Outer Mask - Chapter 14: Everything’s Fine

A Month Later  

“You know what I think?” Max asked as the two sat in his living room, the two having a Lord of the Rings marathon. 

“I don’t care.” Rory murmured; her eyes focused on the screen, watching Boromir's death. 

Max ignored her comment, “I think that we should find you a date.” 

I knew this was coming. Although, I’m surprised he waited this long before saying anything. Rory thought. 

Since the day they met, Max had been trying to get Rory to be more social and outgoing, and this desire moved from friendship to romantic relationships once they were old enough to understand what attraction was. 

Although these attempts always failed for a few reasons; Max finding women that he had a preference for and not Rory, Rory not being the most forthcoming when it came to her past and her body, and the women only being interested in Rory’s wealth and status, wanting to use Rory to experiment with, or even said women running for the hills when they find out about Rory being intersex. 

Rory did not have the best track record when it came to dating, and it was the reason she was currently in her fourth year of being single and celibate. 

“I don’t want to date, asshole. And I especially don’t want a date that you picked, I have learned my lesson about letting you decide for me.” Rory said, looking at him pointedly. 

“Oh, c’mon. A date would help you get out of this funk you’re in.” Max argued, “And it will help you move on since Peach wants to be an idiot and refuses to acknowledge your shared feelings for each other.” 

Rory sighed, “I thought I told you that Peach does not have feelings for me. I’ve accepted it, why can’t you?” 

“Because you’re both being idiots! You’re being too much of pussy to push any further, and are choosing to remain in the friends’ zone, while she’s acting as if you never confessed and that she doesn’t get a hardon for women.” 

Rory groaned, “Max.” 

“I call it as I see it.” Max shrugged, “And this still doesn’t change what I said; If Peach wants to be dumb then make her see what she’s missing out on.” 

Rory let out a snort, “Oh yeah? And how well did ‘making her see what she’s missing out on,’ work for you?” 

Max had been sleeping around with as many women as he could since Annika called off their arrangement, always making sure that she would see these women, whether in public or online, but Annika did not give any visible sign of caring, which infuriated Max. 

Max’s left eyelid twitched, “We’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you.” 

“Max, I’m fine. Yeah, it sucks that I got rejected, but I'd rather this be the case and the two of us still being able to stay friends, then everything becoming awkward and the two of us not being able to be in a room together.” 

Almost like you and Annika.  

“Well, we have to do something, we can’t sit here letting them think they’ve won.” 

Rory looked at him confused, “Won? Won what?” 

“Won the battle, Rory! Wake up! We can’t let them walk around thinking that we care about them!” Max yelled. 

Rory squinted, “But we do care about them.” 

“But we don’t want them to know that.” Max stressed, “It will give them all the power, and we’ll be left ruined and unable to escape their thrall.” 

Rory stared at Max blankly, “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“Just leave it all to me, Roro. I’ll do what’s best.” 

“I don’t want a date, Max. Do not try to set me up with one.” 

“I hear you.” Max waved off in his typical flippant manner. 

Rory sighed, sinking deeper into the couch, already knowing that Max was disregarding her words and will try to set her up on a date anyway.

~X~

Guinevere Beck had a large smile on her face as she walked into the cafe, feeling brighter and less burdened for the first time in months. 

The problems she had been having with her father, with Peach, with Joe, were all temporarily washed of her after leaving a session with her new therapist.

Doctor Nicholas Angevine, or Dr. Nicky as he preferred to be called, had been encouraging her to express her feelings more openly, not to try and hide or ignore her problems because they would not go away on their own.

So, she had written another poem for class that was well received by her classmates and professor, but the topic was not about her father as it usually was, but her relationship with Joe and her experience at Max’s beach house. Blyth had even told her that she should post the poem online, and Beck could only smile awkwardly and tell the other woman that she would think about it. 

