A Not-so-typical Thursday Night
Hey All! (waves) I'm so happy to be back on track of writing fics, you have /no/ idea, really! A big thanks to my friend Flora, who was the inspiration for this story, with her awesome Quatre RP-ing skills.
WARNING: There are probably some OOC moments, and there are OC's! I prefer to write with OC's because that's what I like. This is not exactly how the RP went, some names have been changed so it would not end up as a crossover no one would understand!
Dedication: To Flora, for letting me use her and Serina, whom she owns XD And for RPing with me to get some inspiration, sorry you don't have Hari, I couldn't include him, I'll make it up to you, promise!
Reviews are nice, flames are welcomed but be constructive.
Rated: Ma (18+!)
Pairing: Quatre/OC, OC/OC
Content to worry about: Talk of Rape, someone nearly getting killed, very "colorful" language, you've been warned!
Enjoy the story~!
Quatre Winner was sitting in the living room of the house his sister and her 'twin' of sorts was currently visiting with a friend. Glancing around the room as he waited for Serina to finish getting ready, he couldn't help but smile at the young woman sitting across the room beside Flora (Serina's 'twin').
Tasha was picking at an extremely interesting piece of string on the couch of her apartment, eyes never once looking up even as she felt Quatre looking at her, though a light blush dusted her cheeks and she thought back to two days prior, when she first had officially met Quatre.
-------/Flashback/---------
"Quatre!" Serina waved her arms above her head in the crowded airport as her pseudo-brother stepped off of the plane and into the airport.
"Serina! So good to see you!" Quatre replied as he made his way towards the group of three girls.
"You as well, little bro." Serina smiled and gave him a quick hug.
Hugging her back, Quatre nodded at Flora, "Nice to see you again."
"You too Quatre, have you gotten taller?" Flora let out a small laugh.
"Not that I know of" Quatre stated with a chuckle then looked at the young brunette standing beside Flora, "Hello there."
"Hi." Came the soft reply, the girl gazing at the floor, a soft blush on her cheeks.
"Quatre, this is Tasha Beatty, Flora's friend we're visiting. Tasha, this is Quatre Winner, my brother of sorts." Serina introduced.
"Nice to meet you," Quatre smiled and held out his hand.
Taking his hand very lightly Tasha shook it and then quickly withdrew her hand back to herself, not saying a word all the while. Quatre frowned a bit and looked at Serina and Flora, who shrugged in response.
"How about we get you to your hotel, and once you're checked in we can go searching for the new office you wanted?" Serina suggested, trying to break the awkward silence.
"Sounds great." Quatre replied, following the girls as they led him out.
-------/End Flashback/-------
Tasha hadn't gone with them office searching, being far too nervous around Quatre to trust herself from saying something stupid. As her eyes slowly began to close, still playing with the string, she was snapped to attention by a voice directly to her left speaking rather loudly.
"Come on Serina, we've been waiting for over 10 minutes now! I wanna go out~!" Flora whined.
"Keep your pants on, sheesh! Just another minute!" Was the only reply she got from somewhere deeper in the apartment.
"This is normal for her," Quatre chuckled and gave the girls on the couch a small smile.
Tasha nodded solemnly and suddenly her attention was drawn to the doorway when Serina entered the room, wearing a little black strapless dress and her hair up in a fancy bun with silver tassels placed carefully throughout her hair and some matching jewelry adorning her body.
"There, finished, happy now?" She looked over at her sister, raising an eyebrow as she began bouncing.
"Yes! I've been waiting to do this for days!" Flora stated, bouncing excitedly.
"You look nice, Serina." Tasha said softly, wishing quietly that she had the talent to piece together an outfit like that.
"Why thank you. I've been waiting forever to wear this little number," Serina replied with a smirk.
Automatically catching what the smirk meant Flora rolled her eyes, "Oh jeez."
"What, a girl can't want to have fun?" Serina shot her a look.
