Stoker / Skins – Just a Girl
She was a mystery, and Cook always liked that in a girl
Before, Cook thought Effy Stonem was the single hottest, most perfect girl he'd ever met. Sure, he met plenty of pretty, hot, beautiful girls before and after her, but she had something... Else, something dark and mysterious and quiet about her that made him fall so fucking hard for her, and even after Freddie– After Freddie, and after the whole thing with that cock Louie, Effy was still a beacon of beauty in his increasingly bleak, fucked up world.
Until her.
He managed to get to Scotland, figuring no one would ever think to look for him there, and had decided to keep his nose clean. It wasn't difficult to find work as a driver, bodyguard, bouncer, and he quickly fell into a routine. It was nice to be a forgettable face when once upon a time, all he wanted was to be remembered by every person who crossed paths with him, except he couldn't be remembered anymore, he had much to lose from someone recognizing him.
One night at the local pub, he was in a corner drinking by himself, now well used to isolation after what happened the last time he made an attempt at connecting to others, when she walked in. Long, chocolate–like hair, pale skin to rival Effy's, but no make up. Somehow, though, her green eyes shone even under the dim lighting, even across the room, and just like that, Cook was lost.
She wasn't what one might call a bombshell, she wasn't Effy, she wasn't Katie, she wasn't Charlie, all bright and loud and attention grabbers, no, this girl was all soft edges and as quiet as a mouse, but something about her made Cook's old self emerge enough for him to smirk at her when she looked his way for a brief moment.
To his surprise, she grabbed two pints and slid in the seat in front of him. Up close, her eyes shone enticingly and he was damn sure he had never met a girl like her.
"You were almost done with yours, I hope you don't mind" – she said in an American accent, though she hardly seemed like the typical tourist. She pushed the glass towards him and he nodded.
"Cheers" – but she didn't touch her drink, and he had to wonder why she even bothered getting it, then – "You jus' passing by?"
"Something like that" – her expression was clouded and amused, and it did shit to Cook, enough for him to wonder how long it had been since he'd fucked someone.
A long while. Real long.
"You going up to the see the castle?"
"Perhaps. I'm not really interested in sightseeing"
"Then what're you doing 'ere? Not much else to see" – she blinked and opened a small smile. It wasn't like Effy's, all full of self assurance, no, it was– It was– He had no words to describe it.
"I don't have any set plans so far, I'm just driving"
"You from the US?"
"Yes, but that's long behind me"
"Not going back?" – her smile widened but there was nothing warm about it.
"Nothing for me to go back for"
"Know what you mean"
"Do you"
"Can't go back home" – he'd never quite uttered those words, because of course he remembered Freddie, and that depressed the shit out of him, but... There was something in the girl's tone that made him wonder if they had something of the sort in common.
"Won't you miss your family?"
"They're assholes. Yours?" – she sighed.
"My father died some time ago, so did my uncle. My mother was still alive when I left, but I doubt she survived much longer. She's the kind of person who needs someone to torment, and a man to keep her bed warm" – her grin turned vicious.
"How did they die?"
"Accidents, I'm afraid. Plenty of those happened just after I turned eighteen and left"
"I see"
"Your parents?"
"Dad's a jerkoff, mum– Just as well, so, you know" – he paused and tapped on his glass – "Wanna get out of here?" – she looked angelically at him.
"Why, do you want to fuck me?" – he had to snort.
They left the pub, but Cook sensed she didn't actually want to take him back to wherever she was staying and fuck him silly, nor did he feel like inviting her back to his shitty, tiny apartment, so they just wandered around, her in her plain dress and odd shoes, no coat in sight despite the freezing cold. It reminded him of Effy, who was just as skinny and just as willing to face any weather without changing the way she dressed.
"I think we're very similar, do you agree?" – she asked when they were a little far from the center of town. It wasn't somewhere a girl like her should be walking around at night, but Cook could handle any trouble that came their way.
"I don't know what you mean?" – she stopped in the middle of the street and looked at him in a way that made him shiver and wonder if he would be able to handle her.
"Who did you do? Before you landed here?"
"Wha?"
"You remind me of my uncle, and that's not someone you should want to resemble"
"Why? 'Cause he's dead?" – she smiled serenely.
"Because he killed both of his brothers, my father included"
Well, that was one way to completely grab Cook's attention.
"Are you crazy?" – he hissed, rushing to her – "You–" – he looked around – "You can't say shit like that just–"
"It's the truth, though it's nothing anyone can prove" – she looked Cook in the eye and he had a fleeting moment of panic – "Who did you kill?" – she whispered into his ear.
"I didn't do nothing to anyone" – he said, not stepping away from her.
"Liar. You really are like my uncle"
"Shut up 'bout your uncle anyway" – he looked her up and down – "Did you do 'im in?" – her grin was answer enough.
"Won't you tell me now? Who you've 'done in'?"
"He did my best friend" – Cook hissed in her face.
"Do you regret it?"
"He didn't, so no" – he narrowed his eyes – "Do you?"
"He couldn't, so I can't either"
"Who are you?" – she didn't answer, just stepped away from him. Under the moonlight, she looked almost like a fairy.
"Will you come with me?"
"Where?" – he found himself asking.
"Anywhere, nowhere, everywhere"
It took him about half a second to consider what he would leave behind, his nothing jobs, his meager possessions, his phantom friends.
"Why not" – she smiled mysteriously at him as she extended her hand and he hesitated for only a moment before taking it.
"Why not indeed"