Saturday morning dawned bright, clear, and surprisingly warm for the time of year. The sky was cloudless, and the grass was shiny with dew. Not that Susan noticed. She wouldn't have noticed if it was the hottest day of the year, or the worst snow-storm of the century. She had one thing, and one thing only on her mind--find John Carter and figure out what the hell was going on in his head.

She'd gotten very little sleep the night before. She'd spent the night at Abby's, hoping to lend some sort of comfort to the distraught girl. Abby had managed to fall asleep relatively easily, having worn herself out crying. Susan, however, hadn't been able to stop thinking. And the more she thought, the angrier she became. She just couldn't believe that John would treat someone like this. Least of all Abby. Abby was all he had talked about for the better part of a year. About how he wanted to be with her so badly, and then how happy he was being her boyfriend. She couldn't for the life of her make heads or tails of the situation.

She'd managed to work herself into quite a rage by the time she reached John's house, but she forced herself to calm down once she was at his front door, and even managed to plaster a smile on her face when his butler had invited her in.

Finally, she saw John trotting downstairs, still in his pajamas, looking pretty tired himself, though he seemed genuinely happy to see her. "Hey, Susan. What's up?"

She shrugged. "Does anything have to be up for me to come over?" She fought to keep herself calm. She wanted to talk to him in private, where they wouldn't be interrupted. She didn't want to involve more people in this situation than necessary right now, even though by Monday afternoon, the entire school would know that the power couple of the junior class had split up.

"No, I guess not. If you'll hang on a few minutes, I'll go get dressed and we can do something."

"Nah. I just kinda feel like hanging out here, if you don't mind."

He looked a little confused, but consented. "All right. Come on up, then."

She followed him upstairs, taking deep breaths the entire time, trying to keep herself in check. But once they'd reached his room and she'd shut the door behind them, words just started coming out of her mouth. "What the fuck are you thinking?"

He looked shocked. "Excuse me?"

"Uh, Abby? You know, the one you dumped last night."

"Oh, I get it. What, did she go running to you last night, telling you what a horrible person I am?" he asked angrily.

"Do you really think so little of her? Do you honestly think she would do something like that?"

Susan saw the fight drain out of him, and he slumped down onto his bed. "No. She's not like that."

"Damn straight she's not like that."

"Well, then how'd you find out about it?"

"Long story short, I was bored last night, so I tried to find you guys. You didn't answer your cell phone, and one of your housekeepers told me that, at nine o'clock, you were asleep, alone. So, I kinda worried. Even more so when Abby's mom told me that Abby was sitting outside. And do you know how I found her?"

John shook his head miserably, dreading what he'd hear.

"I found her sitting in the woods, in forty degree weather, chain smoking. I don't think she's smoked in over a year. And you know why? Do you know why she hasn't been smoking? Because she hasn't 'had a reason to.'"

"I had no idea she would--"

"No. You don't get to talk right now. You get to listen. When I'm done, then you can say what you want to say, but I need to get this out." She paused, taking a few breaths, though they did nothing to calm her. "She miserable. She's a wreck. She's so confused and bewildered right now, I don't think she knows which way is up. And this is all because of you. Because you...threw her away without any reason at all. And what is with this 'let's see other people' crap, huh? Since when do you want to see someone other than Abby?"

"I told her--"

But Susan went right on talking, on a roll. "You know, it wasn't easy getting her to talk. She didn't want to talk about it because it hurt her too much. What's worse is she was crying. In the entire time we've known her, have you ever once seen her cry? I know I haven't. I don't know, she just doesn't cry in front of people. So do you realize how upset she must have been to have not only cried, but sobbed in front of me?"

"I...I made her cry?"

"And then some. She actually cried herself to sleep. I didn't know people actually did that until last night. She cares about you, John, a lot. So she's completely lost about this. She's worried that she's done something wrong, and she thinks that there's some other chick you want to see."

"There is no one else."

"Then why the hell would you do this to her?!"

"Because there's no one else, Susan! There's no one else for me but her, and there never will be."

She stared at him for several moments, completely bewildered. "You've just lost me."

