Jack worried all night, and hardly slept at all. Zach, who was sharing a room with him, heard him tossing and turning most of the night. As a result, he swam like crap the next day, adding time to his events, and not even really caring.

His texts to Kelsey went unanswered, and all he wanted to do was go home. He was first on the bus, and sat tensely all the way back to Los Angeles, barely responding when spoken to. Even with his lackluster performance, UCSM had won the meet, so the mood on the bus was jubilant, but Jack didn't participate in the partying and jovial banter.

Marian, who was sitting next to him, tried to talk to him.

"Jack? What are you going to do if she asks you to stop seeing me?" she asked.

He looked over at her, giving her his full attention for the first time.

"She wouldn't do that," he said.

"She might," Marian said.

"You think she would?" he mused.

"I think that if she did, it would be indicative of a deeper problem with your relationship than you've considered up to now," Marian replied.

"Really?" Jack was surprised. "You don't think it might just be a typical girl thing? Just a normal girl response? I mean, don't you guys get all riled up about practically nothing?"

Marian laughed, nudging Jack. "That's sexist, and very insulting, Jack LaGuardia. I'm just saying that no one in her position, world famous and known for being beautiful and all that, should have anything to fear from little old me, you know?" She nodded, encouraging Jack to agree with her. "And if she has that extreme a reaction to me, she really has some issues, that's all."

Jack pondered her words.

"Think about it, Jack," Marian continued. "It makes no sense for Kelsey to be jealous of me, does it? Have you ever given her any reason to be? Have you ever even hinted that there could be anything going on between us?"

Jack shook his head.

"And yet when she sees us like she did last night, out in public, with your friends, doing absolutely nothing, with a plausible explanation that she could confirm with one or two questions," and here Marian gestured to her ankle, which was still swollen and taped, "she completely flies off the handle and runs away. That's kind of abnormal, you know? Almost unbalanced, I think."

She gave Jack a serious look.

"All I'm saying is that you should be a little bit wary of someone who gives out ultimatums, that's all," she concluded. "We've gotten to know each other pretty well, I think, and I like you. I'd hate to lose you and your friendship because your girlfriend was insecure, you know?" She smiled. "And if your relationship is as serious as you say, shouldn't she trust you?"

This really made Jack think.

He did go to the back and talk to Zach a little bit, asking his advice, but even Zach couldn't really help.

"Jackie Boy, I just don't know," Zach admitted. "Kelsey's not like regular girls, you know? She's so famous she redefines the word."

"I know," Jack agreed. He picked at some lint on his sweats morosely. "I mean, I can explain until I'm blue in the face that there's nothing going on between me and Marian, but it doesn't seem to help, you know? It's almost like she doesn't want to believe me or something." He turned confused hazel eyes to his friend. "Was I doing anything wrong?"

Zach shook his head. "No man, you weren't. She was hurt, you were helping, you guys are just friends. I mean, I guess you could say it was wrong of you not to tell her in the first place about Marian coming to our work outs, but seeing how Kelsey flipped out about seeing you guys together, it's perfectly understandable, you know? What are you supposed to do, never spend time with an unattached woman again, ever?"

Jack shrugged. "I like Marian. I've had friends who are girls my whole life, and it's never caused any kind of problem until now. And I feel like I've been so obliging about everything where Kelsey's concerned, I shouldn't have to start giving up my friends, too, you know? Shouldn't she trust me a little bit?"

"But that's just it, Jack, this isn't about you, it's about her, this is Kelsey's shit, I think she needs to deal with it," Zach finally said, shrugging his own huge shoulders. "Like you said, it's not just Marian. She didn't like it when you were helping Tiff with her cramp, she doesn't like you being friends with those girls in your study group, what does she call them, the Three Slutty Musketeers or whatever?"

Jack laughed. "The Three Skankiteers," he corrected.

"Right," Zach agreed.

"You and Marian, it makes sense you'd be friends, doesn't it?" Zach continued. "You're both law students, you both swim, you're both from small towns in California, you're both super nice, I mean, come on. I think your girl's being a little unreasonable, I do," Zach concluded. "But, she's Kelsey Carlisle, maybe she's entitled to be a little unreasonable, who's to say?"

"You're no help," Jack complained. He sighed, patted his friend on the stomach, and went back to his seat.

He was quiet for the rest of the ride back, and went quickly to his car with just a wave to his friends when they got back to the parking lot at school. His stomach was doing crazy things by the time he got home, and he took a deep breath as he entered through the laundry room, quickly emptying his gym bag into the washing machine before going into the kitchen.

He could see Kelsey sitting in the family room and went to sit down, hoping that she'd at least want to talk to him and not leave.

She looked so pretty to him, though she also looked tired and sad, and watchful. It hurt Jack to see that expression on her face, as though she were waiting for Jack to cause her pain somehow. She was wearing yoga pants and a fuzzy dark sweater with matching socks.

"Hi," he said carefully, sitting across from her in the chair, though he'd rather have sat next to her.

"Hello," she replied, taking a sip from her wine glass.

"You didn't answer any of my texts," he began, gesturing toward his phone.

