Chapter Twelve:
And The Fear Sets In
"Brette!"
Brette sighed, and stood up from her position on the couch. "What?!"
"Come here!" Dana yelled back.
Brette walked down the hall to find Dana staring at the clothes on her bed.
She looked from the clothes, then back at Brette. "Which one?"
Brette knitted her eyebrows. "Between the blue shirt and... the blue shirt?"
"Yep," Dana nodded.
"They are exactly the same," Brette pointed out.
"No." Dana shook her head. "The one on the left has 3/4 sleeves, the one on the right has regular sleeves."
"They are exactly the same."
"Ugh!" Dana exclaimed. "If you aren't going to help then leave!"
"It's the same shirt and you're freaking out," Brette marveled. "It makes no difference which you put on, they'll look exactly the same."
"It makes a difference," Dana defended herself. "Brian will notice."
"Oh, so that's what this is all about," Brette finally understood.
"Nooo, I just wanna look nice."
"For Brian," Brette added.
"No," Dana denied.
"Why, then?"
"Because I usually look slob-ish," Dana explained wisely.
Brette poked Dana's arm. "You know, I stopped believing you about five minutes ago."
Dana sighed, and stared at the shirts. "Yeah, I know."
- - -at Brian's - - -
"Holy."
"Um, come on in."
"Welcome to Buckingham Palace," Dana teased. "Be sure to take a map so you don't get lost."
"It's not that big," Brian denied.
"My bedroom would fit in the foyer." She slipped her shoes off and padded over the smooth tile floor. "And my apartment would fit in your living room!"
He followed her. "Kitchen is through here."
Dana tossed the A&W bag onto the counter. "Which cupboard has the plates?"
"The one near the fridge," he pointed.
"Thanks, but there are about ten near the fridge," Dana laughed.
Brian walked over and got out two plates. "That one."
"Oh."
Brian poured his fries onto a plate, and pulled out his Teen Burger. Dana set her Mozza Combo on the table.
She dipped her French fry in the ketchup and took a bite. "This is good," she commented, and dipped again.
Brian chewed on his Teen Burger. "Yeah. A&W is good."
Dana passed him the bag of movies. "Pick one."
"Which do you wanna watch?"
"I don't particularly care at this moment." She took a sip of root beer. "Tell me again, why am I here?"
"Because I insisted on fast food and movies," Brian grinned.
"Oh, yeah, because you shoved me in a trunk and you feel bad now..."
"I'm really sorry about the whole riding in the trunk thing," Brian apologized for the gazillionth time.
Dana waved him off. "No, it's fine. The whole newspaper paranoia was cute, very cute."
"You don't have to pretend you're not mad."
She shrugged innocently. "Who's pretending?"
"You!"
Dana shook her head. "Nope, wrong answer."
"No, right answer," Brian persisted.
Dana swiveled on her stool. and faced Brian, who was on the other side of the island (n: the kitchen island, not the tropical kind). "Give it up! I got over the whole putting me in the trunk like a dog thing a while ago. If I was still mad I wouldn't be in your living room tonight, would I?"
Brian pouted. "Fine."
Dana waited for him to say something more, but he didn't. "Okay. Maybe I am a little pissed, but I will get over it. Just put a movie in."
Brian dumped out the bag. "Okay, our options are 'Forces of Nature', 'Good Will Hunting', or 'Teaching Mrs. Tingle'- you picked out all of these movies, didn't you?"
She avoided his gaze.
"Is it just coincidence that Ben Affleck is in two of them?"
Dana pretended to be very interested in her fries.
"Should I be jealous of this little attraction?" Brian teased.
Tyk crawled away from Brian, and sat next to Dana's feet.
"Now my dog like's you better than me?"
Dana picked him up, kissed the top of Tyk's head. "What can I say, I'm loveable."
- - -later on- - -
'Why don't you take your passive aggressive shit and go manipulate Luke's ass for a while, cause I'm tired." the movie blared.
Brian looked back at Dana. He muted 'Teaching Mrs. Tingle', and moved down the couch until he was next to Dana. They were on the final movie. "Listen, I'm just following someone's advice, so don't be amused."
Dana waited expectantly.
"I was on the phone a few days ago and Nick-" Brian stopped. "Nick said I should do this."
Dana was puzzled. "Do what?"
"This." He leaned over and kissed her warmly. Dana was a little surprised at first, but she loosened up and deepened the kiss. Brian's hands tangled in her hair and a few curls wrapped around his fingers. They fell back into the couch and Dana straddled his waist. Brian went slowly, desperate to savor each second of the kiss.
"Nick told you to do that?" she whispered from her dominant position.
"Well, not exactly... but I needed a lie and that one worked pretty damn well," Brian swallowed. "Don't you agree?"
She kissed him again. "Yeah. But what if it hadn't worked?"
"Leap of faith," Brian whispered.
"Good answer."
"What now?"
"I dunno. You're the move making one."
His hands crept up her back until they were resting on Dana's neck. He just stared deep into her eyes, memorizing the expression on her face.
"Brian, you're scaring me," Dana confessed.
"Do one thing that scares you everyday," he quoted.
"Are you saying I should do you?" she wondered, amused by her wording.
"If you want to."
Dana sat up, and rubbed the back of her neck. It was tingling from the feeling of Brian's hand. She checked her watch. "Shit! I have to leave," Dana declared, and stood up. She backed away, and slipped her shoes on.
"Whe- where are you going?" He was in his own house, but Brian had no clue where things were headed. In the emotional sense, anyway.
"I have to work!"
That was a viable excuse, but he felt that work wasn't the only reason Dana was leacong. "Why?"
"Because it's not an option, it's a job."
"Is that the real reason, Dana?" he questioned.
