Better Sorry Than Safe

The aroma of the homemade lasagna and breadsticks filled the apartment as Isabelle worked on the salad. The cheese stuffed ravioli sat in a glass bowl by the stove, the sauce in another glass bowl next to them. It was ten minutes to seven and Zacky and Lilly had just came in. “Make enough food Belle?” Lilly asked with a laugh.

“Think I over did it?” Isabelle grabbed the oven mitts and opened the oven, removing the lasagna and breadsticks. She didn’t notice her brother sneaking a fork and grabbing a ravioli from the bowl as she closed the oven.

“Oh yeah you definitely over did it, and I’m sure as hell glad that you did. These ravioli are great!” She glared and grabbed the bowl, making Zacky pout.

“You can wait for a few minutes to eat.” She’d just finished getting everything on the table when the doorbell rang, the sound making the panic set in completely.

Zacky laughed as his sister hurried to the door. When Isabelle opened the door she was met by a smiling Chris “Hey Belle. Is everyone already here?” She grinned up at Chris and walked out onto the doorstep with her boyfriend, closing the door behind her.

“Yeah, Zacky and Lilly just got back not too long ago. They are both waiting inside, Zacky probably sitting at the table just staring at the food. So I’ll make this quick; if my brother doesn’t like you at first, or acts like he doesn’t, just don’t put too much mind to it. He will come around.”

“Isabelle,” Chris placed a hand on each of her shoulders and chuckled. “tonight is going to be fine. Now how about we go inside and eat dinner?”

“Okay, since you are so sure about the outcome of this then lets go find out.” Much to her relief Zacky an Lilly were still in the kitchen, instead of sitting in the living room just waiting for them to walk through the door.

“So you must be Chris.” Zacky stated the second Isabelle and Chris walked into the dinning room. Zacky sticking his hand out

“And you must be Zacky. It’s good to finally get to meet you.”

“How about we eat dinner?” Isabelle suggested, drawing a small laugh from Lilly.

♥♥♥

Even though he’d been gone since he’d woke up that morning Matt still wasn’t ready to return to the hotel room that evening. Valary hadn’t said anything about what had happened at the show yet, and he wasn’t sure what to make of that. The guys wanted to go out again and he’d quickly agreed.

When he walked into the hotel room and realized it was empty he sighed in relief. Sitting down on the bed he placed his head in his hands. He’d been avoiding being alone with his own girlfriend and it made him feel horrible. But he just couldn’t bring himself to face the fact that he and Valary would have to talk about sometime another

When the door opened he still hadn’t moved from his spot. “You okay Matt?” He looked up at the sound of her voice, forcing a smile.

“Yea, of course. Just doing some thinking. Are you going to go out with the guys and I again tonight?” She smiled at him and shook her head no.

“The girls and I were actually planning on going out by ourselves tonight.” He felt a sudden pang of relief again, he would make it through about night without having to talk about it. That would only leave five more days and nights while they were in Vegas and a week or so when they got home, after that he figured that he’d be safe.

“You girls have fun then,” He stood up and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m going to go ahead and meet up with the guys.” He placed a kiss her on lips and removed his arms from around her.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

♥♥♥

“I don’t think I can eat another bite.” Zacky complained as he slouched down in the chair and closed his eyes.

“Maybe you should have stopped earlier then. Did you ever think of that?” Isabelle laughed as her twin stuck his tongue out at her.

“No I was too stupid! Of course I thought about it, I just didn’t want to.” As soon as he finished his explanation Isabelle flipped him off.

“Your cooking skills never fail to amaze me babe.” Chris reached over and grabbed her hand, his thumb gently rubbing circles on the back of her hand. She smiled before leaning over and kissing his cheek.

“Since I actually stopped eating before I became ready to explode I’m going to get dessert.” Lilly stood up and smirked down at Zacky.

“So Zack, do you finally approve of my choice of boyfriend?” Isabelle watched as her brother glanced between her and Chris for the second millionth time.

“Yeah, I approve now. I got a call from Jimmy this afternoon though and wanted to ask all of you something. Anybody wanna come with me and the guys for a night out?”

