel stupid?

"Philosophy is a lot about being able to see things in metaphors and connect relative points, trying to make sense out of them."

"I think I may be doomed."

"You're not doomed. Like I said, it has to come to people in their own time. Just, get some sleep tonight and we'll start fresh tomorrow."

They packed up all their stuff and he walked her out to her car. He smiled at her sporty little cooper. She really liked cars from movies.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said, turning to him after putting her bag in the car.

Wow, maybe he shouldn't have walked her to her car, because it really felt like he should be kissing her goodnight now. Not just because it was late, they'd spent all night together and they were standing there staring at each other. Also because it was the perfect night for it. The ground was covered in a perfect shimmering layer of snow, the air was crisp but not too cold, the moon was almost full and there wasn't another person in sight. It looked like a Christmas card. All it needed was the kissing couple on the front.

But just as he was considering trying it, she smiled and slid into her car. "Tomorrow at ten."

Nodding dumbly, Pogue stepped back out of her way and Branwen drove away.

It had been a miserable walk back to his dorm. He'd tortured himself every step with what might have happened if he'd just made his move… and she went with it. By the time he got to the dorm it was almost two in the morning and he had frozen fingers because he had dropped his keys in the snow and had to dig them out.

He had planned on going straight to bed so he would stop thinking about Branwen, but when he opened the door, Caleb was standing in the kitchen. "You're out late."

"Yeah," Pogue said, shutting the door and pulling off his coat. "I was at the library studying."

"Alone?" Caleb asked, following Pogue into his room.

"Why would you ask that?" Pogue tried to be casual.

"I was talking to Aria tonight and she said Branwen wasn't home yet. Apparently she stayed late at school."

"Is that so?" Apparently that was too casual, because Caleb grinned.

"So you took my advice? Seems to me maybe you should apologize for hitting me now."

"I didn't hit you that hard. You're fine."

Caleb just rolled his eyes. "So, did it help?"

"Nope."

Caleb's face fell. "It didn't?"

Shaking his head, Pogue started unpacking his bag. "No, but we're going to try again tomorrow morning."

"We have class tomorrow morning."

"I'm aware. However, I'm doing well in that class and you'll be there to take notes, as opposed to my philosophy classes that I'm near to failing."

Caleb smiled. "Ok, I get it. I'll cover for you." His smiled widened as he leaned against Pogue's door frame. "So I guess you'll be spending a lot of time with Branwen trying to figure it out then."

Pogue still found it annoying that Caleb was encouraging him to spend time with a girl who was getting married to another man. Sure, Pogue had noticed something was off and was going to try and figure out what it was, but you'd think his best friend would either spill what he knew or encourage Pogue to cut and run.

"Possibly." Pogue replied, "But not tomorrow. She can only stay for a couple hours before she has to leave for cake tasting." He added a grimace in Caleb's direction to make his point.

"She told you that specifically?" Caleb asked, frowning.

"Not really. She said she had a few hours tomorrow before she trailed off. I don't think she meant to let it slip but when I asked if it was wedding stuff she confirmed what it was."

"I'm sorry man. I thought you could use her help but if the wedding is going to keep being shoved in your face…"

"She wasn't shoving it in my face. It would be easier to stay mad at her if that was what she was doing. But she's not. Something's wrong, Caleb. She should be happy. At first I thought it might just be that she felt bad, because she does seem to feel bad, which is kind of weird in itself if she was with him this whole time and playing me. But shouldn't a bride be happy?"

Caleb had already said he couldn't tell Pogue everything he knew but his face said enough to confirm that Pogue was onto something.

"Anyway, I should get some sleep. I have to meet her for ten and this Philosophy shit is giving me a headache."

With a last smile Caleb nodded and left Pogue to change and fall into bed.

Pogue was just leaving the dorm the next morning when his phone beeped at him. When he looked down at it he was surprised to see Branwen's name. He gave a silent prayer she wasn't cancelling and opened her message.

Hey, I have an idea, can you meet me here? -B

It was followed by an address that was across town and Pogue frowned. Had she actually gone and found a different library?

He turned and walked back into the dorm room, grabbing his helmet just as Caleb walked out of his bedroom.

"I thought you'd be gone by now." Caleb said. Then he looked at the helmet questioningly.

"I was just leaving but I got a text from Branwen asking me to meet her somewhere else."

"Do you want my car? I will never understand how you can ride that thing all winter."

Pogue smiled. "I dress warm. I have it set up specially for winter. I even have winter tires on it."

