I disclaim everything. This fan fiction is loosely based on characters from
Days of our Lives and on the movie 'While You Were Sleeping'. I watched the
movie last night and it gave me inspiration for a new broe fic so I had to
write it. Hope you like :)
While You Were Sleeping
Chapter 1
The subways rattled noisily by as I sat there in that same old ticket booth, selling my tickets to day-to-day customers. A man stopped in front of my booth and dropped a few coins noisily into the metal pan that sat at the tip of my table, half on the outside where people would drop their money and half behind a protective layer of plastic where I spent my days. I even worked holidays, not really having much of a life.
I lived by myself in an apartment building. The owner's son was after me constantly. He's a nice man, but really not my speed. I prefer to save any emotions for someone I know I'll be spending the rest of my life with. He's a short, rather chubby guy named Jason Junior. Nonetheless, he's good company, whether he knows it or not. He says I'm the best looking chick in the building, but I honestly think I'm rather plain. I work a job at minimum wage, my dad died last year and I never really knew my mother. All I have is a cat. It's an ugly cat too, one ear torn off and patches of bare skin. I think the only reason I took it in was because I felt sorry for it, out in the world alone, just like me.
When I was younger, I remember my dad would always tell me that life didn't turn out the way you'd want it to. I didn't know at the time that he was talking about my life. Despite this, I still thrived on every moment we spent together. He would tell me dozens of stories as we walked through the woods by our house. The stories I liked most were those I dragged out of him whenever we walked by the cathedral where my parents were married. He'd be forced to tell me every detail of his wedding day to me again and again and again.
Anyways, now I'm twenty years old and I don't have a father who tells me stories anymore. Sad, sort of. I didn't have time to go to college after I finished high school. I was too busy worrying about my dad's health and finding ways to make money. I eventually landed a job at the subway station, where I've been ever since, selling tickets to people who just get a thrill out of riding a train.
I silently gathered the coins from the little metal pan and pushed a ticket back through it, offering only a brief smile to my customer as I pushed my hat farther down over my head. I had purposely cut the tips of my gloves of so I could handle the tickets and money more easily. I wouldn't have been wearing them at all if this had been a nice, climatized place to work. Unfortuneatly, we were practically outside and in the middle of winter, it didn't feel too nice having to sit out in the cold.
My shift ended at five that day. The passengers dilly-dallied by that day, occassionally stopping at my booth either to buy tickets or ask for directions. I hadn't seen him today, my dream guy. Tall and blonde and sophisticated. He stopped by my booth everyday to ask for a ticket. He only came to my booth, doesn't that tell you anything? Obviously he preferred me to everyone else. Everyday I would mumble to myself what I wanted to say to him, maybe even ask for his name. Everytime he came near me all I could muster was 'have a nice day'. Then he would give me this sparkling smile and walk away.
Around a quarter to four, I saw him approching me. Hair combed neatly back, greenish eyes smiling. He stopped infront of me as always and dropped the same coins into my pan. I looked at him then down at the coins and gulped. I lifted them gingerly and handed him a ticket. He flashed me a smile and ran off to catch his train. I smacked my head against the plastic screen that held me back from the rest of the world. Somehow I had been able to get tongue-tied again.
I left my work at around a quarter after five that day, staying to help my co-worker Greta gather he stuff. She was expecting. I couldn't believe she'd still be working out there in the cold when she was seven months pregnant. I mean, it's not like I knew anything about everything, but wasn't that just common sense? I walked her out to her cab and bid her farewell.
As for myself, I started slowly down the street to Central Park, the heart of New York city. There was a hotdog booth there that I visited almost every day for dinner. Don't ask me why, I just have a thing for their frankfurters.
The streets were covered with snow and the cold wind was nipping steadily at my face. I pulled my scarf up around my cheeks and pushed on through the wind. Luckily I had found alternate paths to avoid the icy spots in the road. As I approached that quaint little hot dog stand, the owner waved to me, offering me a warm greeting.
"Hiya, Chloe! What'll it be today? The usual?" The tall man called out to me. His name was Jack Deveraux. He told me he was once a famous news reporter but I think that's a little hard to believe. Hard news to hotdogs just didn't seem like a plausible transfer.
I smiled and nodded my head, stopped underneath the pointless umbrella ballooning over the stand. I watched Jack working swifly with the thongs, flipping the little pink peice of scrapped meat over on the grill. He popped it into a toasted bun and loaded on the works. The unsual for me. It was a wonder I didn't look like Jason Jr. with all this grease I was eating. Then again, I guess I was my father's daughter. High metabolism, flat chest...
