hola! Due to high public demand, this has come back with a vengeance. This is part two. Thank you for everyone who participated on my twitter poll, I hope you enjoy this as much as the first one! My many thanks to Milenyana for beta reading (even if it only took her 90 years)...

Thank you so much to everyone who has read, followed, faved, and reviewed. I might not be able to personally thank each and everyone of you but just know that my heart is filled to the brim with love for you.

Enjoy darlings!

Chapter Two

Robin's fingers pluck against the strings of his trusty old guitar as the music flows from him without thought. He's always fancied himself one with music, always being able to get himself lost in it, always being able to trust it to let him express freely what simple words cannot. Softly, he begins to hum to the tune of the song he mindlessly plays, not even realizing that he's doing so.

Soon enough, the words flow out of his mouth as his fingers change positions, transitioning from chord to chord, to make music that only he can hear. The lyrics act like a dagger to his already aching heart, every word striking a cord deep inside him for how true they are.

I'm broken, do you hear me?

I'm blinded, 'cause you are everything I see,

I'm dancin' alone, I'm praying,

That your heart will just turn around,

His brain, traitorous organ that it is, suddenly conjures images of her, of the one woman that he always sees no matter where he is or what he is doing, the one woman who has taken residence in his heart and does not seem to want to leave (not that she knows she's there permanently, or that she's ever had the choice whether she wants to be there or not, in the first place—but neither does he).

Her smile, her laugh, the way her eyes twinkle and her nose scrunches, the way she looks when she seems to let her guard down just for a minute so he can take a precious peek to who she really is behind all her inhibitions, behind all the walls that she's erected around her.

Robin remembers the tears she sheds, though begrudgingly, in front of him whenever there is something that hurts or frustrates her (mostly, it's Daniel or her mother, or a combination of both, when they play the Regina-tug-o-war that they play, which sometimes makes her less of a human and more of a toy, though she would never tell them that). He remembers how he'd had to pry that out of her, too, because most of the time she has her shackles up and she thinks that her tears are a sign of weakness, and that's a part of her she never wants to show to anyone.

When he opens his arms and holds you close tonight,

It just won't feel right,

'Cause I can love you more than this, yeah,

He thinks of her and Daniel, and how he never seems to realize the beauty that is right in front of him, how Daniel cannot seem to realize the treasure that he possesses, the one thing that Robin would kill to have, the thing he'd gladly steal, since it isn't given to him; Regina's heart.

And it kills him, knowing how he can love her better than Daniel if only she'd give him the chance.

If only Robin had the courage to tell her...but he doesn't, and Regina doesn't know, and he doesn't stand a chance against the man she truly does love. Though it hurts him more than anything to have to watch her be in another's man's arms when she should be in his, he tries to swallow the pain because all he wants is her happiness...even if that's not with him.

And then I see you on the street,

In his arms, I get weak,

My body fails, I'm on my knees

Prayin',

He wishes she would change her mind, that she would have a change of heart, and one day she wakes up and realize that he's the one who can love her the way she deserves to be loved. He wishes that more than anything...wishes that she would stop seeing him as her best friend and see him for who he is, all that he is...for the man that he's always been—the man in love with her.

But she doesn't.

She won't.

And though he loves her more than anything, he can't force her to return his feelings.

Hell, he can't even get her to return his calls the past few weeks, because for some reason she'd taken to ignoring his existence, which hurts him more than anything, but can't possibly figure out why.

For a moment, he panics and thinks that she might have heard his declaration of love for her, but then he thinks that if she had, she'd surely confront him about it. The Regina he knows won't let that sleep, won't let that come between them, and surely she would want to clear the air, would want to set the boundaries he already knows are there—that they're just friends, they aren't anything more, and that they can never be because she's in love with Daniel, and that's that.

Yeah, I've never had the words to say,

But now I'm askin' you to stay

For a little while inside my arms,

And as you close your eyes tonight,

I pray that you will see the light,

That's shining from the stars above,

So maybe, just maybe something is wrong, maybe he's done something wrong...and maybe he'll never know what it is...and maybe, just maybe, that's all for the best.

When he lays you down,

I might just die inside (I'm broken)

It just don't feel right,

'Cause I can love you more than this,

Can love you more than this

...

