Thank you so much for being awesome and reviewing/favoriting, or just plain reading, guys, I really appreciate it!

Things are about to get super uncomfortable, if you all recall a certain event that happened on the show that we're finally getting to here, so prepare yourselves, heh.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Starr," Langston murmured gently the next morning, shaking her friend from her sleep. She hated to have to wake her up; she knew Starr had stayed up crying most of the night, and had to be completely worn out.

"Yeah?" Starr mumbled, tossing her arm across her eyes.

"I just wanted to know if you feel up for school today, or if you want me to convince your mom and Dorian we're sick so we can skip it, stay home and have a girls day in or something."

Starr hesitated and moved her arm, blearily opening her eyes. Langston felt her heart break for her friend when she saw how bloodshot Starr's eyes still were from all that sobbing, and felt another rush of red hot anger towards Schuyler; how could he do this to her? Ugh, she'd been right all along- he was a jerk, just not for the reasons she thought. She used to think Schuyler was a jerk because he didn't really have feelings for Starr and was just stringing her along, but now she thought he was a jerk because he loved her too much, if anything, and it made him too damn noble for his own good.

"I want to go," she said softly, glancing at Langston hopefully. "Maybe he's realized he's being stupid, y'know? I have to see him."

"Okay," Langston said simply, biting her lip; she already knew he hadn't. If Schuyler had quit being a dumbass, he would have come over here, or at the very least, called her. He wouldn't be waiting to tell her at school, of all places, like Starr seemed to be hoping.

"My mom said she thinks everything's going to be okay, that it'll work out. Do, you, um…do you think she's right?" Starr asked.

Langston froze. Oh, crap, what was she supposed to do here? Lie and make Starr feel better, or be honest and make her feel even worse?

"Ummmmm…who knows, right?" she answered vaguely with a nervous laugh. "Now come on, let's get ready for school!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

If there was one small benefit to Starr's heartbreak, it was that it made everything else pale in comparison; all the stares and gossip that had bothered her so much the day before were barely even noticeable now, and while the day had seemed to drag on forever yesterday, it now flew by.

"Okay, Starr; you ready for this?" Langston asked gently as they approached Schuyler's classroom. Starr took a deep breath.

"As much as I'm ever going to be."

"Alright, let's do this!"

Starr braced herself; she wasn't sure what exactly she had in mind, but she was expecting some kind of earth shattering impact from the moment she and Schuyler first saw each other again post… break-up. Oh, God, those words just didn't sound right put together like that.

Starr expected there to be some kind of moment that reflected just how drastically this had shaken her world up, so to say she was left at a loss when she walked through the door and absolutely nothing happened would be an understatement. Schuyler didn't even try to ignore her or anything; she walked in, he glanced up, and just gave a short smile and nod.

"Good afternoon Miss Manning, Miss Wilde. Take a seat."

His voice was calm, his eyes betraying no kind of emotion, Starr slowly blinked, just gaping at him. Langston gently pushed her into her chair, and Starr just continued to stare at him in disbelief. 'Good afternoon, Miss. Manning?' What the hell was that?!

"I graded your papers last night," he addressed the class once they were all in their seats. Uh, he what? Starr was sobbing herself to sleep, and he was grading papers? "It seems some of you are slacking off now that the end of the year is approaching, especially the seniors; I'd like to remind you all that colleges do look at your final semester transcripts, so it would not be in your best interest to drop a grade, now of all times."

He walked past her to hand Langston back her paper, once again not deliberately ignoring Starr but not paying any particular notice to her, and Starr dug her nails into her palms.

"Mr. J," she blurted out, desperate for him to acknowledge her.

"Yes, Miss. Manning?" he asked, his voice even as he turned back to her. Starr swallowed roughly; how did it not seem to hurt him to look at her, the way it hurt her?

"I, um, think I'm going to need another couple of days on that extension."

"Considering your current circumstances, that's fine."

And then he just walked back down the aisle, talking to the rest of the class in the exact same way he'd just spoken to her, and Starr struggled to take a breath, clutching her chest. That, being treated like she was just anyone else, hurt worse than if he had completely ignored her, or acted like he hated her or something. At least that way she would know that she still affected him, she still mattered; feeling like she was insignificant was so much worse.

"Starr? Starr, are you okay?" Langston whispered urgently, noticing her friend suddenly appeared to be struggling to breathe.

"I'm fine," she muttered back, clutching her head between her hands.

