He's so H E A R T L E S S (Guillermo&&Seth)

[ROSE MERCER]

Rose laid on her apartment floor, smiling as she ate Captain Crunch, and watched Saturday Morning cartoons. It had been an old tradition of hers and Seth's, to come over to one if their apartments, depending on whose parent was acting crazier that day, in their pajamas and have breakfast together. Her coppery brown hair was pulled into a messy bun, as she wore an over sized tee shirt as a nightgown.

Watching closely as Tom and Jerry did various, implausible, antics, Rose nudged Seth. "Pass the cereal" Her smile was wide, enjoying the remaking of the childhood nostalgia. Seth was like the perfect brother. Protective, but un-intrusive, friendly, kind, loyal, loving. Rose was happy he was back, happy that their friendship had not been too maimed by the distance. He and Guillermo, who were roommates, even seemed to get a long, which was perfect, as Guillermo had become a best friend of sorts. Not that she would ever use the best word in font of Seth, who could be a little greedy at times. Greedy and jealous. Greedy, jealous, and temperamental.

Pouring a fresh bowl of cereal, she drank a gulp of her honey sweetened coffee.

Guillermo and Seth were truly different. Seth was boisterous and high energy, Guillermo was cool and calm. They were even different physically: Seth being stocky and solid, with Guillermo leaning more on the tall, lean side. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. She smirked, thinking of their various escapades, noting another difference. Guillermo was sexy, sly, dangerous. Seth was cute, a little dim, but fun. It was like comparing oranges to apples really. They both brought something to the table for Rose.

She laughed, as Jerry hit Tom with a anvil, squishing him to a pancake. Today, she would hang out with Seth, then go and spend the evening with Guillermo. She seemed to purposely try not to spend time with the two of them at the same time, since it always felt like she was being pulled in two. Especially with how clingy Seth got. And the more clingy Seth got, the more Guillermo seemed to react, teasing her in a way that was usually reserved for her to do to him. But separate, she had the two greatest friends ever.

Yeah, life was good.

[GUILLERMO SALAS-ORTIZ]

Guillermo walked into his living room, scanning it quickly. He couldn't believe how clean it was. Seth was a pretty devout neat freak.
He didn't see Seth, but he heard laughing and loud television coming through the wall. That's right. Their cartoon morning routine. He slipped into the kitchen, instantly bored by the realization that Rose would be with Seth all day. Opening the fridge, he was disappointed by the lack of contents. He had to remember to get more food later. Especially if he was planing on staying semi-friendly with Seth. He grabbed some soda out of the fridge, then snapped it open, pouring it into a glass and taking a drink of the acidic caffeine.
He glanced around for something to do.
On the wall, there was a square of yellow paper stuck by the phone. His eyebrow raised curiously as he approached. Seth's handwriting was scrawled hurriedly on the paper.
Wide brown eyes stared at the slip in disbelief.
G- Sis ran away after Dad's funeral. Call Step Mom.
The glass slipped from his hand, shattering on the floor.
There had to be a mistake. Obviously this message was wrong.
Unless Seth was trying to mess with him.
His eyes narrowed, his face contorting with rage.
What kind of a fucked up person did that?
He slammed his fist on the table, then crossed to the door, exiting and heading to Rose's next door.
He flung her door open, snarling. The two looked at him with confusion. Rose opened her mouth to say something, but he wasn't listening. Guillermo only had eyes for Seth.
"You."
He snarled, going right for him.
"You Son of a Bitch, I knew you were full of it! I knew you were just bidding your time before you did something fucked up, you fucking psychopath! What kind of a person does that, you retard?"

[SETH FOXWORTH]

There are many things you can expect to happen on a Saturday. It was like the crack head of the days of the eek, the day crazy shit happened. Still, that said, Seth hadn't expected an exploding Mexican to burst in on his toon time... not one of those things. "You" Guillermo snarled, as Seth looked behind him, as if someone else was in the room. You Son of a Bitch, I knew you were full of it! I knew you were just bidding your time before you did something fucked up, you fucking psychopath! What kind of a person does that, you retard?"

Seth quickly got off the floor, getting as far away from Guillermo as he possibly could. What did he do? His pale blue eyes wide, he held up his hands. "Is... Is this about me changing the laundry soap? I can change it back dude, chill the fuck out."

