"The One" – Part 53

Summary and additional notes in part 1.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys! Hmm, lots of Emily-hate, eh? Well, let's see what happens in this chapter.

To the folks I can't directly PM:

Anonymous – Haha! Well, if you join FFnet, I can send you a direct message. Lol, at noticing that! Classic misdirection again, but it was fun :D Thanks for the review!

FADAMisMYlife – Yeah, she didn't give out the most trustworthy vibes with that… Thanks for the review!

I3FADAM – Oh, we shall find out soon enough ;-) Thanks for the review!

Author's Note # 2: This is not related to my Degrassi timeline fics. (See my Author's profile for details!)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!

-oOo-

Adam blinked, thrown by her request. "Uh, about what?" He really wanted to go back inside and spent more time with Fiona and his friends.

Bridget sent Emily a warning look. They had discussed this so many times! Each time she voiced her opinion that pulling Adam aside was a bad idea. It wouldn't change anything. It was clear her little sister was hell bent on ignoring her advice!

Emily gave Adam a knowing look. "Just a few minutes?"

He glanced at Fiona and sighed. This was super awkward. He was leaning towards saying no, but he didn't want to be an asshole. "Give me a sec?"

It took all her restraint to appear unfazed. She was wholly annoyed that her boyfriend wanted to talk privately with his Ex who was clearly not over him! Yet, if the situation was reversed and Beth asked to speak with her, she would feel really guilty if she blew her off. "Sure," she told Adam in an upbeat tone.

He held her eyes for a moment, hoping to convey a reassuring look before turning away.

-oOo-

They moved several feet away, near a street lamp.

Adam studied her for a moment. Her expression was hard to read. She was dressed beautifully, in a cobalt blue party dress that came to just above her knees. Her make up was flawless, as was her hair, which was flat ironed bone straight. Her only vulnerability was that she stood with her arms crossed, a defensive pose, even though it was quite warm outside.

Emily swept her eyes over him. Adam stood every bit as tall and handsome as she remembered him. He was wearing a dark dress shirt and dark gray slacks. His hair was in a short, messy style which looked great on him. She couldn't help but smile.

"What did you want to talk about?" Adam asked, cutting through the silence.

"It's lovely out tonight, isn't it?" she stated.

He paused. "It is," he sighed. Clearly she wanted to set the tone. He was fine with that, as long as she didn't draw things out.

"How are you liking New York?" she asked curiously.

He smiled a little. "I love it. I'm really happy there."

Emily looked away. "More than Boston?"

He let out a breath. "Exponentially more," he stated.

She was hurt he would say that. "You don't mean that."

He looked into her eyes. "I miss all of my friends here, I really do… but I'm happier than I've ever been. It's serious between me and Fiona–"

"You've been together for like a week," she said dismissively.

"Two weeks," he corrected her in an even tone. "But I know she's the one for me. I love her."

"You don't love her," Emily scoffed. "Just because you've been fucking for two weeks, doesn't make it love!"

Adam clinched his jaw. "I'm glad we can have a civil conversation, Em," he deadpanned.

"Don't call me that!" she screeched at him. It pissed her off that he had the nerve to declare he was in love with some random girl and then use her nickname in the next breath!

"Fine. Emily. Is that better?" he responded in a clipped tone.

She looked away. "I'm sorry."

Adam sighed. "It's okay."

He could tell she had been drinking a little and her emotions always ran high when she drank. If she was happy, then she was ecstatic. If she was down, then she was morose. If she was horny, then she could hardly wait to get home. Sometimes they went into an empty coatroom or snuck into a bathroom stall.

She shook her head. "No. It isn't."

Adam looked at her curiously, wondering where this was going.

"I'm really sorry about Nathan. It didn't mean anything, and I wish I had never done it," she said in an emotional voice.

Adam frowned. "Well you did."

"I was mad at you–"

"And you did the one thing you knew would hurt me the most," he bitterly reminded her.

He and Emily dated for five months. Theirs was a tumultuous relationship that burned bright and went out in an awesome blaze, as the differences that attracted them in the beginning became their undoing. They went into a long on-and-off period after they split, which ended for good when Emily slept with one of Adam's co-workers and lied about it. What made it more hurtful were the things she said to the other guy during pillow talk.

"I know," Emily said blinking back tears. "But you weren't an angel either." They had a number of post-break up hook ups and each time she was hopeful they would work things out. However, afterwards he would get distant.

Adam rubbed the back of his neck. "I never meant to lead you on… but that's not the same thing as telling another guy – a guy I supervised at work – that you're relieved to be with a real guy again and that I could never satisfy you."

"Adam, you know that isn't true!" Emily argued. "You and I had plenty of sex. Mind-blowing sex! I only said that because I was upset with you!"

"You still don't get it! You never should have said it in the first place!" he yelled at her, losing his cool.

Emily watched as he sighed and looked away again.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice," he quickly apologized.

She took a step towards him. "Adam… It's okay. Neither of us is perfect. This is how we are. We fight and then we make up."

He shook his head. "Not this time."

Emily had a wry smile. "Prove me wrong."

As he looked at her, he thought about how easy it would be to kiss her. They would go back to her place or his, and tomorrow it would be like nothing had changed. But things had changed.

When he met Emily he realized he was tired of being alone. He wanted someone. That one special person in his life. He thought that she could be it, and when red flags began to appear warning him that might not be case, he did his best to keep things going. He had opened his heart for the first time in a long time and he wasn't ready to throw in the towel.

After they broke up, he was lost for awhile. He did the same things he did before they dated but it just wasn't same. By the time he moved to New York he was feeling like his old self. 'Who cares about love?' he told himself. He was just going to focus on working hard and playing hard, like he had for so many years. And that was enough for him. Then Fiona came back into his life, and everything turned on its head.

"Have a good night, Emily," he told her with finality in his voice.

"Why are you being like this?" she whined.

"We could rehash the past all night. It doesn't change anything," he explained. "I'm going back inside. You wanted me to prove you wrong, this is me doing just that."

-oOo-

Adam came over to Fiona and Bridget. Emily stayed by the street lamp.

"How did that go?" Fiona asked with a hint of concern.

"Yeah, inquiring minds want to know," Bridget added in jest.

Adam smiled at her. He didn't have any hard feelings towards Bridget. She was a warm, funny, and sincere person. He regretted that they couldn't stay close because of Emily.

"You didn't hear any yelling when I walked away, right?" he joked in return.

Fiona raised an eyebrow as the two of them laughed.

"Okay, I'm going to collect my sister," Bridget told him. "Enjoy the rest of the night."

Adam nodded. The two shared a small hug before she walked off.

"Care to explain that?" Fiona said once the woman was out of earshot.

"Bridget's awesome. Being her sister's Ex makes it complicated," he explained.

Fiona smiled at him. "I could see that," she acknowledged.

He reached for her hand. "Shall we head back inside?"

Fiona looked into his eyes. "Sounds like a plan."

He grinned and they began walking towards the steps.

.

tbc

A/N: Well, I guess that settles that!

Review! You know you wanna! :D

The next chapter is the last one set in Boston. There's a lot of comedy it. Will post on Tuesday, since tomorrow's a holiday here in the States.