A/N: Bah! You guys liked the last chapter! Yay! I'm so HAPPY! I really like where I'm going with this fic, and I've got some really good ideas. Some of them might surprise you a little bit. I mean REALLY surprise you. Mu wah I'm evil, I know! But you love me for it ;-) ! Thank you soooo much for the reviews! I really appreciate reading them. So here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter Dedication: This chapter goes out to my friend Rachel. She's been so awesome in reading my Alias fanfiction, and she organized my horendously messy band binder. So Rachel, this one's all you!
Francie frowned.
"What's wrong?" Sydney asked.
"He already has a girlfriend. Alice," Francie said.
"It's so perfect Nadia! And it has an awesome view of the beach," Sydney told Nadia animatedly. She had gotten home from viewing the apartment she had just bought. They were eating dinner together in their dining room. Though she was a little apprehensive, Nadia was also happy for her sister. She had the chance to start an almost fresh life in a new environment. An environment that was almost an hour away.
"When did the landlord say you could move in?" Nadia asked, trying to seem completely satisfied with her sister's decision. But she wasn't. She and Sydney had just gotten to really know each other in the past few years, and now that was being taken away.
"She said as soon as I'd like to," Sydney sighed. She was nervous about moving to a new place. And she didn't want to experience all the stress of moving. But she concluded that it'd be best to get the moving out of the way. "I was thinking about some time this week."
Nadia choked on her fork full of linguini alfredo. This week. That was quite fast to be moving into a new apartment.
"That's a bit soon, don't you think?" Nadia inquired. Nadia knew her sister was looking forward to moving, but what's the rush? Did she not like living with her sister anymore?
"Yeah, but I talked to Cesar on the way home. He said he wants to move in with you as soon as he could get the chance," Sydney replied. She called Cesar, Nadia's fiance, on the way home from the apartment viewing on her cell phone. He was just as happy as Sydney that she was moving. Most likely because he would get a chance to become closer to Nadia, his soon-to-be wife.
"He wants to move in this week?" Nadia gulped, answering her own question before giving Sydney the chance. Truely in love with Cesar, Nadia had said yes to marry him. But she didn't think she was ready to live with him. At least not until they were married. Moving in with Nadia was all his idea. "But why did you call Cesar to him you got the apartment, before me?"
"Because he wanted me to let him know the second I found an apartment. He's really excited about this Nad," Sydney admitted, taking a sip of her water and setting it back down on the table. "Sorry I didn't call you first."
"It's alright. Everything is just happening awfully fast," Nadia started. "I mean it's going so fast, that I feel like I'm getting married tomorrow."
"I'm sure that everything will work out in the end."
"I'm gonna miss you Syd."
"You can always come and visit me."
"Yeah, but it won't be the same," Nadia sighed, pushing the food around on the plate before her with her fork. She was starting to get nervous about Cesar moving in with her. Her sister would be clear across town, and would get to see her less and less.
Sydney recognized the awkward silence that had set upon them. "So I met this guy today."
Nadia instantly straightened up in her chair. To her, it always seemed as if her sister was always in a rut when it came to love. She never had much of a love life because she valued her job more. The last time Nadia remembered her sister having any sort of a romantic relationship, was with some guy named Noah. But he was abusive towards Sydney, and she couldn't take it anymore. So she broke things off with him, and alienated herself from the dating scene. Nadia always knew that Sydney would someday find someone who would make her change her opinion on love. And from the sound of it, that someday was today.
"So what's his name?" Nadia asked with sudden fascination. If Sydney was open about telling her she had met a new guy, whom she was apparently interested in, then she was all ears.
"Vaughn," Sydney smiled. "Michael Vaughn." She realized she had announced his name sounding something like, Bond, James Bond.
"Was he cute?" To Sydney, cute would be an understatement to describe her new potential love interest.
"Cute is a word that doesn't serve him justice."
Nadia giggled. "Is he single?"
Sydney's amusement for this particular topic darkened at her sister's question.
She shook her head violently. "Her name's Alice."
"I'm sorry."
"So am I."
She excused herself from the dinner table to retreat to her bedroom. Leaving Nadia to do the dishes. Alone.
Of course he has a girlfriend, Sydney thought, mentally slapping herself. How would it even be possible for him to stay available? Every time Sydney had found a guy she was remotely interested in, he was either an arrogant asshole, already in a relationship, married, or gay. This time was no exception, Michael Vaughn was already in a relationship.
Feeling like a fool, Sydney picked up her phone, and jumped on her bed so she was laying on her stomach. She was going to call Francie. She wanted someone to talk to about Vaughn, who actually knew him. Sydney immediately felt childish, obsessing over a guy she just met, but she hadn't felt this way since college.
"Hello?" A perky woman's voice answered.
"Fran? It's Sydney," she spoke into the reciever. She was so relieved to hear her friend's voice, though she didn't know why.
"Oh hey Syd! What's up?"
"Nothing really. I just had a quick question."
"Okay, shoot."
Sydney hesitated. She didn't want to seem over eager, calling her best friend to ask a silly question.
"W-what's Alice like?" she pushed her question, then biting her tongue waiting for Francie's response.
Francie laughed. It was funny. No one could blame her. Sydney sounded like a seventh grader asking a friend for guy advice.
"Does someone have a crush on Michael?" Francie mused with a giggle over Sydney's request.
