He was possessed. That was it - that explained everything. Rick Hazel was one-hundred percent, positively, absolutely possessed. There was no other logical reasoning for why he would suddenly have a strong craving for ice cream. An insanely strong craving at that, not one of those oh-I-wish-I-had-some-of-what-I'm-craving-but-I-don't-so-oh-well cravings, but one of the I-really-really-really-really-need-this-right-now-pronto cravings. Rick was upset to find that there was no ice cream in the mini fridge in his room, and he'd decided from his first day at CHU that the ice cream in the cafeteria wasn't up to par with his exquisite standards.

So Rick did the next sensible thing. He grabbed his brown waist-length leather jacket and threw it on over his fitted plain white cotton sweater, which practically stuck to his abs, and his black distressed skinny jeans. Topping off the look were Rick's impressively spotless black Converse. Now ready for the cold winter weather, Rick made sure to grab one of his favorite hats on his way out of his dorm - a black beanie with ear flaps.

The craving for ice cream growing stronger, Rick sprinted all the way out to Dumbo, not bothering to even glance at the people around him or acknowledge their stares. They weren't important now. What was important was that ice cream he was desperately craving because of the recent possession of his body by angry spirits.

Logical, no?

Logic wasn't really a question right now either, so Rick paid it no mind. He was just glad that he practically knew every part of Manhattan like the back of his hand. And since DUMBO was only across the East River, it had potential to be considered a part of Manhattan. Besides the fact that it was indeed located in Brooklyn.

When he didn't have busy weekends (or when he had any free time at all), Rick would sometimes go to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory with friends or by himself. It really didn't matter, because he was always terribly caught up in the luscious texture of their ice cream, so whether he had company or not didn't phase him.

Rick finally arrived in front of the BICF and he practically tore open the door in his frantic rush, appearing as a blur to passerby and all the passerby appearing as a blur to him. There wasn't a line at all (seriously, who would be getting ice cream in this weather?), so Rick rushed up to the counter and slammed his hands down, making himself look like even more of a maniac. If that was possible.

"One dulce de leche large bowl to stay please," Rick ordered in one breath, most of his words slurring together. The cashier seemed to understand him though, for she shouted his order to another employee in the back and only moments later, Rick was met with his caramel covered vanilla love in a bowl nearly bigger than his head.

Rick took a deep, relieved breath before starting to sink into his ice cream, but halfway through stuffing his face (and getting a horrible brain freeze), Rick looked up for a table to sit at. And finally, he saw several people staring at him like he was, in fact, a maniac. Rick gave them a cute smile before turning his back to them and looking for a seat elsewhere. It looked like everything was taken and he was about to give up, until -

"VICKY!" Rick half-exclaimed, half-gasped. Victoria Kalo. He hadn't seen her since the summer after they graduated from high school! Oh, he remembered her. Ignoring several more looks he received, Rick made his way to Victoria's table, suddenly remembering as he reached her that he had an ice cream mustache. Licking it subtly, Rick took the seat across from Victoria and smiled at her somewhat smugly. "Is this seat taken, darling? Hmm, I bet it is. By some mysterious, incredibly handsome boyfriend of yours that I don't know about, right?" Rick winked at Victoria before digging into his treat once more.

"Aw, you're too kind to me," Rick grinned, his pearly white teeth showing. Rick took another bite, cringing a little as it practically froze his teeth - a fate worse than brain freeze. After his teeth stopped feeling painfully numb, Rick continued on.

"I was at Pleasantview State," he agreed, nodding his head as if to emphasize his point. "But thanks to my life ruining parents, I got taken out and put here. Though, it hasn't been too bad so far." Rick smiled at Victoria. "I mean, I got to see you again, didn't I? How's it been? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

It did feel like that and Rick did genuinely miss Victoria. She was one of those girls who were fun and cool to be around. She wasn't superficial or completely self or boy obsessed like so many of the girls at their high school. She was also incredibly smart and Rick had to give her that; Victoria was pretty damn amazing. In everything, it seemed.

