CHAPTER FIVE

MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I pulled into the school’s parking lot on Monday morning. I’d barely slept the night before, trying to come up with a plan of attack. Since I was trying to get over this grudge thing, I wasn’t entirely sure how to act around Brian, especially since I’d agreed to go on a date – one date – with him. Was I supposed to be overly friendly, trying to make up for lost time? Or were we going to play it cool? I mean, I’d known the guy practically my entire life, and we moved within the same circle of friends, yet I didn’t really know that much about him, other than the fact that he was my official stalker, the star of our swim team, handsome, and…

…Coming over to talk to me, a big grin on his face.

“Hi,” I said uncertainly, when he stopped just a foot from my car.

“Hi. Nice day out, don’t you think?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You want to talk about the weather?”

“Well, no,” he amended, chuckling. “I had a few other ideas in mind, but when I actually got over here, they all kind of slipped my mind.”

“Oh. Um…” I glanced up at the clear blue sky and shrugged. “It’s nice out, I guess. I heard it’s supposed to snow later, though.”

“Which is why we should enjoy this while it lasts,” Brian announced, grabbing my books from my hands and heading off towards the main entrance.

I stared after him for a moment, completely bewildered, then took off, suddenly realizing he had my things.

“Hey!” I cried, finally catching up to him and tugging on his arm. “Those are mine!”

“And I’m carrying them for you.”

“But why?” I asked, perplexed. I was perfectly capable of carrying my own books, thank-you-very-much.

“Because I’m a gentleman,” he said simply. “If you’d given me a chance, you would know that.” He glanced down at me and winked, and I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, since I couldn’t exactly disagree, so I just marched along beside him, eyes glancing over at him every few seconds, just to make sure he didn’t run off with my stuff.

When we got to my locker, he reached out and undid the combination for me, and I eyed him warily. “I’m not even going to ask,” I mumbled, as I bent down to swap out my things. Mentally, I ran through the list of things I’d need for my morning classes, and after shuffling a few things around, I noticed a tiny white box shoved into the corner of my locker, tucked safely between my physics binder and history textbook. I glanced up at Brian, who had suddenly become enamored with a drab yellow flier tacked to a nearby bulletin board.

Cautiously, I pried open the lid and peered inside.

I’d been expecting a necklace, or some kind of jewelry, but what I saw surprised me even more. The box was completely empty. No tissue paper, no cotton gauze, nothing. The box was what it was – an empty box.

Brian was watching me with a weird expression on his face, and I pointed to the object in my hand. “What’s this?”

“Um… Looks like an empty box to me. What’s it from?”

Wait. What?

Now it was my turn to be confused. “You didn’t put this here?”

He shook his head.

I stared at the empty box, thinking hard. I had thought I was the only one who knew my locker combination, but that theory had been shattered when Brian had tried to be gallant just a few moments ago. So either he’d put the box there for some unknown reason, or I had.

Then it dawned on me, and I forced back a laugh. God, I was such an idiot sometimes. Here I was, assuming I either had another stalker, or Brian was just playing games with me, but, really, I was the idiot. The box belonged to Gretchen, who had shoved it into my locker weeks ago, because she’d been in too much of a hurry to run down the hall and toss it in the garbage.

Seriously, I sometimes wondered if I had been born a blonde, and that my mother secretly dyed my hair while I slept.

Brian was still looking at me funny, as if he were… jealous? I guess it made sense, and I could’ve told him that it was Gretchen’s stupid box, but where was the fun in that?

Shoving the box back into my locker, I straightened up and shouldered my backpack, ready to leave. I fully expected Brian to head in the other direction, since his class was on the opposite end of the building, but he surprised me yet again by following me towards my first period history class. And when I wasn’t looking, he reached over and snatched the binders out of my hands, easily adding them to his own pile.

I shot him a look of annoyance. “Brian, we’re not dating. We’re going on a date. You don’t have to carry my books for me.”

But he just smiled and kept walking, chattering on about some physics project he’d heard rumors about.

I wasn’t really listening. I was shooting nervous glances at the students lining the hallway, gathered in small groups, their eyes dissecting mine and Brian’s every move. I’ve never been one to be paranoid, but I could’ve sworn whispers followed us everywhere, and I muffled a sigh. I had figured Brian and I would be at the center of our school’s gossip for a while, but actually having to deal with it was something completely different.

