Power to the Players

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created originally by MonkeyxMonkey and are copyrighted to him/her, any reposting or archiving without written permission is an infringement on the copyright of this series. So in other words You damn well better ask before you steal it.

Feedback: Every author in his or her own way makes it a point to ask for feedback when posting a story, well me I don't usually. But there are several reasons as to why a reader should consider taking the time to give it. The simple fact is that giving some form of feedback is truly the most important thing a reader can do after reading and enjoying a story. Hopefully in the process providing that author with at least one viable reason as to what you liked about the story. This small amount of time spent will no doubt inspire the author to write more and possibly at a quicker pace, knowing that they have a fan base who are waiting on their next works. So thanks for the feedback and please keep it comin.

Summary: In the ALL NEW 12th episode of 'Power to the Players', Beck's home coming is littered with the drama of what's exploded around her since the accident. And now having to live with a decision she's not sure is the right one has her on her way to see the one she chose. Later, Lee's affair with his boss comes out in the worst possible place and in the worst possible way.

Original Airdate: Monday, August 6th, 2012 @ 9:30 p.m.

Story Codes: no sex

I sat in my hospital bed, waiting for the nurse to finish checking my vitals so that I could go home and relax in my room that I was missing so much of lately. All I've been doing around here is playing Mark's X-Box and talking on the phone. That gets boring after 3 days.

"So, how long do I have to keep on the cast?" I asked, watching as she wrote something down on her note board. "Just 3 months. Nothing major" she replied.

"3 months? Damn it. What about my head bandage?" I asked, hoping for some good news. "Well, you hit your head pretty hard. That's the main reason you've been here so long. We wanted to make sure you didn't get a concussion. But since your vitals are showing that your head is healing well, you may only have to wear the badge for a couple weeks" she replied.

"And school?"

"Trust me. You can go to school just fine. The doctor will give you the dos and don'ts just remember to wrap your cast up before you take a shower or a bath. Can't get it wet at all".

I nodded and Brandon ran into the room with my parents behind him. "What's taking so long? I wanna go. I hate this place!" he exclaimed.

"Me and you both Brand" I mumbled. "Brandon! Don't be rude. We'll leave in a few minutes" my mother scolded.

"You said the same thing a few minutes ago!" he shot back. I chuckled and dad just threw him over his shoulder and told him to be quiet.

The nurse finished up the last check-up and told me I could go. I jumped out of the bed and practically ran out the room.

"Good to see you're feeling better little foot!" my dad yelled after me. I groaned at the name but kept heading out the door.

Home

"Brandon!"

"What?"

"Can you bring me some cereal?"

"What? No! Get it yourself"

"But my arm hurts"

"It wasn't hurting when you ran out the hospital yesterday"

"Yeah but it hurts now. Please?"

"I'm not your slave. Ask mom!"

"You're right by the kitchen. Stop being lazy"

"I'm not the one asking other people to get me cereal, now am I?"

"It's not that hard of a task"

"Then you get it!"

"I'm injured!"

"The nurse said that you were fine!"

"She lied!"

"Brandon and Beck! If you two don't stop yelling through the house, I swear I'll strangle you both!"

"…Mom?"

"What Beck?"

"Can you get me some cereal?"

"No!"

"Damn it!"

I groaned and swung my legs over the side of my bed, heading downstairs towards the kitchen. I glared over at Brandon and he did the same.

My mom walked in carrying her laundry and I saw dad walk in behind her.

"Betty, I'm going down to the station real quick. Chief left some papers behind that I need to work on" he said, walking over to me and kissing the top of my head.

"That's fine" she replied bluntly. Dad just looked at her before shaking his head and leaving the room after saying bye to Brandon.

I tried to forget about what my mother said about 'falling out of love' with my father. I actually had nightmares the first night she told me.

There was a knock on the door and Brandon looked over at me. "What?" I grunted, pouring some 'Captain Crunch' in my bowl.

"The door" he said, motioning over to the door. I frowned at him. "You see me doing something right. I can only pour milk with my good arm!" I exclaimed, lifting up my right arm that was in a sling.

He sighed and got off the couch, opening up the door.

"Brandon! Is Beck Ok?" Kylie asked, looking at him. Brandon nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. Being her usual lazy self. I told you a car crash couldn't kill Beck. She's Beck for a reason" he replied, shrugging his shoulders like he wasn't worried at all. Psshh! Liar.

Kylie walked in once Brandon moved and I saw Natalie and her mother behind her. I almost dropped the milk carton when I saw Natalie. She looked amazing as usual but it looked as if she'd been crying. When she saw me, her face instantly lit up.

"Hey Nata-" She slammed into me and wrapped her arms around my neck in a tight hug. I hugged her back and smiled at the familiar smell of strawberries around her.

"Oh my god! Are you Ok? I was so scared. Don't you ever do that again!" she scolded, frowning at me. I laughed and she ran her hands over my cast and the bandage on my head.