It's for the best, she tells herself as she tries very hard not to miss him, but still does, anyway. It's ridiculous that she has to do this, but it's for the best.

So she tries. She tries to stay away from him, tells herself that it's the best thing to do, for her, for him, and even for Daniel. It's not fair to either one of them. None of them deserves this, after all, not the pain that it entails, and she knows that since she can't return Robin's feelings for her, the best thing to do is this—to stay away.

The thing is, even if she doesn't want to admit it to herself, she misses him. She misses him terribly and wishes she could just go back to bliss of not knowing what he really feels for her. If only that thought didn't make her feel as selfish as it sounds, then maybe she'd have pretended to not know and let things stay the same way.

But she can't, she can't do that, not to him. She might not love him exactly the way he apparently loves her, but she does love him, in her own way, and hurting him is the last thing she wants to do. He'd be anything she needs him to be, he'd said that night, but right now what she needs is for him to not be hurt...so how is she supposed to tell him that without hurting him some more? And so she stays away, leaves him without much of an explanation because she doesn't have any and she finds that she can't actually lie to him.

Robin doesn't deserve that, or this, any of this really, and she knows this, but she can't keep hurting him the way she had, even when she hadn't even realized that she'd been hurting him. She hates herself for her inability to deal with this in an adult way, in a way that wouldn't have him probably wondering why she's suddenly disappearing from his life like she is now. And since she doesn't have a good explanation, and at this point has all but given up on trying to find one, or to stop herself from missing him, she just lets her heart work, listens to the way it leads her to the archery range in the campus—the one and only in the campus or she thinks in the entirety of the city; which she'd thought to be odd at first to have been built and be there at all, until Robin had brought her there one day when she'd been overwhelmed and had let her cry in his shoulder like he usually does. At the time she'd thought that he was the greatest best friend ever, now when she looks back she understands that he is, but he felt more than she had, did, does? It had become their special place then, and she would usually spend time with him there, basking in the quiet and comfort of his company.

Regina isn't sure if he's going to be there, but deep down she wishes he isn't, she wonders and hopes that he's in class right now, because frankly, she does not know what she were to do if she meets him there. She doesn't want it to be awkward but it probably will be, knowing him, knowing her, and knowing what she does know now.

God

Is it selfish to wish that she hadn't heard?

Shaking her head, she steps into the covered range and is immediately assaulted by the sound of a guitar playing softly, its melodic sound vibrating off the acoustics pleasantly. She smiles, easily reminded by the many, many times Robin has played for her with his guitar, singing to her, sometimes even lulling her to sleep when she thought very little of the consequences their closeness made.

She listens, staying rooted to the spot she had by the door, just out of sight, smiling softly and swaying slightly. She doesn't know the song, has heard it, sure, but isn't all too familiar, but she likes it. She thinks nothing of it, until there is a voice to accompany the sound of guitar, and then her blood runs cold and she feels the shock and surprise paralyze her feet. She wants to move, wants to leave, wants to be far, far away because she's not entirely sure how she can make herself walk away once more if she stays, but her heart is thundering in her chest and it's whispering loudly the words she's been trying so hard to ignore the past few days.

His back is to her, she notes. She can still make a mad dash out the door and he'll never even know she's been there, and that's probably for the best.

But she misses him.

Regina misses his warmth and the times he would talk to her about everything and anything, and nothing at all. Misses his voice, just misses him.

Before she can even stop herself of think better of what she is about to do, her mouth opens and lets out the words she hadn't even had the time to register in her brain.

"I never pegged you as a One Direction fan," she says, and almost smacks herself left and right, front and center.

So much for leaving without a trace.

So much for staying away.

But really, how can she ever stay away from him?

Maybe it's wrong, maybe it's selfish, but why can't she just go on pretending like she doesn't know?

(Because it hurts, it fucking hurts, she thinks to herself, but fails to acknowledge.)

His playing stops and his shoulders tense, and though she cannot see him, she knows there is an expression of utter surprise etched in his handsome face right now—why the fuck is she torturing them this way again?

Slowly, very slowly, as though time is standing still, he turns, guitar still positioned on his lap and held to his body by his arms (arms that she misses so much but does not want to admit to herself). His blue eyes are wide and his mouth is partially dropped, and though it seems like such a strain to be looking behind him, he doesn't really turn fully.