Yeah, I'll just post it online so everyone including my boyfriend, can see all the shitty things I wrote about him and the fact that I cheated on him. That would be a great idea. Beck thought sarcastically.

“Well, someone’s in a good mood.” Annika said as she watched Beck sit down with them, still smiling brightly.

Beck laughed as she sat down, immediately explaining to the other women how her day went and why she was so happy. 

“Who’s Nicky?” Lynn asked when Beck finished. 

Beck blinked, “What?” 

“You said that you wouldn’t have had the courage to write your poem without Nicky encouraging you to.” Peach explained, looking at Beck questioningly, “So who is this, Nicky?” 

“He’s this new therapist I’ve been seeing.” Beck said, glancing away from the others and brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “He’s been telling me to express myself more.” 

“Is that so?” Peach said, finding Beck’s behavior suspicious. 

“Yeah, he’s really been helping me these last few weeks. I used to think that therapy was kind of pointless, but not anymore.” 

Okay, something is definitely going on here. Peach thought, focusing on Beck’s body language. She hasn’t stopped smiling, she’s blushing, playing with her hair, not making eye contact with any of us for very long, all because of Dr. Nicky.  

She’s definitely fucking him...

“Well, can we see this poem?” Annika asked, “I think we all want to see the work that your miracle worker, Dr. Nicky, inspired you to create.” 

Beck’s smile fell, becoming strained, “Uh, I don’t know, it's kind of personal.” 

Lynn tilted her head, “But not personal enough for you to read it to your class?” 

Beck rubbed her hands together, “It’s different, I don’t really care about what most of them think, you know?” 

“Is it because we know who you wrote about? Ooo! Is it about Joe?” Lynn asked, studying Beck’s face. 

“No! Why would you think that?” Beck asked, her voice becoming higher and cracking at the end as she was unable to maintain eye contact with anyone. 

It’s about Joe. Peach, Annika, and Lynn thought. 

Lynn grinned mischievously, “Is it that bad? Because it can’t be as bad as when you told us that he came to fast when you two first had sex.” 

Beck sighed, “No, it's not that, and-” 

“Is it about how hairy he is? That would be worthy of a scathing and embarrassing poem.” Annika asked, shuddering as she remembered seeing how hairy Joe’s arms and legs were when they were at the beach, and she was sure that the man’s chest would have been even worse than his limbs were. 

Beck rolled her eyes, “No, it's not. Girls, can you just let it go? Yes, my poem was about Joe, but I don’t want to share it with you. So, can you just respect my boundaries here? Now, if you would excuse me, I’m going to get myself a drink.” 

Beck then stood up, leaving the table as she went to the counter to tell the barista her order, ignoring the eyes of her friends on the back of her head. 

“That was weird, right? Beck has never had a problem with us reading her work before. And she’s being really defensive about it.” Lynn commented as she looked at Peach and Annika. 

Annika started to think about this, “Do you think Beck might be, might be-” 

“Fucking her therapist? Yes, I do.” Peach said plainly, still staring at Beck. 

“Peach!” Lynn exclaimed. 

“That was totally what I was going to say.” Annika admitted, glancing at Beck, “I mean, she’s acting the way she usually does when she meets a guy she likes. If she’s not fucking him, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s thinking about fucking him.” 

Lynn sighed, “I thought Beck said she would never become a cheater after all the times she’s caught Benji cheating on her?” 

“Well that clearly isn’t the case anymore.” Peach said, knowing full well that Beck was capable of cheating on her boyfriend. 

Honestly, if this is what it takes for her to finally leave Joe Goldberg, I’m all for it. But I should look into who the fuck this doctor is before I get my hopes up.  

“What the fuck?” Peach blinked, looking at Annika after hearing her shout, but the woman staring at her phone in disbelief.

“What’s wrong?” Beck asked as she sat back down, having heard Annika’s expletive. 

Annika scowled as she showed the three women her phone; on the screen was a group selfie that Max had posted of himself and Rory with two other women. 

