Fic: Scribbled and Erased a Thousand Times (GH, Jake/Lana, Robin, Lanaverse)
Title: Scribbled and Erased a Thousand Times
Author: empressearwig
Prompt: 29 - Letters
Pairing/Character(s): Lana/Jake, Robin
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Any character originally appearing on GH does not belong to me. The rest do.
Word Count: 936
Spoilers/Warnings: Part of the Lanaverse.
Summary: She still wasn’t sure if she was ready to be his friend.
Author's Notes:Written for theechochorus.
Lana was sprawled out on her bed trying to study.
Only trying and not succeeding, because from her vantage point on the bed, she could see her laptop sitting on her desk, practically taunting her.
She sighed.
If it weren’t Wednesday she wouldn’t be having this much trouble concentrating. If it were any other day, she’d be happily studying, and if not happily, diligently.
She was a nerd. She liked to study.
But not on Wednesday’s.
Not since Jake had left for college and started writing her long, detailed emails each Wednesday, telling her about college, and his life (though he carefully stayed away from any mentions of new women), and just him.
Like clockwork, she’d get home from dance class at six and a new email would be waiting for her.
She’d never answered any of them, but he kept on writing them, seemingly confident that one day she would.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to reply before. She’d written responses ranging from merely a greeting to a full accounting of what had been happening in her life.
But she never managed to send any of them.
She wanted to talk to him, she did. She wanted to tell him that she had finally gotten cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy in her dance school’s production of the Nutcracker. She wanted to tell him that she was going to Boston for her birthday to see Molly, and that Matt was as annoying as ever.
She wanted to tell him those things, but she couldn’t.
Because she knew that when she did, they’d have to be friends again.
And she still wasn’t sure if she was ready to be his friend.
With a sigh, she gave in, pushing her book to the side and climbing off the bed. She settled into the chair behind her desk, waiting impatiently for the computer to boot.
Hurriedly, she signed into her email, scanning over the messages from classmates and friends, till she found the one from Jake. She opened it and began to read.
Lana, he wrote.
My first midterm is tomorrow, and I probably should be cramming for it, but I wanted to get this off to you first.
With midterm season in full swing, my dorm has turned into a ghost town. Almost everyone seems to have moved into the libraries, including my roommate, who, as I’ve told you, never leaves the damn room. The weather outside is almost criminally nice, which is making concentrating on computer systems all the more difficult.
I miss you.
I know I said I wouldn’t put any pressure on you to write back, and I’m not, but I wanted you to know that.
I want to know about you and your life, not just be telling you about mine.
I lied about the pressure… please write back.
I’ve got to go, my study group is meeting in ten.
Jake
The minutes ticked by as she stared at the computer screen, unsure about what to do.
A light knocking from the doorway startled her out of her reverie.
“Knock, knock,” Robin said, leaning against the doorframe. “Can I come in?”
Lana swiveled in her chair to face her mother. “Sure, what’s up?”
“I thought I’d see if you maybe wanted to go to Café Matisse for dinner tonight, since your dad is at the hospital and Matt is at the Donely’s.” Robin settled herself on the edge of the bed. “Interested?”
“Absolutely,” Lana said. “Good idea, Mom.”
“I do have my moments,” Robin said wryly. “You want to go now? We can probably still beat the dinner rush if we hurry.”
Lana hesitated.
“Do you have something you need to finish for school? We can go later.”
“It’s not for school.” Lana bit her lip. “Mom, can I ask you something?”
Robin raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking me for advice? Let me mark this date and time down so I can remember it.”
Lana made a face. “Don’t make me regret it.”
“I’ll be good,” Robin promised. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“It’s about Jake.”
Robin looked unsurprised, but nodded, motioning Lana to continue.
“We haven’t really talked since he left for school, or I mean, I haven’t talked to him.”
Robin’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Has he been talking to you?”
Lana nodded. “He’s been emailing me every week.”
“But you haven’t written back?”
Lana shook her head.
“Why not?” Robin asked gently.
“I don’t know,” Lana said slowly. “I thought it was because I wasn’t ready to be ‘just friends’ with him, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s something else.”
“Like what?”
“Like maybe I’m punishing him.”
Robin let that hang in the air for a moment before asking, “Punishing him for what?”
Lana shrugged. “Breaking up with me. Not being here. For thinking we were going to be able to be friends just like that. I don’t know.”
“Do you want to be his friend?”
“I think so.” Lana looked at Robin then, heart in her eyes. “I miss him, Mom.”
“Then be his friend,” Robin advised. “But do it on your terms. If that means that you’re not as good of friends as you used to be for now, then he’ll just have to live with that.”
Lana tilted her head to the side, considering. “Do you think so?”
Robin nodded. “I do.” She stood. “Email him back. I’ll wait for you downstairs, and then we’ll go to dinner.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Lana watched her mother walk out of the room and turned back to her computer.