"Starr, we can ditch, right now, if you can't-"

"I'm fine," she grit out. She had to be convince herself to be fine right now, or she was going to burst into tears in the middle of Schuyler's class, and since she was apparently just another student now, Schuyler was just going to suggest she go to the nurse or something, and she would freaking lose it.

Starr had to put all of her energy into pretending to be okay for the rest of the class; she was so focused on putting on a brave face, pretending his unaffected state didn't affect her, that she barely heard a word of the lesson.

"Starr?" Langston murmured at the end of the class, after the bell had rung but Starr remained frozen. "Come on, Starr, time to go."

Starr just nodded blankly and rose to her feet, quickly walking out of the room without pausing to look back; she knew how much it would hurt to see that he wasn't looking back at her.

Langston was ready for the tears to come once they were in the car, was reaching into the glove compartment for the package of tissues she'd stashed there the moment the door shut, but to her surprise, that blank, almost dazed, expression never left Starr's face, and she never cried. Starr just remained silent in the passenger seat, staring at her hands with her face set like stone, and Langston's concern just grew.

The house appeared to be empty when they got there, luckily; Blair and Dorian were dealing with the mess John was in, and hopefully Ray had taken Lola and Starr's brothers out somewhere; she could tell Starr didn't need to deal with anyone right now.

"Do you wanna talk about it, Starr?" she asked gently. Starr wandered to the stairs and took a seat, protectively crossing her arms over herself.

"It's like we never happened," she uttered quietly, to herself more than Langston.

"What?"

"It's like Schuyler and I were never anything," Starr said louder; she finally allowed herself to feel again, and panic was the first thing that came rushing back, even before pain. It drifted into her voice as it quickly seized her heart too. "It's been one day, and it's like he's already erasing us!"

"Starr, you two have always kept school separate from the rest of your relationship, so maybe he-"

"No, Langston!" Starr cut her off, eyes wild. "Don't try to make this better, you don't get it! Things are just like they were right before we got together, when he pushed me away and made me think he loved Stacy, when he was treating me like just another student. I can't do this, Langston!" she shouted frantically, tears burning her eyes as she dug her fingers into her hair, looking like she was about to rip it out. "I can't go back to being nothing to him, I can't!"

"Hey, Starr," Langston began firmly but consolingly, quickly taking a seat next to her and prying her hands off her head. "You never were and never could be nothing to him, come on, you know that."

"No, I don't, and that's the problem," she said weakly. Starr desperately tried to fight it, but eventually had to blink, and the tears she'd been holding back spilled over; they felt like ice on her skin. "I mean, look at us. He is the most amazing guy, and I'm this whiny, pathetic…clingy," she spat, remembering Schuyler's face when he'd told her she was too attached to him. "little girl, who inevitably drags everyone down with her. Maybe he's just realizing that, and I mean…I could really easily end up being nothing but a footnote in his story," she choked out, burying her head in her hands. "I could be the girl whose name he doesn't even remember in ten years."

"No, you couldn't!" Langston snapped. "Starr, this isn't exactly eloquent, but you rule, okay? You would not be my BFF if you weren't amazing too, and any guy who'd just forget you like that isn't worth remembering."

"That's not true," she muttered, looking back up but keeping her fingers pressed to her mouth as she rocked slightly. "It's not that simple. I love him, Langston, you know what that's like."

"Yeah, I do," she sighed sympathetically. "Starr, look at everything he's done for you- that's gotta be proof that he loves you too."

"Right?" Starr asked nervously. "That's what I want to believe! Which means it can't be over yet, it can't, so I just have to do…something," she finished, furrowing her brow as she rose to her feet and began to pace, struggling to think of what that something could be.

"Starr, maybe you shouldn't-"

"Wait!" she suddenly gasped, a gleam of hope in her eyes. "I already know what I can do- you're the one that said it!"

"Huh?"

"Do you remember what you said to me, when I told you he kept holding back from, um…making love with me?" she mumbled uncomfortably. Langston nodded, furrowing her brow.

"Yeah, but what does that- oh my god, Starr!" she suddenly shouted, jumping to her feet as she got it. "No, time to hit the rewind button! I was kidding, mostly!"

"Well, it's a good idea!"

"Seducing him?! Uh, no, I beg to differ, it's really not!" Langston shrieked. Was she seriously considering this?

"Langston, I have to do something to get to him! I can't just give up and let us be over! If I can just make him give in, he won't push me away again, he can't, and we'll finally just be together completely, like we're supposed to be, and everything will be good again," she rambled wildly, seeming more than a little crazed.

