Can't think of anything, so naturally this little one shot is the result. Figures.
The drive from work to home was always a quiet one for Trent Smith. After a stressful day of crunching numbers and dealing with less than pleasant customers, all he really wanted to do was go back to his apartment, have a cup of Earl Grey tea, with exactly nine spoonfuls of sugar, and curl up under the covers.
The rain splattered against his windshield, and the rhythmic swishing of the windshield wipers created an oddly serene atmosphere. The flashing of the digital clock also added to the steady pulse. It was 11:47 p.m. He'd worked overtime, again.
He turned on his right turn signal as he approached the oncoming stop sign, and felt his heavy eyelids sag. As his car slowly began come to a stop, Trent sighed as he turned the corner. His apartment wouldn't be too far from here. The rain was coming down even harder now, and the patter against the vehicle's metal frame was quite lulling. The thought of his routine warm cup of tea, and the warm covers of his bed was ever more inviting.
As he neared the next intersection, the sight of a broken down car at the side of the road caught his attention. Hunched over the hood, was what looked like a woman dressed in all black, yet it could've been something else, due to the darkness of the night. She was completely drenched, and seemed to have no clue what she was doing; yet that seemed to unfaze her. She ploughed on with her tinkering.
Trent eyed the clock; it read 12:04 a.m. Though his eyes felt as heavy as lead, and he still had to go to work in the morning, he just knew that if he left the poor girl stranded, in the rain, in the dark, and in the cold, he wouldn't be able to put up with his conscience, which would make him even more restless. So as he approached her car, he slowed down to a gentle stop, and making sure he wasn't on the road, got out of his car to walk over to her.
Within seconds, he was soaked to the bone by the falling ice-cold raindrops. His leather loafers would be ruined come morning, but he was in desperate need of a new pair anyway. He walked over to the woman, and his eyes flickered as he took in her stature.
It was rather gaunt, and her dripping black raincoat hung loosely around her body but the frame was rather alluring. Her skin was pale, and made the woman look almost ghostly, but what really set her apart from everyone else was her teal hair. The short strands clung to her pointed chin, and her bangs stuck to her forehead.
Trent let out a breath, not even aware that he was holding it in, and cleared his throat. "Um… excuse me miss?" He spoke, rather loudly; he had to project over the deafening roar of the heavy rainfall.
The woman paused with her fiddling, before continuing. She craned her neck so she could face the raven-haired male, and kept her expression rather impassive. Trent thought the cocked eyebrow, and miniature scowl painted across her lips was alluring.
Regaining his composure, Trent took a tentative step forward and offered her a warm, friendly smile.
"It looks like you're having some car troubles, and I wanted to know if you needed any help…"
Her smoky onyx eyes bored into his for a moment, before darting up and down his face and body. The indifferent downward curl of her lips stayed as stony as the pavement beneath her clunky black rain boots. She blew a breath out of her pale blue lips, the air swirling around in the cascading raindrops. Her pale, numb fingers twitched, before she went about fiddling with the engine again.
Trent was taken aback by her rather blunt ignorance, but kept his composure and took a tentative step towards her.
"Um… excuse-" He said.
"I heard you," the woman finally let out, and though her voice was rather clipped, Trent couldn't help but gnaw at his bottom lip. The slight growl was in her tone was quite appealing. "I don't need any help."
Trent raised an eyebrow, blinking the raindrops out of his eyes and pushing some wet hair out of his bright green eyes. She brushed off his inquisitive stare by increasing the vigor at which she fiddled with the engine, her shoulders tensing slightly beneath her drenched clothing.
"But… you're soaked, and you seem to be getting nowhere with your engine. The battery might be dead," he pointed out, keep his voice as gentle as he could.
"Possibly," she replied simply, not stopping her ministrations.
"How long have you been here, Miss?"
"Three days, give or take."
Trent was startled by this response, and how nonchalant she sounded. She seemed completely fine with the fact that she's been stranded at the side of the road in the pouring rain for three days.
"But…but what did you eat?" He questioned.
"Nothing," she shrugged.
"What did you drink?"
"Rain,"
Trent placed a palm on his forehead, as he processed this information. "You must be freezing!" He exclaimed, aghast.
"I lost feeling in the first few hours, it doesn't really bother me anymore." The woman murmured, her tone becoming clipped again. Her hands twitched, before going about their prodding of different wires.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"What's yours?" She shot back, quietly.
"Trent."
The woman eyed Trent up and down, searching his face for any hints of dishonesty, her tiny scowl lessening in its severity slightly when she couldn't find any.