I mumbled a quiet goodbye when I reached my classroom, then slipped in as unobtrusively as possible. Gretchen had driven herself that morning, and was already waiting for me, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“So, have you heard the rumors?” she asked, as soon as I had sat down.

So I wasn’t paranoid. That was good to know.

“No,” I sighed, pulling out my textbook. “But I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

“Well,” she said eagerly, leaning in, “naturally, the whole school knows about Friday night’s little makeout session.”

I groaned audibly and hid my face in my hands.

“I heard from Annie Hagg that she heard you’re pregnant.”

“That’s impossible,” I said immediately. “I wouldn’t have found out so fast if that was true. Which,” I added loudly, in case anyone else was listening, “it isn’t.”

Someone had the nerve to groan in disappointment.

Gretchen rolled her eyes and continued. “Also, Matt Fisher thinks you two slept together.”

“Also not true.”

“The cheerleaders think you two are officially a couple-”

“Which we aren’t.”

“And I overheard someone saying you two were going on a date sometime soon.”

In my haste to forget what had happened at the coffee shop, I’d completely forgotten to tell Gretchen that I’d signed some stupid contract, binding me to one date with Brian Deacon. Guilt crept in, and when I didn’t interrupt her again, my best friend’s eyes grew wide.

“You are, aren’t you?”

Glumly, I nodded. “I forgot to tell you. I’m really sorry, Gretch.”

But if I was expecting her to be mad, I was in for another surprise. When I looked up from my hands, she was practically beaming. Before I even knew what was happening, she’d leapt out of her seat and had thrown her arms around me in a massive bear hug.

“I am so excited for you!” she cried. “Do you have any idea how long the school has been waiting for this to happen? Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I muttered, prying her hands off me; Gretchen had quite a grip. “All is well, the universe is balanced, blah blah blah. It’s just a date.”

Gretchen was about to respond, but the bell rang, and Greg and Dan strolled in just behind Mrs. Hanson. Dan just nodded in our direction, but Greg waved enthusiastically as he headed towards his seat. I saw him open his mouth, and cringed inwardly, already knowing what was coming.

“I can’t believe you’re choosing Brian over me!” he cried, dramatically clutching at his heart and stumbling against a desk. “Ouch, Mags.”

The class chuckled, and even Mrs. Hanson seemed mildly amused. Mortified, I willed myself to become invisible.

“What does he have that I don’t?” Greg continued. From the look on his face, I knew that he was antagonizing me on purpose, and the worst part was, I couldn’t even be mad at him. We’d been friends since the third grade, and no matter how many times we’d told him to tone it down, it just wasn’t in him. He’d always found Brian’s obsession with me to be incredibly humorous, and now that it was going somewhere, he had all new material to work with.

“How many times have I asked you out?” Greg demanded, a lopsided grin hidden behind his hand.

“Too many to count,” I conceded, trying to play along. Maybe, if I acted like I wasn’t bothered by all the rumors, it would all just go away. “And I’m still not saying yes.”

“Ouch, Becks. Right in the heart.” He pretended to stab himself in the chest, and threw himself dramatically across the teacher’s podium.

I smiled at the old nickname, and as Greg righted himself and bowed, the class broke into applause.

“All right, Mr. Thompson. Take a seat. I think we’ve had enough of your acting for one day,” Mrs. Hanson demanded, though she couldn’t hide her amusement.

“Yes, ma’am,” Greg replied docilely, heading towards his seat. Before he resigned himself to forty-five minutes of discussion, however, he threw me a kiss, which I pretended to catch, and shove into my pocket.

Fortunately for me, the rest of the day wasn’t nearly as exciting. I had to hand it to Greg – his little scene in first period had managed to put a dent in the gossip train, though I did hear a few girls chatting about how they thought Greg and I were secretly dating, and how Brian was plotting to tear us apart due to an unhealthy amount of jealousy. I preferred that to the rumors that had spread about Brian and I having a secret love-child, so I let it slide.

At two o’clock, I took the seat across from Brian in physics, even though there were a few others that were unoccupied. If I was going to dispel any rumors, I had to act as if they didn’t bother me. And besides, I was trying to talk myself into getting over this grudge, or whatever, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try and act like an adult.

Brian seemed surprised, but hid it well, leaning across the table, a conspiratorial smile in place. “So, I hear you’re pregnant.”