"Oh my God," Langston muttered.

Starr was obviously losing it. She couldn't believe she'd ever thought her friend's feelings for this guy were a passing phase when she loved him enough to lose her damn mind over him like this.

"Starr, I really don't think you should-"

"I'm going," she said decisively, clinging to this idea so desperately, because it was all she had left. "I guess I won't be home tonight, so figure something out for me, okay?"

"Okay," Langston sighed, giving up as Starr dashed out the door.

She didn't bother trying to figure out a plan; she already had a very bad feeling that Starr would be home a lot sooner than she thought.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Oh, God, you should have seen her, Ryan; I could tell that I was killing her, and I had to pretend like I just didn't even care, and I felt sick, and you know how that was always my excuse to use before," Schuyler sighed, gripping his phone so tightly that it nearly broke as he talked with his sponsor.

"But you called me instead, and that's the important thing. If you're strong enough to avoid it now, you can keep it up, Schuyler. This is going to be a hard time, but just remind yourself that you've gotten through worse without drugs, and you can do it again. Just-"

"Schuy?"

"Oh, damn it," Schuyler muttered in response to the voice outside his door; he'd completely forgotten that last week, he'd left a short message for Stacy, telling her she could come by today to pick up the crap she'd forgotten. "Ryan, I gotta go deal with something. Thanks for hearing me out."

"Of course; any time, Schuyler, day or night."

Schuyler hung up and took a deep breath; putting on act for Starr had drained him of all his energy, he wasn't sure he had enough left to deal with Stacy at this point.

"Hey, Schuyler," Stacy said softly when he opened the door, none of her usual arrogance about her, her typical smirk gone. Maybe having to deal with the consequences of her horrible actions for the first time in her entire damn life, not having him or Gigi there to constantly rescue her, had gotten to her at least a little bit.

"Stacy," he replied shortly, carelessly waving in the general direction of her stuff. "It's all over there, take it and get out."

Stacy seemed stunned as he turned his back on her; she'd probably assumed he'd have forgiven her by now, like he always used to. Well, she was in for a rude awakening.

"Thanks," she muttered, walking over to the box and curiously sifting through it. She brightened up for a moment. "Oh, my nonstop dance party CD, I was looking for that!" Schuyler inhaled sharply; that just made him think of prom night, telling Starr he loved her, and he seriously could not afford to remember that right now. "Thanks for keeping it all for me until I could grab it, Schuy."

"Whatever," he replied tightly, flopping down on the couch. Stacy sighed as she walked over, sitting on the edge of the table in front of him.

"So, are you just going to be mad at me forever?"

"Do you honestly think I wouldn't be justified if I was?"

"Oh my God, Schuyler, I made a mistake- it's not like you don't have some experience with that!" she snapped. He rolled his eyes; so much for that growth.

"Yeah, a mistake you don't seem to feel that bad about."

"You don't know how I feel, Schuy, you have no right to judge me!" she shot back defensively.

"I'm not going to fight with you, Stacy, so you might as well just leave."

"I don't want to just leave," she sighed, calming down. "I didn't just come for my stuff, Schuy, I came for you. Look, this whole stupid mess has made me realize Rex wasn't even worth it. What I had with him was a fantasy, it wasn't real…you were the only real thing I ever had," she whispered dramatically. Schuyler nearly snorted; Stacy had always been a good actress. "You and I were real, and good- the best thing that's ever happened to me, actually, and I shouldn't have messed that up, I shouldn't have been chasing Rex when I really loved you. Because I do, Schuy, I love you."

"You are so full of crap, Stacy," Schuyler snapped before he could stop himself.

"Un, excuse me?" she demanded, arching an eyebrow.

"You don't love me. You've finally realized you're never going to have Rex, and for the first time in your life, you don't have anyone to take care of you, so you're alone and scared, and you're turning to your old stand-by. I would be really sad for you if I actually believed you thought what we had was love."

"It was!" she cried. "Don't rewrite history because you're mad at me! Schuyler, just hear me out, okay? You and I can still work things out, we can fix it! And we can be happy and good again, I know it, Schuy."

"Again? We were never happy, Stacy! I was an asshole on drugs, what are you remembering?"

