A Song and a Rhyme

"At least it's Nathaniel. Any other person and I would be worried about going to see another man while having cold feet about my wedding." Mandy commented to herself, just trying to cheer herself up a little bit. After tipping the valet she walked into the plaza and removed her sunglasses, perching them atop her head. She scanned the room for Nathaniel and stopped when she noticed him against the wall, near one of the windows. Breathing in she stepped forward and went to him, sitting in the chair opposite of him.

Nathaniel sat down and took off his sunglasses, sighing and looking straight into her eyes. "Ok, so..you mind at least clearing up for me what it was you meant that day? That the song would always be yours? I know I screwed up, but, it was something personal to me too. Hell, why not this? Why did we break up at all?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought hard on his question and what her answer might be. "I never cheated on you..so...what?" he added, pulling down his hood and sighing. He wanted to know the truth.

"I meant that the song was mine. You can't take what you've given to one person and give it to another." She wrinkled her nose thinking back to his model girlfriend in the music video, portraying her. When he asked what it was that broke them up she was stunned. "W-well, uh..." she murmured, biting her lip. "We just didn't seem to go together anymore. I was busy and you were busy and whenever we had any time to be together we were just always annoyed with one another. It wasn't working out anymore." she mumbled. "I mean, it was for the best. Right?"

"Annoyed? Isn't that what usually happens to couples that are together for a certain amount of time?" Nathaniel said, a bit annoyed already. Still, he took a bit of psychology but...maybe they weren't meant to be. Maybe. "You broke up with me...not the other way around." he muttered, a certain pained tone in his voice. "Honestly, that Simon guy always was in the way..so I guess maybe my jealousy went too far.." he shrugged, looking down at his glass and tapping on the rim of the glass that was filled half way with red wine.

"Jealous?" Mandy questioned, her voice amused. "Simon was always jealous of you, it's interesting to hear that it was also the other way around. Honestly you just annoyed me. You were just a big kid playing around with a guitar." she admitted bluntly, releasing the mistake of not thinking before speaking just a moment too late. Coughing awkwardly and ordering a drink from a passing working she slipped them a few dollar bills and then looked over nervously at Nathaniel. That was not a very good way to reconcile their differences.

Nathaniel twitched, his hand gripping the glass now. "Oh? Well you rather liked what I could do on that guitar." he said, gritting his teeth and looking at her with deadly eyes. So much for reconciling. "You were jealous too, especially you. Sheesh, always getting nervous whenever a girl commented on my playing at the cafe. Yeah, I saw those looks you did when you thought I wasn't looking." he grinned, staring back at her as if he had won.

"Huh, well I guess I was jealous that unlike them I wasn't able to tuck my ankles behind my ears with as much ease as they could!" she commented, growling and shaking her head. What was wrong with them? Why couldn't they just be civil?! As the waiter arrived with her drink she thanked him and took a large gulp, knowing that this would probably end in one of them drunk (considering the circumstances, preferably herself) and the both of them arguing. "But then again perhaps it was just that stupid smug look on your face that made me want to slap you."

Some of the waiters yelped as they heard her snarl at Nathaniel. Honestly it was almost like an animal's snarl. Was she that pissed off? Nathaniel only sighed, rolling his eyes. "Typical, you getting so pissed off so quick." he said, taking a sip of his wine and scoffing. Yep. They would end up more so drunk and angry than being civil. "Just tell me, why did you get annoyed with me? Hm? Because of that stupid reason?" he said, chugging down his wine and staring at her.

"I could ask you the same question, you know!" she said in response, putting her cup down on the table. "You were no angel, giving off snide comments about the way I dressed, or if I was going off with friends. Everything I did seemed to annoy you. At least you were an annoying ass. I was doing nothing wrong and you were picking on me!" she cried, stopping only to adjust her shirt a bit.

Nathaniel blinked. Picking on her? "I picked on you because I was worried you were going to cheat on me any second. To be honest I hated your friends because they always took you to clubs and I never heard back from you until midnight. So...there." he muttered, looking away and asking for a beer now. Now he he needed the good stuff to deal with this woman. "As if you never picked on me!" he hissed quietly so not to raise a fuss. "Always saying thing like 'Oh, you're going to the cafe again? For what? Girls?', every single time!" he said, gritting his teeth. "You're not so innocent either buttercup."