So much for trying to act mature.

“God, not you, too,” I groaned, gathering up my things, ready to take one of those other empty seats.

Brian, immediately chastised, apologized, and gestured to my now vacant stool. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Have you heard some of the rumors? They’re ridiculous.”

“Yes, I’ve heard the rumors,” I snapped, though I sat back down.

He waited. “…And?”

I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to say. Thankfully, God had mercy, and Mr. Weatherly stepped to the front of the room, a large stack of papers set in front of him, providing me with the distraction I needed. Brian just chuckled to himself and leaned back, refocusing his attention as well.

“These,” Mr. Weatherly began, pointing to the paper, “are the packets you’ll be filling out as part of this semester’s physics project. You’ll be working in partners-”

The class gave a collective gasp of excitement.

“-That I have already assigned.”

And again, a collective sigh.

Reaching for the first sheaf of papers, he began announcing the groups. “Anderson, Avery. Axley, Bardock. Beckett, Deacon. Devon, Finnigan.”

He continued to drone on and on, but my eyes were locked on Brian, wide with horror. It was bad enough that I was trying to be an adult about this whole situation, and all I had gotten in return were a bunch of lousy rumors, but now, besides being forced to go on a date with him, I had to be his partner?

“God, can this day get any worse?” I mumbled, rising to go and retrieve our packet.

“Hey, I’m sitting right here,” Brian reminded me, pretending to be offended. “I can hear you.”

But I chose to ignore him. And not just for the time being, but the entire class period. Sure, it wasn’t Brian’s fault that our names happened to fall in line alphabetically, but I was still sore about the pregnancy rumor. Yes, there were new baby rumors at least twice a week, but it was one thing when it was about someone else. Besides, a lot of them were true. I didn’t want people thinking I was secretly (or not-so-secretly) having Brian’s child.

I was determined to get to my car without having to speak to him, but I failed miserably. Brian had caught up to me before I’d even gotten halfway down the hall, and I glanced over at him, annoyed.

“You should be on the track team, what with all the chasing you’re doing.”

He wasn’t even phased. “So should you, considering you’ve spent the past seven hours trying to avoid me.” He grinned that hopelessly contagious grin, and I bit the insides of my cheeks to keep from breaking. “Actually, you’ve been running away from me for thirteen years, so you’re probably in great shape. Tryouts are at the end of the week…”

I just rolled my eyes and kept walking. “What do you want, Brian?”

“I wanted to talk to you about our physics project,” he said, and to my dismay, once again took my books from me, tucking them safely under his own arm. “I’m going to be pretty busy this week, so I thought maybe we could get together tonight, just for a little bit, and get a head start.”

Now, I was a good student. Not great, but I maintained a 3.5, and I was perfectly happy with that. Brian, I knew, was hovering around a 4.0, and was gunning for valedictorian. I could understand why he’d want to get ahead on this project. To be honest, I’d rather get it out of the way, too. I had a nasty habit of procrastinating, and the sooner this was done, the better.

“Okay,” I said after a moment’s pause. “I’ll meet you at the library around four?”

But Brian had something else in mind. “Actually, I haven’t eaten all day, and was hoping we could get some food first. Chinese and studying go really well together, trust me.”

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “Is this a date?” I asked. “Because it sounds like one to me.”

“If studying and Chinese food are your idea of a date, then I’m not sure I want to go out with you,” Brian teased. “But no, it’s not a date. I have something special in mind for that. This is just two people getting together for sustenance and studying. Fair enough?”

Well, I did have a weakness for lo mein…

“Fine. What place did you have in mind?”

“China Garden,” he answered immediately. Of all the Chinese restaurants in Lake County, China Garden was by far the best. They had the lowest prices and the biggest portions, which is probably why it was so popular among the teens. It was also in the next town over, so I didn’t get a chance to go all that often. How could I refuse?

I nodded my agreement, and dug around inside my purse for my car keeps as we wandered out towards the parking lot. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, but as we walked, I suddenly realized that I was being dragged in the direction opposite my car.

“Hey, where are we going?” I asked, confused. “I said I’d meet you there.”

“No,” Brian corrected, unlocking his own car and opening the door for me. “You said you’d meet me at the library. China Garden is out of the way, and it wouldn’t make sense for both of us to waste gas driving out there. I’ll drop you back here when we’re done.”

