To Sly, With Love Ch 7: Love is Not Like This, a california dreams fanfic

A/N: Hello, anonymous readers/bots? I'm thinking things are about to come to a head in this. Will the gang stop it in its tracks? Will Sly and Lorena calm their prides enough to reconcile and fess up? Will someone finally post a review on this story?

The possibilities are endless.

Ch 7: Love is Not Like This

Could this be the way we end

Should I listen to my friends

Have we gone too far to ever mend it

Sadness in the place of love

Madness in a boxing glove

Oh, is this what romance is made of

Setting: Interior, Sharkey's, later that afternoon

"I don't know, guys," Sam questioned as she munched on another French fry. The band members sat at a table near the back door in a serious meeting. "They could both just be messing with us."

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "They could know we know and are continuing the game." Neither of the targets were there quite yet, so this gave the others a chance to have this necessary conversation. "Just throwing us off the scent."

"I don't know," Mark shrugged, fidgeting with a single fry he couldn't convince himself to eat. "Sly didn't look too happy this morning."

"Tony," Tiffani advised, "you're his best friend. You've seen how upset Sly can get." She crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair. "Do you really think he's actually playing around?"

Entering through the back exit, Lorena breathed heavily. What am I doing? she thought, fiddling with her fingers nervously. I love Sly. I should just leave. And she did.. right out of the swinging door…but then right back in. No, I should just fess up. But what will everyone think of me? I'm digging this too deep, they're going to think I'm the worst! And I'm hurting Sly. He has to be just as upset.

But on the contrary, Sly was pissed. Walking in through the front entrance, he looked steamed. He looked determined. "Alright," he barked as he approached the gang, "where is this King of the Dweebs?" He chuckled heartily and slapped his hands together, rubbing them. "I'm ready for a good laugh."

Lorena grumbled and threw her hands to her hips, clearly irritated. Fine, two can play this game.

"Yes, I'm ready to meet the love of my life!" she bellowed gleefully, skipping to stand right next to Sly.

"You mean there is someone out there just as conceited as you?" Sly hissed, leaning back.

"Oh, you're one talk, Mr. Sleaze," Lorena snapped back.

They couldn't stop. It was as if every negative emotion they had been feeling this past week about everything was just spilling out. Every worry, every self-doubt, every excuse to not be together.

Sly and Lorena suddenly could not think of one reason why they should.

"This needs to end," Jake demanded to the group, who sat mercilessly watching two of their friends ready to tear each other apart. "Now."

"Agreed," the group stated in unison.

"I'll go meet Scott outside and tell him it's off." Sam rushed out the front.

"I got Sly," Tony jumped up.

"I got Lorena," Tiffani echoed.

The insult match continued, the both of them completely oblivious to anything else that was going on. Sly and Lorena were face to face at this point, their heated passion boiling over. If they weren't so mad at each other, they would probably have kissed by now.

"Hey, guys!" Tony shouted. He and Tiffani squeezed between the two, gently guiding each to a corner. Tony lifted his hands up in an attempt to signal Sly to cool down, hoping his best friend wouldn't just take a swing right then, right there. "Guys, please, just…"

Lorena and Sly lowered their voices, the energy coming to a simmer, for now. Lorena huffed and crossed her arms as Sly smacked his lips together and placed his hands on his hips.

He's got some nerve, she thought.

I can't believe her, he thought.

"We, uh," Tony looked around, panicked, suddenly worried they might not find this funny. How does he tell his best friend and the girl he's dating they know? How does he tell them they were messing with them? "We need to tell you something…um, Mark?"

"Uh, yeah, cuz." Mark hesitated. Sure, Sly was family, but that wasn't going to soften the blow. He gulped and pointed. "But Tiffani says it better."

"Yeah, but Jake–"

"Oh, no," the guitarist snapped and waved his hands. "I'm not a part of this."

"Guys," Lorena sighed, annoyed. "What's going on?"

"Are you Lorena?" a sudden deep and sultry voice spoke. Standing in the threshold of the back exit was a gorgeous beef hunk. Crazy muscles, dark and silky hair, adorable dimples. He reached his hand out and smiled. "I'm Scott."

Woah, baby. thought Tiffani.

"Oh, boy," Jake exclaimed, reaching for his temples.

"Oh, wow, hi," Lorena blushed. "You're the president of the chess team at Central High?" They shook hands as Lorena looked back at the gang, dumbfounded.

"Well, yes. And captain of the football team and the wrestling team," Scott confessed, shrugging. Sly just rolled his eyes.

"What, no basketball team?" he jeered, smirking callously.

"No," Scott looked at the others. "I'm only co-captain for basketball." Scott shrugged once more, ever the humble one. "But I share it with a really annoying preppy." He chuckled nervously and rubbed his hands against his legs. "But enough about me." Scott grabbed Lorena's hand and started guiding her to a table.

"Lorena…" Sly implored, watching the two walk off. Lorena looked back with a pale expression but kept following Scott. Things were happening so fast, and she was kind of losing her nerve. Lorena could feel herself freezing as the two sat down.

The gang just stared at the monster they inadvertently created.

"What do we do?" Tiffany questioned Jake.

"I honestly think it's up to Lorena and Sly now," Jake sighed.