“I’m coming!” Lilly sat back down with her cake, knowing that Zacky had already known that she would be coming.

Chris looked over at Isabelle, not realizing how deeply she was thinking. “I have to work tomorrow and I kind of need some sleep, so I’ll pass.” Her voice sounded even enough that no one noticed how large her lie really was. As much as she would have loved to hang out with her brother and the guys she wasn’t ready to face Matt.

“Alright, maybe in another day or two then. They really wanna see you and they will find a way.” Zacky sat up straight in his chair again, beginning to wonder if his twin was telling him the truth.

“Yeah, maybe.” The second her eyes dropped from his and looked towards Chris he knew. That was all it took for him to realize that she was lying about seeing the guys.

♥♥♥

Matt had just stayed hanging out with Jimmy, since Leanna had already left the hotel room. He was staring at the television screen as Jimmy talked to Zacky on his cell phone. “Okay, see you later then man.” As Jimmy ended the conversation Matt began to wonder if Isabelle was going to join them.

“So who is coming tonight?” Trying not to put too much emotion into his question Matt didn’t bother looking up at Jimmy.

“Just Zacky and Lilly. Isabelle has to work tomorrow and her boyfriend doesn’t want to come without her.” Jimmy carefully watched Matt’s reaction when he used the word boyfriend, noticing that his friend stiffened slightly.

“Her boyfriend? Zacky invited him?” Immediately after speaking Matt wanted to take it back, he had never meant to vocalize it so much. Pretending he had a text message he pulled out his phone and focused on that, refusing to look at Jimmy.

“Well Matt,” Jimmy watched as his friend tried so hard to look absorbed in his phone as he spoke. “From what I’ve heard they are pretty serious.”

Not feeling like fighting with his best friend, Matt hurried to change the subject. “Well how about we just go?”

“Are you sure there isn’t something that you wanna tell me first?” Jimmy eyed Matt cautiously, not wanting to set him off. It Matt got angry he would never tell the truth about it all.

“There is nothing I want to tell you! All I want is to go out and have a good time!” Matt shoved his cell phone back in his pocket and stood up. There was no way that he’d risk exposing the truth anymore than he already had.

“You aren’t even upset that the girls are going off on their own tonight and Lilly is coming with us?” Jimmy smirked as Matt’s expression changed slightly; it told him that Matt wasn’t upset the girls weren’t coming with them.

“They just want some girl time and of course Zacky is going to bring Lilly with him. Now can we just go?” Already storming towards the door Matt failed to notice Jimmy’s smug smile.

♥♥♥

“I like these moments.” Isabelle confessed to Chris in a whisper. There was a movie playing on the TV and the couple were curled on her bed. Lilly and Zacky had already left to go meet the guys so it was just the two of them.

“So do I,” He whispered as he kissed the top of her head. “More than anyone will ever believe.”

Upon hearing his words she snuggled in closer to his side. The night had went much better than she’d anticipated and her brother’s approval of Chris gave her great joy. When they were asked to go out with the guys a large part of her had wanted to scream yes, but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t be around Matt and Chris at the same time.

At times Isabelle hated herself. She did love Chris, to an extent, and she didn’t want to see him hurt. Yet no matter how hard she tried to change herself and to change the feelings of her heart she couldn’t do it. Her heart would always belong to someone else, she could never be in love with Chris. And for that she utterly despised herself.

Chris had known that Isabelle was in love with someone else the moment he met her, but the fascination that he felt towards her was so strong that he couldn’t ignore it. Since they started dating and Isabelle grew to love him that vision that allowed him to see the truth had clouded over. He’d grown oblivious to the feelings his girlfriend sometimes unintentionally hinted at.

Looking in from the outside they appeared to be a normal happy couple; one who seemed made for each other. Between them it just felt normal, it felt right. But every now and then they’d both feel the friction between themselves. As much as it tugged at them both, especially at Isabelle, to end it before they got even more serious it was impossible. She did love him.

“Belle why did you say no to going out with everyone tonight?” Chris asked her suddenly, causing her mind to jump start again.