I couldn’t argue with that. I was running low on gas, and if Brian wanted to drive, well, that was fine with me. I liked SUVs, anyway.

Climbing up into the front seat, I spotted a binder full of CDs at my feet. Brian deposited my books, along with his bag, in the back seat, while I thumbed through his music collection. Beatles, Bon Jovi, the Kinks…

“All of this stuff is old,” I commented, tossing the binder back on the floor. Not that I didn’t love the Beatles, but I wasn’t in the mood for music my mom grew up on.

Hiding a smile, he reached into a hidden compartment between the seats and handed me a smaller binder filled with things I was more familiar with. Kanye West, Diddy, Daughtry, Black Eyed Peas…

“This one,” I said, handing him a disk. He popped it into the CD player, and pretty soon I could hear the beginning strains of the Makeout Club by Gym Class Heroes. I’d been hearing it a lot on the radio lately, and it had been stuck in my head for the past few days.

I listened to the first verse, remembering the times I had burst into song (or rather, busted it out) while driving in my car, and desperately wanted to do that again. I glanced over and Brian, who was tapping the steering wheel in time with the music.

Well, what the hell? If I wanted to make a fool in front of anyone, it was probably best to do it in front of Brian. He’d either decide I was crazy and leave me alone, or we’d discover that we were perhaps better matched than I wanted to believe.

I took a deep breath, then opened my mouth to rap along with the lyrics. “They say I gotta change my evil ways, and I’m workin’ hard at it every day, but no matter what I do, I seem to make the same mistakes that I‘m tryin’ not to.”

Brian, as expected, was taken completely off-guard, and despite myself, I grinned when he glanced over in my direction. Then, without missing a beat, he joined in. “If love is just a game that people play, and practice makes perfect is what they say, but no matter what I do, I seem to make the same mistakes that I’m tryin’ not to.”

We broke into a fit of laugher as the song continued, but when my favorite verse came up, I couldn’t resist. Turns out, it was Brian’s favorite, too.

“And there was Erica, who had the stankest breath in North America. I tried to slip her tic-tacs, but they were scared of her, and when we made out, I always had to plug my nose,” we sang together.

We were just preparing for the final verse when the car began to shake, and I noticed the speedometer wasn’t working. Brian had stopped singing, and was gripping the steering wheel, muttering under his breath, while I closed my eyes and began to scream. I could feel the tire beneath my seat begin to wobble, and I dug my fingers into the seat, praying I wasn’t about to die. The car began to swerve, and as we slid off the road, I heard the squeal of breaks, a loud crunch as the front of the vehicle hit a tree, and then silence.

Or, what I thought was silence. The car had stopped moving, and after realizing the car wasn’t going to restart, Brian pulled the keys from the ignition and ran around to my side of the SUV. He flung open the door and reached across my lap to undo my seatbelt, his face full of concern.

“Maggie? Maggie, are you okay?” he cried in dismay, when I continued to scream, staring around me in horror. We were in the middle of nowhere, stranded somewhere between Rice Lake and Huntsville, the next town over. It was getting dark, and snow had just begun to fall.

Did I mention that there were no other cars on the road?

We were screwed.

And I was still screaming.

“Maggie, Maggie, listen to me! Are you hurt?” Brian demanded, clamping his hand over my mouth to muffle the noise.

Finally, I managed to get a hold of myself, and fell silent. I looked down at myself, and saw that there were no bruises or broken bones. Not that there would’ve been, since the windshield hadn’t actually shattered; it was only cracked. Mutely, I nodded.

He blew out a sigh of relief, and helped me out of the car, wrapping an arm around my trembling shoulders. Instinctively, I scooted a bit closer.

“Okay,” he coached, helping me over the bumper that had fallen off the front of the car. “Easy. You’re fine.”

But my senses were quickly returning. It didn’t take long for me to realize how much trouble we were in, and once I found my voice, and my strength, I pushed Brian away from me and stumbled towards the road.

“This is all your fault!” I cried irrationally, staring off into the darkness. “I can’t believe this!”

“Yeah, Maggie, I meant for my car to break down and to get into an accident,” he replied sarcastically. “Would you get away from the road, please? You’re making me nervous.”

“Why?” I replied, though I took a few steps back in his direction. “It’s not like I’m going to get run over – there aren’t any other cars out here. Remember how I said it was going to snow? Yeah, well, I may have forgotten to mention that there was a storm warning. Nobody’s going to be out tonight.”