"You really did a number on yourself huh? Geez Beck. Next time be more careful" she said, leaning her forehead on my shoulder. I rubbed her back and looked over at Kylie and Mrs. Elizabeth.

"Beck, are you alright?" Kylie asked with her big brown eyes. I nodded and pointed over at her sister. She just smiled and I took Natalie's hand and walked her up to my room.

"Natalie, stop crying. I'm fine. Look, look at me. Not a scratch on me…well, except for the bandage on my head but other than that, I'm fine" I said, taking her hand and making her look at me.

I wiped away some of her tears and she shook her head. "You just…don't understand Beck" she whispered, trying to pull away from me.

"Why? Why don't I understand? I know we left on a bad note but Natalie…I could never think badly of you" I said, staring into her eyes. She stayed silent and slowly pulled her hands away and put them on my shoulders.

"I wanna show you something…but you're not allowed to move once I show you Ok?" she said, looking quite serious.

I nodded and she took a deep breath in and then a deep breath out. "Natalie, whatever it is…I could never feel any different about y…"

She placed her lips against mine and it was like time stopped. I kissed her back and she ran her hands over my neck and cupped my face. She bit down on my bottom lip and I placed my hands on her hips.

This reminded me of the time when we almost kissed back at her house. Is this what it would have been like if we kissed back then?

I deepened the kiss but she shook her head and pulled away. Her lips were swollen and her eyes were closed tight.

"Natalie, I…"

"Don't say anything! You'll ruin it" she interrupted, her eyes still closed. I stayed quiet and just looked at her. She seemed like she was having an inner conflict and I wanted to say something so bad but…I went against it.

"…I love you" she whispered, opening her eyes. My eyes widened and I looked down at the ground. My heart was beating fast, just as fast as it was beating with Melody.

Melody.

"Natalie…I can't" I said softly. She jumped back a little but just looked at me. "I-I-I…I'm with Melody now" I added. She looked away from me but I could still see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"You have to understand that…that I love you too but…"

"No. I get it. You don't have to explain yourself" she said weakly. I watched her get off my bed and walk out my room.

I sighed when I heard the door slam and just sat there, on my bedroom floor, looking at the spot where she once sat.

Brandon and Kylie came running up the steps but I didn't move. "Beck…Beck…Beck!" Brandon yelled. I turned around to face him but still stared over at my bed.

"What's wrong with Natalie? She ran out the house" he exclaimed, motioning towards the steps. I shook my head and leaned back against my bed.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I Brandon?" I said, not really talking to him. He arched his eyebrows at me but I just looked up at the ceiling.

I made my choice…but did I make the right one?

- - - - - - -

"I think I messed up"

"What makes you think that?"

"I told Natalie I was going to give Melody a chance…and she hasn't talked to me since then"

"Beck…you dropped a huge fucking load on her. She's not just gonna be Ok about it. You really hurt her"

"I know I did but I had to make a choice"

"I know and you chose Melody. So now you're just going to have to deal with the outcome"

"Oh Jessie you're such a good friend"

"Shut up. I'm trying to be support. You know I'm not Melody's number one fan but I'm here for you"

"Thanks…no really, thanks. It means a lot to me that you're still here beside me after everything we've been through…plus the fact that I'm gay"

"Beck, I told you already. I don't care if you're gay. I'd love you either way"

"Ha! That rhymed. And I love you too buddy"

"Thanks…wait; don't you have to work today?"

"Nope. I'm off. Lee has to work though"

"Oh. I might go by and see him. After all, he's been a little distant lately"

"…Right"

I looked over at Jessie who was leaning against my bed and running her hand up and down my cast. She smiled at me and I smiled back before staring up at the ceiling.

"I have to go talk to Mel today" I said, looking back down at her. She just nodded and kept rubbing my cast.

"What are you doing?" I asked, laughing when she hummed at me. "Imagining what it would be like to wear one of these" she replied. I chuckled and she laughed with me.

"Don't. It sucks! I hate wearing this thing and it hasn't even been a month yet" I groaned. "Poor Becky" she pouted. I instantly thought about Natalie when she said that but I shook my head and climbed off my bed.

"Alright. I gotta go. You staying?" I asked, pulling on my black jacket and looking over at her. She shook her head.

"Nope. Hope and I are going shopping and then I'm going to go see Lee" she replied. I cringed when she said the 'S' word and she laughed.

"That's why you're not coming. I know how much you hate shopping. Such a gay cliché" she said, pecking me on the cheek as she got up.

"Thanks for sparing me the torture and I am not a gay cliché!" I exclaimed as she walked out my room. "Then explain the black jacket" she yelled back.

"I like black!"

"You are black!"

"That's racist!"

"Love you too"

I laughed when I heard the door shut and walked over to my parent's bowl where they kept their car keys. Ever since my second baby got totaled, I've been using my dad's truck.

I walked out the door and looked over at Natalie's house. We only lived a block apart from each other but she tried so hard to avoid me. I wanted to ran over there and talk to her but I knew she needed her space right now, so I continued toward the car and drove to Melody's house.