"If you try and bring someone home with you, I'll kill you." Flora sent the look right back at her, daring Serina to try her.
"Oh come on Flora, let her have at least some fun!" Tasha interjected with a small laugh.
"Hey if she wants that kind of fun, she can take it elsewhere. She has enough money – she can get her own room for the night." Flora huffed.
Rolling her eyes Serina replied, "Fine, fine, I'll take that kind of fun elsewhere for your sake, happy?"
"That's fine Serina. Now, why don't we all get going before the club decides to close before we even get out of here?" Quatre cut in, chuckling.
With a small nod Tasha stood, "Yes, let's."
Leading them out the door and towards the club Quatre checked to make sure they were all there before taking his first good look at Tasha. She was wearing a black pleated miniskirt and a red tube top that had frills all over it. He grinned just the slightest bit as he watched her for a moment, and then shook his head.
Serina watched her brother with a raised eyebrow before looking forward at Flora, who had a bounce in her step and was humming a random song to herself. Looking past Flora, Serina caught eye of the club and grinned.
At the club Tasha gave a quick flash of ID and slipped the guard a fifty before leading them in. Serina raised an eyebrow at the action.
"Are you sneaking us in…?"
"Don't worry Serina." Tasha told her, already beginning to scan the crowd, seeing quite a few old faces and even a few new ones.
"I'm just curious – it is a rather big deal, after all." Serina looked at her.
Nudging Serina in the ribs Quatre spoke softly, "Just leave it be."
Sighing, Serina began to scan the crowd, half-wondering if any guy here would be a worthy dance partner. She vaguely heard Tasha and Flora talking.
"Let's go dance, hm?" Tasha said, as cheerfully as she could manage, still scanning the crowd.
"Totally!" Flora replied eagerly with a giggle, "Hmm, I wonder… Do you think there will be any good dancers here tonight?"
"Most likely, there typically is." Tasha stated, spotting a very familiar face watching her from the sidelines.
"Anyone you know here?" Flora questioned, bringing Tasha's attention back to her.
"Quite a few actually, and some I still let dance with me!" Tasha told her with a laugh.
"Still let dance with you..?" Quatre asked, confused.
"Point them out!!! I wanna dance!!" Flora whined a bit.
"Some of the guys aren't the nicest," Tasha answered softly, and then pointed out a few guys to Flora, giving her a slight push when she finds one Flora particularly seems to like.
"I didn't realize she was just that shy… she always seems more outgoing than this." Quatre comments, speaking of Flora's behavior.
Nodding Tasha replied, "Well, we should probably choose a dancing partner," before hurrying off.
Quatre watched with a soft sigh as Tasha went to the guy that stared at her earlier, noticing how Tasha seemed a bit tense but was quickly brought back to the present moment as a young woman stepped up and asked him to dance. Quatre accepted her invitation and lead the woman close to where Tasha was dancing, keeping an eye on her, wanting to so very bad to dance with her.
Tasha's eyes kept wandering to Quatre from time to time, but her dance partner, who would whisper something sexual in her ear, always brought her back to attention. "Rob please," She whispered.
"What babe? I thought you liked me talking dirty to you." Rob gave her a small look of worry but that was quickly replaced with a scowl when she refused a kiss from him.
"I'm just not in the mood tonight." Tasha told him, looking away.
"No, you're always in the mood. Come back to me, or pay the price." Rob growled and tried to kiss her.
"Not tonight." She replied, turning her head away again.
"Bitch!" He growled into her ear, pushing her away roughly and walking away. Tasha stood still, rubbing her arms where Rob pushed her, feeling the slight pain but used to it, this wasn't the first time Rob had done this.
Quatre politely excused himself from his partner and rushed to Tasha's side when he saw what happened, worry etched into every line of his face.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, really, it was my own fault." Tasha told him as she continued to rub her arms.
Cautiously resting his hands on her shoulders Quatre replied, "Are you sure? He pushed you rather hard."
