Chapter 21
Fool Me Twice
Kate
A week and a half after Johnny left me at college (with a promise to come back to visit me "within a reasonable timeframe" – his actual words), I still wasn't regretting my decision to leave. Honestly, I was doing just fine on my own. I was still talking to Adrien regularly, but I had plans to slowly wean myself away from that. I mean, I couldn't be expected to quit him cold turkey after all those years blind devotion. But I do think if events hadn't later happened to pull me back into the Mansfield world, I would've eventually moved along. I was already well on my way.
My roommate's name was Becka. She was taking summer classes because she hadn't managed to get in all the right credits the year before, and without some classes over the summer she wouldn't have graduated on time. Her parents were making her live in the dorm for the summer as a punishment for not staying on track. Usually she lived off campus with her cousin.
Fortunately for me, she was a nice girl, though a little high-drama and very much without any regard for the concept of privacy or personal business. All business was her business, and a week after I moved in she made it her personal mission to find me a boyfriend. Because apparently, that's what everyone needed.
I didn't want a boyfriend—that is, I didn't want just any boyfriend. In an attempt to deter Becka from her mission, I actually told her about Adrien. That was all I meant to do, but once I got started talking I ended up telling her everything—about Scott, and Johnny, and Rachel, and Jess, and even Manda and Yates too.
It was nice to tell it all to someone who didn't know any of us. But as far as getting Becka to lay of the man hunt went, it didn't work at all. She only became more determined than ever that I at least needed a rebound guy. Becka herself was engaged. Her fiancé Christian was around a lot, and he seemed so completely normal and stable and mellow, I sometimes wondered how Becka had managed that one. I was afraid to ask her, though, because I had a feeling it would be a longer story than I wanted to hear.
But as far a boys went, Becka really didn't need to be looking for one on my account. Because another week later, a boy came looking for me.
I was coming back from a class. In the lobby of the dorm, a guy was sitting in a chair that's back was facing me. Not being able to see his face, I didn't think anything of him and walked on by. But after I'd passed, just as I was rounding the corner out of the lobby, he called after me.
"Hey, Kate!"
I stopped dead in my tracks. And then I slowly turned to face him. "Is this a joke?" I asked, because the boy in the chair was Scott.
"I don't know," he said, a slow smile that was almost a smirk appearing around the corners of his mouth. "Is it funny?"
It was not funny.
For a minute or two, I just stared at him, unsure what to do with this situation. It was so absurd, really. I couldn't for the life of me imagine what he was doing here, but whatever he was doing here, I didn't want to deal with him now. Or, come to think of it, ever. Still, I couldn't help feeling that Scott was a force I was going to have to reckon with, sooner or later. And so I wearily asked him, "What are you doing here?"
He averted his eyes a little to the right of me and drew out a long, "Ummm…" while he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. I wondered if he'd had to practice looking so nervous and innocent or if those kinds of little acts came naturally to him by now.
Yes, I was short on patience. And yes, I was short on faith in his sincerity.
Scott looked back at me after a moment of silence had elapsed and said, "Jess says I'm not good enough for you."
That threw me a little off balance. I'd been prepared for some flattering soliloquy about how much he liked me and wrong he'd been to give me that ultimatum, etc, etc. But this was unexpected. It just went to show that no matter how well I thought I'd be able to manage him, Scott was always one step ahead of me. Always.
I didn't say anything and he continued offhandedly, "And I have to say, I completely agree with her."
"Then whywon't you leave me alone?" I asked. And then I cringed, because I sounded too much like I was pleading, which meant he had the power already.
Scott stood up. "Well, if I were good enough for you, I'm sure I would leave you alone. Of course, then there'd be no reason for me to leave you alone. So it's quite the quandary, if you see what I mean." He smiled, because he was charming and he knew it. I frowned.
"Actually," he added, "I think I just keep hoping you'll get worse, and that'll level the playing field out."
"I'm not going to get worse," I said.
"I know," he answered breezily, and shrugged. "I'll just have to get better then."
If I stayed talking to him much longer, I'd knew I'd end up giving him a second (third? fourth? what number where we on?) chance. I could feel his charm working on me already. So I did the one last thing I could think of to do to try to save myself. I turned around and started walking back to my room, away from him.
Naturally, he followed me, nullifying the whole point of my walking away. Neither of us said anything until we got back to the room, at which point, when he tried to follow me inside I asked, "Did I invite you into my room?"
This was supposed to be a rhetorical question. But Scott put on a bewildered expression and said, "Yes," like he was confused at how I could have forgotten having just invited him in.
I wanted to him upside the head with my backpack. But instead, I just let him follow me inside. What else was there to do?
And what had I done to deserve this?
