FicWad

Disclaimer: It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or the cast or their related stuff. Also, though this story involves the names of real people, it is a complete work of fiction in terms of characterization and plot.

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Chapter 11 - Picking It Up

Part III

"Man, it is freezing out here."

Sitting on the other end of the hotel blankets, Lucas rubbed his hands together. Next to him, he saw Monique swathed in an extra blanket, her eyes fixed on the movie. "Mo... feel like sharing?"

She looked over and let out a scoff. "No way. Get one from Corbin."

In front of them, Lucas saw Corbin sitting tucked under a blanket. He looked at Monique with a puzzled expression. "I don't see any..."

She rolled her eyes and leaned over, whispering. "I saw him grab the extras. There was a huge pile. He must be sitting on them or something."

Cautiously, Lucas tapped Corbin on the shoulder. "Hey man... Monique says you have extra blankets?"

Corbin turned, smiling. "Yeah, sure," he said, pulling out a blanket from underneath and handing it to Lucas. "How many do you need?"

"Just one, thanks," said Lucas, wrapping up. "How come you're hiding them all away like that, anyway?"

"It's a control thing," said Corbin with a grave expression on his face. Then suddenly, he laughed. "No, man. I was just trying... to make a couple of people happy tonight."

The puzzled expression fell over Lucas's face again. Beside him, Monique looked just as bemused. Sighing, Corbin jerked his head over to the left. Receiving no response from either of them, he jerked it again. Suddenly Monique's eyes darted over to see Zac and Vanessa tucked under a blanket together, cuddled close together.

"Zac and Vanessa?" she whispered. Corbin shrugged.

Leaning forward, Lucas started to hiss. "Dude, that is not a good idea. I told you last time..."

"Dude, chill." Corbin laughed easily. "I know what you said, but I found out it wasn't exactly true."

"What?"

"Well..." Corbin glanced over at Zac and Vanessa. Seeing them engrossed in the film, he leaned in close in to Lucas and Monique. "So you know when you said Zac just broke up with Danielle Panabaker? I don't know what it was, but that didn't sound right to me. Then I got a call from my friend Kristen who knows Danielle, and when I asked her about it... she said it wasn't true."

Lucas froze. "What?"

"That's what she said." Corbin met Lucas's eyes seriously, then continued softly. "She said that as far as she knew, they'd been out a couple of times, but that was like last year and that was it. I guess Danielle works really hard. She finished high school at like, 14." He shook his head in disbelief, and shrugged again. "So, I guess Ashley just got it wrong or something."

The words began to tumble out of Lucas's mouth. "But they're so close. How would she get something---"

But Monique let out an exasperated breath, an agitated expression spreading across her face. "Oh no. I bet she didn't get it wrong, Lucas. I bet she knew it was wrong from the get-go."

Corbin shook his head, laughing gently. "No way. Ashley's a sweet girl. She would never have..."

Monique shook her head insistently. "You guys. You just don't see it. She's not like that at all. There's something really fake about her." She let out another frustrated sigh. "And I don't know why I totally didn't see it either... I just figured Lucas was right. She and Zac are super close. Why would she lie about him?" A realization hit her. "Oh my God. Maybe she likes him."

She covered her mouth in shock, then spoke softly, almost to herself. "It would explain why she keeps dragging him across the city like that. I mean, we've practically never hung out with him except for tonight."

Her eyes moved over to Zac and Vanessa. "Oh but man, the pain she put those two through... and never giving it up? That's super sick."

She looked back at Corbin and Lucas, but neither responded. They both seemed unsettled, nervous. There was a silence until Corbin let out an awkward laugh.

"I don't know," he said. "Really, I think there's a good chance Ashley may have misunderstood or something. I mean, I've seen her. She totally cares about Zac. She was all about protecting the guy." He put his hands in the air. "All I'm saying is that when he thought Nessa was stringing guys along, she didn't even think he should go for her. If she thought he was on the rebound, maybe she was just protecting both of them."

"Or maybe she was just about protecting herself," said Monique shortly.

Corbin spoke again, quietly. "I don't know," he said. "I mean, I just don't. I haven't really told them yet either. I just thought that they were getting to be friends again, so I'd tell them when they were finally OK with each other. Or that maybe they'd sort it out themselves." He gestured out to the air. "I mean, thought a night under the stars might help."

"Guys." Monique sounded appalled. She looked over at Lucas for a response, but saw that he had his arms around his knees, his chin down and his mouth unusually silent. Giving him a sideways look, she continued speaking. "Well, whoever's fault it is, somebody should tell them the truth." Her voice was direct. "And it's probably just in time too. Whatever the problem, Ashley's finally leaving the day after tomorrow, so it'll be smooth sailing after that."

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Author's Note: Or will it?!!?

Just thought I'd throw in a little Monique love there. That girl gets seriously underused. Also, from my old FF comments SteffieEvans26 pointed out to me that Lucas really did hang out with Monique most on set, which is a hilarious coincidence. I just put them together because of that one Zac cam episode, and throughout the story they seemed to gel nicely. Zing.