~~~Ted~~~
I hadn't seen Barney or Lauren since the week of my birthday, which was about a month, give or take. Barney I was still mad at but Lauren? I just kind of felt sorry for her. My phone rang and I picked it up.
"It's Barney." I told the others. "Dude, seriously, you need to stop calling me."
"Ted I'm sorry I haven't returned your calls."
"Yeah, I never called you." I reminded him. "You called me fifteen times and my parents twice. I can only imagine what Lauren's inbox looks like."
"I'm sorry, I gotta let you go. There's just too many good wingmen out there. Ted, are you crying?"
"No, I am not." I assured him.
"Shh, Let it out. Let it out. Let it out-"
"Goodbye, Barney." I hung up, putting the phone down on the table.
"So, are you two back together?" Lily asked hopefully.
"No."
"I miss Barney. I haven't high-fived anyone in like four weeks. I think I might be starting to lose my fist-bump callus." Marshall said.
"I miss Lauren." Robin said. "She probably doesn't miss me, though."
"Does anybody know where she is?" Lily asked. I shook my head.
~~~Lauren~~~
I had been staying at my parents place in Manhattan for the past month. I hadn't seen or talked to anybody, but I had like a thousand missed calls from Barney, about ten from lily and Marshall, and none from Ted or Robin. Hopefully, Barney didn't remember where I work.
"So wait, this guy cheated on you with the same girl that this Ted guy cheated on you with?" Tracy asked as she sat at the bar. I nodded. "That is truly horrible. Honestly, I am so sorry, Lauren." I shrugged.
"I should've known it would happen sooner or later. I just...I really thought that with Barney...he was my Max, you know?" She smiled sadly at her late boyfriend's name.
"Clearly not if he did that to you. Has he tried to fix it at all?" I sighed.
"He's called me a lot. It's taking everything I have not to call him back."
"Have you considered talking to him? Maybe see if you can work things out." I nodded.
"I think I just need time to process. Think of my next move. I'm thinking I might go back to my apartment, try to live a more normal life."
"Do it." I smiled at her.
"How are you?" She nodded.
"I'm ok."
"Can I buy you a drink?" I asked.
"Certainly."
~~~
So, I moved back into my apartment. It's so much smaller than I remember it.The first thing I did was walk over to my answering machine.
You have ten new messages.
Message one
"Lauren? Please answer the phone. You've gotta hear me out. I made a mistake, and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but-"
Message two
"Ok, so the machine cut me off, but what I was going to say was that...I love you. I still love you and I will wait. I will wait for you to-"
Message deleted.
I walked over to my couch, flopping down on it and staring at the ceiling. I sighed, closing my eyes when the doorbell rang.
"Barney, if that's you, go away-" I trailed off when I saw who was at the door. I raised my eyebrows. "Um...what are you doing here?"
"I um...I heard about Barney. I heard you come in and thought I'd see if you were ok." Lawrence replied, raking a hand through his hair.
"I'm getting there, yeah. Thanks for asking." He nodded.
"You look good." I smiled. "Considering."
"Thanks." We stood there in silence for a moment.
"Can I come in?"
If I do this...if I let him in, there are so many things that could happen. If something happens between us, potentially any hope of repairing things with Barney could be washed down the drain. A part of me still loves Barney...still wants to love Barney. But the darker side of me, the hurt side of me wants him to feel the pain that he's put me through.
"You still with us." I made my decision right there.
"Yeah. Come on in."
~~~Barney~~~
I was at the bar with Robin, the first person of the group I'd really talked to in the past four weeks.
"How are you doing, Barney?" She asked. I nodded.
"I'm ok. I'll be good once I have Lauren and Ted back."
"You're so sure you will?"
"Yeah, of course. I mean it's gonna take time, and everything I have. But I'm willing to wait for it."
"I just hope that they are too." I sipped my scotch.
"You and me both."
YOU ARE READING
Challenge Accepted(A Barney Stinson/HIMYM Fan-fiction) BOOK ONE
FanfictionBarney Stinson is...a pig to say the least. He's slept with countless girls, always wears a suit, and lives his life by his beloved playbook. He is also never one to back down from a challenge. When Barney is challenged by Lily to get a certain girl...