"You're the only person I know who could manage to winterize a bike. It's a wonder you aren't making money doing that."

Pogue smiled but then paused. Had Branwen not said something similar last night? Was Pogue the only one who hadn't thought it odd he was taking law?

"Well. I better get to class. I'm taking notes for two today." They walked out of the building together before going their separate ways.

When Pogue pulled up to the large town home he could feel the weight in his chest a little more than he'd like. He couldn't really say anything about having a large home because then he'd be a hypocrite, but he hadn't thought Branwen was the kind of girl who went for money. He'd thought they were both more relaxed than that.

Pogue parked his Ducati in the small space between two cars, making a mental note to point out to Caleb another reason his bike was useful, and walked up to the front door. Knocking, he fidgeted with his gloves. It took a couple minutes before the door opened and Branwen smiled up at him.

"Hey, sorry. I'm running a little late." She stood back and motioned for him to come in. When he did she looked past him to his bike and back to him. "Are you crazy? What're you doing driving that in the winter?"

He couldn't help but smile as she closed the door. "I customized it for winter."

"Did you customize you coat with an internal heater too?"

"No, but I'm not usually on it too long. My life usually revolves around campus."

Her face fell a little. "Oh, well now I feel bad."

"It's okay. This isn't actually that far."

She shook her head. "No, I wasn't planning on us staying here. I was going to get you to follow me to Brookline but you can't go on that. It's freezing today."

It was true that it was a lot colder today than it had been the last couple days, but clearly she didn't realize he'd follow her just about anywhere if she asked him to. He'd thought that would have stopped considering she was getting married, but now he was certain it hadn't. What happened next confirmed it.

"I can drive your car out." He said, smiling.

She frowned. "Actually I was going to take my car." She chewed on her bottom lip a little, obviously uncomfortable about something. "The bakery I have to go to is in Brookline too. I figured afterwards you could come back and I could head there."

He didn't even know he was saying it until he'd said it. "I could go with you."

Her look of shock mirrored how he felt but he figured it didn't show on his face because she didn't seem to realize he had shocked himself. "Pogue, I would never ask you to do that. I know I haven't done a very good job of explaining myself but I wouldn't be so cruel…"

And again his mouth continued without his consent. "By feeding me cake while helping me study for a class I'm failing? Yeah, that would be really cruel." The smallest smile curved her lips and he knew he couldn't take it back. So he went all in. "I really don't mind, Branwen. We were supposed to be trying to be friends anyway. Maybe we should really try that out."

"You want to be my friend?" She asked, a little suspicious by the sound of her tone.

Playing it up, Pogue frowned and shook his head. "No, I want to be your boyfriend, but you're getting married. Now I could give up but I figure if I'm being your friend I have a better chance of stealing you away."

"Pogue," she sighed, frowning.

He shook his head. "I've made up my mind, Branwen. I tried to win you over using little more than my pure sex appeal. Now I'm going to do it by being a great friend."

He knew what he was saying could get him tossed out but for some reason he couldn't give up. She'd hurt him, but being without her made him miserable too. And he couldn't win her back if he wasn't around. He only had a couple weeks. He needed to make the most of them. If she still went ahead with the wedding, then fine, he'd let her be. But he'd already lost one girl and he hadn't even liked Kate as much as he liked Branwen.

Luckily, instead of kicking him out, Branwen got a glint in her eye and shook her head at him. "Fine, but I'm not holding you to that."

"Don't worry, I will." He smiled and nudged her arm. "So, we should probably get going; you need to try and make me smart before we binge on cake."

"Whatever you say, 'Friend'."

"Damn. That sounds so much better when you say it like that."

She punched him in the arm before grabbing her coat and leading him to the garage.

AN: Hey Guys, I know it's been a REALLY long time since I updated and I'm really sorry. My computer died... like hung itself died, and to make things worse, all the chapters I had ready to be edited for both my stories were on it. So everything was lost. I just now got a new one today so I'm hoping to update on a more regular basis now. If you follow my other story "When life hands you Tim Riggins" it might be a couple days before I have an update for that one, but it is coming. I have it started already.

As for this story... I know a lot of you have been asking for more Caleb and Aria chapters and I promise they're coming but **SPOILER** there is a plot twist coming and there needs to be some road recovered between Pogue and Branwen for everything to work right. Hope you're still liking the Pogue and Branwen stuff though. Thank you for hanging in there with me my loyal story followers.