Falling with Every Step

“What do you say? Will you be my girlfriend again?” Gabe asked Mary Jane.

Mary Jane looked down at her feet, not wanting to answer him. Gabe looked away from her, knowing her answer was no.

“Gabe,” Mary Jane said, and he looked up at her. “I’m sorry.”

“MJ, I’ve already told you, I don’t want anyone else. I want you!”

“Gabe, just give me time. Maybe, sometime in the future, I will be ready, but I’m not right now.”

“Okay,” Gabe replied with a half-smile.

“Please don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not. I promise,” he said smiling.

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door. “I wonder who that is,” Mary Jane said. “Maybe Vicky forgot her key.” She walked over to the door and opened it to reveal Ashlee standing on the outside.

“MJ, oh my god! Are you okay?” Ashlee cried as she walked into the room.

“Pete told you?” Mary Jane asked.

“Yeah, but don’t be mad at him. I know you didn’t want anyone to know, but I’m not going to tell anyone,” Ashlee told her.

“I know, and I’m not mad,” Mary Jane told her giving her a hug. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“How are you doing?” Ashlee asked.

“As good as can be expected. I’m not sleeping well, but other than that I’m okay,” Mary Jane said.

“Gabe, what are you doing here?” Ashlee asked, noticing Gabe sitting in the room for the first time.

“I’m on tour?” Gabe asked, not understanding her question.

“No, I know that. I mean, wait a minute,” Ashlee said. “Please tell me that you already know, and I didn’t run off my mouth, and…”

“Ashlee, calm down,” Mary Jane said. “He knows.”

“Oh, good. Wait, you know?” Ashlee asked.

“Yeah. Gabe, Pete, and Vicky are the ones that saved me,” Mary Jane said.

“Really? Pete didn’t tell me all the details. He just said that you were raped.”

“Yeah. If it wasn’t for them three, I probably would have been a lot worse than I am right now,” Mary Jane admitted.

“Well, I’m glad you were there, then,” Ashlee told him. “So, besides last night, how has the tour been going?” Ashlee asked, changing the subject.

“Great,” Mary Jane answered. “It’s better than I ever could have dreamed.”

“So, did you hook up with anyone?” Ashlee asked, ignoring the fact that Gabe was still in the room.

“Ash!” Mary Jane exclaimed.

“You did, didn’t you?” Ashlee asked excitedly. “Tell me, who was it?”

“I didn’t hook up with anyone,” Mary Jane said honestly.

“Oh, come on, who was it? Ryan? Alex? It wasn’t Pete, was it? Gabe?” Ashlee added the last one in jokingly. When, Mary Jane looked away, she said, “You hooked up with Gabe? And you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t hook up with him,” Mary Jane said.

“Don’t lie to me, MJ.”

“We didn’t hook up, but we were dating for a while.”

“Were?”

“Yeah, he broke up with me about a week ago.”

“You broke up with her? You’re an idiot!” Ashlee yelled at Gabe as she hit him in the chest with her purse.

“Hey!” Gabe yelled. “I know it was stupid, but I’ve tried to get back with her, and she won’t have it.”

“What? MJ, why not?”

“I told him that I didn’t think he should have to wait on me to get over the rape,” Mary Jane admitted.

“MJ, when Gabe Saporta asks you to be in an exclusive relationship, you take him up on it. That’s not going to happen too often!”

“Hey!” Gabe said, pretending to be offended.

“What? It’s true. When was the last time you were in an exclusive relationship?” Ashlee asked him.

“Um,” Gabe said, not able to think of an answer.

“See, exactly my point!” Ashlee said.

“Ash, it’s up to me, and I’m not going to do that to him,” Mary Jane said.

“Fine, whatever,” Ashlee said getting up. “I’m going to go see Pete, but I’ll see you later, okay?” she said to Mary Jane. “And just so you know, you’re both idiots!”