"Hey, you took care of me, Schuy- I mean, you never let me touch the stuff. And…I took care of you too; I mean, remember when you were so sick when your dealer was out of town? I was right by your side! And yeah, things were bad sometimes, but when they were good they were really good, and I was happy. I've been lost ever since we broke up, and I think you and I could be happy again if we were just together," she begged, reaching out for him. "I heard you say your sponsor's name, so I know you must be struggling, just like I am- we can take care of each other again, just let it happen!"

"No, Stacy!" Schuyler exclaimed, quickly rising from the couch and putting distance between them. "Can I make this any clearer to you? We will never happen again, because here's the thing; you think you were happy in Vegas, and you're the same person you were then, but I'm completely different- I'm ashamed of who I was then, like I should be, and I'm not deluding myself about what we were. You and I were two messed up, miserable, self destructive people who turned to each other because of attraction; and, on my part, because you were the one person I ever found who seemed more broken than me, and it made me feel good about myself, it made me develop a savior complex when it came to you- do you not understand how sick that is?"

"I think it's sweet," she responded, shrugging.

"Of course you do," he sighed. "Stace, you think we were good together because neither of us ever called the other out on their shit. You could be manipulative and cruel because I always made excuses for you, made you feel good about it, covered for you so you never had any consequences, and I could use all I wanted, because you never pushed me to change, get better, kick the drugs. We used to call it 'taking care of each other' but I can see now that it was just enabling. And you know why we enabled each other? Because we never actually cared that much. So no, you and I can't be together again, we can't be happy again," he spat, sounding disgusted.

It disturbed him to think that if he had never been with Starr, he might never have come to understand what a healthy relationship was like- he might be agreeing with Stacy that they were good together, that they took care of each other and were happy. It was not a pleasant thought, to say the least.

"You're only saying this because of the girl," Stacy fired back bitterly, his words having just cut her deeply.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The last time I tried to get you to see reason, you said you were with some girl, and you were happy! Well, who is she?! I'd love to know who the hell you think can compare to me, I really would."

Schuyler clenched his eyes shut, digging his nails into his skin; damn it, why did Stacy have to remind him of that?

"She's not part of this, Stacy; quit looking for excuses, like always. Yes, I love her, more than anyone or anything, but she and I are over. Me not wanting you is about exactly that- you. Now please, get out."

Stacy stared at him in stunned disbelief for a moment, then furiously shook her head, yanking her box of stuff off the table and storming to the door.

"Well then, fine, asshole, I don't know what I ever saw you in you either! If you're gonna have that attitude, then have fun dying alone- see if I care!"

Stacy slammed the door behind her, loudly stomping down the hall, and Schuyler released a tense breath, happy to have her gone. God, being around Stacy, particularly when it brought up all those memories of Vegas, like this time had, just made him feel dirty.

With a frustrated sigh over the mess this day had been, Schuyler turned and walked off towards his bathroom, tossing his shirt off as he went; he needed a shower.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Starr took a deep breath, hesitating just as she made a move for the door, yet again; she'd been doing this little dance in Schuyler's hall for a good five minutes now.

She could do this, right? She could totally do this. Totally. Of course she was nervous, she hadn't exactly tried to seduce someone before, but she could do this. There was no way he'd be able to push her away after this, he'd have to own up to his feelings, and that would be worth a few minutes of nerves.

Shaking her head to focus, Starr took a deep breath and walked in through the (unlocked- what the hell was wrong with him, did he want her dad to unexpectedly burst in and kill him or something?) door, shutting it softly behind her and gazing around.

"Schuyler," she called, intending to sound confident and cringing as her voice shook slightly. Yeah, that was real sexy, Starr, way to make the guy want you.

There was no response, and she furrowed her brow; oh, please let him be home, she was going to lose her nerve if she didn't do this soon.

Starr wandered further into the room, and could now hear the shower running; her eyes widened in surprise. Whoa, she hadn't expected this to be exactly like Langston's suggestion, but that worked.

Willing herself not to freak, Starr just leaned against the couch to wait, nervously biting her nails; she felt like she was going to start hyperventilating at any second, which had to be pretty high on the list of things that were not sexy.

Why was she so nervous anyway? Hadn't she wanted this-him- for weeks? And it wasn't like they'd never come close before- then again, he'd always stopped, and that was exactly what she needed not to happen this time.

She heard the shower turn off a couple of minutes later, and Starr's heart leapt to her throat as she straightened up, anxiously fussing with her clothes and hair as she waited. Schuyler walked out of the bathroom a moment later-with nothing on but a towel. Starr instantly felt herself blush furiously, her skin suddenly feeling incredibly hot as she fought not to blatantly stare with her jaw on the floor; frankly, it should be her right to ogle her insanely hot boyfriend (or, former boyfriend- no, no, she wasn't going to think about that now), but what if that just made him think again about how young she was? This was probably no big deal for someone like a certain ex girlfriend of his.

