Walking home was definitely not something Homer enjoyed doing, yet tonight he felt it was a better option than riding back with Barney, Lenny and Carl. After all, it was their fault they got him drunk and he knew they were going to discuss it the entire drive home. Homer was so embarrassed by what happened, and just listening to them argue after he had regained consciousness a few moments after falling into the bushes was not something he wanted to handle at the moment. Besides, he had a splitting headache and he did not want to make it worse, even though he was walking down the sidewalk by himself in the middle of the night with a swollen eye and a cut on his cheek from landing in the bushes. But he tried to ignore it as he dragged his feet slowly along the sidewalk, every step seemed to be heavier than the last, but he didn't care, hell the gutter sounded nice tonight.

He had no idea what time it was, and after a while where the hell he was, he would find his home eventually, curl up in a ball and cry his heart out for being such an idiot, but for now he would just let his thoughts take over. It was a warm night and the breeze was not too strong, he would just think about his future, if the headache didn't overpower him first. He then began to feel dizzy again, like he had just before Stuart threw him in the bushes, and then exhaustion overcame him. Maybe he should have taken a ride home with the guys, just drown out what they were saying to him, he would be in his bed by now that was for sure. Homer stood there for a moment, wondering what to do. Should he just sleep in someone's bushes until morning? Or should he just keep going? If Marge cared about him right now, he knew he would be in good hands, if only though.

As he stood there, he heard the sound of a car engine heading his way; he looked up to see if it was anybody familiar. He knew the only cars that were out were the ones from the party; perhaps he could find a ride home. But then he realized that the car was going the other way, back in the direction of Ryan's house, that would be no help there. He watched it make his way past him and before the car was out of sight, he realized who it was. It was Artie Ziff's car and he was going home, he must have just dropped Marge off. Marge had to have lived somewhere in this vicinity.

As fast as he could, which was not very fast because of the state he was in, he walked down the sidewalk looking for the familiar house that he had visited once to pick up Marge for the prom. It had only been one month ago, yet he already forgot what it actually looked like. Well he was upset that night and a lot of things he tried to erase from his memory. Apparently the house was one of them. He made his way past a few more houses before finally deciding that he needed to sit down and let his headache go down a little, then he would try again if he could.

For a while, he sat on a curb and pulled at some flowers that were growing along the side, they didn't seem to be the ones that were supposed to grow there so he knew he was safe and he could stare at how pretty they were in the dark for as long as he wanted. He imagined Marge would like this flower, even if it was a weed, and he imagined that she would probably kiss him for actually bringing it to her. If they were together that was, Homer really hated how he did not win her over and tonight he knew there was no way she would try to talk to him again, not after what he had done. He knew it was hopeless, yet he still wanted to be part of her life, he wished he knew what to do.

"Hey! Sleazebag! Get off my curb!" An angry and gritty female voice called from behind him. He could smell cigarette smoke and already it was starting to bother his sinuses and make his headache feel worse.

"If you take out your cigarette I might," Homer replied as he tried to get up, unfortunately his legs wanted to stay put right where he was.

"Hey it's my yard I can do what I want, now move!" The voice said as she threw a heaping pile of garbage next to him.

Homer gagged from the smell and turned to see the woman in question who had just violated his senses even further. It didn't take him long to realize who it was, he remembered how both of them insulted him when he first came to the door to pick up Marge. Apparently he had found Marge's house without even trying.

"Hey you're one of Marge's twin sisters aren't you?" Homer asked.

Patty, the twin sister that Homer was referring too, let out gasp at what she saw of Homer, if there was anything worse than a hobo on her curb it was a drunk and injured hobo. "Wouldn't you like to know Quasimodo," Patty said in a very hurtful voice.

"Hey your no prize pig yourself, now is Marge your sister or not?" Homer asked.

"Why do you care?" asked Patty.

"Because I want to know that's why, does a guy really have to explain everything?" Homer asked as he grabbed his head from the throbbing pain from his headache.

"Yes, I wanna know why you are sitting on the curb here when clearly Marge has someone," Patty said.

"I know she does, and please don't argue with me, my head really hurts, please just let me talk to her," Homer said this time letting tears fall down his face from the agony.

Patty only grunted in annoyance before walking off, leaving Homer alone next to the horribly smelly trash bag. He wanted to get up and get away from it, but for some reason his whole body just wanted to stay put in that spot, sleep seemed to be the most important thought at the moment. But how could he if the trash bag next to him smelled so terribly? If only his friends were considerate enough to actually warn him about the dangers of whisky.

"Homer?" a voice that sounded almost heavenly to him called from behind.

Homer turned around, sure enough there was Marge still wearing the clothes she had worn at the party earlier. She had a look of concern on her face while Homer only stared back like a lost and alone puppy. Oh how he wished he could embrace her at that moment.

"Are you alright?" Marge asked as she bent down and touched Homer's swollen eye. Homer let out a hiss of pain.

