Chapter 5: "The Next Step"

Monday morning arrived far faster than Leila Tabris had wanted. Annoyed with how she acted at Shianni's party, Leila went through her school day as she usually did. Math, English and PE went by in a blur. When lunch time arrived, however, she knew she couldn't avoid her friends any longer. It made it especially hard to do so when, as she made her way to her locker, Leila noticed both Zevran and Isabela waiting for her.

Izzy, wearing a tight fitting navy blue dress, was leaning against the lockers with her arms crossed under her breasts. Zevran had an arm thrown lazily around her exposed shoulders, his blond hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, honey colored eyes watching as Leila approached.

"There she is!" Zevran gushed, a smirk crossing his handsome face. His arm dropped from Izzy's shoulders to only be placed on Leila's instead. "Where did you go on Saturday night?"

Leila snorted unattractively as she opened her locker. "As if you don't know."

Zevran glanced at Isabela who only shrugged. Leila tried to ignore her friends as they stood there, but after a few minutes of them not speaking, she slammed the door of her locker shut before whirling on them.

"What is it that you want to hear, Zev?" Leila demanded, her patience wearing thin. "That I had sex with Carver? I did, ok? I had sex with him!"

Zevran's mouth dropped at the admission. "You did what, bella?"

Leila glanced from Zevran's baffled expression to the look of surprised amusement on Izzy's. Neither of them said another word and Leila's stomach flip flopped in anxiety. "Wait- you guys had no idea about this?"

"About what, kitten?" Isabela asked, pursing her lips in thought.

Leila's hand came up to her forehead before massaging away the headache that had begun to form. "Carver and I were locked in one of Shianni's bedrooms." Glancing up at her friends again, she stared in disbelief. "You're positive you didn't help set this up?"

Zevran shook his head. A smile was crossing his handsome features again. "No, but I wish I did."

Leila rolled her eyes and began to walk down the hall towards the cafeteria. "So if neither of you planned this, then it had to have been Varric. Damn dwarf is going to get his ass kicked."

"I'm confused." Isabela's voice said from behind her. "You had sex with Carver and you're upset about that? What happened to your big ole crush on the guy?"

"It's not about having sex with him." Leila answered with a tired sigh. "It's how it happened. We were locked in a room… with a bed. It just- kinda happened."

"So it was Varric who locked you in the room then?" Zevran asked with a finger to his chin.

"Varric and apparently Cailan…" Leila grumbled.

At the sound of the second name, Izzy burst out in giggles. "Cailan Theirin? How the hell was he involved in this?"

"I have no idea, but he was the one who originally directed me upstairs." Leila explained. "Garrett was the one who locked Carver up."

"Why am I not surprised to hear that Hawke and Varric were working together?" Zevran chuckled. "Those two are going to get themselves in a lot of trouble one day."

"Like the two of you?" Leila asked with an eyebrow raised. She glanced between Zevran and Isabela. Both were grinning.

Leila was feeling better about everything, despite her anger at Varric for his meddling. The trio walked into the cafeteria and headed for their usual table in the corner. Anders and Fenris were waiting for them. Leila noted Varric's convenient absence. Running a hand through her shaggy blonde hair, Leila sank down beside Anders who pulled her into a side hug and kissed her forehead.

"How are you doing, love?" He asked, glancing down at her with concern. "Varric told me what transpired-"

Closing her eyes as if in pain, Leila hissed, "I'm going to kill that bastard."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Fenris said from across the table. Even he had a grin on his face. "I'm happy for you, Leila."

She began to open her mouth to give her friends a piece of her mind when the sound of heavy footsteps echoed behind her. She noticed both Fenris and Isabela, who were sitting across from she, Anders and Zevran, stiffen and confused, Leila turned to glance over her shoulder. She met a pair of aquamarine blue eyes and a terror she wasn't aware she could feel overtook her.

"Leila Tabris!" The man snapped out her name with more disgust than she'd ever heard from him before. "Are you lyrium addled?"

