::Brook::

Good Morning Brook,

You probably don't want to talk to me right now or maybe ever again. I'm sure there is a huge chance that you just deleted this e-mail and are never going to read it but in the event that you decide to give me a chance, I hope you hear me out.

I am so incredibly sorry for everything I said last night. I know it's not a good excuse but I really was a lot more drunk than I probably lead on and I couldn't think clearly.

I know the kind of person you are. I trust you. If you say there's no reason to suspect anything with this guy, I won't. And I don’t. I guess it's just when you've been burned in the past before, you're sort of always waiting for the next fire.

I understand that it seems like I'm being relatively vague about my past and I promise I'm going to tell you everything you need to know. I just kind of have to psych myself up to actually talk about it all. And I have to make sure you won't get freaked out by it.

But of course it won't freak you out. Look at you. You're the most understanding, compassionate, sympathetic, most wonderful person I've probably ever met and again, I am so sorry if anything I said last night really hurt your feelings. I have a pretty fuzzy memory of the whole thing so I'm just hoping it wasn't worse than I'm thinking.

I know it's not our normal schedule but I would really like it if you could call me when you take your lunch break at noon. I really need to hear your voice and tell you again how incredibly sorry I am.

Hopefully, I will speak to you soon. If not, I guess I have no choice than to wait it out until you wish to speak with me.

I miss you, Brook.

See you later,

Alex

I read and re-read this e-mail I received from Alex a number of times in whatever free time I found myself with at work. I believed that he truly was sorry but that didn't stop be from being annoyed at the whole thing.

I wasn't sure if I was going to call him. I was sort of afraid to. If we spoke and I heard his voice there was a good chance all the annoyance I felt would just disappear and I wasn't sure I was ready to let him off the hook just yet.

"Brook, are you okay, dear?"

My head shot up from the door to find Sandra, the older lady who was the head secretary of the guidance office. She was the sweetest and I'm pretty sure favored me over all the other faculty in the school.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied, turning my cell phone over in my hand a few times.

"Well that's a crock of shit," she decided and I couldn't help to crack a smile at that.

"I didn't get very much sleep last night. You know, it was my first night helping with the musical," I explained, only half lying.

She nodded slowly. "Oh right. You got to spend quality time with Mr. Hottie Mc-Hot-Pants. How was that?"

I rolled my eyes with a small laugh. "It was fine. He's really great with the kids."

"Yeah, I bet he's great with a lot of things," Sandra winked at me.

"Wow," I shook my head. "You're crazy."

"You knew that already," she laughed, taking a seat in the empty chair in my office. "But that's not really what's bothering you. C'mon tell me. What's his name?

"Who's name?"

She rolled her eyes. "The boy that's got your panties all in a bunch. I've seen this look on my granddaughter's face a hundred times. The flipping of the phone in your hand either says you're waiting for a call you don't think you're going to get or you're supposed to make a call that you're not sure you want to make."

I sighed. "His name is Alex and it was the second one."

She nodded, leaning her elbows on my desk and leaning the rest of her body towards me. "So, what happened?"

I took a deep breath. I really didn't feel like getting into this right now but knowing Sandra, she wasn't going to let this go until I told her every last detail she wanted and thought she needed to know.

I briefly explained how Alex and I met (which she failed terribly at to contain her laughter) and how quickly things progressed from there. I told her how Alex had been away for almost three weeks now and still wouldn't be back for another week. Then I explain how he reacted to me working with Jason and let her read the e-mail he'd sent to me this morning.

"I'd call him," Sandra decided.

"You would?" I asked a little surprised.

She nodded. "He's a guy, Brook. They're genetically programmed to say stupid things when they're stressed out and upset and in this case, drunk, on top of it. What he said really had nothing to do with him not trusting you or Jason. It had to do with how badly he's missing you right now."

"You think so?" I asked, a small smile playing on my lips.

"I know so," she said giving my hand a squeeze before standing up. "Call him."

"I will," I said, glancing at the clock and noticing my lunch break was already half over.

"Call from the office phone," she whispered. "If anyone questions the international call, I'll tell them I approved it for you to call a kid's parent who was out of the country."

"Thanks Sandra," I smiled as she slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

I stared at my cell phone for a few more seconds before I caved like I knew I would and scrolled through my phone for Alex's number, taking Sandra up on her offer and calling from my office's phone.

"Hello?" Alex answered sounding a little confused probably because he didn't recognize the number calling him.

"Hey," I said, pausing for a second. "It's Brook."

"Hi!" he said, the tone of his voice changing to a more excited one. "I'm so glad that you called."

"Yeah..." I said slowly.

I wasn't really sure what he wanted me to say. So didn't say anything else.

"I miss you," he finally said to break the silence and almost instantly tears pooled into my eyes.