Seeing her brought back a lot of memories, but Rick didn't want to think about all the good times they had that included them being more than just friends. But as much as Rick hated thinking about Victoria like that, he really couldn't help it. He wanted to be friends with her, honestly, but with the way he was it was hard for him to stay just friends with most females. And it wasn't like Victoria hadn't been good to him or anything; Rick just didn't want to hurt her.

Yeah, he actually was a little considerate when it came to Victoria Kalo. He knew that he wanted more than just a fling with her, which was unusual for him, but he couldn't have that. Because Rick would be cheating and cheating and cheating, no matter how much he cared for Victoria. It was one thing to lose her as his lover, it'd be another thing to lose her as his friend.

Besides, their fling ended weirdly - there wasn't any closure, and it was almost as if they hadn't ended it at all. Rick didn't know where they stood as of now.

"Girls?" Rick gasped, as if he were appalled that Victoria would even suggest such a thing. "Girls? Victoria Kalo, I know you are not asking me if there have been any...girls...in my life recently," Rick cried, pronouncing the word as if it was toxic to his health. "Well, let me tell you something...No, there haven't been any really," Rick answered, laughing, although he was being serious now. "I mean, there haven't been any truly memorable, meaningful ones, you know?"

Rick took another spoonful of ice cream before continuing. "I mean, those two girls from Pleasantview State were pretty damn memorable. It's because of them, in particular, mind you, that I was pulled out of Pleasantview. They distracted me when I should've been studying for my finals, which surprisingly counted for more than a quarter of my GPA this time," Rick frowned, shaking his head. "But you know how they're my weakness..."

"But enough about me," Rick said, smiling widely at Victoria and motioning towards her with his spoon. "Let's hear about you and how wonderful modeling's been. My miserable life gets boring to talk and hear about, and besides, I could've sworn I saw you in an ad in Elle the other day! Um, not that I read Elle, which is why I'm not completely sure if it was you, but it kind of looked like you from afar...Oh, you know what I mean!" Rick laughed, taking another bite of the dulce de leche, which wasn't even melting yet. The wonders of eating ice cream in the winter.

Rick stuck his tongue out at Victoria, knowing that she knew she sounded almost exactly like his parents. They'd given him a two hour lecture on what it meant to be in college, and how girls weren't the most important thing in the world and how he had to concentrate on his studies and what would his brother have done? and blah blah blah. Rick had long ago learned to tune them out, especially his mother, who enjoyed frantically waving her hands in the air and stressing syllables when she was shouting at him.

"Those girls didn't seem to think I wasn't mature enough," Rick teased, chortling. "And they liked my hidden stashes of fashion magazines, so there!" He stuck his tongue out again before taking another bite of his ice cream. "Beisdes, I only got those magazines so I could check to see if you were in them..." Rick smiled, shrugging slightly. It was partially true. Whenever Rick did pick up a magazine, he thought of Victoria - he knew how important modeling was to her and how good she was at it, as if it came naturally to her.

"And of course I can believe everyone staring at you in Target like you were a pyscho!" Rick exclaimed, laughing, his dimples showing. "But yeah, I was excited for you too! It's amazing how far you've come, Vicky. I'm so happy for you," Rick said, smiling admiringly at Victoria. "But we all knew you could do it."

Rick shrugged, a playful grin crossing his features as he looked away from Victoria and looked out the window, letting his chin rest of the back of his hand. He looked out solemnly, thinking about how beautiful the city looked in the winter - in any season, really - and how much he loved living there. He watched people walk by, some couples, a few elderly people. He wondered what they thought of him...of him and Victoria sitting there. Did they see what they wanted to see or did they see the truth? Rick gave a low sigh and shook his head, deciding that he rather didn't care.

"The Great Ricky accomplished what the Great Ricky always accomplishes," Rick replied, a small smile on his pale lips now, the smile not quite reached his slightly saddened dark brown eyes. "Nothing," he murmured under his breath, whipping his spoon around in his cold treat before taking another bite. It was almost done, and he had to admit, he felt a little better than he did this morning. The craving had gone down considerably.

