#sarah when i walk next to her food bowl to do lit anything
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One Chance is All Some Get - 2
Part One // Part Three- Masterlist
Word Count: 7.3k
Warnings: family being stupid, swearing, allusions to sex
Mathew Barzal couldn’t believe it, he was helping his best friend into an outfit appropriate for a first date. “Anthony, you’re going to a coffee shop, not the Ritz. You don’t need to pick something that you would wear before a game, keep it simple,” Mat advised Anthony and he couldn’t help but to roll his eyes at how stupid he was being. It was obvious to anyone who looked into their apartment that Anthony hadn’t been on a date for longer than he would like to admit.
“The date isn’t for another three hours, why are you stressing so much?” Mat was genuinely curious, he had never seen his best friend act in this way before.
“Because,” Anthony started as he went to pick out a black pair of jeans to go with the shirt he had already selected, “I think she’s the one. Fate keeps bringing us together, so it has to mean something, eh?”
It took Mat a few seconds to figure out who he was on about, but his face lit up as soon as he figured it out. “It’s that doctor girl, eh?” he spoke as he started poking him. Anthony didn’t need to say anything as the blush on his face gave away the answer but still, he nodded to confirm Mat’s suspicion. “Good on you mate, she’s pretty and has the brains for the two of you.”
Anthony looked at him sternly but wasn’t able to hold it for too long as he burst out laughing. He had to agree with his friend and linemate because he was absolutely right, Anthony wasn’t as smart as he would have liked to be and hoped that this wouldn’t hinder him on his date. Surely Sarah wasn’t going to delve into the depths of something she had learnt in school because she knew that he was simply a hockey player. He knew about concussion, mainly because he had been subject to the league’s protocol more frequently than he would like to admit. But anything past that, he was clueless.
As she slipped on a pair of ballet flats, Sarah called out to Rebecca letting her know that she was about to leave for her date. Rebecca basically sprinted out of her room to wish her best friend a nice day and reminded her to keep her location on in case she forgot to text her. Sarah rolled her eyes, even though she understood the intent behind it and knew that Rebecca always had her back, no matter what.
The subway wasn’t overly packed and Sarah found her way to the coffee shop a little after three as she had to use Google Maps to find the shop but was thankful to see Anthony sat at a table near the front of the shop. He had what looked like to be some sort of coffee (Sarah honestly had no clue about the different sorts of coffee, she knew the difference between an iced and hot and that was the extent) and a few different pastries that looked to be untouched, she could only hope that he had selected them hoping to try them with her, but she didn’t want to make any assumptions. As she moved through the tables, she was able to get Anthony’s attention and he pushed himself up from where he was at.
It seemed like both of them had the same thought as both went in for a hug, but awkwardly stopped as their arms were a small distance from their torso. Their eyes met and both let out a small chuckle and realised that the other wanted the same thing so shared in a quick hug and greeting. Anthony walked around to pull out the chair for Sarah to sit on, thanking his lucky stars that he didn’t accidentally pull it out from underneath her, but when she was sitting at the table he asked her what she wanted to drink. Her response was amusing, to say the least, “if it has caffeine, it's good. But some sort of vanilla coffee would be perfect.” He nodded and quickly headed over to the barista to get himself a refill and whatever the barista suggested that contained vanilla in. The barista nodded and said that he’d bring them over when they were ready and as Anthony paid, he slipped a twenty-dollar bill into the tip jar because the service he had received so far was above and beyond what he expected.
“They’ll be over in a few minutes,” Anthony told Sarah and indicated that she was to help herself to any of the snacks on the table. Sarah raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to protest, but Anthony was quicker. “You are not paying me back, my treat for you having to deal with me multiple times in multiple places,” he said with a smile.
Sarah couldn’t help but smile back, you could tell that Anthony was a hockey player as he had a fighting sense about him, but in a soft way. He wasn’t trying to get into anyone’s face but he was more than happy to look after those who he cared about, and it seemed like Sarah was already one of those people.
The barista walked over with their drinks and Anthony started a simple conversation by asking about college and how she was enjoying the city. Sarah knew she could have spoken for days about that so kept it short and sweet, but Anthony immediately noticed that she was holding back and encouraged her to talk truthfully about the course. She had never been in the company of someone like this before, usually, the friends she had made before wanted to talk about themselves and their problems and couldn’t care for the issues she was experiencing. Anthony was different, he allowed her to express her emotions truthfully and she immediately felt at ease opening up to him, not fully yet, and letting him know about the hardships that she was facing at the moment.
Their conversation flowed better than either of them could ever imagine; by the time they had finished their second and third coffees, Sarah checked the time on her phone to realise that it was almost 6 pm. She didn’t want to leave Anthony because she was enjoying the time that she was spending with him, bringing him home wasn’t an option. After all, that would insinuate that she wanted something out of him that she wasn’t comfortable doing just yet, so she suggested the next best thing. “I know a place that does really good Mexican food, want to grab dinner?” Sarah really hoped that it didn’t come across as too demanding or wanting more out of this than either of them wanted, but the date was going well and she wanted to spend more time in his company.
“As long as they do a pitcher of margaritas, I’m in,” Anthony replied with a laugh. He was really enjoying himself and didn’t want to leave Sarah’s company. She was funny, quick-witted, but most of all, she was understanding. He could understand exactly why she was the sort of person people would want to be their doctor. When he was speaking to her, he could tell that she was paying her full attention to him, as if the rest of the world didn’t exist.
The fact that she genuinely wanted to spend more time with him was a mystery, to Anthony at least. Most people he knew tried to spend as little time with him as possible because he was such a closed book and it took the majority a few cracks to break through the hard exterior he had built. Sarah had broken through it within the first minute of their date. He knew that she was going to be special to him.
Sarah told Anthony the address and he quickly called an Uber for the two of them to share. It was a few minutes before it was to arrive, so he went back up to the barista to thank them for their drinks once again and he did slip another bill into the tip jar on behalf of himself and Sarah. The barista that made their drinks gave him a cheeky wink and told Anthony that he expected to see him again but this time as more than friends. Anthony knew that he had picked a good place for a first date and he would have to bring the team there as the ambience was good, but the quality of the coffee was something that other establishments wished they could make.
The Uber pulled up on the sidewalk and Anthony checked that it was the right one for the two of them before opening the door to allow Sarah to slide into the car. They shared a short conversation with the driver on their drive to the restaurant but most of the time Sarah spent sneaking looks at Anthony. It wasn’t like she was the first person to take a liking to his looks, but the more that she got to know him, the more she started to fall for the person he was.
As they pulled up to the restaurant, they both thanked the driver and Anthony was quick to dart around to open the door for Sarah once again. He really hoped that his acts of kindness weren’t too much for Sarah but continued to act in the same way as he opened the door to the restaurant for her. The pair waited to be seated and Anthony started looking over the menu to see what there was. It seemed like the majority of it was soft shell tacos and you picked the fillings that you wanted and he completely understood why Sarah liked this place so much. The variety was large and the cost was low.
They were seated in a small booth and ordered a pitcher of margarita to share, Anthony insisted that they got some glasses even though they both knew that they would be using straws to drink out of the jug. “Usually, I just get the steak, chicken and black beans as a filling, but that’s just what me and Rebecca are a fan of,” Sarah told Anthony. He nodded back in appreciation and quickly scanned the menu but told her as she was the one with the knowledge of this place, she should get what she knew was good. When the food arrived, Anthony’s eyes widened. They only ordered a few bowls of food, but they were filled to the top, almost overflowing, and he knew that if Sarah knew of this gem in the city, what other gems could she know of.
Anthony quickly whipped out his phone to take a few photos of the beautiful girl across from him as she wrapped her lips around the straw in the pitcher. Sarah looked incredibly carefree and she asked him to send her the photos to remind her of this date. He kept making a mess of his tacos and she kept laughing at him as somehow he had spilt salsa onto the side of the pitcher, this should have been impossible for the average person, but Sarah was learning that Anthony was more than just the average person. He had the ability to make her laugh for hours on end, as shown by the fact that their date had continued for much longer than either of them were expecting.
“Could we get a portion of churros too?” Sarah asked Anthony sweetly, “I know it might not be on your meal plan, but they’re so good.” Anthony nodded, knowing that his trainers would be able to notice he had gone off plan, but how could he say no to the girl he had it bad for.
Sarah knew that this might be out of her comfort zone, but she wanted to try it nonetheless. She picked up a churro from the small bucket on their table, dipped it in the chocolate sauce and leant over to try and feed Anthony the dessert. She was lucky that he noticed what she was trying to do and opened his mouth to try the sweet treat. As he started chewing on it, he realised why Sarah had wanted to try these. These churros were the best that he had ever had and by the smile on her face, Sarah knew that she had made a good choice in bringing him to this place.
Quietly, Sarah excused herself from the table to go to the washroom when they had finished the churros. She texted Rebecca to let her know that she could do whatever she wanted for dinner as she had already eaten, then fluffed her hair up in the mirror, ensuring that she was still presentable. When she returned to the table, Anthony was finishing off the margarita and she couldn’t help giggle. “Everything has been paid for,” Anthony told her. “As I said, my treat.”
Sarah rolled her eyes slightly, which didn’t go unnoticed by Anthony but he chose to ignore it as he offered her his hand and the pair walked out of the restaurant. Sarah wasn’t particularly sure what had come over her during the evening, but she still hadn’t had enough of his company so asked if he just wanted to go on a walk before she headed home. He agreed and they began to walk the streets of New York city aimlessly.
Eventually, somewhere in the city, Anthony checked his watch hoping that it was before 8 pm so he could get a relatively good sleep before the morning skate. He was in luck, it was half-past seven so he told Sarah that he needed to get back to his place soon but wanted to make sure that she had gotten home safe too. Sarah blushed slightly as she had heard from Rebecca’s many failed dates that most of the men she went to dinner with didn’t care if she got home safely unless they wanted sex from her. Both Sarah and Rebecca wanted to find someone who cared about them, not someone who wanted to use their body and add another notch to their bedpost.
Sarah pulled out her phone to figure out where she was and which train lines she needed to jump on to get back to her apartment. “Sarah,” Anthony said, “let me call you an Uber, that way I know you’ve made it back safely.”
She flinched slightly, unsure if she could trust Anthony with her address so offered a compromise, “how about I pay for the Uber and you pay it back to me if you’re so insistent on paying for it,” Sarah laughed. Anthony agreed and allowed the girl to call the car.
The ride took about 15 minutes as the traffic had passed rush hour and both of them were sitting comfortably in the back seats of the car. Anthony had kept his hand clasped with Sarah and began to rub small circles on the back of her hand, to ensure that she felt safe. Sarah quickly checked to see what Rebecca was doing, watching Brooklyn 99 in bed, and sent her a message to say that she was almost back. Rebecca swiftly responded making sure that Sarah knew that she would want all the details of what happened to which Sarah rolled her eyes.
Anthony caught her doing this, so Sarah passed her phone to him so he could read the text too. He lightly chuckled but before he could type a reply to Rebecca, the car began to slow down as they reached the complex where she lived. The pair thanked the driver, and Sarah made the split-second decision to tip him well as he drove them safely. As Sarah stepped out of the car, Anthony was there offering her his hand and they walked to the front door. He waited until the Uber was out of sight before speaking.
“I had a really good day today,” he started, remembering Anders' words of encouragement, “and I’d really like to see you again.”
“I’d love to see you again too,” Sarah replied, looking up into Anthony’s eyes. She rose onto her tiptoes and leant in towards him and he almost had an internal meltdown, but instead, he leaned in towards her too. The pair shared a short but sweet first kiss and Anthony brought Sarah into a tight hug.
“I don’t know if this is too fast or not,” Anthony started, trying not to ramble his head off, “but, would you like to be my girlfriend? You’ve caught my eye every time we’ve met and I just thi-”
He was cut off by Sarah pressing her lips to his once again but this kiss was slightly less innocent. Her tongue slipped into his mouth gently and it felt right, but Anthony knew that if he didn’t stop now, he would have a harder time stopping further down the line. “Yes,” Sarah told him firmly, “yes, I would love to be your girlfriend.” He pulled her in for one final kiss before wishing her a good night.
Anthony, thank you for an amazing afternoon and evening, I can’t wait to see you again. Classes will probably be kicking my ass, but we can grab coffee whenever you’re near the hospital?x
Sarah sent the text as she was slumped on her bed. Anthony had made her feel things that she hadn’t felt in years. The affection that he showed towards her made her feel loved? Was that the right word, it was something new that she enjoyed, he was an amazing person to spend time with and she couldn’t wait to see him again.
Rebecca pushed a mug of coffee towards Sarah as she tried to scope out the situation from the previous night. All she knew was that the two of them had spent a lot longer with each other than they had planned to. She wanted detail, but not too much detail as sex lives should stay private, to which Sarah blushed, reminding her friend that she still hadn’t done that with anyone yet. Sarah told her everything, from the coffee shop, to the Mexican place, to just wandering around the city. Rebecca could sense that there was something that Sarah hadn’t told her, she knew not to push as this would be unfair on her friend.
“Andhekindakissedmeandaskedmetobehisgirlfriend,” Sarah rambled. Rebecca’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Did Sarah just say what she thought she did?
“Could you say that again, but slightly slower?” Rebecca asked, trying to process what Sarah had just said to her.
“And he kinda kissed me, and asked me to be his girlfriend,” Sarah repeated, hiding behind the sleeves of her shirt, making sure that her blush wasn’t visible.
“You’re dating him, aren’t you?” Rebecca asked, even though she knew the answer.
All Sarah could do was nod and Sarah brought her into a tight hug, “you deserve to be happy, and I can tell he makes you happy,” Rebecca whispered into her best friend’s ear.
It seemed like the next month went a lot faster than Anthony or Sarah could imagine. He met up with her two or three times a week for a coffee or to take her out for lunch. It was the best time for them as they were less likely to be spotted by fans and Anthony was often at games or on a plane during the evening so dinner dates were hard to come by. Now, this wasn’t to say that they didn’t go for dinner, it was usually at one of their places, they did kick their roommates out for the eating portion of the evening, but they usually crashed by the time the couple were watching a movie to end the evening. When Sarah went to Anthony’s place, she began to stay over because she didn’t want to risk going home alone late at night, which he understood.
He said that she could sleep in his bed and he’d take the sofa but Sarah told him that couples could share a bed. He was stumped, he knew that if he shared a bed with her he might start thinking with something other than his brain, but she insisted that the Islanders couldn’t have their star winger hurting himself because he was sleeping on a sofa. Anthony sighed, but agreed to share a bed with her.
As she left his en-suite barefaced, he was able to take in her natural beauty. His oversized shirt engulfed her petite body and he opened his arms to bring her in for a cuddle. Sarah immediately relaxed into Anthony’s arms, it had become her safe space, and he kissed her forehead softly. “C’mon,” Anthony whispered, “you’re tired, let’s sleep yeah?” He didn’t receive a verbal answer, but the gentle snores were an answer enough.
Anthony didn’t know what to expect when Sarah asked him to accompany her Christmas shopping. Was she a shopaholic, someone who knew exactly what gift to get for each member of her family, or did she pick up what she thought looked good? Apparently, she had a list for each family member that she needed to get a gift for but she refused to show him what was on the list for him. They went to Macy’s, Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue and after three hours following his girlfriend and helping her carry the bags around, his feet were aching. He had managed to find somewhere for them to grab a quick lunch.
“So,” Anthony started as he placed down their drinks on the table in front of them, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” Sarah raised one of her eyebrows, she was slightly worried because Anthony was radiating some nerves.
“I don’t need to hide a body, do I?” She laughed, trying to ease some of the nerves that he was clearly feeling.
“Nah, I promise,” he replied. “It’s technically two questions but-”
“Baby,” Sarah reached over to grasp his hand in hers, “take your time.” She looked at him lovingly, they hadn’t said the words to each other just yet, but Sarah was feeling things for Anthony that she hadn’t felt for anybody else.
“You know how I’m playing on Christmas Eve,” Anthony began. Sarah nodded as she took a bite into her sandwich, allowing him to continue. “I was wondering if you and your parents wanted to come and watch?”
“Of course baby,” Sarah replied enthusiastically. “I mean, they know I’m dating you, and have been asking about coming to a game as Newark really isn’t far.” Anthony rolled his eyes at this as he knew exactly how close Newark was. “You said there were two questions?” Sarah prompted him.
“Yeah, do you want to come to Quebec with me during bye week?” He asked. Sarah almost choked on her bite of sandwich, was he really asking her to come home with him for a week?
“I’ll need to see if I’m free,” she stuttered out, not really sure how to answer the question.
“Let’s get through the game with your family first,” Anthony reassured her, “you can make your decision on Quebec at any time, baby.”
