Title: Collapsed in Love Chapter 4: Don't Believe It All
Author: Foxy Finn ([email protected])
Rating: PG
Archive: @ my site http://www.geocities.com/foxy_finn44/
Category: Sports, RPS, NHL, Edmonton Oilers, Comrie/York
Feedback: That or your first born.
Summary: York gets ready to leave for the airport.
Author's Note: Not mine. Never mine.

Halfway from midnight to dawn
let's just forget and move on
everything you say
it never seems to change a thing in sight
and things you never did
were even worse considering what's right
That all this time I've
been the one you string along
tie me up to bring along
never once getting in your way
What you say is unbelievable
I can't stand to hear it once more
what you did I don't believe at all
and what's worse, you can't even say why�

Treble Charger
Don't Believe It All

I�d just set the bags by the door when the door bell buzzed from downstairs. Frowning, I pressed the intercom.

"Hello?"

"Hey." Paul replied, through static. "Since you�re up, do you want some coffee?"

I smirked. "Don�t trip and spill it on yourself on the way up." I hit the second button, letting him up.

I�d spent most of the night agonizing over whether or not I should tell Mike about Paul. It wasn�t something trivial like �Hey, I scratched your car� but I don�t have a clue how to bring it up. I never really came to any sort of decision, but I know that it just can�t be me that tells him. I�ve got to convince Paul to be there too.

Paul tapped on the door. After letting him in, I escaped behind the kitchen counter, so there would be a partition between us. He side stepped the bags, then set two paper cups of coffee on the counter. He scooted one of the cups across to me, then smiled.

"It�s your favorite." He looked very pleased with himself when I picked up the cup.

"How do you know what my favorite is?" I asked, smelling the liquid. I raised my eyebrows. "Irish Cream. How did you know?"

He laughed. "Do you think I haven�t heard the story of how you and my brother first met? He memorized every detail, and told them to me at least fifteen times. You were there with your roommate, Bryan, and he came in with Shawn. He hated coffee, but you made him try some of yours."

"I told him it was my favorite." I paused, in memory. "That was a nice moment. He�d only been there a few months. He wasn�t afraid of anything. When I left home, I thought it was the end of the world."

Paul sipped on his coffee. "And your parents weren�t a plane ride away."

I smiled, still lost in the memory. I�d heard Shawn talking about him a lot, but I�d never met him until that night. Our eyes locked, and I was gone. There was so much confidence in his eyes, for some one who just turned eighteen. Even though it was a coffee place, and after he�d tried some of mine, he still had a coke.

I shook my head. "We haven�t gone out like that in a while."

Paul frowned. "I can�t believe that. You guys go out all the time." He shrugged. "I�ll take you out some time, if you want." He paused when he saw me frowning at him. "Hey, where is Mike?"

I shrugged off what Paul had said and replied to his last question. "I let him stay at Eric�s last night. Eric said he�d passed out, anyhow."

"Ah, I see." Paul replied. "Why�d he leave in the first place?"

I looked at him suspiciously. He asked that like he was sincere. Maybe he was. I slowly answered him. "Your dad had left a message on our machine when we were at practice. Mike didn�t want to call him back. I told him�to do whatever. Basically we spent the rest of the evening glaring at each other, until he brought up you."

Paul didn�t flinch. He just lifted one eyebrow, slightly.

"I keep telling him nothing happened in college." I glared at him. "It doesn�t help that you go around and tell lies to everyone else."

He looked a little guilty, but it passed over his face as quickly as it came.

I rolled my eyes. "And since I feel like crap for doing anything behind his back, I made a bad situation worse. I didn�t mean to let him go, but I couldn�t stop him. He took a cab to the bar, and then to Eric�s."

"Do you always know where he is and what he�s doing?" Paul asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don�t tell him how his life should be Paul, unlike your father."

"Bill is protective of us, Mike. He doesn�t want any of his kids getting hurt." Paul scoffed. "That doesn�t mean he�s not a closed-minded asshole."

"I don�t see you trying to change his mind." I answered, flatly.

Paul shrugged. "So true."

I took a quick glance at the clock, then sighed. "I�ve got a plane to catch."

"The three of us should go out for dinner when you get back." He said, suddenly, as I rounded the counter. I eyed him as I grabbed my coat. What was he up to? He touched my arm, giving me a small smile. "I�d like to start spending more time with you two."

"Why?"

"Because." He started. He slipped his hand in mine, then smirked. "I see how much you care for him. I think I should make things right. As right as I can, I mean. I mean I�I think I like you, Mike. I�m sorry I hurt you, and I want to make sure things don�t get worse between you two."

