You guys should thank The Hunger Games trailer for this. It seriously got me motivated enough to finish writing this part. (: But seriously... Who else thought Haymitch was bald? I didn't think he had hair! Hahahaha.

Anyways, this was supposed to be another proposal... but I was feeling in the mood to write something with Sydney. So, I wrote Sydney and her mysterious American solider. (;

Btdubz, I have yet to meet anyone who supports this pairing. It saddens me greatly. ):

And remember.. I'm still on facebook, so add me. There's a link in my profile. And, if you haven't already, go check out my new story, 'How to Love' and my new oneshot, 'Never Again.' Okay? Okay. (:

Love Drunk
"I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover. I'll love you forever, forever is over."
Love Drunk, Boys Like Girls.

London was every bit as beautiful as I remembered. Of course, I had only spent a couple of days in London, simply in passing on my way to Italy and Greece… but regardless, it was still just as lovely. The people were a lot nicer than they were in America, that was for sure.

I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair, obviously lost. The directions to the small café were obviously wrong. That stupid receptionist had lied to me. My hands clenched together as I held my bag, wondering how far away I was from the café. My hotel was two blocks away, and the receptionist had said that the café was only two, with the café being in the middle of the block…

Or maybe my sense of direction was off.

Actually, that was probably the most likely. I could flourish in Italy, Greece, Germany, France… but in an English speaking country? Yeah, not so much. But, given my current stress level, this was something I should have expected. On top of being pregnant, I was still facing the negative repercussions for dating and almost marrying an international criminal… Rest assured that my brother and sister in law had told me that it wasn't my fault, that it was easy to be oblivious…

Still, that nagging feeling never went away. This was obvious karma for not waiting to have sex until I was married. Why didn't I listen to my overbearing mother? Bad things will happen to you if you don't wait until marriage.

Too right she was.

"You look a little lost. Can I help you?" The voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I frowned. Did I really look that lost? I turned to my left to find the source of the voice and blinked twice as I looked at him.

He was tall and very well built. The shirt he was wearing wasn't exactly helping him hide his amazingly toned body, as well… He had tanned skin, brown eyes, and black hair that looked its way to be growing out of a buzz-cut. I gave him a small smile.

"Is it that obvious?" I hugged my purse closer to my body. There was something about this guy that had me standing on the tip of my toes; it was unexplainable but … but it made me slightly uneasy. What if he was like Angelo? What if he turned out to be a criminal? I fought the urge to shake my head; my thoughts were getting ridiculous. I didn't even know the guys name!

"Just a little bit," he responded with a light laugh. He was also American, which had me raising my eyebrows. "And I know that I'm American, but I spent about two years here, so I like to think that I know my way around here pretty well." He held out his hand and I felt the urge to step back. Why was he being so friendly with me? "My name's Trey Juarez. I'd be more than happy to help you find our way."

Against my better judgment, I shook his hand in return. His skin felt smooth against mine and I could already picture his hands up against my body… "Um, thank you. The receptionist I got directions from doesn't have a great sense of direction." He chuckled and I smiled. "I'm Sydney Sage."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he stated and I snorted. The smile he gave me was dazzling, but that uneasy feeling wouldn't go away. "Where are you heading too?"

"Uh." I opened my purse and fumbled around in it, looking for the address to where I had written down the name of the café. After a moment, I finally found it. "It's called The Bat Cave." The name made me chuckle every time I heard it. Seriously, who named their café The Bat Cave? It was clever; I would give the owner that.

He gave me another warm smile as he told me the directions. When he told me the directions, I wanted to slap myself. Apparently, I had walked right past the stupid café and had missed it. I was three blocks away from my hotel, not two. Trey said that it would only take a few seconds for me to get there, given how I was just barely on the third block.

When he was done giving me the directions, the awkward silence came between us. I wanted to mutter a simple 'thank you' and be on with my life… But I couldn't bring myself to do it. There was something about this man that intrigued me – and it scared me to death.

"Would you care to join me?" I asked with a slightly timid voice.

But Trey didn't hesitate. The smile on his face reached his eyes. "I'd love too."

"How about ten truths?"

I took a sip of my tea and considered this. I could already see everything going downhill from here… but I threw caution to the wind at this point. I wanted to know more about Trey, and this was definitely a way to break the ice, given how we had met only a mere half an hour ago.

