Chapter Twenty-One

Victoria pulled the Cobra into the parking lot and Reid looked out the window. "Nicky's?" He asked glancing at her.

Victoria smiled, pretending to hide behind one of her shoulders, "Our first date,"

Reid looked back at her, "Was it?"

Victoria shrugged, "Well, sort of. First time we went out together." She smiled at him, "I really just wanna have fun tonight, exams start on Monday and then we are heading up to Boston for State, so I thought we could just unwind tonight."

Reid looked at her, "You ok?" He asked his eyes narrowing.

Victoria smiled at him, but she looked tired, "I'm fine, just in need of some fun. People keep looking at me like I am either gonna start balling or make something explode without meaning too. I really just want to forget tonight, forget about a mother I don't know anything about, forget about a power that is sort of always on my mind, forget about all the other women I have evidently been. I just wanna be a girl in a bar with her boyfriend." She took a deep breath and looked at him, "Can you oblige me, good sir?"

Reid leaned forward, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, "Anything for my girl," Reid leaned forward and kissed her, doing as she asked and letting everything else fall away.

Victoria leaned into the kiss, deepening it first. Her hands found the front of Reid's leather jacket and pulled him closer to her over the gear shift. Reid reached over putting a hand on her hip. He felt the passion in her kiss, the … desperation.

Reid pulled back and looked at her. "So let's go in, unwind. Then maybe blow off the movie….?"

Victoria smiled, "You think Ben Affleck won't mind?"

Reid chuckled, "I am sure he would understand."

Pogue stood at the bar listening to the pounding music. There was a nudge at his side and he turned to see Tyler standing beside him. "Hey dude," Tyler said nodding at his long time childhood friend.

Pogue nodded back, "What's up," he responded.

"Wasn't expecting to see you out tonight, thought for sure you would be up to your eyeballs in textbooks." Tyler teased.

Pogue shrugged, "Started to feel burnt out. You here with a date?"

Tyler shook his head, "Well, that was the plan but she bailed."

Pogue looked at him, "So, what is that? Like, your third girl this month?"

Tyler smiled, his cheeks a bright red, "Fourth, if you really wanna know." Tyler shook his head leaning down on the bar beside Pogue and spoke quietly, "It's ascending man," He shook his head, "It makes you feel like you can do anything, even when you aren't using."

Pogue smiled, looking down at the bar, "That it does,"

The boys were surprised by a sudden female voice, "Pogue," Both Pogue and Tyler turned to Pogue's other side and saw Kate standing there looking at him. Pogue quickly stood up straight, swallowing against a dry mouth. Tyler looked back and forth between the 'ex' couple. "I was wondering if I could have a word…." She glanced almost nervously at Tyler.

"Oh look, it's Reid and Victoria!" Tyler said randomly standing up, Pogue had to stop himself from automatically turning to see where Tyler was looking. "Catch you at the Foozeball tables?" Pogue nodded and Tyler slapped him on the back and left Pogue standing in front of Kate.

She looked good. She had cut her hair, it was short now, above her shoulders and now she had bangs as well. She was wearing her favourite True Religions and a cream coloured t-shrit that was off her shoulders.

"Hi Kate," Pogue said quietly. She took a deep breath and stepped up to the bar to stand beside Pogue. "What's up?"

She looked at her hands resting on the bar before up at him, "I just wanted to see how you are doing, with exams coming up and all. Just checking in." She looked up at him and gave him a tentative smile, "Any word from Harvard yet?"

Pogue shook his head, "No, you and Stanford?"

Kate couldn't help but let a smile break over her face. She really was beautiful. He did miss her. Just not enough, "Yeah, I got in. Early acceptance." She met his eyes and Pogue couldn't help but smile at her. "Tulane too, but I mean Stanford right?!"

Pogue smiled at her, "That's great, Kate." Without really thinking about it Pogue leaned forward and pulled her into a hug. Kate tentatively hugged him back but Pogue quickly let her go.

She looked up at him a little shell shocked, she took a deep breath and Pogue knew Kate was going to say what she had been planning on saying when she first came over. "Pogue, I don't know what's been going on with you but, I have to ask before school finishes and we end up on opposite sides of the country... What happened to us? I just don't know how we got here-"

Pogue shook his head, "There isn't anything to discuss Kate. We've been over this." Pogue went back to leaning on the bar.

But Kate was being persistent. She stepped back up to him, grabbing his arm and forcing him to turn to face her, "The thing is, we didn't though. It's been two months and I still don't know what happened between us. We went from being us to nothing and I don't know how we got here."

Pogue looked down into her eyes, "We hadn't been good for a long time, Kate-"

It was Kate's turn to interrupt, "We had our ups and downs, Pogue, but we were always still us and I don't know why you chose to throw it all away."

Pogue shook his head, "I don't want to get into this with you." He went to step around her but Kate pushed him in the chest challenging him to stay in the same place.

"Well, I think I deserve your time and a little bit of discomfort. We were together for three years Pogue-"

"I don't know what you expect me to say here Kate. I changed. I moved on. I'm sorry." This time Pogue did step around her and started to walk away but only got a step before she stopped him with her voice.

"Moved on to who? Victoria Danvers?"

Pogue stopped dead. He turned back to face Kate, who was already glaring at him, arms crossed.

His first instinct was to start yelling but it would have made her to suspicious. Instead, he shook his head, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not blind Pogue, I see you looking at her, talking to her."

Pogue shook his head, scoffing, "You're being ridiculous. Victoria is like a sister to me." He snapped.

It was Kate's turn to scoff, "If you expect me to buy that than you are the one being ridiculous." She shook her head, looked over the bar before looking back at Pogue with a cold look in her eyes, "You know, deny it all you want. I don't care. I've tried. But I love-" She caught herself on her slip and looked angry it had even slipped by her at all, "I loved you, Pogue. Really truly did. And because I loved you, I am gonna give you a piece of advise." Kate stepped up to stand right in front of Pogue and she met his hostile gaze with a stubborn one of her own, "If you think anything good could come from you and Victoria," She shook her head, "You're fooling yourself. You would be setting fire to everything you care about. So, be careful who you hurt along the way." Kate shook her head, scoffed and then stepped around him leaving Pogue alone.

He took a deep breath, ran a hand over his face and turned to walk out of the bar but stopped. Victoria was standing across the bar, waiting at Reid's side while he talked to Tyler. But she was looking right at Pogue, over the bar, her eyes looked concerned. Pogue sent her a small smile but took off out of the bar anyway, desperate for air.