Title: Above Rubies

Author: Alan Hitchen

Email: darkmere2000@yahoo.co.uk

Archive: http://www.realmoftheshadow.com/alan.htm

Disclaimer: Popular is the property of Touchstone Television

Rating: PG-13

Summary: A reworking of the lunch room scene in the episode 'The News of my Death has been Greatly Exaggerated'. In keeping with the eighties theme try to imagine Love is all that Matters by The Human League playing in the background.

"I'm sorry the lunch lady's not your real mom, Nicole," Harrison said sincerely.

The petite blonde shrugged. "Yeah. Well. You live and learn, huh?"

"Also, I need to give you props for not outing me at the memorial."

"Yeah. I get it. You were only saying what everyone thought. Moving on to the healing phase now."

"I have something for you," he said, a slight smile on his lips, eyebrows raised suggestively.

"We already covered this, stud. I'm not interested in doing the dirty with you, okay?" she replied with a friendly wink.

Harrison's face fell. "Yeah. About that. I'm sorry I suggested you were..."

"A whore?" she suggested lightly.

"Well... you do have this reputation."

Nicole groaned in response. "I know."

"It's not true is it?"

"No."

"I know about Josh. He's the one and only, isn't he?"

"Yeah."

"Why Josh when you knew it would hurt Brooke?"

"It was Josh because it would hurt Brooke. I'm a bitch, remember? Besides, he was convenient and I needed proof."

"Proof of what?"

"Look, don't get me wrong. I was flattered you asked me. It's nice to be thought of as beautiful and sexy, to be desired, and considering how I've treated you, something of a miracle."

"And then I blew it."

"Yeah, you blew it. But I would still have said no, no matter what you said."

"Because?"

"Because I'm gay. That's what Josh proved to me. Call it my experimental phase."

"Ah... Gay... I'm down with that. Is there someone you like?" he asked, shooting a glance towards Brooke.

"Oh yeah, but the big question is: will she ever like me?"

"Oh... If it's any consolation I know how you feel."

"It's no consolation. So, how goes it with Spam?"

"Sam. Hmm. Why be in love with one unobtainable woman when I can be in love with two."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. I've told the truth and ruined everything."

"Me too. Except I lied."

"Which brings me back to this. Here."

"What's this?"

"I found two of them at a garage sale. One for you. One for me." Harrison handed her a 'gold' ring, it was of a horse's head in a horseshoe decorated with 'diamonds'. "They have superpowers," he quipped. She laughed at the tawdry bauble. "You should laugh more often," he grinned back. "You're beautiful when you smile. Actually, you always look beautiful."

"Thanks. But I'm still not sleeping with you."

"Understood. Friends don't sleep together. Which reminds me, I must go find Sam and have her confirm that. Seeya later."

He got up and left. Nicole looked at the ring. It wasn't much, but it meant that she mattered to someone, that she had a friend. And to Nicole Julian at that moment that was a prize above rubies.