"I don't know, my head hurts and I am exhausted," Homer replied sadly.

"Then why did you not go home with someone?" Marge asked.

"Because I didn't want to hear all about what I had done, I know it was stupid and I know what I did made everyone hate me even more. Plus I thought home was closer, but I guess not," Homer replied with a heavy sigh.

"Well you are definitely far from home, your house is at least ten minutes by car, I can't imagine how long by foot," Marge said. Homer stared back at her, hope filling his eyes, hoping that just this once she would take pity on him, help him get where he needed to be. It seemed to work though because a moment later Marge held out her hand which Homer gladly accepted. She helped him up and led him into her house.

As soon as they reached the door, they were greeted by both Patty and Selma, both smoking like a chimney and staring back at Homer with utter disgust. Marge pretended they were not there and walked right between them and into the house.

"So letting the prom spare into your house, I don't see this ending well," Patty said.

"Patty please, he's had a rough night, be nice," Marge said as she motioned for Homer to sit on the dining room table as she went to the kitchen to get some ice.

"He'll think you will want to date him now," Selma said.

"Then you will have two guys to worry about, but I can see Artie chasing him off, he looks like nothing but a pussy cat," Patty said in a mock tone as she stared at Homer. Homer only looked back at her, his hand on his sore head wishing that their horrible grating voices would stop.

Marge seemed to get this message because before she even got enough ice, she slammed the freezer door and backed out of the kitchen to stare at her two sisters, annoyed that they were voicing their opinion about something she was doing in order to be nice. They seemed to have gotten the message, they quickly ran upstairs and Homer heard their doors slam.

Homer let out a whimper and continued to rub his head. He looked over at Marge who's back was turned to him and putting ice in a plastic bag. His eyes then scanned away from her as he stared at the assorted knick knacks on the wall that her mother seemed to have collected over the years. They all seemed a bit much for the place, but then again he wasn't feeling his best so a lot of things probably didn't seem right, until his eyes met a picture over a mantel.

It was a painting of a sunset behind some mountains with water in the foreground, the colors for the sunset were a warm red, orange and a bit of purple, along with the yellow ray of the sun that was no longer above the horizon. The mountains had a small hint of snow on them while the water reflected the colors of the sunset above. There were images of birds flying into the sunset and as Homer continued to stare he noticed the signature at the bottom. Marge Bouvier '72.

"Marge! Did you really paint that?" Homer asked in the most animated voice since he had been invited into her house.

Marge moved forward with some ice and stared at the painting on the wall. "Oh that old thing, I did that freshman year in Mr. Tucker's class, the last year he taught us. He was such a good teacher; he inspired me to keep working at it, until he had that heart attack over the summer and Mr. Pauley took over."

"But Mr. Pauley hates everything, did you really listen to that old coot and just give up?" asked Homer as Marge handed him the bag of ice and some aspirin.

"Well whatever I did he didn't like, so I stopped trying and, well my art is just like any normal persons now," Marge replied with a sigh.

"But Marge, you have to try again. I don't know if it really is the headache talking and your art might not be as great as what I am seeing at the moment. But I think it's still worth it to try again. Paint something you've wanted to paint but can't because Mr. Pauley held you back, no one can ever stop you from doing what you love. You have a gift and you should use it."

Marge smiled back at Homer and patted him on his free hand. "You're really sweet Homer, but I don't know."

"Why not, you could study to be an artist," Homer replied as he swallowed the aspirin.

"Maybe, but Artie said I should probably…become an…uh…elementary school teacher," Marge stared back at Homer nervously, realizing she was talking about someone he did not care for.

"Why do you girls listen to everything your boyfriend says, you know we could be wrong sometimes," Homer said.

"I don't know, I guess we forget that there are other options, because we care about them and their opinions"

"Do you care about me and my opinions?"

Marge stared back at Homer, surprised that he had apparently talked her into a corner. For someone who was not feeling well, he sure knew what he was trying to ask for. He still seemed to care about her even though she had chosen Artie. But she knew she had to tell the truth to him, and no matter how she told it, she knew it would still break Homer's heart. She didn't want him to walk out the door that moment though; he needed to be home in a safer place than on the streets.

"Hrrrmmm…why don't we talk about this as I take you home," Marge said.

Marge had no problem bringing Homer home, hopefully Artie would not call her that evening like he occasionally did to talk to her about how much he liked her. Of course, there were fewer of those now that they both knew that they were really an item, yet Marge was still worried about what she was doing and she hoped to make this quick.

"Well do you have an answer for me yet?"

Marge was deep in thought as she was driving to Homer's place, so she had totally forgotten about the question. She had actually thought that Homer was taking a nap with the way he was laying his head, but it was probably the most comfortable position at the moment. Marge stared back at Homer, remembering the question but not sure how to answer it because Homer would badger her some more. But she knew there was no way out of this.

"Sure I care about your opinions," she replied.