"Yeah," she said firmly, and laced up her shoes.
"Do you want a ride?"
"I can walk," Dana refused.
"It may rain." Brian was clinging to something that would make her stay.
Dana stood up straight. "It's not that far from here."
And with that she was gone. Brian stared at the closed door, trying to comprehend what had just passed between the two of them. Tyk stared at the door, then scratched the side of his head.
"My thoughts exactly," Brian sighed.
- - -meanwhile- - -
"Do one thing every day that scares you," she reminded herself. "One thing, Dana, one thing."
The rain pattered on the sidewalk, and she hugged herself while running towards. It was a good twenty-minute walk to the hotel, and at the first sign of a payphone Dana was going to call Brette. She ran her hands through her already damp hair, and blinked rapidly. Everything flooded her mind, and the musty air wasn't helping. The stars glittered faintly above the city lights, and Dana breathed deeply. She searched the semi-dark sky, hoping for an answer hidden among the heavens. No such luck.
Dana pushed open the doors to the gas station, and dug for a quarter. Her numb fingers finally extracted a dirty quarter, and she quickly dialed her home number.
The phone rang, and rang, and finally the machine picked up. There was no use in leaving a message, so she hung up. Leaving a message would not get her to work on time. The quarter fell, and Dana reinserted it. She shakily dialed again.
"Hello?"
Dana relaxed instantly. "Steve?"
- - -after work- - -
"You called STEVE?!" Brette shouted. "Of all the fucking idiots, Dana, you called Steve?"
Steve scratched the side of his head. "Hey, you know I'm still here."
Brette shot him a venomous look. "Get out."
"Brette!" Dana yelled. After four hours of work she was in no mood to fight. "You have no right to say that to him!"
"He had no right to take advantage of you!" Brette yelled back.
"Can I just interve-"
"Shut up Steve!" Both girls cut him off.
He held his hands up. "Sorry..."
"Get out," Brette repeated.
Steve grabbed his jacket, and walked to the door. "I'll call you later Dana."
"Don't bother," Brette answered for Dana. "Why did you call Steve?" She asked once he left.
Dana's lip quivered, and she stared at Brette coldly. "What else was I supposed to do Brette? You weren't home, I needed to go to work."
"Go back to Brian's," Brette said rationally. "Get a ride from him."
"I couldn't go back to Brian's house." Dana frowned.
"So you called Steve?"
"You weren't home," Dana said in a small voice. "I didn't want to walk." A few tears snaked down her cheeks.
Brette scooted over to Dana and hugged her tightly. "Sweetie, I know you. And I know that Steve is so wrong for you."
"He's changing," Dana insisted.
"No, he isn't Dan." Brette rubbed Dana's back soothingly. "On the one hand you have a total sweetheart who is patient enough to play your little games and who treats you well, on the other hand you have pond scum."
Dana laughed through her tears. "That's a little biased. Plus, I don't deserve the first option, I'd just be a burden to him."
Brette rolled her eyes. "Dana, you deserve so much more than you think..."
"I'm too young for him," Dana whimpered.
"You're twenty," Brette retorted.
"He's almost twenty-five," Dana sobbed back.
"Why are you so afraid to let something good happen to you?"
Dana didn't say anything.
"You have the chance to get someone loving and caring and awesome. And you opt for scum boy. Go with Brian, Dana, let someone love you," Brette practically begged.
"I do let people love me."
"You only let people love you if a) you can blame yourself when they break up with you or b) they're a member of your family and you have to love them."
Dana brushed away her tears. "I do not!"
"Yes, you do!"
"No I don't!"
"Let's review your past love life, shall we?" Brette held out four fingers. "One: Steve the scumbag. Boy forces sex on you at a party. He breaks up with you. You say you weren't good enough sex."
Dana bit her lip at the memory.
"Two: Lucas, the now gay frat stripper. You love him for all he's worth. He breaks up with you, tells you he's gay. You say you forced his sexuality preference change by not giving him enough love."
Dana cringed.
"Three: Bryan Vestilliare. The on again, off again, hook up when he needs a little dick relief. One day he comes along and tells you he's engaged. You bawl your eyes out and say 'I didn't offer enough commitment." Brette paused to let Dana absorb what she was saying. "Four: Mike-"
"You don't have to explain Mike."
"Have I proved my point?" Brette demanded.
Dana nodded.
"See what I mean? Just once, once, you fall for someone who will do everything for you, and who will listen, and who will care, and what do you do? You run back to Steve."
Dana couldn't take it anymore. "I got scared, okay? I will admit it, I got really scared." She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to regulate her breathing.
"Why?" Brette asked.
"Because he is so powerful." The tears welled up in her eyes again. "Brette, he sang to me! He sang 'I'm Your Angel'! He... he is so sweet, and he touches me and I see myself spending my life with him. He smiles and, I swear to God, it's like he's lighting Heaven. The whole thing is terrifying."
"So tell him that! God, Dana, I would die happy if I could just see you with someone who really loves you." Brette pushed back her own tears. "You spend your life trying to please everyone else, and it's noble, but it won't satisfy you in the long run Dana, it just won't work that way."
Dana rested her head on Brette's shoulder. "We are quite a pair, you and me."
"You know it." Brette sniffled.
++Chapter Thirteen++Chapter Index++Main Page++
ps. I wanted to keep the story as geographically correct as possible, so I got a little help. The following people replied to my request about the stars, and I'm really thankful!
In no particular order...
Lindsey - Babygrln4@aol.com
Unknown - JCzbaybee11@aol.com
Stephanie - Stephset@aol.com
Manisha - mmkhanal@yahoo.com
Becky - Becks2424@aol.com
Thanks all, once again, and have a great New Years!