Wal- Mart

Lee leaned against the entertainment section counter and grinned when he saw Mark walking over to him.

"Dude, you will never believe what I just heard" he exclaimed. Lee arched his eyebrows and then smiled brightly.

"PS3's coming out with a new console?" he asked. Mark frowned and shook his head. "No. Natalie admitted her feelings for Beck but she rejected her!" he replied.

Lee's jaw dropped and he walked around the counter towards his friend. "What? Why would she do that? She loves Natalie!" he groaned.

"Apparently she's serious about giving Melody a chance. I don't know what she's doing but I hope she does" he said, looking over at the book section.

"Hey, I'll be back. I'm just gonna go check out some of the books" he added, walking toward the area. "Alright. Sure thing man. Hey, don't forget. Club meeting tomorrow" Lee yelled after him.

Mark nodded and kept walking. Lee sighed and fidgeted with his scanner. He didn't know what was going on in Beck's brain. Why would she not wanna be with Natalie after everything the two of them had been through this past month? It just didn't make sense to him.

He saw Rachael walking over to him and groaned a little. He knew he messed up as soon as he had chosen to go ice skating with her.

What Beck didn't know was that Lee had been messing around with Rachael and for quite awhile too. After he took her ice skating, they had kissed…and kissed….and kissed some more…until one thing led to another and he wound up sleeping with his new boss.

He knew what he did was wrong. Even when he snuck out the house the morning after he felt dirty. Everything he did with Rachael was a mistake and if Jessie ever found out he would be done for.

"Hey Lee" she said, smiling at him. He sighed and looked away from her. "Hey…listen Rachael, about what happened 3 days ago. I'm sorry but…it was a mistake. I have a girlfriend and…I shouldn't have led you on like that" he said, looking over at her for once.

"Lee, I'm not an idiot. Of course I know you have a girlfriend. Why would I want you if you didn't?" she chuckled. Lee arched his eyebrows at her and scoffed.

"Wait, this whole time you knew I was taken…but you flirted with me anyway?" he asked, glaring at her.

"Well, you obviously didn't have a probably with it because… we fucked. Sorry to burst your little bubble but it happened and it was incredible and now we can both move on" she replied bluntly.

Lee clenched his fists and hissed at her in a low whisper as to not make a scene, "you cunning bitch! How could you do this to me? Do you know what this could mean to me? To you? To our fucking job?"

"Lee, if I remember, this was mutual. I didn't drag you into bed with me and I'm sure as hell that I wasn't the way on top at anytime during this relationship. You wanted it as bad as I did so please, do not try to pin this all on me" she shot back.

Lee wanted to scream and shout at her but a gasp behind Rachael stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh fuck." Lee turned around and saw Mark, wide-eyed and open mouthed, pointing behind Rachael.

The woman turned around and Lee felt his heart break when he saw Rachael, holding a card in her hand but it quickly dropped to the floor along with her tears.

His throat went dry and he pushed past Rachael and walked toward her. "Jessie baby, I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. I…I never meant to hurt you, I just…I" he groaned, and ran his hand through his hair.

"…Why?" Jessie asked softly, looking away from him. Lee looked over at her and felt his eyes water.

"What?"

"…I said tell me why you fucking cheated on me!" she hissed, pushing him away from her. Lee stumbled back but quickly caught himself.

"Jessie, I didn't mean to…"

"No! No, that is a fucking lie and you know it! This whole time…Mark!" she yelled. Mark walked over to her and gulped.

She swirled around to look at him and pointed over at Lee. "Did you know he was cheating on me?" she asked, glaring up at him.

Mark groaned and looked over at a distressed Lee. He nodded slowly and Jessie's face softened and she whispered, "Does Beck?" Mark nodded again and then Jessie sobbed and said, "…Does Hope?" Once again, Mark nodded and Jessie screamed and tried to attack Lee.

Mark pulled her back and Lee jumped away from her but quickly moved back. "Jessie please! Just listen to me for a second. I know I really fucked up but I love you! I ended this for you. For us. I don't wanna be with anyone else but you" he said quickly, trying to hold her.

"No! Fuck you Lee. Don't touch me!" Jessie growled, pulling away from Lee and collapsing in Mark's arms.

He held her and her body shook with sobs and he frowned at Lee. "Jessie…I"

"Just stop Lee. Just…stop for today" Mark interrupted, trying to help his friend but also comfort Jessie.

"M-M-Mark. Please get me out of here" she cried, wrapping her arms around Mark's neck. He nodded and picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the store.

Lee slowly walked over toward his counter and finally realized that he had a small crowd. He turned off his overhead light to signal that he was closed and walked toward the back.

He pushed open the men's restroom door and collapsed against the wall, holding his chest and running his hand's through his hair as he let the tears go.

"What the hell did I do?" he sobbed, rolling into the fetal position and wishing Jessie was still with him.