"What about me then, do you care about me?" Homer asked.

Marge let out a sigh, she tried to avoid that part of the question but apparently Homer was not letting her. "Well I am helping you home tonight, that should tell you something shouldn't it."

"But do you like me?" Homer asked.

"As a person, yes."

There was a long pause, as if Homer was pondering the answer or maybe because he was just exhausted. Marge had no idea, but she continued to stare at the road, waiting for Homer to say something else. She knew they were closer to his house though, and then he would be out of her hair.

"What do you like about Artie any way?" Homer asked with only a few blocks to go. Of course he would ask that, the prom spare just would not let go of who she had chosen.

"Why do you care?" Marge asked in a voice that was as nice as possible.

"Because I care about you, I think you are the loveliest person I have ever met, from the moment I first laid eyes on you I wanted to be with you. You just have this charm in you that I can't seem to get out of my head even though you have someone, and it makes me sad that you chose him over me."

Marge pulled into the curb where Homer lived and stared at the young man who seemed so lost in a love that she could not commit for him. "Homer, I like Artie because he is a gentleman, he has always treated me with respect in the eight years I've known him. But you on the other hand I have only known for two months and you ruined a relationship with me just by keeping me up all night claiming to be in French class while I had a forensics meet in the morning. I did not even place in that meet and it was because of you. If I were you, I would have been considerate and at least found a different way to get to know me. Maybe took me out to dinner, or maybe even act like a gentleman around me. But unfortunately you didn't, and you paid the price."

Homer stared back at Marge, tears now forming in his eyes as he realized how stupid he was, he could have won her over in so many different ways, but instead lost in the dumbest way possible. As he stared back at her, he noticed her eyes didn't look mad at all, but seemed to be telling him that she hoped he understood what she was trying to say. He sort of did, and he wished he could find a way to make her fall for him one last time, but there was nothing he could think of, he blamed the headache. Finally he could not take it anymore and let himself out of the car.

"I just believed we were meant to be together…that's all," he said before closing the car door and walking away.

Marge watched him go, she knew she hurt him deeply and she sort of felt bad for doing it, but he just seemed too reluctant. Most men she had rejected before just let it be and went on with their lives, but not Homer, he seemed so passionate about her it almost scared her. She knew she had to tell him it was time to let go, but gently.

"Homer!" Marge called as Homer stood in front of his door.

Homer turned around and saw Marge walking toward him at a medium pace, as if it was not that important to talk about. He stayed where he was, the ice pack pressed against his sore eye while he waited for her to come to him.

"Homer, I know you care about me, but you can't spend the rest of your life thinking what might have been or you'll never know what could still be. You'll find who you are looking for one day, it might take a while but it will happen, you just got to let the thoughts in your head right now go. Finish school, decide what you want to do in life and just go for what you can. Don't just give up because you failed at it the first time, just try again and things will work out for you. Something usually happens for the better, so never give up, keep trying and you will succeed."

Marge then gave Homer a small pat on his shoulder before making her way back to her car. Homer watched her go, still saddened that she didn't want to work it out between them. He was remaining single for who knows how long now. But there was always hope.

"Well if anything happens, and you need someone to talk to, I am willing to listen, even if I'm not single anymore," Homer called out.

Marge stared at Homer for just a moment as she got into the car. Perhaps she would take his invitation into consideration, she doubted it though. She was happy with Artie and she knew she would be for years to come. She knew eventually she would lose contact of Homer, he was bound to leave his father for someplace else, but would both of them always stay in Springfield? Marge never wanted to leave, her parents were here and so were her sisters, it would just be too painful to leave. Homer seemed like a wandering spirit though and perhaps maybe one day he would explore farther away. But only time would tell. Finally she started her car and drove off without looking back.

Homer stood at his front door wondering if her car would return, if she had changed her mind. But it never happened. Homer let out a sad sigh and made his way into his house. He did not greet his father who was sitting on the couch watching a game; he only made his way up the stairs, entered his room, landed on his bed, and fell asleep instantly. It had been an emotional few hours, one that would haunt his memories for a long time, and little did he know that it would be the last time he saw Marge for a very long time.

A/N: I'm just gonna come right out and say it. Damn! This was actually hard! I was trying to write it in a way where Marge put Homer down that was in a kind enough way that would not hurt his feelings too much. I think I did okay, but I will let you all decide on that. In case you are wondering about the last sentence, it will be explained in the next chapter about what Marge is going to be up to, you probably all sense it already but you will see it when it happens.

Any way two things, first of all thank you Simpsons fan for your understanding, I like when confrontations turn out okay. I will be looking forward to your review. Secondly I thought it would be fun to share in case some of you were not aware, but in my profile I have four links from two different artists on Deviant Art. They were kind enough to draw scenes from Love Thy Neighbor, so if anyone wants to take a look feel free to.

Uh I think that's everything for now, please review when you can and have a great week everyone!