Tasha caught Quatre searching the crowd for Rob out of the corner of her eyes and took a moment before replying in a soft voice, "I promise, I'm fine. I've dealt with this before."
Rob caught the look Quatre sent his way and growled in disgust as Quatre wrapped his arm around Tasha's shoulders to protect her. He slowly made his way towards the two, growling low in his throat and glaring straight at Quatre.
"I won't let it happen again tonight, I promise." Rob heard Quatre say as he approached.
"I believe your hands are on my woman," He growled out at Quatre, glaring.
"I believe you're mistaken." Quatre sent the glare right back.
"No, I'm not." Rob spoke solemnly.
"Rob please, not tonight." Tasha whispered, not wanting to make a scene.
"No Tasha, you're mine and someone else's hands are on you!" He raised his voice slightly, causing Tasha to shudder and unconsciously sink into Quatre's grip, quite obviously scared.
Quatre pulled her closer when he felt her sink into his grip and looked at Rob evenly, "She asked you politely to leave. I ask that you respect her wishes before I take matters into my own hands."
"Let go of my woman, now." Rob barked.
Closing her eyes tightly Tasha managed to talk in a small soft voice, "just please go Rob, I'll talk to you later…"
"No, I'm not leaving without you!" He growled, enjoying the look of pure terror on her face.
"I suggest you back off, now." Quatre growled lowly, slowly removing his arm from around Tasha, ready to deck Rob.
"I'm not afraid of you, pretty boy." Rob glared and gave a small laugh.
"Just go Rob! Damnit I don't want to cause problems tonight!" Tasha raised her voice, shaking.
"Shut up!" He barked as he backhanded her, smirking when she cried out and tears came to her eyes, thinking //serves her right! //
Without missing a beat Quatre grabbed his wrist with one hand and used his free hand to make a fist and bring it up under Rob, socking him a good one in the stomach with all of his strength.
Rob gasped and attempted to reach his leg out to trip Quatre, panting and trying hard to get his breath back. Quatre dodged it easily and dropped Rob to the floor and pinned him there by his neck, eliciting a growl from Rob as he tried to remove Quatre's hand from his neck.
"I told you that I wouldn't let you do anything to her. Now, promise to leave her alone or I swear to whatever deity you believe in that I'll make you suffer!" Quatre growled at him.
"Oh fucking hell.." Serina sighed from her place with her dance partner, quickly leading him to where Quatre was, determined to make sure he didn't kill the man.
"Never! She's mine!" Rob growled, starting to lose air from the pressure on his throat.
"If she was yours, then you would have come with her here tonight. She is NOT yours and you WILL leave her alone, do I make myself clear?" Quatre hissed, pressing down a bit more when Rob attempted to punch him.
"If she wasn't mine why did she willingly let me make love to her, giving me her virginity?" Rob smirked.
"The past is no excuse. If she isn't with you now, then she's no longer yours." Quatre told him honestly.
"She's my girlfriend! Even ask her! You have no right to touch her!" Rob replied, fighting against Quatre, but to no avail.
"If that were true, then she would have invited you to come with. Because she didn't I can only assume she wants nothing to do with you." Quatre reasoned.
Tasha had made her way to the bar, and was being held by Flora.
"He's lying, I'm not his girlfriend, and I didn't give him my fucking virginity – he took it!" She sobbed into Flora's shoulder.
"Shh hun, don't worry, I'll take care of everything." Flora rubbed her back, sending a mental note to Serina.
"She knew I would be here already, our friend is DJing tonight! That's why she came to me to dance!" Rob was arguing with Quatre, but before Quatre could reply Serina began growling.
"You fucking liar. She didn't want you here tonight, she never saw you willing and she never gave you anything – you fucking raped her and have stalked her ever since!" Growling, Serina glared darkly at the man on the floor.
"You raped her?!" Quatre shouted, picking Rob's head up off the ground only to thump it back down hard.
