A/N: So, I'm guessing my first ending didn't please everyone? ;) Even though I plan to post two more endings (yes, with spoilery titles), I realized after I wrote my original ending that I had a little more to unravel before I diverged this part of the story. So this chapter is a necessary read for any of the remaining endings. The first paragraph is repeated from my alternate ending for context.

Chapter 22:

In that millisecond of time, in the time between when it registered in Lindsay's brain that there was a knock yet before anything else actually happened, Lindsay envisioned, in her worst-case scenario, her mother bursting through the door. If it happened just then, before Lindsay or Barry had time to do anything about it, then her mom would catch the two of them red-handed in an undoubtedly compromising position on her bed. And of course, Lindsay could only imagine what would follow- her mom completely freaking out, screaming, calling for her Dad (and inadvertently waking Sam in the process, who would of course tell Neal), kicking Barry out of their house, and swearing to Lindsay that she would be grounded for eternity (or at least for her entire senior year).

Lindsay couldn't let that happen. But when she looked over at Barry, he was already one step ahead of her- rolling off of the bed so that it blocked him from the view from the doorway before she had the chance to push him. Just in time.

"Lindsay, honey?" Her mom asked, sounding concerned, cracking open Lindsay's door just slightly, enough to make eye contact with Lindsay on the bed. "Are you all right? I heard a couple of noises." Lindsay was surprised by this- she knew several occasions where she or Nick or Barry had spoken more loudly than tonight, but she supposed her mother must have been up already. But Lindsay hadn't been caught, she could tell from the look on her mom's face; her mom didn't have any direct evidence of major grounding violations.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine," Lindsay reassured her, giving herself a quick once-over. Aside from the fact that she wasn't in her pajamas yet, she supposed she looked pretty normal, though her heart was racing faster than ever. She felt the need to add, "Sorry if I was loud. I was just reading this really funny book and I was laughing," she gestured to the non-calculus book on her nightstand –The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Thankfully the book blocked her mom's view of Lindsay's locket- Lindsay definitely didn't want to have to answer any questions about that.

"Okay, honey, just thought I'd check. Have a good night."

"Night, Mom," Lindsay replied. Her mom slowly closed the door until it was cracked just an inch or so.

Heart still pounding after the false alarm, Lindsay slowly rolled over and peered over the edge of her bed to see Barry comfortably sprawled out on the floor, his arms crossed behind his head. He grinned when he saw her.

"I'm glad I get to live to see another day," he said, in a much lower whisper this time. Clearly he heeded the warning of Lindsay's mom. "So where were we? I believe you were about to tell me how much you wanted to see me after I leave from school, make me the happiest guy alive," he said, grinning. With that, he grabbed Lindsay firmly around her midsection, lowering her off the bed and easing her down to him, so that their bodies were flush against one another with her on top.

Now this was a compromising position. But thankfully, it was one that could not be viewed from the door. Lindsay hesitated. As good as this felt, and as much as she hated to do it, she was going to have to say something that Barry would find a little disappointing. Though her facial expression must have communicated to him that something was wrong, because he spoke up again before she could articulate it.

"Wait, you need more time to think about it, don't you?" he asked her.

Lindsay nodded uncertainly, embarrassed. "Look, I'm still trying to process everything. You told me a lot tonight- I feel like I just need to think about it for a couple more days. When's the last day I can see you before you go?"

Barry thought for a moment. "Well, I'm leaving for campus on Saturday morning- classes start on Monday, and I need to get settled into my new apartment first. But I can stop by on Friday night, I suppose."

"Is- is that okay?" Lindsay asked him pleadingly. It was Monday now. Just a few more days.

"Procrastinating until the last possible second, are we?" Barry teased her. He was nodding, however. "I do that all the time. Sure thing, I realized I laid a lot on you tonight- though hopefully not much that you weren't already expecting. But I can understand you wanting to think about it a little more."

"Okay, great," Lindsay replied, awash with relief. But before she could roll off of him, Barry reached up with both hands to gently cradle either side of her face. Suddenly he looked incredibly serious.

"Are you going to see Nick before then?" he asked her quietly.

Lindsay shook her head emphatically. "No. I saw him last night after you were here- which I'm guessing you figured out-" Barry nodded, giving her the 'of course, I'm not an idiot' look, "but I told him that I didn't want to see him again until this weekend. I wanted to wait until after you left, when I'll have made up my mind," she finished.

