Price Check On Monogamy

Fuck him.
Fuck him.
Fuck him.

I couldn't articulate anything. All I knew was that I'd spent the entire morning-- the entire fucking morning from the time I'd realized that I couldn't get back to sleep because I was excited over some stupid surprise until just about fifteen minutes ago-- making a mosaic for an asshole who... who I thought I'd maybe, perhaps... almost... could have possibly...

Fuck that line of thought, too.

I slammed back to Jeremy's car; he'd apparently been there the whole time talking to a couple of our school's Valedictorian's friends. Apparently, he wasn't above flirting with her friends.

Apparently, neither were any of his fucking friends.

"Take me home," I said flatly, closing the door sharply. Jeremy turned around, that usual goofy grin on his face, took one look at me, turned back with a hasty apology to the girls, and got in the car as fast as he could.

"Jesus, Tiger, what the hell happened in there?" His eyes were huge, and I didn't know why until he grabbed a napkin and started dabbing at my eyes. "You're crying, what the hell happened in the five seconds you were in the library?"

I shoved his hand away and stared firmly at the dashboard. "No. Just... just get me out of here, Jeremy."

"No." I turned, shocked at the firmness in Jeremy's voice. His face was dead set. "Tell me what happened, Tiger. I know... look, I know that we might not be close, you might not even think of me as a friend, but I think of you as one, and I want to know why you're crying. So spill. Otherwise, we're not going anywhere."

I opened my mouth, but had no idea how to respond to something so... so... sincere. And kind. And exactly what I needed to hear right then.

Luckily, I was saved the trouble when I saw Tandem running at the car in the rearview mirror.

"I'll tell you everything if you get me away from him," I whispered. Jeremy looked in the mirror and swore under his breath. "Please, please, Jeremy, if you meant what you said, please get me the hell away from him."

Jeremy didn't even say anything; he just pulled out of the parking, sped his way out of the parking lot, and, disregarding every safety regulation ever mentioned about driving, got me to a park five blocks away.

"See the jack ass catch up now..." Jeremy mumbled under his breath.

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you always speak so highly of him?"

Jeremy turned on me and... didn't laugh; he didn't even smile. There was a seriousness in his eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time; he ran a hand through his curly hair and sighed. "He just... look, I know Tandem. Way better than you do. And I thought... I was starting to think that maybe..." He trailed off, but cleared his throat and finished fast, "I didn't think he'd hurt you. It sucks knowing that I was wrong."

I laughed, a hysterical, pained laugh that quickly turned into a sob. Jeremy grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "Tiger," he said softly, soothingly, almost. I looked up at him and, for some reason, he reminded me of Eli. "You promised to tell me. C'mon, get to it." His blue eyes were totally sincere.

So... I told him. I told him everything. I told him about what happened with Milo, about what happened with Tyler, then, finally-- and much, much more painfully than I would have thought it would be-- I told him about what happened with Tyler, from the movies, to the secrets, to California, to ten minutes ago. If Tandem could cheat on me-- with one of my best friends at that, a friend who he kept saying he didn't even like-- then why should I bother keeping his stupid secrets anymore? Why should I care?He'd known I was coming. I'd seen the fucking phone in his hand, he knew I was calling him, looking for him in the library. He hadn't picked up because he'd had Kip's tongue down his throat.

I hope he cut his foot on the shattered mosaic when he'd followed me out.

Jeremy didn't even say anything for a long time. He just looked at me, that sincerity still in his eyes. Finally, he took a deep breath and sighed. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, he gave my hand another squeeze. "What an asshole," he mumbled.

Finally, the reality of what was going on hit me. Easing my hand out of his, I crossed my arms and huddled into my seat. Staring straight ahead, straight into the park, I said quietly, "Well... well, at least you won the bet."

Jeremy laughed, but it sounded fake. For that, I was surprisingly thankful. "Oh, sure. Winning the bet makes this all alright, right?"

"I... I was stupid," I mumbled. My gaze dropped to the dashboard. "I should've known this was going to happen."

"Tiger." When I didn't look, Jeremy grabbed my chin gently and turned my head to look at him. "Tandem's... look, do you know why I thought that he wasn't going to hurt you? Because he's been a better person lately. From the time that this whole thing started, Tandem's been slowly changing, Tiger. Why? Because of you. Even before you two started actually dating, Tandem was already acting like he was finally growing up. Why? Because of you. Nothing else in his life changed."

I shook my head, pulling away from Jeremy's hand. "He just wanted what he couldn't have."

Jeremy shook his head. "No, Tiger, that's not it. Tandem might act like he can get anyone he wants, and Tandem might have everyone thinking that he can get anyone he wants, but he's not stupid, and neither are you. There are girls-- girls like you, yes, but not only you-- that Tandem can't have. I know it. He knows it. You know it. He can't have Tawny, for example."

