Angelica did the only thing she could think to do. She ran. She turned, knocking into irritated partygoers as she made her way through the dense crowd. She found shelter behind a festively decorated partition. Swatting at a low hanging chain of dangling plastic skeletons, she pressed her slender frame against the cardboard and let out a shaky breath. A thousand thoughts were crowding her brain and she was feeling very confused, something that she did not like at all. Her parents had always valued rationality, and so had she. "It's ok, Angelica," she whispered aloud. "Just be calm, and, above all else, be rational." She wrung her hands together. Ok, so, she'd just seen Chuck for the first time since they'd broken up, for the first time in almost a year. And that'd be fine, except all those icky romantic feelings had come to the surface once more. And, ok, maybe that'd be fine, too, if about a million things were different. If she weren't with Peter, and if things hadn't ended the way they did. If he would have just let her live her life, if he wasn't so damn stubborn, he could have had her. Not that that matters, because she didn't want him anyway…but she was, however, curious about his dark haired dance partner.

She peered around the partition, careful to stay out of sight as much as she could in her large, decadent ensemble. Chuck and the girl were chatting with Susie, who looked uncomfortable. Angelica eyed her roommate bitterly, trying to will her into bursting into flame. How could Susie keep this from her! Who the hell was this girl?

Angelica closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She was probably overreacting. She probably wasn't his girlfriend or anything like that. It was probably just a date. Maybe not even that. Maybe just a dance. Yeah, some girl who felt bad for Chuck, because he'd shown up alone. Yeah, that was it. She was probably just about to excuse herself to go back to her own date. And, none of this mattered, because Angelica definitely did not care. Exactly. Who cared about Chuck Finster?

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"Tommy."

"Hmm?"

"I've been thinking about this for a long time."

Tommy looked up from the tv and have Lil a perplexed look.

"And," she continued, "I think it's about time I say something."

"About what?" he asked, starting to get a little worried.

"About how obviously unhappy you've been lately."

Tommy didn't even try to deny it. He gave her a weak smile. "I don't know why I ever thought I could hide anything from you. You always read me like a book."

"I don't know why you felt you had to hide it from me in the first place."

"I don't know…it's like…I feel guilty, I guess. I have no reason to be unhappy. I have a pretty great life. I didn't want to make you feel like it was you or something. Because you're perfect, you know."

"You are," she said, stroking his hair.

"I just feel sort of…discontent," he said. "Like…something's missing."

"Well…think about it. What parts of your life make you feel like that? When do you feel like that?"

"Geez, I should be paying you for this kind of therapy."

"You can repay me in sexual favors."

He grinned. "It's definitely not you that's wrong with my life." he continued. "Sometimes you're the only thing that keeps me going, you know…"

She smiled. His rare sweet moments were really cute.

"I just hate my classes," he said. "That's mostly it. I feel like they're a waste of my time. I don't learn anything worthwhile. At least, nothing relevant to my life, ya know?"

"Well, that's because you're only taking gen eds, really…it's getting about time for you to declare a major…"

"Yeah…I know. And I'm clueless."

"People always have a lot of advice to offer about this subject," she said. "They say you should think about money, about benefits, about practicality. I say you should think about what makes you happy. What do you love to do?....Of course, that's just my humble opinion."

"You know…that's great advice. I knew I kept you around for something."

She rolled her eyes and pushed him playfully. "I still haven't figured out why I keep you around…"

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Susie tapped on Angelica's partially opened door. "Hey, girl. Mind if I come in?" Angelica grunted.

"So…" said Susie.

"So."

A few seconds passed.

"Awkward…" chimed in Susie.

Angelica continued to ignore her, seemingly lost in her book.

"Oh, come on. Are you still mad at me?"

"I just can't believe you didn't tell me about this British tramp."

"Hey, Emmy is nothing close to a tramp. She's really cool. And, besides, why do you even care?"

"I don't."

"Um, I think you do."

"It's just…I like to know…about these things."

"Why? So you can ruin Chuck's only chance at happiness?"

Angelica made a scornful noise.

"Emmy is really great," Susie continued. "And, you know what; she doesn't treat Chuck like crap. She's actually nice to him. I know that might be something you never thought of before, actually being nice to people. Especially your boyfriends."

"I'm nice to my boyfriends. I'm nice to Peter."

"That's another thing. You're dating a millionaire who treats you like a princess! Why do you want to interfere in Chuck's life?"

"I don't—I have no intention of interfering, dammit. I just would have liked to know about this."

"Angelica…" she said, softening. "Do you…still have feelings for Chuck?"

"I—I," sputtered Angelica.

"Oh my goodness…I can't believe I didn't notice…"

"I don't," said Angelica, regaining her composure. "No way. You said it yourself, I'm dating a millionaire. Who the hell cares about Chuck Finster?"

"Ok…Good. It's probably better off this way anyway. You with Peter, and Chuck with Emmy. It just makes a lot more sense, I guess…It's a lot better for everyone, especially Chuck."

Angelica threw her book on the floor. "You make it seem like I was the worst thing that ever happened to him!"

Susie reacted just as violently. "Well, geez! I wonder why I think that? I wonder why everyone thinks that?"

Angelica's breathing slowed a bit and she looked hurt, even. "Does everyone really think that?"

Susie regretted saying it. "Well…"

"Does Chuck think that?"

"Dunno." said Susie, quite honestly.

Angelica covered her face in her hands and screamed.

"Everything ok?"

The girls looked at the open bedroom door, where Peter stood.

He looked a little wary at their angry expressions. "Sorry…I knocked…and then I just let myself in."

"Everything's great!" spat Angelica. "Except that all my so called friends think I'm a terrible person!"

Susie and Angelica both crossed their arms and stared one another down vehemently.

"Um…" broke in Peter. "So…" he said, desperate to change the subject. "Susie…have you thought about Steven Jones?"

Susie looked at him. "Who?"

"The guy at Virgin Records I want you to talk to. About an audition. He's gonna be in town sometime next month. Angelica didn't tell you?..."

Susie narrowed her eyes at her roommate. "No, she neglected to mention that. But I'm sure it was accidental."

"Ok," admitted Angelica. "Maybe I was a little mad at you, so I didn't tell you about the audition. But I was going to."

"Yeah, right." said Susie, leaving the room.

Angelica jumped up off the bed and yelled down the hallway. "It's nice to know what you really think of me!"

"It's reassuring to know that it's justified!" Susie yelled back.

"Ugh!" Angelica threw herself on the bed and let out another shriek.