I took the frankfurter from Jack's outstretched arms and gave him two dollars in excahnge. He dropped the shining coins into a pocket of his pants and leaned onto the counter of his stand.
"Well then, Miss Lane, how was work today?" He asked in a rather cheery tone. I shrugged my shoulders. "A bother, as always." I answered bluntly, taking a bite of my well-earned hotdog. Really, my job was as big a bother as you could get. Not to mention boring and pointless. Couldn't people just buy their tickets from an ATM or something? Of course if such a thing did happen I would be out of work, but it would at least give me an excuse to search for a better job.
"Are you thinking of leaving the old mine? I hear that they're hiring for a new hamburger stand just down the street." Jack offered.
"I don't think so, Jack." I replied, chewing thoughtfully on a peice of bread and swallowing. "I don't see too much excitement in flipping burgers."
"But you see it in gathering coins and tearing tickets?" Jack said, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to keep them free of frost-bite. I raised my eyebrow. "Point taken."
"Somehow I knew you'd see things my way."
"Yeah, just don't let it get to your head." I reached for a napkin and wiped a dab of ketchup from my chin.
My eyes wandered aimlessly around the crowded park. A light snow began as I finished off my meal and thanked Jack. As I started to walk off towards my appartment building, I heard someone calling after me. I turned around to see Abe Carver, the boss of the sub-division of subway management that I worked in. I stopped and waited pateintly until he stopped in front of me, panting.
"Glad I caught you! Have I got news for you Chloe! You get a chance to work on Christmas Day!" Abe cried happily, throwing his arm around my shoulder as I prepared to take off.
"Nice try. There is no way I am working anymore holidays."
"Why not Lane? Please? You work holiday after holiday even if you've worked previous holidays. You've been nominated for employee of the month!"
"We have an employee of the month?" I asked, giving him a curious look. "I didn't even know we had emplyees of the month. They nominated me?" I stopped inching towards the sidewalk and smiled slightly, a little overjoyed that I'd been nominated. "Wow. I've never won anything in my life."
"Well there you go. All the more reason for you to spend Christmas with your ol' Subway buddies." Abe said, looking somewhat relieved that I'd accepted his offer. Not that I had, but he seemed to think so. Nevertheless, I went along with it. It's not like a really had anything to celebrate on Christmas. I had no family, and I was pretty much a loner. I sighed and gave into his offer.
Abe gave me a pat on the back and walked off, grinning happily. There was probably something in it for him, I thought, digging my hands into my pockets and starting off towards 191 Catella dr. where my home was calling out to me.
I stepped through the foggy glass doors into the lobby. Or, however much of a lobby it was. It was basically a stairwell. I trudged up the stairs to my apartment, the first door to the right on the third floor. I jammed my key into the lock and turned it slowly, allowing myself into the slightly messy haven that was my home. I threw my coat to the side and slunk down into a chair in the kitchen, debating whether or not I should take a trip to the cupboard to take out some oreos.
The clock in the living room tolled six times, marking the arrival of six o'clock. I sighed and stood up, grabbing the bag of oreos and plopping down onto the couch in front of the TV. I turned to channel 3 where 'Friends' was just beginning. I opened the bag of oreos and pulled a couple out, twisting them apart. It licked off the cream and tossed the chocolate cookies into the trash bin at my side.
I heard a persistent knocking at my door half-way through the bag of cookies. I stood up slowly and hobbled over to the door. I turned the knob and opened the door to reveal Jason Jr. standing on my welcome mat with a cigarette between his fingers.
"Sup, Chloe. Look what I got, two tickets to the Ice Capades on Christmas Day. Are you up to it? It's uh, like a date huh?"
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Jason was a nice guy and all, but he again he just wasn't my type. He had to be at least three inches shorter than me. He left the top of his shirt unbuttoned to reveal a few chest hairs and he was balding.
"Actually Jase, I'm sort of busy that day. Can you take a rain check?"
"No way! This is a date, honey. It's Christmas too! What plans could you possibly have?"
I stopped for a moment, pondering this. All I was doing that day was working. Working like I did five days a week, sometimes six or seven days. I realized that I really didn't have a life. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I felt myself nodding. He smiled and winked at me.
"Ok, sweet cheeks! Don't forget huh?"
I nodded. He turned and walked off down the flight of stairs. I shook my head and closed the door, returning to the couch. Yup, some life I had. Ice Capades, wow. For some reason I wasn't excited. I really had no life, after all.
Friends was a re-run of course, go figure. I flicked the TV off and sauntered to my bedroom, calling it an early night. Nothing exciting was taking place, and nothing would. I closed my door and flopped down onto my bed.