Fingers poised over the keys, she began to type.
Dear Jake…
Author: empressearwig
Prompt: 29 - Letters
Pairing/Character(s): Lana/Jake, Robin
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Any character originally appearing on GH does not belong to me. The rest do.
Word Count: 936
Spoilers/Warnings: Part of the Lanaverse.
Summary: She still wasn’t sure if she was ready to be his friend.
Author's Notes:Written for theechochorus.
Lana was sprawled out on her bed trying to study.
Only trying and not succeeding, because from her vantage point on the bed, she could see her laptop sitting on her desk, practically taunting her.
She sighed.
If it weren’t Wednesday she wouldn’t be having this much trouble concentrating. If it were any other day, she’d be happily studying, and if not happily, diligently.
She was a nerd. She liked to study.
But not on Wednesday’s.
Not since Jake had left for college and started writing her long, detailed emails each Wednesday, telling her about college, and his life (though he carefully stayed away from any mentions of new women), and just him.
Like clockwork, she’d get home from dance class at six and a new email would be waiting for her.
She’d never answered any of them, but he kept on writing them, seemingly confident that one day she would.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to reply before. She’d written responses ranging from merely a greeting to a full accounting of what had been happening in her life.
But she never managed to send any of them.
She wanted to talk to him, she did. She wanted to tell him that she had finally gotten cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy in her dance school’s production of the Nutcracker. She wanted to tell him that she was going to Boston for her birthday to see Molly, and that Matt was as annoying as ever.
She wanted to tell him those things, but she couldn’t.
Because she knew that when she did, they’d have to be friends again.
And she still wasn’t sure if she was ready to be his friend.
With a sigh, she gave in, pushing her book to the side and climbing off the bed. She settled into the chair behind her desk, waiting impatiently for the computer to boot.
Hurriedly, she signed into her email, scanning over the messages from classmates and friends, till she found the one from Jake. She opened it and began to read.
Lana, he wrote.
My first midterm is tomorrow, and I probably should be cramming for it, but I wanted to get this off to you first.
With midterm season in full swing, my dorm has turned into a ghost town. Almost everyone seems to have moved into the libraries, including my roommate, who, as I’ve told you, never leaves the damn room. The weather outside is almost criminally nice, which is making concentrating on computer systems all the more difficult.
I miss you.
I know I said I wouldn’t put any pressure on you to write back, and I’m not, but I wanted you to know that.
I want to know about you and your life, not just be telling you about mine.
I lied about the pressure… please write back.
I’ve got to go, my study group is meeting in ten.
Jake
The minutes ticked by as she stared at the computer screen, unsure about what to do.
A light knocking from the doorway startled her out of her reverie.
“Knock, knock,” Robin said, leaning against the doorframe. “Can I come in?”
Lana swiveled in her chair to face her mother. “Sure, what’s up?”
“I thought I’d see if you maybe wanted to go to Café Matisse for dinner tonight, since your dad is at the hospital and Matt is at the Donely’s.” Robin settled herself on the edge of the bed. “Interested?”
“Absolutely,” Lana said. “Good idea, Mom.”
“I do have my moments,” Robin said wryly. “You want to go now? We can probably still beat the dinner rush if we hurry.”
Lana hesitated.
“Do you have something you need to finish for school? We can go later.”
“It’s not for school.” Lana bit her lip. “Mom, can I ask you something?”
Robin raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking me for advice? Let me mark this date and time down so I can remember it.”
Lana made a face. “Don’t make me regret it.”
“I’ll be good,” Robin promised. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“It’s about Jake.”
Robin looked unsurprised, but nodded, motioning Lana to continue.
“We haven’t really talked since he left for school, or I mean, I haven’t talked to him.”
Robin’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Has he been talking to you?”
Lana nodded. “He’s been emailing me every week.”
“But you haven’t written back?”
Lana shook her head.
“Why not?” Robin asked gently.
“I don’t know,” Lana said slowly. “I thought it was because I wasn’t ready to be ‘just friends’ with him, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s something else.”
“Like what?”
“Like maybe I’m punishing him.”
Robin let that hang in the air for a moment before asking, “Punishing him for what?”
Lana shrugged. “Breaking up with me. Not being here. For thinking we were going to be able to be friends just like that. I don’t know.”
“Do you want to be his friend?”
“I think so.” Lana looked at Robin then, heart in her eyes. “I miss him, Mom.”
“Then be his friend,” Robin advised. “But do it on your terms. If that means that you’re not as good of friends as you used to be for now, then he’ll just have to live with that.”
Lana tilted her head to the side, considering. “Do you think so?”
Robin nodded. “I do.” She stood. “Email him back. I’ll wait for you downstairs, and then we’ll go to dinner.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Lana watched her mother walk out of the room and turned back to her computer.
Fingers poised over the keys, she began to type.
Dear Jake…