Shaking her head she took in a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. "We didn't come here for this. We came here to reconcile our differences- I think." Taking a swig from her drink she sighed and shook her head once more. "I hope that answers your question, though. We just eventually started to drive one another crazy." she muttered.

Nathaniel huffed. "So..do you really wanna marry this guy? Honestly?" he asked, his voice monotone as he continued to play with the rim of the glass. She was right though, they were there to reconcile and just to..put things to rest. "I miss you..." he admitted, looking up at her with soft eyes. He never displayed those again since the break up. "I don't know what happened....I don't know what really happened....The only reason I got so pissed off is because..well, I saw Simon kiss you. The one time. And since that, so early in college, I just..got annoyed with you. I never told you because I thought that would be admitting that..Simon basically won."

"Simon had won...?" she muttered, her expression stunned. Mandy of course knew what he was referring to, that night when she had formally introduced Nathaniel to Simon. Both of them had heard of each other through one way or another but had never been in one another's social circles and therefore never properly introduced. It had been hate at first site between the two of them much to Mandy's chagrin. She shook her head, adjusting the cuff on one of her sleeves. "You can't say things like that now. That you were jealous, that you miss me. Not when I'm going to be married soon." she grumbled, her face flustered. "Especially when it's so easy to get a case of cold feet just a week before the big day."

Nathaniel stared at her, his eyes never shifting away. "I don't care. I'm saying it so I get it off my chest. Is that bad?" he said, his voice soft. He sighed, drinking the rest of his wine after it had been refilled. He really did love her back then, and right now, he wasn't sure whether she wanted to hear all of that. "If you still want to marry him, that's fine..but, can we at least still be friends?" he asked, hopeful.

"Simon hates you," she mumbled, though he already knew that. "He was ready to sue you only a few weeks ago. I would probably have to keep our friendship a secret, which isn't a good way for me to start my marriage with Simon." With that being said the old stubborn streak in her didn't like the thought of her not keeping friends because of her husband to be. "But... I suppose nothing bad can come of it. I mean, to be honest it would take 10 drinks before looking at you right now did anything for me."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I'm shaking in my bones." he said, chuckling. "Still, let's just be friends...hm?" he smiled. He wouldn't mind being friends even though he wished for more. "Tell me this, why didn't you tell me about that kiss? With Simon...while we were together." he muttered, looking away and a bit hurt. He hated that day. It had been pouring rain and he was late getting out of class. He had expected to see his girl waiting for him maybe with an umbrella and an angry face, but of course she would feel better once they had a good cuddle. His heart had broken once he saw Simon kiss her. It irritated the hell out of him.

She didn't even have to think over her answer, she already knew. "You would have done something stupid," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Something like try to fight him, and you probably would have won. Simon already didn't like you, and if you were to have beaten him up all he would have had to do was call his Daddy who was very wealthy and to this day still makes very sizable donations to our old college. If his father mentioned that a student should be expelled to the school board chances are you would have gotten the boot. And then what?" Mandy shook her head. "I always needed to think out the consequences of your actions for you." She ran her fingertips along the rim of her glass, emitting a soft humming noise.

Nathaniel grunted, looking up at her and sneering. "Always thinking for me? How so?" he asked, scoffing and thinking it was absurd. It's not like she was his babysitter! "Honestly all I would've done is rough him up. That's it. Without his dad, he would be nothing." he muttered, looking away and rolling his eyes. Here came his insane jealousy. He couldn't really help it, it was part of his character. "Why'd you even give him a chance? Why did you go out with him?" he asked, looking up at her and having angry eyes. He just couldn't fathom it.