"…Gwen." She responded, evasively.
Trent furrowed his brow at her defensive measures, but brushed them off after a few moments. Gwen combed her fingers through her wet, matted hair, the strands dripping and shimmering in the lamplight, before going about her tinkering.
"Do you… um, need a jumpstart, Gwen?" Trent offered, awkwardly.
"Tried that; failed twice." The teal-haired stoic sighed, casting a lazy grimace over her shoulder at him. She turned back around, her short bob falling over her deep, dark eyes. Trent, despite his need to get home, stayed where he stood for a minute or two, seeing if she'd turn around once more.
She didn't.
Conflicted about whether he should just leave or not, Trent bit his lip, before sighing.
"Gwen… would you like a ride home?" He asked, hesitantly.
She froze. The rain didn't cease its relentless pelting, and Trent furrowed his brow.
"I am home…" She replied, slowly.
Trent eyes widened in sudden realization. Gwen's fingers twitched before she went about trying to fix the car again. She wrapped her paper-thin coat around her even tighter as a sudden ruthless wind picked up. She grit her teeth as her hair whipped around, spewing ice-cold rain down her back. After the short interruption, she went about her tinkering.
"What…what happened, Gwen?" He asked, softly.
"Lost my job. Couldn't pay the bills. Lost my house, et cetera, et cetera…" Gwen replied, casually. She bit her lip, before licking the salty drops of liquid off of the tender flesh. It was then that she realized that she was crying. The rain silenced the sniffles, and the snivels were concealed by her position away from Trent. The dry heaves made her chest burn, and contract from the lack of nutrition.
Gwen was afraid.
She didn't know what she was particularly afraid of, to be honest. Trust? Life? Death?
She didn't know.
Trent, quite concerned, walked up to her without a word and slipped off his blazer. He draped it over her shoulders, wrapping around her small frame. Gwen relished the sudden insulation, before sending the raven-haired male a quizzical glance; her eyebrow arching in questioning, and her teal hair clinging to her pale face, framing it. Before she even knew what was happening, Trent started guiding her towards his car. He opened the door for her, prompting her to get in, but Gwen stayed rooted to the spot like an adverse willow tree.
"Get in," Trent prompted, sending her an encouraging nod towards the vehicle.
Gwen didn't move. Instead, she scowled, and stepped back slightly. "I'm not some lady of the night. I don't get into a stranger's car on command." She scoffed, turning up her nose slightly.
Gwen, proving to be a real free spirit and proud, didn't make things very easy, now did she. So Trent tried a different approach.
"But I'm not a stranger," he reasoned, "I know your name, and you know mine."
Gwen simply scoffed, her scowl returning. Trent frowned slightly, as the sopping wet woman eyed him up and down distastefully. She stared into his eyes with slightly narrowed ones, before looking back to the car. Her fingers twitched, and her expression softened slightly; Trent watched as her shields lowered and her resolve started to crack.
She realized she was safe.
Slowly, she got into the car, her petit body shaking as she lowered herself into the seat. Gwen looked up at Trent with a trace of gratefulness in her piercing gaze, sending him a curt nod. Trent nodded back, before shutting the door. The sound cut through the incessant buzz of the raindrops.
Trent made his way over to the driver's side, and got in, turning the key and bringing the engine to life. Warm air blasted through the air-conditioning vents, and Gwen let out a relieved sigh as she cast her gaze to her lap, curling her toes in her waterlogged boots and playing with her fingers.
Trent started to drive, and Gwen averted her gaze from her lap so she could take in the scenery.
"Where are we going?" She mumbled, her eyes drooping slightly.
Trent's grip on the steering was firm, and his gaze on the road ahead concentrated. He sent her a quick, reassuring glance before his green eyes returned forwards.
"Home," he replied.
A comfortable silence fell over the two as they both contemplated their own queries. Gwen thought about what would happen tomorrow.
Trent just thought about how now, he needed to prepare two mugs for tea.
And that didn't bother him in the slightest.
Whoaaa, abrupt ending! I'm so evil. :3 Meh, I said I'd get something out by Halloween, and here it is. Kinda angsty.
I'm sorry, no chapters will be out soon because I'm SO FREAKING BUSY AND I HATE GRADE TEN AND MY JOB AND PEOPLE ARE ANNOYING AND IT'S COLD AND I MISS SUMMER. :( Meh.
I'd really appreciate reviews, dawhlings. Makes me feel all special.
Also, time for the question I'll probably regret… Should this be made a twoshot, or left as is?
Thanks for reading, have a Happy Halloween! :D