Brian picked up his briefcase and continued down the hall, seeing Joey with his arms around Dani had left him with a horrible feeling deep in the pit of his stomach.  He shut his door and tossed his coat on the bed.  Classes has started today, but since he only taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays he was able to leave early.  It had been a horrible day from the moment he woke up, and seeing Joey and Dani together wasn't helping, all he could picture was Joey with his arms around her.  Her peacefully closed eyes, her head laying on his chest, and the thought that bothered him most off all, was the longing he had to be the person who was holding her.  What the hell is wrong with me? He yelled in his mind.  It's Dani.  The Dani I've known since we were kids, the closest thing to a sister I'll ever have, why would I want to change that?  Brian got up and left the room, so frustrated with his own thoughts that he had to get away from them.  He glanced into Dani's room as he walked by, they were gone.  He sighed with relief as he went into the kitchen, looking over at Joey who sat watching the game show network on the couch.  Dani didn't seem to be here anymore.

    "Where's Dani?" Brian asked hesitantly.

    "She went to get groceries." Joey muttered.

    "Oh." Brian said, randomly looking in cupboards, not really hungry, but looking for any distraction.  "So......what's up with you guys?" He finally blurted out.

    "Nothing." Joey said, riveted on 'Family Feud'.

    "So why were you, ya know,  in her bedroom, on her bed, hugging her."

    "She needed me." He said mimicking Brian's sarcastic tone.

    "Did you sleep with her?"

    "Jesus Brian, would open up your fucking eyes.  No I did NOT sleep with her, she was upset, she needed a hug."

    "And you were conveniently the one to give it to her huh!" He said bitterly.

    "Really Brian, what's bothering you about this?  The fact that I might be with Dani, which I'm not, or that you aren't the one with her?"  Brian didn't say a word, continuing to look  in the cupboards, with each successive door he opened he slammed it shut even harder.  Joey looked at him with a smug grin.

    "So why was she so upset that you had to comfort her?" Brian asked.

    "Do you really want to know?"

    "Yes." Brian said loudly.

    "Cause your bitch of a girlfriend attacked her." Joey said getting up off the couch.

    "WHAT?  Sofie hit her?" He said, his eyes growing wide with worry.

    "No, but she might as well have.  Ya know I've said that girl was a bitch before, but I really didn't fully believe it until today, she was just cold."

    "Why?  What did she say?"

    "I didn't hear it all, but she brought up the whole Lauren situation and put a lot of thoughts in Dani's head.  Thoughts about you lying to her about the situation, about everything, and she basically made Dani feel about two feet tall." Joey yelled getting in Brian's face.

    "I didn't do anything to her, why the hell are you yelling at me?"

    "I'm pissed off Brian.  I know you didn't say any of that shit to her, but it hurt her enough to make her cry, and that is one thing I cannot stand to see, and you are the only person I can take it out on."  He said backing away from Brian and going towards the front door, slipping into a pair of sandals, needing to get out of the house.

    "Thanks man."

    "For what?" Joey said, pulling the door open.

    "For being there for her.  She doesn't cry that often in front of people, Sofie musta been really hard on her." He said, more to himself.

    "Yeah well it wasn't me she needed." Joey said standing in the doorway.  "And Bri, one thing before I go.  I don't want to tell you how to run your life, but this is my house too and if I ever see Sofie around here again she'll be the one crying."  Brian simply nodded and sat down at the table.
 

    He impatiently awaited Dani's return, even contemplating going to the grocery store to find her, but deciding not to because he didn't know where she'd gone.  Brian didn't know if he should apologize to her or not.  Did he do something wrong?  No, but Sofie was his,  he left her here this morning when he went to work, it was his fault.  Brian pondered Dani's tears over the situation.  In all the years of their friendship seeing her cry hadn't happened often, the only real time he had ever seen her cry was when she found out about Lauren.  Then she hit me, he thought with a frown.  What could Sofie say that would make her cry, especially in front of Joey? He wondered, his heart jumping as he heard her come in the door, immediately going to her.

    "Can I give you a hand?" Brian asked as Dani came in carrying bags and bags of groceries.

    "No." She said setting them on the counter.  "This is all I got."

