So, here it is! After the overwhelmingly positive response to my one-shot on this site and Tumblr, I have been persuaded to develop it into a full, multi-chapter story. I hope you enjoy seeing how Maggie and the story progresses!
The boy had been playing a match of football with his brothers and a few friends when he noticed her sat beneath a tree. He recognised her as the sister of his friend and current team-mate, Charles Anderson. Their father's worked together sometimes. He wasn't sure what exactly it was their father's worked together for - probably something illegal - but it meant Charles and his sister would often travel up from Barnet to visit Birmingham.
"What's that?" 15 year-old Thomas Shelby asked as he approached her. The girl raised her head. She seemed startled by his arrival, almost dropping the object in her hands, but quickly covered her surprise by lifting it toward him, "It's called a book."
Tommy was taken aback by her patronising tone. Did she really think he didn't know what a book was? He was on the verge of confronting her about it when he caught on to the playful glint in her eye. She was teasing him.
He held back a grin as he rolled his eyes, "I know it's a book. I meant, what are you reading?"
She smiled up at him and turned the cover to face the boy, "'A Tale of Two Cities'."
"Charlotte Brontë, right?" he prompted, trying to impress.
The girl giggled at his undoubting and somewhat cocky expression. She shook her head, "Dickens."
"Oh," the boy's face fell in defeat, causing her sniggering to escalate. He moved to sit beside her and attempted to change the subject, "What's your name?"
"Maggie. Or Margaret if you want to get cut," he raised a brow at her bluntness, though he could tell she was still just taunting, "Yours?"
"Tommy. Or Thomas if you want to get cut."
The pair exchanged an approving smile as she extended her hand, "Nice to meet you, Thomas."
"And you, Margaret," he replied as they briefly shook hands.
"You're a friend of Charles?" Maggie asked the boy beside her.
"Yeah. He's your brother?"
She nodded, "And you're a Shelby?"
"I am. How did you know?"
"Lucky guess," she shrugged, "You have that way about you."
"What 'way'?"
"A pompous walk. Your brothers have it too."
Tommy's brow creased in confusion, "What the bloody hell does 'pompous' mean?"
"Arrogant, egotistic, boastful-"
"Excuse me?" Tommy shot her an incredulous look.
She continued, "Conceited, flaunting, pretentious-"
"Alright, I get it."
She ignored him, "Flatulent, selfish, ostentatious-"
"That's starting to get annoying."
"Imperious, overbearing, supercilious-"
"-Ok you made that one up. That's not a word."
She then began to giggle again, laughing at the astounded expression on the boy's face. Tommy guffawed at her nerve. Even at 14, he wasn't used to people being so direct with him –especially a girl. He just stared at her, watching her laugh. Her cheeks had reddened and her eyes were creased shut. She had placed a hand over her stomach as she bent forward, her curls falling into her face. Eventually, despite his attempts to resist, Tommy found himself laughing too. The way her eyes glistened as they reopened ignited something within him. Pure joy seemed to invade his senses, making him forget, even just for a brief moment, all the misfortune his father was causing with his reckless antics. It had been a while since he had laughed like this.
Through his blurry eyes, Tommy noticed the book had fallen from her lap. He picked it up and studied it. Noticing his movements, Maggie turned to face the boy, still beaming. Her breath caught slightly as his eyes lifted from the book to reach her own. Just as her books would describe, they were a cloudless blue. His brown hair was slightly tousled and flopped onto his defined brow. She even observed how his knees were slightly scuffed and the skin raw, most likely the result of the vicious football he had been playing before he sat with her. Why had this boy sat with her?
"Read to me."
His voice broke through her reverie. She blinked as she noted his arm outstretched, motioning for her to take the book back.
She felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she looked at him, perplexed, "What?"
"Read to me," he replied. Tommy nudged her upper arm with the corner of the book.
She let out a short chuckle and hesitantly took the novel from him. As they passed it, their fingers barely brushed– but they certainly felt it. Their eyes snapped to lock onto each other's. Tommy's heart clenched. Maggie's skipped several beats. Both unknowingly held their breath. This was definitely something she had read in a novel. Frozen, the book remained held between their two bodies-
THUMP!
A football flew toward them at a powerful force and hit the tree above them, instantly destroying the moment. Their gazes broke to watch as the eldest Shelby brother ran toward them.
"Sorry, Tommy!" Arthur yelled as he retrieved the ball. He turned to throw Maggie a quick, apologetic smile before turning around and resuming the match.
Maggie released a long breath, almost grateful to have been distracted. The boy beside her cleared his throat and looked back to her, "So…read to me?"
She dropped her gaze to the book before offering him a soft smile, "Sure."
Tommy struggled to keep himself from grinning at his victory. He shuffled slightly to lie back in a more comfortable position on the grass.
"Just don't think I'm going to re-read the first 67 pages just so you can follow what's going on," she sneered, cheekily, "If you get confused, read it yourself."
"Maybe I will," he found himself smiling at her, "It's no problem. Just pick up from where you left off."
He watched eagerly as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and opened the book to the correct page. Quietly clearing her throat, she began, "'For you, and for any dear to you, I would do anything. I would embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you. And when you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you…'
Constructive feedback would be much appreciated!