By the way, my name is Chloe Lane.
While You Were Sleeping
Chapter 1
The subways rattled noisily by as I sat there in that same old ticket booth, selling my tickets to day-to-day customers. A man stopped in front of my booth and dropped a few coins noisily into the metal pan that sat at the tip of my table, half on the outside where people would drop their money and half behind a protective layer of plastic where I spent my days. I even worked holidays, not really having much of a life.
I lived by myself in an apartment building. The owner's son was after me constantly. He's a nice man, but really not my speed. I prefer to save any emotions for someone I know I'll be spending the rest of my life with. He's a short, rather chubby guy named Jason Junior. Nonetheless, he's good company, whether he knows it or not. He says I'm the best looking chick in the building, but I honestly think I'm rather plain. I work a job at minimum wage, my dad died last year and I never really knew my mother. All I have is a cat. It's an ugly cat too, one ear torn off and patches of bare skin. I think the only reason I took it in was because I felt sorry for it, out in the world alone, just like me.
When I was younger, I remember my dad would always tell me that life didn't turn out the way you'd want it to. I didn't know at the time that he was talking about my life. Despite this, I still thrived on every moment we spent together. He would tell me dozens of stories as we walked through the woods by our house. The stories I liked most were those I dragged out of him whenever we walked by the cathedral where my parents were married. He'd be forced to tell me every detail of his wedding day to me again and again and again.
Anyways, now I'm twenty years old and I don't have a father who tells me stories anymore. Sad, sort of. I didn't have time to go to college after I finished high school. I was too busy worrying about my dad's health and finding ways to make money. I eventually landed a job at the subway station, where I've been ever since, selling tickets to people who just get a thrill out of riding a train.
I silently gathered the coins from the little metal pan and pushed a ticket back through it, offering only a brief smile to my customer as I pushed my hat farther down over my head. I had purposely cut the tips of my gloves of so I could handle the tickets and money more easily. I wouldn't have been wearing them at all if this had been a nice, climatized place to work. Unfortuneatly, we were practically outside and in the middle of winter, it didn't feel too nice having to sit out in the cold.
My shift ended at five that day. The passengers dilly-dallied by that day, occassionally stopping at my booth either to buy tickets or ask for directions. I hadn't seen him today, my dream guy. Tall and blonde and sophisticated. He stopped by my booth everyday to ask for a ticket. He only came to my booth, doesn't that tell you anything? Obviously he preferred me to everyone else. Everyday I would mumble to myself what I wanted to say to him, maybe even ask for his name. Everytime he came near me all I could muster was 'have a nice day'. Then he would give me this sparkling smile and walk away.
Around a quarter to four, I saw him approching me. Hair combed neatly back, greenish eyes smiling. He stopped infront of me as always and dropped the same coins into my pan. I looked at him then down at the coins and gulped. I lifted them gingerly and handed him a ticket. He flashed me a smile and ran off to catch his train. I smacked my head against the plastic screen that held me back from the rest of the world. Somehow I had been able to get tongue-tied again.
I left my work at around a quarter after five that day, staying to help my co-worker Greta gather he stuff. She was expecting. I couldn't believe she'd still be working out there in the cold when she was seven months pregnant. I mean, it's not like I knew anything about everything, but wasn't that just common sense? I walked her out to her cab and bid her farewell.
As for myself, I started slowly down the street to Central Park, the heart of New York city. There was a hotdog booth there that I visited almost every day for dinner. Don't ask me why, I just have a thing for their frankfurters.
The streets were covered with snow and the cold wind was nipping steadily at my face. I pulled my scarf up around my cheeks and pushed on through the wind. Luckily I had found alternate paths to avoid the icy spots in the road. As I approached that quaint little hot dog stand, the owner waved to me, offering me a warm greeting.
"Hiya, Chloe! What'll it be today? The usual?" The tall man called out to me. His name was Jack Deveraux. He told me he was once a famous news reporter but I think that's a little hard to believe. Hard news to hotdogs just didn't seem like a plausible transfer.
I smiled and nodded my head, stopped underneath the pointless umbrella ballooning over the stand. I watched Jack working swifly with the thongs, flipping the little pink peice of scrapped meat over on the grill. He popped it into a toasted bun and loaded on the works. The unsual for me. It was a wonder I didn't look like Jason Jr. with all this grease I was eating. Then again, I guess I was my father's daughter. High metabolism, flat chest...
I took the frankfurter from Jack's outstretched arms and gave him two dollars in excahnge. He dropped the shining coins into a pocket of his pants and leaned onto the counter of his stand.
