This is a shift day [see above]. There was another upload this morning: The Would-Be Catherine Pierce.

"The Cautionary Tale of Lucy Collins"

4. But They Did

His mother would say his winding his wheels forward and backward was his equivalent of pacing when he was nervous, and right then he was doing just that, remaining right where he'd left Lucy. She'd been asked into her manager's office a few minutes back, and she hadn't come back out yet. They couldn't honestly punish her for what Grant had done. She had only taken part in it because he'd more or less had her cornered. Artie had seen him, he was about to hit Lucy if Marcel hadn't stopped him… He still felt the adrenaline, the need to try and interfere, and now he had to ride it out, waiting on her.

When she finally emerged from the office, alone, he approached her. "Everything okay? What happened in there, what did he say?" he asked, following her, and when that took them out of the restaurant, knowing her shift wasn't done, he was stunned. "He didn't fire you, did he? I'll go talk to him, I…"

"He didn't fire me," she stopped him, as they headed out.

"Okay, good," he relaxed. "But then why are you…"

"He didn't fire me, but he did send me home."

"I wouldn't want to be working after that either," he nodded, still not grasping.

"He's sending me home for a week," she specified. "Without pay."

"What?" he was back to being stunned and outraged. "He can't do that, it wasn't your fault."

"I caused a scene," she repeated, then shook her head. "Look, I don't want to get into it again, I spent fifteen minutes trying to explain myself to him, it's not going to change," she told him, sitting on a bench. "I already called home, my father's coming to pick me up. Can yours come and pick you up or something, otherwise we can drop you off…"

"Don't worry about me," he waved it off. "I should have done something to stop him earlier."

"You did plenty," she promised, but he couldn't let it go.

"Tomorrow at school I'll deal with him," he went on, and she shook her head instantly.

"No, don't," she was firm about it. "I don't want you stooping to his level. I don't want that in my life. I'm done with jackasses. I've got a good guy now," she smiled, taking his hand, and he smiled back.

"How good?" he asked.

"I'd say the best, but I wouldn't want it to go to your head," she laughed. When she'd stopped though, and she saw his mind still seemed far away, she sighed. "Artie, I mean it. Just forget about Grant."

"It's just… when I saw he was going to hit you, I…" he shook his head.

"I know," she promised, pressing her lips to the hand she held. "I wouldn't have pegged him as that kind of guy, but probably what happened to his car…"

"That wasn't your fault though…"

"I didn't do the damage, but technically it did start because of me."

"It started with him," Artie disagreed. "He had it coming. Maybe having everyone seeing it is going to keep other girls from falling for his tricks."

"Yeah," she smiled, considering it from that angle. "Guess it's not so bad getting suspended for that." She paused, frowning. "I swear he wasn't like this before," she breathed. "I see him now though and it's like… How didn't I see it before? He's the exact same guy, except now I see him, really see him…"

"You liked him," he guessed.

"Yeah, the heart makes you do crazy things; that's what they say, right?"

"Oh, yeah." After a moment, he asked, "So what are you going to do with this week?"

"I don't know, what if I get this overbearing urge to bring people food?" she asked, pondering, and he smirked.

"Hey, I'd be more than happy to volunteer on that," he raised his hand.

"I bet you would," she laughed, breathed and resettled. "Listen, when my dad gets here, can you… not mention anything about what happened tonight?"

"What?" he asked, caught off guard.

"The suspension, and Grant… Especially Grant." He moved to reply, but she shook her head. "Please? I'd tell him about the suspension, but then he'd ask why I was suspended, and then I'd have to tell him about Grant, and I don't want him brought into this…"

"But Grant almost…"

"I know, I was there," her voice cut him off – she was getting upset. So he let her talk. "Grant will move on. He's pissed right now, but then he'll find something else to keep him busy, and then he'll go away. My father, he… doesn't care for Grant, and neither do I, but him… If I tell him, then it's not going to go away. It's small right now. The bigger it gets, the harder it'll be for it to disappear." He looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out what he should do. Finally, he gave her a small nod.

"Okay, fine," he promised.

"Thanks."

Soon after, Lucy's father arrived. When she looked to him, Artie told her he'd get his father to come get him – he didn't want to delay her. They kissed goodbye, and he watched her go. He called his father, and then he waited.

He couldn't shake the feeling maybe things weren't going to go away as easily as Lucy hoped for them to. He'd promised to leave well enough alone, and he would, but looking at Grant as he stood facing her at Breadstix, he didn't look like a guy who would forget and move on. No matter what happened though, Artie was going to stand by Lucy's side.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)