No, this couldn't be about the laundry. Guillermo was not in the least bit concerned about shit like that. Which was why Seth got the cleaning supplies. Honestly, who just doesn't have bleach. Dodging Guillermo, he accidentally knocked over his bowl of cereal, looking at Rose for help. "Dude, Rose, call him off!" What else could he be mad about? Seth was the ideal roomie! Was it because he and Rose were hanging out? What the fuck happened to fair play. Sick of running, he put up his fists, ready. He didn't necessarily want to hit Guillermo, at the moment anyway, but he certainly wasn't going to just get a beating when he had done nothing wrong.

[ROSE MERCER]

Rose jumped like a cat, when Guillermo burst in, seeing red. His gaze turned to Seth, and Rose internally groaned. Roommate Drama. "YOU! You Son of a Bitch, I knew you were full of it! I knew you were just bidding your time before you did something fucked up, you fucking psychopath! What kind of a person does that, you retard?" Rose shot up on her feet as Seth began to flee.

"Guillermo! Wha-"

Seth was on it, trying to get to the bottom of it fast. "Is... Is this about me changing the laundry soap? I can change it back dude, chill the fuck out." Laundry soap? Improbable. Guillermo was too chill. But Seth looked sincerely innocent. Had he actually done something, he would be goading. Groaning as the milk spilled all over her carpet, she considered letting them sort it out so she could clean that. Still... Guillermo did look quite pissed. "Dude, Rose, call him off!" Seth cried out, putting his fist down.

Rolling her eyes, she stepped in between the. "Alright, alright! That's enough! Seth, put your fists down. No one is fighting." Rose grabbed Guillermo's face, staring at him intensely with her bright, blue eyes. "Calm down." She said, mimicking her Uncle's soothing voice. "And tell me what's wrong."

Boys were dumb.

This was going to be some stupid nonsense like someone ate someone else's take out. Still, that didn't really make sense. Guillermo might be annoyed by something like that, but certainly not ready to beat ass. So much for them getting along.

[GUILLERMO SALAS-ORTIZ]

"Guillermo! Wha-"
Rose got up, standing in his way. Seth was backed up against the wall, looking terrified.
"Is... Is this about me changing the laundry soap? I can change it back dude, chill the fuck out."
Guillermo's expression became incredulous.
"What the fuck? Who care about the stupid fucking DETERGENT? I'm talking about the fucking note you left me!"
"Dude, Rose, call him off!" Seth cried out, putting his fists up in the air.
Guillermo snarled again, moving forward. Rose blocked him.
"Alright, alright! That's enough! Seth, put your fists down. No one is fighting." Rose grabbed Guillermo's face, staring at him intensely with her bright, blue eyes.
"Calm down. And tell me what's wrong."
His eyes didn't see her. He stared at Seth accusingly.
"That PRICK. Look at this!"
He shoved the note into her hands, running his fingers through his hair, yanking at it.

[SETH FOXWORTH]

"What the fuck? Who care about the stupid fucking DETERGENT? I'm talking about the fucking note you left me!" Guillermo hollered, Seth thinking it over for a moment. That's what this was about? Whatever happened to don't kill the messenger?

Rose started handling it, with her usual calm nature. "Alright, alright! That's enough! Seth, put your fists down. No one is fighting." He complied, keeping them balled up, in case Guillermo decided to sneak attack him. Seriously, what the fuck? Rose grabbed Guillermo's face, and Seth ignored the pang of jealousy. Soo not the biggest issue at the moment. "Calm down. And tell me what's wrong."

Guillermo's eyes shot at him, his lip curling harshly. "That PRICK. Look at this!" He shoved the piece of paper into Rose's hands, and it confirmed Seth's suspicion.

He stared at Guillermo harshly, scowling at the disruption of his day for fricking writing a damn note. "Are you serious man? You barge in here to kick my ass for a fucking message. Next time, I won't both. Hope no bill collectors call for you." This was bullshit. Here's what he got for being so damn nice.

Seth stared at Rose, eyes pleading, watching her read the note. "All I did was write down what the lady on the phone told me. I think her name was... like..." Crap memory, don't fail him now. He tried to remember. "Lauren or Laurel or Lorena or some shit, man."

[ROSE MERCER]

"That PRICK. Look at this!" A yellow scrap of paper was shoved into Rose's hands, and she peered at the note momentarily. Funeral? Her eyes widened, looking at Seth closely, trying to detect something from him.

Irritation, that's what she got from him. "Are you serious man? You barge in here to kick my ass for a fucking message. Next time, I won't both. Hope no bill collectors call for you." He looked sincere, her stomach dropping.

