Only for You

Grey felt something nudge her shoulder, and looked over to see that Owen had sat down next to her on the porch.

“Hey, hey, Monochrome. How's it going? Been waiting for you to notice me...I've been sitting right here for about five minutes. Space out much?” Usually Grey appreciated Owen's upbeat attitude and genuinely enjoyed their banter, but at the moment, she just wanted to be alone.

“Oh, sorry. Hey, Owen,” she replied distractedly.

“So, Grey, you know the party's inside, right?” Owen joked. Grey just nodded her head absentmindedly in hopes that he would get the hint and leave.

They were silent for a few more minutes before Owen spoke up again. “So, what's up with you and Mark?”

Grey raised an eyebrow. How did he--

“I see everything, Grey,” he said, in what she supposed was supposed to be a creepy voice. And she was creeped out, but more by the fact that he had seemingly read her mind than by his pitiful stalker impersonation. “So I know something's off between you guys, and this whole thing will end much more quickly if you just skip the whole denial spiel and go straight to the part where you tell me what happened.”

“Could you quit doing that, please?” Grey asked, somewhat annoyed. “It kind of freaks me out.”

“Doing what?”

“Reading my mind.”

“Monochrome, I'm delighted that you believe I have superhuman powers, but really, you're just an incredibly easy person to read.”

“Only to you,” Grey mumbled.

“No, I'm pretty sure it's universal. Don't you ever feel like Anna and Laurie know what you're thinking? Or Mark?”

Grey paused a moment to think about it. “Nope, just you.”

“Huh.”

“Maybe you're just an exceptionally perceptive person,” Grey suggested.

“Nah, that can't be it either. Remember when I was dating Rachel? We broke up because I was 'oblivious' and 'didn't understand her feelings.'”

Grey let out a snort. “Well, she was annoying, anyway.”

Owen smirked. “You're just jealous.”

“Probably so.” Grey was swinging her legs over the side of the porch and staring fixedly at a random point in the yard.

Owen's eyebrows shot up. “What did you say?”

“Chill, Owen. It was a joke. Of course I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous of Rachel?” Grey rolled her eyes. He could be so gullible sometimes.

“Er...no idea.” But he wouldn't meet her eyes, and Grey could have sworn she saw a quick flash of hurt cross his face.

“Owen? You alright?” she nudged him gently.

He looked up and appeared to snap out of it (whatever “it” was). “Oh, yeah, sure, right. Of course.” Grey gave him a strange look, and he quickly changed the subject. “So, what's up with you and Mark?”

Grey sighed. “We got in a fight.”

“Yeah, I guessed as much. What about?”

“You can't tell him I told you this.”

“Of course not.”

“Mark likes Anna.”

“What? For how long? When did he tell you?” Owen appeared shocked.

Grey shook her head, incredulously. “Rachel was right. You really are oblivious.”

“How long?” Owen demanded.

“Since they worked on that Spanish project together back in October.”

“But that was like...six months ago! And how did you find out?”

She shrugged. “I guessed. It was pretty obvious.”

“So, Mark and Anna. Wow.” Owen wrinkled his brow, still trying to wrap his head around this new idea. “But what does this have to do with you two fighting?”

Grey bit her lip. “Well, Anna went on that date with Travis from her English class last weekend. It's not serious yet, but it might be heading that way, so I told Mark he needed to make his move while he still had a chance.”

“And?”

“He gave me some bullshit about 'just wanting her to be happy' and 'it's not like she'd ever like him (Mark) anyway'...and then I told him he was a coward. And he told me to mind my own business, and said I had no right interfering when I haven't even been on a date before.”

“Aw, Grey...” He slung his arm around her neck, and she leaned in to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

“He's right, you know. And I shouldn't have called him a coward. I wanted to apologize, but he won't listen to me.”

“Don't worry about Mark. He'll come around. He's inside getting plastered at the moment, so he probably won't even remember your fight in the morning.”

“Well, that's comforting.”

“And don't let that stuff he said get to you, either. You may be a dateless busybody, but you're my little dateless busybody.” He ruffled her hair.

“Thanks so much for that, Owen. You really know how to make a girl feel better about herself, don't you?”

“Well, I try,” he replied with false modesty. “But seriously. You were just trying to help, and he was being an ass. He's the one who owes you an apology, if you ask me.” He gave her a crooked smile, and moved his arm down to her waist, pulling her in tighter.

Grey let out an involuntary yawn. “I'm getting pretty tired.”

“Yeah, it's late. You should go to bed,” Owen said, standing up and extending a hand to pull Grey to her feet.

“If I can sleep with all that ruckus going on in there, that is.”

“I'll make them wrap it up soon. Mark has practice in the morning anyway.”

Grey yawned again. “Thanks Owen. Really. You're pretty good at this whole listening thing. For a guy, that is.”

Owen grinned. “No problem, Monochrome.” He wrapped her up in a hug goodnight.'

Grey must have been even more tired than she thought, because she leaned into him and made no effort to end the hug. Just when she had finally come to her senses, she looked up at Owen and saw something she had never noticed before.

“Hey, your eyes are gray,” she whispered.

“That's 'cause they're only for you, babe.” While the cheesy, flirty comment was definitely typical Owen behavior, the serious tone of voice was not. Nor was the kiss he placed on top of her head afterward.

“Only for you,” he murmured again.

A/n: Feedback is much appreciated. And if you like Owen and Grey, I've written two other one-shots about them ("I Don't Know Why You Say Goodbye" and "I Say Hello") which take place about a year later.