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 He hesitated, his eyes threatening to dart one way or the other, but somehow he kept them fixed on mine. “No.” It instantly infuriated me that he would lie to me right away when I’d finally accepted that I had a big fat crush on him. I jumped out of his arms and glared at him with all the anger and annoyance I could muster when I was so tired. He stopped and stared into my eyes with an intensity that almost made me blush, but then I realized what he was trying to do and my temper really flared. “You’re lying to me and we both know it!” I very nearly yelled at him, though my efforts to keep my voice calm hadn’t kept it from reaching the house we were in front of. He looked away from me and I looked to where his eyes had fled. //Oh. My. God.// Were the first things through my head. There, in front of the house, on the front step was my ex. My mouth fell open and I floundered around in my head trying to remember how to close it. He saw my mouth fall open and nearly laughed; but I still couldn’t remember his name if my life depended on it. Shane noticed my mouth hanging open and asked “What’s wrong, and how did he know your name when you just moved here?” “Hey, Molly, who’s this bloke who’s been carrying you from the karate school, and why do you need to be carried anyway? You have two perfectly capable legs.” My ex said with a grin. He started walking toward me and I suddenly couldn’t take my own weight anymore. I felt my knees about to buckle and leaned on Shane, who gladly put an arm around my waist and supported most of my weight. “How can you keep going like this and still be able to carry me all the way home?” I asked him, and somehow my ex heard me. His eyebrows arched in an all too familiar way, and this was all still so familiar to me; every facial expression was still etched into my memories, every gesture still held most of the same meaning as it had so long ago. “Oh, I’m just used to the late night stuff. As you can tell, I don’t go out much, and a slow social life needs a hobby. Mine was working until I nearly collapsed at earning the next degree of black belt every day and moment I could.” Shane said matter-of-factly. It made enough sense to me, so I didn’t question him any more. “I’m her ex, by the way, Shane, so that’s how I know her name.” My ex said, and now I remembered everything about him. His name was Damon. Damon had ruined my life for so long; he had put me into a depression so deep that I had loads of poems like that other one everywhere in my room. Then we moved here and my family made sure that we moved here and left our past behind. My mother said we had to brake up with boyfriends/girlfriends which my siblings weren’t happy about, but that automatically put me in high spirits since that meant no more watching Rose making out with her boy. And she told me it was time to burn my poetry. I wrote more on the ride here, and that was how that one was around. My family had been so worried about me, Violet thought I was suicidal. Well, I was never suicidal, but I did want to curl up and never see him again. “You realize that you ruined my life for a very long time, don’t you?” I wanted to say, but I didn’t. Instead I said, “What do want?” My tone was sleepy, and sounded its part; like he’d just woken me. He looked like he wanted to laugh again, and my knees gave out. “Hey!” Shane complained at the unexpected weight. “I’m sorry, I am really tired. Why don’t you take me home?” I said, hoping in vain that Damon would let me get away. “Why don’t you come in?” He said politely, and I knew that he would make sure that Shane and I didn’t get a moment alone. “Do you want to carry her? I’m dead beat.” Shane said tiredly. “Sure, she never gave me enough credit to carry her. But you know I could, don’t you, considering I’m a belt or two higher than you are?” Damon bragged. “Oh give it a rest.” Shane said with an air of annoyance that was impossible to miss. Damon came over and picked me up. Shane straightened up without my weight to support. He held me in a way that made both Shane and I uncomfortable; a little too close to his face. I shrank away from him as much as I possibly could. He noticed and loosened his hold enough so that I had to lean into him, unwillingly, to keep myself from falling. I could feel his smugness. Shane elbowed him in the ribs and he remembered to behave; for a minute or so. We entered his house and he laid me on the couch. Shane was obviously in the mood to bug him, so he lifted me up and put my head on his lap, and sat at the end of the couch. Damon glared at him and I grinned broadly for both of them to see, and Shane joined me in grinning. Damon saw that this wasn’t going to work so he lifted my legs with a protest from me, ignoring it of course, and laid them across his lap, and taking a seat at the other end of the couch. So I was caught in the middle of their feuding laying between the two of them.