Max had one arm raised as he held his phone in his hand to take the picture while the other was wrapped around a short curvy brunette woman wearing a cocktail mini dress, resting her head on Max’s shoulder and holding her hand flat on his chest. 

Rory was sitting on Max’s other side, in the middle of lifting a shot glass to her mouth. Unlike the others, Rory was not smiling, having a blank expression on her face, staring off into the distance as she sat there. 

The last person in the picture was dressed similarly to the brunette, but had long black hair and was talking adamantly to Rory, either unaware or unbothered about the fact that Rory did not look very interested in what she had to say. She was practically sitting in Rory’s lap, having her arm wrapped around Rory’s, leaving little space between their faces. 

What the fuck?! Peach thought as she looked at the bottom of the post and saw the caption that Max had put. 

Double the fun, double the love. #groupdate #jealous  

“Honestly, isn’t he fucking tired of this?” Annika spat as she put her arm down, still looking at the post, “And he wonders why I don’t want to date him?” 

“But you clearly care that he’s fucking around.” Beck stated, “Otherwise this wouldn’t be bothering you so much.” 

Annika scoffed, “Who says I’m bothered?” 

“The fact that you have your notifications for Max’s accounts all on and how angry you look are pretty big clues.” Lynn drawled. 

Peach ignored the conversation going on between her friends as she continued to think of the post, specifically Rory and the woman who had been sitting next to her. 

Rory went on a date? Why would she be going on a date? She never said she was interested in dating. But if she were, why would she tell me that she was? That fucking slut isn’t even that hot, why would Rory even want to be with her? She did look bored in that selfie, maybe Max just forced her to go so he could make Annika jealous.  

Peach clenched her fists under the table, wanting nothing more tan to go to the bar Rory was at and rip that woman away from her. 

Why wouldn’t Rory want to date? It’s clear that she’s trying to move on from me. Move on by fucking her way through the city.  

Peach knew that she was jealous and furious, jealous because there were women who now were having Rory in ways that she could not, and furious because it had only been a month since Rory told Peach that she had feelings for her and yet here Rory was, already trying to move on. And she wanted to ask Rory why she was doing this and if the feelings Rory had for her are, or were truly genuine. 

But most of all, Peach was angry at herself for not being brave enough to be honest with herself and with Rory. 

It should be her going on a date with Rory, it should be her having Rory in every way that matters, and it should be her not caring about others knowing how much she wants those things. 

Knowing that Rory was dating hurt Peach more than the first time she saw Beck involved with other people. Maybe it was because Peach knew that Beck would never be interested in her or because all of Beck’s relationships with the men who came into her life would always end as quickly as they began. 

But Peach found herself floored with the realization that despite not knowing Rory for as long, her feelings for Rory felt stronger than the ones she once had for Beck. 

Peach felt as if she was inside a hell of her own making as she tired to reconcile with this newfound development. 

~X~

“So, I saw that you went on a double date with Max and two women.” Amber said as she handed her daughter the gelatine leaf sheets. 

“What?” Rory asked, her brow furrowing as she took the bowl of sheets and put them in cold water. 

Today, Rory had come over to her parents’ penthouse to spend time with her mother, the two women deciding to bake together. 

“I saw that picture that Max posted of you two on a double date last night.” Amber explained. 

Rory huffed as she and her mother began to make the cream, “Since when do you follow Max?” 

“Since he made his social media accounts. As a good mother I have to know what you and your friends are getting up to. And don’t try and change the subjects, I thought you swore off dating? After that girl, what was her name? Tiana? When she wanted you to pay for her rent after only going on two dates.” 

“Her name was Taylor, and yes I did, but Max wouldn’t let it go even when I told him no. I thought it was just going to be us hanging out but when we got the bar, our dates were waiting for us and had seen us, so it was too late for me to leave without looking like a jerk.” 

