Title: Mentor
Chapter Twenty Three- Dark Morning
Waking up, Allison thought it was still night time. The overcast sky outside her window quickly assured her that it was morning, but the darkness it casted was unsettling.
She lay in bed, still clothed in what she had worn the previous night after returning from their break-in at the music building. House was lying beside her, his eyes still shut softly, his breathing still rhythmic. Allison smiled as she watched him sleep.
The hollowness that had consumed her the previous day was ebbing away slowly and painfully, but there was a great comfort in having him by her side. Though she had been mad at him, her heart was quick to forgive him. She knew she would have done so, whether he had shown up at her door or not.
With a grimace, Allison noticed that her black eye that she'd gotten from Julia the previous afternoon was probably more visible now than ever before. Sighing, the young woman crawled out from her lover's embrace and went to check the damage in her mirror.
Groaning, Allison took in the sight of her face. She still had the long, red scratch running down the right side of her face, and the bruise that consumed her left eye was turning a dark purple, speckled with little red dots. The knowledge that Julia's left cheek was probably in the same condition did little to comfort her.
"You all right?" House asked, having woken up to find her examining the extent of her disfigurement.
"Yeah." She sighed, turning around and going back to the bed to flop down on the mattress beside him.
"So, you and Julia got in a fight then?" He asked.
"Yeah." Allison curled against him.
He managed to figure out what it was probably about and decided, for once, not to pry, "I'm sorry I can't stay all day. I've got to be back at work tomorrow." House curled his arms around her waist, "I've got to leave to catch a plane back to New Jersey around five, okay? so I'll have to leave around noon thanks to all the increase in security." He said carefully.
"I understand." Allison smiled weakly, though she wished he could stay with her through the funeral she knew that she'd be attending later that week. "I'm just glad you came."
With an equally weak smile, House kissed her forehead, the only part of her face that was neither bruised nor scratched, "What else could I do? I made a mistake."
"No."
"Yes, I did. And I don't admit that... well... ever really. So just accept it." He smirked at her.
Allison managed to smile earnestly at that. "Well, I'm glad you realized what a bastard you were being."
"It's already eleven." He said, looking at the clock, "Want me to take you to lunch before I go?"
Allison shook her head, "No, just stay here and hold me while you still can." She requested, nuzzling her head into the juncture between his neck and shoulder. Feeling him nod against the top of her head, Allison closed her eyes and basked in his warmth.
Somehow, the overcast skies didn't seem so daunting anymore. "Why don't you call Julia before I leave? I don't want you to be alone after I go."
She nodded, but didn't make a move to reach for the phone. There was plenty of time to call Julia.
"I love you." She said softly.
"I love you too." He assured, kissing the top of her head.
The time they got to spend together wasn't nearly enough for either of them. Every minute that slipped into the past seemed like a taunting slap in the face. How could a clock be so evil?
As a quarter to noon ticked closer and closer, Allison finally dislodged herself from House's embrace to reach for the phone. Julia picked up halfway through the first ring, and assured Allison that she would be back in the dorm room by noon.
"Strange." Allison hung up the phone.
"What?"
"Jules sounded really anxious to come back here." She frowned setting the phone and its cradle back on the night stand.
House thought for a moment, "Her and Joe probably didn't feel too comfortable around each other last night."
"Why do you say that?"
"He just lost his best friend, and he probably just wanted to be alone. Having her there made him bottle up his emotions, and he's probably resenting her a lot right now." House pointed out.
"Wow."
"What?" He looked at his girlfriend.
"That was impressively perceptive of you."
"I'm quite the perceptive individual." He pointed out, "Just because I choose not to act like a human being, doesn't mean I don't know how human beings act."
Swatting him playfully, Allison gave him a dazzling smile, "You're more humane than you give yourself credit for."
"Then why does everyone call me misanthropic?" He teased.
"You're not misanthropic, you just labeled yourself that so people don't try and take advantage of you with their sob stories."
"Ah, now who's perceptive."
"There was never any argument about my own perceptions." Allison pointed out with a small smile tugging the corners of her lips.
With a twitch of his mouth, House wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, brushing his lips against the soft hairs that framed her face. "You're beautiful." He murmured so softly that his breath tickled her ear.
"I look like a member of fight club." Allison pouted, jutting that full, bottom lip out, making her look entirely nibble worthy.
"Still beautiful." He closed his eyes.
