santa stole my girlfriend [Lelsey]

So many significant things had happened to Rowan on Theodore Lane. It was where he had first been told he was going to be the Overloridian of Dian. It was where he'd had his first encounter with Charlie and fallen for her. It was where he found out he was going to be a parent.

It had become a pretty meaningful place. So in one of those extremely rare moments in which Rowan was actually giving himself a break from everything, he was walking down it, feeling nostalgic and peaceful. It was nice.

Of course just about every time he felt this way something would come along and ruin it, so he didn't expect it to last very long.

Lesley walked down Theodore Lane, hands in pockets and eyes unfocused on the ground. This sucked. His awesome girlfriend had just broken up with him for some drunk, who has "pulled himself together," according to Charlie. But Lesley hadn't done anything wrong. Why was she taking it out on him? If she wasn't over Rowan, why would she try to pretend like she was?

And that Rowan. He was a mess when Lesley saw him last. Wtf happened to that? He thought he had nothing to worry about. This was insane. Charlie was with someone else, why couldn't he just leave her alone?

Don't look now, Amy said, trying to avoid any confrontation between the man approaching and her clio.

Hm? Lesley said, looking up because...well, because. Aw, come. on. Why is this happening?

What kind of sixteen year old wants to be with a guy with a kid? Nym was saying to Rowan. She wasn't being serious--she was glad they were going to be together. She was just teasing him because she was glad to be back on talking terms with him.

She'll be seventeen when it's born, Rowan pointed out. That's how old Ria is now, and she's the one actually having the baby.

[i]Yeah, but she doesn't...[i] Nym trailed off. Rowan saw why; up ahead, coming from the opposite direction, was none other than Lesley. Oh god. Had Charlie broken up with him yet? Judging by the look on his face, yes. Had she told him why?

Rowan just kind of stopped and had a look about him that clearly said, "oh shit what am I supposed to say to this guy?"

...He probably should have just kept on walking, but he didn't.

Lesley saw that Rowan had stopped, so when he reached him, he stopped too. He didn't know what to say. Should he ignore him? Should he take out his anger on him? Or should he say sorry for stealing his woman in the first place?

Eh, he figured he'd start off with a little sarcasm. "You don't look or smell like a hangover. Good job."

He was being a dick, but he didn't care at the moment. He just wanted to vent, and here was the perfect guy to do that with.

Rowan didn't react to the insult. He felt a little like he deserved it. True, Lesley had stolen Charlie first, so in a way Rowan hadn't really done anything to deserve hostile treatment, but he still felt like he did.

"How are you, Lesley?" he asked quietly instead. He didn't want to provoke or discourage Lesley's anger towards him (he assumed he had to be angry at him. Who wouldn't be?) so he neither boasted nor apologized.

Though asking "how are you" to someone who had just been dumped may not have been the best thing to say either...

"How the fuck do you think I am?" he asked. He looked down to the ground, kicking a stone so that it flew a good twenty feet. He rolled his eyes at himself. "I'm not doing so well. I'm not usually like this, but this also doesn't usually happen to me."

Lesley had always been wanted by clio, he had never been tossed aside for someone who didn't even seem that great. He had always lived the good life, but what was the point if he didn't have someone to share it with? He could get tons of girls, but none of them were anything like Charlie. Of course this guy knew that. He knew that all too well for Lesley's liking.

Rowan almost wanted to tell Lesley he knew how he felt, but he really didn't. Sure they had both had and lost Charlie, but as for the "I'm not usually like this, but this also doesn't usually happen to me" thing, Rowan couldn't relate. Before Charlie he had always been "like [that.]"

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Rowan said, and he meant it completely. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

He had been trying to let Charlie go, to move on while she moved on with Lesley, but it just hadn't happened that way. It was like they were meant to be together. Like they just couldn't stay apart.

"Yeah," he said, still looking at the ground. This sucked. Why was Rowan talking to him? Why was he talking to Rowan? Whatever. Screw this conversation and screw life.

"My nose is better," he said, since he couldn't think of anything else. This whole thing was just awkward. He didn't like it.

"Oh. That's--that's good," Rowan said lamely, awkwardly. He had nothing to say to that, really, other than to apologize for it again. "I really am sorry about that. I don't know what came over me, I'd never done anything like that before..."

He had already apologized for that. Why was he doing it again? Maybe because this was so freaking awkward and it was impossible for them to talk to each other intelligently. What should he talk about?

He kind of wondered if Lesley knew about Ria and the baby. Probably not. He really didn't want to ask if Charlie had told him anything.

Ah, hell. He might as well. What did he have to lose? "Did--Do you know about--about Ria?" he questioned, figuring that was the safest way to ask.

Lesley blinked, unsure of what the guy meant. "Ria? Uh, no, why? Who is she?" Now Lesley had to know. Was there another reason for Charlie to break up with him?

Well, damn. He hadn't known and now Rowan had to explain. He really didn't want to, especially not to Lesley of all people. It was kind of weird to tell someone whose girlfriend he had just taken back that he had gotten a different girl pregnant.

So he copped out. "No one really," he said quickly. "Just some girl."

Wow that sounded unconvincing.

Lesley didn't buy it for one second.

"What do you mean, 'just some girl?'" he said, looking at Rowan harshly. "Was it that girl at the party?" he asked. Of course Charlie had told him about that, she had felt really angry about it. But did this girl mean something more to Rowan? "You're not gonna cheat on Charlie, are you?" He hated to accuse Rowan of something, but he needed to make sure Charlie made the right choice. He wasn't gonna let her just give him up if Rowan was going to treat her badly.

"No!" Rowan exclaimed. Of course he would never cheat on Charlie! Not that he and her were officially back together yet, but still. And...with Ria? Ugh.

"But yes, she was the girl from the party," he admitted reluctantly. Geez, how many people knew about that?

He hoped he could leave it at that, but he had a feeling Lesley wasn't going to let it go. Why had he brought it up in the first place? Oh right. Because he was an idiot.