Rory felt as if the whole date would never end from the moment she sat down, while Max had hit it off with his date, Megan, Rory could not say the same for her and Emma. Rory did not want to be mean, but Emma did not know how to stop talking.

Emma barely allowed Rory to get a few words out before speaking over her, and she was more interested in talking about Rory’s wealth and car than getting to know Rory as a person. After a while, Rory stopped trying to get a word in and put her focus into her drink rather than the woman talking her ear off.

And when Max made it clear that he wanted to take Megan back to his place, Rory made the immediate excuse of having an important meeting the next day to avoid Emma trying to suggest they do the same. Rory then gave the others a quick goodbye before leaving the bar as fast as possible, not asking Emma to go on another date or giving Emma her phone number. 

Amber chuckled, “From the look on your face and in the picture, I think you would have been better off just walking away.” 

“Probably.” Rory admitted. 

“Why did Max set you up on a date?” Amber asked. 

Rory explained to Amber Max’s ‘relationship’ with Annika Attwater and how this was a part in a long series of attempts to make Annika jealous. 

“Was that the only reason?” Amber asked, looking at Rory patiently. 

Rory tensed, “What other reason would there be?” 

“Just curious.” Amber said, glancing at Rory as they baked. 

I’m sure that Rory likes Peach, doesn’t she? Did something change that I don’t know about? Amber thought. 

Amber knew about her daughter’s feelings, not needing Rory to vocalize them as Amber viewed them as obvious. She had never heard Rory talk about another woman as much or as kindly as she has with Peach. 

Rory, since she was a child, had never trusted or became truly comfortable with people very easily or quickly. And yet it seemed as if this usual process was entire skipped when it came to Peach, much to Amber’s excitement and worry. 

From what little she had seen them interact, Amber knew that Rory’s feelings were not unreciprocated by Peach, but she also knew that Peach touted herself as straight.

And then there’s Barry… I can see why Peach hasn’t come out yet, if she has already realized she is not straight with Barry as her dad.  

Amber knew Barry as the kind of man who was reluctant to change, and who would stubbornly stick to his beliefs. She remembered years ago, hearing Barry making a remark about the legalization of gay marriage that made Amber explode in a vicious tirade against him. 

Rory had come out to her and Walter a shortly before that exchange took place, and while it was not a surprise to them, Amber felt angry on Rory’s behave for hearing Barry say such things against people like Rory. 

Amber knew it was hypocritical; while she had nothing against gay people, she did not care much about their struggles and problems before having a gay child of her own. It had been out of sight and out of mind before it began to affect her personally. 

This led to a screaming match between the two that Walter tried to and failed to mediate, being caught in the middle of his friend and his wife. Amber and Barry refused to speak to the other until an apology was given, a silent fight between them that lasted for a few weeks. 

Eventually, Barry made a mumbled and reluctant apology that Walter begged Amber to accept, she knew that Baary’s opinion had not been changed. 

All in all, Amber feared for the possible heartbreak and disappointment that her daughter could be experiencing. 

Rory was going to ask her mother what she meant, but Amber lost all of her attention when she heard her phone vibrate, and she saw who had texted her. 

👑 Peaches: Hey, where are you?  

👑 Peaches: I went to your place but you weren’t there. 

“Who’s that?” Amber asked, looking between Rory and Rory’s phone. 

“It’s Peach.” Rory murmured as she texted Peach back. 

RoRo: At my parents and baking w mom.  

RoRo: U miss me that muck, Peaches???  

RoRo: 😉  

👑 Peaches: Get over yourself 🙄  

👑 Peaches: I’m the one gracing you with my presence. You should be grateful that I took the time out of my very busy day.  

Rory chuckled as she read the message over, missing the way that Amber looked at her when she did. 

RoRo: Sorry, sorry.  

RoRo: Thank u for being so sweet two me  

RoRo: Did u need me right now?  

