Fanon:Bella's Secrets/Loose Tongues

Loose Tongues
All over SimNation Bella's death had been heard about, and then talked about. People showed their sore throats no mercy in yapping what they knew, what they thought they knew, and what they made up. Don was a town target for meanness. The crunchy fall leaves kept falling, the people kept talking, Ridge and Drake kept investigating, and the world kept a'spinnin'. Life moves on, even though Riverview citizens don't.

"Please? Please, please, please? Please?" Ridge pulled an adorable face as she begged Chief Ross. "There's no way I'm setting up a fund to pay all your expenses while you 'investigate' in clubs!" Ross said. The pleading turned to pouting. "Fine," Olivia snapped. "Keep down my detective method. Even though I've solved more than one case that way. Alright. I see how it is. I'm just gonna do it the boring and unsuccessful way." "Good," Ross said shortly.

Outside, walking back to the office down the street, Drake broke the silence. "I'll pay it. Your expenses, I mean." "You will? Oh, thank you! Thank you except for the catch which I know there must be!" Olivia exclaimed. Drake laughed. "Alright, here's the catch. No caviar or anything that costs more than fifty bucks each. I'm not made of money." "I beg to differ," Olivia said, pulling a quarter out from behind his ear. Their laughter rang up and down the road, and they were suddenly shy. "Olivia..." Drake said, the first time he ever called his work partner by her first name. "Yes?" Now that Ridge was waiting for his response, he hesitated, not sure what to say. Finally, he said something, but it went all wrong as it came out. "You have to take me partying with you." **** it! he thought. Ridge laughed and said, "Okay. That seems fair." Drake tried to laugh along, but he was inwardly morose. No matter whether she was single or not, he was always awkward about telling her how much he liked her. If she was as intuitive about love as she was about her job, she'd know by now. But she wasn't, and the loop went on. He used to be happy just appreciating her, but he had only fallen for her harder as days went by. He couldn't back away slowly. Unbeknownst to him, Olivia was also disatisfied. She had realized once she was not wrapped up in any other men, she realized that there was something different about him lately, and she wanted him to talk to her about it. She also felt weird around him, and she assumed it was because he was different. If her subconscious didn't register him as anything other than a coworker and best friend, she might realize why she felt like she did. But it was hard for her to imagine the two of them as anything other than what they were now. So, once the laughter died out, they walked on to the office in silence.

Colored light spilled out onto the street as Drake opened the Watering Hole Bar door for Ridge. She felt at her element with the chatter, the drinks, the dancing, the music. To her delight, several suspects were here, as well as other people trying to drown their heartbreak over Bella. Or how Bella broke their hearts, Olivia thought.