At practice the next day, Anthony was quick to corner Anders and explain the situation. He had invited his girlfriend and her family to their game and was wondering if he should offer them all jerseys or nothing, and he was starting to overwork himself. “Dude,” Anders told the young winger, “get her a jersey if you want her to wear one, get the rest of the family scarves or something. Aren’t they all Devils fans anyways?” Anthony nodded after hearing how much Steven could ramble on about the stats of the current Devils team. “Something small, maybe get them to be left on their seats?”
And that’s exactly what Anthony did, he gave Sarah one of his game-worn jerseys and left a scarf and hat on the seat of her parents and two brothers. The five of them took in the atmosphere present and consumed slightly too many nachos. Anthony made sure that they came down to ice level before puck drop and he flicked a puck over the ice for each member of the family. It was a lot easier to get one to Steven and Simon because they towered over both their parents and younger sister.
“That boy of yours is nice,” Sarah’s mother commented, genuinely taking an interest in the boy who her only daughter was seeing.
“I wouldn’t be dating him otherwise,” Sarah replied, mesmerised at the speed Anthony could reach on the ice. “He’s been good to me so far, but it's only been a month and a half.”
“It seems like a lot longer,” Steven butted in. “She’s been heart-eyed over him since they first met.” Sarah resisted the temptation to roll her eyes but reluctantly nodded in agreement. It wasn’t like her eldest brother was wrong, so she had no basis to argue.
“Just be careful,” Simon, her other brother, advised. “I know how hockey players can be.”
“Just because all the players you knew in your frat were sleeping with a different girl every night, doesn’t mean that all hockey players do that,” Sarah sighed, hoping that the puck was going to drop soon. She chose to sit between her parents, with the hat that her boyfriend had gifted to each family member perched on her head.
Hockey wasn’t the easiest sport to understand, but she was able to explain the basics to her mother as the first period went by. Anthony behaved himself for the most part aside from a few swears that the entire crowd could hear when he missed a shot that was apparently easy for him. Sarah sent him a text during the intermission, but she wasn’t sure if he would be able to see it, so she made her way to the food stands to collect some more snacks for the game.
As she made her way back through the crowd to her seat, she felt some eyes giving her more attention than she thought that she deserved. It was strange, to say the least, but she tried to shake it off and wanted to enjoy the rest of the evening with her family. They all cheered when Anthony got his first point of the game, an assist for a Barzal goal. They all booed when the Bruins scored to level the playing field. But the best moment was when there were 5.8 seconds left on the clock and Anthony broke away from the defenders, took on the goaltender and scored. He looked up to see Sarah in the stands and pointed in her direction, not trying to give away who she was, but their eyes met and that was when Anthony knew.
Anthony knew that he wanted Sarah to be at all of his games, he wanted her to be the one he came home to, he wanted her to be the one at his side at the galas. Anthony loved her.
Did he really have to be named the first star of the night? All Anthony wanted to do was see his girlfriend who he hoped was waiting outside the dressing room. He tried to stay focussed when talking to the reporters, and when he made his way back onto the ice but his mind was somewhere else. He wanted to get a quick shower and then go out for dinner with his girlfriend’s family. Was that too much to ask for? Apparently so.
As Anthony walked out of the changing room, Anders had to remind him that he either needed to tie his tie or lose it completely somewhere in the middle wasn’t ideal, he spotted his girlfriend. Sarah ran towards Anthony and pulled him into a hug. “Well done Mr first star of the game,” she whispered into his ear, slightly seductively.
“If you keep talking like that, we won’t be going to dinner tonight,” Anthony joked. In response, Sarah rolled her eyes but dragged him towards her family.
“Anthony, meet my mother, my father and Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Steven and Simon,” Sarah explained, pointing at each member as she said their name. Anthony felt like he had already been accepted by the family as Sarah’s mother brought him into a tight hug. He shook hands with her brothers and father and Simon immediately brought him into a quick conversation about his intentions with his sister. Anthony was truthful saying that he saw a future with her, even though they hadn’t been together for too long. It seemed to be the right answer as Steven then started a conversation about where they were going for dinner.
The walk from the area to the restaurant took about five minutes and the six of them were quickly seated. Meeting the parents was never something that Anthony was good at, but Sarah made it easy for him. Her parents asked him about Canada, playing for a hockey team and what life was like being someone who could be recognised frequently. Her brothers asked about what he spent his beefy, their words not his, paycheck on, how he was looking after their younger sister and the one that Sarah physically stopped Anthony asking, how often did he pick up girls on the road.
“Shut up and eat your pizza,” Sarah scolded her brothers for even thinking of asking her boyfriend about his previous escapades. She didn’t want to think of Anthony in that way and she hoped that he didn’t have eyes for anyone other than her.
Aside from this question, Anthony felt like a member of the family and could tell that they all wanted him to genuinely be a part of the family. They got along like a house on fire and Anthony loved the dynamic between the siblings, they were able to chirp each other much better than anyone on the ice could. Simon or Steven could say something, but Sarah always had a much better comeback than either of them were prepared for. He was happy that he integrated into the family so quickly and couldn’t wait to bring Sarah home to Quebec.
Dinner finished up and Anthony refused to let Sarah’s father pay the bill, however much he insisted that Anthony was a guest of the family and didn’t need to foot the cost. Eventually, the older man caved and said that he would leave a tip on behalf of everyone but Anthony was allowed to pay for the dinner. As Anthony went to the bar to pay, Sarah’s father whispered in her ear, “don’t let him get away, he’s amazing.” Sarah blushed, the compliment wasn’t even directed at her but at someone else she cared about. Anthony fitted seamlessly into their family dynamic and it made Sarah realise; she was in love with Anthony.
“Thank you for having me tonight,” Anthony spoke to all members of the Milkins family. “I hope you have a great Christmas and I hope to see you all at another game soon.”
“It’s been a pleasure having you tonight, Anthony,” Mr Milkins said as he shook Anthony’s hand once more. “As for the hockey, tell us a time and place and we’ll be there.” He let out a hearty laugh as he let the other members of his family say goodbye to the young couple.
Anthony watched as Sarah embraced both of her parents, reminding them that she and Rebecca would be over at 11 am to open presents with them, and opened his phone to call an Uber to her apartment complex. It was a short wait for the two, once the Milkins’ had left them, and this time Sarah made sure that she was wrapped up for the New York winter.
Sarah had wanted to invite Anthony to the celebrations that her family were having, but she thought that it would be slightly too early. They both shared what they were doing in the car to her apartment. Apparently, Mat was going to attempt to cook himself and Anthony a roast ham but were both prepared to go to the Martin house in case everything went wrong. So, Sarah knew that she expected to see photos of them with the Martin family because there was no way in hell that either of them would be able to make food. Sarah was going to drive across to her parents’ house, with Rebecca in the passenger seat singing Christmas songs. It was going to be like every other Christmas. They’d have turkey because that was what her father’s family always did, they were British, open presents as soon as all members of the family were there, and end the day by playing an obnoxious number of board games.
It made Anthony think about his future, would he want to go back to Quebec or would he go to New Jersey? Would he spoil every family member he had? How about the food, would it be a fancy meat in the centre of the table or would they just decide to eat something they usually ate? It didn’t even cross his mind that Sarah was in every single one of the plans because it felt right for him to include her. There wasn’t anyone else who he wanted to include in a family occasion, it would be crazy for him to think that anyone else could be in her position.
The car slowed to a halt and both Anthony and Sarah jumped out of the car. He followed her into her house so they could share their Christmas wishes with each other. No gifts were being shared as they were meeting up on Boxing Day to exchange gifts, even though Sarah was adamant that she didn’t need him to buy anything because she had everything that she needed. Anthony said the exact same thing, but both of them knew that the other had bought gifts. It was basically impossible for them not to buy gifts for the other because they both wanted to show how much they appreciated one another.
“Have a good Christmas day baby,” Anthony said, bringing Sarah into a tight hug as the pair stood in her hallway. “Don’t eat too much turkey and drive safe, yeah?”
“You got it,” Sarah replied, looking up into her boyfriend’s eyes. “Mom will probably give me a load of leftovers that I can cook on boxing day?” Anthony nodded and agreed that it would be a super simple idea for them to do and would be an easy lunch for them both to pick at as they shared gifts. The two of them stood in the hallway for a bit longer before Anthony checked the time and realised that he should probably head home so that his girlfriend could get a decent amount of sleep before driving. He called an Uber for himself back to his place and kissed Sarah a few times more before the honks from his car got so frequent that she pushed him out of her front door. She waved at him as his day started to drive away.
Christmas Day at the Milkins house was chaotic, to say the least. Sarah and Rebecca arrived just before 11 am and there was excess wrapping paper covering lampshades and on almost every soft surface. Sarah’s younger cousins were running around the house, causing havoc as usual, and both of the girls found refuge in the kitchen along with the other adults. Most of the adults had an alcoholic beverage in their hand, but both of them decided that if one of them wasn’t going to drink, the other wouldn’t drink either.
Gifts were exchanged, non-alcoholic beverages were drunk by the girls, and a lot of food was consumed. Turkey, roast potatoes, vegetables, pigs in blankets, nut roast, gravy, cranberry sauce. You name it, it was on the long, beautifully decorated table. The children pulled crackers with each other and the flimsy paper hats rested on their heads. Laughs filled the house and Sarah was enjoying herself until one of her aunts asked her a question.
“So,” her aunt started, “where is this big hockey shot of your boyfriend?” Sarah wanted to let out a loud sigh and roll her eyes, but the entire room had gone silent, expecting an answer from her imminently.
“Anthony is back in New York, spending time with his housemate and is going to call his family later,” she replied, hoping that people would understand that she didn’t want to talk to her extended family about her very new relationship. Her aunt didn’t seem to understand her tone and continued to question her.
“But, you haven’t had a relationship ever. Why do you think that dating a hockey player is a good idea? Are you dating him for his money? Because I saw the contract that he signed,” Her aunt pushed.
Sarah watched her parents’, her brothers’ and Rebecca’s eyes widen at this comment. Anyone who knew a shred of knowledge about Sarah knew that she would never date anyone for their money, she wasn’t like that. She was dating Anthony because she enjoyed being in his company, he filled a hole in her heart that she didn’t even know was there. Sarah was dating him because she loved him. There didn’t need to be another reason.
“I am dating Anthony, because he is a lovely person to be around and I enjoy spending time with him,” Sarah replied sternly. “There doesn’t need to be another reason.” Sarah placed her fork down on the table and took a large gulp of the apple juice in her champagne glass.
Her aunt understood that she didn’t want to take any more questions about her boyfriend and Sarah picked up her fork again, stabbing a potato forcefully. The tension in the room was present and no one knew how to cut it, except for Sarah’s mother. She noticed that most people had already finished their food and asked Sarah and Rebecca if they wanted to help clear and the girls agreed quickly.
Sarah’s mother apologised profusely for the behaviour of her sister, but the medical student told her mother that she didn’t need to apologise for something that she didn’t do. It was up to Sarah’s aunt to apologise if she felt it fit, it was no one else’s responsibility but her aunt’s.
The tension was eased with Christmas pudding, cheesecake and a plethora of other desserts. The family resumed their comfortable chatter that only occurred at events such as Christmas or Easter. Rebecca and Sarah were some of the first to leave after the games were played, stating that neither of them wanted to drive in the snow whilst it was dark, which everyone understood. They chatted about the behaviour of some of the family members, purposely excluding that one aunt because it wasn’t something that either of them wanted to discuss. It was a comfortable atmosphere, and both were glad because it was the most at home either of them had felt all day. It wasn’t that they didn’t enjoy the day, because they did, it was the number of family members that neither of them were expecting to see. They arrived home safely and once they had lazily strewn their gifts on the couch, they both called it a night and headed to bed. Sarah was looking forward to Boxing Day as Rebecca needed to go to work so she and Anthony would have the apartment to themselves.
A loud knock on the front door of Sarah’s apartment started her as she drank her morning coffee. She was expecting Anthony to arrive a bit later so was slightly unsure of who could be at the door, but she was positively surprised by the sight of her smiling boyfriend behind the door. Anthony pulled Sarah into a hug and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Joyeux noël mon amour,” he whispered into her hairline. He had missed her on the main day of festivities and hoped that her mother had given her some leftovers as Mat was able to make something for Christmas Day, but it was a bit of a disaster.
“So,” Sarah had to compose herself as she was laughing, “you’re telling me that Mat put a ham in the oven for 10 hours and didn’t check it once?”
“It was worse,” Anthony continued with the story, “he didn’t even want to go to the Martin house so we just made a stirfry and ate it whilst watching Elf.” Sarah had to control her laughter because she didn’t want to disturb any of her neighbours. Anthony shuffled over to sit next to Sarah and pulled out a small bag that she hadn’t noticed until just then. “I know you said no gifts, but I couldn’t not get you something.”
“Baby,” she groaned but moved slightly to find the bag that she had prepared for him.
“So, I’m not allowed to get you anything, but you’re gonna get me some stuff?” he moaned, rolling his eyes.
“I don’t care,” Sarah stated, passing the small bag across to Anthony. He handed her a small bag, filled to the top with crepe paper and she responded with a roll of her eyes.
“You first,” Anthony, well, he tried to suggest it but it came out a little more forceful than he hoped. She made her way through the obnoxious amount of paper, throwing a small amount across the couch to hit Anthony until she made her way to a small box. It was a dark blue jewellery box, from a place that Sarah had never heard of but looked incredibly fancy. She carefully opened the box, revealing a bracelet with a charm attached. A heart, with the date they started dating. Sarah lifted her head and met eyes with Anthony. She couldn’t believe how beautiful it was.
“Do you like it?” he asked, slightly nervous that he hadn’t picked something good.
“Anthony,” Sarah replied breathlessly, “it’s beautiful.” She lifted the bracelet out of the box and offered her wrist to Anthony so he could put it on for her. Although she could put it on herself, she thought that it would be nicer for him to do it. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles before unclasping the bracelet and caressing the soft skin of her wrist. Gently, he placed the jewellery over Sarah’s wrist, then after he clasped it closed, he kissed her wrist.
“Ma chérie,” Anthony gasped, trying to keep his emotions in check. His girlfriend, who he loved even though he hadn’t told her yet, was wearing a gift from him. He did take a lot longer than he thought was necessary to find something that he thought was perfect. “It looks perfect on my perfect girl.” He lifted Sarah’s knuckles to his lips and kissed them softly.
“How am I meant to top that?” Sarah sighed, still looking into Anthony’s eyes. She passed him his gift and he pulled out three neatly wrapped gifts. He started with the smallest one and opened it to find a set of three ties with matching socks. Sarah claimed that he needed to up his tie game on game day and this was her way of solving that issue. The medium-sized one was a new leather wallet with a matching Airpods case. Anthony’s wallet was falling apart and he had to use an elastic band to hold it together so that he didn’t lose cash or his cards. He thanked her profusely because it was something he genuinely needed a new wallet. The Airpods case was something that he also needed as his current case was absolutely filthy and Sarah refused to even touch his set when they were watching something together.
The final box was slightly larger and he opened it to find a classic style radio. Sarah knew that he wanted something nice to have on his workbench to show off when his mother came to visit and this connected to AM/FM along with Bluetooth capabilities which he absolutely loved. Anthony struggled to be in the kitchen, even when he wasn’t cooking, without music so to have something like this was perfect for him. He pulled her into his lap to thank her with a kiss but it immediately became heated. Their tongues danced around each other and both of his hands found their way just above the swell of her butt, staying at a respectable distance from crossing her boundaries. Sarah’s hands didn’t know where they should be placed, they moved from around his neck, to on his abs and ended up settling with one around his neck and the other resting on his bicep.
Anthony tested the waters by moving one of his hands to cup her butt cheek and resting it there without doing anything else. She didn’t complain so as they continued to kiss, he gently grasped the soft flesh, allowing Sarah to moan into his mouth. “Shall we move this to the bedroom?” Anthony asked and Sarah responded with a nod.
#ahockeywrites#anthony beauvillier fic#anthony beauvillier story#anthony beauvillier imagine#anthony beauvillier#nhl fic#nhl imagine#nhl writing#hockey fic#hockey imagine#hockey writing#islanders18#ociasg story
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in gentle moments
a mayward miniseries
masterlist
Part 7 of 9
kisses on collar bones or exposed tummies.
Graduation.
JJ maybe goes a little overboard but Pope has graduated college with honors and he can’t help it. He’s proud. He’s so proud that he throws the biggest party after the graduation, offering to pay for Pope’s parents to stay in a hotel and making sure the Pogues could all make it as well as some of the new friends they’ve made since they’ve moved, specifically Pope’s school friends. It’s a lot of work but the look on Pope’s face when he walks in the door makes it all worth it.
The first thing he does is walk over and kiss JJ because he’s so happy. Just that in itself makes the party worth it, but Pope’s face is lit up the whole night, making rounds as he talks to his friends, spends time with his parents and catches up with the Pogues, who they haven’t seen in a few months. JJ wants to follow him around like a lost puppy, but he’s hosting and wow, hosting parties is tiring.
