Warehouse 13 Fic

Bering X Wells eventual pairing (for reals, I promise)

Rating: T- for now, if it gets out of hand, I may go back and change it, But I swear some, just a warning.

Summary: College AU. Part two in the America's Most Dangerous Antiques Roadshow universe. After the events in last semester, the students reunite and must deal with the repercussions of their actions, both in personal relationships and with the Warehouse.

Disclaimer: I do not own Warehouse 13 nor any of the characters with in.

AN: Welcome back. Did you miss me? As a birthday gift to myself, I present to you the first chapter of the second part of my AU, Library of Crazy. As always, I am the only one to blame for mistakes made in this fic, I try to do my research and spell check, but you know I do this in the middle of the night so… yeah. Happy reading, and your reviews are greatly appreciated.

Chapter One: Summer (pt1)

"Sometimes, you have to step outside of the person you've been and remember the person you were meant to be. The person you want to be. The person you are."

― H.G. Wells

Myka never wanted to go back to Colorado. She had always avoided going home for breaks and holidays. She always used school or work as an excuse, but since she didn't sign up for summer classes and Dr. Cho was going out of state for the next three months, Myka didn't have an excuse when Pete told her they were going home for the summer.

Myka packed up her possessions, said a long good bye to Claudia and Steve- who were going to Steve's parents' home until next semester- and her and Pete flew home.

Jane Lattimer picked them up when they landed and chatted to Pete and Myka about what she had been up to, and asked the same of them. Myka was quiet. Other than to say goodbye to Steve and Claudia, she hadn't really spoken, not even to Pete.

It was the first night after HG left that Pete had woken to the sound of Myka sobbing in her room. The next day he made plans to take her home, and she had been furious with him, but in the end, she really couldn't stand to be in a place she had shared with HG.

When Mrs. Lattimer dropped her off in front of her parent's book store, she adjusted her luggage and took a breath.

"I can walk in with you…" Pete offered, but Myka shook her head.

"I'll be fine," she insisted in the monotonous tone she had adopted, "I'll see you later, Pete."

The door was locked, a closed sign in the window, but Myka had kept her key. She let the familiar smell of old books calm her nerves as she walked the stairs that would lead to the apartment above the store.

It was like a punch to the gut when she walked into her old bedroom and found it had partially become some sort of extra storage space for her parents. She swallowed the pain, adding it to the stock pile she was making, and began to move the giant card board boxes around, stacking them neatly against the far wall until her desk and bed were uncovered.

She gave up and collapsed on the bed from exhaustion, though she hadn't done much. It was an emotional exhaustion. The mattress was bare, and despite the warmer weather, she shivered before curling in on herself.

Her mother found her up there when they themselves returned from the airport a few hours later. Jeannie was a bit apprehensive to have both her daughters back in the same house for the summer, but it didn't dampen how excited she was to see her eldest daughter.

Myka didn't say anything as her mother woke her up with a gentle nudge, she just rolled her head into her lap and let her mom comfort her. They'd never had a close relationship, but it was something Myka needed right now, and though she did not confide in her mother, Jeannie sensed it. She apologized for the state of the room, stating that they could move the boxes to the attic, but Myka didn't comment.

She spent a week ignoring everyone, including Pete and Tracy. She unpacked her things meticulously. Setting her pictures and books up with equal care and reverence. She lost herself in old books and writing her own story. She didn't eat unless her father forced her to come down stairs. She didn't leave the book store at all, and when Pete came by, she locked herself into her room.

Tracy asked him what happened to her and he didn't know how to answer. Just because they didn't get along as kids, didn't mean Tracy didn't care for her sister, and the last time she had seen Myka like this was after Sam died. It worried her.

The second week her father yelled at her, saying that this wasn't a hotel and if she was going to be staying with them, she had to work in the bookstore, just like her sister. She took his red faced rant stoically. But she did begin working down stairs. Unpacking books, helping customers, reshelving misplaced books… it felt like high school all over again.

She passively listened to Tracy tell all the tales she had lived over the last year exploring Europe. Bragging about the people she had met, the fling she had in Paris. She put up with Tracy not doing her half the work whenever someone she knew showed up at the store to talk to her. What she couldn't stand was when Tracy tried prying into her life.