"I didn't want to talk to you," she answered, averting her eyes.

"Oh," Jack said, swallowing. "Well, do you now? I mean, can we?"

"I guess." Kelsey shrugged. "What is there to talk about?"

"Kelsey, come on!" Jack struggled to keep his voice down. "You drove all that way to see me, then you got so upset you turned around and came right back! We obviously have a lot to talk about!"

She picked up her glass and drained it. "Okay. Okay. Let's talk, then," she said, turning to Jack, tucking her leg under herself. "How long has Marian been working out with you guys, and why didn't you tell me about it?"

Jack sat back, crossing his arms. "Look, first off--"

"Jack, just answer me, could you do that?" Kelsey fixed him with a steely, gray-eyed glare.

He swallowed and nodded. "About a month or so, I guess. And I didn't tell you because I thought it might upset you."

Kelsey nodded. "You were right about that. But the fact that you didn't tell me upsets me far more than the fact that it was happening, do you understand that?"

Jack nodded again, taking a deep breath. "And I'm sorry. I should've told you."

"Noted," she said briefly. "And is there anything else you've been keeping from me?"

Jack shook his head vehemently. "No. Absolutely not. I swear."

Kelsey nodded. "And can you promise me you won't see her anymore?"

Jack uncrossed his arms, gripping the arms of his chair and leaning forward.

Kelsey saw his action and felt the need to explain. "I just don't trust her, Jack, I haven't not since the day she met you."

"That's not really the issue, though," Jack responded, surprising Kelsey with his tone. "If you trust me, whether you trust her or not shouldn't really matter at all, should it?"

"Jack, are you angry with me?" Her surprise made her blunt. Jack had never really been mad at her before, had he?

"Not angry," Jack admitted, not wanting to go that far. "Just frustrated. Why don't you trust me? She'd turned her ankle, Kels, that's all! I was helping her to the bus. Do you believe me? Do you?" He stared at her.

She blinked in the face of his vituperative. "Yes--yes," she faltered. "Of course I believe you. It's just--"

"Just what? Just what? How do you finish that sentence?" Jack asked, waving his hand in the air. "You seem to have some issues, you know? That don't have anything to do with me." And though he was angry with himself for just parroting Marian's words, he couldn't seem to help himself. The truth was that he was frustrated with the whole situation, with not understanding why she felt this way.

"I don't know!" Kelsey burst out. "Seeing you with her makes me feel upset, that's all! I can't explain it any better than that, okay? I don't like it! I don't like seeing you with her! Isn't that enough, Jack?" She poured herself another glass of wine and sat back with it, huddling on the couch, a forlorn figure.

"What about Tiffany, when she had the cramp? Or Rain and Teresa and Nadine? How do you explain them and their lovely nickname?" Jack asked. "Do you know how they tease me at school?" He nodded at Kelsey's look. "They know how you feel, of course they know! They heard you when we were arguing here in our bedroom that first night!" He was really yelling now, unable to control himself.

"That was different," Kelsey began. "Those girls, Tiffany at the pool, that was different."

"How?" Jack asked, and he felt a vicious satisfaction when he saw her flinch at the word.

"It just was," she said.

"It just was?" he repeated.

Kelsey nodded helplessly, blinking so she wouldn't cry.

"Marian's different, you must be able to see that, Jack," Kelsey begged.

"She's a real friend," Jack said. "That's all I see. And I think it's ridiculous that you're asking me to give that up, to be quite frank. I'd think you'd have a little more sympathy for someone who's been through so much.

"Kelsey, you know, better than just about anyone, how much she's suffered," Jack said. "Her accident, the pain, the addiction, then everything with Joaquin, I mean you're experiencing all of it right now," he said, and Kelsey could hear the amazement in his voice. "How can you be so unsympathetic to her?"

Kelsey stared at Jack. "I can't believe we're fighting about this," she said. She shook her head. "How can you say you have feelings for me, then sit there and mock me about how I feel about her?" She rose, holding her glass. "I've been completely open with you about my feelings, Jack! Do you know how hard that is for me? And you throw those feelings in my face? Make fun of me about the girls in your class?"

"I didn't make fun of you!" Jack retorted. "I never did. I just pointed out what a hypocrite you are."

"I'm being a hypocrite?" Kelsey repeated. "No. No, you take that back." Her voice was low with emotion.

Jack was horrified at how the conversation was going, at the turn it had taken. He felt like he was watching a train wreck in slow motion, helpless to do anything but stare. How had this happened?

"Kelsey--" he began.

"No!" She cut him off. "Jack, you need to leave."

"What?"

"I mean it." Her voice was beginning to shake. Jack had never heard her like this, not even after what had happened with Don. "Please leave, Jack, I can't do this anymore." Her voice had dropped to a whisper. "Please. Just go."

"Okay. Okay. I'm going."

Jack grabbed his keys from the bowl in the hall and quickly went back the way he'd entered, barely half an hour before.

Kelsey didn't move until she heard his car start and back out. Then the sobs started, and she sat back down on the couch, her hands on her face.