"Ugh," Rick moaned at last, tilting his head back against his chair and staring at the table now - anywhere that wasn't Victoria. "I need somebody, honestly. Look at me! I've got nothing. Okay, maybe I've got a job that I love and parents who love me, but other than that, I don't feel like I've gone anywhere with my life, Vicky." Rick then turned his head and looked Victoria straight in the eyes. "I don't feel like I've done anything significant - for myself or anybody else."

"You - you, on the other hand - look at all you've accomplished in the nineteen years of your life! Honestly, Vicky, you're bloody fucking amazing!" Rick complimented, meaning every word he said. He wanted Victoria to know how special she was - to him and to everybody. "I'm so glad to have you as a friend..."

Maybe that's not enough, Victoria, Rick thought with a sigh as he looked away from Victoria again. Then something in his mind snapped and his eyes widened in realization of what he'd just thought. WHOA! Reeeeewind! What was that all about? Dude, remember, you are over her! You broke it off! It's done! She's probably got somebody anyways...

Rick frowned and the sides of his mouth twitched as he realized several things in the same moment. One, his...conscience? was most likely right. Girls like Victoria didn't stay available for long. Two, he'd just thought totally inappropiate thoughts about one of his closest friends whom he was supposed to be over. Three, he totally wasn't over her. And four, Rick needed to get some.

That's what he was going to go ahead and blame this on. He hadn't gotten any in a while and maybe it was his nerves or the stress...Maybe it was him just being insane. But he knew at the rate he was going, he was going to snap and say something he would deeply regret and he'd have the most unhealthy of relationships with just about everybody in his life.

He definitely did not want that to happen.

So for his and Victoria's sake, Rick turned back to her and forced a smile. He was usually a good actor when it came to this, but he saw Victoria wiping away tears out of the corner of his eye and he remembered one of his least favorite quotes that he'd hated and would never live by until this very moment. Guys aren't worth your tears and the one who is won't make you cry. Rick knew that he was being a horrible friend and just a horrible person. This was why he didn't like unloading on people. This was why he didn't like opening up to people. This was why he preferred to keep his emotions locked up inside, forget even diaries. If those got in the wrong hands, you're through. He'd seen far too many movies to have faith in a book.

But Rick soon regained his composure and put on the fake smile again. "Hey Vicky, come on...You know you're old Rick Man is gonna be just fine. And I know you'll always be there as my friend, okay? So don't you go off worrying about me. I've already got my parents to do that for me!" Rick laughed, but it sounded hollow and unlike his more hearty ones. And he could hear it, but he didn't pay any attention in it.

Step one in emotional closure. If Rick was an "emotionless monster" before, he couldn't wait to see what people would think of him now.

Emotions, 0. Rick, 1.

First word that popped into his head: What?! Rick was genuinely surprised. He never saw that one coming, especially not now and especially not from Victoria. But right now, she didn't look like she was in the best state - emotionally, of course. Rick was fighting the urge for him to throw the table between them away from them and rush up to Victoria and embrace her in a tight hug, but there were a few problems with that vision: one, Rick wasn't too sure he could even throw the table (with a bit of adrenaline, it was possible) and two, he knew him getting that close to Victoria right now wouldn't turn out well for either of them.

First few words that popped out of his mouth: "That's not fair, Vicky," he said calmly, his brown eyes blazing with confusion (and a bunch of other stuff that he's supposed to be trying to hide). But it wasn't fair; not to her and not to him. It wouldn't be fair if he answered that honestly either, because he was supposed to be over her and her over him. But when someone asks you if you love them...not exactly an "I'm-over-you" question.

"Victoria, you know I'd never do anything to hurt you, right?" Rick started, trying to find the easiest way to skirt around this. He had to. For their friendship's sake. He really wouldn't have been able to take it if his lovely reunion with Victoria ended with them never talking to each other again. "So...you understand why I really, really can't answer that question, right?" Rick quirked his eyebrow, running his hand through his hair. "Why would you even ask that?!"