“I’m just really tired. It was a long day.” A yawn escaped her lips at the perfect time, even though she hadn’t planed for it to. Now that she thought about it she wasn’t lying; she was exhausted. The stress and fear of Zacky’s disapproval was now gone which allowed her to feel completely at ease.

“Okay, just making sure that it wasn’t because of me.” Chris could tell that she was slowly falling asleep, even if she couldn’t. As the tension flowed out of her body and her breaths became deep and even he decided he needed to leave. “Belle, I’m going to leave.”

“I’ll lock the door behind you.” After locking the door behind Chris she crawled into bed and turned off all electronics and lights, letting the exhaustion take over.

Isabelle slept for around five minutes before she was wide awake again. A sigh passed through her lips as she sat up, knowing exactly what she wanted to do. As she turned on the lamp that was on her nightstand she grabbed her cell phone. As the sent message appeared on her screen she got out of bed and walked towards her closet.

15 minutes later she was pulling out of her parking spot, headed for Coyote Ugly. No where in her mind was any intention of actually meeting up with the guys and Lilly; she just wanted to watch them from afar. Somewhere in the back of her mind there was a little voice screaming that this idea was insane, and she knew that it was, but nothing could stop her.

It took a good 30 minutes to actually get inside the bar, and another 5 to spot the group. Zacky was grinning wildly at Lilly, Jimmy and Brian along with Johnny were ogling at the girls dancing on the bar, and Matt was talking to the bartender. As Isabelle watched Matt for a second she thought he was flirting with the bartender, and then she realized that he was ordering himself another drink.

It felt like gravity was pulling her towards the group; made up of her brother, best friend, and the three guys who were once like her family. Even from the distance she could tell that Jimmy and Brian hadn't changed at all. She'd only met Johnny once or twice and that had been after she'd left California.

Her eyes were watering as she looked away and headed for the door without realizing where she was going. Wandering aimlessly on the sidewalks, taking in the Excalibur, Mandalay Bay, New York New York, and the MGM Grand as she passed or walked out of them. It was nights like this that made her realize exactly how much she loved this city.

When she needed to get off the strip she drove to Paradise Road and parked at the Hard Rock Cafe. When she got inside she ordered a water and a hot fudge sunday, regretting going to see the guys already. She felt her heart aching as she ate her sugary snack. No matter how much she'd tried to forget and ignore it the truth was she missed Matt and that would never go away.

She ate her sunday as slowly as she could, savoring the taste and the music that was playing. The one question that was on her mind was exactly when and how had her life gotten so completely complicated. Right now she should be celebrating, or at least be happy. She would no longer have to worry about her brother’s reaction toward Chris, that should have been a cause for a celebration; but it wasn’t.

After paying she left the café, not feeling any better than she had when she had arrived. When she reached the apartment again it was still empty, which she had expected but was still thankful for. Knowing that it would take some time before she was able to go to sleep she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, praying that it wouldn’t take too long.

***

The next morning when Matt woke up he could hear Valary’s soft breathing, which only made him feel worse. Deciding to go get them coffee before she woke up he went to take a shower before leaving the room. She was still sound asleep when he left the room.

He was the only one in the elevator on the way down, which wasn’t a good thing in his eyes. The more he was alone the more his mind wandered and it was getting worse. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator he found himself in the middle of the noise and lights, which was an immense relief for him.

At least as he navigated towards the Starbucks and ordered his mind was busy enough to keep him from thinking about her. There wasn’t a lot that he was sure of when it came to this situation, but of one thing he was absolutely sure of. Jimmy had to know by now.

By the time he returned to the room Valary had woken up and was in the shower. He sat the second cup of coffee on the nightstand and finished his off, wondering what the day would have in-store. “Did you have fun last night?” Valary’s voice asked, breaking his train of thought.

“Yeah we did. How about you girls? There is a cup of coffee for you on the nightstand.” She smiled and took a drink of it before answering.

“We had a lot of fun. Thanks. It looks like you’ll be forced to hang out with the guys again today though, the girls want to go shopping and to the spa.” Matt nodded as a plan quickly formed in his mind.

“Okay well have fun with that.” She nodded and watched him carefully. He had that look in his eyes, the one that he was hiding something. This wasn’t at all new, he’d been doing the same thing for years.