But Brian didn’t seem that worried. He had pulled his phone out of his pocket and was holding it up, trying to find reception.

“Good luck,” I muttered, plopping down onto a nearby log and putting my head in my hands. “We are SO fucked.”

After ten minutes of searching for a signal, Brian had to agree. The car couldn’t be moved, and we had no way to call for help. Did I mention we didn’t have any food? The snow was growing heavier by the minute, and we couldn’t walk to Huntsville in this weather, so the only thing we could do was stay put and hope someone would find us.

This day just kept getting better and better.

Exhausted, Brian took a seat beside me, squinting up into the falling snow. “Well, it could be worse,” he tried.

“Are you kidding me?” I asked, horrified. “We’re stranded in the middle of nowhere, with no food, no heat, and no way to call for help. That’s pretty bad.”

“Well, at least we aren’t dead,” he said lightly, zipping his jacket up a little bit higher and tightening his scarf.

“Right,” I grumbled, rubbing my hands together. “So now what, Oh Fearless Leader?”

“We get back inside the car, before this snow gets any worse,” he announced, and offered me a hand. After scowling at it for a minute, I reached out and pulled myself to my feet, and allowed Brian to help me back into the car.

We sat there, staring out at the falling snow for a while, each lost in our own thoughts. Our parents were probably worried sick by now, and we had no way to tell them we were okay, minus the being cold, hungry, and stranded part.

“I’m bored,” I announced after an hour of silence. My cell phone said it was just past seven, and I was missing my TV show. I hadn’t missed an episode of Bones since it first aired, and the prospect of missing it had put me in an even fouler mood.

“We could work on our project,” Brian suggested, though we both knew it was out of the question. Neither of us would be able to concentrate on homework. Besides, if I was going to die out here, in the middle of nowhere, I was not going to spend my last night alive working on a physics project.

There was another half hour of silence while we tried to come up with something to do to pass the time. Games that were suggested included I Spy, Would You Rather, and Desert Island, but since we were already stranded, that one was easily dismissed. Brian suggested Spin the Bottle, but sobered after I shot him a withering look intended to freeze fire.

We finally settled on idle chitchat, because truth or dare didn’t seem like such a good idea either. I was not going to run around outside naked, or provide Brian with another chance to kiss me (even if it had been the best kiss I’d ever had).

“So,” I ventured, “where are we going for this date of ours?”

Brian glanced over at me and smiled softly. “No way, missy. It’s got to be a surprise.”

I sighed. “Okay, so when is it?”

“Whenever I decide is a good time,” he answered cryptically.

There was a long silence before anyone spoke again. Brian seemed to have been thinking awfully hard about something, and when he glanced over at me, his face looked troubled.

“What?” I asked, concerned. Did he think he had hypothermia? What if he’d been injured and was only now realizing how serious it was?

He struggled for a moment, then blurted out, “Can I ask you a question?”

I blinked. “Uh… sure.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why the sudden change of heart?” he repeated. “Last week you were avoiding me like the plague, and today you actually chose to sit across from me. You were civil, Maggie. Why?”

I thought about it for a moment, then decided on the truth. “Gretchen yelled at me.”

Now he looked even more confused.

“The other day, at the coffee shop,” I explained, “we were talking, and she told me that this whole grudge thing was stupid, and that I needed to give you a chance. So…” I shrugged. “Here I am.”

Brian looked stunned. “All it took was someone yelling at you for you to come around? If I’d known that, I would’ve had Gretchen yell at you sooner. Not that I had anything to do with it,” he added, seeing the stormy look in my eyes, “but I would’ve begged her, if I’d known that’s all the persuading you needed.”

I sighed. “Yeah, well…” His eyes were twinkling, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I’m… sorry. For, you know, hating you, and all that.”

I waited for Brian to say something.

“Okay, now it’s your turn to apologize,” I added, when the silence got to be too much.

“What do I have to apologize for?” he asked. “Other than getting you into a car accident, that is.”

“Um, how about for stalking me? For embarrassing me with all of your ridiculous gifts over the past thirteen years? For kissing me at the party?”

Brian had looked ready to at least acknowledge his mistake in stalking me, but that last one made him blink in surprise.

“Excuse you?”