"I miss you too," I said passed the growing lump in my throat.

"Really? I figured after last night you'd want me to stay far away for as long as possible."

"No," I said, taking control of my emotions finally and pushing back the tears. "That's not true."

"Then how come you sound so..." he trailed off when I interrupted him.

"Because I'm still mad and I don't know what I'm supposed to say. But I miss you so much that I'm almost willing to ignore how mad I am."

"No, Brook, if you're mad at me. Let me have it. Don't ignore it and hold it in. That just makes it worse."

I sighed. "I guess I mostly have hurt feelings that you would think that I'm the type of girl that would mess around behind your back."

"I don't think that, Brook. Not for a second. I was just talking stupid because I was upset and missing you and stupid and drunk and stupid a few more times," he said.

"It was pretty stupid," I replied and I could hear him crack a smile.

"Is there any chance you can forgive me?" I asked, sounding a little desperate.

"I guess," I sighed. "But under one circumstance."

"Anything."

"Instead of lashing out at me because you miss me, just tell me that you miss me. Okay?"

"I miss you," he said and now I cracked a smile.

"You already said that."

"I know. But it bares repeating."

"Well, in that case, I miss you too," I replied.

"You already said that," he mimicked me.

"It bared repeating as well," I said with a laugh.

"Can you believe it's been three weeks already? Just about one more to go."

"I know," I said. "It feels like it's been forever though."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It usually does."

"I'm so glad you're going to be home for the Superbowl, though. I still can't believe we've never watched a game in real life together."

He laughed a little. "Judging by how into it you got when we watched the last Giants game together, I'm a little afraid to watch the Superbowl with you."

He was referring to the time we webcammed while both watching the game from where we were.

"You've never watched Football, if you haven't watched with me. I take it very seriously."

"I bet you do," he laughed. "I'm just glad it's not the Ravens playing the Giants. That could have ended terribly for us."

I laughed a little. "Yeah. Maybe."

"I'm surprised you're not hitch hiking your way to Indianapolis for the game," Alex teased.

"Ugh," I sighed. "Don't get me started. My dad's been in a bidding war on E-Bay with someone trying to get a pair of tickets for him and my mother for the game for a week now. It never occurred to him to try and get three."

"Wow. That's got to cost a pretty penny."

"You're not kidding. But my dad not-so-secretly has an account that he starts at the beginning of Football seasons each year in hopes the team makes it all the way. If the Giants are consistently doing well, he puts away more money, if they started doing poorly, he puts away less. Over the last month or so when they were looking really good I'm pretty sure he stopped driving his car to save on gas money and put that extra money away too."

Alex laughed. "Does he do that with all his teams?"

"Not so much. When the Yankees are in the World Series, he goes to their home games in New York. And my Uncle Robbie gets season tickets, so my dad doesn't pay. It's a quick drive and he stays at my family's house. If the Superbowl was ever somewhere convenient like that he probably wouldn't have to save so much all year."

"I don't blame him though. When it was almost the Ravens, me and the guys were considering changing our flights back from London to go straight to Indianapolis."

"I would be incredibly jealous of you."

"I would've found a way to get you there too," he said quickly.

"Well, you still have time," I reminded him.

"You're right. I do. Maybe I'll make some calls."

I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"Alex, I'm just kidding. Please don't make any calls," I insisted.

"Are you sure? I know people who will be there. I could probably weasel your way in."

Again. I wasn't sure if he was being serious but the offer did sound tempting for a moment if he was.

"Alex, no," I laughed. "I have work Monday."

"Fine," he sighed and I laughed a little.

"I do appreciate the gesture though."

"I know you do," he said and then I'm guessing he caught sight of a clock. "Your lunch is just about over, huh?"

"Yeah. Five minutes ago actually," I said, glancing at my calendar and remembering I had an appointment with a student in ten minutes.

"Okay. I will let you go then. Are we still on for a web-cam date tonight?"

I smiled. "Yeah. But I'm not going to be home until about 8:30."

"Rehearsals?" he asked.

"Yeah. This one isn't going to run as late as the last one I was told."

"Okay. Good. Well, have fun, okay? And worry about me. I trust you and I'm sure this guy is a perfect gentleman just like you described," he assured me.

"Thanks Alex," I smiled a bit. "I'll see you later."

"I can't wait."

::Alex::

After speaking with Brook, it almost seemed like it was easier to get through the rest of my day. It made me feel better to know that Brook didn't hate me. Of course I couldn't shake the guilt I felt over what may or may not have happened the night before with Lina. I wasn't lying when I said I was going to tell her what she needed to know. I just didn't think it was fair to tell her over the phone. I would tell her when I was home in a week.