No, not even Seth and his erratic sense of humor would find this funny. "Seth?" Before she could say anything else, his eyes found hers, trying to soften her up.

"All I did was write down what the lady on the phone told me. I think her name was... like... Lauren or Laurel or Lorena or some shit, man." Seth was nowhere near that good of an actor. She took a deep breath, not sure if she wanted this to be a joke or not. After all, if it was a joke, that would be pretty fucked up. But if it wasn't...

That meant Guillermo's Father was dead.

And that no one had bothered to tell him.

She looked at Guillermo, blinding him from Seth. "Look at me, Guillermo. Just... ignore him. Did you call your Step Mom?" She held up her finger, telling him not to move, as she edged to her purse, pulling out her cell phone. "Before you start kicking his ass, just call and..." And what? Check to see if your Dad is really dead. Instead of finishing the sentence, she just put the phone into his palm. Turning to Seth, she gave him her most serious look. "If this is a joke, Seth, I swear to God..."

[GUILLERMO SALAS-ORTIZ]

"Are you serious man? You barge in here to kick my ass for a fucking message. Next time, I won't both. Hope no bill collectors call for you." Guillermo advanced on him again as Rose read the note, her eyes widening.
"Seth?"
"All I did was write down what the lady on the phone told me. I think her name was... like... Lauren or Laurel or Lorena or some shit, man."
Seth was nearly out of breath, looking angry and insulted.
Rose caught Guillermo's eyes.
"Look at me, Guillermo. Just... ignore him. Did you call your Step Mom?" He looked at her as if she was sprouting another head. She held up her finger, pulling out her cell phone.
"Before you start kicking his ass, just call and..."
She put the phone into his hand. His fingers closed around it and he turned to walk into the kitchen.
He heard Rose talking to Seth.
"If this is a joke, Seth, I swear to God..."
He quickly dialed his old home number. It rang for a bit, before someone picked up.
"Guillermo? Is that you?"
A woman's voice spoke from the other line.
"Who is this?"
"Oh, Guillermo, it IS you! Thank goodness! Is Jenyfer with you? Is she alright?"
Lorena. His dad's ex-wife, the mother of his half-sister.
"Hang on a minute. First off, why are you at my dad's house? Secondly, why would Jenyfer be with me? She was staying with Dad."
Lorena's voice was tearful and frantic.
"Jeny hasn't been seen for about a week. Right after the funeral, she disappeared. I'd hoped she had come to see you."
Guillermo's insides churned dreadfully. His heart was pounding hard.
Seth was right.
"Funeral? What funeral?"
"Enrique's. Last Saturday, that's when- Oh my God. You didn't know."
There was a soft gasp on the other end of the phone.
He couldn't speak. His mouth was dry as sandpaper.
"Guillermo, honey. I'm so sorry. I thought you knew. He died from a heart attack last Tuesday."
His heart nearly stopped.
That was the day he had rejected three calls from Jenyfer. He was out with Rose..
"Guillermo? Are you alright?"
He hung up, then walked into the other room, where he was stared at, blankly.
"Sorry Seth." His voice was mechanical.
He couldn't see either of them. He walked towards the door in a daze, opening it and walking out. As soon as he was out, he began to run.

[ROSE MERCER]

As they waited, the air was tense. Rose vaguely heard Guillermo in the kitchen, but tried not to eavesdrop. This was heavier than she had signed on for. But watching her Father bitch slap her across the face must have been pretty heavy as well. This was all getting so complicated. But when he walked out of the kitchen, face in a daze, she didn't really care about the weight. "Sorry Seth."

Rose had her answer, but before she could speak, he was out the door. She chased after him, but his grief apparently gave him super speed, and she wasn't really wearing pants. "Guillermo, come back!" She yelled after him, frowning as his figure disappeared.

Guillermo...

So she returned to her apartment, left only to scratch her head. What did she do now? She could go out to look for him. But where would she look. When Guillermo did venture out, it was always random, unless she had a plan. He had no family in New York, to her knowledge. She really didn't even know any of his friends...

God. She felt like a bad friend.

Looking around for her phone, she decided to call him. Problem: He had taken her phone. Shit. Ignoring Seth, too consumed in worry, she went to the land line and called her own cell phone.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Voice mail.

Shit. Again.