“You kissed me. At the party.”

But he was shaking his head. “No way, Maggie. Don’t you dare go pinning that on me. You kissed me. Plain and simple.”

“I did no such thing!” I cried. “You’re the one who was all over me!”

“But you started it!”

“I was drunk! You don’t take advantage of women like that!”

“I may have been a little tipsy, but I would never take advantage of you, Maggie.” His voice was quiet, controlled, but I saw the look in his eye, and knew that I’d overstepped my bounds.

Still, my big mouth just kept running away with me. “I didn’t want to kiss you,” I huffed. “I don’t want to go on a date with you, and I sure as hell don’t want to be stuck out here with you all night.”

“Well, I can’t do anything about being stuck out here, but there are no changies or take-backs when it comes to the contract. You agreed to go on one date with me, and I’m going to make sure you keep to your end of the bargain. If I have to, I’ll get Gretchen involved.”

And there was no doubt in my mind that he would.

“Fine. But no more kissing.”

We lapsed into silence again, huddling deeper into our jackets to ward off the encroaching cold. Outside, the snow was coming down in sheets, and I couldn’t even see the road anymore. I could see my breath forming tiny little white puffs in front of me, and I willed my shoulders to stop shaking.

Next to me, Brian wasn’t fairing so well, either. His coat was thinner than mine, and I was extra glad that I’d worn my Northface today. I had an extra pair of gloves in my pocket, and since Brian didn’t have any, I handed them over.

“I’m fine, Maggie,” he said with a tired smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

Since he wouldn’t take them, I just dropped them into his lap. “Don’t be stupid. It’s frickin’ cold in here, Brian, and you don’t have any gloves. Put them on.” I shot him a look. “Put them on.”

He laughed at my insistence, but did as I said. “Thanks.”

I turned my face back to the window. “Sure.” He couldn’t see the small smile pulling at the corner of my mouth. It disappeared when I remembered how cold I was.

“Can I ask you another question?” Brian asked after a moment. He sounded even more nervous this time, which in turn made me weary, but I nodded. I was sick of silence. “Why do you think it’s so hard for you to accept the fact that we could actually be…” He chose his next word wisely. “…Friends?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. It was a fair question, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to answer. I glanced over at Brian, who was watching me with a sort of quiet patience I couldn’t help but admire. And for that, I figured I owed him at least some explanation.

“I… I just don’t trust men,” I said honestly.

“Because of your dad?”

I nodded. “He cheated on my mom, then just up and left. He never even said goodbye to me, so I guess he really didn’t care all that much.”

“And you’re afraid nobody else could care about you?”

I glanced over with a sad smile. “Well, when you put it that way…”

“You’ve got a lot of people who care about you, Maggie. And don’t forget about your mom. She’s still around.”

I shrugged. Mom was a touchy subject. “I guess. She’s kind of turned into a serial dater, and none of the guys treat her well. She deserves a lot better.” My mom’s words echoed in my head as I stared out at the snow: Men are the enemy, Maggie. They’ll take your heart and rip it in two.

I was surprised when I felt fingers curl around my own. Brian had reached over to grasp my hand, and I felt my cheeks grow warm.

“I’m sorry,” he said, quietly.

He was getting too close again. With a sigh, I released his hand and got up. “Whatever. I’m going to bed. Wake me up when we’ve been rescued, okay?”

I climbed into the backseat and curled up in a ball, my back to Brian. I heard him sigh, and clenched my teeth. I felt bad for failing to give him a chance, especially after the conversation we’d just had. It was a conversation that Gretchen and I would’ve had, which made me think that it might be possible for Brian and I to be friends after all.

Outside, the world was white. I heard an owl hoot in the distance, and just lay there for a while, listening to the silence that followed.

After a while, I heard Brian climb into the back and curl up on the other seat, but I didn’t dare move. I was freezing, and moving meant losing body heat. I’d managed to warm up the leather beneath me, and I wasn’t willing to risk losing any of that, just to glance over at Brian.

I stared out the window, hoping to see lights approaching, but as the hours wore on, I felt my hopes fade. It was really stating to snow, and I had a feeling we’d have to wait until morning for the plows to come through.

Disappointed, I blew out a breath, watching it form a tiny cloud in front of my face. I had begun to shiver, and wished desperately that I’d packed that extra sweater this morning. My jaw hurt from my chattering teeth, and I bit down hard, eager for it to stop.

