Everybody Else's Girl, Part 3

By Courtney

It was just after lunch when Elena started out to the library. She had a
chemistry exam that Tuesday and after spending all the previous night at the
Halloween party and then out looking for Felicity she had a serious cram
session in front of her. She clutched her bag filled with her textbook,
several spiral notebooks, her stop watch, note cards, and M & M's. She'd
definitely be needing the M & M's on this one.

The library was located just a block past the freshman dorms, so she
passed her old building on her way over. She looked up fondly at the place
where her college experience had begun. It wasn't like she never visited the
old building, though. Felicity was an RA there now, just one floor down from
where they'd both lived during freshman year.

Elena was spending so much time looking up at the building and letting
thoughts of her first days in New York fill her head, that she didn't even
notice someone walk out the door of the dormitory until she'd crashed into
them.

"Oh, God! Sorry, sorry," she said as she stooped to pick up the books
scattered about at her feet. "I wasn't looking, I'm--" she looked up then and
saw for the first time who she had crashed into. "Felicity, oh hey. I didn't
even know it was you." She had collected her dropped items and stood beside
her friend. It was then that she noticed the look on Felicity's face.

Something was definitely not right. She placed a hand on Felicity's shoulder
and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Elena . . . I'm uh . . . I'm just headed out," she said
quickly.
"Where are you going?" Elena wanted to know.
"Um . . . to the library," she said.
"Me too, we'll walk together," Elena replied.
"Wait no . . . um . . . look, I'm sorry. I . . . I can't do this . . .
not today. I'm sorry," she said. Then, so suddenly that Elena didn't have
time to so much as reply, she turned and hurried back into the dorm.
Elena had two options. She could let her friend go, even though she
looked like she'd been crying for hours and she was obviously upset, she
could give her the space she was asking for. Or, she could follow her and
find out what was going on. Like any good friend would, Elena turned to enter
the dorm.

* * * * *

Ben wiped off the last of the tables and sighed. Sundays at Dean and
Deluca were never the busiest day of the week, but this was ridiculous. He
was so bored that he was actually *looking* for something to do. He was just
about ready to ask Danny if he could leave early, when he looked up to see
Noel enter the coffee shop.
"Hey man, what's up?" he called as he walked over to the counter where
Noel was standing.
Noel turned to look at him and said quickly, "Hey, you seen Felicity? Did
she come to work today by any chance?"
"Don't tell me you've lost her again," Ben replied with a laugh. But,
seeing the frantic look on Noel's face he stopped smiling. "Hey, what's going
on? Is something wrong?" he asked with genuine concern.
"Uh, no, nothing. I just . . . I need to talk to her and I got her
machine earlier. Maybe I'll just head over and see if she's home yet," he
said.
"You sure everything is okay, man?" Ben wanted to know.
"Uh . . ." he hesitated, then finally said, "Yeah, fine. I'll see ya."
With that he turned to go, and Ben was left standing at the counter with a
confused look.
"Yeah," he replied after him. "See ya."

