fandomtownies | Fandom Post Office, Monday, 2/4

Except during her 3rd period class when she is in... class.

Guess who's bouncing into the post office toward the end of the day after his fourth period class.

"Hey, Annette!"

Guess who hasn't listened to a word of radio all week!

Annette has listened to radio. Except for last night. She wouldn't listen to Dick.

Even so, she tried to appear pleasant when she saw A.J. bounce in, all... happy-like. "Hi, A.J.," she said, giving him a small smile.

"What's up?" A.J. asked, leaning on the counter a little to give her a warm smile. "How's it going? Feeling any better since the last time we've talked?"

She gave him a look. Did he not hear the news? "Gee, A.J., I guess I'm doing fairly well all things considered. Haven't tipped back any alcoholic beverages yet so I guess I'm doing better than I thought I would have."

Nope. Before Annette, leaning on the counter, was a man completely oblivious to anything outside his own little bubble. Not even fixing weird robot people things in class was phasing him. "Oh, come on," he said. "I know we got at it pretty hard, but it wasn't that bad. We yell at each other like that all the time."

"Yeah, you're right, we do," she said, frowning. "But even at that, I didn't think you would make light of my situation, A.J.," she continued. "Learning that I was screwed over not once, but twice, well, that kind of hit hard, you know?"

Well, there wasn't anything that was bursting his bubble, until now. A.J. blinked.

"Wait. What?"

Annette cocked her head. "Apparently you haven't paid attention to radio lately?" Oh. Right. Haylofts. "I broke up with Dick last week."

Definitely no radios in haylofts.

"You...you did?" A.J. straightened slightly, blinking. And trying really hard to make it not seem obvious that he wanted to give Annette a slap on the back and proudly tell her it's about damn time. Especially since now the bad mood she was in was starting to creep into his field of awareness. "Oh, maaaaan, Annette....You....you doing okay?"

It was more of a omigod I'm still hurt than bad, but it probably came across the same. "I would have been fine, A.J.," she said, looking down at the counter. "Dealt with the upset of no longer having him, gotten over it. But... Dick had to be a dick and clue me in to the fact that he cheated on me, twice, before he slammed out of my room. That? hurts..."

And A.J. wasn't exactly sure how to process all that. He couldn't exactly say he was surprised; he could say that he was angry and wished he wasn't a complete wuss so he could punch Dick like he always wanted to. There was also a great deal of I told you so's in his head. But, when it came down to the wire, A.J. found there was only one thing he could say, frowning deeply and wondering if there was anything he should be doing to make her feel better.

"What a dick."

Yup. That summed it up.

"Seriously?"

She looked up him, half expecting the I told you so's, but no, nothing to rub it in her face.

"Yeah, whatever," she managed, hating this moment. It sucked, there was no way to get around it and talking about with him just... really, it was... he had a girlfriend and Annette didn't want to get personal anymore with him. It wasn't fair; to him, to Beauty, or to herself.

"I must really suck, eh? Dick cheated on me with a petite, cute blonde. How ironic is that?" She shook her head. "Anyhow, I'm dealing and just getting over it. Thinking about leaving school."

"Annette," A.J. said, frowning seriously at her. "You're, like, four months from graduation, if even. How many times have I told you that, if stuff like this was happening, it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with him being an asshole? You are not going to let some asshole derail you like this."

She sighed wearily. "A.J., I'm just sucking. I know it and I feel it. I don't even know how to get back on track."

"Sitting here blaming yourself and insisting you suck probably isn't the best way to start, you know," A.J. pointed out, frowning, as he desperately tried to think of something that would be a good place to start. But he sucked at this sort of thing...

Edited 2008-02-04 19:26 (UTC)

Annette raised her brows. "What do you suggest because I am fresh out of ideas. Getting drunk is looking better and better."

"Well, I guess that's one option," A.J. admitted. "There are others, though. I know you're not lacking in friends, Annette. You should go do something, have fun, be all, 'fuck you, Dick. I don't need your stupid, blonde, cocky, jerk face at all.'"

