FicWad

Week 27

"So, you're Kelly's new guy," Gia said, "How did you meet?"

"Like, at this club, right, and I saw her at the bar, right, and then-" he began.

Kelly cut in, "He bought me a drink at the bar, and he rest is history. The story's boring, no one want to hear about it. I wanna hear about you and Mark. Getting serious?"

"Kinda. But there's a problem. He's so, avoidant, kinda. I mean, I have to coax him so hard to get any sort of response. Sometimes it's like dating a computer program."

Kelly was a bit stunned, "That was without a doubt the nerdiest thing I've ever heard a woman say."

"Yeah," Kelly's boyfriend said, laughing, "You're a nerd."

There was an awkward pause at that comment. Both girls looked around, not wanting to respond to him, until Kelly said, "Darling, I think I need a refill."

"Your glass if full-"

Kelly downed her mohito in one go, "Like I said...refill. But no hurry. Take your time."

Grumbling, he took Kelly's glass went off towards the kitchen. Kelly laughed lightly, "He's good where it counts, but not much for conversation. That's what I need you for."

As often happens in these situations it was exactly that snippet of conversation Mark overheard, and at that point he decided to break in. He grabbed Gia's wrist, making her gasp, and pulled her away from Kelly.

"Get away from her," Mark said, shouting at Kelly, "You crazy dyke! You...you...don't you dare even think of touching her."

"What the hell?" Gia shouted, pulling her wrist free, "What's got into you?"

"This whore," he said, pointing at Kelly, "Has been trying to get me away so she can have her way with you."

The shout of "Whore" is what brought Kelly's boyfriend back from the kitchen, empty glass still in hand.

"Hey, mate!" he yelled, "You better apologise to my woman or I'll-"

"Shut up darling," Kelly interrupted, "One, I'm not your woman. You are at absolute best, my man, but I'm not your woman. Two, Mark's crime is that he thinks I'm a loose woman trying to seduce Gia. Now, you can't attack him for something you've done yourself, many times. It'd be hypocrisy."

Her boyfriend restrained, Kelly walked towards Mark, "Look, Mark, I don't know what you've heard, or what you think, but I'm not a lesb-"

"Don't give me anymore of your lies. I know what you did, you gave me some cock and bull story about Steve being gay just to get me away. And now, you're going...you're going to use Gia to construct your sex pyramid," Mark continued his rant, grasping at the words that struck him so when Steve used them.

Unfortunately they did not do so well now, as Mark found when everyone else in the room broke up laughing. "I'm serious," he insisted, "Shut up!"

"Mark," Gia said, putting her arms around him, "You're being paranoid. No one in their right mind would think Kelly was a lesbian."

Mark pulled himself free, "Take me seriously for once! This isn't just me who thought Kelly was a dyke, in fact I only suspected she was until Steve made it certain for me."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, he told me everything. Told me how Kelly does this all the time, and you're just next on her list. So...let's go now, and leave her to tempt somebody else."

"I'm not leaving Kelly. She's my friend," Gia said through gritted teeth.

Mark shrugged his shoulders, "Well I guess you've made your choice then."

He turned his back on her, and walked out the front door. Gia reached out, possibly thinking about calling out for him, but deciding against it. Especially when there was someone in the room she had to deal with first. Gia, hatred in her eyes turned to stare daggers at Steve. Steve pondered the ceiling, then the floor, before turning his head to the side to call out for Nick.

"Hey Nick, you need me for something?" Steve called out, smiling nervously.

"Nope," Nick called back from the bathroom, "Whatever I'm doing is done best as a solo activity."

"Well, you'll need me for something when you're done, won't you mate?"

"Nope. You're on your own. And I've already locked the door, so don't bother trying to hide in here."

All avenues of retreat gone, Steve slowly turned to face Gia. He tried to think if there was anyway he could prevent harm to himself.

"Hey, we're all good humoured people-"

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking prick!" Gia screamed, "I knew you hated me, but you know what? I was okay with that. I only had to deal with you for two hours each week, and I did have a life outside the radio program, unlike you, you sad bastard."

"Hey, maybe you should calm-" Steve suggested slowly, but was cut off as his head was forced to the left by Gia's back hand.

"Shut up!" she screamed again, "You've always got to be in control, don't you? You could be a bastard to me whenever we were working, but that wouldn't be enough. Because I've got a life outside, and that life was happy. So you had to mess it up."

Tears were now beginning to form in Gia's eyes, "And you know the shittest thing? I would have probably put up with it, if it was just me you were screwing around with. But you had to fuck with Mark-who has never done anything wrong to you, and whose only sin was finding me attractive."

"Honest to God, Gia, I never ever intended to do that."

"Whatever your intentions," Gia said with a sneer, "Congratulations-you got what you want. You wanted me out of the program, well I'm gone. And I'm gonna be happy in never seeing your fucking ugly piece of shit face ever again."

Gia left the flat without another word. Steve leant back against a wall not saying anything. Kelly, feeling awkward, tentatively walked over to him, her boyfriend following.

"Look, Steve, if it's all right, I think I better follow her, see she's okay, maybe give her a lift."

Steve nodded that it was fine.

"'Kay. Look, I'll see you at the station, all right?"

"All right," Steve mumbled. Kelly and her boyfriend walked out, quickly in order to try and catch up with Gia, and to get away from Steve.

At this moment the bathroom door unlocked, and Nick returned to the lounge room. He appraised the situation in a glance.

"Well, I kinda feel like I've missed out. I mean, I heard every word, but it's not the same as being there, you know? Still, good to know Gia swears. For a while I thought she was too prim to be human."

"You gonna walk out in anger as well?" Steve asked, "Everyone else has."

"I thought about it, but then realised, this is my flat. If anyone else should walk out in anger, it should be you," Nick said, walking closer to Steve, "Look, are you okay? You're pretty down. I mean, Gia's not the first woman who's hated you. We've already two just today. I thought you would've gotten used to it."

"I'm fine," Steve said, looking up at Nick with a broad smile, "Why wouldn't I be fine? I mean, Gia's gone, I get to hear you badly try and do a female impersonation for a few weeks before we find someone else to do Gia's job, someone more attractive who I'll get to fuck. What's not to like?"

Nick smiled back, "Good. Because I was kind of worried for a second there that there was something deeper?"

"Like what?"

Nick thought it over as he started collecting empty platters and used serving plates, "Well, I thought for a little bit, that you never actually hated Gia. That, really, you were in love, or at least very attracted to her, but you're so afraid of monogamy that you covered it up by hating her."

"What? Like some bad romantic comedy?"

"Exactly," Nick said, taking the dishes back into the kitchen, but maintaining the conversation, "And this would be the turning point. Gia's finally going to go, and you realise what that's going to mean to you. And suddenly your real feelings become apparent to you. And then you spend the other half of the series trying to win her over. Pretty crappy, eh? Good thing it's not the case."

Steve didn't respond. He was too busy thinking.

"Steve? Good thing it's not the case, eh? Are you understanding me, Steve?"

Slowly, as the cogs in his mind turn, the realisation dropped inside Steve's mind.

"Shit," he muttered.