"Sounds good to me, but you're starting," I responded and his lips twitched up into a smirk. He took a sip of his coffee before he leaned back in his chair.

"I'm a captain in the army." That explained the uneasy feeling I felt about him. Trey was an American soldier and naturally had a lethal vibe about him. It made my mind at ease knowing that his intentions, unlike Angelo's, were for good. "I dropped out of high school to join the army, actually. I enjoy taking pictures, though they turn out incredibly blurry. I've got an older sister and a younger brother. I make a mean tuna sandwich. I speak Spanish fluently and can get around in Italian and French…"

Trey paused and I gave him a wide smile.

"That's five, not ten. You've still got five more to go."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I'm thinking! How about you start off with your five? That will give me plenty of time to think."

I snorted. "Maybe you're just a boring person," I teased. The look on his face was questioning me, and I sighed. "Okay… I work with George Washington University in Washington, D.C, studying Greek and Roman architecture. I've been obsessed with said architecture since I was a little girl. I have an older brother, who's a lethal defense lawyer. I'm better at making oriental food… and I can speak five languages fluently, including Spanish."

Trey let out a low whistle. "And here I was, trying to impress you. Looks like it's the other way around. Five languages, really? Damn, that's impressive. Um, okay. Wow, you've kind of left me speechless… but I'll give it a shot anyways." He took another sip of his coffee. "I'm a huge Harry Potter nerd. I'm also a huge Green Bay Packers fan. I absolutely loathe the Steelers. I played football in high school… and I'm still recovering from a bad break up."

He frowned. I could read the expression on his face; he couldn't understand why he had said that, but he had.

"What a shame, because I think the Steelers kick major ass." For the most part, I didn't care about football – but Adrian loved football, and the Steelers were his team… it sort of rubbed off on me. "I ran cross country in high school. I'm completely in love with anything science fiction. I was a straight A student." I paused in an attempt to control my thoughts. Unfortunately, my mind was in overdrive and everything tumbled out before I could stop my train of thought. "I'm three and a half months pregnant… and the father of the baby was an international criminal."

I sucked in a breath as I could feel the tears form in my eyes. Well, I figured it was probably better to let him know now instead of later. I broke away from his eye contact and stared down at my tea. I was finding it incredibly hard to control my emotions, thanks to this damn pregnancy.

There was a heavy silence between us and I fought the urge to look up. I wanted to look up and see what Trey's expression was, but I didn't. I knew that if I did, then the tears would start to flow even more so than they already were. Even if I had only known Trey for a little under an hour, I already liked him. Why did I have to be so stupid and just blur that out right away? The pregnancy was obvious… but the baggage was not.

A warm hand clasped my shaking one, which was enough to make me look up at him. What I saw surprised me. He didn't look upset, but merely curious. He rubbed small circles into my skin, which I found soothing.

"Hey now, don't cry," Trey said, his tone soft. "That's tragic and I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through… but if that was an attempt to get rid of me, it didn't work."

I let out a strangled laugh. The joke was terrible, but it did make me smile.

"I'm serious, though. Yes, that's sort of a big thing – hell, that's a huge thing. But, I don't believe that dictates who you are. You're a human being. You made a decision and something bad happened because of it. That was then and this is now."

That was then and this is now.

It was like his words ignited a fire in my body. My posture changed as our eyes locked. I could see the warmth and slight understanding in his eyes… At that point, I knew. It was ineffable, the emotion I felt… I was sick of complaining about a beautiful life.

That was then and this is now.

The words were going to become my new mantra.

I wiped the tears from the corner of my eyes with my wrist as I smiled. "I'm sorry; being pregnant has left me an emotional wreck."

"There's no need to apologize." His words were sincere and they touched my heart. "But like I said earlier; that's not going to make me run. Don't try to scare me off now," he teased and I managed a small laugh.

"I'll try not to."

I seriously love this pair. I know it won't happen in Bloodlines, but my God, it's going to happen in my fanfictions. Deal. :D

Next up will be something Rose and Dimitri. I feel like they've been neglected. Or maybe it will be something Jill and Adrian; I've been in a very Jill and Adrian mood lately. Regardless, the next two chapters will be something Rose and Dimitri and something Jill and Adrian. (: