Author's Note: In the beginning I use Italics for flashbacks. For the second part of the chapter I'll use them for Heather's thoughts. I don't think it's confusing, but let me know if you think otherwise. Enjoy! :)

12. Starting over

Had it really been a month since Lea's party? It felt like it was years ago. Heather's life seemed to be caught in a whirlwind - a draining, bittersweet, ever moving whirlwind. After weeks of crying, her eyes were so dry they hurt. Her throat felt sore after so much arguing. Her heart was broken with all the anger and sadness directed at her. And yet, she had never felt so relieved. She had never been more of herself and it was refreshing, even if it was this hard.

Yes, that night had changed everything. She knew it even before she got home.

Walking inside her house, she quickly spotted Taylor sprawled on the couch with a lazy smile on his lips.

"Hey baby! I was waiting for you."

She knew that tone and it immediately sent an unpleasant shiver to her stomach. The sickness she felt made her feel even guiltier. Trying to put on a smile, she went over to the couch, but left a good distance between them.

"Taylor," she started with motherly patience, "you're drunk."

He grinned harder, reaching out to pull her by the arm. Heather took a step back almost immediately, and just as fast there was a frown on his face.

"So what? It's not like you never get drunk when you go out."

"I'm not judging. I just think you should get some rest. Go change and I'll take you a glass of water."

His grin was back on with more purpose this time. His face had never been so obvious; it was as if it was trying to scream "sex" at Heather without words. She got it. But it wasn't going to happen. He tapped the seat next to him winking at her. His eyelids seemed to fight his eagerness, though, as they kept closing despite his best attempts to stop it. The wink ended up turning into sleepy eyes over a smirk that dangled weirdly.

"Come help me change, babe."

"I'm tired, Taylor. Just go to sleep."

She sounded so firm and uninterested that even drunk-Taylor knew he wasn't getting any, no matter how much he insisted. That gave him renewed strength to open his eyes and glare at her.

"When are you not tired? How long as it been for fuck's sake?"

Heather stared at him coolly.

"We'll talk tomorrow."

"No!" He shouted, before catching himself and changing his tone. "Stop being like that. You don't even have to do anything. It will be quick."

Heather's eyes widened and she just snorted.

"Irresistible, but I'm serious. I'm going to sleep."

Taylor jumped up and grabbed her hand. His touch was soft, but his eyes threw daggers at her face.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me, Taylor."

"You're not normal!" He whined, apparently too tired to fight but still horny enough.

He grabbed her hand and moved it to his groin.

"Come on."

She pushed her hand away, looking at him pitifully.

"Just like you said, we haven't had sex in a while. And we're not going to do it now just because you're drunk and horny."

He let go of her hand roughly.

"I don't fucking understand!" He yelled moving to the kitchen.

Variants of that same phrase were yelled at her before he came back holding a drink.

"We fucked more when I didn't fucking live here."

Heather just stared him down, not up to having a discussion with him in such a state. If he could be hard to talk to when sober, then she really didn't want to give it a try when he was so clearly drunk.

"Put down the beer, Taylor." She warned. "You never wanted to talk about it before, and I don't want to talk about it now. Not when you're drunk. So put the beer down and go to bed. Tomorrow, we'll talk. First thing in the morning, okay?"

She was trying to hold onto her frustration but keeping herself firm enough so that her guilt wouldn't show. If he noticed, he wouldn't stop pressing and they would end up having the most important conversation of their relationship, only for him to wake up and not remember a thing. It had happened before, and Heather knew she couldn't take this particular discussion twice.

"No, it's not fucking okay."

"Stop being an asshole. Get your rude ass to bed." She retaliated exasperated.

"I don't want to talk! I want my girlfriend to want to have sex with me. Isn't that normal? Isn't that a fucking requisite?"

"No woman wants to fuck a fucking brat." She enounced every word, looking at him pointedly. "Got that? Is that vulgar enough for your drunken brain to understand?

She could see in his eyes that she had just fed his outburst. He would spend his energy on something. If not sex, yelling would have to do.

Before he could, Heather started moving towards the stairs.

"I'm not fighting with you. Put down the beer and rest. I mean it."

