When In Rome

Chapter 13

"How's Adam?" Holly J asked, sitting across from Fiona in a small café.

"He's fine," Fiona told her. "Or he will be soon." After over a week of bed rest he had been given the ok to leave the hotel, but he still didn't like to walk around much as his stitches still limited head movement. In a few days, he wouldn't need to worry about the stitches anymore. He'd chosen to stay in the hotel room with a stack of comics while the girls went out.

"Fi, I am so sorry."

Fiona took a sip of her coffee, looking at her friend over the mug. "About what?"

"What happened with Adam… if I didn't want to go into that stupid club…" she trailed off, shaking her head.

Fiona shook her head as well. "Holly J, what happened is not your fault. If anyone, it's that guy who pushed him."

"Did you hear he got probation?"

"Great," Fiona mumbled. "He could have killed Adam and he got off with a slap on the wrist."

"Well, maybe if you guys had decided to press charges…"

"It would have gone to trial," Fiona said, cutting her friend short. "We're supposed to be on vacation. Adam just wants to enjoy the time we have left, with as little drama as possible."

"Good luck with that," Holly J said, rolling her eyes. "So, are you guys gonna do once the summer's over?"

Fiona blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You know, when we all need to return to the real world. You're going to the Fashion Institute in New York and Adam's gonna be back in Degrassi."

"We'll figure it out," Fiona told her with a sigh.

"Long distance isn't easy."

"So I've been told."

"Fi, think about it. He has two years until he graduates. That's a long time and I'd imagine the commute to New York from Toronto and back everyday would be a pain."

"We'll figure it out," Fiona said again. "I'll come visit him and… we'll figure it out."

"I know what I'm talking about. Remember, I was in Degrassi while Delcan was in New York? It's the same thing, only instead of the eight months we had, it's gonna be two years."

"I know."

"I warned you about getting involved with someone in grade 10 when you met him."

"What do you want me to say? I know it's gonna be hard and I know we're gonna miss each other. This is so much more than an involvement though, it's…"

"I know, you're in love." Holly J turned her head away from her friend, but Fiona saw her roll her eyes.

Fiona sighed. She'd gotten used to people writing their relationship off, whether because of their age difference or Adam's biological sex. His friends had always supported them. She thought her friends had as well. "Why are you against us?"

"I'm not," Holly J said, looking back at her. "I just… I've seen you get hurt. I've seen you get hurt by Adam. I don't want you to get hurt again and I think you might be setting yourself up for a fall you're not ready to handle."

"If I wanted a therapy session," Fiona began, sounding annoyed as she stood up. "I'd call Dr. Sandler."

"Where are you going?"

"To the one person who doesn't try to psychoanalyze every decision I make," she told her before walking out of the café.

Fiona walked into the hotel room and flopped down on the bed next to Adam. He looked at her, frowning when he saw her expression. He tucked some hair behind her ear. "Problem, princess?"

"I love you," she said simply.

He smiled. "That's making you sad?"

"Of course not." She shifted slightly to look at him, playing with the fabric of his shirt. "I just wanted to make sure you know."

He blinked. "I know. I love you too." After a moment, he shook his head. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. I'm just freaking myself out again."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Because it's what I do."

"No, I mean about what?"

"The future. Our future," she said with a sigh.

"The one that involves us being over 400 miles apart? Yeah, it scares me too."

She nodded. "There's so much that can happen in two years. You can decide you don't love me anymore."

"That's not gonna happen," he told her. "What happens when you meet some hot shot designer guy and he sweeps you off your feet?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No way. I could ask you the same thing though. Some girl could come along and…"

"Really?" he asked, cutting her off. "You're worried there's gonna be another girl?" He laughed when she shrugged. "Yeah, right."

"Hey, girls are gonna start realizing how hot you are after…" she trailed off, frowning when she realized she wouldn't be with him through his transition. He would begin hormone therapy after they got back and she would be long gone by the time it started having effects on his body.

"It doesn't matter," he told her. "There is no other girl I'm interested in. Ever."

"Good to know." She kissed him softly.

He smiled as she pulled away. He slowly took her hand. "What um…" he began, but trailed off and laughed nervously, shaking his head.

"What?"

He let out a breath. "What would you say if I asked you to marry me?" he asked slowly.

Her eyes widened slightly, then she smiled. "Where's my ring?"

To be continued…

AN: there's a couple allusions to All We Are (the prequel to this story) in this chapter that people might be confused about if you didn't read that one. One is Fiona going to the Fashion Institute of Technology, which will come up again near the end of this story. The other is Holly J reminding Fiona that Adam hurt her once, in All We Are Adam broke up with Fiona.