* * * * *

Felicity walked into her dorm room and quickly closed the door behind
her. She'd just slumped down onto the bed when she heard a knock. "Who is
it?" she called weakly.
"It's Elena."
"I don't want to talk right now, Elena," she replied.
"I don't really care. Open the door," Elena said. Reluctantly, Felicity
did just that.
"Look, Elena, I'm not in the mood to--" she began, but Elena cut her off.
"Tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing," she answered as she pushed the door closed again. "Everything
is fine, really."
"Really?" Elena replied sarcastically. "Hmm, yeah, seems like everyday
you run away from me in the street looking like you've been crying all day."
"Look, I said--"
"I heard what you said, Felicity," Elena cut her off again. "I just don't
believe a word of it, that's all. Now, does this have to do with what
happened last night with Noel?"
"How do you know about that?" Felicity asked, her face registering the
shock she felt. Elena knew? Then, if she knew, why did she even need to ask
what was wrong?
"When you didn't show up for the party, Noel got worried. He sent us all
out to look for you. After we got back from looking and still had no sign of
you, we called over here. Noel answered and said everything was fine. We all
just figured that you guys had had a fight and that's why you didn't come to
the party, then that you'd made up last night. I'm guessing that wasn't the
case after all?"
Felicity shook her head mutely and looked down at the floor. She was
sitting on the bed now and Elena was sitting cross-legged beside her. She
reached over and touched Felicity's shoulder. "You know, if you guys had a
fight it's okay. I mean, it's not the end of the world. I just hate to see
you so upset like this."
"We didn't have a fight," Felicity replied. She was now sure that Elena
did not know about what was really going on. But, somehow, she felt like she
had to tell her. She needed to tell someone. Talking about the situation to
Noel was out at that point and she and Julie were not as close as they had
once been. Maybe telling Elena would make things a little easier. It would at
least feel good to have someone to talk to.
"I found out something really horrible yesterday," she said softly.
"What is it, Felicity?" Elena urged in an equally soft tone.
"I . . . I found out that . . . I'm . . . well, pregnant," she finally
said.
Elena froze, unsure of what she had just heard. Then, as the words sank
in, her mouth opened in silent shock. She finally found her voice after a
moment and said, "Are . . . are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Does Noel know?"
"Yes."
"Does he . . . are you . . . I mean, what are you going to do?" she
asked. Felicity just shrugged. "Are you going to keep it?" she asked
cautiously.
"I don't know . . . I just don't know," Felicity said through fresh
tears. "I've thought about it . . . I mean, what it would be like to have a
baby right now. And, God, I just don't know if I can, you know? I mean, I
don't think I'm ready to be anyone's mother."
Elena nodded as she moved closer and placed a comforting arm around her
friend. "I can understand that. I'd probably feel the same way," she
admitted.
"I don't know what to do, though," Felicity continued. "I mean, there's
adoption . . . but I'm not sure I could give away my own child. I couldn't
imagine that. So . . . I told Noel . . . well, I brought up the possibility
of . . . uh . . . abortion."
"And what did he say?"
"He's angry with me. Actually, he hates me. He said that . . ." she
stopped as she choked on a sob. Elena rubbed her back gently and stayed
silent while Felicity took a deep breath, then continued, "He said that he
didn't even know me anymore. Then he just walked away. I haven't seen him all
day."
"This happened today?" Elena asked. Felicity nodded. "Well, he just needs
time," she said.
"No . . . I don't think so. You didn't see his face. He was so . . .
ashamed of me." She looked up at her friend then. Her eyes were red-rimmed
from crying, her expression was one of complete despair. "He hates me," she
whispered. "And I don't blame him one bit. What I suggested . . . well, it's
just awful. I'm just awful," she said, then she buried her face in her hands
and sobbed once more.
"No, you're not, Felicity. You're not. It's normal to consider that
option. I would," Elena admitted.
Felicity looked up again. "You would?" she asked.
"Yes," she nodded. "I agree with you, I don't feel like I could handle a
child right now. And, I also don't know if I'd be strong enough to give one
away. If I were to get pregnant, I'd definitely think about the option of
abortion."
Felicity sighed. "Noel doesn't see it that way. He wouldn't even discuss
it," she said sorrowfully.
"What does Noel know? He's not the one who's pregnant," Elena pointed
out.
"I know, but . . . I love him, Elena," she said as she looked up with
tear-filled eyes. "I love him and, if I do this, he'll never look at me the
same way again. I'm just not sure what to do anymore." Finally unable to
stand it, she broke down in tears once more.
Elena tightened her arm around Felicity's shoulder. "Shh, honey it's
alright. I know this must be so hard . . . But you know, you can't let Noel
tell you what to do on this. You have to live with this forever. I think you
need to do what's right for you first and foremost."
Felicity lifted her head and sniffled as she nodded to her friend. "I
know, you're right."
"Well, give it some time. See how Noel feels in a few days. This all has
to be a huge shock. He just needs to sort things out for himself. This is a
major thing for him, too, you know."
"I know," Felicity nodded. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see what
happens."
Elena nodded as well and stood to get Felicity a tissue. "Don't rush your
decision, either. You should do what's right for you, but I suggest giving
every option a lot of thought before you make your final decision." She
handed Felicity the box of Kleenex.
"Thanks," she said, accepting the box. "I will, I'll think about it."
"Okay, good."
"Do you mind . . . I mean, I appreciate you being here and listening. It
helped to get this off my chest, really. But, uh . . . would you mind if I
had some time alone for a while? I need to think about some things."
"Sure, I understand. Is there anything you need? I can come back later
and bring you anything you want," she offered.
"No, that's okay. I'll be fine," Felicity assured her. Elena didn't
believe this for a minute and had every intention of stopping by to check up
anyway, but she just nodded in response.
"Well, I'll be at the library if you need anything. Just call and have
them page me. I can be here within five minutes."
"Thanks Elena, I appreciate it," Felicity said.
Elena smiled, "What are friends for?"