"Starr," Schuyler finally spoke after staring at her in shock for a moment; for a second, she could have sworn there was a hint of smile, but it quickly vanished and he furrowed his brow, looking extremely upset she was there.

"Um…hi," she said meekly, forcing herself to smile.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, clearly uncomfortable, and seeming none too happy about her presence. Starr flinched.

"I just needed to see you, and the door was open, and I heard the shower so I just waited, because, um, we need…we need to talk," she managed, nervously licking her lips as her heart thundered in her chest. Talking wasn't really what she had in mind, but honestly, how the hell was she supposed to jump into this?

"No, we don't," Schuyler snapped. "I said everything I needed to yesterday, and you need to deal with that."

"Deal with that?!" she cried in disbelief, his words pushing something inside of her. Just like that, all of her nerves, the hesitation, all her thoughts were gone, and she was just flying on pure, gut emotions. "How the hell do you expect me to just deal with that?!"

"I don't know, Starr, that's your problem to deal with!" Schuyler shot back, in a panic. He'd gone through absolute hell today in class; it had felt like it was slowly killing him to just pretend she meant nothing, but he'd somehow managed to get through it, put on a good show for her, and she couldn't be here now, he couldn't break and let her see the truth after holding it together so long.

"Why are you doing this?" she cried, her eyes wide and hurt. Schuyler felt like he'd been punched in the stomach, but ordered himself to press on.

"I'm not doing anything I shouldn't have already done a long time ago!"

"Schuyler, I don't-"

"You need to get out," he interrupted harshly, walking around her towards the door.

"No! Schuyler, you can't just pretend that you're just my teacher, that I'm just your student, we can't do that!"

"Why not? We never should have been anything more than that, Starr, it was a mistake on my part!"

"Oh my God, quit saying that!" Starr yelled in frustration, covering her ears for a moment.

"It was!" he repeated, viscerally hating himself for what he was doing to her. "You are a seventeen year old child, Starr, and-"

"What?!" she suddenly shrieked; at that moment, Starr was pretty sure she actually heard her brain break or something, felt her sense just go flying out the window. "How can you say that?! After everything we…I am not a child!" she snapped, impulsively grabbing her shirt and tossing it over her head.

"Starr!" Schuyler groaned, feeling an involuntary rush of heat and forcing himself to look away; oh, God, what the hell was she doing?

"I am so not a child," Starr continued rambling wildly, crossing the room so she was in front of him and he was forced to look at her. "I mean, I've…I've been with a man, I've had sex, big deal!" she spluttered; that seemed Stacy-ish enough, and based on the stories she'd gotten him to reluctantly share about life in Vegas, it certainly sounded like he'd wanted her.

"Yeah, and what happened, Starr?" he responded, all but covering his eyes with his hands. "It ended in complete disaster!"

"But that won't happen, that won't happen this time!" Starr rushed to promise, her smile appearing far more crazed than reassuring, as she'd intended. "I mean, this is us, that won't happen with us! It won't happen. I just…I want you," she breathed honestly, daring to step closer, place her hand to his warm skin. Schuyler suddenly gripped her wrist tightly, pulling her away from him.

"No, this is not happening." Starr had no idea that was directed as a reminder to himself far more than it was to her. "And you need to get over it, right now. Just…put your top on," he muttered uncomfortably.

His eyes involuntarily flickered downward, and Schuyler abruptly let go of her and spun around, pacing away from her as his breathing increased. Starr couldn't help her smirk of satisfaction; she knew it, he wanted her too.

"Why? Why?" she snapped louder when she received no answer. Schuyler finally glanced at her again, and Starr desperately tried to calm down from her high energy, manic state, trying to reason with him. "Schuyler, you and I have come so close to this so many times, and we always just stopped ourselves, but why? I just don't want to stop this time! I want…I want you to make love to me," she blurted out, not caring that her tone was borderline begging.

Schuyler gripped the back of the couch so tightly that it turned his fingers white, unable to let her see his face right now; had he somehow already made her believe that wasn't what he wanted too, more than anything? She truly had no idea that while he was telling her to get out and get over it, all he really wanted to do at this moment was carry her off to his bed and make love to her for hours, make her feel the extent of just how much he loved her, so nobody, not even he himself, could ever make her doubt his feelings for her again.