And so she waited for him to return, deciding he just needed some air. He would return soon. But soon, morphed into an hour. An hour became a couple hours. A couple hours became later that night. After Seth fell asleep, Rose was left to soothe herself, laying on the couch, curled up like a cat.

And just as her eyes began to fall, as she began to drift into the comfort of dream land, a loud banging struck her door. Now, Rose kept weird hours, this was true, but 5:30 in the morning was pushing it. Getting off from the couch, her irritation melted instantly, seeing Guillermo through the peep hole. Quickly, with alarming speed for someone who was just seconds away from sleep, Rose swung the door open and embraced him. "Oh my God, are you okay! Where have you been?" It was not a confrontational voice, or an accusing voice. But one filled concern and.... like. A great amount of like.

[GUILLERMO SALAS-ORTIZ]

Tequila was good.
It warmed you, from the inside out. It burned, certainly, but he was just glad to feel something other than numbness.
He had gone to the most obscure bar he could find. The bartender eventually kicked him out, not wanting to be responsible for the young drunk.
He then ventured to a liquor store, buying four bottles of straight tequila. He had finished three.
The fourth was nearly empty.
He stumbled home, his mind swirled confusingly. He knocked on a few doors, attempting to find Rose. She could make the spinning stop.
Eventually, Rose ran out of one door and hugged him.
"Oh my God, are you okay! Where have you been?"
Her voice was somewhat far off and hazed.
"Oh, hey, sexy. Th-thank god. I finally found your apartment, the last three places were very rude-"
He tried to glare in the direction of the last apartment he had visited, but failed to remember where it was. His head throbbed uncomfortably.
But Rose felt good against him. She was warm and soft. Her blue eyes were wide with worry and she smelled so wonderful.
It was like falling into an extremely sexy heaven.
He found himself extremely frustrated, however, when the spinning failed to stop.
He lumbered over to his door, attempting to open it. He couldn't. Because it was locked. He stared hard at the door number, trying to focus his vision. It was the wrong one. He went to the other side of Rose's door. That one opened.
Oh.

[ROSE MERCER]

The first thing she noticed was the smell. It clung to him, sweating out of his pores, sticking to his breathe. Tequila. She pulled back, examining his face closely, frowning as he managed to string together a sentence. "Oh, hey, sexy. Th-thank god. I finally found your apartment, the last three places were very rude-" He was plastered.

It was an odd experience for Rose, as she watched him lumbar over to the wrong door, trying to open it. She had drank with him before, but he had never actually been drunk in front of her. She didn't like it. Drunk men made her nervous.

Figuring out that he had the wrong door, she watched him teeter over to the right one. Sighing, she came up behind him, guiding his arm gently into his apartment. "Oookay, there. You've been busy." Perhaps a cold shower and a pot of coffee would do him some good. Tomorrow, she'd get after him about how worried she was. Tonight was not the night, however. Not while he was drunk, not while he was hurting.

Well, tomorrow he would still be hurting of course. Perhaps she would just let it go? Turning on his apartment light, she was unsure of what to do next. Perhaps she should have paid better attention when her Mother had done this for her Father. Trying to be smooth, she slipped the bottle out of her hand. "Let me just see that, Carino." She said, in a quiet voice, putting it on the coffee. "Do you need something?"

There was no question of sex. Rose had something against drunk sex, especially with a sober participator. But she could be here, support him. If he needed to talk, or if he just needed help maneuvering around his apartment. That's what best friends were for.

[GUILLERMO SALAS-ORTIZ]

"Oookay, there. You've been busy."
She walked with him into the apartment, steading his clumsy stride.
He frowned as she turned on the lights, wincing against the brightness.
She took his bottle and his eyes focused, unfocused, and attempted to refocus again. His bottle was gone.
"Bottley. Where'd-ed-ed he go?" his brows pulled over his eyes in a child-like confusion.
"Let me just see that, Carino."
Her voice was smooth and quiet, a nice contrast to the way someone screamed at him in the other apartment.
"Do you need something?"
"Yeah, you."
He gave her a would-be-sexy grin, which looked more frightening than anything else at the moment. He pulled her close, then released her disappointedly. She didn't seem to respond positively to his advances.
"What da hell is wrong with you? Get the f-fuck out of my house." Guillermo stuttered drunkenly, his frown morphing into a sneer.

