The Other Woman

Chapter One: I Want You To Want Me

She almost wants to laugh at the irony. Like Mother, like daughter. It must've been a gene she possessed, taking things, taking people that were not hers. She didn't even want him to be hers.

But she did want to be wanted.

The most unusual about the guy inhabiting her bed is that he didn't want her. For all she knew, he probably doesn't want her. She's not sure if she's okay with that, but she can deal. Adrian wasn't about to let a guy, any guy, no matter who he was in love with, leave her bed unsatisfied. It was something far deeper than pride, something that only Ricky had broken in. He didn't want her and Ben didn't want her…

And it was all because of her.

She flips her thick hair over her bare shoulder and it falls in rivulets down her back. Forget her; she hoped Ricky might, and just to sweeten the deal, she hoped she could make Ben do the same. Who needed Amy Juergens? Or John…

She abruptly wonders if his last name is Juergens or Underwood. She wants to say that it doesn't matter, but it does. It almost kills her how much it does matter.

Adrian turns her head when she hears a soft groan from the other side of her bed. Looks like the Prince was awaking from his slumber. She rolls her amber eyes. "When do you have to be home?"

The pillow muffled his voice and she trails her finger slowly down his side, over his rib cage. He cranes his head, dark hair ruffled. "Um," His eyes widen in an attempt to focus and once he does, he sees more skin than he anticipated on looking at. He covers his eyes with his hand. "Dad extended it to eleven, but I can just say I'm over at Henry's."

She looks over at her alarm clock quickly. 10:34. "Why? Just get dressed and go home now."

Ben peeks and notices that she has yet to cover herself yet. He covers his eyes. "Don't-Don't you think we should talk, about this. About what we just did."

Adrian blinks slowly. "No. And why are you covering your eyes? It's not like you haven't seen everything already."

He reluctantly takes his hand away from his eyes and concentrates on a spot on the wall rather than the very curvy and alluring body next to him. "It's just that, uh, I've never done this before, Adrian. Not everyone's Ricky."

She ignored the way he huffily said Ricky's name. "Obviously," She replied flatly.

He looked at her, concentrating on her mildly amused irises this time. "Hey! I couldn't have been that bad," He bowed his head insecurely. "Could I?"

Her brown eyes softened. "No, it was actually…nice."

He smiled. "Really?"

She raised a fine eyebrow and smirked. "Yeah," She leaned down and her lips almost tickled his earlobe. "Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted to go for round two?"

He shifted a few centimeters from her form. "Um, I uh…I mean-"

"Don't hurt yourself Boykewich," She grinned and settled down, lying down next to him. She touched his shoulder and frowned, he was so tense. "You really need to relax."

"How can I when I-when we just," He swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Had sex."

"You mean," Her frown deepened. "You just had sex with someone who's not Amy."

His eyes widened. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that! I meant, don't you love Ricky?"

"Don't you love Amy?" She hissed and Ben flinched.

"Yes, I do…"

Adrian turned her head away defiantly.

"But that doesn't mean that I don't care about you either." Ben said hastily, "I wouldn't have done this if I didn't care about you. I wouldn't have even thought about it."

"So, are you trying to say that you think about me?" She gave him that teasing smirk again, the one he fell under without having a clue what to do.

He reached out slowly and rubbed a few tresses of her hair in-between his fingers. "Yes, I do."

Adrian's eyes widened for a moment. Not because of what he said, but because of how he said it. He was honest. He was naïve. He was everything she wasn't. He wasn't even her type. Even Max was more her style. But Ben? With a last name like Boykewich? With his goodie goodie image and his perfect life. The only thing out of place was his girlfriend, wife being his preferred vernacular, Amy. Not to mention the fact that he was in her bed right now. She smiled, maybe he was more her type after all. She was the wolf and he was the sheep; they had just switched clothing for a little while. Or in their case, took off their clothing.

She had lazily shrugged on her white fluffy robe and dangled her legs off the side of her bed. "Yeah, well, don't make a habit of it."

He leaned upwards with his arms. "You know, you don't have to be brave all the time," He looked at the wall again, determinedly, "I wouldn't hurt you."

She bowed her head, "Yes I do." And yes, he would. Ben may not have been like most guys, but he was still a guy. In Adrian's eyes, that was the worst crime that could ever have been committed. She stood and shook out her hair, "You want something to eat?"

