For this one, I wanted to get away from my usual 'Big, epic, dramatic super romance' style and just do something fluffy, fun, fast moving, and simple (damn S, ruining the F theme I had going there ); I loved writing this one, so I really hope everyone enjoys it! It takes place immediately after the ep on Friday.
By the way, if you like Jarr, check out my profile for the link to their board- we'd love to have you join us!
Back to Basics
Starr hung up on Cole with a heavy sigh, hoping the 'leave me alone' message had come across loud and clear by the end of the conversation and he wouldn't make a further mess of things by coming to look for her.
Why did he have to be the one to pick up? Starr was thrilled he was out of jail, but he instantly made the situation ten times more complicated than if she'd spoken to Langston or her mom. They had started arguing within two minutes, oh joy, and God, things had gotten painfully awkward towards the end. Cole started rambling on about being so sorry, wanting to fix things, be together again, and all of the sudden, Starr, who would have been ecstatic to hear that a few days ago, suddenly found herself realizing that she wasn't so sure that was what she wanted anymore.
Oh well, no time to think about it; relationship drama needed to be the last thing on her mind right now.
"James!" she yelled, wandering through the cabin to find him since he'd left halfway through the conversation to give her privacy.
"In here," he called back from the little office in the cabin.
Starr walked in and saw him hunched over a piece of paper, tapping his pen anxiously, and gave him a tight smile when he looked up.
"Hey…you alright?" he asked, not like he knew he was supposed to ask at this point, but like he genuinely cared. Starr couldn't help feeling slightly touched that he cared about her emotional state at all now that she knew the full story of what was weighing on him.
"I'm fine," she sighed. "And the story you came up with seemed to work, Cole bought the whole 'Real life came crashing down on me too hard, I need one last trip to be alone and be a kid, blah blah blah' thing, so good job with that. What are you doing?"
"Trying to come up with ways to explain to Bobby what I did without having him kill me for being so stupid."
"Any luck?"
"Absolutely none," he chuckled darkly, tossing the pen aside.
"Well, good luck with that. So, I have to ask, because I'm not too clear on this right now- just how deep in hiding are we, exactly?" James just looked confused, so she expanded. "Like, can we go out to eat, or are we donning Groucho Marx masks the second we step outside and huddling up in trenchcoats?"
"Trenchcoats, really?" he asked with a grin, amusement sparkling in his eyes.
"Well, excuse me," she huffed. "This is my first time dealing with some crazed guy who wants to kill me…" she trailed off slowly at the end, flinching as she realized that was a total lie, wasn't it? "Well, my first time this year," she muttered. James just stared at her in shock, slowly shaking his head.
"Again, I have to ask- what is this town that I moved to?"
"Eh, you get used to it," she laughed simply. "And, answer, please?"
"We can go out to eat- he obviously didn't have any kind of lead on us when he called, I'm not worried about him showing up."
"Oh, good, cause I'm sure whatever got left here is expired and gross by now. Move," she ordered him, giving him a push from the chair for good measure and sitting down, booting up the computer. "Let's check what's around here and pick out a place."
Starr could feel James staring at her as she opened the browser, caught a glimpse of his startled expression as she began searching, and finally turned to face him, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes…?"
"I'm sorry, it's just…you're taking all of this so well," he said in admiration. "You're just all calm and casual about everything."
"What can I say?" Starr shrugged. "You're much friendlier than most of my kidnappers have been, really puts me at ease." James decided figuring out whether or not that was a joke could probably wait until later.
"Technically, I think it quit being kidnapping when I gave you the phone and encouraged you to call the cops."
"Fair enough," she laughed, glancing back up at him hesitantly. "Hey, uh, by the way, James…thank you," Starr said softly. "For being willing to do that to keep me safe. Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
He smiled, and to his pleasant surprise, Starr returned it, the two of them staring at each other for a moment until she cleared her throat, abruptly returning her attention to the computer.
