The next day, Ariel talked to Brianna and Sam, convincing Brianna to switch partners with her, putting Ariel and Sam on first shift that day. Dean had been both unhappy and confused when he noticed the change, but decided to let it go until he could talk to her about it. "So, what did you do to her?" Dean sighed at Brianna's blunt question. "I don't know. Yesterday was such a good day. We didn't fight; we actually had a good time, but now? Now we're back to no eye contact, and she leaves the room if I walk in." Brianna noticed that Dean was especially upset about this, and she didn't understand either. Sam and she had walked by the pool multiple times to make sure they weren't killing each other, and every time they had, everything had been fine. They were always laughing, or talking civilly. Except for when they had walked by just in time to see Dean toss her in the pool. That time, Ariel had looked murderous, but she had noticed the current of lust in her best friends eyes.
Back at the pool, Sam was trying to be patient and let Ariel talk first, but he finally gave up. "Spill. You and my brother were fine yesterday, and now all of a sudden, you aren't talking to him? What happened?" Ariel shook her head, not wanting to talk about it, but she sighed, knowing Sam wouldn't give up until she did. "Nothing is wrong. I actually had a great time with Dean yesterday, both at work and after. But I just need to take a step back from him." Sam read the underlying message loud and clear. She was starting to like him, and she didn't want to/was scared of opening herself like that again. He slid closer to her, putting his hand on her knee. "Sparky, you can't run every time something good happens in your life. If you do, you'll spend your life running, and miserable. That's no way to live, and we all just want you happy." He hesitated, and then decided to take the leap. "Why is it so bad if you like him? Maybe something can come of it. Something good this time." Ariel visibly deflated at that, and when she turned to look at him, her eyes were shiny from the tears she was forcing back. "Sam, I can't take that risk. I've done it once, and my heart was ripped from my chest. How am I supposed to open myself like that again? How did you?" Sam shook his head, thinking about Jessica. "I saw the potential for happiness when I looked at Bri. I couldn't let my past stand in my way, when I knew she wouldn't wait forever."
They got quiet after that, with Sam thinking of Bri, and Ariel thinking about everything going on her life right now. Dean, the club, Brianna moving in with her, the fact that she had been sleeping at the clubhouse so she wouldn't have to look at the house she had shared with him before he had cheated on her and left her. She sighed internally when she realized she still couldn't think his name, much less say it. She was snapped back to the present when she heard her name being called. She looked over the side of the tower, and saw Gemma standing there. "Hey baby! Can you come down here for a minute?" Ariel waved, signaling she would be right down. She turned to Sam. "I'll be right back, Mama Bear demands my presence." Sam laughed at the tone of her voice. Ariel really did not like Gemma focusing on her. She climbed down and met Gemma. "I need your help to set up the clubhouse for tonight. We are going to have an old fashioned party." Ariel groaned internally. That meant karaoke and twister paired with LOTS of alcohol. Never ended well with this crew. Gemma liked to throw parties that normally would be thrown by high school students, but no one ever complained. Ariel agreed, and then sent Brianna a text letting her know that she had to leave lifeguard for the day, and that Sam was gonna need a partner. She sighed again, walking towards the clubhouse, waving at Sam as she left.
She was looking at her phone while she was walking to her room, and the next thing she knew, she bumped into someone, and she stiffened when she realized who it was. She steeled herself, and looked up into the green eyes that were currently amused and guarded. She cleared her throat. "Dean." She nodded, and then tried to step around him. It was that exact moment when she realized they were in the cramped hallway. There was less than an inch separating their chests. She couldn't step around him unless he let her, and she was worried he wasn't going to let her. She could tell he wanted to say something, but after a moment's hesitation, he slid past her, pressing against her before walking away. She slumped against the wall, and dropped her head into her hands. She didn't want him to hate her, they had already done that. She just needed to figure stuff out. Namely, how she felt and what she wanted to do about it. She had a feeling she knew how she felt, but she was doing everything she could to deny it. Dean was a great guy, but she had been down that road before, and she didn't want to go back there. Relationships were a sure fire way to lose yourself, and she hated feeling like that.