He sighed and buried his face in his hands, collecting himself, before he tried to continue. "I guess I got scared."

"Of what?"

"Being in love."

Her mind drew a blank. She sank to the floor like a deflated balloon. "You're in love with her?" she asked, her voice finally losing its edge.

"I don't know! I think I am. But how would I know? I've never been in love before."

"But...if you love her, why would you break up with her?"

He smiled half-heartedly. "You're going to think I'm an idiot."

"I already think you're an idiot, so you might as well tell me."

"I'm in love with her, and it scares me. I'm so in love with her that I want to marry her, and I'd elope with her to Vegas right now if it was legal. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want to be the father of her children for Christ's sake."

"And that's why you broke up with her?"

"I didn't break up with her because I love her. I broke up with her because I'm terrified of what I feel. I'm only sixteen! I've never even had a girlfriend before her. I have nothing to compare these feelings to, no way to tell if this is real or not. I just..shouldn't feel things like this yet."

"Says who?"

"Life! I don't know. You just...you don't feel things like this when you're sixteen."

"Well, don't you think you should tell her this?"

"Yeah, that's a super idea, Susan. Let's scare her off completely. I don't want to lose her."

"I think it's a bit too late for that."

All of the color drained out of his face. "Don't say that," he whispered, horrified at the thought.

"What did you expect? That you could give her some half-assed excuse and she'd be okay with it? I don't know how much of a future you have with her at this point."

"It wasn't half-assed. I told her that we were moving too fast--"

"That's half-assed. You gave her part of a reason. You should have tried telling her what you really felt. You know, the truth goes a long way with most people. If you'd told her how you really felt, and that it scared you, I imagine she would've been somewhat okay with it. She probably would have worked with you...hell, she might have even felt the same way."

"You think she might...love me, too?"

"I don't think it's impossible. But even if she does, she's not going to admit it now. You have a lot of groveling and explaining to do if you want to have any chance with her ever again. Aside from being unbelievably hurt, she's pretty pissed off, too, and I doubt she's just going to welcome you back with open arms."

He fell back against his bed, covering his face with his arms. "God. I've really screwed things up, haven't I?"

She moved so she was sitting next to him on his bed. "Yep."

"Thanks for sugar-coating it."

"You don't deserve words that are sugar-coated right now."

"If you hate me so much, then why are you bothering with me?"

"I don't hate you, John. Honestly, I don't like you that much right now. Anyone who could hurt someone that much, even if he meant well, is hard to like. But you're my best friend. I've known you my entire life. I'm not going to just throw that away."

He smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"Don't misunderstand, though. I'm not abandoning Abby, either. She's my friend, too, and she needs someone to lean on right now."

"Will you help me get her back?"

"No. You have to do that on your own. You didn't need my help messing it up, so you don't need my help fixing it."

"She's never going to forgive me."

"Maybe she won't. But she's a good person, and she's got a big heart. So, there may be some hope for you. If you're extraordinarily lucky, one day, she might want you back. I wouldn't hold your breath, because it's going to take a long time, but it might happen."

The room was silent for a long time, both having run out words. Eventually, she looked over at him, ready to say something else, but was silenced when she saw tears making their way down his face. John Carter was heartbroken, too.

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Author's Notes: bwahahaha! Oh, come on. You didn't think they'd just live happily ever after, did you? Not only are they Carter and Abby, they're teenage versions of them. Drama and angst are a must. And since I have, essentially, written five chapters in one month, I think I'm taking a break. Not a long one, but a few weeks. We'll see how that goes, though, depending on the amount of hate mail I receive. And considering I've already started jotting ideas down for the next chapter, it may not be too long of a wait. We'll see which way the winds blow, and then...I'll post or not post? Huh? Whatever. Once again, I'm dedicating this to Courtney, and again, for entirely different reasons. Dude...I can't thank you enough for putting up with me. I'm a pain in the ass, and I don't deserve a friend like you, but thank you anyway. You're awesome, and I love you to bits and pieces. Okay, and now that I've been sufficiently mushy and sappy, review me, bitches.