"So, uh, here's everything that's nearby. Anything in particular sound good?" she asked, motioning for him to move in closer and read over her shoulder. He did so, and Starr took in a sharp breath, her stomach jumping unexpectedly when he was pressed against her back, his face so close to hers. She swallowed roughly and told herself to ignore it.
"Shouldn't the kidnapping victim pick?"
"I'm gonna pretend I don't know that you're teasing me and tell you the answer is no, not when the kidnapping victim totally doesn't care. Think of this as your 'Welcome to Llanview, sorry about the unfortunate circumstances' dinner." He chuckled, the sound warm and pleasant next to her ear, and Starr clenched her jaw- still totally ignoring the proximity here.
"You know what? We should totally go to Dave and Buster's."
"That's your choice, really?" Starr asked in surprise.
"Why?"
"I don't know, I guess I've just always kind of seen that as a kid thing," she laughed, shrugging.
"Well, maybe that's the point. Come on- when's the last time you like, played skee-ball, or just done anything like that- fun, childish, simple?" he asked.
Starr paused, curiously scanning her memory, and for the longest time, all she could see was motherhood, school, drama after drama with Cole, kidnappings and hostage crisises and near death situations, falling in love with her teacher, post partum depression, life with Todd in general, until finally, she hit one.
"Wow," Starr murmured in quiet surprise. "I guess not since Cole and I ran away to a boardwalk when I found out I was pregnant," she admitted.
"…you what?"
"Yeah, I know- best plan ever, right?" she snorted, rolling her eyes at past self. 'Hey Starr, let's take a bus to the shore, live in a community house with total strangers, and figure it out from there as we go along!' How the hell had she ever thought that seemed like a good idea? "But whatever, you try being fifteen and pregnant."
"Uh, no thanks."
"Anyway, yeah, it's been a long time. And I mean, even then, it was a good escape, but the whole baby thing was always at the back of my mind. What about you?" she asked gently. After what he'd told her, she couldn't imagine there'd been a whole lot of fun family outings.
"Not since Bobby left," he answered, shrugging. Starr was caught off guard at the mental image of sleazy, manipulative Ford being the caring big brother, trying to give James a bit of normal childhood among the hell that was the rest of their lives.
"I guess it'd be kind of fun to be a kid again for a night," Starr mused.
"That's what I'm saying! With everything going on, it'd be good to just get away from it for a little bit."
"Okay," Starr said finally, smiling brightly. "Sure, why not? But we need to swing by a store first so I can buy some jeans and a shirt, because I cannot adequately show off my epic dance dance revolution skills in this dress without having a major wardrobe malfunction."
*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*
"You are such a girl."
"Gee, thanks for the confirmation, James," Starr teased with a laugh as he followed her through the racks; a pair of jeans was already slung over his arm, the sneakers she'd grabbed in his hands too, but she was having trouble finding a top she liked. "Look, the sooner you accept that girls are picky shoppers, the better off you'll be."
"You're going to look good in anything you pick anyway," he sighed. Starr froze for a second; James didn't seem to be paying any mind to his own remark, but she couldn't help blushing slightly anyway.
Starr kept looking, finally pausing in front of one of the displays and kneeling over to sort through the colors, while James hovered near her and looked around; despite what he'd said about Bull, she'd noticed him staying super aware of their surroundings all night anyway, and she couldn't say she minded- it made her feel more secure.
A few minutes later, Starr was cocking her head, debating blue vs pink, when James suddenly slid over so close to her that their bodies were firmly pressed together side-by-side. She furrowed her brow, about to say something, when he took it even further and abruptly wound his arm around her shoulders, holding her with a clear air of possessiveness.
"Um, what the hell do you think…" she trailed off, seeing James' eyes continually flicker behind her. She glanced back, wrinkling her nose when she saw some gross guy in his forties blatantly leering at her and suddenly understood.
"Sorry; just trying to make a point to the guy," he murmured directly against her ear, probably just looking like a boyfriend telling his girlfriend a secret- exactly the point. Starr bit her lip, desperately ignoring the shiver that shot up her spine.