"Regina?" He breathes out, as though she's not real and he's only seeing a ghost.

"Robin," she says as softly, and if there is one thing she's learned from herself it's that she cannot resist him. Despite everything, he's still her best friend, and despite the kind of love she does not feel for him, she does love him, and that, well that's nothing to take lightly.

"I—uh," he stutters, unable to form sentences. He must realize the awkward position he's in because he places the guitar down beside him and turns fully to face her.

"I didn't know you were a Directioner," she teases, though it's only half-hearted. The situation is still as tense as it is awkward.

He scratches the back of his head and bites down on his bottom lip. "Well no," he mutters, shrugging. "But I do reckon I'd make a great part of a band—like a heartthrob." He is mostly teasing, and she chuckles, shaking her head. "I mean, I do look better than Zayn, don't you agree?"

Of course, he does. But does he really need that much stroke in his ego?

"He's not even in the band anymore," she retorts, making Robin laugh and shake his head. There is levity in the situation that she had not expected, but then again, when it comes to them, there has always been an ease that cannot be replicated with anyone else.

"Ah, alas your true colours have come out, Miss Mills," he teases, making her narrow her eyes at him. "All along I thought you didn't like that cookie-cutter popstar bullshit, and you've been a fan of One Direction."

She pouts at him and rolls her eyes. How ridiculous this conversation has turned out to be, but it is original… at least.

The silence that falls over them isn't at all surprising, though it is just a bit uncomfortable. Her mind runs a thousand miles a minute and she thinks of the words they should say, but can't, the words they need to say, but won't.

"I missed you," he murmurs, voice soft and smooth. There are so many emotions in there, she hears them, sees them in his eyes even, because his blues are wide and sparkling, filled to the brim with so many feelings.

She feels the same, misses him with every fibre of her being, wants nothing more than to go over there and hug him, never let this thing she's learned about him, his feelings, about them, to come between them.

But it has come between them, and she knows now why he's hidden it from her for so long.

"I miss you too," she whispers, and it is full of emotion, her voice quivering even as she tries to hold everything together.

It seems as though idiocy is the running theme of the day as the words she shouldn't say slip out of her mouth before she could think about it.

"I..." he begins, but he shakes his head and sighs, looking her straight in the eye. "Then why did you suddenly disappear?" His eyes are gentle and probing. "Did I do something?"

She shakes her head no. "Of course not," she says quickly, almost defensively because she can't let him think that he's done something when...well, no, he's not done anything.

"No?" he asks, bewildered. "Then why..."

Regina purses her lips. "I can't...Robin, it's complicated," she says instead because she can't deal with this right now, doesn't want to, and she doesn't want to lie to him...and this, well technically this isn't a lie. It is complicated.

"Is it Daniel?" he asks, and it's a question he doesn't even have to form. They have been down this road so many times before. "Did he want you to stop seeing me again?" Then he frowns, as if offended. "Did you finally give in to him?"

He sounds so hurt, and god, that hurts her too.

"No, of course not," she tells him, looking at him in earnest to make sure he knows that she's not lying. Well not really, because yes, Daniel has asked, for what seems to be the billionth time already, for her to stay away from Robin, but it is at least true that she had not and would never acquiesce to that.

This, well, this is of her own volition—which she supposes would hurt more.

She doesn't know what it is, maybe it's her silence, maybe it's her expression or her body movement—she's not entirely sure, but it's like a spark is suddenly ignited in his brain and then he gasps, and shakes his head, looking more horrified than she's ever seen him.

"Oh my god, you heard didn't you?" Robin asks, no doubt going back to that night, that night in his bedroom. "You know!?"

Regina looks away, fearful that he'd be able to read her eyes. "Know what?" she asks, looking down at her feet, hoping to convince him even when she knows she's doing a very poor job of doing so.

He sighs, breathes in deeply and his voice softens, and she wants to look, wants very badly to stare him in the eyes, but she really can't.

"You know that I'm in love with you," he deduces and it's no longer a question but a statement.

A simple eight word statement that breaks her heart in two.

Hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know what y'all think!

If you're not a One Direction fan, I apologize for the song used. It's just fitting.