Even though her face held no room for protest, her tone was gentle. That seemed to anger him more. Taylor threw the beer to the floor watching it break with a loud crash. The smell of alcohol immediately filled her nostrils. Heather had to stop herself from going back and kicking the life out of him.

This is what they had become.

"Clean it up." She said wearily before leaving him to swear and shout himself to sleep.

Now as she walked out of the last house on her tour, she ticked the address on her notepad with a grin.

Taylor was still living in her house. After their break up she didn't have the heart to kick him out to one of his friends' place. As hard as it was to talk to him when his wishes weren't granted, he agreed to look for a place as quickly as possible. And until he found a new home, she would let him stay.

Obviously, Taylor was not to be trusted. And besides not even trying to find a place, he had called his family whining about the break-up. Not just that, he had the nerve to call Heather's family before she could.

Her mother practically exploded over the phone. Heather eventually went home for a visit to put an end to her incessant calls. This time, Heather would make her own decisions and would not let her fears take the best of her. Mothers weren't always right after all. Her mother wasn't to blame for trying to tell Heather what was best for her, that's what mothers do. Heather was to blame for letting her take control.

Not this time.

After that little betrayal from Taylor, Heather had practically moved in with Ashley. Not expecting a third roommate, Heather had to sleep on the couch every night – Ashley didn't have the same schedule and she felt bad waking her friend so early in the morning. But she would take the back pain every day, for the awkward tension with Taylor in her own house. It felt like a cold war. She never knew when he would attack her with accusations, or cry on her shoulder begging for forgiveness. She just knew she would rather avoid both.

His words still echoed in her mind sometimes. "You're not giving us a chance. You're not even trying."

But he was wrong. She had tried. She had tried too much. That's why they lasted.

Heather had cried her eyes out the morning after his drunken outburst, that morning after they finally had the talk. She had held his hands, pleading for him not to hate her, trying her best to explain.

"I love you, I do. You've been one of my best friends for years now. But we don't work. It's not just me. I see you here every day. You're not happy, either. I'm not the kind of girlfriend you want. You hate my job, you feel awkward around my friends, I feel awkward around yours. This isn't highschool anymore. We've grown apart. We don't click as a couple and you know I'm right. It was just easier when we barely saw each other. We didn't have to deal with our own crap."

He pushed her away, screaming accusations. He punched the table, he gripped his hair, he begged for a second chance, but Heather knew better. If she had learned something after all this time, it was that it doesn't matter how much you want to make it work. If your heart isn't there, it won't ever be. And try as she might, her heart was decidedly elsewhere.

So she moved out of her own place, letting him and his anger linger there. And when realizing he wasn't making plans to leave so soon, she started looking for a place for him. Ashley kept saying how she wasn't his mother. If he didn't want to look for a place then Heather should just kick him out. Let him learn how life treats you when you behave like a child. But she couldn't bring herself to do that. She still felt guilty and maybe this was her way of saying "I'm sorry".

So far all the apartments she had seen had been a bust. Either the rent was too expensive, or the place was completely degraded, some were in the middle of nowhere, some couldn't fit a cat much less a person. She was decided to find him something suitable, and she wouldn't settle for less. Even if she had to sleep on the couch for a year.

Thankfully, after two weeks of endless searching with some help from the complainer, but always supportive, Ashley; Heather had found the perfect apartment and two plan Bs.

She got in her car and drove back home with a smile on her lips. She felt the thrill of happiness invade her. Taylor had a new place to stay, and she could finally have her life back. Also, she could finally start telling people.

She knew it was strange that none of her friends knew about her break up. She didn't plan to keep it a secret. In fact, more reasons than one made her want to tell everyone. But the process had stalled so much, and curiously people seemed to have gotten over the initial interest on her "married life" so the questions about it had stopped completely.

The fact was that the time spent at work became her safe bubble - the only place where the Taylor drama didn't follow her around. As soon as she left from work the apartment hunting would start - same on the weekends -, and the nights were spent either fighting with her family or talking to Ashley about it. She just couldn't afford to have him spoil yet another hour of her day.

Heather exhaled in exhaustion, letting the positive thinking take over again.

She had planned to meet Taylor that Sunday afternoon at her house, but she never expected to have such great news. As soon as she parked her car, she sprinted to her front door. Heather took a moment to compose and hide her excitement a little, before turning the key and walking inside.