Allison never thought that House looked old, but the way his face softened when his eyes closed, and the way that his lips curled upwards at the corners made him look years younger than she knew him to be. Every time she looked at him in such a natural and unguarded fashion, a bit of her died and reincarnated itself into a being that thought that she'd known him forever. It was strange how every bit of time she spent with him made her feel like they'd been with one another much longer than a calendar could measure.
Julia arrived at ten minutes to twelve, interrupting their cozy contentment. Flopping onto her bed, the young woman stared at them in a way that could be categorized as longing. No one said anything in those last remaining minutes until the clock adjusted and flashed 12:00 PM at them mockingly.
"Got to go." House grunted, retrieving the arm Allison had been lying on before rising from her bed. Allison got up as well and walked the short distance from her bed to the dorm room's door. "I'll see you later." He assured, planting a gentle kiss on her lips, "Call me if you need me, or if you need to talk."
"Okay." Allison gave him a stronger smile than she'd been able to muster earlier that morning, "Love you."
"Love you too." He gave her one more kiss before he opened the door, "Bye, Jules."
"Bye." Julia said quietly before House slipped out the door.
"You okay?" Allison went to her friend's bed and laid down next to her.
"I guess."
"Things between you and Joe must be pretty awkward right now, huh?" Allison said gently.
"Yeah." Julia couldn't even bring herself to smile even in an encouraging manor. "I just feel like... Like we... I shouldn't have left him to meet Jeff's parents by himself."
"You did the right thing." Allison assured, "He needed time to grieve, and he wouldn't have been able to with you in the room."
"We've been together a year and a half already!" Julia moaned, "How can he not feel comfortable enough to..." She trailed off at a loss.
"Doesn't matter how long you've been together, some guys never feel comfortable enough to display that kind of vulnerability. Hell, even some girls can't." Allison wrapped her arms around Julia, "This wasn't as hard on us as it was him. I'd be wreck if it had been you."
"Same here." Julia smiled sadly, "And I probably would have wanted to be alone to say goodbye to you." She sighed, "I'll give him some time."
"That sounds like a good idea. Just give him a few days before you call, and don't try and make any plans with him just yet. Let him come back to you when he's ready, just assure him that you're still there for him."
"When did you become the relationship guru?" Julia teased.
"Greg's quite insightful." Allison smirked. "More so than you give him credit for."
"Psh." Julia waved her off before turning serious once again, "The funeral's gonna be Thursday."
Allison nodded, "I think... I think we should do something afterwards."
"Like what?" Julia looked at Allison solemnly.
Shrugging, Allison suggested, "I don't know, just something that we can look forward to so that it will be easier to get through."
"How about not going to class."
"Let's get some movies and pizza, and just veg." Allison shrugged, "I don't feel like going to class for the rest of the week anyway."
Nodding, Julia sighed. It didn't take long before the women fell asleep, exhausted from the roller coaster of feelings they'd been shoveling the last few weeks. Sleeping the entire day away was definitely an easy escape.
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Allison and Julia sat off towards the back corner of the funeral home. They watched silently as people entered and shook the hands of Mr. and Mrs Howards. Joe was seated just behind Jeff's family, his encouraging hand reaching out to rest on a sister or brother's shoulder and offer comfort.
Not knowing any of Jeff's family members, both girls just sat in silence, unable to approach, other than when they first arrived and in turn took each family members' hand and shook it gravely. Now, shunning themselves to the chairs furthest from the grieving family, both wondered why they were there, and if they should even attend the burial.
There was nothing for them here, and all either managed to do was to stand out, unable to comfort anyone who entered. What more was there to do?
"I think we should go." Allison said softly in Julia's ear.
The girl nodded and both of them rose as silently as possible and drifted into the shadows and quiet murmurs of the fresh wave of people arriving to pay their respects. Allison saw Julia hesitate at the door, giving a sorrowful glance back at Joe before bowing her head and being lead outside.
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Curled up between their beds, a nest of blankets and pillows were arranged around the two women curled within their folds. The floor in front of them was littered with empty cookie dough wrappers and empty cans of soda. Signs of women in distress were flashing all over the room as a weepy chick flick played on the tv screen in front of them.
"Why do we watch these if they make us cry?" Allison dabbed her eyes with a wadded up kleenex.
"Because it has a guaranteed happy ending." Julia pointed out, parroting her buddy's action.