Sydney coughed and was glad that Francie couldn't see her face. She had turned a deep shade of crimson.
"No, I was just wondering. She sounds nice," Sydney stated, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Uh huh, sure Syd," Francie laughed again. "Well do you want my honest opinion?"
"Yes," that was the point to why she was calling.
"She's naive and clingy. But that's just what I observe from when Michael brings her home to his apartment." Sydney felt her heart drop a little lower. She was jealous. Jealous over a guy she barely knew. But jealous all the same. She could only guess about what they did in his apartment.
"And..." Sydney pushed. She knew that Francie wasn't finished asserting her opinion.
"She's a fake," Francie finally added.
She pumped her fist in the air, but holding in her urge to scream her relief. A relief she shouldn't have been there.
"Well, I'm afraid I have to let you go Syd. I got a date tonight."
"Alright. I'll see you some time this week."
"Sure thing. Bye."
"Bye," she hung up the phone.
Sydney felt more confident than she had before she picked up the phone. She didn't know Alice, but assumed she was a nice person. But a fake? Come on. Sydney knew she had a better chance than a fake. She knew she had a better chance with Vaughn than Alice.
But she instantaneously dismissed that idea. Vaughn was in a commited relationship.
She shouldn't have been thinking this way about him.
As long as Alice was in the picture, he was off limits.
A relationship was a relationship.
A week later, Sydney was still unpacking boxes. The day before, she had brought the very last boxes to her new home. It was an emotional day, saying good-bye to Nadia, and moving out of their apartment. They had been so close, but it was time to move on with their lives.
Her new apartment was looking sharp. Laney had let her paint it the day before she moved in. Sydney opted for the main walls of the apartment to be painted a deep blue, while her bedroom would be painted a merlot-red, and both bathrooms burnt yellows. Her new painted apartment was starting to make her feel like she was at home again. She was so thankful that Laney didn't make her stick to the plain white walls. She would have felt like she was living in a hospital.
Francie had stopped by the apartment earlier with a vase of fresh assorted flowers, as a housewarming gift. They chatted while they unpacked the boxes, and delivered certain items to their respected homes.
After helping Sydney unpack the last few boxes, Francie left the apartment to go find a few people she wanted Sydney to meet. Within minutes, she returned with two bored-looking men in tow.
"This is Eric Weiss," Francie gestured to the heavier set man. "And this is Will Tippin, my boyfriend," she said, patting Will on his chest, as he wrapped his arm around her. Will smiled his greeting.
"You can call me Weiss," Eric offered his hand for Sydney to shake. She had noticed something. And she knew what it was. Name replacement.
"I see the call-me-by-my-last-name thing is popular around this place," Sydney laughed, accepting Weiss's hand.
"Oh, I see you've met Mike already?" Weiss asked her. Weiss and Vaughn had been best friends ever since their college days. Correction, their drunk college days. "Or should I say Vaughn. Whatever you prefer."
Sydney laughed.
"Unfortunately, the call-me-by-my-last-name thing, does not work for me," Will added with mock disappointment.
This time, Francie was the one to laugh.
The four talked for an hour outside on the beach before Francie and Will left for their lunch date. Weiss was the last to leave, complaining that he was missing re-run episodes of Baywatch.
Sydney noticed how quickly those people had become her friends, and was satisfied with herself for finding such a friendly place to live.
Though the apartment offered completely new, larger appliances (including a washer and dryer), Sydney still had to go buy the smaller kicthen appliances, so that Nadia and Cesar could have the old ones. She even had to buy a new television and stereo. Sydney let Cesar keep the shitty computer, buying herself a new one. Luckily, Sydney's jobs paid her so much, she didn't have to worry about the costs. A plasma screen TV was a reward to herself for all of her hard work. But buying the new furnishings for her apartment wasn't the hard part. Getting them into the apartment was.
Carrying a very large box back to her apartment, Sydney immediately regretted getting such a big TV. The box was obese!
Stumbling with her steps and not seeing where she was going, Sydney had stopped. Something was denying her the ability to pursue her destination. She pushed and she pushed, but just couldn't seem to move forward.
"We have got to stop meeting like this," a recognizable voice said, followed by the presence of a warm hand over hers gripping for dear life on the edge of the heavy box.
It was Vaughn.
He lifted the box out of her struggling arms, and with ease walked it to her apartment.
"Hey, thanks for that," Sydney said to the man that had been secretly on her mind ever since they had met. "That box was the heaviest."
"Anytime," Vaughn replied, setting the box down in the middle of her living room. He grinned, making Sydney feel instantly self-conscious, even from her stance at the other side of the kitchen.
"What?" she blushed, wondering why he was grinning. Though, she was smiling back.
"You're all moved in." How is that relevant to why he's smiling? Sydney thought.
"That I am," she nodded in sudden agreement, smiling.
Sydney mentally slapped herself (it was becoming a habit), she was flirting with a guy who already had a girlfriend.
"And so I was thinking," Vaughn continued, making his way across the living room and into the kitchen where Sydney was standing.
"Yeah?"
"Would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?"
A/N: He he he he...I know what you're thinking. Please review! Did you guys like that chapter? I demand feedback! Remember, my responses for all the reviews I get are posted on my livejournal account. To get there click on homepage in my author profile. I hoped you guys liked that chapter! Sorry it was kinda short. Please review! How could you not? The little purple 'Go' button is waiting for you to review... and it says, "NOW!"