"Who told you that? Who lied?" Rob replied, not admitting to it, regardless of how true it was.
"The only liar here is you, I heard that straight from Tasha." Serina stated.
"GOD DAMN YOU!" Quatre screamed, hitting Rob's head against the ground multiple times, regardless of Serina's shouts for him to stop.
Tasha and Flora had headed towards the door, prepared to leave for the night when Tasha heard Serina screaming for Quatre to stop. Looking back at the scene, her eyes widened in horror and she rushed to Quatre's side.
"Please Quatre! STOP!" Tasha said while grabbing his wrist, trying to pull him away from Rob, tears rolling freely down her cheeks.
Quatre growled at first, thinking it was a guy trying to pull him away but upon seeing Tasha and her tears he slowly let go of Rob's throat, his eyes wide.
"Tasha… I… I'm sorry." He said softly.
"Please c-come home with me, let's just g-go, please." She whispered, still holding onto his wrist.
"Of course." Quatre replied with the same softness as before, slowly standing as a security guard came and took Rob away, having been notified by Serina as to what was going on, letting the guard know they'd be leaving so there was no need to escort them out.
Tasha couldn't stand, her legs didn't want to work, and so Quatre picked her up in his arms effortlessly and held her close, protectively. Her eyes were closed tightly, her mind racing the speed of light, and only clinging to him a slight bit. He felt guilty for getting so emotional, and he figured he probably scared her.
"It's all my fault, I'm sorry." Tasha whispered after a moment, causing Quatre to jump.
"No it's not." Quatre replied.
"Tasha?" Came a voice from behind them.
Looking over Quatre's shoulder she smiled at the young man standing behind them, "Ah, hi Ryan, what's up?"
"Would you like a ride home? It might be better than walking." The soft voice came from none to small of a man.
"He's a trustworthy guy, calm down." Tasha whispered to Quatre when he tensed, having a bad feeling this guy was just like Rob.
"I'll trust him if you think I should." Quatre whispered back.
"So would you like one? I offered one to Flora but she's going to walk…" Ryan smiled at the two.
"We'd love one back home." Serina replied for the two as she stepped up beside them.
"Who's walking back with Flora?" Tasha questioned, worried.
"Oh don't you worry about her, Sean's walking her home for me." Serina smiled at the two.
"Sean hm? And Flora likes Ryan?" She laughed softly.
Ryan brought the car around and Serina held the door open for Quatre and Tasha. Once in Tasha slid out of Quatre's arms and onto the seat next to him. Her body slowly began to relax as Ryan began the drive to her house, knowing the way by heart.
"Tasha, why didn't you tell me about him?" Ryan asked, deciding to be straightforward about it.
"Not tonight, please Ryan. I'll tell you in time, promise." She stated softly, sinking further into the car, clutching her purse.
"Of course," He replied with a nod, "I just wish I would've known…"
"You couldn't have stopped him." Tasha replied matter-of-factly, causing Ryan to grip the wheel a bit tighter.
A silence quickly filled the car, but Serina broke it when she turned to Quatre, who looked a bit worse for wear at the very least.
"Are you all right? You seem a bit shaken still."
"I'm fine, or I will be soon. I'll need to get back to my hotel soon though…" He told her, looking out the window.
"Ah, here we---" Ryan was cut off by the sound of the car door opening and slamming, followed by the sound of the house door doing the same thing.
"Quatre was it? Follow her. She wants you to." Ryan said, his grip on the steering wheel loosening.
Quatre nodded, grabbing the purse left forgotten in the back seat and headed inside. He paused just inside the door, listening for any sounds. Upon hearing sobbing he followed the noises back to what he assumed to be Tasha's bedroom, filled with blues and browns, and posters covering the walls. There was a mound of blankets on the bed, and the crying was heard from underneath them.
He set her purse on the desk in her room before cautiously sitting on the bed beside her, sighing when he heard her trying to stop her crying so he wouldn't see her 'weak moment'.