They’ve never really done big parties before. The last one was their high school graduation and that had been on the smaller side. Pope’s parents threw the Pogues a small party a few days after graduation and that was it. This party was so much bigger, so many more people. It meant so much more food, making the rounds to make sure bowls were full and the cooler was stalked.
It left him with barely any time with Pope, but he could practically feel the excitement in the air, would catch Pope’s gaze every once and a while and JJ knew that he would get to spend tonight with Pope, after everyone left and they were able to fall into bed together. Maybe Pope would be in the mood or maybe they’d just kiss lazily till they fell asleep. It didn’t matter to JJ what they did so long as he was in Pope’s arms.
“Shit man, this party is great,” John B smiles, slapping him on the back. He’s already said that but JJ can hear the little slur in his words and knows he’s had a few too many, but Sarah is standing off to the side nursing the same glass of wine so he knows John B will be fine. “You must really love him.”
JJ furrowed his brow in question, confused by the comment, but John B’s cheeks are pink from alcohol and he’s smiling all teeth and happiness. JJ doesn’t push, just smiles at his friend before he glances at Pope, chatting with one of his classmates. “Yeah, I do.” John B claps him on the back a few times before he stumbles off to find Sarah, eyes sparkling.
JJ simply shakes his head at his friend, going off to restock the cooler. Kie is the next one to find him, girlfriend trailing behind looking a little lost. They only met her once before so JJ imagines she’s still a little unsure of their presence. She smiles politely at him though as Kie practically flings herself forward, holding him tight. JJ chuckles, patting her on the back as she pulls away. “I’m so proud of you,” she smiles.
“I’m not the one who graduated,” JJ brushes off, but his heart is swelling with happiness because she looks so proud of him.
“But look at this life that you’ve made.” The words have him tearing up a bit because he doesn’t know how he got so lucky. He was never supposed to leave the island, never get away from the confines of his father and his legacy. This was never supposed to be his life, in a home with a boyfriend who he loved and he loved him fully in return, who made sure he never felt sad or got in his head too much. This house they made their home is everything he could have ever wanted. He didn’t need anything else.
He doesn’t say anything as he pulls Kie into another hug, enjoying her light laugh as she presses a kiss to his cheek. She graces him with one last bright smile before she is off, pulling her girlfriend along excitedly behind her.
The party is pretty quiet after that as people start to trickle out one by one. It’s eventually only the Pogues and Pope’s parents. Mr. and Mrs. Heyward call it a night when Mrs. Heyward starts to drift to sleep on the couch, head leaning against her husband’s shoulder.
“Thanks, JJ,” Mrs. Heyward smiles, warm and sleepy. She pulls him into a hug, rubs his back in this soothing way before she pulls back. She places a hand on each cheek, catching his eyes. “I’m so thankful for you and everything you’ve done for me son.”
Was it their goal to make JJ cry? Was there a bet on how long he could last without crying because he wants to as Mr. Heyward pulls him in, claps him on the back a few times and says just for him, “Thanks for having us, son.” And JJ brushes a stray tear from his cheek as he pulls away, clearing his throat as he brushes it off as nothing. They turn to Pope next, telling him how proud they are and that they’ll see him tomorrow before they head out.
“We’re heading out too. I know you guys probably want to fuck,” John B announces just as the door closes and JJ just gives him a look and Pope laughs good heartedly.
“You’re an ass,” JJ settles on, giving him a shove before he pulls him in. The pair go down the row of their friends before it is suddenly just them standing in the living room alone.
JJ is suddenly very, very tired.
“Thank you for this,” Pope says, pressing a kiss to his temple. JJ leans into the touch, Pope laughing lightly when he ends up simply leaning his full weight on the other. “Let's get you to bed. We can clean in the morning.” JJ nods, allowing Pope to lead him into their room.
Pope is ready first, stretching out in bed, but JJ moves slower in his sleepy state, collapsing in the bed when he finally pulls on a pair of pajama pants.
JJ shifts, finding his face pressed against Pope’s bare stomach, shirt having ridden up when he lied down. JJ presses a kiss to the exposed skin before he crawls up the bed, collapsing on Pope as he curls up against his chest, face presses into Pope’s neck.
“Really JJ, thank you for tonight,” Pope repeats, fingers moving to brush blond locks out of JJ’s eyes. JJ simply hums at the words pressing a kiss to Pope’s collarbone. “I love you.”
JJ would return the words, but sleep has already called him as Pope’s fingers brush through his hair, putting him to sleep instantly.
Throwing parties is a lot of work.
@ronnieweasley @dreamypope @pope-obx @thistreasurehunter @midsommers @eddie-and-richie @robbingthebank @frenchmarshmalloww @lionhearttedgrrl @asteroid575 @drewswannabegirl @rainforestrat @loveop5500 @laorbust01 @hmspogues @babygirl-thewriter @verified-dumbass @spideymyluv @charlie-theduckgoose @walker-friendly @psycho-dork @katie-mcgreat @heartbelongs2zouis @ethereal-honeygold @shreckluver7 @elegantmail @shipperssafehaven @magmavee @kingnae@originalstarlighttiger @angelbeee @the-pogues @halfkook @lemon-patches
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#mayward#mayward fic#mayward fanfic#mayward fanfiction#jjpope#jjpope fic#jjpope fanfic#jjpope fanfiction#jj#jjmaybank#pope#pope heyward#outer banks#obx#e writes#in gentle moments#can we just take a moment to think about how excited jj would be when pope graduates#he would be bragging out his smart boyfriend
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Peggy/Steve Reunion Series
Peggy and Steve grudgingly attend a barbecue hosted by his misogynist coworker. It goes as well as expected.
“Whose barbecue are we going to again?” Peggy asked, turning her head and watching the New York skyline fade further into the distance. They had already been driving for nearly twenty minutes and based on her review of the map, they weren’t anywhere close to their destination.
“Richard Troughton. He teaches sixth grade science.”
“I thought you didn’t like the sixth grade science teacher,” Peggy said. “Isn’t he the one who labels all of his food in the teacher’s breakroom?”
“He’s not my favorite person,” Steve said gingerly. “But, he started pointing out how we never go to anything he invites us to. He still brings up Christmas.”
“In July? Honestly, you’d think he would find something better to spend his time on.”
Steve smirked. “Anyway, it’s the nice thing to do.”
Peggy opened the map in front of her again, assessing their progress, and said, “Yes, well, if he wanted more people to come to his parties, perhaps he should have settled in a more centrally located area.”
“We should almost be there, right?”
“Define almost,” she returned glibly.
“Well, just think of it as more quality time together. We haven’t gotten a lot of that since Sarah was born.”
“You’re not wrong about that,” she said, leaning her head back against the seat. Sarah had just turned eight months, and it felt like they hadn’t had a true evening alone for just that long. Still, there was a price for the momentary freedom. She glanced over at Steve and asked, “Am I wrong for being mildly worried about her?”
Steve smiled softly and shook his head. “No, I am, too. But, Howard’s managed to keep Tony alive for almost two years now. I’m sure he can manage watching her for an afternoon.”
“You’re right, darling. Besides, Maria will be there.”
Steve laughed. “Yes, good point.”
As they approached a stop light, Peggy glanced down at the map and said, “Oh, turn here! Look at that, we finally have a turn.”
“There’s hope for us yet.”
Approximately ten minutes, and three turns, later, they pulled to a stop in front of a rustic farmhouse, the driveway already filled by several cars. Steve parked on the street and walked around the car to open the door for Peggy, who unsurprisingly was already halfway out of the car, turning back quickly to pick up her purse.
“Can you grab the salad, darling?” Peggy asked, crouching down and checking her lipstick in the side mirror. He collected the salad from the back seat and Peggy matched his stride as they walked toward the house. Steve glanced over at her, his gaze lingering for a beat too long, and Peggy asked, “What is it?”
“You look really nice,” he said.
“You’ve seen me in this before.”
“I know,” he said with a soft grin.
Peggy felt her cheeks flush, and she asked, “Would it be inappropriate to kiss you in front of – who’s house are we at again?”
Steve smirked, sliding his arm around her waist. “You know exactly where we are, Peg.”
“Yes, I do.” She dropped her voice and added, “Do you think he labels things in his own refrigerator?”
“Only one way to find out.”
She tilted her face up toward him and he gave her a quick kiss. As they walked the rest of the way up to the door, Peggy found herself wishing they had different plans for the afternoon. Particularly, ones where they were alone.
Steve hadn’t even knocked on the door when it was opened, a beefy man with a neat mustache and glasses, who Peggy could only assume was Richard Troughton, greeting them with a wide grin.
“Am I seeing things?” he said broadly, reaching up and readjusting his glasses. “Is Steve Rogers actually here at my house?” He looked over his shoulder and said, “Barbara, I can’t believe this!”
“Richard, dear, don’t make them just stand there,” a small woman said, her blonde hair bouncing jauntily at her shoulders. Bright pink lipstick matched her pink dress, and she ushered them in as she said, “Steve, I have heard so much about you from Richard. You two have some fun, don’t you?”
Peggy looked over at her husband, who had never reported a moment of fun with the man. He smiled blandly and said, “The most.”
“You must be Steve’s wife,” Richard said to Peggy.
“I’m Peggy,” she said.
“Nice to meet you, Peggy. This is my wife, Barbara.”
His wife gave her a small wave, and Peggy said, “You have a beautiful home. Such an interesting area around here.”
“We like being a bit off the beaten path. Don’t we, Barb?”
“Yes, absolutely,” she said.
“Well, anyway, I’m going to get Steve and I a beer out back.”
Peggy went to follow them and Richard said, “Oh, you don’t want to come with us. It’s all the men out there. You’d be bored to tears. Barb, why don’t you take Peggy to the kitchen? That’s where all the women are. You ladies can talk about clothes and hairdos or…whatever you women talk about.”
“Quite right,” Peggy said in a stilted tone.
Richard noticed that Steve was still holding the salad bowl and said, “Why don’t you give that to Peggy? I’m sure she’s happy to take it to the kitchen.”
Peggy bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from making a smart remark and took the bowl from Steve with a tight grin. He cast her an apologetic look and then followed Richard out the backyard for a beer. Peggy walked with Barbara into the kitchen and found what appeared to be all the wayward wives. They were putting out the food for the lunch and unsurprisingly discussing matters beyond clothes and “hairdos”. Barbara took the salad from Peggy and brought it over to the counter where there was already a good selection of dishes.
“You’re new,” a woman said, coming up to Peggy. “I’m Helen.”
“Hello Helen, I’m Peggy Rogers.”
“You’re Steve Rogers’ wife,” Helen said excitedly. “He’s wonderful. I’m across the hall from him. I teach algebra.”
“Yes, I believe he’s mentioned you,” Peggy said slowly, grasping at a vague memory. When she caught on it, she said, “You’re the teacher who lobbied for longer lunch hours, aren’t you?”
Helen’s eyes lit up. “Yes, that was me!”
“I completely agreed with your proposal,” Peggy said. “Twenty minutes isn’t nearly enough time for the children.”
“Administration didn’t agree, but at least I tried.”
“I heard Principal Higgins is leaving end of the year, a savings grace if you ask me, so you can always try again,” another woman said, munching on cracker with cream cheese and chives. “I’m Margaret, by the way. I teach eighth grade English.”
“Lovely to meet you.”
“So, Peggy, what do you do?” Barbara asked, joining them and handing Peggy a mugful of punch. She brought it up to her mouth and was hit by a strong smell of whiskey. Perhaps there was hope for this party yet.
“I work for a telephone company.”
“Well, that sounds interesting,” Barbara intoned.
“Do you ever listen in on people’s calls?” Helen asked, garnering a few snickers from the other women. “What? I would definitely listen in on other people’s calls.”
Peggy smirked. “No, I can’t say I’ve done that.”
BBBBB
Richard grilled up a selection of hot dogs and burgers and after lunch everyone gradually made their way into the backyard. Peggy largely kept with the wives, partaking in meandering, if not pleasant, conversation. Sometime around dessert, Peggy noticed Richard disappear inside the house and then return with what appeared to be a small pistol. Barbara followed Peggy’s gaze and frowned before she said, “Don’t worry, it’s only a BB gun. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Set those beer cans on the tree stumps!” Richard said. “I’ll bet you ten dollars I can get them all!”
Barbara rushed over to her husband, and Peggy heard her say, “Do we really need to be doing this now, Richard?”
“Don’t worry, the men are just having some fun.”
“Yes, but dear-“
“I said don’t worry about it,” he snapped.
Peggy looked away before Barbara returned, but she noticed the tight set of her jaw. Barbara tucked her hair behind her ears and said, “Why don’t we head inside and start some coffee?”
“That’s a fine idea, Barb,” Helen said.
Peggy followed the women inside, glancing back at Steve. She could tell by the tight set of his shoulders that he was uncomfortable and she decided that this was as good of a time as any for them to leave. She quickly said goodbye to Barbara and then walked over to the men.
“Steve, darling, it’s time for us to call it a day.”
“You can’t be leaving already,” Richard said. “We haven’t even had coffee.”
“This was really great,” Steve said, clapping the other man on his shoulder. “Thanks for having us.”
“Steve, you haven’t even had a chance to shoot yet! Here, let’s make a deal. You get all three, you go home. You miss, we get you for one more drink. What do you say?”
“Steve,” Peggy said in a low voice.
“Oh boy, I know that tone,” Richard said with a hearty laugh. “You better choose wisely, Steve, or your old lady there may have something to say.”
Peggy bristled and said, “How about his old ladygets to shoot?”
Richard looked down at her with surprise. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Richard grinned wide and said, “I think I see a drink in my future. Alright, Peggy, be my guest.”
“Marvelous,” she said, taking the BB gun from him.
“Now, if you need us to move the cans closer-“
“That won’t be necessary,” Peggy said, leveling the gun and shooting each can clear through the center in a quick succession. She handed the gun back to Richard and coolly said, “It was lovely meeting you, Richard. Until next time?”
“Where in the world did you learn to shoot like that?”
BBBBB
On the ride back home, Peggy glanced over at her husband and said, “I forget sometimes how special you are. I saw the way Richard treated his wife.” She glanced down at her lap. “I remember how I was treated at the SSR. Like I was less than simply by virtue of my gender.”
“They were short sighted.”
“I know that,” she said. “But you never have been. From the moment we met, you have always treated me as an equal.”
“I could never see you as anything else.”
“I know,” she said softly, smiling over at him. “Now, tell me, do you think our appearance today absolves us of having to attend the Christmas party?”
“You outshot the host. We may not even be getting an invitation this year.”
“How unfortunate,” Peggy said with feigned contrition.
#steggy#steggy fanfiction#40s!steggy#domestic!steggy#peggy carter x steve rogers#agent carter#captain america#avengers endgame
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Chapter 5 - This Time Around
a Daryl Dixon x OFC collaboration written by @xmistressmistrustx
Rating: Explicit
Relationship: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character
Tags: Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Awkwardness, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Crush, Fluff and Humor, Angst and Humor, Mild Smut, Strong Language, Eventual Sex, Eventual Romance, Slow Burn, Canon Divergence, Some Canon Scenes and Dialogue
Chapters 15/?
Sleep. It’s when the body recovers and processes the day’s events. It makes things clearer and allows for a new perspective. Resting the mind, the body and the soul all at once. That is, where decent sleep can be attained.
Jess tossed and turned in her sleeping bag all night, tears staining her thin and threadbare pillow. Eventually, when the exhaustion of humiliation and rage had defeated her, she drifted off in the early hours of the morning only to dream of being chased and jolting awake a mere hour later. Her eyes felt puffy and stung with the reminder that emotionally, she desperately needed a break. She sat up, wiped the sleep from her eyes and faced the dread that festered deep inside. Facing everyone after the events of the night before was going to be tough, she knew that much.
When she emerged from her tent, she quickly scanned the camp, seeing no sign of Sarah and Jodie and figuring that it was a good start at least. Carol and Andrea offered her a small smile as they stood and talked by the RV and Dale lifted a hand in a small wave from his perch at the top. Aside from their small acknowledgements, no one else looked up as she headed for the food station. The minimal and careless reaction she received did something to aid her relief at least and she sensed her heart rate calm and her anxiety lessen.
After a night of replaying her recent torture by Sarah and Jodie, she wanted nothing more than to sit next to the one person she found solace with, but even he seemed too far out of reach. She knew deep down his distance from her was down to being associated with the girl that was constantly made fun of. She wasn’t the only one that had been humiliated. The thought of giving up on their friendship was not one she wanted to entertain and so, she had to at least try to talk to him.
Sitting on a rounded rock, alone and with eyes pinned on the still water, like a sheet of glass in front of him, Daryl could hear footsteps wandering across the gravel towards him. He sighed, knowing it was Jess and feeling more torn than ever. Half of him wanted to yell at her and make her go away. To tell her that he was not the type of person to maintain friendships and that he was better on his own, without the hassle of drawing attention from the lesser liked members of the group. The other half craved her company, her lighthearted banter, her smile, the gentle way she nudged his arm and laughed quietly when she was making fun of him. It was this half that was stronger, but he was locked in a war with them both.