"Ah, touche." Allison curled tighter in her bundle of blankets, leaning against the side of her bed. Reaching out, she managed to touch her fingertips to the edge of the pizza box that had been shoved around the corner of the bed. Dragging it closer, Allison flipped it open and took a slice.
"So," Julia tapped a nervous finger against the side of her soda bottle, "when do you get to see House again?" She asked.
Allison shrugged, "Don't know." She sighed, shaking her head, "It's quite possible that I won't see him until next summer... Maybe sooner if I get an interview with Johns Hopkins."
Nodding, Julia leaned heavily against her friend, "I hope I get an interview on the East Coast too." She sighed, "Maybe we could be roommates over there too! I doubt I'll get into Johns Hopkins, but the University of Maryland looks really great, I'd die if I got in there!"
Allison smiled, "We'll make it." She assured, trying to regain her usual optimism that had been clouded over the last few days.
With a quick hug, Julia thought for a moment, "But... You're gonna go like, what... At least six months without seeing your boyfriend?" The hopeless romantic in Julia couldn't stand for that, "I mean... That's just... Wrong!"
A sad smile tugged at Allison's lips, "Yeah, well, he can't just take off of work for a week and come out here to see me." She pointed out.
"I know but... Couldn't he make up an excuse or something?" Julia pouted.
"Like what?" She quirked an eyebrow.
Julia shrugged, "I don't know."
"Neither do I." Allison sighed regretfully. "We'll make it work."
Deflating a bit, Julia grabbed a slice of pizza, "I just don't think it's fair that the one time you got to see him, it was for, like, a day and you didn't even get any lovin' in!"
Allison smacked her roommate with a pillow. "We just buried a friend. I don't think my sex life is appropriate topic material."
"It's perfect distracting, topic material!" Julia gawked. "What better discussion could there be for taking my mind off of badness?"
"Your own sex life?" Allison suggested.
Julia scoffed, "I haven't gotten laid in nearly three months." She rolled her eyes, "No disrespect to Jeff, but he managed to keep me celibate the whole run of his illness."
"Sex isn't everything. I mean you and Joe-"
"Haven't had sex in 11 weeks, haven't kissed in three and a half weeks, and haven't really even touched each other, even holding hands, in nearly two weeks." She looked solemnly at her palms which were coated in grease, "The night I spent at his place, he kinda just let me in and went straight to his own room. I slept on the couch."
"You should have come back!" Allison cried in surprise, "You shouldn't have been alone."
"I did come back. You and Greg were gone, so I went back to Joe's."
"Oh yeah..." Allison felt guilty. "Greg and I uh... Kinda, broke into the Fine Arts building."
"WHAT!? Why!?" Julia was so surprised that she started to laugh, unable to wait for an explanation.
Allison felt her own smile tug at her lips, "He wanted to cheer me up. So we went in search of a piano. We got to the one in the Fine Arts building and he played for me." She couldn't help but to hug her arms around herself, "It was so sweet."
"Breaking and Entering is sweet?" Julia quirked an eyebrow, "So, does this mean I should get you a black body suit and a ski mask for Christmas this year?" She teased.
Allison whopped her friend over the head with the now empty pizza box.
"Speaking of Christmas," Julia laughed as she was repeatedly smacked over the head with the empty box, "where are you going for winter break?"
Halting her abusive pizza box torture, Allison thought, "Well, I know my parents are going to Hawaii this year. It's their 25 year anniversary on December 17th. My brothers and I told them it would be fine, and that we could all get together later." She flung the empty pizza box towards the garbage can. "Stephen was thinking about spending the holidays with his boyfriend's family, and Bryce already planned on staying with his future in-laws." Allison filled in. "Nothing's set in stone, but that's pretty much what's happening."
"Awww, so where are you going?" Julia asked.
Allison shrugged, "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
"There's always a room for you at my parents' place." She assured.
"Thanks, Jules." Allison smiled gently.
TBC
A/N- Yay, we're in the middle of a blizzard! Good times, let me tell ya! Anyway, sorry it took a while, but this chapter went through a LOT of renovations before I finally got it how I wanted! Anyway, take care everyone, review, and a Whole Lotta Love!... Oh, and John Doe, have I finally reached your standards yet, or am I still a pathetic excuse for a writer? You haven't reviewed to mock me again yet, so I was just curious. :D Cheers-Andi