"There's no need to hide your tears around me – I'm not going to judge you harshly for it." He reassured her softly.
"How true," She replied, "You already know I'm damaged goods, so I've got nothing left to lose."
"You're not damaged goods." He watched her move around a bit under the covers.
Tasha scoffed and replied sarcastically, "Right. I'm a little slut that lost her virginity to a fucking creeper, I'm not damaged at all."
"He raped you Tasha, that doesn't make you a slut." Quatre told her, a bit worried.
"It makes me damaged goods. And you have no idea about my past, so don't even say I'm not a slut!" She shouted harshly.
"I'm sorry," He replied softly, "I don't mean to upset you"
"No, it's my fault. This whole goddamn thing is my fault." She sighed and climbed out from under the covers, still in her clubbing outfit, and went to her closet.
"Is there anything I can help with…?" He inquired gently, watching her closely.
"Just close your eyes if you don't want to see." She said quietly, reaching to the bottom of her shirt and lifting it up, revealing bruises along her stomach and chest, and all up and down her back along with a few scratch marks.
Quatre went to close his eyes but upon seeing the bruises they could only widen, "Tasha… those bruises… are they all from Rob..?"
Nodding, Tasha pulled on a nightgown and grabbed her hairbrush, beginning to brush her hair. She was thinking about how Quatre was the first person to have seen those, and she wasn't sure what exactly was about to happen.
"I'm so sorry.." He breathed out, scared of just how much he hurt her.
"It's not your fault, it's mine." She told him, before turning to him with a sheepish grin.
"What?" Quatre asked, confused about the grin.
"Help me brush my hair? There's a knot I can't get out very well.." She replied with a smile.
Chuckling Quatre motioned her over, "Sure. Why not come sit down then?"
Smiling Tasha handed him the hairbrush and sat beside him, turning so her hair was in front of him. Quatre gently began brushing her hair, being careful of the knot, knowing from previous experience of brushing his sisters' hair that knots hurt if not handled gently.
"Thanks for this." Tasha said quietly.
"You're welcome. I used to do this with Serina when we were little." He chuckled, working through the knot carefully.
"Oh?" She replied, leaning into his touch a bit.
"When you're the only brother of so many sisters, you learn to play nice with them really quick." He chuckled then smiled, as the knot was no longer there.
Tasha giggled and sighed with relief at the feeling of the knot being gone, but then went suddenly quiet. Suddenly, as if something had gone wrong she stood.
"Quatre?"
"Yes Tasha?" He replied softly.
"How often do you… y'know… lose your temper.. like tonight?" Her voice had dropped to a whisper, and her back was towards him.
"Not often, hence the reason Serina was there watching me. I forget to hold back on someone when I get really angry." Quatre stated, looking away from her quickly.
"I was really scared of you tonight…" She continued to whisper.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare anymore." He whispered back, slowly turning his gaze towards her.
"It's okay," Tasha told him softly, "I know you didn't but… thank you, for protecting me. It means a lot."
"I would never let anyone hurt you. I couldn't stand to see that." Quatre replied, wishing she would turn around to look at him.
As if reading his mind she turned to look at him, a small smile on her lips as she teased, "so, we never did get the chance to dance, which you so obviously wanted, seeing as it was plainly written across your face when you were dancing with that girl."
"I was getting there.." He blushed slightly, smiling back at her.
"Dance with me? Promise to move slowly and never let me go?" She whispered, grabbing his hand gently.
"No one could ever take you away from me." He replied, smiling softly at her.
Brushing brightly Tasha slowly pulls him to be standing, and wraps her arms around his neck, "I-I see."
Quatre smiled a bit more as he slowly wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her a bit closer, looking worriedly at her when she flinches slightly at his movements.
"Is this okay? I forgot about… you know.."
"I'll be okay, promise. I just have to get used to knowing you won't hurt me." She quietly tells him, her head resting against his shoulder.
"I would never hurt you," Quatre states reassuringly.