* * * * *

Julie stood in the student center, digging in her purse for her elusive
mailbox key. She'd just found it when she heard someone behind her call her
name. She turned to see Elena walking up to her.
"Julie, I've been looking everywhere for you," she said as she
approached.
"I've been over at Epsteins. What's up?" she asked curiously.
"It's Felicity . . ." Elena said. "Have you talked to her today at all.
"No, I called but I got her machine so I left a message. I haven't been
home to see if she's called back. Why, is something wrong?" she asked. Her
concern was growing by the moment at the worried look she saw on Elena's
face.
"Well . . . yes. I think you need to talk to her."
"What is it?" Julie asked insistently.
"I can't tell you, you need to talk to her," Elena said.
"Elena, what is going on?" Julie asked in exasperation.
"Just go talk to her, Jul, okay? Even after all you guys have been
through, she's still your best friend and we both know it. She needs you.
Just trust me, can you do that?"
Seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere, Julie finally nodded. "Okay,
I'll head over there now."
Elena nodded. "Good, call me tonight and let me know how things go. I've
got to get to the library to study for my chem test. I'll catch you later."
"Okay, bye," Julie replied. She turned back to her mailbox and quickly
retrieved the contents, then dropped her key into her bag to be searched for
again the next time. Whatever was up with Felicity, it must have been serious
for Elena to track her down just to get her to go talk to her. She decided
not to waste anymore time, so she put her mail in her bag as well and headed
off for the freshman dorms.

* * * * *

Ben listened to the phone ring one more time before he heard the click of
the answering machine picking up. He'd decided after seeing Noel race
frantically from the coffee shop that he'd call Felicity and make sure
everything was alright.
"Hi, this is Felicity. Sorry I'm not here to answer your call. Please
leave me a message and I promise to call you back as soon as I can. Thanks!"
BEEP
"Hey Felicity, it's Ben. Um, I was just wondering . . . is everything
okay? I, uh, I saw Noel and he kind of looked worried or something. He was
looking for you and I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. Well,
anyway, just give me a call when you can. I'll, uh, I'll talk to you later.
Bye."
He hung up, his face set in a worried frown. Something just didn't seem
right. "Hey Danny?" he called into the back room.
Danny stuck his head out and replied, "Yes?"
"Would you mind if I go ahead and go? Everything up here is pretty much
done."
"Sure, okay Ben," he replied.
"Thanks." Ben took off his apron. He wasn't sure why, but he needed to
check on Felicity. As soon as he saw that she was okay, he'd feel better. He
logged out, grabbed his coat, and headed for the door.

* * * * *

Part 4 coming soon!

E-mail the author!