"What do you care?" she asked, looking up from her glass. "I could tell you the truth and you would still convince yourself that it was only for his money. At least that's what you and your friends told everyone at college. And what wasn't to believe? I left my hunky and strong boyfriend of four, almost five years to be with scrawny and nerdy Simon?" she shook her head, brushing some of her hair from her eyes. "Believe it or not, once you get passed the looks it isn't very charming to have a loose cannon for a boyfriend. After what happened with Simon you would freak out on me when ever any other guy gave me even the slightest attention. You made me cry a lot." she was quiet for a few minutes, swirling a cocktail stirrer in her drink. "Simon was there for me when you couldn't be. It's true he isn't very strong and sometimes it seems without his father's wallet he would be no where, but he is a good man."

"Made you cry? How?" Nathaniel asked, not catching his very own mistakes from the past. Honestly he couldn't even remember when they were younger what they did. It all went by so fast.... He couldn't have been that big of a jerk, right? "I'm sorry ok?...I just...ugh. Can we go to my place and talk there? It would be a lot more private there.." he said, looking away and sighing. He had a skeleton in his closet that he never thought would ever resurface. Ever. "It may explain quite a lot." he admitted, looking away.

Mandy felt a bit cautious about agreeing to go back to his place, but perhaps it was the buzz from her drink that gave her the courage to agree. "I suppose," she said, her voice reluctant despite her interest to learn about his so-called "skeleton." After paying the waiter for her drink she left with him, telling him that she would follow behind him in her car. Before she left the hotel she texted Simon to let him know that she was going to be home a little later than expected and that he could settle on the font and the napkins without her.

Nathaniel nodded, getting up fist after putting down enough to pay for himself as well. He then rushed to his car, sighing as he knew that the drinks must've gave him courage as well. Once arriving, he let Mandy in through the garage and was already inside in the kitchen, sitting on a stool with two drinks on the counter. Not alcohol, just Sprite to get the edge off. "My one reason, that I was such an asshole is because...well, there's no excuse but, my parents were in a dark place. When I went to visit them without you the one time, which broke your heart, I know....Is because my dad was violent. My mom begged me to come alone and to help. To find a way to get my dad into the police, but if she did it by herself, she would've been beaten to death..."

Mandy accepted the glass of Sprite with a soft thank you and then let him explain. She had always known that he had a less than happy relationship with his father and had even heard him and his father fight before but to think that his father had threatened his mother who was such a kind and docile woman really bothered her. Taking a sip from her drink she sighed and placed the glass down. "I remember the day that you got back after that. You were in a really crummy mood and I wasn't feeling much better mostly because I was still angry with you for leaving me alone that weekend. Somehow we ended up having sex though," she mumbled, clearing her throat a bit. "I never told you this, but when we were still together, even before Simon had kissed me and you had really started to freak out on me I had a pregnancy scare." Taking in a breath she sighed softly to herself. "Actually, that was why Simon kissed me. I had confided in him, before even going to you because I was frightened. You had started to become so distant and it just felt like our relationship was on its last leg."

Nathaniel gulped and stared at her. A pregnancy scare? He put his glass down before even sipping one drop and continued to stare. "So..you trusted Simon more than me?" he asked, gripping the glass and sighing. To think he almost would've been a dad then was a bit scary now to him. But, would it have brought him and her much closer? He rubbed his face and looked down. "Would you have kept it? If you and I talked and just...thought things out, would you?" he asked, raising a brow and looking up at her. "Is that why he kissed you? Because he did something 'noble' and said he would take care of you both? Even if it wasn't his?" he rolled his eyes, looking away.

Mandy was quiet for a few minutes, her eyes studying the tile pattern on his floor. Anything to stall her time before she had to tell him why Simon had kissed her. "No," she said after a few minutes, her voice very strained. "Simon kissed me because I was crying and he had promised me that he would go with me, when I was sure, to the planned pregnancy critic..." her voice trailed off for a minute before she painfully added, "so that I could have an abortion." Now that she had said it the truth hung painfully in the air. "When I found out that I wasn't pregnant I was ecstatic of course. I had really dodged a bullet. But it had really soured our relationship for me. How could we have been so careless? I wasn't ready to be a mom. Hell, I'm still not ready..." As she said this she hoped it would justify the truth, but she knew it didn't. Basically she had admitted that not only had she trusted another man more than him about her pregnancy scare, but that she also hadn't wanted his baby and that she would have aborted it without ever letting him know about his lost child.