Part 1: Point of Intersection

            She was the first person to walk into the room in over an hour.  He looked up as she slammed into the bar and jumped onto the stool that spun loudly in her wake, tears streaming down her face.  The young man behind the bar took one look at her and grabbed the nearest bottle, placing it in front of her, soon adding an empty glass.

            �Thanks,� she said in a surprisingly chipper voice, considering her expression.

            The bartender nodded and wandered down to the other end of the bar.

            Toby motioned for a refill, which the bartender gave him without a word.  He tipped his glass in thanks and slowly sipped his drink as the girl at the other end drank her second shot.

            He rubbed his forehead for a moment before sighing and grabbing his glass.  He moved down to the stool next to her and took a seat.

            �I�m sorry,� he said, pulling her out of her thoughts, �are you okay?�

            She looked over at him and smiled, almost taking his breath away.  Despite her wet face and smeared makeup, her smile lit up the dim bar and made him stay in his seat.  CJ�s voice in his head shouted at him that he was drunk and it was past time for a graceful exit to his room to sleep it off.

            �Not really, no,� she said, wiping her face with her arm, only serving to smear her makeup further.

            �Oh,� Toby replied, kicking himself inside.

            Her smile faded as she refilled her shot glass and took another drink.

            �Hey, slow down there,� Toby said, feeling a little hypocritical as his vision grew fuzzier by the minute.

            �I thought everything would be easier now, you know?� the girl began, gesturing wildly as she spoke.  �I mean, hello, left the country, crisis diverted, time to get with the happy, but no, now we have to get into all the relationship issues, like I haven�t dealt with them enough.  I mean, okay, so I have some problems that maybe I haven�t talked through, but relationships are about moving forward, not dwelling on the past, which is such a good thing, considering my past.�

            She fell silent as Toby stared at her, not quite sure if she was finished.

            �Someone broke up with you because you couldn�t get over the past?� he finally asked, when it was obvious she was finished.

            �Yeah,� she replied with a sigh.  �She said she was tired of competing with someone who she could never be.�

            �Was she?� Toby asked, taking the inadvertent declaration of sexual preference in stride, mostly because it quieted the voice of CJ despite his inebriated state.

            �I don�t know,� the girl muttered, pushing the bottle away and laying her head on the bar.

            Toby also pushed his glass away, getting up and grasping the girl�s shoulder until she sat up.  He motioned toward a booth on the wall across the room and helped her off of her stool when she shrugged.

            They stumbled across the room and both collapsed into seats across from each other.

            �You don�t have to talk to me.  I mean, I�m not gonna spontaneously combust or anything.  I�ll be fine,� said the girl, sitting back in her booth and readjusting her skirt, which had managed to ride halfway up her leg.

            Toby shrugged.  �I was bored.�

            The girl smiled at him for a moment.

            �I�m Willow,� she said, putting her hand out across the table.

            �Toby,� he replied, shaking it.

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