"This isn't happening, Starr," was all he said, his voice low and firm as he gave her a cold look. "You don't even really want this!" he added, recalling Starr's frightened reaction the last time they'd kissed. "After what Rosen-"

"I don't care about that anymore!" she shouted in frustration. God, why would he even mention that, now of all times? Unless…did it bother him? Did seeing Zach touch her make her as disgusting to him as it had made her feel that night? Tears blurred her vision at the thought, and without even realizing what she was doing, Starr moved her hands to her jeans, fumbling with the button and starting to pull them down. "You are all I care about right now, and I just want-"

"Starr, I am not having sex with you," Schuyler hissed, crossing the room until he was so close you couldn't have fit paper between them, yanking her pants back up before storming away. Starr struggled to breathe, his proximity making her head feel a little dizzy.

"But you want to, right?!" she demanded. For just a moment, there was a flash of something in Schuyler's eyes, there was something about the way they quickly swept her over, that made Starr certain she was right, and she desperately pressed on. "I really think you do!"

"You're seventeen, Starr," he grit out through his teeth. "And everything I said yesterday still matters."

"Schuyler," she sighed weakly, approaching him again. "You…you know better than anyone that I'm older than my years; I've already been through more than most people deal with in a lifetime, it grows someone up! I…I don't care about yesterday, this is now. Right now, just say it, say that you don't want me, and I'll leave."

Schuyler turned to face her, jaw set and eyes determined; if that was the final push she needed to move on, fine, he'd do it, he'd lie right to her face so she could be better off.

But the moment he looked into her emotional, pleading eyes, his resolve crumbled, his shoulders sinking; God, he was such a bastard. He could cause her more pain than anyone ever should, right up until the moment that it would end it all for good- what the hell was wrong with him?

"I thought so," Starr murmured, suddenly throwing herself at him and slamming her lips to his.

She wound her arms around his neck and yanked him down closer, kissing him roughly, forcefully, not at all like she usually did. Schuyler's walls went shattering to the ground, his defenses and restraint all torn to pieces, and with a muffled groan, Schuyler finally gave in, kissing her back eagerly. His hand moved to the small of her back, crushing her body to his, and Starr shivered pleasurably over the feel of his bare skin on hers, a quiet moan escaping her.

The sound jarred Schuyler back to reality and he pulled back so quickly that Starr nearly fell. He gazed at her with wide, disbelieving eyes for a moment, then quickly turned away, the sound of her still heavy breathing and sight of her tousled hair more than he could take at the moment. Repeat, what the hell was wrong with him? Now he had no choice in this but to do the one thing he'd wanted to avoid, and destroy both their hearts in the process. He at least had the comfort of knowing Starr's would eventually heal when she saw he was right, moved on to someone better; he imagined his would only get worse with time, though.

"Get out, Starr," he ordered one last time, hoping she might leave it at that.

"After that? No, I'm not going anywhere," she declared, her heart still racing from that kiss.

"Look, Starr, I didn't want to do this. I tried to end things gently, in a way that wouldn't make you feel so bad, but it looks I have to be honest now," he began darkly, gazing at her with cold, unemotional eyes. "Do you realize that it's not like you haven't given me the opportunity to do this before? That it's not like you haven't thrown yourself at me before? I'm just not interested, and I finally realized I can't keep pretending that I am. I am truly sorry that I misled you all this time, but I just can't lie to myself anymore; I care about you as a teacher, as your friend, but that's it. I got too involved when we were thrown together, when we were both lonely, and grieving, and it made me feel something that wasn't actually there, and now that I've had time, I can see that…I just don't want you."

"That's not what you said," Starr whispered to herself desperately, clenching her fists as she fought not to burst into tears for what felt like the thousandth time the last few days. "You're lying. You could have said it a minute ago, but you didn't, you didn't."

"Starr! I don't want you!" Schuyler shouted, his voice hard and angry. Starr shrank back, her eyes stunned and pained; he'd never spoken to her like that before, ever. "Can I make that any clearer?!"

Starr just froze for a moment, gazing at him with a completely crushed expression, and then simply gave up, every ounce of hope, determination, belief, strength, fight, evaporating from her. Her head hung low, Starr just walked past him to the door, swallowing roughly. She paused for just a moment once it was opened, gazing at the floor.

"Sorry I bothered you," she uttered, her voice soft and dazed.

And then she was gone.