"Tell me about you," Scott continued as he stared into her eyes. "I heard you're a dancer." She only nodded. "I've actually taken hip hop since I was a kid." Well, that just completely sparked her interest.

"No way!" Lorena shouted, always excited to find another fellow dancer. "I love hip hop!"

"I also love ballroom, especially the Latin dances," Scott smiled. "I actually teach them at a dance studio, if you ever want a lesson."

"Wait," Lorena paused, baffled. "You are on the chess team, the football team, wrestling, basketball, AND you teach ballroom?" She sat back in awe. "When do you sleep?"

"I sleep standing up," he joked, and the two began laughing.

"Who does he think he is," Sly grumbled to the gang. "Just waltzing in here and stealing my—," he stopped, his eyes widening as the rest shot their focus to him.

"Stealing what, cuz?" Mark interrogated, crossing his arms. Was this it? Was Sly about to spill the beans?

But Sly pinched his lips tight and vigorously shook his head. He might be pissed at Lorena, but he wasn't about to do that to her, at least without talking about it first. Sly made Lorena a promise, and he wasn't one to break promises.

"But the genre that is my absolute favorite is ballet." Scott once again grabbed Lorena's hand softly. "Maybe one day we could go see a performance together."

"That's it," Sly snapped and marched over to them. Slamming his hands on the table, he spoke to the homewrecker with eerie calmness. "Excuse me, but can I see Lorena for just a moment?" Sly waved his hand towards Lorena asking her to follow him over towards the stage the band would play on. It was enough removed from everyone for privacy…he hoped.

"What do you want, Sly?" Lorena demanded with an annoyed sigh.

"Listen, this has gone too far." Sly gulped and exhaled. "I'm sorry for calling you a princess, it was out of line." He clasped his hands together nervously. "And I shouldn't have kept pushing just now."

Lorena pursed her lips together, contemplating his apology.

"I'm sorry, too," she rolled her eyes and exhaled. "The things I said weren't exactly my best moment." She relaxed, gently grazing her fingers against his. "I promised you no more insults, but it just came out and I panicked and…," Lorena tossed her hands. "I'm working on it." She smiled and looked back at Scott patiently waiting for her to return. "Well, I better go break it to Scott."

As Lorena began to walk away, she felt Sly's hand pull her back by her elbow.

"Wait, Lorena," Sly began, his voice trembling. He bit his lip and furrowed his brows. Just ask her, Sly thought. It's now or never. "Let's just end this," he blurted, "today."

"What?" He's breaking up with me?

"Let's just tell them," Sly continued, the words suddenly spilling out. "Let's end this whole sneaking around thing and tell the gang. It's obviously becoming a bigger problem than we both thought, and maybe the gang will be fine with it. I mean, Tiffani and Jake, Tony and Sam. We got used to that, and…" Sly knew he was rambling, but he couldn't stop himself.

No, absolutely not, she thought.

"No," Lorena cut him off and shook her head quickly, "we can't tell them."

"Why not?" he implored.

"Because…I…you don't understand…," she stumbled.

"Then explain it to me, Lorena!"

"You're not listening, I just–."

But Sly was listening. Lorena just couldn't get herself to say it. She was panicking again, tripping over words, unable to form complete thoughts. There was no amount of smoothing this over for Lorena to control it anymore.

"Just tell me!" Sly shouted.

"I can't!" Lorena screamed back.

If they were trying to keep the conversation private, it wasn't working anymore. Everyone in Sharkey's was watching them now.

Lorena felt the eyes gazing their way and grabbed Sly's arm.

"Can we just go talk about this somewhere else?" she begged. Sly didn't budge.

He just stood there. He stared. His brows shot up as he finally grasped the situation and was finally okay to say it aloud.

"You're ashamed of me," Sly said calmly, "aren't you?" Lorena's eyes widened. If there was ever a time to panic, now was really good.

"No, Sly," she shook her head violently. "That's not why, I swear." Tears were swelling up, but Lorena didn't care.

"You know," Sly thinned his lips and pulled his arm away from her grip, "I've put my heart on the line for you for years." Lorena was trying to beg, trying to get a word in edgewise, but Sly couldn't hear it anymore. "I've humiliated myself for you. I've tried everything…for you."

"Sly, please," Lorena urged, trying to grab his hands, "let's just talk about this somewhere private, okay?"

"No," he snapped, again pulling himself away from her.

The gang, recognizing the tension between the two, carefully paced their way over to the argument, just in time to hear Sly:

"I'm done trying." His statement sounded cold, unnerving.

"Everything okay, you two?" Jake warily asked.

Sly didn't even seem to notice them, his stare burrowing into Lorena's soul.

"Don't follow me this time," Sly uttered quietly, turning away from the group and walking out the front doors.

"Lorena," Tiffani asked, "what's going on?" But Lorena just stood there, her breaths shallow, her bottom lip trembling.

"What have I done?" she whispered.

Just then, Sam came running from the back exit.

"Guys, I looked everywhere! But I couldn't find Scott." Sam paused, though, as she watched Tiffani guide Lorena to a chair.

"Oh, no," Sam exclaimed.

Lorena was numb. She couldn't feel her legs, her arms, or her heart. She had just lost the best thing that ever happened to her all because she couldn't be truthful.