Lauren has changed. After six weeks in San Diego California, she has come back with short hair, a new tan, and a hard distancing shell that will be almost impossible to crack. She has put up her walls and may never let anyone in again.
Will Barney g...
I laid on my couch, staring at the ceiling and pondering what I was going to do. I love Barney. More than anything. But he cheated on me. But he's doing everything he can to make it up to me. But he cheated on me. But he was in his right mind when he did it. But he cheated on me.
My answering machine beeped so I pushed the button before returning to my position.
"Lauren, Hey. It's Christopher." I bolted up, looking at the answering machine. "I've reccently found myself relocated to New York, and was hoping we could catch up. Give me a call, I guess."
Christopher was my big brother. He was the best, as in, he was the golden child of my family. He went to Harvard and then headed his own Law Firm in Chicago. He was also my best friend in the entire world. I jumped up, grabbing the phone and dialing the number back.
"Lo?"
"Chris! What are you doing in New York?"
"I'm here temporarily, doing some consulting work for a bank."
"Really? Well where are you staying?"
"The Bank got me an apartment. Speaking of which, where is yours? I want to come visit."
"I'm at Sunset apartments on Manhattan avenue."
"You're kidding! My building's right across the street from you."
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah, I'm standing in front of it right now. Can you see me?" I walked over to the window, looking out of it, and sure enough, there he was: Christopher Carson in all of his 6' 4" of glory.
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I opened my window.
"Hey Doofus!" I called. He looked up, and I waved. "I'm number 23, fourth floor."
"Coming right up." I hung up, closing my window and opened my door eagerly waiting for him. When I saw him, I threw my arms around his neck.
"I've missed you! How long has it been?"
"Too long, as far as I'm concerned. Where's Michael, I've got a score to settle over college basketball." I froze.
"Um, we broke up." He raised his eyebrows.
"When?"
"Years ago. I'm long since over it."
"Well, um...what happened?" He questioned.
"He cheated on me with his secretary." I said nonchalantly.
"What? Why am I just now hearing about this?"
"You were a big law man. You had far more important things to worry about than my problems."
"Well, have you seen anybody."
"Yeah, I dated a guy named Ted for a while. He slept with another girl. I'm good friends with both of them to this day. Then, I dated another guy who lives next door. You'd like him, real angelic type? Then I chose my other friend over him, then he got drunk and slept with the same girl that Ted slept with, but it's cool because I've forgiven him, and am currently pondering if we're gonna get back together." I rambled.
"So...quite a bit has happened since I left."
"Yeah...I guess you could say that." I told him.
"So...when am I gonna get to meet these guys?"
"Depends. Are you free tonight?" I asked.
"It just so happen my schedule for the night is clear."
"Perfect. We'll go to McLaren's and I'll introduce you to everyone. You're gonna be nice, right?"
"Yeah...of course."
"Chris, please. Seriously, I'm handling it."
"I know. Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it." I rolled my eyes.
"You're just like Dad." I told him.
"What can I say, Dad is a very clever man. Now that I did here about. Are you guys ok now?" I nodded.
"All is good in Lauren Land." He rolled his eyes now. "You good for lunch?"
"I'm a Carson, aren't I always?"
"Yeah, fair enough."
~~~
I took him out to lunch at Marshall's miracle burger place, and then around the city a bit, until finally it was time to head to McLaren's. Christopher was going to meet my friends...also, I'd made my decision about Barney.
When we walked into the bar, they were all laughing. I pulled Christopher over to the table.
"Hey guys. There's someone I want you to meet. This is Christopher." I surveyed all of their faces. The others looked like they didn't know what to do, and Barney's face was unreadable. "My brother." I clarified.
"Oh!" They nodded, their faces relaxing.
"Chris, this is Marshall,Lily, Robin, Ted, and Barney."
"It's great to meet you all really. I'm glad I finally get to meet Lauren's friends. So...which are the two who cheated on you with the same girl?" Nobody replied.
"Chris." I elbowed him.
"Kidding. I'm kidding."
"Ha ha." Ted said awkwardly.
"Yeah. Chris is a...real funny guy. Ha, ha, hey, um, Lauren, can I talk to you?" Barney asked, dragging me over to the bar. "So, have you thought about what we talked about last night?"
"Yeah, I-"
"Ah. So you're Ted." I cringed, turning back to Barney.
'Sorry. I have to take care of this." I walked over to the table.
"Yeah, I'm Ted." Ted replied. Barney came over behind me.
"So...you're the second guy to cheat on my sister. What the heck is wrong with you?"
"Christopher!" I scolded.
"I'm not gonna bully him. I just want to know why?"
"You don't need to know why." I whispered.
"Don't mind me, I'm just a little less forgiving than my sister. Which brings me to you." He looked up at Barney.
"Don't." I warned. He sighed, taking a drink of his beer.
"I'm sorry, guys. I haven't seen her in a few years so I have some big brothering to catch up on. Don't take it personally."
"It's ok." Ted told him.
"So, about that-" Barney whispered in my ear.
"Hey. It's a beautiful night. Who's up for a walk through central park?" Lily suggested.
"I'm in." Robin agreed.
"Yeah, it could be cool." Ted threw in.
"Ok, it's settled. Let's go." They all stood up, paying for their drinks and leaving the bar. I turned to Barney.
"I'm sorry." He rasied his eyebrows. "About all the distractions, that's not my answer."
"So you're answer is-"
"Guys? Are you coming?" Marshall asked.
"Yeah, we're coming." Barney said, looking slightly irritated. We walked outside, grabbing a couple of cabs and heading to central park.