She needed to talk to Brianna, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't be much help. She knew that Dean and Brianna had talked about her, and Bri would not be happy to know that Ariel was pulling back. She finished the tasks Gemma had set for her, and walked into the kitchen, only to see Brianna sitting there looking like she was waiting for her. Ariel sighed internally, knowing she wasn't getting away from this. She took a deep breath before forcing a smile. "Hey Bri." Brianna's eyes just narrowed at her. She sighed again, this time out loud. "Ok, fine, let it out, I can tell you're stewing." Brianna literally exploded. "WHAT is wrong with you? I mean, I know what's usually wrong with you, but this is a new level for you!" Ariel winced, knowing that since the carnival had ended and everyone had been told there was a party, most, if not all of her club brothers were out in the bar area which was separated from them by a single wall. "Bri, I need you to lower your-" Brianna yelled over her. "No! I am so sorry if you don't want everyone listening in, but if you weren't being such a bitch, maybe you wouldn't have to worry! Dean is a good guy, and we all thought you two were at least FRIENDS after yesterday, but if anything, you have relapsed! I want to know why!" Ariel, who had been fighting off questions and stares all day, felt her hold on her temper snap. She knew Bri noticed, because her best friend squared her shoulders and got off the stool she had been leaning on. "What's wrong with me? You're seriously asking me that? You know Brianna, I understand that you probably had to listen to bitching all damn day, but my day hasn't been a walk in the park either! I am sorry if you are so hurt that you feel the need to vent at someone, but please use someone else for your verbal punching bag, I don't have the energy." She turned to walk away, and then spun back around to address her one last time. "Also, what happens between Dean and I is between Dean and I, and maybe you should stay out of it." Ariel was through the doorway, and saw everyone staring at her before she heard Brianna yell out again. "He's not Vince!" Ariel froze in place, and her tears came rushing back. She was exhausted, so she didn't have the strength of mind to hold them back, so everyone in the bar saw them fall. She whirled around looking at Brianna with pain in her eyes, and she saw the regret flashing through the blue ones staring back at her, but before anything else happened, she ran to her room, throwing the lock, then throwing herself on the bed, burying her head in her pillow to drown out the tears.
Back in the kitchen, Bri had her head buried in her hands, trying to stop the tears that had started falling when she had seen the stark anguish in her friends brown eyes. She couldn't believe that she had brought up Vince. Not only did she bring him up, but she did it as loud as she could, and she knew the room next to them had been full of people. She felt like such a bad friend, and she didn't know how to fix this. She felt someone encase her in a hug, and Sam's scent hit her, making her cry even harder. Sam starting making soothing noises, and eventually her tears passed. She sat there with her arms around him, head buried in his chest, and thought back to when Ariel had been with Vince.
"Brianna!" Ariel yelled, running into their room, disturbing her studying. Brianna couldn't help but smile at her friend, especially once she saw how happy she looked. "What is up with you? You look like you just won the lottery." Ariel giggled, and fell onto her bed, sighing dreamily. "Vince." Brianna laughed, knowing that that was the guy in Ariel's history class that she had been drooling over for weeks. "What about him?" Ariel rolled over and smiled. "He asked me out today!" Brianna bounced in her seat, clapping happily for her friend. "Bout damn time he noticed you! He would be lucky to have you." Ariel smiled at her friend again. "Thanks Bri Bri. That means a lot to me." Brianna's eyes softened, and she reached over, grabbing her hand. "Anytime."
Then she remembered that fateful last day, when she had come into the dorm to find Ariel crying.