Then, out of nowhere, I felt a surge of warmth as another body pressed itself against me. Obviously it was Brian, and on any other occasion, I would’ve probably pushed him away. But not today; I didn’t want to freeze to death. And besides, he’d been nothing but nice to me. Graciously, I shifted so that he had more room.

We lay there for a while, curled up together to ward off the cold, our eyes staring at anything but each other. I was just drifting off to sleep, despite the temperature, when I heard Brian whisper in my ear. “I’m really sorry about all this, Maggie. Really.”

“I know,” I murmured, my body feeling sluggish. “Me too.”

“Now I know why my mom always told me to keep a blanket in the car,” he joked, and I managed a small smile.

Silence fell over the car, and eventually I heard a quiet rumbling inside Brian’s chest. He’d fallen asleep.

Eager for the cold to go away, I shut my eyes tight and prayed for dreamland.

Coming Up Next
On Breaking Brian Deacon...

Chapter Title: Survival Skills & the Kama Sutra

Teasers:
“Let me out of the car, or I’ll scream bloody murder.”

It felt so good to be sleeping in an actual bed that I lost myself easily, sleep coming faster than it ever had…
…Only to be taken away by a loud pounding coming from downstairs.

“I wrapped it in porn. Give me some credit – I’m not stupid. I know guys don’t care about the kama sutra.”

THANKS TO: gulistanlik, Aimers, rachely, I Murder on Impulse, adnama3121, ContemplativeJoyce, Sing With The Elevator Music, curlytopkristi (x2), Seisaset, Chelsea Dagger, XxFallenxX, iluv2lol, boredbottom, Realistic Dreams, Secretsecret, acapella33, Trory4ever, tangledshadows, woodstock1969, midnightbeauty, vtcullen, nejimo, Bellaria, Faith Adeline, duckliy543, pinkeclipse, blair powers, Demeterr, thatsmyname, N.M.E., CATpuccino., joanne777, LeticiaLiebtTokioHotel, justdance, xhianglian, casey-kent, Just to See you Smile, Silencia, S. Cherise, Ninavs (x2), aurora borealis, sunny-raindrop, Chancel Jordan, Kenna-Kat11, Aloloo, Guacamole, ellabella, philosophyonacid, kardula, Resplendence, notreal17, Lily Llynn, InsaneRomantic15, notebaggage, AllIsFairInLoveAndWar, and precious-memories for your reviews!

philosophyonacid: I realized that I couldn't respond to your review through email or PM, so I'll just do it here. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far! And you're right - Brian isn't necessarily your average hero, and I think that's part of his charm. We'll definitely see more of that as the story goes on.

S. Cherise: Thanks! I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far!

Secretsecret: As for Maggie being slightly whiny, you're right - she is being slightly unreasonable. But I hope this chapter helped to clarify her reasons why. Also, I think this chapter is kind of a turning point for the two of them, though I'll let you be the judge of that.

XxFallenxX: Haha, I agree. I most definitely wouldn't mind a Brian Deacon of my very own ;-) Thanks for reading!

A/N: May 16th, 2008

I know I told a lot of you that I was going to wait until Monday to post this, but I just realized I won't be around then. Needless to say, I obviously posted it a bit early, haha. Happy summer!

Okay, so I got the idea for this chapter way back at the beginning, and was pretty damn excited to get around to it. I know it's kind of a weird situation, but it HAS happened before (not to me, thankfully, but to someone I know). I'm hoping that it shed some light on why Maggie is the way she is. Also, hopefully I didn't hype it up TOO much, especially if you felt that it fell short. I was pretty excited about it, and besides the Halloween chapter from Bloodlust, and the dance chapter from DMAS, this is one of my favorites.

I know a lot of you were expecting to see the two of them go on The Date in this chapter, but I never intended for that to happen here. It will happen, but not here. Not now. You'll just have to wait and see!

And, for copyright's sake, Gym Class Heroes is obviously not mine, nor are the lyrics to 'The Makeout Club.' Though they are pretty great.

Also, I've added a photo of Brian's father to the photo album. You won't get to meet Mr. and Mrs. Deacon for a little while yet (not until chapter 8), but it's coming eventually. And no, unlike DMAS, Mr. Beckett will not make an appearance.

Thanks for reading, lovelies!