"Taylor!" She exclaimed giddily, failing to be the sensitive ex-girlfriend. "I have great news!"

He came out of nowhere, muttering her name before pulling her for a hug. She never felt so uncomfortable, patting his back awkwardly.

"Hey there, boy." She lamely addressed him. "What's wrong?"

He stepped back, finally freeing her, but quickly escalated the awkwardness by cradling her face in his hands.

"Don't worry, baby. I'm here for you."

The pet name made her stomach growl. She internally commanded her organs to keep their disdain quiet. This was her friend, after all.

"They won't get it, these Hollywood types." He started with a snarl. "But I do. I'm here for you. They'll have to face me before they open their dirty pie-holes again."

Heather made an effort not to laugh, although his weird rambling was starting to get to her.

"What are you talking about, T?"

"You don't know? Oh Heather!" And there he went with the hugging again. "Oh sweetie, haven't you checked your phone?"

Heather reached for her purse almost immediately.

"No." She replied honestly, now a little worried.

There were 23 unanswered calls and 35 texts. She almost jumped at the sight.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked him.

He grabbed her hands, holding the cell phone between them.

"Some jerk leaked some pictures of you…"

Heather felt her grip loosen as he continued the story. The relief and contentment that she was holding evaporated into thin air. She felt herself blush in humiliation.

"Let me see."

Her voice was like ice. It scared him but he was quick to comply. His computer was on the kitchen table, the link already opened. It made her stomach turn and she felt like she was going to throw up.

He never stopped talking to her. From the moment they walked to the computer to her final click on very intimate and personal pictures now displayed on a gossip site. Her face was beet red. She could feel the heat coming off in waves. Her cheeks were stained from the quiet tears. Taylor made a move to wipe them but she shied away, her head down with embarrassment.

Everyone was going to see it.

"Honey, don't be sad. These assholes don't deserve your tears."

She smiled. They were quiet for a moment. Taylor had finally run out of things to say. His hand kept going to her back, burning a hole in her skin. She just wished he would stop touching her. She didn't want to be touched. She felt violated. It wasn't his fault but she really couldn't take his comfort right now.

Her eyes looked up to the computer, the tears coming back immediately. He closed it abruptly moving in front of her.

"You're sweet, Taylor." She said honestly, feeling bad for not accepting his friendly hand.

"I care about you." He said with a smile. "But don't worry. I made us dinner. We'll have a meal and watch your favorite Disney movies, and then we'll go to bed and everything will be okay in the morning."

Heather frowned. More tears rolling as another wave of sadness hit her.

"Thank you. Really. But I'm just gonna go to Ashley's. I need to be alone."

"To Ashley's?" He asked shocked, stopping his caresses on her hands. "You won't be alone at Ashley's. Why don't you just say you don't want to be with me?"

Heather didn't even look up. "Taylor, not now. Please…"

He inhaled harshly and stood up.

"Okay. I get it." His voice was softer again. "I just thought you would want someone from home with you. Someone who isn't a part of this creepy world. Don't you see how easily they turn on you and expose you?"

Heather's tears stopped and she felt herself freeze.

"Those pictures… Only three people have them."

"Well, not now."

Heather glared at him.

"I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to say."

"Only three people had them. I have them. Jake has them." Taylor crossed his arms at that, furiously looking away. "And you… you have them."

"They probably hacked your cell phone."

"Probably."

Heather knew that was impossible. She had deleted them long ago. She may not be the sharpest tool at all times, but she wouldn't carry her naked pictures on her cell phone like that. She didn't do that before, she would certainly not do it now.

"Or your computer." Taylor continued when he saw the look on her face. "Or even that bastard."

"I would have thought he was your first suspect." She sarcastically commented.

Heather rose from her seat and went through her bag to find the notepad.

"I found an apartment for you." She announced, not even half as cheerfully. "It's great, you're gonna love it."

She ripped the sheet of paper where 5 different addresses had been scribbled. Two were completely crossed. Two had check marks in front. And one had check marks, exclamation points and a smile. That was the apartment Heather had just left.

"He'll meet you any day next week. So call that number and set it up." Taylor didn't even look at the paper; his eyes were on Heather, a mix of pity and accusation that wasn't lost on her. "I'm sorry but I have to go now. He'll tell you everything you need to know."