"Well then, Miss Lane, how was work today?" He asked in a rather cheery tone. I shrugged my shoulders. "A bother, as always." I answered bluntly, taking a bite of my well-earned hotdog. Really, my job was as big a bother as you could get. Not to mention boring and pointless. Couldn't people just buy their tickets from an ATM or something? Of course if such a thing did happen I would be out of work, but it would at least give me an excuse to search for a better job.
"Are you thinking of leaving the old mine? I hear that they're hiring for a new hamburger stand just down the street." Jack offered.
"I don't think so, Jack." I replied, chewing thoughtfully on a peice of bread and swallowing. "I don't see too much excitement in flipping burgers."
"But you see it in gathering coins and tearing tickets?" Jack said, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to keep them free of frost-bite. I raised my eyebrow. "Point taken."
"Somehow I knew you'd see things my way."
"Yeah, just don't let it get to your head." I reached for a napkin and wiped a dab of ketchup from my chin.
My eyes wandered aimlessly around the crowded park. A light snow began as I finished off my meal and thanked Jack. As I started to walk off towards my appartment building, I heard someone calling after me. I turned around to see Abe Carver, the boss of the sub-division of subway management that I worked in. I stopped and waited pateintly until he stopped in front of me, panting.
"Glad I caught you! Have I got news for you Chloe! You get a chance to work on Christmas Day!" Abe cried happily, throwing his arm around my shoulder as I prepared to take off.
"Nice try. There is no way I am working anymore holidays."
"Why not Lane? Please? You work holiday after holiday even if you've worked previous holidays. You've been nominated for employee of the month!"
"We have an employee of the month?" I asked, giving him a curious look. "I didn't even know we had emplyees of the month. They nominated me?" I stopped inching towards the sidewalk and smiled slightly, a little overjoyed that I'd been nominated. "Wow. I've never won anything in my life."
"Well there you go. All the more reason for you to spend Christmas with your ol' Subway buddies." Abe said, looking somewhat relieved that I'd accepted his offer. Not that I had, but he seemed to think so. Nevertheless, I went along with it. It's not like a really had anything to celebrate on Christmas. I had no family, and I was pretty much a loner. I sighed and gave into his offer.
Abe gave me a pat on the back and walked off, grinning happily. There was probably something in it for him, I thought, digging my hands into my pockets and starting off towards 191 Catella dr. where my home was calling out to me.
I stepped through the foggy glass doors into the lobby. Or, however much of a lobby it was. It was basically a stairwell. I trudged up the stairs to my apartment, the first door to the right on the third floor. I jammed my key into the lock and turned it slowly, allowing myself into the slightly messy haven that was my home. I threw my coat to the side and slunk down into a chair in the kitchen, debating whether or not I should take a trip to the cupboard to take out some oreos.
The clock in the living room tolled six times, marking the arrival of six o'clock. I sighed and stood up, grabbing the bag of oreos and plopping down onto the couch in front of the TV. I turned to channel 3 where 'Friends' was just beginning. I opened the bag of oreos and pulled a couple out, twisting them apart. It licked off the cream and tossed the chocolate cookies into the trash bin at my side.
I heard a persistent knocking at my door half-way through the bag of cookies. I stood up slowly and hobbled over to the door. I turned the knob and opened the door to reveal Jason Jr. standing on my welcome mat with a cigarette between his fingers.
"Sup, Chloe. Look what I got, two tickets to the Ice Capades on Christmas Day. Are you up to it? It's uh, like a date huh?"
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Jason was a nice guy and all, but he again he just wasn't my type. He had to be at least three inches shorter than me. He left the top of his shirt unbuttoned to reveal a few chest hairs and he was balding.
"Actually Jase, I'm sort of busy that day. Can you take a rain check?"
"No way! This is a date, honey. It's Christmas too! What plans could you possibly have?"
I stopped for a moment, pondering this. All I was doing that day was working. Working like I did five days a week, sometimes six or seven days. I realized that I really didn't have a life. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I felt myself nodding. He smiled and winked at me.
"Ok, sweet cheeks! Don't forget huh?"
I nodded. He turned and walked off down the flight of stairs. I shook my head and closed the door, returning to the couch. Yup, some life I had. Ice Capades, wow. For some reason I wasn't excited. I really had no life, after all.
Friends was a re-run of course, go figure. I flicked the TV off and sauntered to my bedroom, calling it an early night. Nothing exciting was taking place, and nothing would. I closed my door and flopped down onto my bed.
By the way, my name is Chloe Lane.