The rest of my day was relatively uneventful. The band and I had a few quick interviews to do before the show and before I knew it we were back on the bus for a pretty lengthy overnight drive to the next venue.

I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep but instead I anxiously waited for a text from Brook that she was ready for our web-cam date.

Finally that text came and I got comfortable in my bunk and turned on my computer.

"I can see you," Brook said with a small smile when our chat connected.

It was adorable how amused by the whole concept of video chatting she was every time we did it.

"I can see you, too," I smiled and it was then that I noticed her eyes looked a little red and puffy like she'd been crying. "Brook... Is everything okay?"

She nodded slowly, biting down in her lip gently. "No."

"What happened? Are you okay?" I asked, panicking a bit on the inside.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice cracking a bit as she tried not to cry. "I just -" she paused. "I just owe you an apology."

"An apology? What for?"

She shook her head, wiping her eyes free from the few tears that clung to her eye lashes. "Jason."

"No," I shook my head. "Brook, I told you that you didn't have to apologize. I'm the one-"

"No," she interrupted me. "Something happened tonight."

"Something happened?" I repeated. "What kind of something?" I asked, trying not to jump to any conclusions.

"Just hear me out," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

I nodded. "Okay..."

"Rehearsals ended earlier than we all thought and when I was walking to my car, Jason came up to me and asked if I wanted to get coffee so he could further discuss some things about the show."

"Yeah..." I nodded, watching her fidget as she continued to speak nervously.

"We got coffee and he went over some notes of changes he wanted to make and it was fine. When he drove me back to school to get my car, he..." she trailed off, a lightly hiccup escaping passed her lips.

"He what, Brook?"

She sniffled. "He made a pass at me."

I took a deep, shaky breath trying to keep my composure.

"What kind of pass?" I asked nervously.

"He kissed me," she said slowly. "Well, he tried and I shoved him off and then he tried again and I punched him."

It took a second for my brain to process this.

"Are you okay though?" I asked. "Like, he didn't touch you or hurt you or anything right?"

"No," she shook her head, reaching behind her and holding up an ice-pack and resting it over her knuckles. "I think I hurt myself more when I punched him."

"I'm so sorry that happened, Brook. I thought you said he had a girlfriend?"

"He does," she said, wiping her eyes again with the corner of her comforter. "She lives far away. He told me after I punched him that's how he makes the relationship work."

"By cheating on her?" I asked, a little surprised.

Brook nodded. "Stupid huh?"

"Incredibly stupid," I agreed. "But why are you so upset? I mean, I know it's a shitty situation but..."

"Because just last night I was fighting with you and defending this jerk and promising he was a good guy and now tonight look what he goes and does."

"Oh, Brook. Don't worry about it, okay? How were you supposed to know he'd do something like that?"

"I guess there's no way I could have. It just sucks. I mean, he knew I knew about his girlfriend. And he knew I had you. And he still seemed surprised when I rejected him. Like, do I really seem like that kind of girl?" she vented, new tears pooling in her eyes.

"No. Brook, no. Not at all. Clearly this guy is an asshole and wasn't thinking. Don't let his shitty actions effect how you see yourself. I hasn't changed how I see you," I assured her.

"It doesn't?"

"Not at all. If anything it just shows how much of a good person you are," I said, flashing her a smile.

"So you're not mad?"

"Oh I'm mad," I admitted. "Just not at you."

That wasn't completely true. I was also mad at myself. Brook was beating herself up over this whole thing, think it was the worst thing she could have done. Even though she thought it would upset, she still told me right away. Not telling her about Lina was getting worse and worse.

She frowned. "I didn't want to make you mad."

"It's okay," I said. "I'll get over it soon. I'm mostly mad because he hurt your feelings."

She forced a smile. "I'll be alright."

"I know you will," I nodded. "Please don't cry anymore," I almost pleaded. "It's killing me to be so far away right now."

She smiled a little, lowering her comforter from around her body. "You're not that far," she said, revealing she had been wearing my hoodie I'd given to her the night before I left.

"I was wondering what happened to that," I smiled.

She laughed a little. "Don't think I'm lame, okay?"

"I won't. As long as you don't," I said, reaching for something that was out of view from the web-cam. "Remember when we went to the movies and you won that stuffed bear?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

I held up the bear for her to see I had it with me.

"Not only do I have it in my bunk but I stole your perfume from your bag once and sprayed the bear so it would smell like you," I admitted.

Brook stared at me for a second before she could say anything.

"Alex, that is the most adorable thing I have ever heard."

I smiled. "I have my moments."

She smiled back. "You definitely do."
***

Notes

Story title: Taylor Swift - Sparks Fly
Chapter title: Taylor Swift - Ours
Brook's outfit.

Annnnnnd they're fixed. :)