He would have added 'cheating' to the list, but didn't. It was way too touchy of a spot, all things considered.

"Yeah, easier said than done given that my friends are basically all busy with their significant others," she said, giving him a pointed look. "Even you."

Taking a deep breath, she waved her hand. "You were awfully bouncy when you came in. Care to tell me why or do I already know?" She was trying to be happy for him, honest.

A.J. frowned at Annette. "Yeah, because the thing I want to talk about in light of you breaking up with Dick is that," he said. "It's not like we weren't practically together as it was; it's just this weekend we made it more....official, that's all. And I don't remember saying anything about being too busy for you."

Okay, he had this way of making her feel like dirt. She was utterly ashamed of herself and couldn't meet his eyes.

"I know... geeze I know. I'm happy for you, A.J., and Beauty. I'm being an utter bitch in my self-wallowing and I'm sorry."

"You know," A.J. said, ducking his head to try to get Annette to look at him despite her best efforts, "it's totally okay if you aren't. You're just out of a break-up, so you're allowed to have this little bubble of hate for couples for a little bit. I think the self-wallowing, though, is totally uncalled for because I really do think this is better for you, but that shouldn't surprise you. He was a jerk, and you deserve fifty time better. Screw drinking for the pity; I think, if anything, we need to go out and celebrate..."

She looked up without lifting her head; just staring at him through her lashes. "It's hard to help. Eleven months is a long time even if towards the end things weren't so great. I'm trying not to look at couples and hate them, but the lonliness I feel from it, just hurts." She narrowed her eyes and bit her bottom lip, considering what he just said. "Celebrate what exactly? My freedom? Not like Dick and I were ever joined at the hip. That is not to say that I don't like your idea... I just... well, what would we celebrate?"

"If you weren't ever really joined at the hip, Annette," A.J. commented, "then why the loneliness? So, yes. Celebrate your freedom. If not from him specifically, then from a relationship that wasn't really ever that good for you to begin with. If you ask me. I mean, not like it's news or anything that I was never too fond of you and him."

She tilted her head and her features softened, as well as her voice when she answered, "Sleeping at night, cuddling, having someone hold me and keep me warm," she shrugged a shoulder. "That loneliness hurts."

Annette smiled a little for him. "I know. If I talked to anyone about mine and Dick's relationship, it was you. I think you know everything there is to know about me, A.J., so okay, I wouldn't be immune to the possibility of celebrating."

A.J. bit his lip, for not having much to say to that first part except that, hey, Annette did still have a cat, at least, but he didn't think pointing that out would be very helpful to the situation. It wasn't like he didn't know how she felt, either, about not having that, and he stood by his whole thing about how at least Annette wouldn't have to still be in the same room as the person she was no longer sharing a bed with.

"Then it's settled? We'll go out and celebrate? Get you feeling better? Whenever you want, you name it. Maybe we can invite Ino along, too; just go out, have fun...."

"I'm not much up for group therapy right now, A.J., no matter how much I appreciate your trying. And I love Ino, I do... but if I break down and get all mopey, you can kick my ass for me and I wouldn't care. I just wouldn't want anyone else witnessing it. Okay? And..." she shrugged and waved a hand. "Whenever. My evening's are pretty much free. You tell me."

Then she thought of something.

"Um. If you and I hanging out isn't good and you want Ino there for a reason... then... I understand."

There was a moment of confusion at that last part and then, with a blink, A.J. figured it out. "Oh. Oh, no, Annette! I didn't mean like that! I just....I don't know, if it were me in your place, I'd want to just surround myself with all my friends as much as possible, but, I mean...well, okay, maybe not. I can see where you're coming from, too, I just thought maybe...I don't know; however you want to do it. It's for you, anyway, right?"

And maybe he was kind of secretly hoping that, if he could manage to make Annette feel better, Ino could learn a bit from Annette's example in getting rid of her own relationship that he did not approve of. He certainly wasn't going to admit to that one out loud, though. Ino'd kill him.

