Love's Complicated// Flee

Chapter Five

Upon finishing the class for the evening, Faye was the first to rise from her seat and leave. She'd managed to avoid any more conversing with Lee during the remainder of the class and had made sure she was long gone before he thought to bring it up again. He'd probably bring it up again in a few days when they had the next class, but that was a problem for another day.

After 10 or so minutes of walking, her mind fixating on her, what she had subconsciously called, "Lee Problem", she found herself at the door to Kyle's apartment building. After a moment of contemplation, she pushed her way through the double doors and headed straight for the elevator. Hovering over the button for a second, she decided there was no point backing out now, and clicked on the 14th floor.

Knocking angrily on the door in front of her, she was surprised to see Kyle in his pyjamas in front of her; it wasn't even 10pm yet. Nevertheless, she all but barged her way into his apartment, ignoring his confused expression.

"Where were you?" she asked

Receiving nothing in terms of an answer, the blonde elaborated, "the conflict management class?"

"Oh," he nodded, "that was tonight, how was it?"

Ignoring his question, Faye continued, "Why weren't you there? I thought you signed us both up for the class"

The man chuckled slightly, before answering, "me? I don't have any conflict to deal with."

"And I do?" Faye asked, clearly offended by his implication

"Well, you know, the night of the party, with erm, 'that' dress?"

"I do not have any conflict in my life!" she almost yelled at him

"Okay, clearly you do," he began, his face showing a slight grimace, "well, think about your book, Claire said there wasn't any conflict, it could help with that too."

Knowing there was no use continuing this futile argument, Faye sighed, nodding her head. She really did need conflict in her novel, and well, there was no harm in getting a little extra help.

"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow," she told him, before adding "Night."

Before he had a chance to respond, she was out the door and on the way home.

-----

She had a few nights of peace before she had to attend the class again.

When Thursday evening arrived, she once again made her way to the quaint little building which hosted many activities, her conflict management class being one of them.

She was almost the last to arrive. As she entered the room she noted the familiar faces of H, Melanie, Grace, Daniel and Megan. Of course the only person yet to show up was Lee.

As she made her way over to the seat she had sat in a few days previous, she found herself inwardly praying that Lee would be a no show. Unfortunately, her prayers did not come true, as the unmistakable footsteps entered the room. Looked like she would have to deal with him again.

As Lee took his seat next to Faye, Megan began welcoming the class back and explaining the first activity they would be attempting. A simple one, in which two people would sit opposite each other and have a calm conversation that stemmed from a disagreement. Doing this, Megan explained, would allow them to discuss the situation in a balanced way; a good way to deal with conflict, she had explained.

Grace and Daniel went first. Daniel disliked the way Grace dealt with things, such as him leaving his shoes out instead of putting them away. Voices were raised but overall it seemed to show a little bit of progress for the couple. H and Melanie were next. H told Melanie that she needed to speak up if she expected anyone to listen to her. Melanie took it, but didn't say much back, and that which she did say was far too quiet for anyone to hear. That attempt was less successful.

Finally, it was Faye and Lee's turn. They took their places in the centre of the circle, staring intently at each other. Faye could have sworn Lee's eyes darted down to her lips for a brief moment, but as the seconds passed, she became less sure. His chocolate eyes bore into her blue ones, making her feel extremely nervous. It was like it was just the two of them, in their own little world until Megan spoke up.

"Faye," she began, startling both parties slightly, "why don't you tell Lee something you don't like about him"

Allowing her eyes to meet his again, she thought for a moment, "I, um, I don't know. There's nothing." She knew that wasn't entirely true; she hated the fact he'd been in her head for the past few days, and she hated the affect he had on her, but she wasn't about to admit that. Not to a group of strangers and certainly not to him.

"It can be anything," Megan suggested

"I really don't know" Faye laughed awkwardly

"I'll go," Lee offered.

Of course he had something to say.

"I think that you actually need the class most out of everyone here, and you're just too stubborn to admit that."

"Good Lee, now Faye, what are you going to say to Lee?" Megan asked directly to Faye.

The nerve he had. The blonde composed herself before facing Megan and saying, "Well I think he doesn't actually know me and he shouldn't draw conclusions like that before he gets to know someone."

"Okay tell him that," Megan nodded encouragingly

Turning her attention back to Lee, she stared at him for a moment, trying to muster up the nerve to say something. Failing that, she gave up, stood up from her seat and grabbed her bag.

"You know what, I don't need this, I was wrong. Sorry for wasting everyone's time"

Faye was half way to the door when Megan spoke up, "Okay, but don't leave here with your problem."

She halted, pondering for a moment before turning to Megan.

"I have a problem? Maybe you have a problem with your nice voice and calm demeanour and maybe it's a front and you don't know how to deal with anything at all, ever."

Megan smiled, "Okay good, but tell that to Lee."

Rolling her eyes and admitting defeat, she made her way back to the group and sat back down.