Heather gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked out.

When she got to Ashley's, her friend jumped from the couch and hugged her. They went to Ashley's room for more privacy and never left. Ashley brought her dinner and right after Heather fell into a deep slumber.

Going to work the next day didn't feel like the break from the torment, it felt like a new kind of hell. Her happy workplace bubble wasn't only broken but had turned into a new reminder of everything that wasn't going according to plan.

After a good night's sleep and a call, that was surprisingly supportive, from her mother, she was ready to face a new day.

She saw Dianna, Mark and Jenna as soon as she got out of the car. They were all both supportive and up-lifting making her immediately feel better. Mark and his inappropriate winks and staring had even earned a friendly slap.

"She's taken!" Jenna threw at Mark with an accusatory finger, and just like that the bubble was broken.

They went their separate ways and that's when the real hell began.

Most of the crew were friends, but this was the Fox set. Lots of people worked there, lots of familiar yet unfamiliar faces, lots of people who wouldn't mind ogling at her as she passed. Apparently everyone had gotten the memo for her nude scandal. Or may they hadn't.

Maybe she just felt watched because the embarrassment was still burning under her skin.

One lasting look after from an old security man and Heather was jogging to her trailer, ignoring everyone, dying to reach safe territory.

Heather stormed into her trailer, and let her body fall against the closed door, locking herself from the world and their access to her lady parts.

This is going to be a long day, Heather thought.

"Hey."

The soft voice made her jump, but it only took a second for her speeding heart to recognize the sound. Its pace didn't slow, but for entirely different reasons.

"Naya!" She stated, finally seeing the girl sitting on the couch to her left. "You scared me!"

Naya hadn't changed to her cheerleading outfit yet. She was wearing tight grey sweatpants and a dark blue hoodie. Her hair was down and it framed her face perfectly. The way she was sitting, with her hands pressing against the couch and a pout firmly attached to her lips, made her look both incredibly adorable and distractingly sexy.

Such a long day.

"I know, I'm sorry." She apologized with a small smile. "I know this is probably creepy, but I wanted to talk you before we shoot."

Heather smiled despite the heaviness inside of her. She hadn't returned any of her friends' calls. It was sweet that they worried.

She walked up to the brunette and sat next to her, her eyes staying on the floor.

"I gather you've seen the pictures."

"I did." Naya croaked, sounding bashful.

Heather nodded weakly before letting out a frustrated sight. "It's so humiliating."

Naya's hand fell on her knee and gripped it. She could feel brown eyes on her so she looked to the side, seeing the most supportive frown staring back at her.

"Do you have any idea who might have leaked them?"

Heather gulped, averting her eyes immediately.

"No."

It wasn't a lie. She didn't know for sure and she didn't care to find out.

"I don't even care who did it. It's out now. Everyone can see the stupid idiot I am."

"The very naked, very hot woman you are, you mean?" Naya corrected, gripping her knee harder.

Heather smiled, but didn't look at her. Yes, it could be worse. She could look terrible. But that was really not the point. She felt exposed and violated, and she couldn't help blaming herself.

No matter how many pricks exist in this world, they wouldn't have your naked pictures if you weren't dumb enough to send them. Or even take them. I should've known better. What an idiot. What a complete idiot!

"It's my fault. I was stupid. It's not the first time this happens to me. But the scale of people watching my pictures now is much bigger. Me and my fake boobs. I'm such an ass."

"You are not!" Naya insisted shifting her body so that she was facing Heather's side.

The hand on Heather's knee moved to the blonde's hair and for a second the only thing on Heather's mind was how good it felt. The shivers started immediately, but filled her with warmth and butterflies. It actually made her smile despite her sadness.

"So what if the world gets to see how hot you look naked? So what if some jerk without a life leaked them? And so what if those boobs were fake? Now you're all natural, and you still look just as hot. It doesn't matter, Hemo! It's just your body."

Heather looked at her. She wanted to agree and nod but she couldn't. Her face was blank but her eyes betrayed her as they filled with fresh tears.

"I know it doesn't seem that simple but it doesn't change you. They've got nothing on you. They may have seen your body, but you're so much more than that. You didn't ask for this, but let them have it. The most beautiful side of you isn't theirs to see. No picture, no matter how private, could show it."