“Hi” She said quietly.
A quick glance at her told him she had been severely affected by what had happened. Dark circles under her eyes told of a sleepless night spent crying and pouring over the details. The ‘what if’s’ the ‘maybe I could have’s’. His heart stung with sympathy but his face displayed nothing. A blank expression.
“Hey” He grunted.
She held out a metal bowl to him. It was another habit of their friendship that had suddenly become as routine as their nightly RV meeting place. She would wake as early as him, before many of the others would stir. She’d fix them some food and they’d sit together and eat quietly as the sun crept up into the sky and the warmth in the air became heavy and intense. Jess was never much of a morning person but her disturbed sleeping pattern and her unavoidable new life meant she was adapting and although she rarely spoke much before the others began to emerge from their tents, she enjoyed the fact that Daryl obviously felt the same about the comfort of the morning routine, having never complained or walked off until she moved first.
“Brought you some breakfast.” She told him.
“I ain't hungry.” He muttered. His body was rigid, stressed and on edge and no matter how many cigarettes he smoked, he could not ease the tension in his muscles. He wasn’t lying. Food was the last thing on his mind.
“You can always eat, Daryl.” She smiled.
“Said I ain't hungry.” He snapped. His chest constricted with guilt.
I’m being an asshole to her. Again. Why do I do this?
She immediately noticed his changed attitude towards her and joined the dots, realizing that he was angry about the previous night.
“Look, about last night-” She started
“-I don’t wanna talk about that.” He cut in
“But, I don’t-”
His head snapped around and his eyes met hers. To her dismay, they were filled with fury and she almost flinched at his aggressive attitude towards her.
“-What is wrong with you?! Huh?!” He raged “We ain’t gonna be no best friends! I don’t have friends n’ I don’t want ‘em neither! I don’t work that way! So just give it up!”
Her mouth dropped open and she blinked at him in disbelief. It was no secret that Daryl could be unpredictable and sharp tongued, but she had seen very little of it directed at her until that moment. Her entire body recoiled and screamed at her to leave before she was faced with more bitter disappointment and hurt.
Still clutching the bowl, she turned and walked away. Her path was blurred through yet more tears and she considered that if she was going to cry at anything since the turn, it would be the loss of her friends and family. But it was different, Daryl had changed things. Sarah and Jodie had changed things. She was mixed up, confused and frustrated.
Daryl grit his teeth and swallowed hard as he watched her walk away. Sliding from the rock, he started after her, boots noisily crashing through the pebbles of the shore. But his mind was too filled with complexities to have formed any kind of calm and coherent conversation. He stopped and raised his arms, his hands pushing into his hair on each side as he closed his eyes.
“Shit.”
He didn’t know why he was angry at her, logic told him that none of it was her fault. She was merely an unfortunate and easy target, but the humiliation was still raw and he still felt it from the night before. Always being an outcast and a target himself during high school and in the small, mountain town where he and his brother lived, Daryl had quickly become tired with being kicked when he was down and being dealt the worst hand. He evolved as he aged into what people that knew of him saw as a mini-me version of Merle and it was a judgement he couldn’t seem to shake and so eventually accepted. But the truth was, he wasn’t like Merle. He was empathetic and sensitive, two traits that would only get him targeted even more. He knew how Jess felt, maybe it was why he had raged at her, the all too familiar feeling of being so publicly ridiculed. Or, maybe it was because he felt genuine, powerful concern for her that had startled him and he didn’t know where it had come from or to do with it.
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Sarah flashed Daryl a wide grin as she approached him on the slope but received nothing but a scowl in return. She could see why the camp nerd had attached herself to him, he was brave, mysterious and surly. Not like the other men in the camp and he had garnered her admiration from the day she turned up with Jodie in tow, both shaking with fear and exhausted from the hike up the mountain. Merle had been easier to get through to, easier to persuade to follow her into the woods so she could use him to forget for a while.
It was an occurrence that he didn’t want a single soul to know about and gathered that Sarah felt the same. Daryl didn’t even register the first time she propositioned him, he’d shrugged off her passing, flirtatious comment as nothing, but it occurred to him when she tried a second time and made it more than obvious that she wanted something from him. He knew of girls like her. Whiter than white, rich kids from privileged backgrounds who love to make out that they’re so wholesome and in a position to persecute everyone else for their bad decisions, all the while going about numbing their own pain with the same activities they claim to loathe in others. When she confronted him in the tree line one evening and shoved him against a tree, he felt her hand cup between his legs and for a split second thought he might be having some kind of screwed up dream. Sarah’s long blonde hair tickled over his arms when she pressed herself to his body and brought her lips close to his ear.
“Wanna have a little fun, Daryl?”
His face twisted with disgust as he shoved her away from him, stopping himself from going as far as pointing his crossbow at her.
“Get the fuck away from me” He warned while she regained her footing on the woodland floor and stared at him with a determined look on her face.
“C’mon, let’s just forget for a while” She purred, reaching a hand out and dragging her fingertips down his bicep and biting her lip. “You’re hot. I’m hot. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” He grabbed her wrist so quickly it made her jump, his fingers like a vice as he used her arm to propel her backwards until her back hit a nearby tree and the air was knocked from her lungs, she buckled over and wheezed before gasping up at him in shock.
Self control was something Daryl was either good at or impulsive with, depending on the situation. Stood before a fed faced, coughing Sarah, all he wanted to do was shoot her in the face. But he wasn’t about to risk the place in the camp that he had earned. He knew Rick would banish him and probably Merle too for killing the living. He found himself inches from her face, sweat trickling down his temple.
“Don’t ever touch me again.” He growled.
Storming off into the dimly lit woods, he withdrew his knife from its holster and veered off in the direction where he’d last seen Walkers, needing to expel some rage.
When he noticed Sarah walking down the slope towards him, he decided that his lack of action to defend Jess and himself had meant that she thought she had triumphed over them, and so he needed the satisfaction of confronting her. But it wasn't just that, it was also years of being tormented, of seeing other kids dragged through the same ordeals. Dragged down to rock bottom by insecure, selfish kids that just made an already difficult childhood and life even harder. It was more than one thing. It was a multitude of things that Sarah represented and finally, he'd decided enough was enough.
Wearing a thin, dusty pink cami top that left nothing to the imagination, she ran a hand though her hair, gathering it at one side and winking at him. The tiny gesture did nothing but make him want to yell in her face. He stopped in her path and noted her looking him up and down with approval.
“Changed your mind?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.
Hi stomach churned. He couldn't think of anything less appealing. Merle's leftover's which happened to be highly undesirable in the first place. Daryl wasn't altogether as interested in the fairer sex as his brother was. Having never encountered a woman that possessed the traits in which he found attractive. While Merle went for the physical aspects of a female, Daryl was more drawn to the complexities of one's character and personality; Honesty, integrity, a sense of humour and a level of intelligence. As a result, the likes of Sarah was the embodiment of everything he despised.
“The hell was that last night?” He snapped.
“Just lightening the mood. Everybody’s so tense and boring around here.” She complained, rolling her eyes and twirling a piece of blonde hair around her fingers.
“Yeah?” He squared up to her, closing the gap between them. She tried to back up, stopping when she realized she was almost flat against the crumbling wall of the walkway to the quarry. “The next time ya do somethin’ like that for fun, ya better watch ya back, ‘cause you’ll be the one I trip up in front of Walkers to buy everybody else some time.”
An unsure but mischievous smile crept across her face.
“You’re real sexy when you’re mad, Y’know that? I bet you can unleash all kinds of rage in the bedroom. Can see why she’s got such a huge crush on you. It’s a pity your taste in women is so terrible, you sure you’d rather get your kicks with her over me?”
Actually, I would but I’m not about to admit that to you.
An idea crossed his mind. A risky one but an appealing one nonetheless. Sarah and Jodie toyed with Jess like a cat toys with a mouse before it kills it. Bit by bit, stealing small parts of its life force away. Daryl very deliberately dragged his eyes from her face, all the way down her body and back up again.
“You really wanna go to the woods with me?” He asked.
“You were my first choice, you know that.” She grinned.
“Alright, you gonna make it worth my while?” He asked.
“Oh yeah.”
Impulsivity. It was one of his flaws. His emotions and sensitivity leading him astray, into the realm of snap decisions that he sometimes regretted. But in the grand scheme of things, he couldn't see how any consequences that developed from his sudden idea could possibly make anything worse.
“Follow me.” He instructed with a small nudge of his head.
In the woods, Daryl walked as far as he could before reaching the border, stopping and leaning against a tree. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand and tilted his head back at Sarah, who had halted in front of him and was looking at him like a lion eyeballs a steak. Merle was the better manipulator out of the two of them, but Daryl possessed the higher intellect that meant he knew exactly what to do going forward. Sarah was a simple creature, after one thing and one thing only. All he had to do was lead her there and she would do the rest.
“C’mon, get over here” He encouraged. "Unless ya shy."
“I’m not the shy type.” She purred as she moved close to him began skimming her fingertips along the edge of his leather vest, drawing subtle lines down his chest. Everything in him was screaming to be removed from the situation. The sensation of her fingertips skimming down his chest over his shirt felt like pure poison.
“Bet you can be a real bad girl, huh?” He asked. She slowly peered up at him, licking her lips. He let her close the gap between them and felt her nose and lips graze the side of his face.
"You wanna find out how bad I can be?" She uttered against his skin.
He clenched his jaw in disgust and wondered how anyone could possibly enjoy this kind of seedy and nauseating state of affairs. He took a deep breath before rapidly seizing her shoulders and ramming her back against the opposite tree. Her back hit the bark with a thump and shock flashed across her face, her hands coming up and tugging at his wrists. She wriggled under the pressure of his weight, his forearm now clamped across her chest and rendering her immobile. He levelled his eyes at her, his glare burning into her self-centered soul.
“I ain't never laid no violent hand on a woman, but you ain't no woman. You’re nothin’ but a fuckin’ parasite. I wouldn’t screw you if my life depended on it. What ya did to that girl was fuckin’ low. She ain’t never done nothin’ to you.” He seethed, finally standing up for Jess’s honor didn’t feel as strange as he imagined it to. In fact, it felt totally right.
“That’s cute. You’re defending poor, chubby Jennifer” she pouted breathlessly
This bitch really doesn’t give up.
Daryl suddenly felt like he was watching someone else make a move as his hand lowered and took hold of his hunting knife. In a split second, the shiny, silver blade was pressed against Sarah’s throat and her eyes flashed with pure terror. The knife pressed further towards her skin and he knew he’d have to let up soon or he really would end up killing her. Her chin rippled and a small, frightened whimper was enough to tell Daryl that he had succeeded in scaring her into submission. Finally, she gave in, her cheeks suddenly wet with tears.
“Her name’s Jess, dumbass.” He spat. “I don’t know how the hell you’re even still alive if ya this fuckin’ stupid. You even look at her again n’ I’ll slit ya goddamn throat and leave ya out here to the Walkers. You understandin’ me?”
She nodded tearfully, sniffing and still trying to feebly pull on his arm to release her. But Daryl only moved when he was ready, staring her down before he eventually released her and was gone in the blink of an eye.
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Jess didn’t move from her tent for the entire day. She ignored Carol’s attempt to coax her out to eat something and Glenn checking in on her by peering around the zipper of the tents entrance. In the night, she got up and wandered down to the water's edge. Unbeknownst to her, Daryl was sat in the dark, smoking and reflecting upon his actions that day. He was sure that Sarah deserved to be frightened into ceasing her childish and spiteful antics, but he was unsure if his violent threat had been the right move to make. He had never hurt or threatened a woman before, telling himself his whole life that he would be nothing like his father. But in that moment, with Sarah shoved against a tree with a blade to her throat, he wanted nothing more than to be able to follow through with his threat, especially when he visualized Jess’s horrified and devastated face while she watched in horror as Sarah read her journal aloud. He was some distance from her, far enough back from the water for her not to notice his presence but close enough to see her hugging her knees, lit by the moon and hear her quiet sobbing.
It was a sunny, Sunday afternoon. The first Jess and her family had spent in their new home on the Army base in Ft Rucker. Their sixth, official military base home in as many years. Moving so much had come at a cost, Jess never really settled anywhere and found it difficult to hold down friendships. Her studies suffered and her parents piled on the pressure to succeed despite her struggles. She wasn’t like them, not an overachiever in everything she tried and as a result, always felt a little outcast, even from her own immediate family. But she loved them unconditionally anyway. The Barbeque was in full swing, the burgers were being slid into buns and piled up on the table in the yard, the smell of charcoal and burning meat filling her nostrils and cementing its place in her memory as a connection to one of the most enjoyable afternoons of her life. Jess and her older brother played cards while sipping punch made from fruit juices and an extremely large bottle of rum that her father had emptied into it without her mother knowing. He offered Jess a small wink after he hid the empty bottle in a cupboard and carried the punch bowl outside. They ate as much as humanly possible in one sitting, laughed and felt the hazy blur of alcohol after a couple of hours and finished up the evening with a loud and boisterous game of charades. If she could choose to have anything, to go back to any point in time, she wouldn’t erase the last few hours, she would simply opt to go back to that day and relive it again. To be with her family and drink her father’s super strong punch and eat four burgers without caring what anyone thought. But she was stuck in a quarry, in a camp at the end of the world with Sarah and Jodie, the type of people she despised, a bunch of others that she hardly knew and didn’t want to, even though their hearts seemed good and their intentions were sincere. And Daryl, she didn’t know what she thought of him anymore.
He finished his smoke and drew in a deep and thoughtful breath. His heart told him to go to her, but his head said otherwise. He was getting attached; he knew that much because the feeling itself was unknown to him. He’d never felt it before about anyone, never cared enough. Certainly not enough to hold a knife to another human's throat in their honor. It was dangerous to become attached to people, he couldn’t trust them and didn’t need to rely on them and eventually, everyone goes away in the end in some way or another. But Jess seemed different and he pondered if it would be so bad to just have one friend. To have that one person that knew him more than his brother did. His heart won the battle and he got up and went to her, his boots crunching on the gravel. When she heard him near her, she jumped up and swiped tears from her face with her sleeve.
“Hey, Jess.” He said.
It was most unusual, the use of her name in his greeting to her. From this simple and apparently meaningless phrase, she knew everything had changed.
“Hi” She sniffed.
He sighed when he saw her puffy face, a tear glistening in the moonlight on her cheek. In his whole life, he was certain he’d not felt an ounce of sympathy when anyone cried, but stood there before Jess, who was undeserving and innocent, his chest hurt and he wanted to do something totally out of the ordinary…he wanted to hug her.
“Heard ya cryin.” Was all he said instead, unable to muster the courage for physical contact.
“Bad day at the office,” she remarked.
It was clearer than ever that she was the only person he’d ever spoken to that seemed to want to be around him and be his friend. His angry and embarrassed reaction to recent events meant he took it out on her with no grounds in which to do so, but it was all he knew and what she’d written in her journal had made everything exceptionally awkward.
“S’my fault. Shouldn’t have gone in on ya like that” He admitted.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” She responded, turning her back and walking to the slope.
Something in Daryl urged him to stop her. To say something. Anything to prevent her from walking away and the situation remaining unsolved or even improved in the slightest.
“Hey. Wait.” He called out, but she continued to walk, bringing a hand up and wiping her face again. “Jess. Stop. Please” He tried again. She stopped but didn’t grace him with turning around or even a glance over her shoulder. She couldn’t look at him, too mortified to be near him.
“Just ignore ‘em.”
By all accounts and by his own admission, it was a feeble and pathetic attempt to soothe her feelings. Far from being an expert, the intention was there but the know how and the sensitivity lacked. However, Jess couldn’t deny that she appreciated his effort, it was just too little, too late. Finally spinning around to face him, she flapped her arms by her sides with exasperation.
“You said it yourself, we weren’t even friends in the first place. Why are you even talking to me?” She asked, by that point totally done with skirting around the issue and feeling her temper beginning to rise.
“That was just some shit I said in anger.” Daryl tried to explain as honestly and to the point as possible.
“C’mon, Daryl. Don’t say that just because you feel guilty for yelling at me and being a dick for the past few days. You don’t even have a right to be angry at me, I haven’t done anything wrong. You don’t like me any more than they do. I’ve just forced you to talk to me since I’ve been here.” She argued. Her body language had changed, now laced with hints of anger and irritation as her hands flew up every time she started a new sentence.
“I don’t do nothin I don’t wanna do.” He told her.
She wiped at her face again, her skin still damp and puffy and the extra tears now doing nothing but increasing her anger. He wished he could say what he wanted to say but far from being an expert at such confrontations, he was having trouble getting his point across. Panic set in when he saw her try to leave again and so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“The way you are with me, ain’t like nobody else.”
