Love Menagerie: Chapter 12: Strange Relationships

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8 weeks later

Last week of June, 2001

Brittany/Derek

Brittany groaned, collapsing onto the couch, sick of hauling boxes from her car into her house. Her eyes had just begun to shut when Derek began to jump on the other end of the couch.

"Derek!!" Brittany shrieked, moving in an attempt to smack him, but failing.

"Tired already?" Derek grinned cheekily, continuing to jump up and down. "Geez, pregnant women are whack. You're only nine weeks? Can't wait 'till you're nine months," he rolled his eyes, Brittany doing the same in turn.

"Get off the couch, you dork," Brittany was finally able to get enough leverage to kick him in the shin. "You have your shoes on and you're getting dirt all over the place."

"Ow, girl!" Derek collapsed next to her, taking a few minutes to catch his breath. "When's Freddy showing up?"

"Around two," Brittany looked at her watch, seeing that it was already noon. "He's bringing Sarah with him. I asked him to fly down with her. She's been a little out of whack since all the crap with Nick went down and I think she needs to spend her break from school around friends."

Brittany had graduated from school three days before, but Sarah only had two weeks off until she had to start her summer courses and then begin her senior year. Though they were the same age, Brittany was a year ahead, because she had gotten ahead in grade school.

Freddy had recently hurt his shoulder while pitching in a game and was taking a leave of absence in order to heal. He'd be spending a week at Brittany's and Derek's house and then another at his home in Venezuela.

Coincidentally, Derek had pulled a tendon in his leg a few weeks before and was still slowly trying to recuperate. He'd asked Yankee management if he could spend a week with his sister at their house in Tampa and had gotten the time.

"Poor girl. Wonder if she'll ever get over him. What all happened anyway?" Derek sat up and stretched.

"Oh gosh, it was a bunch of crap. Sarah lost it 'cause she was sick of Nick just using her--in my opinion, that's what he was doing--so she called him while he was on a date with his girlfriend and broke it off with him. His girlfriend realized what'd been going on and also broke up with him. Well, Nick gets pissed off and calls Sarah all mad and they got in this huge fight and haven't talked since."

"Wow."

"Yeah, you're tellin' me."

Approximately 2 Hours Later

Freddy/Sarah

"So..." Freddy and Sarah said at the same time, causing the two to laugh for a second, before silence claimed the vehicle once again.

"Sorry," Sarah sighed, running her fingers through her hair while glancing out the window, "I know I'm being quieter than normal. It's just ... I don't know."

Freddy cut his eyes over to her, before returning them to the road in front of them. They'd be to Brittany's and Derek's in less than twenty minutes and he still hadn't conjured up the courage to ask her how she'd been doing since the terrible ending of her relationship with Nick. "You don't know what?" he finally asked, after a minute or so.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Sarah turned her head and looked at him long and hard for a few minutes. "What is it about you and Brittany that's so incredible? I mean, look at you guys. You get her pregnant on accident and you're still amazing friends. You didn't become a scared piece of sh*t and run off and hide the night she called you to tell you the testing done at the doctor's office had come up positive. Honestly, what is it about you two that enables you to share such a strong relationship?"

"I don't know," Freddy paused, before giving the same reason he'd been giving since the beginning of time, "I guess it's just that we love each other, y'know? I mean, she's been like my sister since-"

"Bull, Freddy. Absolute bull."

Freddy sighed with a roll of his eyes. He should have counted on Sarah to call him on his pathetic lies. "Sar, I wanted to talk with you about you in this car ride ... not the weird, mixed up relationship I have with your best friend."

"Oh, Brittany would be thrilled to hear that come from your mouth."

"I didn't mean it that way," he closed his eyes for a second, wishing she would shut up about it. "You want the truth? Sarah, I don't know. That's the problem. I don't know the truth. You think I have it all figured out? I don't. I don't know a thing and neither does Brittany. We're just trying to be strong and make it through all of this; you think we've been thinking about why we make the decisions we make? We just make 'em ... and hope it works."

Sarah stayed silent for a few minutes and they both let their minds wander. Finally, Sarah came back to the present time. "I'm sorry, Fred. I just ... I think you and Britt are great and I wish you would realize that too."

"She doesn't need me in her life-"

"Well, you're in it for good, so get used to it!"

"-in that way," Freddy finished, glancing over at her to gauge her reaction. She didn't show one. "Sarah, she's young and we both come from two different worlds-"

"That's not true, Freddy. She's used to your kind of life. She's got a brother who has the same kind."

Freddy groaned, annoyed that she'd gotten him on that one, "I know, Sarah, but ... Look, I've screwed her life up enough as it is."

"What is it about all of this that scares you so d*mn much??"

"What is it about all of this that scares you so d*mn much, Sarah??"

There was a long pause, before she answered.

"Losing my best friend. I've lost enough already."

"You mean Nick."

Sarah looked at him, before gazing back out the window, "I don't know what I mean anymore. And he doesn't know what he wants."

"What is it that you want?"

"Him ... just him."

Nick

"Would you just hold still for a second, Nick, so I can finish this? Quit moving!"

"I can't stand this song," Nick sighed as AJ tried to finish bleaching Nick's hair successfully. "Could you at least change it?"

"Why? It's a pretty good song. Nothing abnormal about it. Guy and girl are happy together until guy messes up and girl dumps him."

Nick glared at AJ in the mirror, determined to fry AJ's pee-brain with laser eyes. "Do you even think through the things that come out of your mouth, before they actually do, Age?"

AJ stood there for a moment, running the things he'd just said through his head one more time, before finally getting it, "Oh. Sorry, Nick," he reached over to the radio and quickly changed the station. "I wasn't thinking about how close it was to you and her and-"

"Just drop it, AJ," Nick sat there, sulking.

AJ sighed and went back to bleaching his friend's hair. "Look, Nick," he spoke again after a moment, "you told me that you don't even want to be with her anymore. Have you changed your mind now or something?"

Nick stayed silent, which said more than words could.

"I see. Nick, if I'm the only one that you're talking to about this ... then you need to start telling me everything--or almost everything--otherwise you'll burst."

"I just miss her," Nick sighed, moving to run his hands through his hair before realizing that it wasn't such a good idea and resting his arm back in his lap. "I wasn't around her very much, but I miss her."

AJ stayed silent for a few minutes, before asking, "What are you gonna do?"

"I dunno. Find her, I guess."