"Wow, Paul Comrie acting unselfish. I should call some one." I didn�t know what to say, except something sarcastic. Paul moved closer to me, managing a small smile.

He brought his lips up to mine, taking a moment to meet my eyes. I let him kiss me, doing my best not to return it. He still held one of my hands, and with his free one he touched my face. "There�s no ultimatum here, Mike. You know how you feel, and so do I."

Right now I don�t know what I feel.

I took my hand out of Paul�s and stepped around him. "Paul, we�ll talk when I get back."

He gave me the same look that I saw from Mike the night we first met. But he pushed it away with a quick grin.

"Sure." He opened the door for me as I picked up the suitcases.

I locked the door. He lingered near me, before pocketing his hands.

"I parked out front, so I guess I�ll see you later." He gave me a half wave before heading to the stairs. I watched the door close, shaking my head. Was Paul really being honest? I couldn�t tell. We�re both just hurting Mike the longer we let this go on.

I picked up our bags and headed towards the elevator to the underground parking. The entire drive to the airport, I couldn�t keep my head clear. Paul�s moods seemed to change with the weather. Mike just wanted to close his eyes and let me fix everything for him. I miss the confidence he used to have. Paul is just the opposite; overconfident in everything he does.

Everything I did up to the point I saw Mike standing with the rest of the guys blurred out. He looked like hell, and when he turned and looked at me, he seemed to shrink away from my eyes. I walked over, and gave him a quick hug. He sighed against me, before standing back.

"I�m sorry." He said. "I shouldn�t have left like that."

I shook my head, tilting my head to smile at him. "We�re both sorry."

He sure didn�t look any less guilty, but I overlooked it. I wasn�t going to accuse him of anything. I caught a look from Eric when we boarded the plane. I wanted to ignore that, but I couldn�t. I sat next to Mike, and I took his hand. I took it to my mouth, kissing the back of it.

"I�m sorry I didn�t pick you up last night." I said, quietly.

He shrugged. "It was late."

I kissed him lightly on the cheek. He smiled at me, then rested his head on my shoulder. He fell asleep soon afterwards. I watched him as the rest of our teammates talked or stared absently out the window. A body hopped into the seat next to me, and I jumped.

Janne raised an eyebrow at the surprised look on my face when I turned to look at him. "Did I startle you?"

"No." I shook my head, lying. "How was your morning?"

He shrugged, settling into the seat. "Can�t complain. Eric told me Mike spent the night at his place."

I sighed. "Yeah, he did."

Janne frowned. "What did you fight about this time?"

He always sounded like he wanted to hear me whine. I sighed, squeezing Mike�s hand. "Same thing as last time. He gets mad at me, and then goes to Eric�s to make me feel like it�s all my fault. It�s my fault for letting him go so easily."

"You�re both too stubborn." He said. "You trust him with Eric?"

I lifted my eyebrows. "Why? Did he tell you something?"

Janne shook his head, honestly. "Aside that Mike came over to his place drunk, he didn�t tell me anything. I was just wondering."

"Of course I trust him." I paused, wincing at my hypocrisy. "You can�t have a good relationship with lies. When we�re angry at each other, at least we�re honest." I could hear the guilty voice in the back of my mind screaming at me, but I forced a quick smirk for Janne�s benefit. Mike�s hand suddenly felt heavier around mine.

"Can we take a nap?" He asked, half asleep already.

I smirked. "Didn�t you sleep all the way here?" After he waved me off, I crawled up the foot of the bed until I was on top of him. He opened one eye, and smiled as I kissed him. He sighed, and we shifted until he was spooning against me.

"Why so tired, babe?" I asked.

He lifted his shoulders. "Didn�t sleep well without you."

I kissed his neck. "Love, you�re still sleeping off the alcohol."

"Shut up." He mumbled.

It was nice to have him in my arms again. He seemed to hold me a little tighter, but that could just be my imagination.

I felt him stirring a few moments later when there was a soft knock on the door. He slipped out of my arms, and went to the door. I didn�t move.

He opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk." Eric�s voice. What was Eric mad about?

"We talked this morning." Mike replied, hotly. "What�s left to talk about?"

Eric sighed. "Are you just going to pretend it didn�t happen?"

Now it was Mike�s turn to sign. "Not here. Mike�s asleep."

"Fine." Eric replied. "Let�s get something to drink. Are you going to wake him up? Tell him you�re going?"

"I�I don�t think so." Mike lowered his voice. He slipped out of the room. The door clicked shut and I sat up. I know that I wasn�t meant to hear that, but I still did. Was I really worried enough to follow him?

~End Chapter Four

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