She halted and shot him a confused look.
“What does that even mean? I’ve always treated you like you’re another human being.” She cried with exasperation. If no one in the camp had heard her raised voice by now, they were lucky.
“Yeah” He agreed. “Exactly.”
Then, she understood. His uncomfortable expression, his hands pushed into his jeans pockets and the fact that he was still stood there despite the emotional toll of the topic, told her a lot. He was trying. What she couldn’t decide, was if it was through guilt, or because he genuinely cared. The prospect of them carrying on as friends after the journal incident was a ridiculous notion to Jess. Nothing would ever be the same again and neither of them had asked for it.
“I’m sorry you had to hear all that. What she read out. I-I didn’t know what I was talking about when I wrote it.” She attempted to explain.
“Don’t have to explain. It’s alright.” He dismissed as he dug a boot into the dirt.
“I don’t want you thinking that the only reason I hang out with you is because I think your attractive or that I have a stupid crush on you. That’s not the reason I talk to you so much.” She confirmed with little belief that it would do anything to stop him going over what he had heard every time he looked at her.
“I know.” He mumbled
“I mean, I’m not saying you’re not attractive. You obviously… are. Very attractive. I just…”
I’m digging my own grave here. Stop talking.
“Nevermind.”
She heard him huff and caught him smiling in the moonlight. It was an overly shy smile and in that moment, during the most difficult conversation they’d ever had about a subject that was leaving them both highly uncomfortable, she had delivered a compliment to him that she was convinced had actually made him blush. To her it was the most amazing thing and a sight she could have looked at all night. He appeared so bashful that his lip curled up into an almost never ending half smile and he could only look out across the water. Her growing affection for him intensified in those few seconds.
“Um…Thanks.” He grunted
She sighed and dropped her gaze to the floor, sensing him studying her silently for a moment. He was baffled by his urge to protect her having previously failed to see how much their friendship had grown over the months they’d spent at the camp.
“We are friends. Alright? And I don’t think you’re a loser.” He wanted her to know.
She slowly looked up at him and he wished it was lighter, just a little more, so he could see her eyes and try to gauge how she was reacting. But a silhouetted figure and a darkness shrouded face was all he had to work with.
“Maybe a little weird…n’ too damn loud in the woods. But ya ain’t no loser.” He added, lightheartedly.
Just smile at me. Please.
“Not sure about that.” She whispered as she wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her torso.
“Jess, it don’t matter. What she did. What she read out. It don’t matter.”
It was a last-ditch attempt at trying to convince her to put it all behind her and try and start over. For a fleeting moment, he thought she was about to agree when she offered him a small smile. But then, she started to back away.
“Matters to me.”
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Such a conversation with Daryl was a first and Jess lay in her tent with her head propped up on her backpack full of clothes and over thought every single detail. It was one of her downfalls, overanalyzing everything and coming up with six when she put two and two together. The stitching on the inside of the roof of the tent was now serving a different purpose than to just keep a roof over her head. It was now a visual representation of every single time she’d been hurt by Sarah or Jodie. Every little quip or whisper sewn into the fabric just like it was now sewn into the fabric of her being.
Sitting up, she crawled to the front of the tent and checked the top of the RV. Andrea was sat alone at the top, reading a book. No sign of Daryl. She growled to herself. Typical. She wanted to find him, to speak to him and tell him that she was willing to try and put everything behind her and continue to be his friend if he wanted her to be. That she’d had time to think and decided that the friendship that had blossomed from nowhere between them was too good a thing to throw away.
She climbed out of her tent, crossed the clearing and approached the slope that led down to the water, checking the place she’d last seen him made the most sense to her. Hearing whispers in front of her from the cloak of darkness, she detected Merle’s voice, along with Daryl’s.
“I hear you right earlier? Ya ain’t comin’ into the city.” Merle asked.
“No. Ya only want whiskey, Merle. Rick was right, s’a bad idea.” Daryl replied, shooting the idea down in flames.
“That little girlfriend of yours got ya all mixed up? You ain’t no fun no more” Merle complained.
Jess sighed, releasing a huff of anger at the notion that everyone seemed to have it in for them.
“She ain’t my girlfriend, man. Get outta here with that shit.” Daryl protested.
“We all heard what she wrote in that diary o’hers. Tellin’ me you wouldn’t tap that? it wouldn’t take much convincin’.”
“Stop.” came Daryl's short warning.
“Oh, I see it now. She actually means somethin’ to you, don’t she? That the reason our plan means diddly squat to you now? ‘Cause ya went ‘n caught some feelin’s for the little, fat chick?”
Ignoring Merle’s offensive description of her, Jess’s mind raced with the possible responses Daryl could have to the question. Would he tell his brother that he cared about her? Would he just brush it off and remind him they were just friends? Or was she about to hear him confess to seeing her the same way as she saw him?
“The plan ain’t a plan no more because it was a fuckin’ dumb idea! She’s just a girl, she don’t mean shit to me, alright?! Just drop it.”
In the blink of an eye, upon the delivery of one sentence, Jess stopped believing in happy endings. She knew fairytales didn’t exist and it was confirmed for her that she would never fully trust anyone again. Her sneakers scraped up over the gravel as she began to back away from the sound of the voices. Her heart was undoubtedly broken, but she was done with crying over it.
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I think it’s time I left this place. Maybe it’s better to keep moving. I don’t contribute anything to the group that can’t be replaced by somebody else and I don’t think I can live with the humiliation that Sarah and Jodie have caused. I also overheard Daryl telling his brother that I mean nothing to him. I thought we were friends at least. I should have known his mixed signals were lies. I’m so stupid. What was I thinking? In hindsight, it was obvious that getting attached to someone like him would only get me hurt. But I just had that hope. Stupid, wasted, dangerous hope. I still can’t believe it’s all been a lie.
I stole a gun from the RV and a couple cans of food that nobody will notice are gone until I’m at least a few miles out. Hopefully, it’ll help to keep me going on my way back to the city. I suspect Daryl may try to track me at first, but at least I know now that it won’t be because he cares. It’ll be because people will ask him to. Maybe Carol, or Carl. I’ll miss them and I hope they make it.
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Two hours was all he needed. Two hours of broken sleep and he was up and tracking rabbits in the woods. The task at hand would have been easy enough, having been performed a million and one times over. But that was when his head was clearer and his circumstances were different. Even before the turn, there was always something hanging over him right from when he was a child. His father’s violence, his mothers drinking, Merle’s increasing absence, school, bar fights, drugs, bail money. The only tranquility in Daryl’s whirlwind of a life was the woods. The place he felt like he could be himself and stop entertaining thoughts of whatever issue he had to deal with that day. But now the world had changed and so had he, thanks to the introverted but chatty girl he had befriended and managed to hurt at the same time. He told himself; one more rabbit. It would be enough and then he could go back to camp and sit with her. He didn’t plan on saying much, but he hoped his presence alone would be enough for her to see that he wasn’t going to enable anything that Sarah or Jodie had done to impact their friendship after all.
Catching the final rabbit had been easy, barely ten minutes spent tracking the target that was so busy trying to find its own food that it noticed nothing untoward until the last, deadly second. When he pushed through the trees, clutching a collection of rabbits and squirrels, he was forced to halt where he was. Carol stood in front of him with her arms tightly wrapped around her torso and her lips pushed into a thin line. The first thought that entered his head was that the camp had been attacked and someone was dead. The flash of panic that surged through his veins at the thought of it being Jess took him by surprise. Carol slowly walked towards him.
“What’s goin’ on?” he questioned.
“Daryl…” She started. “It’s Jess.”
No. No, this can’t be happening. Tell me she’s alive.
He could sense his chest constrict and his grip become tighter around the legs and tails of the dead animals in his grasp.
“What? What about her? She OK?” He demanded.
Carol let out a sympathetic huff and tilted her head to the side, shrugging one shoulder up.
“She’s gone.” She whispered.
“Gone? What d’ya mean, ‘gone’?”
Daryl’s voice was now a lot louder than he had meant it to be, but the need for more information was now starting to press on his last nerve.
“Her belongings are missing, so is one of Shane’s guns. We think she left in the night.” Carol explained.
His eyes flashed with disbelief and he surged past her, striding over to the camp and dumping the animals in the dirt by the burned-out fire. Everyone stopped their tasks and conversations as he began throwing open people’s tents, storming in and out of the RV like a hurricane and calling her name at the top of the slope to the water. Carol watched on as he paced back and forth with his hands on his head as Merle emerged from his tent.
“Naw.” He shakes his head “Naw. She wouldn’t. She wouldn’t just leave.”
“She not here. We’ve looked everywhere.” Glenn offered from beside Rick and Shane, who were stood next to the loaded-up truck which had all their guns arranged on the hood like a bizarre art installation.
Daryl looked over at her tent, lunging at it and ripping it open, his face falling in dismay when he saw nothing inside. He growled loudly to himself as his breathing increased and his heart started to hammer. Carol, who was usually skittish and nervous around aggression and anger, made the attempt to calm him by gently touching his arm but as soon as the contact was made with his skin, he flinched and threw her off.
“SHIT!” He bellowed.
Throwing his crossbow from his back onto the floor, he spun around, his gaze stopping on Andrea.
“You!” He exclaimed, pointing a calloused finger at her. His hand hovered over her chest and she took a step back. “You were s’posed to be on watch! Why didn’t ya see her leave?! Huh?! The fuck were ya doin’ up there?!”
Before she could even begin to fathom an answer, Rick stepped in and worked his way in between them, placing a hand on Daryl’s chest and coaxing him back. Again, he flinched off the contact which told Rick in no uncertain terms that now more than ever, was not a good time to be touching him.
“Daryl, this isn’t anybody’s fault. She took everything with her. She wanted to go.” Rick reasoned.
“No! You don’t know her! She wouldn’t!” He argued.
“You got it bad, boy” Merle laughed from the other side of camp. His boots cracked over snapping twigs on the ground while he slowly made his way over to the scene. Sauntering casually and rolling a cigarette between his fingers. “I thought she didn’t mean shit to ya. Ain't that what you said?”
Something in Daryl snapped. He swung an arm out and collided his fist with his brother’s nose. The impact was so strong that it caused Merle to stagger back after everyone winced at the sickening crack that echoed around the camp and bounced from the trees. Merle blinked in surprise and brought his hands up to his face. Warmth coated his fingers as blood trickled through the gaps. His eyes flicked up and he lunged at Daryl, only to be stopped by Shane. Daryl's hand thundered with pain but it was a pain he needed, a welcome distraction from the pain in his heart, caused by the knowledge that he had failed to reassure her, to keep her here under the promise that nothing had to change. A million and one 'what if's' floated through his mind.
“Easy” Shane grunted while throwing his weight back against Merle to prevent him from surging forwards and causing a mass brawl.
“I’ma knock you into the middle o’ next week, you little shit!” Merle hissed. Blood sprayed messily from between his teeth, peppering his vest and anyone unlucky enough to be close enough to him.
Daryl, chest heaving and teeth clamped together, made off for the trees.
“Where are you going? Daryl?!” Carol called after him.
“To find her!” He shouted over his shoulder. “Y’all would do well to stay outta my fuckin’ way too.”
“What if she doesn’t want to be found?” Carol reasoned.
Ignoring her, he vanished into the trees, leaving Shane Still struggling with Merle and a dozen shocked faces all peering awkwardly at one another.
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When evening arrived, it brought with it Daryl’s return to the camp. Much to the surprise of the other inhabitants that expected him to be gone for days on end. He said nothing, only sitting down by the fire and hanging his head. His arms were decorated with scratches and as Rick watched him push his fingers into his dirty, tousled hair he realized that Jess’s departure had impacted their resident hunter more than he had thought.
“Here” He said, throwing a plastic bottle of water over at him. It landed between his boots and Daryl wearily reached down and picked it up. He unscrewed the cap and took a large gulp. Around him, was every single other member of the camp. He had walked into some kind of meeting but could care less about interrupting. He knew Rick was mid-sentence when he’d appeared and flopped down onto the ground, not listening to a word that was being said. In fact, he didn’t even notice when the cop and seemingly unelected leader stopped talking and his surroundings grew uncomfortably quiet. Clearing his throat, Rick carried on speaking.
“Is everybody in agreement that we should go ahead with tomorrow morning’s run?”
People must have nodded but Daryl didn’t look up or show an ounce of interest.
“We need more food.” Rick continued “Daryl?”
He didn't want to talk, or have to make any decisions. he didn't want to take part in a meeting or do anything except rest until he had enough energy to go back out in search of his friend. A long and exhausted sigh followed an angry glare when he finally looked up meant Rick had already been put in his place. But he knew he had to ask the question regardless."
“You OK to hunt over the next couple days?”
“No.” Daryl said firmly.
Rick’s eyebrows raised momentarily and he caught the gaze of his wife, Lori. She gave him a small nod, urging him to continue.
“We don’t have enough food for the next few days.” He explained.
“Yeah, n' I said no. I’m goin’ lookin for Jess.” Daryl snapped back.
“Oh, come on.” He heard Sarah scoff. Rage flared in his chest and pumped through his veins, white hot fury fueling him to act. He jumped to his feet and with a click and a gasp sounding out from those around him, he pointed his crossbow at her face. Tense murmurs filled the air and Rick was rapidly crossing the space between them with intent to stop him.
“Back off, Sherriff.” Daryl warned without moving his vision from his target, stopping Rick in his tracks and pushing the crossbow further into Sarah’s face.
“Hey, shit for brains” he hissed through his teeth at her. “You two are the reason she’s gone. If ya don’t shut up I’ma put a bolt between ya eyes”
“Daryl, you won’t be hurting anyone. Put it down.” Rick insisted, drawing his gun.
Merle, who had been slowly ambling up the slope to the camp when he heard a commotion, seemed to turn up out of nowhere. Calmly, and apparently with no recollection of his brother’s savage punch earlier in the day, he stepped between the barrel of Ricks gun and Daryl.
“Woah, now Sheriff. What ya say you just let my brother do what he pleases? He’s been feedin’ y’all for weeks now. He wants to shoot the bitch, then I say we let him.” He smiled. “She ain’t good for much anyways”
Sarah looked up at Daryl’s fierce expression over the tip of the arrow pointed at her forehead.
“You calling me shit for brains? Please. Stupid Redneck.” She shot at him with little to no fear of being impaled in the face with a crossbow bolt. Telling herself he wouldn’t do it, she forced her shoulders back and tried to hide her fear.
“Rednecks good enough to scratch ya itches though, right?” Daryl commented.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Oh whatever, asshole.”
“You been fuckin’ Merle in the woods” He proclaimed loudly. Sarah’s jaw dropped open and Jodie, who had shifted up considerably from her side, stared at her friend in disbelief.
“You said he was lying.” She whispered.
“Oh, ain't no lie, sweetheart!” Daryl shouted as he jostled the crossbow closer to Sarah's face. “Likes herself some rough, this one! Tried it with me n’ when I turned her ugly ass down she went after my brother! Goes around judging folks, makin’ fun of ‘em. When all the while, she’s lettin’ my brother search her for pocket change in the woods most nights!”
Glenn, who was sitting across the fire with wide eyes, sucked both of his lips into his mouth to stifle what would undoubtedly be a roar of laughter, not only at Daryl’s rage, but at his amusing choice of words.
“This is awkward” He pointed out.
“I know. It’s great.” T-dog added from beside him. He shuffled around on the spot, getting comfortable for the remainder of the show.
Andrea sprang forwards from where she was leaning against the RV, obviously feeling the need to intercept at the sound of such a crass topic.
“Daryl, that’s enough, there are children that can hear you.” She scolded as she stepped into the circle behind him. He lowered his crossbow and turned on his heels, locking her in a death glare.
“People out there eatin’ people!” He shouted as he raised his arms. His crossbow swung clumsily in his grip “Sluts fuckin’ rednecks all over the show but we better not say no bad words, huh?!" His neck flared red and veins protruded on his temples.
Sarah, who by now was completely mortified at the whole camp knowing about her night-time activities, slowly lifted her vision to Merle, who was still stood between Daryl and Rick. He began to laugh loudly to himself.
“Cats outta the bag, sugar! God damn!” He chuckles, throwing a wink her way. “No more squat thrusts in the pickle patch!”
She immediately got up and stomped off, leaving a collection of stunned faces. Jodie watched her depart, her face twisted with disgust.
“I ain’t doing nothin’ for none of y’all!” Daryl fumed, whirling around and swinging a pointed finger at them all. “Gonna look for Jess. Merle can hunt. I’m out”
With that, he threw his crossbow over his shoulder and scuffed out of the circle around the fire, off into the woods to set to work finding the girl that had managed to work her way so far into his heart that he wasn’t about to let her go without a fight.