This time when tears fell from Heather's face she wasn't feeling that sad anymore. She looked at Naya, trying to capture every little detail of her face. The way brown eyes studied her so attentively, her frown washed with such worry, but her smile so tender and honest; the way her right hand traced soft patterns on her leg, while the other played with her hair so gently like everything was good in the world; the way her breathing turned erratic every time a tear would fall from blue eyes, like she was desperately trying to prevent that sadness.

Why do you care so much?

"You're too nice. I don't deserve all that." Heather said honestly, her eyes still firmly set on Naya's face.

"Oh, you do. You deserve it all. That's the curse of meeting you, Heather Morris. No matter how many years go by, no matter what happens, I still am surprised at how amazing you are."

Heather gasped in awe and gratefulness as the words reached her ears. She pulled Naya into her, hugging her as tightly as she could. Her limbs almost hurt from the pressure she was putting around Naya' body, but everything about the other girl was dissipating every bit of sadness from her body. It seemed like the awful heaviness of the past month was erased completely just by Naya's words and Heather couldn't feel more peaceful.

In that moment she didn't worry about the future. She was a lucky woman.

"I love you so much." Heather whispered earnestly.

The body wrapped around hers trembled slightly at her words.

"I love you too."

After a minute, Naya let go of Heather, wiping away the blonde's tears with the back of her hand.

"And that's why I'm going to show you something I've never shown anyone before." Naya confessed, moving to the side to grab her bag and fish an envelope from inside. "I held on to these so I would never even attempt something like that again."

Heather eyed the envelope curiously.

"I'm glad I did because I think this is the perfect opportunity to expose my own ridiculousness."

Heather moved to grab the envelope but Naya hid it behind her back with a bashful smile. Her grin grew bigger and she cracked up making Heather laugh, her curiosity only growing.

"Oh God… I can't believe I'm doing this." Naya muttered with a huge grin. "A little back story is in order…"

Heather nodded enthusiastically.

"I was eighteen and stupid. And I had the dumbest crush on my best friend's cousin."

Heather smirked. "What did you do?"

"Well, we flirted online for months and, finally, one day we kissed at a party. We made out all weekend actually, but, the week after that, he was already rumored to be hooking up with some other chick. I was outraged! So after a while we were chatting online again, and I was completely drunk. At some point he started taking longer with his answers and I couldn't help but think he was flirting it up with that other chick. Sooo…"

Heather laughed before she even knew what was coming. Naya just slapped her arm playfully before continuing. "I decided I was gonna show him what he was missing. That way he would never look at any other girl again."

Naya moved the envelope to her lap and opened it. There was a small hesitation, although her eyes were firm. She grabbed what seemed like three photographs facing down. Looking up at Heather she smiled, now completely at ease.

"I got fully naked and turned on my webcam to take some pictures."

Heather's eyes widened and her mouth flew open. She felt a sudden rush of blood to her head and a weird freezing thrill running down her body. Her heart was beating too fast for its own good. Heather had to slap herself internally for being so excited to see something that apparently made her friend feel vulnerable.

"Thank goodness, I was too drunk to realize I could have just turned on my webcam and shown it to him live. I didn't think of it at the time, so my idea was to take sexy pictures and send them to him." Naya took a long breath that cracked with contained giggles. "Here you go."

Naya extended the first picture, still facing backwards, holding on to the other two. Heather's hands trembled as she took the offer and turned it quickly.

The picture was almost completely black, but you could see the silhouette of a girl moving to her bed. Despite the darkness, Heather recognized the hunched over brunette right away. She was still wearing fluffy socks and her ass was on full display as she clumsily moved to the bed. Heather burst out laughing at the sight, although her eyes were now firmly attached to the firm ass that was barely visible.

Naya laughed along with her, extending the second picture.

"After that I realized I had been too slow and the room was too dark. So I set up the webcam again, turned on the lights and got ready for my pose."

Heather took the second picture and turned it. This time she could see Naya, lying sideways on the bed. She wasn't wearing socks anymore and, even though the quality was pretty bad, there was a clear view of her naked body. Heather tried to laugh again, but it got caught in her throat while her eyes followed each curve. She could feel herself blushing, the heat that washed over her needing a way out through her skin. Her center clenched at the sight and Heather gulped loudly. It was the hottest thing she had ever seen.

