AN: Well here's another Abby/Edward fic. Have I mentioned how much I love them and how much I'm slowly becoming obsessed with them? Or how much I'm dying for it to be September so that I can finally read United We Spy and learn if they end up together; because I'm more worried about that than about Cameron and the Circle?
But it's not really my fault that most of the songs I listen to remind me of them…or maybe it is. But I just couldn't help but write this after I caught a plot bunny after listening to Can't Shake You by Gloriana.
Well, I hope you liked this and if you would like to leave a review I would love you forever(:
Disclaimer: I don't own the song or these wonderful characters. They belong to Ally Carter and Gloriana respectfully.
Can't Shake You
She steals a glance at her closet and soon regrets it. Inside hangs a familiar black leather jacket – a jacket that only reminds her greatly of the man who wore it.
I wish that I could give it away.
Of course, she can't do it. She can't bring herself to get rid of the only thing she has to remind herself of him. She can't get rid of it because even though he's gone, his presence is still there. And she doesn't want to lose it.
But sometimes, the memories that come with the jacket are too much and she needs to get away. She rises from her bed, grabs her jacket and her phone before she leaves.
A part of her wishes he would call, but the spy in her knows that he won't. He's too goddamn stubborn to do that; but then again, so is she.
It's late and she's wandering around outside in the dark. Glancing at her phone, she learns that it's almost eleven.
Perfect.
That means that her usual bar is still open because she desperately craves for a drink or two or ten. She'd take anything to make herself forget her troubles – even for a little bit.
After a short walk, she's sitting at the bar with her usual drink. And it feels good. For once in a while, she's almost content, but of course it won't last long. It never does when he leaves.
"Drinking alone?"
Any other person would have been startled, but not her. She was trained not to be easily startled.
"How did you find me?" she says, glancing to her right to look at her visitor.
He smirks at her. "This is our usual place, Abby. We all used to come here, or have you forgotten that?"
"Partly," she replies before taking another shot, but that was before everything went to hell. Before Rome and before her regrets started.
"You never were one for the fruity drinks," he comments.
Abby rolls her eyes before she looks back at Joe. "Is there a reason for you being here bugging me, Joe?"
"He left, didn't he?"
Damn Joseph Solomon. He doesn't miss a thing.
Abby begins picking at her fingernails to keep from answering him. Not that she needs to anyway, they both know the answer.
Joe sighs. "I've warned you about him a million times."
"Since when do I listen to you? Or to anyone for that matter?" Abby asks him. "And stop acting like my over protective big brother. I don't need your protection. I can take care of myself."
"Is that why you keep going back to him even though you know it's not good for you?" Joe counters.
"It's over," she says softly, not looking at him.
Joe shakes his head. "You know, I would believe you if you didn't always say that."
Abby shrugs her shoulders. He was right, she always said that. It was a reoccurring cycle for her and she couldn't escape it.
Just like she couldn't escape him.
She tries so hard to build up walls, but they always come crashing down. She tries to move on and find someone new, but it never works out. She even tries erasing his number from her phone, but that doesn't work. Because she can't erase his number from her mind, it's a number she knows by heart.
Whatever she does, she can't get Edward Townsend out of her mind and she hates it.
"I can't shake him," she says.
He stands in the room of his hotel room, holding one of his shirts. It was his favorite shirt because it was her favorite shirt to sleep in. She always slept in that shirt.
He took a deep breath and could still smell her perfume, lightly from the shirt. He should have left it behind when he left her. But he just couldn't. No matter how much he tries, he can't get rid of it.
He tosses it aside before he walks out of the room. He desperately needs fresh air to clear his head.
Why can't I move on? Why can't I forget about her?
He tries seeing other women and he does; but it's not the same. The 'relationships' are over before they begin because nobody works for him but her.
He can't even delete her contact from his phone, because he's so bloody weak. He hates himself for it, he hates that she's the reason for it. But at the same time, he loves that she challenged him and he loves her.
He sighs.
Damn you, Abigail Cameron for being so bloody unforgettable.
He comes to a sudden stop outside of a very familiar bar; a bar that he shouldn't be near. He's trying to forget about her and being here isn't going to help. This was the bar they always went to, the bar the she always went to.
Maybe she's in there now.
He shouldn't be here, he shouldn't be curious about where she's at. But he can't help it. He can't stop thinking about her because she makes that impossible.
He shakes off his stupid pride and walks through the doors of the bar. As much as he doesn't want to see her, he needs to see her.
That's when he does see her and he fights to keep a smile from forming on his face.
"Just forget about it, Joe," Abby says, firmly. "It's none of your business anyway. Goodbye." She starts to stand up.
She stops in her tracks when her eyes land on him. Emerald green meets dark blue and she becomes frozen to the spot.
"Townsend," she whispers to herself.
Somehow she finds herself slowly walking towards him despite her better judgment and he's doing the same. They meet in the middle of the bar, not taking their eyes off of each other.
"I thought you left," she says.
"I couldn't stay away," he replies.
Abby lets the smallest smile appear on her lips before it's gone again. She knows he saw it, any trained spy would have. "Well, I guess we actually do have something in common."
He slowly pulls her into his arms and she lets him, because in that moment it feels right.
"I can't get rid of you."
"We can't get rid of each other."
She lets him lead her from the bar and back towards his hotel room for the night. She knows that this isn't going to last because one of them is going to leave again. But she also knows that it will just start over again, because they can't get rid of each other for long.