"I know," She replies, "but the only people that have had their arms around my waist outside of my family have been abusive guys. So now whenever someone's arms are around my waist, that's what I automatically think it will end up as – me getting abused again."
"If I ever hurt you in any physical way, then I've failed you… I don't want to hurt you." He told her, trying to convince her of it.
Tasha smiled and nodded, bringing her eyes to gaze into his and swaying a bit to the music in her head. Quatre followed her lead, swaying with a bright smile aimed directly at her and gazing straight into her eyes. He could see something in her eyes that he couldn't put his finger on, so he silently decided to keep a close eye on her for a little while.
Pulling her a tiny bit closer he whispered, "Is this all right?"
He received a nod in return, and smiled a bit more as he held her close. The conflict was still in her eyes, but nothing seemed to be different.
"I'm glad I got to dance with you finally." He stated, smiling all the more at her.
"I-I'm glad you did too…" She replied quietly, her gaze shifting from his eyes to the wall behind him.
Following her gaze, he chuckled, "What's so interesting over there?"
"I bet you were watching me all night too, weren't you? Ever since you caught my eye across the dance club." Tasha whispered, her gaze never leaving the wall.
"I wasn't trying to stare or anything…" He told her, a light blush dusting his cheeks.
"How many marks do you plan on making before the end is through? How many times do you think you'll be able to get me to fuck you, huh?" She replied, her voice getting increasingly colder.
"Tasha?"
"That's my name. You didn't answer my questions." She snapped slightly, voice still cold as ice.
"Because I have no idea what you're talking about." He countered.
"Don't play dumb with me," She retorted, taking a step back to reveal her eyes held no emotion, "Who sent you? Rob? Josh? Nick?"
Grabbing her shoulders gently he reasoned, "Tasha, this isn't like you. Where did you go?"
Tasha's eyes blinked a few times and she looked around, breaking the trance of memories she was in. Quatre watched her warily, not wanting to scare her.
"Are you in there now?" He asked softly.
"Of course I'm here Quatre. I never left."
"You weren't acting like yourself for a while there…" He told her, his face still showing how worried he was for her.
When she gave him a look of confusion he began to explain everything that had taken place in the past few minutes, making sure not to reach out for her, no matter how much he wanted to. When he finished Tasha was looking away and proceeded to step backwards.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to – I fought it" She explained softly.
Without a second thought he grabbed her hands gently before she could step too far back, causing her to flinch, "It's all right. I was just worried about you."
"Why are you bothering with me?" She questioned, no longer trying to pull away.
"Because I care for you."
"Why? I'm damaged, and dirty." Came the reply he half-expected.
"I'm not pure either though." He whispered.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not a virgin either." He replied bluntly.
"So? You're not damaged, you're just experienced." It was what she honestly believed to be the truth until his words cut through her like a knife.
"No. I was used for sex for a while."
Her eyes widened as she slowly moved to sit on the bed, watching as Quatre kneeled in front of her, worried about her.
"W-what?" She managed to force out after a few moments of silence.
"I was seeing someone for a while a few years back and she ended up just wanting me for sex. When she was sure she could get something better from someone with more money than I had, she left me." He told her, in complete honesty.
Trying to lighten the mood Tasha smirked, "At least I know you're good in bed."
Chuckling Quatre saw fit to reply, "I can't be so sure about that. Maybe all she wanted me for was my money."
"Mmm I'll be the judge of that" She whispered seductively.
"Oh really?" Quatre was bright pink at this point, only causing the smirk on Tasha's face to widen.
Nodding, she extended forth her hand, "Are you going to stay down there all night or come join me?"
"I wanted to know what you wanted before I made a move to go anywhere." He chuckled, slowly grabbing his hand.
Leaning down so that their noses almost touched, being careful not to fall off the bed she whispered, "I want you."
"Then you may have me." He whispered back, sitting up on his knees and leaning close, capturing her lips in a heated but gentle kiss.