Rick honestly wanted to know, and he stared straight into Victoria's eyes. All the while, he kept resisting the urge, resisting the urge, resisting...

To hell with that! Rick thought, getting up from his seat abruptly, rather than violently pushing the table out of his way. There are just some things a man cannot handle. Rick walked over to Victoria's side of the table and stood above her with his arms outstretched.

"Come here, sweetie," he cooed, a sympathetic, crooked smile on his face. "I can't stand to see you like this..."

She still loved him.

She'd actually said it. He wasn't just stupidly hoping that she did, or holding onto old memories. No, she said it. She meant it. She still did.

This was getting way too serious.

Rick hadn't wanted this, oh no. Hell, he hadn't even wanted to split with Victoria in the first place. They'd had a messy break-up in the messiest way - neither party was sure if they were really over or not. And now, after seemingly have moved on and figured out that they were indeed a couple no more, it all comes back to slap Rick in the face as if to say, "ha! Did you really expect that to work out?!" He couldn't properly say that he truly did, but it wasn't like he'd expected Victoria to tell him she still loved him. That really threw him off his feet like nothing before.

He visibly stiffened and it felt as if someone had just thrown a ton of concrete right into his stomach. All the wind was knocked out of him, he felt dizzy and he couldn't believe it. But above all else, he just couldn't believe it. He wanted to say something, really, but he didn't know where to start.

He also didn't know what to feel. Should he feel happy that she still loved him, he still loved her, they could kiss and makeup and live happily ever after? Or should he take caution and keep his distance so he wouldn't ruin the rest of her life, which Rick was convinced he would only end up doing. It was quite pathetic really, but he didn't know what else to do or say. It wasn't like them being together benefited them either.

Rick cringed as he realized that was the biggest lie he'd told himself all day, probably. He knew that him being with Victoria again would actually make him happy, make him want to be a better person for her, and well...Victoria showed him things that no other girl he'd ever been with possibly could. It was just so surreal and so strange being with her, this close to her, holding her flush against him...

Rick had to admit, he was doing a pretty good job of controlling his emotions, a necessity for any guy in his position. But no. She had to go and tear all his hard work down with three damn words.

I love you.

Rick wanted to say it back, he wanted to scream it from the rooftops. He wanted to do a number of things, but none would be what he should do or what he was supposed to do or what would help. So finally, Rick took a deep breath and was about to tell Victoria just how impossible she was being -

And then she kissed him.

Just like that. The same way she'd told him she still loved him. Sudden. Unexpected. And yet, so blissfully wonderfully confusing.

It took Rick a moment to react, and he was once again unsure. Unsure as to whether or not he should push Victoria away now, tell her what she did was wrong, inappropriate, out of line...Or should he just go along with it, kiss her back, tell her what he really felt...

Rick didn't have much time. He could feel her pulling away slowly.

He wasn't going to lose Victoria Kalo all over again.

Moving his hands down to her waist, Rick held Victoria closer to him, turned her face towards his and kissed her with all the passion he'd had bottled up inside of him for the past year or so. For every time he'd seen her since it was "over". For every time his heart broke and for every time he wanted to fix hers. And he knew he wouldn't tear away this time. He couldn't.

Because Rick Hazel was way too far gone.

"You know what?" Rick spoke as he pulled away from Victoria, unable to contain the large grin on his face. "So did I." He gave her arms a little bit of a squeeze to emphasize his point. They'd both gone through a lot to make it from and back to the point where they were now, which wasn't a point Rick was too sure about.

He was extremely grateful that Victoria had responded to the kiss the way she did, but he wasn't sure what this meant for them. But there would be time to talk and think about that later.

Rick chuckled at Victoria's proposition and shrugged, a smirk crossing his lips. "Really? Got any places in mind, because I'm totally up for it."