“I’m sure we will. Are you going to take off already?”

“In a few minutes I think I will. I made us reservations at the Eiffle tower observation deck restaurant for seven thirty though so I’ll see you this evening.” She smiled when he told her the new information.

“Well I guess that I will indeed see you this evening.” He placed a kiss against her lips before he left the hotel room.

Every time that they had broken up in the past Matt had gotten that look in his eyes before it all went down hill. In all honesty Valary was shocked that he wasn’t pulling away like before. When the first hints of the look had appeared she had braced herself for Matt to start pulling away from her, like he had in the past. She was beginning to think that maybe this time would be different.

As Matt walked down the hallway towards the elevator his plan was forming further into the day, that is until he was suddenly pulled into another hotel room. “Shit Jimmy! What the hell?” Matt stared at his best friend who just grinned back innocently.

“You are obviously in a place where you are confused my dear friend, and I am here to help. Do you love Val?” Matt stared at Jimmy as if he’d just grown a second head, shocked that he would even ask that question.

“Of course I love Val, are you insane?”

“Do you love Isabelle?” Matt’s expression changed, making him look at Jimmy as if he’d now grown a third head.

“Where exactly are you going with this?”

“I know you love Val, and I know you love Isabelle. I’ve known you almost all my life, I see things like this. Now answer my final question; which one are you in love with?”

***

“Isabelle you have a visitor!” Lilly’s voice rang through the apartment the next morning as Isabelle got ready.

“Who is it?” She called back, just before Chris appeared in her room.

“Hey, I didn’t expect you to come by so early.”

“It was a snap decision. I was thinking that since you are only working until six tonight that we’d go get dinner if you wanted to. At the Paris maybe?” She saw the mischievous sparkle in his eyes and laughed.

“You already made us reservations didn’t you?” He grinned at his girlfriend with a quick nod of his head. “Okay then I guess I’ll see you around what 6:30ish?”

“The reservations are for 7:30 so how about fifteen till seven?” His suggestion would give her a little bit more time to get back to the apartment, which pleased her to no end. “I will leave so you can get to work. I’ll see you later on. I love you.” He kissed her before she could even reply.

“See you later. I love you too Chris.” When she arrived at work it seemed like it would be a normal day, and for an hour or so it was. Then it changed suddenly.

She had expected that the customer at the table would just be another stranger, just another face that she’d never saw before. “Hello, I’m Isabelle and I’ll be your server today. What can I get for you?”

“I’ll have a Coke for now I guess. Hello Isabelle.” Her eyes widened as she stared at the man sitting at the table, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. He grinned at her, which made the smile break out on her face.

“Jimmy! I’ve missed you so much! I’ll go grab your Coke though, since I am actually working.” He laughed and nodded, looking back at the menu. As soon as he decided what to order he thought about how easily recognizable she still was. Matt had saw her in the crowd at the show, he concluded.

After lunch Jimmy made Isabelle promise to hang out with him before he left town, knowing that her word was good. After seeing one of her best friends in the entire world for the first time in far too long Isabelle was left in a great mood. The rest of the day passed uneventful for everyone.

Valary returned to the room before Matt. She changed her clothes and then waited for him to arrive. He walked through the door and smiled lovingly at her, telling her how beautiful she looked. Jimmy’s earlier conversation was not forgotten but Matt gave no outward hints about it at all.

Isabelle and Chris made it to the restaurant on time, sitting on six tables away from Matt and Valary. As Isabelle looked out the windows at the Vegas Strip Chris grabbed her hand, rubbing gentle circles onto the back of it with his thumb. She was blissfully unaware of Matt, who was holding Valary’s hand, as well the girl who used to be one of her best friends. Likewise Valary was unaware of one of her old best friends, and Matt had no idea that the other girl he loved was so close.

After dinner Isabelle and Chris went up to the observation deck to watch the Bellagio water show, which was the perfect ending of the night for her. The other couple headed across the street for a front row seat of the show. Just as the show ended Chris bent down, pulling out a black velvet box from his pocket. “Isabelle I love you so much, and I always will. Will you marry me?”