ASHLEY'S POV :

     We all dash through the door into the next room , to find a sizable number of people standing around muttering and whispering to each other , with Tiana , Juliet , and a third woman standing next to the indoor koi pond , watching a blond dude with glasses and a scraggly goatee scrambling around in the water . Juliet looks sort of rattled , the other chick seems to be somewhere between annoyed and uneasy , and Tiana is flat - out furious .

     "You absolute BITCH !" , the dude in the pond bellows .

     "Oh , you have no idea !" , Tiana says , giving him a rather unpleasant looking grin ."I've barely gotten started ."

     "What the hell is your problem , Keenan ?" , the unknown woman says through gritted teeth . "You're one of us , or did you forget that ? Just because you don't want to do your job , doesn't mean the rest of us don't"

     "No, I am not one of you , Brenda , I'm a journalist , you're one of the parasites that give journalists a bad rep , and if you EVER make the mistake of comparing us again , you'll spend the next six weeks or so taking your meals through a fucking straw . Do I make myself clear ?", Tiana snarls , backing the chick toward the wall .

     She sort of gulps , but says , " It's not like nobody else is gonna be on this , you can't be dumb enough to believe that , Tiana ." 

     "No shit , Sherlock ! But so far nobody else has been enough of an idiot to sneak into a place where they're not welcome and try to corner one of my guests and badger them about something that's none of your fucking business . Y'know , actually , I'm pretty sure I saw Russ a few minutes ago , so maybe I'll go catch up with him . We can have a nice conversation about the political convention you and I covered a couple of years ago . That should be rather amusing ."

     This Brenda chick turns practically green , and turns to the guy who is finally climbing out of the pond . "Let it go , Lance , we're out of here !"

     "Like hell I'm gonna let it go ! The bitch ruined my camera , and my fucking jacket !" , he yells .

     "One more time you call my date names , assface , I'll wreck more than your stupid goddam camera !" , I inform him , stepping forward and forcing him back toward the pond .

     He looks at me , then at the rest of the guys standing here , and finally realizes he's ridiculously outnumbered . "But what about my camera ?" , he whines .

     "I'll make sure you get reimbursed , now let's go !", Brenda hisses at him .

     As she starts to walk past , Tiana reaches out and shoves her against the wall , then gets right up into her face , and says , " Pass it on to the rest of the maggots you two hangout with , Zimmerman . I will be at the awards program tomorrow , and if any of your particular breed of filth comes within an arms length of me , they'll leave on a gurney . And you know I can do it , so don't fucking test me ."

     And from behind me , I hear Andy's voice saying , "You know , I've never hit a woman in my life , but if I ever see you near my wife again , you'll very likely become the first ."

     Security finally shows up and escorts them out , and I notice a couple of other people deciding to just slip out the side door , so I assume they'd had the same idea .

     "What was that about a political convention , anyway ?" , I ask her when the commotion dies down . "That seemed to shut her down pretty quick ."

     "Well , Russ is her husband , and she really didn't want him knowing about her little one - nighter with one of the candidates while we were there . Especially since there are pictures ." , she replies , grinning widely .

     "Ooh , and she plays hardball !" , Alice laughs .

     "I knew there was a reason I like her !" , Jake announces .

     Finally , everyone goes back to enjoying the party , and things finish up on a high note when Phoebe takes a call from the publishing company , and informs everyone that the critics reviews and pre - orders have been so positive , that they're already willing to commit to publishing a sequel , and there may be interest in movie rights .

     That information seems to freak her out a little  , and she says , "Crap , I don't have the first fucking clue how to be famous ! I just sort of figured maybe it'd do well enough to make a decent living on it , so I didn't have to go out and mingle with the vultures as much ."

     "Hon , you have too much talent for that , and you actually care about what you do . You couldn't accept being mediocre if you tried !", I inform her .

     " How do you deal with it ? Doesn't it ever seem like it's more trouble than it's worth ?"

