38 - The Wrath of Alexandra Keaton

"Nice to see you, too, Rory," Marty greeted. "Can I come in?"

"You should not be here," a nervous looking Rory closed the door behind herself while stepping out into the hall, her actions effectively answering that question. "Now is not a good time, Marty."

"And when is a good time? Because I've tried texting you and I tried calling you, so we can talk about what happened, but you keep avoiding me," he responded loudly. "I mean, we slept together and-"

A familiar voice cut in then to interupt him, the door swinging almost violently open to reveal an irrate Lexie Keaton standing there. "You guys did what?"

"Damn it," Rory swore under her breath.

"Please tell me that I didn't hear what I think I just heard," begged Lexie, her gaze shifting between them. "Please tell me you didn't sleep with him, Rory."

"Lexie, calm down," Marty began.

"You shut you're fucking mouth, I'm talking to Rory right now," his ex-fiance's best friend snapped, clearly not in the mood to be reasoned with. "Well?"

"I...uh, um," a guilty looking Rory sputtered.

"You fucking bitch," the other girl spat viciously. She took a menacing step towards the obviously frightened reporter, who backed up in anticipation of an attack of some kind.

"Okay, let's take this down a notch, Lexie," Marty interceded, placing himself between the two girls.

"Three weeks! Three fucking weeks! And you just pounced on him, didn't you?" Lexie shrieked while ignoring him and struggling to get at Rory, but Marty managed to restrain her. Albeit just barely. Unable to physically reach her immediate target, the band manager decided to stop trying and continue her verbal assault instead. "Some friend you turned out to be! I bet this was your plan the entire time, wasn't it? Wasn't it?"

"That's not true," the reporter whimpered.

"You know, before you showed up, all of our lives were pretty good," Lexie cried, angry tears slipping down her cheeks. "I worked with my best friend on something we both loved doing. Andy wrote the songs and sang them with her band while I produced their music and managed their gigs. And sure, we sometimes fought but we always knew where we stood with one another." She paused to wipe some of the tears away. "Then you showed up! Marty's pretty little friend from Yale, and everything went to shit. She started doubting her relationship with Marty. She started doubting her talent. She started doubting everything and everyone around her, even me!"

"Lexie, I..." Rory rasped, her blue eyes shimmering with tears.

"You've ruined everything," the shorter girl cut in with a sneer. "You're a horrible person and I hope you rot in hell, you sorry bi-"

"That's enough, Lexie," Marty interjected.

Lexie shook her head. "No, I'm not do-"

"I said that's enough," he insisted.

"But-"

"Shut. Up."

The two glared at each other for several seconds until Lexie finally backed down. She then spun on her heel and began stalking down the hall.

"Unbelievable," an obviously furious Lexie could be heard muttering as the door leading into the stairwell slammed shut behind her, which caused Rory to yelp in surprise from behind him. Marty turned to find a trembling Rory leaning against the wall, slowly sliding down until she was finally sitting on the floor in defeat.

"Are you okay?" Marty asked, coming to kneel down in front of her. Unable to speak Rory simply shook her head before letting out a sniffle. "I'm sorry. I should've stepped in sooner, but I was honestly in a bit of shock."

"She's right though," Rory rasped, a hand pressed on her forehead. "I am a horrible person."

"No, you're not," he protested.

She shook her head again. "Yes, I am, Marty. I mean, how could I not be?" She looked at him directly, her expression broken. "I took advantage of you when you were hurting and not thinking straight. Hell, if the roles were reversed, it could be construted as rape. Right?"

"You can't rape the willing, Rory," he joked weakly, only to receive a disapproving look from the girl he was trying to console. "Too soon?"

"Too soon," she agreed.

"I've always had a problem with timing," Marty deadpanned.

"You and me both," Rory sighed.

Marty sat down beside her, the pair of them falling into an awkward silence until the sound of the stairwell door caught both their attention.

"I just saw that Lexie girl stalk out the front door two minutes ago and, boy, let me tell you, did she look pissed," a familiar looking brunette said, a take-out bag in her hand. "Should I even ask what happened?"

"You're better off not knowing," Rory stated. She rose to her feet. Marty quickly followed suit. The trio stood around glancing at one another, none of them really knowing what to say next.

"I should be going," Marty said, finally breaking the weird stalemate they'd created. He looked at Rory. "I'm sorry that my just showing up caused all this."

"It's not your fault, Marty," she shook her head. "If I hadn't been avoiding you and had just sucked it up and talked to you earlier, this wouldn't have happened." Rory shook her again. "I had this coming, I think."

"I'm going to take this stuff inside before it gets cold," stated Rory's roommate (whose name Marty couldn't remember for the life of him at the moment). She glanced at him, a delicate eyebrow raised. "We have more than enough if you want to stay."

"I don't think that's a very good idea," Marty said, immediately noticing Rory's panicked expression at the sudden invite. "But thanks anyway." He gestured to the take-out bag. "Besides, have you ever seen Rory eat? That bag's not nearly big enough."

"True," the tall brunette agreed.

"You're both jerks," Rory chuckled weakly.

"I'm gonna go now," the architect said, then turned and began to walk away. He was halfway to the stairwell when Marty felt a tug at his sleeve. He turned to find Rory's roommate standing there. Nearly eye-to-eye no less.

"I don't really know what happened while I was gone, but thanks for being here for Rory," she smiled. "And just give her a little time, okay? She'll talk you when she's ready, Marty."

"Okay, thanks," he nodded before continuing on his way. When he arrived home fifteen minutes later, Marty sat down on his couch and stared up at the ceiling. He wondered how long he'd have to wait and hoped it wasn't too long because Marty feared that he may lose his mind in the mean time.

You have no idea how much fun I had writing Lexie's freak out in this chapter.

Anyhow, please review. Thanks!