👑 Peaches: No, I don’t want to disrupt your mommy and me time.  

👑 Peaches: Let me know when you’re done?  

RoRo: Of course.  

RoRo: Have to let my fav girl now when she can see me next 😉  

👑 Peaches: 😮‍💨 🙄  

When Rory put her phone down, she looked to the side and saw the way that her mother was now staring at her, “what?” 

“Nothing.” Amber said as she looked away, reassured that things between Rory and Peach were the same or had not changed too greatly. 

But she was still worried, no mother wanted to see their child hurt, and Amber feared this was the path Rory was heading with Peach. 

~X~

Joe growled as he sat outside Beck’s apartment, watching her and digging his nails into the palms of his hands. 

He had been sure that everything would be fine after getting rid of Michael, and when he first saw Beck’s improving mood, Joe thought that it was because of him, but he soon realized that this change correlated to her new therapy sessions. 

Is... Are you cheating on me again, Beck? Why, I thought, I thought everything was better now? Joe thought, watching Beck typing on her laptop. 

You’ve been happier, but you’ve also been more distant, more secretive. Why are you doing this? I have done nothing but try to make you happy, why can't I make you happy, Beck?  

Joe had been watching his girlfriend for the last few days to see if he could catch her in the act but had come up short. Even looking at Beck’s texts and emails proved to be pointless as there was nothing to be found. 

This made Joe think that either Beck had fallen for Dr. Nicky and had not yet cheated on him, or she did cheat on him with Dr. Nicky but was doing everything in her power to hide it; not communicating with Nicky outside of phone calls and only seeing Nicky during their sessions. 

He hated the intense jealousy and anger that he was currently feeling, his suspicions fueling his desire to know the truth. 

Are you doing this because I said I love you? Is this your way of punishing me, Beck? Are you truly that upset with me for falling in love with you? For being so easily ensnared by your captivating thrall? How could you not have seen this coming?  

Joe could stop himself from momentarily thinking about Benji and what Benji told him about Beck as he kept Benji trapped in his book vault. 

But Joe forcibly pushed that train of thought from his mind, not wanting to even consider the idea of Beck not being perfect, and of someone as arrogant and pathetic as Benji Ashby being right about anything, especially about Beck. 

And as the image of Benji left his mind, Joe unfortunatly started to think about Candance and how she committed the same betrayal against him that Beck was doing. 

This is different, you are not the same as Candance, Beck. You are so much better than her, you will always be better than her.  

Reluctantly, Joe turned away from Beck’s window and began to walk down the street, scowling as he moved. Joe knew that if he wanted to know the truth, then he was going to have to take extreme measures to figure it out.

~X~

Unbeknownst to Joe, while he was watching his girlfriend, he was being watched himself. 

Joe Goldberg, you fucking piece of shit. A hooded figure stepped out of a darkened alleyway, glaring at Joe’s back with malice in their eyes. They wanted nothing more than to kill Joe, but forced the murderous urge away, knowing that simply killing Joe would be a temporary and hollow satisfaction. 

They thought about their master plan, waiting for Joe to find true happiness and for the moment he inevitably screws up, before they start playing with Joe, doing everything they could to ruin him before finally ending his life. 

The figure licked their lips as a large smirk grew on their face, imagining Joe begging for mercy, groveling at their feet before he realizes that there is nothing, he can do to escape his fate. 

They felt proud of themselves for putting the flyer for Dr. Nicky’s practice in Beck's mailbox, knowing that despite his best efforts to hide it, Nicky had a habit of starting affairs with his beautiful female patients. And with how charming and handsome Nicky was, they were sure that Beck would soon fall into the therapist’s bed. 

Beck was already showing signs of being attracted to Nicky, something that Joe very clearly noticed with how he had been trying to catch Beck in the act. 

Soon. Soon I can move on to the next step, I just need to wait for Joe to lose his mind and show Beck his true colors.