Falling Apart
Chapter TWO
By WalkLikeAZombie

I lingered behind at the end of my anatomy class, Sarah had organised for Adam to pick me up from Uni every Wednesday since we both had late running classes. Which would be great, public transport was a broken, unreliable beast but I'd even pick that fickle form of transportation over being in an enclosed space with Adam for twenty minutes. He just made me feel too aware of myself, and too aware of him and I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be having confusing, body questioning feelings about someone my sister is dating. Usually I would send him a text letting him know I had a study session or plans. On days like today where I had been too busy and forgot to message him I lingered around campus knowing he usually left if I took too long in getting to the student parking lot.

I took my time today by hanging around a message board, eyes skimming over concert posters, charity rally pamphlets and personal ads of people looking for roommates or offering tutoring services.

"Looking to move out of home? Need a tutor? Going to the animal rights rally?" Adam leaned against the wall beside the message board. "No study session today?" I shook my head, the look on his face said he knew I didn't actually have study sessions on Wednesday afternoons. "Okay let's go then." He grabbed my bag off my shoulder and made off towards the parking lot.

"I can carry that." I grabbed for my bag but he dodged out of my way.

"It looks better on me though right?" I scoffed, the canvas book bag had a screenprint of an anatomical dummy on it. It had been a present from my parents when I first got into university. It didn't look good on anyone. Once we had reached his car he dropped my bag on the backseat. I reluctantly got into his car, he slid into the drivers seat and and placed his arm behind my headrest as he reversed out of the parking lot.

"Do you have any plans for this afternoon?" he asked while waiting to exit the schools clustered parking lot. It was almost seven, I wanted to point out that my plans for this afternoon had been attend my anatomy class.

"I'm studying." I decided to stick with being civil, best not to piss of the guy driving the car.

"Studying is not plans." He returned, turning to look at me briefly before turning back to the road, he looked upset that I had even suggested studying could be plans.

"Then no, no plans."

"Good." He turned left, going in the opposite direction of my home.

"Where are we going?" I looked over at him, he happily tapped at the cars steering wheel.

"Food." I was determined to not look too much into this. I went out for food with my uni friends all the time. Miraculously Adam found a park on King st, right outside a chocolate shop.

"Adam I don't think this is a good idea."

"Why not?" Adam asked, he looked across at me in the dark interior of the car, some of my reservations must have been on my face because he continued. "Come on, I got a park on King street, that is god saying he wants us to eat." I laughed in spite of myself and followed him across the street to a small Thai restaurant. The place was tiny, almost a corridor. Stools were lined up against the open windows beside the door and people sat there eating and watching the people of Newtown walk down the street. The tables were small and intimate, we were seated in the corner and Adam leaned across the table smiling at me.

"This is my favourite Thai place, I hope you're not a chili wuss."

"And if I am?" I teased, I had no problem with spicy food, I only ate super spicy when I had a craving for it though.

Adam cursed under his breath, "Are you? I know Sarah loves spicy food." The way he casually mentioned my sister settled my nerves, surely he had no nefarious plans if he could mention my sister so lightly.

"I'm not. I'm not really in the mood for spicy at the moment though, is there a little kick option?"

"Little kick? Curry puffs. Yellow chicken curry?"

"Sounds good."

"You trust me?" He said with a smile. He really did have a great smile, easy and open, showing off perfect white teeth.

"I probably shouldn't" I had a feeling we were suddenly talking about more then just food.

"No you definitely should." Adam placed our order and the table lapsed into an awkward silence. I racked my brain for something to talk about and ended up blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

"Sarah said you tried out for the rugby team did you win?" My brain hates me. Really why would I remember that? She said it in passing months ago.

"That was three months ago Tori. I made the team, our first match is in a couple of weeks."

"Oh, well congratulations." Why the hell was I so nervous? Sisters. Boyfriend. I tried to make my brain understand the fact. It refused to sink in.

"Are you going to come watch me play?"

"I'm not really into sport, but if Sarah wants company I'll come with."

"I could tell with the whole 'Did you win the tryouts' comment, Tor." I laughed and told him to shut up, our food arrived and I decided to focus my nervous energy on it instead of Adam.

"You and Sarah are really close aren't you."

"Mmm," I swallowed my mouthful of chicken curry, "Yeah, we are only a year apart so we did pretty much everything together growing up. We have our secrets and we fight sometimes but she'll always be my best friend."

"What kind of secrets?"

"They aren't secrets if people know about them." I tried to joke it off but the look in Adams eyes said he didn't buy it. I turned my attention back to my food.

"I'm jealous, I'm an only child."

"That's why you're such a brat." I forgot all table manners and pointed my chopsticks at him.

"Did you just call me a brat?"

"Yep, spoiled too. I bet mummy and daddy bought you that car."

"It was a graduation present. If I didn't have top grades they wouldn't have bought it." Well I couldn't tease him about that. Civil engineering needed a damn high ranking to even be considered for the course. Probably higher then my own course required.

"What are you going to do once you finish your degree?" I asked.

"Work in the mines."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Improving safety. A lot of people work in pretty dangerous conditions, and it's a big industry for our country. What about you, doctor Tori."

"I have another six years before that, once I've finished my residency I want to sign up to doctors without borders for a year or two."

"People usually give me crap for wanting to work in the mines, even though the engineers rarely go into the mines. But you Tori have a really dangerous career plan in mind."

"I want to help people. That's what a doctor does and these people wouldn't get help if people didn't volunteer."