He nodded mutely. "Yeah, I'm feeling starved actually, especially after that…"

She thought she saw him blushing and she rolled her eyes again. Even after sex, he still was innocent. Adrian threw him another robe and headed out the room. Ben followed close behind and tried to avert his gaze when she bent over to look for food in the fridge. She smirked when she noticed he was watching her. "Enjoying the view?"

He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Adrian rolled her eyes again, "You know, you're going to have to get used to this eventually."

His smile faded. "I don't know if I should. Get used to it, I mean."

Adrian took out some deli meat, along with condiments and bread, "You're right. Who knows when this'll happen again." Her tone was teasing, but Ben's expression dimmed all the same. Adrian touched his stiff bicep, "I was just kidding." She had to be careful with what she said, something she never had to do when she was with Ricky. With Ricky, she could yell and rant and curse like an undignified lady. Her words could easily cut through Ben and his idealistic beliefs about love. What did he know anyways? He was just a child.

Yeah, Adrian thought carelessly, a child I corrupted.

She should've been ashamed of herself.

She wasn't. End of story.

"Yeah, I know you were." Ben finally replied, somewhat relaxing under her touch.

She sighed; this boy was going to make her soft. She spun on her heel away from him and took out a butter knife and he followed her lead by taking out the bread slices. "Hey." Ben began with a growing smile on his face, "Is this meat from our deli?"

Adrian smirked. "What can I say, you got me hooked on it." She spread the mayonnaise and mustard on the bread slices, and then stacked the ham and salami on top. Ben then topped them off with lettuce and tomato and they bit heedlessly into their sandwiches due to their hunger. Adrian laughed when Ben had mustard smeared across his cheek and smoothed it off with her index finger. His brown eyes widened when she inserted her finger in-between her full lips. "Pretty good, if I may say so myself."

He chuckled as he took another bite, "Definitely."

Adrian's expression waned. "Do you still talk to Amy?"

Ben hesitated with taking another bite. He looked over at Adrian, who suddenly looked sad. "Yeah, I do," He looked down at his sandwich, "I still love her, you know."

"I know that," Adrian took another bite. "Even if she's a gold digger." She muttered as an afterthought.

Ben knew good and well about Adrian's tendencies to speak truths that were hard for people to hear. He suddenly felt the need to defend Amy, to tell Adrian that she was all wrong about her and that Amy loved him back the same way he loved her. Due to recent events, however, he had to wonder about it. "Amy…knew I had the money and she's…" He sighed. He wasn't even sure if she was anything to him at all anymore, especially after what he just did, or rather, what she did first.

"Say it."

Ben turned to look at her. "Say what?"

"That she's a gold digger," Adrian licked some mustard that managed to make it's way onto her finger.

"But she's not."

Adrian rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say…"

Ben put his sandwich on the counter. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that people can't do things without some ulterior motive?"

Adrian's nostrils flared, "Because there's always an ulterior motive! That's how the world works! Everyone wants something from someone else and once they have it, they're gone."

"Then I suppose it works the same way with you and Ricky, right?" Ben stood straight and rigid. "He calls you for sex and once he's had it, he's gone."

Adrian stood toe to toe in front of him and looked up to match his gaze. "That's not the same…"

"It's exactly the same Adrian!" Ben yelled and grabbed her shoulders, "Why is it so hard for to believe that Ricky was using you?"

"For the same reason you can't believe that Amy was using you, Ben. I just don't wear my heart on my sleeve." She stated flatly.

Adrian's arms stayed by her side, but Ben engulfed her in a hug, resting his head on top of hers. "You're right, it's just in your eyes."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to cry, idiot."

"Never said you were." He said with a smile against her hair, "Are you mad at me?" He asked as an afterthought.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his bare chest. "Of course I am." Damn him for making her feel bad about herself.

"Why are you so complicated, Adrian?" He asked with a chuckle.

She looked up at him. "Why, should I be easy like Amy?"

"No," Ben said after a moment. "Because then, you wouldn't be you and Amy wouldn't be Amy. You're perfect the way you are."

"Perfect, huh?" She smirked, ego stroked.