    "Are you mad at me?" He asked without hesitation.

    "Why would I be mad at you?"

    "I know what happened this morning." Dani shifted away from him, kicking her shoes off towards the door.

    "Yeah well shit happens." She said, putting the groceries away.

    "I'm sorry."

    "Why should you be sorry?"

    "I dunno, she's my girlfriend."

    "And such a fine one at that." Dani said snidely, slamming the door of the refrigerator.

    "I was talking to Matt yesterday.  We're meeting at the hotel in Atlanta friday morning." He said changing the subject as he noticed her growing anger.

    "Yeah I know, Deanna told me."  She said.  "And about driving up there.  I think I'm just gonna go up on my own."

    "Why?" He asked.  They had been planning on driving up together ever since they had received the invitation in the mail.

    "Because Brian, I can't be sitting in that car the whole time with her, it just won't work.

    "Sofie?"

    "Yeah Sofie.  In case you didn't get the gist of this mornings whole fight from Joey, she hates me.  And well I pretty much hate her too."

    "There's no point in both of us drive up separately Dani.  And trust me, Sofie won't be a problem."

    "Why are you gonna gag her and tie her to the roof?  Cause unless you are I won't be in that car."

    "No, she isn't coming."

    "Why?"

    "Because I broke up with her this morning." He said flatly.  Dani dropped the apples she was holding on the floor, quickly bending to get them.

    "Oh."

    "Is Joey coming?" Brian asked.

    "Why would Joey come?  He doesn't know Matt or Deanna."

    "I dunno I thought he'd go with you or something."

    "No, Joey isn't going with me." She said.  "I'm rooming with Jody,  Deanna's friend.  You knew that."

    "I just forgot I guess." Brian took the box of cookies from her hand and put them on the shelf she was unsuccessfully trying to reach.  "So you'll drive up with me?" He asked.

    "I guess." She said.

    "Good, we're leaving at four in the morning." He said, smiling  at the look of appallment that came over her face.
 
 

        Brian stared out the window watching the scenery pass by as he drove towards Atlanta.   The sun was just rising and Dani slept peacefully in the seat next to him, her head resting on the window pane.  He had been glad she fell asleep the minute they got into the car because the tension between them was almost  unbearable.  He couldn't bring himself to talk to her about it, he could barely talk to her at all.  Too many mixed and confused emotions ran through his head and he didn't want to blurt anything out  and regret it later.  But the tension it built between them was growing everyday.  It was bad enough in the house, but being stuck in a car with her for over six hours was something he had been dreading all week.  Dani seemed unusually distant since her confrontation with Sofie, and Brian was worried about everything that was said to her, about what exactly was said, and how much of it was about him.  It had been cruel of Sofie to attack Dani like that after they broke up, if he'd have known she'd do that he wouldn't have left her at the house to get all of her things out.   He should have known she'd do something like that, she hadn't taken him breaking up with her well, over and over again she had accused him of cheating on her with Dani, of wasting almost a year of her life and told him repeatedly that he was an asshole, but she had eventually calmed down, or so he had thought.  It felt good being rid of her, well at least until I found out what she did to Dani, he thought.  Getting Dani's trust back after the whole Lauren situation had been hard, but just when he finally felt he had it again Sofie destroyed it.  She brought back all of Dani's insecurities over her sister and god only knows what else.  Brian looked over at Dani thinking about how much emotional crap she had been through, and how most of it had been caused by him, even if some of it was indirectly.  As if she heard his thoughts she stirred awake opening her eyes and adjusting to the light.

    "Where are we?" She asked groggily.

    "Somewhere in Tennessee."

    "How long 'til we get there?"

    "Not sure, a few hours I think."  He replied glancing over at Dani who looked like she could use a few more hours of sleep.  "You wanna stop for coffee or something?"  Dani nodded and Brian pulled into the next truck stop they saw that had a diner.  Brian stretched his legs as they went inside, sitting down in a booth while Dani went to the washroom.   When she returned Brian ordered her a large tea to go with the coffee he had previously asked for, and watched her lay her head down on her arms, closing her eyes for that extra minute of sleep, sitting back up when the waitress came with her drink.