"Do your parents know that that is what they are paying your university bills for?" I glared at him over the table, why should he get so aggressive about this? It had nothing to do with him, I didn't grill him about working for the mines and their questionable practices.

"They think it's a good cause." I bit out. Honestly I think my parents haven't given it much thought, they would probably worry when it came to that but it was six or seven years in the future.

"It is a good cause. I would worry for your safety though." Some of my annoyance was drained away at his placating reply.

"It's at least six years away so you don't have to worry too much." I didn't add that he probably wouldn't be in my life that far into the future, the thought made me feel kind of sad. Adam was definitely the most likable guy my sister had ever dated. Dinner finished among safer topics of schoolwork and friends.

"Want a hot chocolate?" Adam asked as we crossed back to the car.

"Definitely." There were few things I loved more then a hot mint chocolate from this particular chocolate shop.

"Sounds like I found your weakness." He murmured, nudging me with his shoulder as we lined up at the counter.

"Tori," I turned at my name to see my friend Kat sitting by herself in one of the booths. I gave Adam my order and forced some money into his hand before joining her. She sat cross legged in the booth, she looked every bit the laid back university student, from her black and red hair pulled up into a messy bun on her head, the oversized black t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her shoulders to the galaxy print leggings tucked into clunky, white doc martins.

"You're on a date? You didn't tell me you had a date." I didn't even have a chance to sit down before she attacked me.

"It's not a date. That's my sisters boyfriend." Her eyebrows shot up at that.

"Why are you on a date with your sisters boyfriend?"

"Not. A. Date." I stressed each word.

"No way, that playful shoving and you were standing too close together. Somethings going on."

"No."

"He's into you." Kat waved in the direction of the counter, I turned to find Adam watching us, he leaned casually against the pick up area of the counter, apparently oblivious to the sidelong glances his form received from a lot of the patrons. I eyed the way his plain grey shirt stretched across his muscles before forcing myself to look away, Kat was smirking at me.

"He's really cute."

"And dating my sister. He goes to our university, he drives me home when our classes end at the same time."

"That's nice of him." Somehow explaining myself to Kat seemed to be making her more convinced that something weird was going on.

"Why am I even friends with you?"

"Because of my style and honest opinions." Which, other then this particular circumstance I did admire.

"What are you doing?"

"Literature essay." I groaned, I couldn't imagine anything more painful.

"That's how I feel about needles," she said in defense of her chosen subject.

"Hey," Adam approached from the counter handing me my drink in a takeaway cup. He stood close to my side and conscious of Kat watching us I moved to the side to put some distance between us.

"Kat this is Adam, Sarah's boyfriend. Adam this is Kat, someone I love even though she takes literature for fun."

"Hey," Kat protested, "I'm a history major." She shook Adams hand obviously checking him out, tall, muscular, dark hair and tanned skin, I really couldn't blame the girl even if I had told her several times he was dating my sister.

"Engineering," he replied, "I play and coach rugby for fun."

"You both have crazy hobbies."

"No judging, Tori, do I need to go through your hobbies from high school?"

"No, you really don't." I said at the same time Adam said, "Yes, you really do."

"This crazy girl volunteered three days a week for the red cross, as a shop worker, a study partner for younger kids and volunteered at the local children's hospital. She did in school tutoring as well and participated in the young endeavor."

"I needed some of those references to get straight into my doctoral degree instead of having to sit a secondary test. Anyway they are all good causes and there is nothing wrong with that."

"There is nothing wrong with that. You have ambitions and you won't let anything get in your way." Adam was watching our exchange a little too closely, again watching me with those dark eyes that made me too aware of my body.

"We should go," I said, before Kat's teasing got out of hand and she said something I didn't want Adam hearing. "See you later Kat." I said as I all but ushered Adam out of the store.

"Lunch tomorrow, okay."

"Yeah, I have a 9am class, so after that." I called back.

"That was weird." We were in the car, heading back to my house when he pulled me out of my mint hot chocolate induced euphoria.

"What?"

"You got really antsy when she started teasing you about your 'ambitions'."

"Oh yeah that," I said as if I hadn't been mulling the conversation over in my own mind. I tried to brush it off with a "Kat likes to blow things out of proportion." He didn't buy it. "It's a secret, something I'm working on." He seemed even more concerned by this answer. "What did you think she meant? You look so serious."

"You're just really closed off you know."

"I'm not. I just don't know you well enough to divulge my life purpose and history to you, just like I wouldn't expect you to tell me everything about yourself. Why are you so upset by this?"

"I want us to be friends. I like you, Tori and Sarah wants us to get along." This had suddenly become awkward and and somehow I had become the bad guy in this. That my need to close myself off because of my attraction to my sisters boyfriend hurt him. He didn't do anything wrong, he didn't understand why I was such a head case. Sarah had probably put him up to taking me out, she seemed serious about Adam and only wanted us to get along.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Adam. I'm protective of Sarah, I'm always on guard with her boyfriends. Let's be friends." The car had pulled up on the curb outside my house, Adam turned to me with his big, open smile.

"Great," he replied, leaning towards me and brushing his lips against my own, my whole body erupted in sparks at that soft contact, barely a kiss, before he pulled away to declare, "friends." I stumbled out of the car, made it to the door before I turned and watched him pull away. He still had that damn self satisfied smirk on his face and as he drove off I was certain he was making fun of me.

A/N: I'm trying to type up the handwritten draft of this story but keep pushing it aside to focus on other things. As always I love feedback, let me know what you think of Adam and Tori