She felt Naya look at her when she didn't react. With a throaty laugh that was mixed with an awkward cough, Naya pointed to her face.

The burst of laughter invaded Heather's chest, distracting her from the quick throbbing that had invaded her body. Naya's eyes were half closed and her mouth was hanging open like she was about to throw up. The hand holding her head made a mess of her hair, ruining the sexy pose completely.

Both girls laughed, although Heather's eyes kept getting pulled to the rest of the picture.

"Give me that, pervert." Naya playfully demanded, stealing the picture before giving her the last one. "And that was my attempt at a close up…"

Heather turned the picture to find Naya face-planted with her legs awkwardly hanging in the air.

"… Before I fell on my face."

Heather was guffawing so hard that her body starting slipping down the couch until she hit the floor.

"W-What the hell were you doing?"

"I was trying to get closer to the camera! I was reaching the end of the bed but I couldn't hang on." Naya explained, her eyes teary-eyed as heartfelt chortles left her mouth.

"I was so bad I didn't get up anymore. I passed out and woke up the next day with the computer still on and freezing!"

"You slept on the floor totally naked?"

Heather really couldn't stop. She grabbed Naya's legs - that were now next to her face - trying to apologize for being so disrespectful but not being able to. Naya was laughing just as hard.

"I was so glad no one went to my room and found me like that with the webcam on!"

Heather nodded, her eyes closed firmly and she let the laughter slowly subside. After minutes of failed attempts to stop, they finally took long breaths to calm themselves down. That was when it downed on Heather, just how sweet this gesture had been.

"When did you print these?"

"Today. I had them on a CD with a password all these years."

"You printed them for me?" Heather asked stunned.

"Yes." Naya said simply. "And if you promise to keep them locked tight, I'll let you have them until you stop feeling sad…"

Her voice got much softer at the end. Heather was just staring at her. Knowing Naya, she would rather burn all the computers in the world before she would let anyone near that CD. But she had actually taken the time to print the evidence to make Heather feel better.

"I don't need to have them. We can burn them if that makes you more comfortable." Heather started reaching for Naya's hands. "I won't feel sad about it because I have you in my life."

Naya averted her eyes with a sudden blush.

"No, look at me." Heather asked, and Naya complied. "You are the amazing one. I won't be sad. How could I? I'm the luckiest person in the world. I have you."

Naya grinned at her, closing her eyes before her head fell down. She seemed so content to see Heather so happy that it only made her heart beat faster.

And that's when Heather remembered. Naya was one of the best friends she could ask for, and she hadn't even told her about the break up. She felt a wave of guilt wash over her and, even though it didn't break her happy bubble, she knew she couldn't enjoy it fully without opening up.

"Naya, there's actually something I wanted to talk to you about."

Brown eyes quickly met hers. The worry was back full force.

"What is it?" She said with the softest of tones.

"I should have told you about it earlier." Heather admitted, getting on her knees to face the brunette. "I don't know why I didn't."

Lie.

Naya only looked more worried.

"It's nothing important."

Lie. Stop lying to her, asshole!

"I mean, it's important, very important. But it's a good thing."

Naya nodded slowly, looking less worried and yet more scared.

"I mean, most people would think it's a sad thing. But in this case, I feel like it was important in a good way."

"Heather, you're rambling." Naya pointed out with a nervous smile.

"It's just that I… I bro-"

There was a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" Heather groaned.

"Heather, they need you in makeup ASAP!" Jamie, from the staff, shouted from outside.

"O-okay. I'll be right over."

Naya was looking at her expectantly.

"I'm sorry. I just made you worry. It's nothing to worry about. But I don't want to tell you like this. Can we maybe have dinner…" The pang of heat in her lower stomach quickly made her backtrack. "…LUNCH!" She practically yelled.

"Can we have lunch tomorrow, so I can talk to you about it? Just us two?"

"Sure." Naya nodded. "But Heather, can't you at least say what it is about? You can't leave me hanging like this."

"Please, just wait until tomorrow. Please."

Naya pressed her lips together and nodded.

"Okay. Tomorrow then."