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5
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#daryl dixon#the walking dead daryl#daryl x oc#daryl fanfiction#twd fanfiction#twd daryl#daryl dixon imagine#the walking dead fanfiction
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What We Did, pt. 12
Summary: After finding out you were pregnant, Bucky agrees to help you leave the hero life. The two of you go to Seattle, and hamper down for six months until you start dreaming of a certain someone. Convinced the dreams are a sign, you and Bucky go back to New York. Will everyone be happy to see the pair of you? What questions will they have? And will the lie Bucky and you made up finally resurface?
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my main bitch @childishhoebinoo again.
Warnings: //cheating//pregnancy//ADULT STUFF//
masterlist
Chapter Twelve: Neighborhood
You stared in the mirror, coping with the fact that your face and body was fuller. Not that you cared much anymore, it just was and that was that. You were carrying a life in you, so it would be expected that you would look different. Smoothing down any wrinkles in the maternity dress Natasha had bought for you, along with the baby stuff, you smiled at the woman in the reflection.
Yes, mistakes were made and there were no doubt things would get more upsetting in the future; with Clint eager to be in the baby’s life and all, but for now? For now, you wanted to focus on staying healthy and getting ready for your son’s arrival. That was all you needed to do, no more unnecessary drama.
So, you left the bathroom, grabbing a jacket off the bed and calling out for Bucky, who was fixing up a small breakfast before the doctor’s appointment.
“Babe, I’m not that hungry,” you shouted, drudging into the living room.
“I’m making you a bowl of oatmeal.”
Following his voice into the kitchen, you saw that he was dressed and ready for the day; wearing dark jeans, a black tee and green jacket. He smiled when you walked in, leaning against the counter as he served you a bowl of oatmeal.
“Bananas?”
“Yes, please.”
Grinning, he grabbed one from the counter and told you to sit down.
“Did you see the photos Pepper sent?”
“No,” he frowned, placing your bowl and banana down. Settling into the chair, you waited for the food to cool off and watched as he rummaged through his jacket for his cell. Smiling, your eyes stayed glued to his expression as he flicked through the photos, one by one until his face lit up.
“I like this one,” he said, walking over to the table, but you held up a hand.
“No, don’t tell me. Let me guess,” you insisted, pretending to think for a moment.
“Well…”
“You like the two-story cabin looking one, with the big back yard and porch. I read that it’s four bedrooms, three baths, with a big family room, large kitchen and a small studio above the garage.”
Bucky’s eyes widen in disbelief, turning the phone around so you could see the house he picked out. Sure enough, it was the one you described and the two of you laughed. He shook his head and leaned down to kiss your forehead, letting his hand fall to your stomach.
“I didn’t know you were psychic.”
“We just have the same great taste,” you shrugged, smile fading as the doorbell rang. Asking him who it could be, Bucky thought for a moment before snapping his fingers.
“The crib, Pepper said it’d be in today, maybe it just came earlier than expected.”
Forgetting your oatmeal, you got up and followed Bucky to the door, excited to see the extremely beautiful and expensive crib in person. Immediately, you started thinking of the other little pieces of furniture you wanted to get and then you questioned if it was possible to buy the house before the baby’s arrival. How nice it would be to bring your son home from the hospital to the house Bucky and you wanted to be a real family in. Realizing you needed to call Tony and Pepper right away, so they could help organize and get things going, you told Bucky to get the door while you phoned the pair in the bedroom.
Rushing into the bedroom, you grabbed you cell off the dress draw and dialed Pepper’s number. It rang only once before she was answering, asking if everything was okay.
“Yeah, yeah,” you laughed, taking a seat on the bed. “So, I was just thinking about the crib…”
“It should be arriving today.”
“Oh, no, I mean, it’s here, but I was wondering if it was possible to secure a house before he came home?”
Silence; Pepper was completely quiet for what seemed to amount to eternity until she chuckled with relief.
“Tony and I were just talking about this, we thought how nice it would be to have Bucky and you settled before the little one comes home.”
A wave of relief came over you and you could feel the tears coming on, because it felt too good to be true. After everything you had done, you didn’t deserve this sort of happiness, but here it was; right at your doorstep.
“Thank you,” you whimpered, wiping away the tears with your free hand. “I just…. I know the two of you are so busy and we don’t want to put you out.”
“Oh, stop,” Pepper scolded playfully. “Believe me, this is fun for me. We can fly out in two days; will that be fine with you?”
“Yeah, it sounds perfect.”
“And did you two like any of the houses we sent you?” You said yes and explained that the two of you adored the cabin on. “We thought that one would be great too, so we’ll fly over and get an up-close look. If you two like it, we’ll sign the papers on the spot and have you two fully moved in within a week.”
You cried into the phone, Pepper quickly told you it was okay, that they wanted to do this for Bucky and you, but Tony did have one request.
“Anything.”
“He wants to be godfather.”
You laughed. “He’ll have to fight Rogers for that title.”
“That’s what I told him,” she chuckled. “Well, I have to go, but don’t worry about anything! We got this!”
Thanking her again, the two of you said goodbye and hung up.
Feeling elated, you left the cell on the bed and rushed out of the room, shouting for Bucky.
“BABE, PEPPER SAYS WE CAN BE MOVED IN WITHIN…”
Your voice faded as you entered the living room, instantly all the happiness drained from your body as you saw Bucky standing in the center of the room, near the large crib box and Clint sitting on the couch. It was as if your brain couldn’t comprehend the scene in front of you until Clint stood up and smiled.
“I was in the neighborhood.”
Forever tags:
@my-amazing-nerdyness @maciiiofficial @casownsmyass @jade-taillia@fangirlextraordinaire@indominusregina @feelmyroarrrr @my-rainbow-wonderland@myhopeisinfinite @girl-next-door-writes @melonberri @superisatomboyuniverse @dracsgirl@moonlight53@makemyownwonderland @dreamwhisper87 @trekken81 @barely-emily@milkywaybarnes@goodnightwife @mishaissocoollike @foreverybodythatunderstands23@gallifreyansass@flirtswithdanger
@jchona @alyssaj23 @blackhoneybucky @urbanspacedecay@castieltrash1@hannahsakorax3@imagine-all-the-imagines @motleymoose@distinguishedqueenofbooks@kitkatgaming@fizzylollipop12 @iamwarrenspeace@darkmystress00 @lunarwolfrose @kapolisradomthoughts@swiggityswagness
@takemetoneverland91 @to-pick-ourselves-up-7 @sarah-mos@rubynationwins@padfootorionblack @kaywolves @wonderlace19 @courtneychicken@rayleyanns @whatmakesmebeme-tblr @thewinterwitch@avengersgirllorianna@tatortot2701@brewsthespirit-blog @seabasschino @ex-bookjunky@travelwithwords@supernaturaldean67@thehuntchback @shoytai @besamiculo-puto @ign-is@zuni21798@multipleuniversesinwriting@lauxeyson
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@iminlovewithasuperboy @loverbug1123 @sugerquill@starmission@pineapplebooboo@justanotherfangirl272 @battlebunnyteardropsinthesun@liamssmiler@ludwigs-a-monster@mad-girl-without-a-box @k8tie-a-934 @allltheships @showtimeaholess@thxsoldixrrolxplay @esoltis280 @bass-clarinette@sebastianstanslefteyebrow @dsakita@cwar1864 @theonlyparadox @faithtrustandpixiedust95@theweirdlunatic @milkywaybarnes
@theweirdlunatic @supernaturallymarvellous@dancewaterdance02@yeahbutmarvel@infinity1321 @marvhellove @kjs-s @aredlily @sami-raye@lucifersnipnips@feelmyroarrrr @lianasparklezstuff @ajduurikscjsja@morgan-atr@theflowerswillbloom @coffee-stained-tongue @cannonindeez @astro-sim-dog @fireboltrose7559 @tylerrose931617
@slither-in-a-half @fangirlftshipper @lost-in-the-stories @maheelumos123 @nurnwasburned-nowimhomeless @shamelessbookaddict @stevieboyharrington @princess76179 @the-criminal-soldier @danicalifornia25 @an-enchantingmuse @sheridans-dynamos @problematic-artist @fatefellshortthistime @ilovetvshowsblog
What We Did tags: @the-yellow-girl96 @marvelouspottering@ravenclawrious@izzy10718@castiels-ass-butt-1967 @joannie95 @crystlblu@blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme@canadianjelly@clockscountingbackwards@smollyssa@multifandomgirlrandomstuff @hazydespair@affabletimelady@daughterofthenight117 @star-incandescent @lost-in-the-stories@buckysboobear @bbkay7297-blog @risinghero@theblueinyour-eyes @butifulsoul125@joebob24 @wowkenobi@vogueworthy-barnes@projectxhappiness @sarahp879@mrshiddlesbatchstan@racheltheclumsy @insanitypledge@ayatimascd@mizzzpink@stangirl4eva @my-meant-to-find-blog @a–1–1–3@coltcas @anon122010ns @loverontheweekend @quietgeekygirl @asgardianmetalarmedtimelord @elevenismysweetie @the-lachrymose-one @queeeenofscots
#What We Did series#Bucky Barnes x Reader#Bucky Barnes#Bucky x reader#Bucky Barnes imagine#Marvel imagine
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The Filmmaker, parts 1-4
Part 1
Hector hung up the phone and replayed the conversation in his head. I’m sorry, Hector, but your film is just not the type of work we’re looking for right now. It was the nicest way a producer had ever turned him down. “Another film, another waste of time, and not another dollar in my pocket,” Hector said to himself.
He scanned his apartment with tired eyes. His small room felt dark, even with the silent television flickering in front of him, and all the lights on. It was partly his dark mood, as well as the single poorly placed window in his apartment, which was tightly snugged between two similarly large apartment complexes, and allowed next to no natural light to enter his tiny apartment.
His room had cracked and sagging walls, a floor that often made him feel as if he was walking downhill, and was constantly dirty - only partly due to the mess of his own making. Scattered across various tables, counter tops, chairs, and even on the floor were a variety of camera and film-making equipment; all of which caused him a sizable portion of his meager savings. Aside from that, there were discarded clothes, week-old pizza boxes, and even a stray cat he had taken in as a favor to an ex-girlfriend.
Hector had believed it would be only a temporary accommodation while he worked on his documentaries. But even now, ten full years of his life later, and he was no closer to achieving the fame and recognition he felt his films deserved, and certainly even further away now from leaving this hellhole behind him.
This last film he created was an expose piece on the crimes committed within a local nursing home, where the staff had started stealing money from the residents and selling their life-saving drugs, often giving them dangerous replacements, or if the resident had a poor memory, not giving them anything at all. A few residents had died, the nursing home was shut down, and several attendees were sent to prison.
“How is that not interesting?” Hector said to no one. He took a deep breath and sighed.
“Christ, there’s that smell again… Smells like someone died in here.”
“Mrow,” cried the cat. She was staring directly at him with piercing eyes.
You hungry, cat? Join the club.”
Part 2
“Mrow?” cried the cat again.
“Fine, fine,” Hector said.
The cat followed him into the kitchen, where Hector opened a can of cat food and dropped it into the cat’s bowl. It attacked the bowl mercilessly and happily.
Hector sat on his chair again, contemplating his next move. He would have no more chances. He had taken out more loans than any reasonable person should, and each one was knocking on his door, asking for payments and interests. He had already started being denied by banks several years ago and had then resorted to taking loans from more questionable sources. Unlike the banks, these other lenders wouldn’t mind using violence as a means of getting their money back.
The news flickered on in front of him silently. It was another report on a string of murders that had taken place recently throughout the city.
Hector read the headlines under the reporter: “Another mysterious killing rocks the city. This time, the victims were two high school seniors, Kara Larson and Samantha Bennett, just months away from graduation. Viewers, the images you are about to see are graphic in content and are not recommended for younger audiences.”
A series of photos crossed the television. Two bodies piled on top of each other, covered in gore and bloody wounds. The two girls lay, their eyes open and lifeless, their white uniforms covered in red.
“Jesus…”
Hector could smell it again. It smelled like decay; a strong, pungent, and offensive smell. It was death and rot - probably a raccoon or rat that died in the pipes between the walls.
“Christ, I’d give anything to figure out what’s causing that smell. How do these things even manage to get in there and die?”
“Mooow!” cried the cat, licking his lips and running excitedly around the room.
An idea struck him. It was an idea of morbid curiosity and too taboo to give it any serious thought. But there, sitting alone in his room, the only thing entering his senses in the darkness were violent images, a stampeding cat, and the smell of death.
“Cat,” said Hector. “Would you ever want to see how something like that happens?”
He pointed at the television and the bodies of the two girls.
“Mro?”
Part 3
“My name is Hector Hernandez,” he said into the camera. “Today is October 5th, 2019. A little bit about myself first. I’m a documentary filmmaker, 32 years old. I live alone... with my cat... I should probably edit that out later.”
Hector paused the recording and stared at the cat sitting on his work desk. It was sleeping soundly, its belly rising and falling peacefully.
“What the hell can I say here to not look like a total psycho?”
He stared back into the camera, cleared his throat, and put on his most serious face, and hit record.
“There’s no way for me to say this and not sound crazy. For my next project, I intend to find and apprehend the man or woman responsible for a series of murders in the city. I have a plan to find this person and I think it’ll work. The key is being the bait.”
He turned the camera towards his cat, filming it close up. “I’ll add voice-overs to this later. You make good b-roll, Cat.” The cat opened one eye, stared into the camera, and closed it again.
“Some of you may be asking why I would do something so dangerous. I have decided…” he paused, unsure of how to say what he wanted to say next. He kept the camera rolling, allowing it to capture every emotion that crossed his face.
“I guess the only thing I can do is say it. Along with being my final project, this film will also act as my suicide note.”
The camera lingered on his face, the small blinking red light staring into his eyes.
“By the time this film is released… if it’s ever released… I’ll already be dead.”
---
Here’s what Hector knew:
- The killings all happened between 2:00 and 5:00 in the early morning.
- The victims had been between the ages of 15 and 40.
- Men and women were not discriminated against, but the killings seemed to tend towards younger girls.
- As of today, the victims are, in order: Joana Jones, 17, a student; Clark Martinez, 22, an accountant; Sarah Banfield, 21, university student in linguistics; Bailey Harris, 18, high school graduate; Cameron West, 18, high school dropout; Henrietta Smith, 39, housewife; Phillip Smith, 40, husband to Henrietta and small business owner; and finally, Kara Larson and Samantha Bennett, both 17, high school students.
- The victims were all found in parks in various suburban neighborhoods, all within 5 miles of each other. The police had declared a non-mandatory curfew, asking everyone to be in their homes and not alone in public areas past midnight.
- All the victims showed similar forms of death: strangled with a plastic cord which was then somehow melted around their necks, stabbed between 10 to 20 times while they struggled with suffocation, no evidence of sexual contact, no detectable link between the victims, and no DNA linking them to the killer.
This was all that Hector could figure out on his own from reading the crime reports online. He sat on a nearly empty subway heading East towards the final stop. Aside from him was a homeless man, asleep at the far end of the train car, and a woman who kept stealing nervous glances in his direction. He flipped through his notes and ignored her.
Hector arrived at Grant Park sometime around 1am. As he had expected, the park was empty. Even the police had taken to avoiding dangerous areas like this. The city was far too large for them to police every neighborhood and park. First, he went to a massive oak tree. He set up a tripod and carefully set the camera on top of it, hooking up the microphone and connecting it to the camera. He hid it behind the falling leaves and massive trunk, ensuring that the frame was perfectly set for where he would be.
“Now, we wait.” He sat on a bench and closed his eyes, running through the plan in his mind.
He had worn a turtleneck beneath his jacket today for a reason. Beneath the portion hugging his neck, he had sown on four metallic bars. If he was lucky, they would stop the plastic cord from choking him. If he was unlucky, well…
I’m ready for the worst.
Hector waited there in silence, eyes closed. He had still not figured out the perfect plan beyond first finding the killer and, hopefully, not getting killed before he got a chance to speak to him.
The first night went by without incident.
---
“So far, I’ve had no luck.”
Hector sat in his room, now brightly lit to ensure that the image came in clear and crisp.
“I have about 16 gigabytes worth of low-quality footage of me sitting on a park bench every night for two weeks like some homeless nut job.”
Hector turned off the camera and tried to share some of his .50 cent cup noodles with the cat. It sniffed the noodles, licked it once, then walked away disappointed.
“Too spicy for you? Ungrateful little bastard.”
---
Hector was dozing off on the same bench in Grant Park on day 18 when he heard a shuffling noise behind him. His ears perked up, but instinctively he thought it was another raccoon, a squirrel, a cat, or some other small animal.
Then, a voice, no more than a whisper. “I know what you’re doing.” Two thick hands touched his shoulders, working their way slowly towards his neck. They toyed with the metal bars on Hector’s neck.
Hector sat still, his heart racing. “You finally showed up. You should know something -”
“Shut up,” said the voice.
The hands grabbed the metal bars and pulled at them forcefully, ripping them all off with ease.