"Fine, point made," I mumbled. Somehow, comparing who else he couldn't have to one of my other best friends just wasn't helping the situation. Leaning back in the chair, I raised an eyebrow at Jeremy. "So, what are you expecting me to do about this? Just forgive him? Take him back?" Because, needless to say-- and it better have been clear on the other end, too-- there wasn't anything between me and Tandem, as of now. There wasn't a relationship-- there wasn't even a bet anymore. And, seeing as the entire school had somehow decided to work on their damned projects today, there probably wouldn't be much questions, either. At least, not directed toward me.

Jeremy shook his head. "Nah, I'd never give that sort of advice. Tiger, you deserve someone good. You really do. You deserve a good guy who's gonna treat you right. Not a guy who will spread stupid, elementary school bullshit around the school when he throws hissy fits. Not a guy who will run away when you're in a tight situation. And not a guy who will make out with your best friend. You need a good guy, and you'll find him one day. I think, right now, though, you've probably had enough of guys." Smiling for the first time since we'd sped to the park, Jeremy turned his car back on. "So c'mon, how about I get you some ice cream and give you a ride home?"

I smiled gratefully and wiped my eyes on my sleeves. "Thanks, Jeremy, I'd like that a lot."

- - -

He'd been running all over town looking for her and, apparently, no one knew where the hell she was.

Tandem ran a hand through his hair and swore loudly, kicking a brick wall. Like a dumb ass, he'd chased Jeremy's car on foot instead of getting into his own car and following them. By the time he'd even remembered he'd had a car, he was blocks away from the library, and unwilling to waste time going all the way back just to grab it.

So, for the past three hours, he'd been running around on foot trying to find her. He didn't even have his phone; he'd dropped it when he'd started to chase her. Not that he actually thought that she'd pick up any of his calls, but still-- if he called a million times, maybe she'd at least pick up for a nanosecond and he could try to explain it all really fast. Or get out some important facts-- like, oh, say, how Kip kissed him-- and she'd pause for a second and listen to him. At the very least, he could be calling to show that he actually wanted to explain everything.

Leaning against the wall and closing his eyes, Tandem pounded the back of his head against it, once, twice. He'd asked everyone he'd run into who knew her if they knew where she was, and no one had any clue. After running to her house, he'd even ran to Lexy's and Tawny's, neither of which, thank God, had been home. He'd checked the mall, he'd checked all her favourite places to eat. He'd even around Milo's house, for a little bit-- no where. She'd been absolutely no where.

And he was screwed, indefinitely.

Pushing himself off the wall, he used whatever was left of his energy to walk himself back to the library.

Where Kip-- the absolute last person on the face of the planet he ever wanted to see again-- was waiting by his car.

"Where did you run off to?" She asked brightly. Like she hadn't just ripped everything he'd been planning apart to shreds. Holding out his phone, she added, "You dropped this when you ran out like a maniac. Why'd you run out like that?"

"Wh... why?" Tandem stuttered out. He couldn't have heard that right. Snatching his phone out of her hand, he asked slowly, "What did you just say?"

Kip's face finally contorted into a little frown. "Oh, God... how did Tiger take it?"

"How... how did she take what?" What the hell was she babbling about? Was this how she always talked?

"How did she take... you know..." Kip leaned in, her voice dropping a little. "Us?"

Tandem just stood there, blinking. He couldn't be hearing right. What the hell was she even saying? What did us even mean? "What?"

"You know," Kip went on, like Tandem even knew what she was talking about, "I never would have kissed you had you not admitted that you liked me, too. But, you know, it's exactly what I said, right? Two people in a relationship," Kip grabbed his hand and smiled up at him brilliantly. "Tiger will get over it eventually, when she realizes that we're happy together."

Everything suddenly clicked together in Tandem's mind and, without a second thought, he yanked his hand out of hers. Staring at her in disbelief, he almost shouted, "Are you fucking insane?"

Kip's smile was gone in a second; reality was coming down right around her ears. "You... you weren't talking about me?" She whispered.

"No, you psychotic bitch!" Now Tandem was really shouting. Getting into his car fast, he wrestled the keys out of his pocket as quickly as he could. "Stay away from me, you just ruined everything!"

Kip stared at him, wide eyes, as his car roared to life; had it not been so sleek, he wouldn't have heard her whisper, "Oh my God, I just broke Tiger's heart."

Out of sheer disbelief, Tandem didn't pull out of the parking lot the second he had the chance. Instead, stared at Kip. "No, don't worry," he sneered sarcastically. "She'll blame it all on me, anyway."

With that, Tandem peeled out of the parking lot as fast as he can, almost not bothering to dodge Kip on his way out.