Anders' arm dropped away from her shoulders as if burned. He and Zev were staring in disbelief at the young man standing there, their expressions mirroring each other. Not wanting a scene, Leila quickly stood from her seat and faced her ex-boyfriend.

"Sebastian-"

"Is it true?" He snapped, his accent growing stronger with his anger. "Did you sleep with Hawke's brother?"

Leila curbed the desire to roll her eyes. "He has a name. It's Carver."

"So that's it then? You didn't even bother to consider continuing our relationship? I thought a break was just that. A break. Something we could start up again when the time was right." Sebastian was so angry that his tanned skin was clearly flushed.

She'd had enough. "Cut the shit, Sebastian! After graduation, you are going to become a sworn brother of the Chantry and where does that leave me?"

"I thought you'd join me-"

"I want a family, Sebastian!" Leila told him for what felt like the thousandth time. "That is something you cannot give me if you live your life in the Chantry!"

Sebastian's face was becoming even redder. Leila didn't think that was possible, but they'd had this conversation many times. She wouldn't join the Chantry as a sister. He wouldn't give her the family she craved. In her opinion, there was nothing left to discuss.

"So because of this, you decide to whore around with a -"

"Is there a problem, Choir-Boy?" Varric's voice said from beside them. Leila, surprised that the dwarf had even appeared at lunch, glanced at him. His eyes were staring at Sebastian with a hard expression. "Care to move it along?"

Sebastian glanced wide eyed at Varric before shaking his head. Without another word, he turned away and stalked from the room. Leila took a deep breath and prepared to thank Varric, even though she wanted to throttle him as well, when she noticed he wasn't alone. Carver and Garrett were both standing there with confused looks on their faces.

Leila's face flushed crimson at seeing Carver. Thoughts of Saturday night flooded her mind and she had to avert her eyes. "What are you doing here, Varric?"

The dwarf raised his eyebrows at the question. "Am I no longer welcome in your circle?"

Leila shook her head with a smirk. "Of course you are. You're always welcome, Varric. I'm just surprised you showed up is all."

Varric chuckled. "Ah. I see. Well, I brought Junior as a peace offering. I think the two of you need to discuss some things. Don't you, Goldie?"

Leila nodded as her stomach twisted in her fear. She had to do this. There was no other choice. It wasn't like she and Carver could pretend they'd never had sex. She turned away from her friends and headed for the exit. She could hear Carver following her and she swallowed past the lump in her throat as the heavy double doors swung shut behind them. In the quiet of the hallway, with the students all inside the cafeteria eating and chatting, Leila could hear her heart beating inside of her chest. With a quick intake of breath, she faced Carver.

He was standing a few feet away from her. His dark eyes were trained on the floor. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans and he looked afraid to meet her gaze.

"Carver…" She said softly, not wanting to meet his eyes, but knowing they had to get this out in the open.

Carver's dark eyes met hers with trepidation. It was clear that he was as nervous as she to be doing this. "I'm sorry about what happened on Saturday night."

Leila froze. "What?"

Carver rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at his feet nervously. "It's my fault. I take responsibility for what happened-"

"We were both there, Carver. I was more than willing to-"

"I could have stopped us after Nate walked in-"

"I started it, Carver! I was the one who kissed you, remember?" Leila snapped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "So stop trying to be a damn gentleman."

Carver bit his lip to keep from speaking. It was obvious that he really didn't know what to say anyway. This was new territory for them both. After a few moments of not saying anything, Leila couldn't help her next words.

"What's the next step?"

Carver finally glanced up and their eyes locked. A small smiled crossed his lips as he watched her. "I know what I want."

"And that is?" She pressed, not stopping her own smile from appearing.

"I'd like to get to know you better. At least, out of the bedroom."

At the joke, Leila laughed. "I'd like that too, Carver. I really would."

A/N:This is the final chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed this short story! Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. I have a lot more work coming soon!