[ROSE MERCER]

"Yeah, you." He was trying to be smooth. He pulled her closer, her body stiffening, turning her face away, as he got too close. He smelled like drunk. Her lack of enthusiasm seemed noticed, as he released her, sneering nastily. "What da hell is wrong with you? Get the f-fuck out of my house." Rose frowned, trying not to be upset.

He was drunk, it was whatever.

The excuse of her Mother did not suit well with her. "Guillermo, how much have you had to drink?" She said, forcing the gentleness to stay, with her patience slipping quickly away. True, he did tell her to leave. Perhaps she would But drunk people were infamous for doing stupid things. She examined his bottle closer, seeing it was about two swigs away from being put away. Jeez...

He was going to have a wicked hangover in the morning. She'd put him to bed, put some asprin and a cup of juice on his night stand, with the bathroom trash can for the excess, and crash on the couch. Rose thought this was fair. They could talk in the morning. Maybe she'd even tell him how she was not a fan of drunk Guillermo, who went from handsy-to-dick in a matter of seconds. "C'mon, lets get you to bed, Honey." She would have to call in sick to work, and all that business. She tugged his arm lightly, trying to lead him into the bathroom, the distinct feeling of baby sitting bothering her slightly.

[GUILLERMO SALAS-ORTIZ]

She stared at him for a moment, deepening his frustration.
"Guillermo, how much have you had to drink?"
"A few.. bottles."
He swayed on the spot, his eyes closing in dizziness and discomfort.
"C'mon, lets get you to bed, Honey."
She tugged his arm and he pushed her away, growling.
No. She couldn't boss him around.
She didn't get it.
Why couldn't she just do what he wanted?
"Didn't you hear me? Get out, bitch? If you aren't here for sex, then what are you here for? Get the fuck out."
He didn't mean what he said.
But deep somewhere, there really was a base question.
Why had she stayed around so long? The sex would have gotten old by now. Yet she stayed.
This piece of sanity brought his mind to the surface briefly. He frowned, trying to register what was going on in the conversation.

[ROSE MERCER]

"A few.. bottles." Ridiculous. He was lucky he had the tolerance of a bull moose, that would have put most into the hospital. As she tried to herd him to his bed, he growled at her darkly. "Didn't you hear me? Get out, bitch? If you aren't here for sex, then what are you here for? Get the fuck out."

Rose stared at him, stunned, reproach filling her blue eyes. It was as if he had struck her, and he steadily looked more and more like Jimmy Mercer. She tried to think back, seeing where she could have expected this.

His eyes, pointing to the floor. "**If I'm honest, you're my best friend. And I'm sorry that you lost her because of me.**"

Mallory's voice echoed thickly in her ears. "Look. I understand that Guil is in your life, So I can't be mad at you for that. However, I won't approve of him until y'all are together...like official. Listen. I am not going to continue ranting about it. I will just sit back and watch things play out, as your friend. So I have your back, when and if he does something stupid."

"**Don't touch her, you bastard!" He bellowed, "Ella vale más para mí que cualquier otra cosa! Usted debe estar contento de que ella aún tiene la fuerza para mirar siquiera a ti, porque tú eres más que un monstruo que no puede ganar su amor!**" Guillermo, full of rage, her Father clutching his jaw tightly.

Him comforting her after the ordeal, trying to sooth her from the mess."**Don't be afraid of me, Rose. You don't have to hide yourself from me,**"

LIAR. BASTARD. PRICK. ASSHOLE.

Despite the betrayal her head was swimming in, her eyes lost the reproach, turning to cool, icy, stone. "Oh. I see." She shouldn't have let him in. This was her fault, trusting someone. A man. Well no sir, not her! She was not her Mother! "Well... I see my Father is in good company." She wanted to hit him. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted to kick herself for ever think maybe....

NO! She was just a toy. Something to past the time. A matter of convience. He made this perfectly clear.

So she walked to the door, holding it in, keeping up the cool facade. Just like her Father, Rose would not give Guillermo the benefit of seeing her cry. She opened the front door, stopping for a second, looking back at him, her strong will faltering for a moment. "Hey Guillermo... Have a nice hangover, Asshole." With that she slammed his door, walking as calmly and quickly as she could out to her own apartment. As she closed the door, the icy shell around her heart began to shatter, tears running down her face.

Had this been what it felt like? When she sent those others away, so coldly? This deafening, empty, feeling. Tears trickled down her face, as she began the process of locking her door. Deadbolt, chain, knob. She had gotten to involved. She had trusted him.

Well... lesson learned.