Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs.

A/N: Because Annie is in over her head in multiple ways at the moment, in my opinion, though she may not have realized it yet.

"Pale blinds drawn all day

Nothing to do, nothing to say

Blue, blue

[…] Drifting into my solitude, over my head"

- "Sound and Vision" by David Bowie

This, Annie thought grimly, was all Danielle's fault. Stupid, meddling Danielle with her much-too-keen observations.

Totally Danielle's fault.

If Danielle hadn't been all "It must be nice to have an Auggie in your life" and "Your voice changes a little when you talk to him," Annie never would have thought of Auggie that way.

OK, so she had always been aware that Auggie was hot. So sue her; she could appreciate her best friend without wanting to act on that attraction, right? Right?

Up until recently, she'd been telling herself that this was just an infatuation.

But when Auggie had said that he was going to propose to Parker…

As a friend, she had been shocked and concerned. As a woman infatuated, she had been unhappy. But while she had felt both of those things, her overriding reaction had been a sudden inability to breathe. Auggie's words had acted like a sucker punch to the gut, leaving her winded and blinking back moisture in her eyes.

Auggie dating someone else sucked, but she could deal with it. Auggie permanently off the market?

… Well, she could deal with that too. It wasn't as though she would have any other choice if Parker accepted Auggie's proposal.

Annie might – feel something for Auggie, but that didn't change the fact that he was her friend. She wanted him to be happy and if Parker made him happy…

Still, Annie couldn't help but wish that Danielle had kept her mouth shut all those months ago. Life had been a lot easier before a too-romantic older sister had put certain inconvenient (uncomfortable) ideas into her head.

She took a swig of Patrón and closed her eyes.

A lot easier.