"The One" – Part 10

Summary and additional notes in part 1.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys! This chapter takes some rather surprising turns... Remember, dark fic!

nsdisafb – I can't sent a PM so I'll respond here :-) Thanks for the review. In this story, Adam has been open about his status to everyone in his life since his Degrassi days. Fi didn't think about it, but she knows him well enough to know he wouldn't be upset.

AAe - Lol! Thanks for the kind words!

This is not related to my Degrassi timeline fics. (See my Author's Profile for details!)

Music Credit: I think Gregg Alexander is a musical genius! :D

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!

-oOo-

When things died down and she got her morning emails and calls out of the way, Fiona logged on to FaceRange. She immediately navigated to Adam's profile. She wanted to see what song he posted. When his page loaded, she instantly smiled. His profile picture was a close up of him holding his bass guitar.

She scanned his page and spotted a YouTube video. The post said, "This one goes out to the one I love." Fiona grinned happily. She still couldn't believe they were back together and in love! This all happened so fast. Yesterday she hadn't been sure if how he would react. Part of her had been worried she said too much and would scare him away. Thankfully, her instincts had been right. He felt the same way she did. The connection between them was still there and burned brighter than ever.

Underneath his post, she could see his roommate, Gregory, commented. "Still annoyed that this dude already has a girlfriend! And she's seriously hot" he ribbed his friend.

Fiona laughed.

There was another response. She recognized it was from his brother, Drew Torres. "WHAT? When did this happen? I'm calling you RIGHT NOW, bro!"

Fiona laughed louder. Hanna looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. Fiona shrugged and turned back towards the screen. She decided to type a response, but first she wanted to see the video. She put on her headphones and clicked play.

The song was "Gotta Stay High" by the New Radicals.

I saw your eyes
I had to run away
I fell too deep in love
There were no words to say
I just had to get high

One look inside
And I knew right away
I felt too much
I did not have the strength
I just ran to get high

She smirked at the lyrics. The words were sweet but she wondered what did he mean by 'high'?

But lover there's something about your pushing me
Pulling me
That's saying don't go away

Fiona smiled broadly as she got it. He was explaining how he felt when she told him that she wanted to be with him.

Good God I think I'm fallin'
Too weak to stand
Too scared to love again
The damn has broke
My soul is spilling all over your hands
Take a look in my eyes

She listened to the full song a few times before responding. It was lovely.

"Beautiful song, my love," she wrote on his wall.

-oOo-

When Fiona put on her jacket, Laura protested.

"Oh no! Where do you think you're going?" she said disappointed.

Fiona laughed. "I got roped into lunch with my sister-in-law. Can't refuse!" she said as she walked towards the door.

"There'll be time to grill her for more info later," Hanna deadpanned.

Fiona eagerly slipped out the door. When she stepped outside she hailed a cab and travelled to midtown. Declan's wife worked at 57th street and fifth avenue. Fiona was happy that it was also on the East side. They were meeting at an Italian restaurant that they loved.

Fifteen minutes later she arrived and walked inside. She smiled when she spotted the familiar redhead sitting at a table by the window.

"Fiona!" Holly J smiled. She stood up and gave her sister-in-law and best friend a hug.

"Hello Holly J!" Fiona said as she pulled away. Her brother Declan and Holly J had been married for five years. They had young son named Finlay James Coyne. "I'm starving. Did you order an appetizer yet?"

Holly J nodded. "The usual."

"Great!" Fiona exclaimed. She took a sip of water.

Holly J studied her. "Fiona, what the heck is going on?" she asked bluntly.

Fiona sighed. One downside of having her best friend married to her brother was that information passed quickly between family members. She hadn't talked to Holly J or Declan all weekend, but she knew her mom had told Declan about the break up with Beth, who in turn told Holly J.

"I'm with Adam and we're happy," Fiona responded in an even tone.

"Just like that?" Holly J questioned skeptically.

Fiona shrugged. "This is what will be."

Holly J struggled not to roll her eyes. She loved Fiona like a sister, and they were closer than she was to her own blood sister, but the girl could be too impulsive for her own good! She had been with Beth for two years. They lived together! Now suddenly Fiona breaks it off and moves on to a new relationship the next day! It sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.

"So, you're completely done with Beth?"

Fiona grit her teeth. "Yes, it's over." That question was getting old. She wouldn't date someone else unless she was sure of it!

Holly J was quiet for a moment. "Finlay will be disappointed." The three year old had a soft spot for Beth.

Fiona smiled broadly at the mention of her nephew. "Well, once he gets to know Adam he'll love him."

Holly J frowned at her. "You're sounding awfully flippant about this," she lectured her.

Fiona sighed again. "What do you want me to say? I know how I feel about him but you're treating me like a child who has colored outside the lines."

Holly J snorted. "It's hard for me to take you seriously when Friday night you're in Beth's bed and on Saturday you're in Adam's!"

Fiona flinched. "We haven't slept together," she refuted. "Yet," she added.

Holly J looked at her for a moment, and then they both began laughing.

"I love how you added in 'yet'!" Holly J teased her.

"Well, it's going to be awhile," Fiona told her. "Adam wants to take it slow."

"Really?" Holly J said surprised. "That's a first for him," she quipped.

Fiona gave her a look.

"I'm just saying… After the break up you weren't in Toronto during the summers," Holly J said delicately.

She had visited during summer breaks from Yale. She had learned through the grapevine that Adam had hooked up with more than a few former Degrassi classmates and partied hard with his older brother, Drew. In her view, he had changed so much from the sweet, innocent boy who was head over heels for her friend.

"He was kind of a manwhore," she concluded. He reminded Holly J of nerdy guys who overdid it once they grew into their looks and realized women would actually give them the time of day.

Fiona scoffed. "Judge much? Everyone goes through a phase in college."

Holly J shook her head. "Fiona, he's not the same guy you remember. He had a threesome with Dave Turner's ex-girlfriend!"

Fiona took a long sip of water. "Well… We had broken up long before that."

Holly J snorted in response. "I ran into him a couple of years after you broke up, remember?"

Fiona nodded. "Yeah, and you neglected to tell me until years later!" she frowned at her.

"Right," Holly J said. At the time Fiona had just gotten into her first serious relationship after Adam. She didn't want to tell her that he asked about her. "He had already transitioned at that point and we ran into each other outside a bar. He was a little drunk, but it struck me how much he was like Drew. We made some awkward small talk and then some random chick came up to him, asking him when he was coming back inside. He was so different from the guy you dated back in high school, Fi. And not in a good way."

Fiona was silent for a long moment. "I know who he is. The person inside."

"I just don't want you to get hurt. If he's hooking up with girls left and right, how do you know that he can rein it in and be faithful?" Holly J questioned.

"Really?" Fiona said annoyed. "You're reaching there! I'm not going to judge him on his relationship history. I wouldn't want to be judged on mine."

"The past is prologue," Holly J quipped.

"And in the past he loved me," Fiona retorted.

"And a few years ago he tried to get with Anya," Holly J fired back.

Fiona sighed. "You told me about that. They didn't hook up."

"Not for lack of trying on his part!" Holly J pointed out. She felt a little bad because she still hadn't told Fiona the whole story.

Anya and Adam were both single at the time and there was an attraction. However, Anya, being a psychology major, ended up analyzing him like she inadvertently did with most guys. It killed the flirty vibe. They ended on the night as friends and she got him to admit he was avoiding serious relationships because he hadn't gotten over the pain of losing Fiona. He had loved her with his whole heart and he wasn't sure if he could love anyone else like that. Holly J had been on the fence for awhile, but ultimately she decided it was information Fiona didn't need to know.

"Why do you hate him so much?" Fiona asked in a clipped tone.

"I don't hate him! It's just… You put yourself out there. There is no middle ground. You're either all in or not at all. It's an admirable quality, but the danger is you move forward without a safety net. There is no plan B or plan C, so plan A just has to work out. But life doesn't always go that way," Holly J explained. "I don't think Adam's a bad guy or anything, but he is a guy. You haven't dated any guys in a long time, so I just want you to be careful."

Fiona considered her words. "For the record, dating women isn't a walk in the park either. Women also cheat and lie. With any relationship there's a risk of getting your heart broken. That said, I see your point."

"Thank you," Holly J smiled, relieved to be understood.

"However, I know what Adam and I have is real. There are no games. We're connected," Fiona stated. "I trust my instincts on this one. If I feel anything troublesome, I'm not going to ignore it."

"Fair enough," Holly J conceded as the waiter came to take their orders.

.

tbc

A/N: Wow, a lot went down in this chapter! First off, FaceRange is a such a small world! News travels quickly – though it's funny to see that people are logged on when they should be working… tsk, tsk ;-)

On to Holly J… Hmm, seems like she's been running a bit of interference over the years! However her critique of Fiona does seem spot on… Did anyone call Dolly J happening? Their son, Finlay, will make an appearance in this story!

And finally, oh Adam! Apparently he became Drew's twin during his college days? Well, if Holly J's version of events are to be believed (though it sounds pretty damning)... I guess we'll see how these revelations affect Fadam in the next chapter! No doubt, they're going to have a rather epic talk...

Review! You know you wanna! :D