Shit, I should’ve stitched them on better.
Hector tried to stand, but the hands upon his shoulders pushed him back down to his seat.
“Sit still or I’ll just kill you now,” said the man. It was a deep, calm voice. It spoke to him forcefully, but politely, intimidating Hector into behaving.
The man came down, putting his mouth to Hector’s ear. He could feel the man’s rapid breathing entering his ear and Hector’s heart pounded. Hector could feel the cloth of the wool mask that covered the man’s face.
The man’s arm extended, pointing his finger towards the camera behind the oak tree.
“Is that for me?” said the man.
“That camera is wirelessly connected to a GPS and a cloud storage. It’s on a timer that will send all the footage to the police station if I don’t input the password on my home computer twice a day.”
It was a lie and a desperate one, but Hector prayed the killer would believe him.
The man hesitated.
“What’s your plan here then?” asked the man. “I can kill you and destroy the camera. Even if the police get the video, they won’t know who I am or where to find me.”
Shit.
Hector cleared his throat, sitting up slightly, trying to assert his authority. “I’m not here to send you to the police. I’m a filmmaker and I want you to be the subject of my final movie.”
Part 4
“Your final movie?” the man said.
It seemed like a rhetorical question, so Hector sat completely still.
“I’m listening.”
Hector hesitated, the fear building in him that the man would simply lose his patience and end this whole encounter.
“Speak already,” the man finally barked.
“I want to kill myself!” Hector said suddenly.
“Oh? I suppose you know, but I’m quite good at doing that for people.”
“My life is already over. If I don’t die now, I’ll just die later. Everyone thinks I’m a failure and they’re probably right. My movies won’t sell. All I have is this idea, this curiosity to know about why people do the things they do. I’ve been following your… work for a few weeks. I think there are people who want to know who you are and why you do what you do. They’re afraid of you, but they admire you. This world is something they want to know about but they’re too afraid to ask. I just want to show them.”
Hector took a deep breath. The words had tumbled out of him without thought. He did not know if they were true words, but Hector wondered if a part of him believed them. And he certainly hoped this man would believe them.
The man said nothing for a moment, perhaps thinking of how to reply to such an odd request. Hector hoped he was more than just a man who enjoyed killing for the sake of killing.
“No one does something like this just because they have nothing better to do.”
“Time to be quiet,” said the man. He was walking around the park bench where Hector sat, stroking his chin, twirling a massive chef’s knife in his hand casually, as if he were on a phone call with his accountant or someone else so dull and uninteresting that his mind could not help but wander.
After an eternity of waiting, the man finally said: “My name is Jean.”
“Is that your real name?” Hector asked.
Hector felt his heart skip a beat as it began to race even faster. His mouth was dry but his hands were cold and clammy.
“Indeed.”
“Does this mean you accept?”
“For now. You’ve piqued my interest.” Jean suddenly lunged at Hector, brandishing his knife and sticking the tip against Hector’s neck. Jean’s eyes were sharp and wide, staring directly into Hector’s soul, draining his energy through sight alone.
“Just remember one thing. If I suspect you of doing anything stupid, if you go to the police, or if I so much as hear my name on the wind, I will come for you and cut you apart until you’re nothing more than a mound of meat. Understood?”
Hector didn’t move. His hands were frozen at his sides. “I understand, I understand.”
Jean continued to stare into Hector’s eyes for a moment before pulling back and spinning the knife in his hand in an almost celebratory fashion.
“Well, that’s good. What’s your name?”
“My name? My name is,” Hector contemplated giving him a false name but could not think of any good reason to do so.
Who do I have to protect? My cat?
“My name is Hector.”
(to be continued)
#writing#write#writer#story#stories#writings#short writing#shortwriting#shortstory#short story#fiction#shortfiction#short fiction#film#filmmaker#film maker
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Almost Too Good (A Chris Evans Story): Part 17
A/N: It’s another long one. I’ll admit. It may trail off at times. I’ll admit. But babies, the time has come. #Spoiler-Alert: the moment we’ve ALLLLLL been waiting for is nigh ;) High fives all round if you know what I’m saying!!!! ;)
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Bzzzz* Bzzzz*
…….
Bzzzz* Bzzzz*
…….
The irritating buzzing went on and on until I had no choice but to open my foggy eyes and accept the hangover that was currently looming. Peeping one eye open whilst cursing the sunlight, I let out a tired moan and attempted to gather my bearings.
I placed one hand under me and pushed myself up slowly and delicately. It was then I noticed that the hangover wasn’t the only thing weighing me down. Another being lay behind me; after last night’s shenanigans had resulted in us passing out on his couch. I shifted forward and started searching for my phone in my purse, the dull ache in my back loudly chastising the sleeping arrangement.
Another, much deeper, moan rang out as sleeping beauty began to stir at the soft commotion I was causing. Looking back over my shoulder, I watched him cup his hands onto his face and let out a low “scream” that sounded like air being slowly let out of a balloon.
‘FUCK, I’m tired.’ Chris declared with a yawn before opening his eyes and looking down at me. ‘What are you doing on the floor?’
‘My phone was ringing.’ I sat down in a heap, abandoning the search for the phone and sighing in defeat as a headache began to set in. I ran a hand over my eyes in an attempt to wake myself up a little more.
I had so much to do today, why? Whhhyyy was I so stupid as to drink so much last night!?
---
As the coffee machine beeped to announce that the sweet nectar of life was ready, I lifted my head up off of Chris’ counter and stared at it in hopes it would magically appear in front of me and soothe my thumping head.
‘I got it.’ Chris stepped down from the stool next to me and slowly trudged over to make us some coffee.
‘Thaaaaaank yooouuu.’ I called after him gratefully.
Yes, I was supposed to be on a coffee ban. No, I don’t care to stick to it at this very moment.
Even with our heads being sore and our souls regretting every single drop of alcohol, the closeness we shared last night was cherished fondly. Or at least, I looked back on it fondly. Despite giving me my first dose of raw pleasure in what felt like years, once the drink and tiredness had kicked in, we both fell asleep before I could return the favor and now my guilt was clear for all to see this morning.
Not that Chris seemed to mind. He gave the impression that he just seemed stoked to have finally started that walk across the bridge of intimacy…
Between savored sips of coffee, the two of us sat at his breakfast bar and groggily compared schedules for what felt like the millionth time in this “relationship”. The only real difference being in that we weren’t putting pressure on anything, just simply praying for a gap in which to spend quality time with one another and making an effort to not get caught up in the reality of it all. As fate would have it, we both beamed as we came across an opening and now next weekend was solely dedicated to Chris and Adrian time. Friday to Sunday, dinners, Chris’ favorite dive bar where they do stand-up, a movie night. Cuddles galore…
It all sounded perfect.
Bzzz…. Bzzz….
Oh shit, my phone!
Clumsily stumbling down off the stool, I sped over to the couch and picked up my purse, this time actually retrieving the incessant disturbance in question. I saw that I had four missed calls from my sister Gracey and immediately panic set in as I pressed the return call button.
‘Adrian, hey-’
‘I’m so sorry I missed your calls Gracey, I was still asleep! Is everything okay?’ Chris looked up from pouring two huge bowls of sugary cereal as a means of asking whether this was an okay breakfast. Flashing him the “perfect” hand sign, I turned away and waited for my sister on baited breath.
‘It’s fine, I just have something I need to tell you but before we start, I want you to know that every word that is about to come out of my mouth is 100% the truth and I need for you to take it as such. Got it?’ She sounded tired and monotone, which only added to my confusion. Gracey was normally always upbeat.
‘…Oookay?’ I replied.
‘I’m pregnant.’
My eyes bulged open in automatic joy as one fifth of a squeal managed to escape my mouth before I was hit with even more news.
‘And Oscar and I are getting married-’ I knew that part already? They’d been engaged for almost two years… BUT A BABY IS S- ‘next weekend.’
My mouth and squeal immediately morphed into a muddled wriggle of expressions as I absorbed the shock of what she had just said. Even Chris looked up in confusion at my quickly changing facials.
‘…Next…Weekend?’ I drawled slowly, trying to make sure I’d heard her correctly. Chris’ eyes were now fixated on me as he stopped pouring the milk into the bowls; disappointment dripping from him at the same rate as the liquid.
‘Yep.’ She sighed heavily. ‘Next. Weekend.’
Before I could even ask, she took it upon herself to fill me in on the speech that, by now, she’d clearly given ten times over. Apparently, it was early days in terms of the pregnancy but Oscar had pleaded with her to marry him for the sake of his overtly religious 92-year-old grandmother, who wasn’t even aware they were living together, for fear it would break her to think of him “living in sin”.
On paper, it sounded judgmental and harsh but it was truly what the sweet woman was brought up to believe and who were we to judge? Even Gracey understood the deeper meaning behind it all and to her credit, didn’t seem to mind; albeit a little tired of having to explain herself to so many friends and relatives over and over again. It being so last minute wasn’t ideal but at the end of the day, it was what she and Oscar wanted, if just a little sped up.
I hung up the phone and slowly placed it into my skirt pocket, wondering how on earth I was going to explain a situation that I didn’t fully understand myself.
‘So next weekend is off…’ I announced slowly.
‘I figured. Everything okay?’ He asked as I took a seat next to him at the counter.
‘Yeah, I mean,’ My voice still bore some confusion but there was a hint of optimism breaking through, ‘things are great by most accounts. My sister is pregnant and getting married.’
‘Next weekend?’ Chris queried, his tone a little high in puzzlement.
‘Next weekend.’ I confirmed. He nodded lightly in acceptance and went back to eating his cereal.
My heart felt torn as it diagnosed the depletion we were both feeling. Once again, we were faced with one step forward, two steps back. It was going to be another week or so on top of that if we wanted to see each other again; even then it would end up with a flight involved for one of us.
I don’t want that this time, I thought sadly. Pulling my phone out of my skirt pocket, I drew up a text conversation.
A: What’s the consensus on plus ones?
Graceyyyy <3: For you?
A: Yesssss?
Graceyyyy <3: Since when???? You never mentioned anyone when you came to stay???
A: For a while now. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure.
I looked over at Chris as he attempted a big bite and some of the cereal fell out of his hungover mouth. Adorable.
Oh yeah, I was sure.
Graceyyyy <3: OH HELLLLLLL YEAH THEN. DO IT. DO IT. DOOOOO IT.
---
The sunrise reflected in the cars we passed as morning met us going forward.
I had driven my parent’s car to the airport to go and pick him up but having lived in New York City for so long and doing my very best to avoid driving in LA, Chris was kind enough to offer to drive back for me.
The week leading up to today had been chaotic to say the least. I was blessed in the sense that I had bonded with Ben so well that he was willing to give me the Wednesday to Sunday off from filming after I promised to make it up with any hours he deemed fit.
But then of course once I was home, there was the actual helping part in getting things ready for one of the most last-minute weddings of all time. Being one of six bridesmaids, and sharing maid of honor duties with my other sister Sarah, we had to somehow fit dress shopping (for both bride and her bridesmaids), food tasting, backyard marquee and service hiring for my parent’s house, the pleading with any local pastor who could fit us in, license obtaining and finally finding someone to do hair and makeup on Gracey with no trial run and praying that they won’t mess up, alllll on a last-minute basis. It was enough to turn us grey till the end of time. Comically, there was one thing that didn’t get planned. But rest assured, Gracey had stared each one of us bridesmaids in the eye as she made it was clear that once the baby was born, we ‘I.O.U’d’ her a proper bachelorette party.
Miraculously we had somehow pulled it off and I felt a sense of accomplishment as I sat cross legged on the passenger side and listened to the seriousness in Chris’ voice. He inhaled a deep breath and gripped the wheel a little harder before starting off.
‘Okay, so… we have; your sister Gracey, who is seven years older than you and is the one getting married,’ I nodded, ‘then there’s your brother Daniel who is nine years older and is married to Alison with two kids, then your sister Sarah who is eleven years older and is married to Mark with one kid and then there’s your brother Brian who is thirteen years older and is married to Kristen with three kids.’
My face lit up and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning over and wrapping an arm lightly around his neck, placing a firm kiss on his cheek in appreciation. ‘You did so good!’ I gushed.
Even I knew my family was a handful and that was before even meeting them. As the absolute youngest, I had accepted my “surprise” status pretty quickly. The beauty lay in the fact that despite our age difference, my siblings and myself could not have been closer. Truly a case of five people who loved nothing more than spending time with each other and with our parents. And so far, I had been blessed in the in-law’s department too, as each of my siblings had picked partners that accepted our closeness as a family and more importantly, wanted to join in on it.
Holiday seasons, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas, were always spent at my parent’s house, with my in-laws bargaining New Year to spend with their family as they relished in the traditionalism we had every year. By this point, most of them were firm installments in that tradition anyway.
Alex had always struggled with our closeness. Despite my family making him feel as welcome as possible, he always wanted me to spend Christmas with his parents, who could not stand each other and every year ended in a fight and us just driving to my parent’s house anyway…
Looking at Chris and his determination to make a good first impression, I was once again reminded of how different they are and just how lucky I was.
In retrospect I had been so apprehensive to ask him to the wedding, fearing it to be too forward, but the way his face lit up and the way a smile stretched so far across his face and how he’d stated ‘Really!? Yeah, sure, I’d love to! If you’re sure you want me to, that is…’ was so warming to my heart I felt like crying. I suppose my family is very precious to me and it seemed foreign to ask someone to meet them so soon.
Then I thought back to how eager Chris was for me to meet everyone that was special to him so early on, even if every girl did, but it showed how things really were different with us. And that that was a good thing.
‘Are you nervous?’ I asked softly, willing him to be wholly honest with me.
‘Completely,’ He divulged, ‘but that’s half the fun, right?’ He tossed me a smile and I had to control the urge to once again lean across to kiss him. ‘I mean, I don’t think anything could top the shit storm that was my Boston weekend…’
‘As long as you don’t run off and catch the first flight home, I think we’ll be okay.’ I bantered.
---
It was the calm before the storm as the house echoed alongside the creek when I opened the front door. Everyone was out making sure things were set in stone for this afternoon and I relished in the opportunity to ease Chris into this new environment before the chaos took over. All of my family, especially my brothers, had been pre-warned about not making him feel weird this weekend. The second I arrived home, I felt it was the right thing to do to tell them in advance that it would be Chris Evans, of all people, joining us this weekend.
‘Let’s go put your bags down in my room.’ I decided as I walked towards the staircase in front of us.
‘This house is incredible!’ Chris complimented as he followed behind. It was an old, traditional, suburban home that tipped on the bigger side. With its wooden floors and white paneling that complimented my mom’s unique furniture and art taste that spread itself throughout the living room, kitchen and dining room, I smiled fondly at it as I looked around. The beautiful garden, my dad’s pride and joy, really was the piece de resistance and it didn’t surprise me one bit that Gracey and Oscar had opted to get married in it.
‘Not a shabby place to grow up, huh?’
‘I’ll say!’
When we reached the top of the stairs, the closer we got to my room, the sooner it dawned on me. I quickly turned around and placed my back firmly against the door, with one hand gripping the doorknob and the other flying up to Chris’ mouth to silence him.
‘Not. A. Word. Evans-’ I warned, ‘I haven’t lived here since I was seventeen years old and it shows, okay?’
He nodded slowly with a smirk, clearly dying to get in and find something to make fun of.
Turning the knob and walking in I fell back, wringing my hands as the feeling of self-consciousness took over. I watched on as he studied my floor to ceiling shelves that were covered in teddy bears, old DVD’s and picture frames galore of braced-up, teenage Adrian before she was given her first role in the big city. My ceilings still bore the dot marks from where they had once held posters of Justin Timberlake and Brad Pitt. My desk still had the old desktop computer that I had written essays on as a teenager and the fluffy rug in the shape of a heart rounded things off.
Admittedly absence showed too, as a corner of the room was now home to a couple of old boxes and an exercise machine that my Mom swears she uses daily…
‘It’s cute!’ His eyes wandered around once more and, much to my horror, zoned in to find something to light up at. He stepped towards the shelves and pulled out one of my old DVD’s and smiled widely. ‘Reaaaalllll cute.’
Not Another Teen Movie stared back at me from his hand and I suddenly didn’t have the heart to tell him that it belonged to my brothers, who had forced me against my will to watch it because they knew how much of a lame fan I was of She’s All That and how much I had hated that “stupid parody movie” at the time.
As I looked at it in his hands, the bizarre nature of the situation dawned on me. For years that movie had sat dormant on my shelf and not for one second did I ever entertain the idea that the hottie lead actor in it would ever be standing in my childhood room, looking better than ever, as my date to my sister’s wedding.
---
‘Gracey, Daniel, Sarah, Brian…’ A soft mumble filtered through the silence. ‘Gracey, Daniel, Sarah, Brian…’ He nodded to himself. ‘Oscar, Alison, Mark, Kristen…’
Chris stared at himself keenly through my old bedroom mirror as he nervously did his purple tie up - rehearsing as though they were lines from a big budget movie or something. As I finished inserting the earrings that matched my last-minute lavender bridesmaid dress we had bought, I outwardly swooned as I watched on for a second.