"Yeah, perfect…"

Ben left the cafeteria and walked outside to eat at his usual table. It was a nice spring day and it was basically a tradition at Ulysses Grant; why eat inside when it looked so beautiful outside? He spotted Alice waving him over, Henry on her right after getting back together. Amy sat on the opposite side and next to her sat Ricky, to which he didn't mind. They were friends and the boundaries were established: Ricky was just the father of their son and Ben was her boyfriend.

He set to going over when he noticed Adrian sitting on top of one of the round tables by herself, nibbling on a slice of pepperoni pizza. They established eye contact for a moment and then she looked away, not wanting to be bothered.

"Hey, Adrian," He said, walking in her direction. She continued to look far out into the distance, anything to avoid his concerned gaze. "Why are you sitting alone?"

She swallowed a bite of pizza. "Why do you care?" She began to narrow her eyes and he almost regretted asking, but he wasn't the type of person to back out easily.

"Because I never thought you'd be sitting alone, is all." He averted his gaze from her hard one.

"And why would you think that?" She said humorlessly, beginning to smirk. "I'm not exactly liked around here."

She was right, he knew it and she knew it. She was intense and she flirted between the border of brutally honest and cruel. It wasn't as if he believed that she was as bad as what people said because he truly did believe that people had good in them. Maybe he was just a naïve freshman, but it wasn't as if it was impossible. Why would she throw Amy a baby shower? She wasn't even one of Amy's best friends.

"Maybe not," He agreed. "But you have friends."

"Really?" She took another bite. "Like who?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, you're a majorette, why don't you hang out with your squad?"

"Well, first of all, the majorettes don't all have this lunch." She said matter of factly. "And second, even if they did, I wouldn't hang out with them anyways because they're all spoiled, jealous wretches who only think about themselves and Oh My God!-"She said in a high-pitched scandalized mocking voice, "Their cheating boyfriends!"

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, there's Grace. You're friends, right?"

"Sure," She allowed. "Except it would be very weird, you know? They just got back together and the last thing I need is to make Grace think I want Jack. Because I don't. Besides, what they do is their business."

Ben graciously ignored that last statement. "You know, you could sit with us." He said tentatively.

"You really think I'm stupid, don't you?" Adrian asked unmercifully. "Why didn't you just say 'you could sit with Ricky?'"

"I don't think you're stupid and you could sit with him Adrian."

"Why would I sit somewhere I'm not wanted?" Her lower lip protruded defiantly.

"I do want you to sit with us-"

"Spare me the pity." She said, cutting him off. "Do you see them over there?"

Ben looked over to see what she meant. Ricky was talking to Amy and Amy, being polite he surmised, was smiling back, talking back as well. He felt a pang hit him in his chest, but he shook his head. He was being silly; of course they would talk! They had to see one another every week; they were probably talking about John or band.

"It won't be long." She said in a far off tone.

Ben turned to Adrian. "What?"

"It won't be long before she falls in love with him."

A breeze blew by and Ben felt a chill down his spine despite the leather jacket he wore. "Amy isn't like that. She saw right through him before and she still could."

"Maybe, maybe not," She looked at her fingernails with feigned interest. "But eventually, everyone falls in love with Ricky. That's just the type of guy he is," She said ruefully with a grimace marring her pretty features.

"Not Amy." Ben said steadily and Adrian shrugged.

"Whatever." She sighed, "She's your girlfriend."

"Yeah, and you love Ricky." He said with a nod. Adrian glared at him and he hastily added, "Which is none of my business."

"Yeah, none of your business." She cut him with her chestnut gaze, "Leave."

He nodded and set to do just that. Before he left completely, he looked over his shoulder. "You could still sit with us Adrian. I-I would like you to sit with us." He said, hesitantly extending the invitation.

"Thanks, but no thanks." She smirked, waving her hand to signal goodbye. Adrian Lee didn't take kindly to pity and if she wanted to sit with them, she would've sat with them regardless of if they wanted her there or not. As if she needed an invitation.

Adrian looked up at him and genuinely smiled, "I like the sound of that."

This is kind of odd for me, writing in a different fandom, (so I hope I don't randomly get flamed) but I just wanted to try it and this basically called out to me. Ben and Adrian will be prominately seen, but there's also Amy/Ricky, Grace/Jack, and others that may appear. It's also betwen the past (italics) and the present (normal text), so that shoud clear some things up.

Next Chapter: If You Seek Amy

Drop a review if you feel inclined.

DAC