"Yeah, maybe you're right, maybe I do just need to surround myself with friends. I just... I don't want any kind of pity party," she said because she's been giving herself one of those for a long time now.

She gave him a little shrug with a sort of shy grin. "I knew I liked you for a reason, A.J. You're a great friend, you know that?"

Wryly, A.J. returned a small smile back. "I try," he said. "And it's not a pity party; it's a celebration, remember? Totally big difference."

"Well, I still am having a hard time thinking of it as a celebration. I mean, really. Then I have a small fear of running into Dick," she admitted, totally being a baby about that.

A.J.'s nose wrinkled slightly, sympathetically. "Yeah. It is a pretty small island, isn't it? But that's kind of all the more reason why you have to make sure you're not moping in case you do run into him, because then it's like showing him that you don't need him and your impervious to his asshattery."

There was a slight pause, another sympathetic look. "Even if it's not true..."

Annette twisted her lips, pinched the bridge of her nose and bent her head. She didn't want to cry; wasn't going to cry, but dammit, breaking up with someone was hard and she and Dick, they had had some of the best times ever... and how could he cheat on her? Twice? She'd had ever opportunity... and she didn't...

She sniffled quietly and nodded. "Yeah... I should really show him."

That was so not the reaction A.J. wanted. He panicked a little, not knowing what else to say. "Um, do...you need a hug, or anything?" Hugs helped, right?

Before he would have just grabbed her and hugged her and now he had to ask? Relationships change a person. Seriously. She's still not a drama whore though, geeze.

"No... no, that's okay," she said. Annette honestly didn't want to upset Beauty in any way. "I'm fine. I'll be fine. Do you think you could kick Dick in the balls for me?"

A.J. winced a little. "Even if that wouldn't result in me getting the living daylights beaten out of me, that just goes against any and all guy ethics codes, Annette, I'm sorry. Doesn't mean I wouldn't want to, it's just..." He winced again. Not a happy thing to think about, here.

"Right," she said, d'uhing a little bit because she just hadn't thought. "Okay. Just give him the stink eye next time you see him."

Annette wiped her eyes. "My first boyfriend, you know, tried to kidnap me and got his ear shot off by my dad, my second boyfriend was killed trying to save my life, my third boyfriend hates my guts. I think I just give up so yeah, let's celebrate that, A.J., I'm ready. I need to go out and celebrate. So, when?"

A.J. blinked, taking a moment to respond because Boyfriend Number Two send him through a moment of not remembering Annette ever, ever mentioning something like that, but, giving his head a shake, he tried to push it out of his mind. "Whenever you're ready. And that's not what we're celebrating, either. Just that last one, because you're better off without him."

"I'm ready now," she stated.

Soon? she was going to lose it, she knew it. She needed stability and maybe a night of carefree... anything. Was there anything like that to be had here? For her? If you asked her, she'd tell you no.

She also wanted to buy a gun. She wouldn't dare tell him that though. Her one and only instance with a gun here at Fandom didn't end well. Could have been worse, but it still had been pretty intense.

Annette looked far far away right now.

"Tonight works, then," A.J. nodded. "I'll meet you at Caritas later? Buy you a drink or two, and we can talk if you want. Or not talk if you don't want to and just have fun or whatever you want, okay?"

"I'll be there," she nodded. "You're not going to be upset if I drink?" Cause Annette knew how he felt about that.

A.J. shook his head lightly. "One, I think it's okay in certain situations, and two, I'll be there to make sure you don't overdo it, so, yeah. It's definitely a drink-or-two sort of situation..."

"Good. See you tonight, A.J.," she said, trying to feel better by thinking about going out.

A.J. nodded. "Sound good." He gave her a small, hopefully encouraging smile before backing up toward the door. "And try to feel better before then, okay?"

She gave him a thumbs up. "I will try."

To be using if you like.

Meh.

Fandom Post Office, Monday, 2/4

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