I walked over and turned him around, grabbing each end of the tie and doing it up for him.
‘Stop,’ I whispered softly, ‘they’re gonna love you. Regardless of whether you know their name or not.’
‘Bonus points if I do though, right?’ He chirped.
I gave a lopsided smile in response and threaded the last knot in the tie, wriggling it up to the top of his shirt. ‘You get bonus points for even being here Evans.’ I relayed, stepping back and admiring the view. It never ceased to amaze me just how handsome he really was. It was as though God himself commissioned the very image of a Hollywood Hunk and boom, there was Chris. He had trimmed his hair and beard for the occasion and his suit fit like a glove.
He swiveled around and gave himself one last look in the mirror, making sure everything was in place and neat before facing me once again with a hopeful look. His eyes scanned over me and under the makeup, I could feel myself blush.
‘You look incredible.’ He gushed as I did my very best not to ruin my makeup by gifting him a kiss.
‘Thank you, Evans. As do you.’
I grabbed and squeezed his hand as a gesture of one last affirmation of confidence before I led us both out of the room. The landing seemed to be a junction for preparation as men and woman rushed past us with flowers and ribbons and all sorts; bits that would eventually adorn the bushes and the makeshift silk and floral aisle in the garden.
As we made our way down the stairs, I clocked my Mom stood beside the front door instructing the workers on where they needed to be going as they hurried in and out. She looked radiant in her lavender skirt suit that was adorned with a broach belonging to my great-grandmother and her hair in a neat bun.
Deciding that there was no time like the present, especially to a mother so distracted like mine was at that very second, I took the plunge. Waltzing up to her, she took a second glance before realizing it was me and her eyes lit up as we took each other in.
‘Ooooo you look so pretty, Mama!’ I admired as we entered into a sweet hug.
She smiled in a way that immediately returned the favor before her eyes naturally landed on the Adonis behind me.
Catching on quickly, I made my move. ‘Mom, I’d like you to meet Chris.’ I stepped aside and placed a hand on his back, encouraging him forward. ‘Chris this is my Mom, Pamela.’
‘Well hello there Chris, it’s very nice to meet you,’ She reached forward so that they could rest a kiss on each other’s cheek, ‘I’m so glad you could make it on such short notice! I assure you, we aren’t normally this disorganized for such big occasions!’ She chuckled as she pushed her dainty glasses back up the bridge of her nose.
‘Ah come now, seems like you have it all under control.’ He complimented, immediately at ease by my mother’s warming tone.
‘Ohhhh, the day is young yet. Plenty of time for things to go wrong!’ She joked, ‘I just hope your Aunt Mimi lays off the whiskey and doesn’t try to snowplow people out of the way of the bouquet toss like last time!’ She directed at me seriously. I briefly shut my eyes at the memory and shot Chris a “you don’t wanna know” look.
A helper paused in front of us holding up pieces of lace trimming and as my Mom informed him that they were for the tables in the marquee, his eyes seemed to bulge out of his head at the sight of the ultra famous movie star in front of him.
Desperate for Chris to have as normal a day as possible without someone making him feel uncomfortable, I accepted the star struck little lads face as our cue to move on. I took Chris by the arm and explained to my Mom that we’d catch up with her later. As we walked away, I took a notion and looked back, clapping eyes on my Mom as she winked at me and gave me an obvious thumbs up in approval.
---
The rest of the day seemed to play out as though it was on fast forward. The feeling of seeing Amy again after going the longest we’d been apart since we’d started working together nine years ago was overwhelming, to put it mildly. Almost as overwhelming as standing up and seeing my sister marry the love of her life in front of 100 of her closest friends and family, all sat amongst the flowers and the sunshine that beamed down upon them in approval.
I had taken a moment when the pastor declared for anyone to ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’ to look out over the sea of people and smile. My best friend Amanda had caught my eye first, sticking her tongue out as she sat next to Amy, making a silly face of approval while subtly pointing at Chris, who was sat on Amy’s other side. Looking over at Chris, I caught a smile and a wink that physically made my heart skip a beat.
Now that was a pair of eyes I’d like to catch the attention of all day, every day.
---
I thanked Amanda as she handed me a glass of champagne before she joined Amy and myself on the veranda. The interval as Gracey and Oscar went off to take some pictures provided the perfect excuse for us to have a good old-fashioned catch up.
However, instead of catching up, all three of us just decided to bask in the view down by the pond. Chris was enjoying a drink with my brothers, as my nephews attempted to hang from every one of his limbs in pure excitement; with my brothers then doing their best to calm them down. Touchingly, at one point, Chris even raised them up and balanced each of them on his shoulders/biceps. Knowing what that meant to them, the looks on their faces was precious in comparison to what they must’ve actually been feeling inside.
‘How in God’s name have you not ripped that man’s clothes off yet!?’ Mandy’s dreamy voice broke the silence but not our gazes. Now Chris was bending down to listen to something my little niece had to say.
‘It’s like he was made in some sort of lab. How is it possible for someone to be that good-looking, that talented, that patient, that sweet with kids. I mean, it’s just...’ Amy let out a dreamy breath of her own. ‘… impossible.’
I didn’t say anything. Instead I just feebly nodded my head as I drank in the heart melting scenes.
-
Even as we sat listening to the speeches, the way his arm wrapped naturally around my chair and the way he listened to stories about people he’d never heard of yet his eyes creased up in good humor anyway. It had gotten to the point where both of my – now drunken – brothers had pulled me aside to tell me that:
‘Adrian, we’re not gonna lie, we still can’t wrap our head’s around how fucking Captain America is at Gracey’s wedding… but how solid is he? Cool fucking dude. Right, Danny?’
Daniel sloppily slung an arm around my shoulder as Brian occupied the other one. ‘It’s mind-blowing for sure. But hey, we just wanted to let you know that if you’re happy, then that’s awesome because you, above anyone, deserve at least that little girl.’ I smiled. Little girl. They had called me that since I was, well, just that. Little.
When it came to my father’s opinion, I was confused to say the least at how “merry” he was for someone who rarely got past a hot whisky before bed.
‘Daddy, how many have you had?’ I laughed as he swung me around the dance floor to his favorite Bruce Springsteen song. ‘That guy of yours,’ (neither my Mom nor my Dad were very well versed in modern film and the only reason they knew Chris was because I did the Gucci campaign with him. Other than that, clueless!), ‘is to blame.’ He winked. ‘We had a brandy or two up at the bar. I wanted to discuss you no less.’
‘Oh you did, did you?’ I looked over to Chris, who was sat with my brothers again, listening intently to Daniel tell some sort of enthusiastic story as they all sipped from something strong. The kids were long home and put to bed by their sitters, so it was time for the parents to let loose.
‘And what was there to talk about?’ I asked as he gave me a twirl.
‘I reckon I ought to keep that between us. I made my thoughts clear, I will say that.’ He teased. ‘But I’m happy for you baby.’
For the first time that night, and for the first time in almost two years, I stared up at my father and smiled. ‘I’m happy for me too Dad.’
A few seconds passed before I questioned something. ‘You didn’t mention Alex at all, did you?’
‘Oh God honey, no. That’s your business.’ I breathed out in relief before looking up at him gratefully as he kissed my cheek. I laid my head on my father’s chest and swayed to the rhythm.
It was then I realized that I’d fallen harder than I could have ever imagined.
---
I waltzed over to the three men and bent down. ‘Do you reckon I could have my date back for a sec, you weirdos?’ I mocked my brothers playfully.
Taking Chris by the hand, I said nothing as I led him out of the marque.
I said nothing as I led him through the house, despite his protests. ‘Woah, Adrian, everything alright?’
I said nothing as I led him up the stairs, around the banister and into my bedroom.
I finally let go of his hand to shut and lock the door before spinning on my heel and facing him.
At some point during the day, my bed had been covered in party favors for the guests but even that didn’t stop me.
‘We’re doing this. Right. Now.’
I rushed forward and pushed his suit jacket off his shoulders greedily before reaching up and kissing him as my fingers set to work undoing his tie. His confusion stunted his response but I was so drunk off of how much of an impression he’d made on not only my family and friends but also my once broken heart, I continued on regardless.
He pulled away briefly and looked deep into my eyes. ‘This isn’t because we’ve had a drink, right?’ He probed, clearly still feeling a little insecure after the circumstances of our last intimate occasion.
‘I’ve had two glasses champagne all night. I’m sober as a judge. And I’m telling you now, that here is nothing I want more on this earth than to somehow feel closer to you than I already do.’
The smallest smile made itself known at the corners of his mouth. ‘Right now?’ He repeated my words from earlier softly. Closing the gap between us and resting my body against his, I nodded gently. ‘Right now.’
He raised his eyebrow and for a while our breathing filled the air as he decided what to do with that information….
My backside slammed against my old dresser before we paused, waiting to hear if someone had heard. After a few seconds of silence and content that we were still alone, we jumped back into it.
He bent down and hungrily pressed his lips against my jaw as I began to rake my hands through his hair, messing up it’s once neat appearance.
Quickly moving his kisses around my neck, his own hands traveled down along the lavender fabric as he searched for the hem of my dress and slowly proceeded up, leading it back up my legs and causing every piece of flesh in its path to stand on edge.
When his fingers reached my mid-thigh, he squeezed the skin purposefully before hoisting me up so that I was now sat atop of the wooden structure. My stomach swirled in anticipation and slight fear as I leaned in for a kiss whilst my hands set about undoing his belt.
‘You-sure?’ He queried between kisses.
‘Mmm-hmm.’
‘You-sure-you’re-sure?’
I pulled away and lifted his hands and rested them on my silk covered breasts. ‘I haven’t been this sure of anything, in a long time Chris.’
He didn’t react in the way I imagined, there was no primal male desire or roughness. Instead he gently squeezed what I had offered until his left hand ran itself down the length of my torso before it began to re-familiarize itself with me; tempting and teasing, just like he had done the week before. The effect he had was instant, like he was some sort of potion cured entirely to elicit my downfall.
My fingers gripped the edge of the dresser firmly, my knuckles paling by the second. I wanted nothing more than to reach out and finish unzipping the holy grail but his hold on me was too strong to multitask alongside. His own free hand set about finishing my job; but before I could take a peek or even assist, my face was drawn into another intense kiss. His right hand appeared to pull something out of his pocket and my only guess was that he carried protection in his wallet.
My back hit the mirror and my body completely melted into the moment. He pressed our foreheads together and we both shut our eyes in suspense before his husky voice lamented my decision to do this for us.
‘I’m crazy about you. You know that, right?’
Staring into his eyes, I nodded. Because I did know. And that was the most sensational feeling a woman could ever experience. The feeling of being wanted and appreciated and desired in such an intense way was foreign to me. But I wasn’t scared anymore. I welcomed this closeness with open arms.
I gripped and lightly bit his shoulder as we followed through with our desires.
I couldn’t have imagined what it would feel like the moment Chris and I had sex for the first time but I’m glad I didn’t. Because nothing could top what it truly felt like. He was slow and gentle and sweet as he began. His eyes never leaving mine so as to keep an eye on my comfort levels.
I shut my own eyes briefly, letting the sensation of being with a man after so long resonate. When I finally felt ready to open them, I smiled up at him and fluttered my lashes in approval. Pushing back now, I wanted him to feel just as wanted as I did. The more we stared at each other, the wider our smiles grew; which eventually resulted in us just laughing during intervals at the spontaneity and randomness of our actions.
The weight of the clashing began to open and close the empty drawers in the dresser and I gave a breathy laugh as I bent my arms down to feebly push them back in and cease the noise they were making whilst Chris continued.
‘Someone’s gonna hear. Oh shit, someone’s gonna hear!’ My voice was giggly and barely above a whisper as Chris let out a snicker; neither of us actually taking any measures to stop the sweet, sweet lovemaking, instead simply indulging in another kiss. We had made it this far, there was in way in hell I was going to press pause on this.
Bam.
Bam.
Bam.
Faster.
BAM. BAM. BAM.
His hair fell into his eyes and both my hands flew up to smooth the strands back again and caress his face, desperate to savor these moments of closeness. My eyes began to roll into the back of my head and my mouth fell open as I focused on breathing through the sensational pleasure. I could feel it rising. Rising and rising.
Within a few short minutes, he had fully launched me into a euphoric high, with a faint squeak signalling my total surrender.
‘Oh God.’ His eyes squeezed shut and his breathing became more rapid as he tightened his grip on my hips and indulged in the last few seconds of resistance. He launched his head back as he released a long sigh of pleasure of his own and eventually, the rocking of dresser came to a halt.
No words were spoken between either of us in the moments following. Only lamenting heavy breaths, desperate to confirm that this had been the reality that we had both shamelessly indulged in at my own sister’s wedding.
Eventually, my eyes travelled down to look at our mess. Chris’s dress shirt had become creased at the bottom and his pants had only made it to the middle of his thighs, with enough room for proper exposure.
I was still wearing my lavender dress, albeit ridden to above my pelvis and back at this point. We hadn’t even undressed for the occasion…
Unable to contain it, I threw my head back in hysterics.
‘What?’ He panted with a smile as he did his zipper and belt back up.
‘Look at us!’ It was his eyes turn as they studied our fully clothed yet disheveled appearances post intimacy.
‘We still have our shoes on.’ He commented with a raised eyebrow. A brief second of silence was followed by another eruption of laughter. And I loved that. No seriousness. No pressure. Just Chris and Adrian being Chris and Adrian; even after sex…
---
After quickly cleaning ourselves up, I carefully opened the door and peeked my head out. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw we were still the only ones up here; now all I had to do was pray no one had been in the kitchen at the time.
I turned around to catch Chris giving his hair one last brush through in the mirror as he attempted to undo the mess I had caused.
‘Alright, I’ll go down first and then you come down in like, five minutes or so, okay?’ I called.
I walked over and straightened his tie for him for the second time today. I had reapplied my lipstick but I couldn’t help but give him one last savored kiss. We both smiled into it and breathed each other in before pulling away and gazing at each other fondly.
‘I’ll see you down there in sec.’ I turned around and headed for the door, with a noticeable pep in my step now.
‘A’rite.’ He reached up and wiped his mouth in case any of my lipstick had transferred before placing his hands in his pockets with a face so smug and a heart so full, the word satisfied probably didn’t even cover it.
---
‘Everyone ready?’ Gracey shot my Aunt Mimi a knowing smile as she stood at the top of the stairs and faced her back towards us before giving a couple of teasing gestures and then finally releasing it.
We all glanced up and almost instantly, the bouquet torpedoed in the complete opposite direction to Mimi and landed right next to me, with a bonk on Amy’s head. A smile spread across my face in excitement as I folded my arms and shot her a knowing look.
Bending down and picking it up, she sighed, ‘I don’t think that counts somehow.’
‘Ohhhhh I think that definitely counts. It homed in on you like a heat seeking missile.’ Amanda appeared beside me and nodded in agreement.
‘Whatever.’ She mused, twirling it in her hand. ‘Where’s the lady with the champagne?’
---
Confetti and ribbon scattered all over the floor, the bride and the groom long gone back to their hotel room, my brothers and their wives departed home to kiss their babies’ goodnight, my sister and her husband blearily debating whether they should stay the night or go back to their own house and my father fast asleep in his favorite chair as my Mom attempted to sweep up the debris.
It was the image that greeted me as I leant my head on Chris’ shoulder in the archway of the living room. His jacket and tie had been discarded somewhere and his top button was undone for comfort. He yawned once again, causing one to erupt from myself. A signal to call it a night.
Ascending the staircase, half way up I stopped and turned around.
‘Thank you.’ I whispered with a smile.
‘For what?’ He countered with his own sleepy one.
‘For being you.’ I shrugged, as I rested a drowsy kiss on his lips and led him up to the land of nod.
As we nestled into my old queen-sized bed, both of us thoroughly exhausted, Chris piped up for one final comment.
‘Hey look, no shit show.’
I smiled and clutched his arm that was wrapped around my waist tenderly. No shit show…
‘Hey Adrian,’
‘Mmm?’
‘Wanna know somethin’?’
‘Wahh?’
‘Your dresser is my new favorite piece of furniture. Ever.’
‘Goodnight Chris.’
……….
……….
……….
‘Ever.’
‘Good. Night. Chris.’
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I LOVE YOU FOR GETTING TO THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! I get self conscious about long chapters but sometimes I just can’t help myself, especially with how long I’ve been known to go between uploads! I also read through them to the point where I think they are a steaming pile of awful so I don’t even know what to think of them anymore haha!
Anyways, thank you for reading. I hope this chapter was everything you hoped for and more. And don’t worry, there’s definitely more to come for our two sweethearts! Did someone say, cabin fever? ;)
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