It started innocently enough, asking about her experiences in college. Tracy had been accepted to every school she applied for, but had yet to make a decision. Myka explained that while she enjoyed the college atmosphere, the classes were difficult. Tracy rolled her eyes and begin asking more pointed questions. What kind of people had she met, was there anybody special, just how did she spend all her free time?

"So… did you meet anyone?" Tracy asked as she followed her older sister around, purposely moving books into the wrong spots so Myka would continue to walk around and fix them.

"Yeah," Myka sighed, hadn't she just fixed this book? "Pete and I met Steve first week of school. He's the one we shared the apartment with."

"You guys were just friends?" Tracy glanced up at the sound of the bell, but it was no one she cared about, so she would let Mom or Dad help them.

"Steve is gay, Trace." Myka rolled her eyes, "So yeah, we were just friends."

"You expect me to believe you only made one friend in the two years you were gone?" Tracy challenged, "Because even when I spent less than a day in some place I always made at least three friends and you-,"

"Let me stop you right there, Tracy." Myka snapped, and Tracy looked at her expectantly, "Oh I have nothing to say, the sound of your voice was just getting really annoying."

Tracy opened her mouth but was interrupted by the door opening once more. This time, she did recognize the man with the boyish smile. "Well, your boyfriend's here."

Myka looked up to find Pete talking to her parents. She began to quickly think of a way to get out of seeing him. She could run back up the stairs to her room… but no, Tracy moved to trap her where she was until Pete reached her.

"Hey cutie," Tracy winked and Pete smiled in response.

"Come on," He spoke to Myka as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began walking her out of the store.

"Pete, I'm working!" she protested, dragging her feet.

"Your parents just gave you the rest of the day off," he provided, "You're coming with me."

"And just where are we going?" she demanded.

But he didn't reply. They walked in silence until they reached their high school. Myka was confused but Pete wouldn't answer her questions, he just lead them to the weight training room, using a key Myka was sure he was supposed to return after they graduated. It wasn't until he was wrapping her hands and wrists that he spoke to her again.

"You liked her." He inferred.

"Who?" Myka asked stupidly, resisting the urge to pull her hand away.

"HG," Pete didn't look her in the eye, "Helena. I should have seen it, you're my best friend and I didn't even realize… That's why you were so upset when I kissed her."

"Thanks for dredging that memory back up," Myka rolled her eyes and swallowed bile.

"It makes sense now," Pete continued, "Why you spent so much time with her. Those moments when it was like the two of you were off in your own little world. That's why it hurts you so much that she left. It's like a break up, right?"

"Except we weren't really together," Myka shook her head, willing herself not to cry. She had been doing far too much of that lately, "She had a fiancé the whole time, so we didn't even have a chance. So go ahead and tell me that I'm being stupid and need to get over it."

"I'm not going to tell you to get over it," Pete finally looked her in the eye, "I'm going to help you to get through it. That's what best friends are for, right?" he moved her to stand in front of the punching bag in the corner.

"So what are we doing in the weight room?" Myka sniffled, trying to hide it from Pete.

"This is where I come after a bad break up," Pete admitted, fresh sadness filling him, "I get angry, and I take it all out on this." He gave a halfhearted punch at the bag.

The realization hit Myka over the head like a two by four, "You and Kelly broke up."

Pete shrugged, "The day before we left, I was telling her goodbye… I freaked her out, I guess. I said I love you too soon I think."

Myka felt like the biggest bitch ever. Her friend was dealing with a real break up, and Myka had shut him out and made him go through it alone, "I'm so sorry, Pete."

He shrugged again, giving her a lopsided smile, "We'll get over them, Mykes. We'll be okay, you and me, we're irresistible."

Myka laughed for the first time in what felt like forever.

Pete directed her to think about everything she was upset about and put it all into her hits. An hour later and her arms were killing her, but she did feel a lot better. For once, she felt like she wasn't about to cry. The sadness had turned to anger. And anger she could deal with.

As they walked back to the store Myka opened up more to him, "It doesn't freak you out?" she asked, "That I liked a girl?"

Pete looked at her funny, "Why would that freak me out? It's not like it makes you a different person. So you like chicks, I like chicks too. We have one more thing in common."