"What's wrong?" Brianna asked, closing the door and running over to her friend, who had tears streaming down her face. Brianna had never seen her cry and she was alarmed at the sight. Ariel rolled over on to her back, making room for Bri to lie next to her. "Vince." Brianna remembered two years before, when Ariel had said the same one word, but it had been laced full of hope and happiness. Now it was said like a curse, with pain and disappointment laced trough it. "What happened? I thought you were in love, and getting married?" Bri looked down and noticed the empty ring finger, where just yesterday had been a sparkling diamond. "He-" She heard the break in her friends voice, and reached down to clasp her hand. "I walked into our apartment, and he was in bed with" She paused, seemingly to get the tears under control. "With Dani." Brianna's jaw dropped at that name. Dani and Ariel had been friends since they were four. She didn't say anything, just gathered Ariel close and let her sob into her shoulder. Ariel and Vince had just bought that apartment, and she had been getting ready to move out of the dorms and in with him. Her heart was breaking for her best friend. Finally, she had cried herself to sleep, and Brianna heard a knock at the door. She looked at the clock, saw it was only 7, and got up to answer it. She saw Vince, and tried to shut it again, but he blocked her. "Bri, Please." Brianna pulled the door open again, pushing him away from the doorway before following him into the hall. She glared at him, and he had the decency to look ashamed. "Only friends can call me Bri, and as of four hours ago, you are no longer in that category. Go home, Vincent. She doesn't want you here." Vince stepped closer to her, but she stood her ground. She was not going to let him hurt her again. "She didn't let me explain, and that's all I want to do. It wasn't what it looked like." Brianna scoffed, and decided it was time to spell it out. "That woman in there? She is my best friend. Tells me everything. So I know that even though you apparently were using her, she did things for you that she wouldn't have normally. She was waiting till marriage for sex, but no, she gave it up to you. She doesn't throw around the word love lightly, but not only did say it to you, she agreed to marry you. Then she goes to surprise you when she knew you'd be home, and walks into the home you were supposed to share with her, only to find you fucking her childhood friend! I'm glad she threw your ring in your face, but I also wish she had done more. If you don't leave this very second, I will do it for her." He stared at her, but she didn't back down, held his gaze before stepping even closer to him. "Now." With that, he turned around and stormed out. It was only then that she noticed they had an audience in the hallway. Everyone on their floor knew and loved the two girls in 4B, so they all nodded at Brianna, and she smiled back. She turned and headed back into her dorm to comfort her friend, and try and piece her heart back together.
An hour later, Ariel heard a knock on her door, and she debated not answering it. She heard someone sigh, and immediately tensed when she recognized the sigh. "Sparky, please." Ariel's heart clenched at the pain in her friends voice, and like she always did, caved. She got up, unlocked the door and walked back to her bed. Bri opened the door slowly, walking over to her bed, and lying next to her just like they used to. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I should have known better than that, but you know me, I tend to talk first and think later. You know I would never intentionally hurt you, and I can't even think about what I would do if I hurt so badly you didn't want to see me, and I know I fucked up, and I promise to make it better you just have to-" Brianna cut herself off when she heard the laughter. "You always did ramble when you were upset." Ariel said, still laughing. Brianna let a hesitant smile spread across her face. "I know you're sorry, Bri. I know you didn't say what you did to hurt me. You were trying to get me to see reason. Sam did the same thing when I told him about Vince." Brianna turned to her side so she could pin Ariel with an incredulous look. "Yes, I told Sam. But I know that not every guy I open up to is going to be like Vince, and I just-I don't know how to not feel that pain in my chest anymore." Brianna sighed, lying back down. "Sweetie, you need to let him go." She held up her hand, knowing Ariel was going to try and protest. "I know you think you have, but the fact that the mere mention of his name has you tensing and on the verge of tears says you haven't. You are sabotaging yourself, and you can't stay in your little cocoon of denial. Dean likes you. I know that is a scary thought, but you have to look at it like this. Dean isn't Vince, and I'm not Dani. I wouldn't do that to you, and honestly? I don't think her would either. Dani was clearly a shit friend, and Vince didn't truly love you." She heard Ariel catch her breath next to her. "I know that hurts to hear, but you have to hear it. But if you close yourself off from everything that could make you happy, he's going to win. You can't let one bad seed ruin you to romance and love." Brianna leaned over, kissing her forehead before she got up and pulled Ariel to her feet. "I'm not saying jump into a relationship with Dean. I'm saying don't run from him anymore. Let whatever happens, happen." Ariel wrapped her arms around Brianna, and held on.
They pulled apart when someone cleared their throat in Ariel's doorway. They looked up to see Sam standing there. "You ok Sparkplug?" Ariel's heart caught at the concern in his eyes, and let go of Bri in favor of embracing Sam. He returned her hug just as fiercely. "I'm sorry, truly." Ariel shook her head, before saying "Don't be. Neither of you did anything wrong. You were just looking out for me, and I cant thank you enough." With that, the three of them walked back out to the clubhouse to join the group of people who were singing badly and failing at Twister. Ariel smiled at her family, especially when Bri dragged Sam over to the karaoke. She knew her life was just fine. Her eyes skimmed over the crowd, before locking onto a pair of bright green ones. She smiled at him, and he smiled back at her. She knew she would be ok.