"Okay," Barry replied, nodding. "I want to tell you something though," he continued a few moments later, gently stroking her hair. "Listen, Lindsay, if you're not sure that you want to be with me, you should just choose to be with Nick. I mean, this long-distance relationship stuff isn't always going to be easy. I spoke like it was, since I want to make it work with you- but we'll be over six hours' drive apart, and we're young, and we'll both be meeting new people, and-," Barry trailed off for a moment, and Lindsay could see emotion all over his face, and in his eyes. "Look, there are a lot of opportunities to meet people in college, date, have relationships. I'm happy to give that up to be with you- but only if you're all in. It's not fair to ask me to do that if you're on the fence about how you feel."

Barry leaned in and kissed her, one last searing kiss, his lips and tongue hot and passionate. But before Lindsay had time to revel in it, he had pulled away, making her want more. But instead of indulging her, Barry gently lifted her off of him, getting up from her bedroom floor and making his way towards the window.

"I'll be back on Friday," he said. "Think about it." And the next thing Lindsay knew, he was gone.

So over the next few days, Lindsay thought. She thought, and thought, and thought, like she had overanalyzed things all summer. But this time, there was finality to it that she hadn't felt before. She had to decide soon- or else she would lose them both.

The bottom line, she realized sometime on Friday afternoon after hours of grueling contemplation, was this: she couldn't really make a bad choice here. She didn't deserve either of them, not the way that she behaved this summer, so to be able to actually choose who she wanted to be with was a decision of which she wasn't really worthy. The hardest part, she realized, was just coming to terms with the fact that she couldn't have it all. She couldn't have her perfect combination of Nick and Barry fused together- she had to accept the fact it was either one or the other- not that it was a bad thing, of course, since they were both pretty amazing on their own. But really, Lindsay needed to be decisive- many important decisions where there was a fork in the road involved some sort of major sacrifice- and she needed to trust her instincts and stop second-guessing herself. She had dated both guys and gotten to know them as well as she could this summer, and now she was just going to have to make an educated decision based on the last several weeks and have faith that it would work out for the best.

But how could she even begin to make a decision like this? It was excruciatingly difficult because the guys brought completely different things to the table. Lindsay found herself, as she had over the last several days, looking at the pictures inside the lockets that the boys had given her, holding them side by side.

With Nick, she had proof of his sweetness staring right back at her- his gesture of him having slipped a camera out with them and having someone take the shot of the two of them together, happy. She thought of his roses, his music, the romance of it all, and it was hard to deny what a catch he was, how lucky she would be if she chose him. Plus, Nick had done so much to improve himself, and she wanted to see how much more he was capable of, what he could continue to do. Not to mention how much time they would have in this next year to explore their relationship, deepen it.

On the other hand, looking at Barry's picture, Lindsay had to smile at their history. There was a comfort in being with someone that had known her for so long, someone who she felt knew her well, someone who had seen all her awkward phases growing up, seen her at her best and at her worst, and wanted to be with her anyway. She wouldn't have the same stability if she chose Barry- not with him leaving for school in another state the very next day- but she'd have the comfort of someone she'd known for so long- plus the excitement of a long-distance relationship where they could travel to see each other. She had no doubt about her ability to have a relationship with Barry over the phone, either- they were practically made for it, given how their phone conversations had gone so far this summer.

Lindsay snapped both lockets shut in frustration. Comparing each of their pictures to the other wasn't going to solve anything. That's what she had been doing for the last couple of months, and it hadn't worked for her at all so far. It was in that moment that Lindsay had a brilliant if admittedly ridiculous idea.

Lindsay stared at the beautiful lockets, identical from the front, before gently placing them in her palm. Once there, she frantically began mixing them up while she purposely looked away, so that she quickly lost track of whose locket was whose. When she was done, she was staring at the identical faces of the two necklaces mixed together (the chains were hopelessly knotted, but she would deal with that later), each representing a different path to take. Why not let fate decide? She decided to choose one at random.

Lindsay carefully selected one of the lockets to open, the one on the right. She rationalized to herself that this wasn't such a crazy idea- if she felt disappointed with the picture that she saw, she figured that would be more telling than anything else, and in that case Lindsay made a promise to herself that she would listen to her gut. Obviously her heart was divided, and her brain didn't seem capable of making this decision, at least not based on how she had continued to overanalyze and rationalize things all summer. Her gut was the only thing that was left.

When Lindsay opened the single latch and saw the picture inside, she grinned. Somehow, she managed to see the picture that subconsciously she must have hoped for all along.