She chuckled and punched him in the arm before growing serious once more, "It wasn't so much that she was a girl… it was that she was who she was. Helena was… beautiful and smart and funny and…"

"Well how smart could she have been if she let you go?" Pete asked, "Maybe that makes her the dumbest person alive because you are a great catch. And one day, you're gonna find someone that'll make you forget all about her."

"You make it sound so easy, Pete," Myka shook her head, "It's not like it's even possible for me to forget about her. She's in every song, every prose and every line… Helena Wells is everywhere I look."

"Well, it may take a while, but I know you'll be alright," Pete insisted, "Because you are Myka Ophelia Bering, and you're stronger than anyone I know. And the only person who doesn't see that is you, but I'm gonna make you realize it."

I doubt that, Myka thought to herself, but didn't say it out loud, because she and Pete decided they were going to try and move past this.

Tracy woke her up the next day, she sat at the edge of Myka's bed, a calculating look in her eye. "You got dumped, huh?" were her first words.

Myka huffed and fell back into her pillows, "Yes." Was all she said.

"Well fuck him, whoever he is," Tracy's voice held a heat in it Myka didn't recognize, "You and me, we are gonna make sure it was the worst mistake he ever made. Get up, we're going out." She ripped the blanket off of Myka.

She didn't move at first, "I wish I was more like you, Tracy. I wish I wore red lipstick and broke people's hearts… but instead I got my heart broken and I look bad in red lipstick."

"Come on, Myka," Tracy tugged on her arm so she was sitting up, "You are great, the best big sister ever, alright? And I am going to help you see that you deserve better than whatever douche broke your heart."

Myka was shocked. Tracy had never been this way with her before. She realized Tracy was angry on her behalf. She almost told Tracy it wasn't necessary, that Pete was helping her get over it, but part of her didn't want to let this moment go.

Their first stop was the salon.

"First stop on the break up tour," Tracy said when they arrived, "Every girl has to change their hair after a break up. It's, like, girl law or something."

Myka was hesitant, but complied. She had it trimmed, straightened and dyed a darker shade of brown that was just shy of black.

She didn't recognize her reflection at first. But maybe that was the key. They only way she could get over Helena was to become someone else who had never been affected by her.

She let Tracy buy her a whole new wardrobe, even packed up her old clothes in a box and put it in the attic. It was things Myka never considered wearing before, lacking the proper confidence, but Myka was trying to be different. Her sister helped her learn new makeup techniques, how to walk properly in high heels, the best way to work the flat iron and curling iron.

And while Tracy helped Myka bury her old self, Pete helped her work out her emotions through physical exertion. They joined a self-defense class, went to the gym, and started running together every morning.

And no one brought up HG. And slowly, Myka began to feel better.

She went out with her sister and Pete when they asked. Hanging out with their friends, being sure to participate and make an effort. It got easier and easier. She spoke and laughed and spent less and less time in her room. Her parents noticed the difference in her and Tracy's relationship, but didn't comment.

One night, when Tracy and Pete had dragged her along to a hang out with their old high school friends, Myka ran into someone she never thought she'd see again.

"Myka Bering," Kurt Smoller smiled broadly at her, "I almost didn't recognize you! How have you been?"

Myka had had a crush on Kurt in high school, before Pete set her up with Sam. They had never been exactly close, Myka had tutored him in math and it took two weeks for him to even pronounce her name right, but he was cute and was nice to Myka, unlike many of Pete's other teammates.

It was surprising that time seemed to only make the football player more handsome. Unfair really that he clearly had not put on the freshman fifteen, or if he had, he already worked it off and got in even better shape.

He had honest eyes, was beautifully transparent and… simple. Myka found it easy to laugh with him, talk about superficial things and forget. It was only two days before the couple was official.

"The best way to get over someone," Tracy told her after she helped her get dressed for their first date, "Is to get under someone else."

Myka scoffed, but couldn't argue with her logic. Kurt was the perfect distraction simply because he was the exact opposite of Helena Wells. Conversation was kept light, he was an open book and told Myka exactly what he was thinking. He was sweet but a little shallow and wasn't exactly going to school on an academic scholarship. Even physically, he was very male, bigger and taller than Myka, so that she could wear heels and still have to look up to meet his eyes, which were a lovely shade of blue, so it was nothing like looking into… someone else's eyes.

