Part 2:

~*~

Diebin crawled out of bed before dawn, tossing the blankets aside and heading for her closet. Her sleep had been interrupted by brooding, angsty dreams, more brooding, and the occasional nightmare.

Shuffling through her closet, Diebin pulled out her black sweatpants and black hooded sweatshirt, forgoing the catsuit for the day. A black stocking stocking cap finished off the outfit, and Diebin sat down to lace her boots up.

Her boring, non-stiletto boots.

Life was even harder at HSU now that everyone seemed mostly back to normal. Things weren't perfect, of course . . . Emmy was the Diva again, but she was still a Diva who wasn't gettin' any. Jael seemed to be having power trips with her newfound intimidation tactics, Darry was tearing the place up trying to find something to smoke, be it legal, addictive, or not.

Caeryn . . . well, rumor had it that she and Paddington were never seen apart.

But all in all, things were slowly reverting back to normal. Which meant it hurt all the more that the General hadn't talked to her yet.

Granted, she hadn't made it easy. Diebin rose every day before dawn and went off to hide in the woods outside of HSU, doing everything in her power to stay far, far away from the General and his wrath. It seemed to her that he certainly must hate her now--she'd cheated on him, hurt him, made a fool of herself and him . . .

And instead of standing by him like a good secretary should, she'd been off brooding when he needed her.

Guilt, Diebin was finding, was very addictive.

Trudging out the door, Diebin snuck by the General's room as softly as possible, relying on the fact that he was exhausted from making up for lost time. Otherwise she would never be able to sneak by . . . he was too aware of her presence in the Force.

Of course . . . she could get one of those little worm thingys that Caeryn had. Caeryn fancied it a big secret, but /nothing/ at HSU stayed secret from Diebin for long. She hadn't passed it on to the General yet, knowing that he deserved a little discomfort at the hands of the overwrought Dean.

Sighing again, Diebin trudged out the Lounge door, headed out towards the gloomy woods. Time for a little more constructive brooding. Maybe after she was done doing that, she could work on the future.

Finding a new job, finding a new man . . . well, that second one wouldn't be too hard if she could teach George grammar . . .

Oh, who was she fooling. No one could replace the General. No one even had a chance in hell. And since she had messed up, she was doomed to live without him for a very long time.

Forever.

"Ungrateful bastard," Diebin muttered, staring up at the sky in annoyance as it started to rain. "I don't know who he thinks he is, tossing me aside." Diebin paused for a few moments, then sighed. "Yes I do. He's perfectly right to do it. I'm unloyal. I can't be trusted . . ."

"I trust you."

The soft voice from behind her was so tempting. Turning, Diebin saw the General just settling into the Stance behind her, his face warm.

She did the only thing she could.

She kicked him, screaming, "YOU HATE ME! I hope you NEVER SEE ME AGAIN!"

Not even satisfied at the startled look on his face, Diebin ran off into the woods.

~*~

She'd been huddling beneath the tree for three hours, rain pouring down and plastering her hair to her face and neck. Her clothes were soaked, her body chilled, her teeth positively chattering . . .

And yet she still sat there.

"I kicked him," Diebin muttered softly, smashing her head back into the tree behind her. "He tried to talk to me, and I kicked him."

She had been alone for the entire morning, with the exception of a few squirrels and one overly friendly raccoon who had attempted to eat her foot. "I'm such an idiot," she sighed again, trying to pull her soggy hood up. "Maybe I'll just stay out here. They don't need me anymore. They all have jobs . . . they all have him. All I am is an embarrassment."

Curling into a ball, Diebin decided now was a good time to start crying.

~*~

"Have you seen Diebin?" Jael demanded, marching into the lounge. One or two of the freshmen cringed, refusing to meet her eyes. Jael smiled in satisfaction.

"Not since yesterday," Emmy responded, flipping her hair. Despite her lack of tiara, her hair had regained it's body and bounce, and Emmy had spent the last few days flipping it around in true Diva style.

"Has anyone seen Diebin?" Jael demanded of the room at large.

"Paddington has," Caeryn chimed up from the corner where she and Paddington were watching a movie. "He says she's outside."

Jael looked out the window. "It's pouring, Caeryn. I don't think she's out there, neurotic or not." Jael was the only person who never questioned Paddington talking to Caeryn. After all, she'd been able to understand Space Dog forever.

"Paddington says she's out there," Caeryn insisted, starting to look a little agitated. "Why are you looking for her anyway?"

"She stole my bootlegged copy of ‘The Mummy' a few days ago," Jael grumbled. "I want it back."

"Oh." Caeryn cocked her head to the side, turning to look at Paddington. "Are you serious?" she questioned incredulously. "Diebin would never--what?" Pause. "Why?"

The entire room fell silent as Caeryn sunk into serious conversation with her padded companion.

She finally turned to the room. "We should send someone to get Diebin," she announced.

Darry glared. "I am /not/ going out in the rain and ruining my shoes because a stuffed toy thinks someone is out there," she snapped. "Are you out of your--oh, wait. Don't answer that. I'm the medical professional here." Darry snapped her gum, turning away.

"Paddington says she's getting sick," Caeryn insisted, standing up. "I'm going to send the General."

That got Darry's attention again. "Not on your /life/ sweetie," the irate Nurse snapped, launching to her feet. "I haven't had a smoke in three days, and he's supposed to make me forget all about it in five minutes. Don't you even /think/ about sending my substitute patch out into the rain to fetch some sniveling Drama Queen."

Caeryn looked around the room. "They don't understand, Paddington!" she wailed, before spinning on her heel and bolting from the room.

Darry snapped her gum.

Emmy flipped her hair.

Jael shrugged.

Outside in the rain, Diebin started to sneeze.