    "Dani can I ask you a question?"  Brian asked as the waitress left.

    "Yeah." She said pouring her fourth sugar packet into her tea.

    "What did she say to you?"

    "Who?"

    "Sofie.  That whole fight you two had, what did she say to you that got you so upset?"

    "Nothing."  Dani stirred her tea methodically, looking down at the table.

    "Joey told me what he heard and that wasn't nothing.  I wanna know what she said."

    "It doesn't matter Brian, it's over and done with."

    "It's something I need to know Dani." He stared at her from across the table, her gaze still looking down into her tea.  "Dani it obviously has something to do with me.  I deserve to know what was said."

    "Why do you assume it has something to do with you." She said defensively, finally looking up at him.

    "Because." He snapped.  "You've been all weird around me since it happened.  I thought after Sofie was gone you'd talk to me more or something.  But all you've done is avoid me."

    "I'm not the one being weird Brian." Dani set her cup down on the table hard.  "You're the one who gets all quiet around me, who's barely said two words to me all week.  You're the one who freaks out at Joey and asks him if we're sleeping together.  What's that all about Bri?  Tell me that? Then Maybe I'll tell you about Sofie."

    "Joey told you what I said to him?" He asked growing elusively quiet again, wishing Dani would lower her voice as well.

    "In a matter of speaking....yes."

    "Well aren't you two just the best of friends." Brian said snidely, slinking back into his seat

    "Stop it Brian.  I'm sick of this.  You have no reason to act  like a child, because even if I was seeing Joey, even if Joey and I are the greatest of friends it's none of your goddamn business.  My friendship with you  is our friendship, your involvement in my life ends with that.  You do not decide who I see, who I date, who I sleep with, or who I'm friends with okay!"  She yelled, getting up from the table and slamming her money down.  Brian remained quiet. and got up as well, following her out the door.

    "Let's just get this trip over with." Brian mumbled as he got back onto the car, pulling out onto the highway.
 
 

        Dani stared out the window of the car as they drew closer and closer to Georgia.  She couldn't believe she had said that to him in the diner, it was kind of harsh, but his whole attitude he had about her was getting annoying.  It was one thing for him to just think of her as a friend, but it was another to try and control her love life. Almost a full week of awkwardness had made this trip she had to take with Brian all the more difficult, especially now that she had yelled at him, but he had  been acting increasingly weird around her, and even weirder when she was with Joey and she didn't know how to take it.  Does he blame me for breaking up with Sofie?  Does he resent me for it?  Joey said he broke up with her before all the shit happened with us that morning, so why did he break up with her?  Joey said he didn't know.  Joey had also told her he thought Brian's break up with Sofie had a lot to do with her, because of the way Brian was acting around her, and the way Sofie came at her.  Dani didn't know what to think.
 

    "Brian, why'd you break up with Sofie?" She asked, breaking the hour long silence they had held since their coffee break.

    "What?"

    "Since we're asking question I thought I'd give this one a go.  So...?"

    "No particular reason." He said aloofly.

    "Was it because of me?"

    "What?" He exclaimed again.

    "Did you break up with her because of me." She asked again.

    "Why would it be because of you?"

    "I dunno, just a question."

    "Like you said Dan, my life outside our friendship is none of your business, and that includes why I broke up with Sofie." He said monotonously.

    "Fine, be that way Brian."  She sighed, not really blaming his for acting the way he was, but annoyed never-the-less.  "Just forget I asked and lets get there as fast as we can.  The sooner this little trip is over the better."

    Both Dani and Brian fumed the rest of the way to Atlanta.  Dani continued staring out the window and Brian looked to the road ahead, neither of them talking, and the sound of the radio covering the built up tension.    The pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, silently getting their luggage from the trunk and carrying it inside.  They didn't speak as they were given keys to their rooms, the silence following them into the elevator and up to the 5th floor where they were both staying.  Brian watched Dani go into room 517 and continued down the hall to his own room, he thought once they were out of the car he'd be fine.  But he wasn't, not by a long shot.
 
 

Lyrics Taken From:
"Can't get you off my Mind" Lenny Kravitz
Written by: Kravitz
© 1995 EMD/Virgin