A/N: Michael/Declan Verse. This is around the time of Denial and That's What Friends Are For but this is about Diana.

Diana had been involved in a love triangle once and it hadn't ended well for any party involved. It was sophomore year of high school and like any teenager when her crush said he had feelings for her she was ecstatic. They went on their first date only two nights later and at the time she thought it was perfect. Looking back at it she would snort at her naivety but she had been fifteen. Being naïve was almost expected.

The two of them hadn't been together for more than three months when she noticed he was particularly close to one of his female friends. As time went on it was clear she had feelings for him but Diana believed him when he said nothing was going on. Soon enough she confessed her feelings to her boyfriend and Diana spent most of that year fighting for his affections and trying to keep him interested.

In the end he chose his friend and Diana felt like an idiot. For months she had wasted her time and energy on a relationship he clearly had no interest in. Clearly love triangles were only amusing when it came to soap operas and she vowed to walk away if another relationship ever got complicated like that again. Then she met Declan Myers.

The two of them had quite literally bumped into one another in the middle of a grocery store. Some casual conversation and flirting led to her giving him her number. It was a day later when he asked her out and Diana was enamored with Declan from the start. On the surface he seemed like such a good guy. He had a steady job with the state and was nice which seemed to be a rarity now-a-days.

They hit it off and as the relationship progressed Diana was interested in meeting his friends and two days after she expressed this interest to Declan she met Michael.

XxX

"Declan?" she called out when she entered the apartment. Diana had arrived to find the apartment unlocked. Shutting the door behind her, she shifted uncomfortably and paused at the sight of someone unfamiliar sitting on Declan's couch.

"Hello?"

There was no answer and the closer she got the easier it was to tell that this person was playing some sort of video game and was clearly engrossed in it to the point where he wasn't aware of anything going on around him. Tapping him on the shoulder, the reaction was quick. He jumped to his feet and nearly knocked over the game system in the process. The cry that came from him caused her to flinch and once again she shifted uncomfortably.

"I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it's all right. It's just if I broke this I would be seriously pissed off, man. This game system is an antique!"

Diana was dumbfounded but nodded.

"Shit, Declan is going to kill me. I was supposed to let you know that he had to make a quick run to the post office."

It was then it clicked with Diana. She knew Declan had been intending for her to meet Michael today when he invited her over and obviously this was him. What she had not been intending was to find him gone and his friend apparently ignoring her.

"You must be Michael."

He grinned and grabbed her hand, shaking it vigorously. "And you must be Diana. Nice to meet you, dude."

"Dude..?"

"He calls everyone dude," Declan commented from the doorway with a roll of his eyes. "I'm surprised he remembers my name half the time."

"Declan, how could I ever forget your name? You're my bro!"

Diana watched the exchange with a feeling of awkwardness but she smiled despite the feeling.

XxX

Looking back she should've seen it. The signs were there and while Michael was never anything but polite and inviting to her it were clear as day he loved Declan. The day she finally realized it she felt sick to her stomach because she didn't want to lose Declan. It was from that point on she convinced herself that Declan clearly did not return those feelings and it worked for a while but denial doesn't last forever.

The moment it hit her was the day they had officially moved in together. She had quite a few things to unpack and Declan said he would help.

XxX

"Declan could you grab that box in the living room for me? It has the rest of my books," She called out from the bedroom. "Declan?"

Walking out of the bedroom, she set about finding him when she heard his voice from the kitchen.

"Michael, what do mean you got kicked out of your apartment? God, you can be such an idiot sometimes. You knew what Andy was selling on the side so the landlord was bound to find out sometime! I'm in the middle of unpacking in my new place you know. I can't- get your parents to do it."

Leaning against the wall, Diana continued to listen in even if she felt a bit guilty for doing so.

"Then get Cindy and Greg to help! Michael I understand they are busy but so am I- okay fine. I'll help you move a few things but I can only be gone an hour."

Diana walked into the kitchen when she heard him say goodbye. "Leaving?"

He grinned nervously and reached over to press a soft kiss on her lips. "Diana I'll be gone an hour tops. I promise I'll be back soon."

"You better! We still have a lot of things to unpack!"

Waving him off with a smile, Diana honestly believed Declan but the belief in him started to fade as the first hour passed then the second. When it was close to evening she found herself thinking of the other times Declan had dropped everything to go help Michael and it made her want to ignore those thoughts.

The idea what Declan was in love with Michael was too much to handle. They had just moved in together and she was finding herself falling even more in love with him but this was just another piece of evidence and she couldn't ignore it any longer.

"Only an hour, huh?" she snapped when he finally came in the door around eight o'clock that night.

"Diana, I'm sorry. It took longer than I thought it would.

She forgave him but didn't forget.

XxX

Diana was stupid to hang on after that. She clung to her relationship for six months until she couldn't take it anymore. Finally she worked up the nerve to leave but as the days turned into weeks and a month dragged by she found it was difficult to get over one Declan Myers and cursed the day she had ever met him.

"Diana, why are you back on the couch? Yesterday you finally made it all the way to the café across the street with me!"

Poking her head out from under the covers, she looked over at Destiny and sniffled. "I saw Declan today."

"That doesn't have to be a bad thing! Think of it as closure."

"He's living with Michael and looks happy!" Diana shouted in frustration. "The bastard is living his life while I'm laying here like a miserable lump and wasting my best friend's food and time."

"Di you are not wasting my time," Destiny said firmly as she lifted her legs so she could scoot underneath them. "I'm happy to have you until you find another place to live."

It took Diana longer then she expected it would to get over Declan. In the process of trying to get over him she barely managed to drag herself to work every morning and made a human shaped dent in Destiny's couch. However all hearts heal eventually and in time she started to move on but was adamant about swearing off relationships for a while.

XxX

"Will you just let me set you up on one date?" Destiny pleaded. "It's been over a year since you and… he who shall not be named broke up. You need to get back in the game."

Diana shrugged. "I'm good, Destiny. I appreciate the effort but I'm happy with my life right now. The last thing I want to do is screw it up b rushing into something."

"A year! It's been a year!"

Diana laughed. "I know that but I still don't want to rush into anything."

"Well you know girls are an option too. Guys are assholes anyway."

"Women can hurt you just as men. Don't you remember me telling you about my ex Jack?"

Destiny appeared surprised and gaped at her. "I assumed Jack was a guy. Why didn't you clarify?"

"I always use female pronouns when I talk about her. How did you not catch on?" Diana asked in exasperation. "That is not the issue though. The point I was trying to make is that I will date when I am good and ready so stop badgering me."

Diana knew that when Destiny promised her something she would stick to it but it didn't mean she didn't drop hints every now and then. Finally, after another three months, she agreed to finally let Destiny set her up on one of her blind dates. The woman was ecstatic when she told her the news.

"You are going to love her. She's sweet, successful, and was also the only lesbian I knew so there weren't many other options."

"Destiny you could've set me up with a guy. I haven't sworn off men."

"So your ex Jack was a onetime bi curious fling?"

Diana had to let out a laugh. "If you must know I consider myself straight but there are exceptions."

"God you lesbians are so confusing."

XxX

"I'm Diana."

"And I'm Grace. It's nice to meet you."

It was just a first date but Diana was going to try to look on the positive side. She also wasn't going to get ahead of herself and fall in love to quickly because after last time she had learned her lesson.