I proceeded to ignore Scott and sat down to check my email. Scott, who was looking around and looking over my shoulder somehow at the same time, asked me, "So you're still talking to Adrien then?"
I didn't answer.
"Pretty regularly?" he added.
"Regularly enough," I said.
"Wonder if Rachel knows about that," he mused, kind of more to himself than to me.
"Why would Rachel care?" I said, still facing my computer. I could feel his eyes on me, but he didn't immediately reply. It was a move to make me look at him. When I finally turned around to face him, he was looking at me intently.
"You know, they're completely serious now, since you've been gone," he said.
I did know, from talking to Adrien, that he and Rachel had been moving quickly along. But it still gave me a quick, intense pang to hear it said out loud. But I managed to keep my straight face on and said, "I'm completely serious about college now."
He nodded. "Better for you," he said solemnly. I looked at him, and then realized in a moment that I'd already been lured into being serious with him again. That wasn't good. Things could go all sorts of places from serious. With a start, I quickly turned back to my computer and continued with ignoring him.
He wasn't going to stand for that now. "Kate, will you please just talk to me?" he asked, planting himself on the floor behind me leaning against my bed. I didn't like him taking root in my room. Now that he was sitting down, I felt that I definitely wouldn't be getting rid of him quickly like I'd hope. And sadly but admittedly, I was already beginning to wonder whether I really did want to get rid of just like that. I was kind of lonely. And Scott wasn't all bad.
Just then the door to my room opened and Becka appeared in the doorway. She looked and Scott and then she looked at me. "What's this?" she asked.
"Just ignore him and maybe he'll go away," I said.
Scott said, "I'm Scott."
Becka face lit into recognition as she came the rest of the way into our room. "Oh, the emotionally stunted asshole in desperate need of reformation. I'm rooting for you."
"She's a horrible judge of character," Christian, the fiancé, said as he followed Becka into the room.
I suddenly felt completely overwhelmed, and considered crawling under my desk. Instead, I rested my elbows on the table and then my head in my hands. Scott was saying to Becka or Christian or just to hear himself talk, "She must be. Because no one's rooting for me. I'm not even sure I'm rooting for me."
Becka laughed. She was trying to get my attention, and when I looked at her she said, "He's funny."
I waved her off and turned back to my computer. While Scott continued to win over my roommate, I opened up my email and sent Johnny a two word message. Scott's here. Johnny would tell me what to do.
When I returned my attention to the rest of the room, Becka and Christian were leaving again. "We're going to Jeremy's," Becka told me. Jeremy was her cousin, and we were there often. "You coming?"
I shrugged. "Maybe. Once I figure out what to do with him." I gestured to Scott, who was still sitting on the floor and looking all too pleased with himself at the moment.
"Keep him," Becka suggested. I gave her a look, and she asked, "What?"
"That look meant leave," Christian said, and basically shoved her out the door.
Alone again with him, I turned to Scott. For a moment we sat, regarding each other. He'd wiped the smug expression from his face and was looking at me seriously again, all earnestness and sincerity. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into if I let him hang around.
"You know what they say?" I asked.
Scott leaned forward a little, towards me. "They say a lot of things."
"Fool me once, shame on you," I recited. "Fool me twice—"
"Shame on me," Scott finished for me.
I nodded. "What do you want?"
"You know what I want," Scott answered quickly. I did know what he wanted, or at least what he meant by that. It made me a little uncomfortable.
"Well, you know what I want to."
He sighed. "Adrien still, I take it."
I couldn't believe we were having this conversation. But we were, and I shrugged and said, "Creature of habit."
"We're a fine pair, you and I," he said, and when he said it I suddenly I realized just how similar our situations were, if he really did like me like he said he did. Exactly the same, when you came to think about it.
I stared at vacantly out the window for a moment. It was a funny thing, how life never worked out right for me. I wondered if it ever worked out right for anyone. With a sigh, I finally turned back to Scott and said, "Scott, I don't think either of us are going to get very happy endings."
Scott smiled a sad kind of smile. If I'd still be on my guard like I should've been, I would've wondered if he'd practiced that look too. But it was too late already. I'd already stopped mistrusting his motives. I'd already bought into whatever he was selling me. I was vaguely aware that I was getting myself into trouble, but I was too tired of trying to care.
"That's not very encouraging," he said.
"I'm sorry," I said, not sure why I was apologizing to him, but feeling somehow that I ought to.
"Let's be friends, Kate," Scott said.
"I can do that," I answered, feeling like I was offering him the consolation prize. But he seemed happy enough with that answer. And I guess, considering where we'd been ten minutes ago, he had a right to be satisfied with his progress.
- - - - - - - -
To: Rachel Harrington
From: Johnny Mansfield
Subject: A word
Got your email address from Kate who got it from Scott, and speaking of Scott, why the hell is he smarming his way back into her head? Dammit, Rachel, you chased the poor girl out of the house. Did you REALLY need to send your brother after her to finish the job? You can't be THAT much of a bitch. Just leave her alone. You've already fucking won.