When they hugged it was all hard muscles and heavy scents. And Myka found it easier to get through the day without thinking about HG. She wasn't happy, but she was no longer miserable. And that was better than anything she supposed. She cried only when she was laughing too hard, she only pouted when she was trying to get her way with Kurt. She woke up in a good mood and worked hard during the day so that she would fall to sleep right away at night, because when she couldn't… that's when it was hard for her. That was when she could feel the ghost of another body lying next to her as it spun tails in a lilting accent.

Her photos from the last semester sat on the desk still, but she only looked at them now if she was writing, which she did less and less now. Remembering her muse was too painful, but she couldn't scrap all the hard work she had put into it. So she just put it away, moved the picture that was taken at the beach to the back of her desk where it was blocked by happier memories.

Pete and Myka had moved up in their self-defense classes, surprisingly advanced for two who had only been working at it for two weeks. She and Tracy now spent their time laughing as they restocked shelves, even though she was still bitter about some things, it wasn't Tracy's fault she realized. And when she wasn't having dinner at Pete's house, she was going out with Kurt, who was sweet and thoughtful.

There was a week left of summer on the day she found herself working the store with Kurt, who had begun helping her during most of her shifts. They had been spending as much time together as possible since they were going to be separated soon. Not by far since Kurt went to the University of Fresno, but they would no longer be mere blocks away from each other. Myka wasn't looking forward to losing her distraction, unsure of how she would cope with only her work out routines to get her through the day. And she had gotten rather attached to Kurt. It wasn't quite love, but given a bit more time it might turn into it.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Myka's waist from behind lifting her and spinning, causing her to giggle madly and demand to be put down.

"Aren't we done yet?" He whined as he set her down, but kept her pressed against him, kissing her shoulder and neck.

"Almost," Myka spun out of his embrace, turning to give him a wicked grin, "We have to stock the new order of books, and then I am all yours." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him sweetly.

He lifted her again to deepen the kiss, grumbling when she pulled away too soon for his liking.

"Alright," He sighed, setting her down once more, "I'll go get the box, since it's my job to provide the muscle." He flexed for her as he walked backwards and she pretended to swoon with a giggle.

She turned back to the shelf she was reorganizing and sighed, only this time it was resigned. She usually avoided the science fiction section. Too many memories of a different book shelf with similar books haunted her here.

She froze upon seeing the book she gripped in her hand. It was the author's name that caused her pause. When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells.

She knew it wasn't the same HG Wells that sprung to mind, but she also knew this was one particular Wells' favorite book. And for one moment, she found herself wishing she could take this book and discuss it with the Englishwoman she was thinking of.

It had been so long since she wished for Helena's presence. Two weeks since she thought about her in more than a vague abstract longing sort of way. It caught her off guard now, came back with a vengeance and she realized she would need more than a boyfriend and a new wardrobe to ever be fully out from underneath that woman's spell.

There was a bell signaling a customer, and since she was the only one on the floor at the moment she called, "I'll be with you in a minute!" before putting the book to the side and quickly shelving the other science fiction classics.

"Do my eyes deceive me, Jinksey?" A familiar voice stage whispered behind her, "Or is that our Mykes wearing high heels?"

Myka spun around and was greeted by a smiling redhead and a nervous looking blond. "Claudia! Steve!" she felt a genuine smile spread over her face as she moved to embrace them both, "Oh my god, I missed you both so much!"

"Where's Pete?" Steve asked after he released her.

"Oh, he's probably hanging out around town somewhere," Myka was over whelmed with joy at seeing two of her best friends, "I'll be meeting up with him later."

Claudia's hair had grown out a bit and now sported a hot pink streak through it, and she looked much healthier than when Myka had last seen her. She was obviously sleeping more and someone had made sure she ate meals regularly. Steve had stopped shaving his face so close, and now had blond stubble covering his chin, and despite the worried look on his face, he seemed more at peace than the previous years.

She was about to invite them out when a familiar scent hit her. It was faint, so faint she shouldn't have been able to catch it, but the delicious scent wrapped around her. Apples. She looked behind her two friends just in time to see a raven haired beauty step out from behind the shelf.

"H… HG?"

AN: Ah, it is good to be back