     "Remember, T , this was my actual goal ." , I respond . " This is what I've wanted since I was old enough to understand it .Yeah , it comes with some hassles , like what just happened , but I don't think any of us would say it's more trouble than it's worth . There are too many pluses for that , we're doing what we love , we're able to make a living doing it , and most important , we're making people happy with what we do . That's what you need to think about , that your efforts are going to provide people with enjoyment , or a way to forget about their problems for a little while . I'd say that's worth a bit of hassle ."

     "When the hell did you get all philosophical ?", she inquires .

     I shrug , and say , " I'm not sure I am , I was just explaining how I feel ."

    "Well , you do a fine job of it , honey !" , Phoebe interjects . " Have you ever thought about doing some writing yourself ?"

     "To be honest , I'm actually in the process of doing that now ." , I tell her .

     "Well , if you're ever in the market for a new agent , you know where to find me !" 

     After we finish the conversation with Phoebe , we head out to my car and start the drive back to Andy's place . As I'm driving , I glance over at Tiana , and say , "Y'know , T , I didn't realize that you and Jules had gotten to be such good friends .I didn't think you guys had spent that much time together ."

     "I never said we were besties or anything , Ash . She seems alright , I guess , but you're right , I don't really know her well enough to say more than that .", she informs me . "But I don't have to be best friends with someone to know when they're almost at the end of their rope . I know there's no way that anybody is gonna pass up publicizing what happened on that plane , but I wouldn't wish what happened to her on my worst enemy , and it just pisses me off that these assholes don't know where to draw the line ."

     "Yeah , we're in total agreement there ! I know it's been pretty rough on Andy , and it has to be even worse for Jules . It really sucks when you have no idea what to say to your friend when they're going through something like this , because you're actually afraid that anything you say might make it worse ."

     "I don't think letting them know you care , and that you have their backs , would make things worse , Ash ." , she says , and actually puts her hand on my shoulder as I'm driving . When we pull into the driveway , I shut off the car , then reach up and take her hand in both of mine .

     "I know I told you that I wouldn't push you for anything , Tiana , and I meant that , but I am going to ask you , would you mind terribly if I kiss you right now ?"

    She looks at me for several seconds , which seems much longer , and finally says , "No , I don't think I'd mind that at all ."

     So I lean across the seat , slide my other hand under her jaw , and connect my lips with hers . Soft and slow at first , then gradually becoming more intense , slipping my tongue into her mouth , as she responds in kind , tangling her fingers in my hair .

     I can feel things escalating , so I pull away , and attempt to catch my breath . She gives me a rather confused look , and I finally manage to say , "I told you , I'm not gonna rush things . Yeah , I'd like nothing better than to take you upstairs and give Andy and Jules all sorts of reasons to kick us out , but I want you to be absolutely sure that you know you can trust me , Tiana . And taking you to bed right after our 'second first date' , as you put it , is not the way to do that ."

     She looks at me for a few seconds longer , then smiles and says , "Truthfully , Ash , part of me wants to smack you right now , but the rest of me knows you're right . Doing anything right now would just confuse things , and I don't want that any more than you do . So , I guess that we're both just gonna be kicking ourselves tonight ."

     I get out , walk around the car , and open her door . She gets out and takes hold of my hand , and we walk up to Andy's house and go inside . We walk upstairs , I give her a quick kiss , and we each go to our respective rooms . 

     I can't speak for her , but I think I'm gonna have to go soak myself in ice water before I'll get any sleep . I know I did the right thing , but that doesn't make it feel any less painful .

 A / N :

I've entered this story in a contest on the site called the Rebel Awards , and it's currently in the Peoples Choice round . This means that every vote counts , so if you'd like to vote , go to the contest , to the section titled Teen / Fanfiction , and make a vote according to the instructions . You can vote once a day until 8/14/17 . The contest book is in the reading list on my profile if you have trouble finding it otherwise . Any votes will be greatly appreciated ! Thanx !!