- - - - - - - - -
To: Johnny Mansfield
From Rachel Harrington
Subject: Say what?
Scott's with KATE? Swear to God, Johnny, I didn't even know where he left to. Shit, shit, shit. Things are finally going well too, and now he's going to do something stupid and ruin it all. Some one has to stop him. You go?
- - - - - - - - -
To: Rachel Harrington
From: Johnny Mansfield
Subject: I'm going
If you think I'm doing this for you, I am so not. I'm doing it for Kate. And lay off my little brother, will you?
- - - - - - - - - -
A/N: Wow, long wait. Sorry about that. Short chapter too, so another apology. I'll try to get the next chapter up a lot quicker this one… Okay, I know I say that all the time. But I swear, I really will try this time. Anyways, I was going to complain about my lack of reviews, but then I got a bunch of reviews, so I probably shouldn't complain. But still, 10 reviews for 270 hits means there are a lot of you out there not reviewing, so review if you can. Reviews equal love. And they inspire me to update quicker.
Now for my wonderful and faithful reviewers:
Embracing: He he he. Johnny will grow up soon, but at least he's started working on that. Dude, Scott does need to get a life. All he does is sit around and annoy people, I just realized that. Anyways, glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you liked this one too. I love the Mansfield Park movie. Maybe I should go watch it. Hmmm…
a: Oh! I'm so glad you liked my "Adrien's deeply analytic" line. It makes me really happy when people like my favorite parts :o) Heh heh. Scott is a man-whore, but I kind of have a soft spot for him. My Economics teacher last semester told us all that Mick Jagger thing, so unfortunately I can't take credit for it pouts to self But I do do a good job of stealing other people good ideas :o)
Rapsody's song: Aw, Adrien's not a pansy! Okay, maybe he a little bit of a pansy, but at least he's a cute pansy.
Jayley: More from Adrien's perspective, I promise. Oh yes, I'm sure that comment bothered him a lot ;o)
slam a revolving door: He's jealous, he jealous, of course he jealous! He may not realize it yet, but he is! Love the World Cup. I'm kind of sad that it's over. Nothing good on TV anymore.
WhiteCamellia: Glad you liked the chapter. I LOVE Gone With The Wind! Any movie where someone makes a dress out of curtains is a good movie.God, it's been forever since I've seen Gone with the Wind. I should watch it again. My other favorite old movie is My Fair Lady. I think it's another long one, but you should watch it if you haven't. It's so worth it.
Notredamegirlie: Yeah, I realize I've taken Manda and Yates in a different direction (motives wise) than they actually take in Mansfield Park. Put I did say at the beginning of this story that I might be taking more plot line liberties this time around. It just occurred to me as I was going along writing this that the whole story is kind of weighty and melancholy, and I thought it could use something to lighten the tone a little, and Manda and Yates seemed like the perfect opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely in love with Jane Austen myself (I mean, obviously), but I don't think just because something is a modernization it needs to be an exact reproduction. So Manda and Yates are what they are. And I mean, if you really want to argue authenticity, it's my Johnny-Adrien story arc that came from way out in left field. As far as Adrien and Rachel go, I'll admit they could use a little more development than I've given them, and I am going to attempt that in the next chapter. With so many plot lines going on, that just happened to be the one that got a little left behind. sheepish grinning Thanks for keeping me on track with that one. Anyway, thanks as always for your review. Hope you liked the chapter
Captain Napalm: Hey, I updated! Guess that means you have to update now :oD Yeah, Mansfield Park is good, but Emma is the best, now and always. Enjoy the chapter!
Schokolade: Welcome back! No worries, the real work just swallowed me up too, which is why it too me so freaking long to get this chapter up. Wow, I can't believe you read the whole story again! You probably know what's going on better than I do now. I'm glad your started to like Jess because I actually like her as a character too. She gets kind of a sad ending, but she cool in between. It was fun writing that scene with her and Rachel and the verbal sparring. Hurray! I'm so glad you liked the "No, I'm like his sister" line, because it was one of my favorites in a while. Anyways, thanks for your ginormously long and wonderful review. Hope you liked the chapter!
AliKitKate: Hurray! Adrien is finally growing on people. My Economics teacher last sememster actually came up with the Mick Jagger thing, so unfortunately I can't take credit for that bit of cleverness. Sigh…
Jill: WAAAAAAH! That's all I have to say to you (and by the way, yes, that was me crying like a baby). If you want the longest shout out next time (don't think I don't know you) send some reviews or some communication or some something my way. Watch me wield that impotent power! Mwhahaha! Love ya, chicka.