"No, thank you, that's just…ew; graduation dresses are not meant for public for this reason," said Starr, cringing again before leaning in closer to his touch and wrapping her arm around his waist to get the desired message across.
This time, the intense rush of heat crashing through her in response to their contact was just too strong to be brushed off or ignored, and Starr clenched her eyes shut, taking a deep breath- shit.
This was not happening, she had not rapidly become attracted to her would-be kidnapper in the midst of handling this gigantic mess and dealing with Cole back home- awesome, way to go, Starr, excellent job not adding further complications. It really couldn't be stressed enough here- shit.
"Starr? You okay?" James prompted sweetly, causing her to groan internally.
"Yeah. So!" she began awkwardly, holding the two shirts up with her free hand. "Epic question for the ages coming up, and you gotta choose for me- blue or pink?"
"Seriously?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Starr thankfully managed to at least get through dinner without anymore of those hideous 'Oh my God, do I want to jump him, because it suddenly kind of feels like I want to jump him what the hell is this' moments, and was actually managing to enjoy a nice, calm conversation with him without any more ridiculous shivers or heart fluttering, thank God.
"I'll give you credit where credit is due- not a bad suggestion," Starr conceded, looking around at all the happy families with a smile, a sense of peacefulness settling in her chest at the thought of getting to be like this with her daughter someday. "I'll have to bring Hope here when she's older, she'll love it."
"I bet. Hey, uh, speaking of that little princess you've got back home…" Starr remembered him calling Hope that in the park too and grinned. That was kind of…okay, really freaking adorable, the mushy baby pet name. In the future, when they knew each other better, she was totally teasing him about that. "I'm really sorry I had to take you away from her for now," James told her earnestly. "I didn't really think about her place in this, and I pretty much feel like crap for taking you away from your daughter."
"James, no, don't," Starr assured him honestly. "I want Hope to grow up knowing you stand up for your convictions, for what's right, that you help people, so I have to lead by example. I'm happy with the choice I made," she promised, reaching across the table to comfortingly cover his hand with hers, realizing a second too late why that was a bad decision.
Sure enough, the sparks were there in full force, and it took all of Starr's will to slowly withdraw her hand rather than quickly yank it back. She desperately began searching for some kind of distraction, when one was blissfully provided to her by 3 waiters suddenly crowding around their table, one of them holding a small cake in their hands.
"Are you Starr?" the girl asked brightly, her tone perky and happy.
"Um, yes?" Starr answered slowly, shooting a confused glance to James, who was just grinning.
"Terrific! Excuse me, everybody!" she called out to the rest of the patrons, getting their attention. "Starr here just graduated high school today! Isn't that fantastic?"
There was a round of applause, and Starr burst out laughing as she realized what this was, shaking her head in disbelief at James.
"Would everyone join me in a round of For She's A Jolly Good Fellow to celebrate? One, two, three…"
The wait staff all burst into song, accompanied by a few of the younger or more enthusiastic customers, and Starr continued cracking up, burying her head in her hands.
"Here's your complimentary cake, sweetie," said one of the other waiters when they were finished, placing it in front of her while the third lit the sparkler candles. "You might not technically get a wish for graduations, but I say why not? Make it a good one," she advised, eyes flickering to James pointedly, causing Starr to blush furiously.
They congratulated her once more and left. Starr just fixed James with a look, while he just gazed at her innocently, nodding to the sparklers.
"You heard the lady- make a wish."
Starr began laughing all over again, but did as he said, making a general wish for Hope's continued health and happiness, and a more specific wish for her and James to figure out some way to stop Bull before either of them got hurt- hey, they were already cheating with graduation wishes, why not have 2 as well?
"When did you even do this?" Starr asked admiringly as she cut into the cake. James grinned watching her, pleased by how happy she seemed.
"When you went to the bathroom- I work fast," he intoned dramatically, setting off another round of giggles.
"Seriously though, James, thank you."
"It was the least I could do for taking you away from the real celebration waiting for you."
"James, it's really no biggie; once you've become a mother, the whole graduation milestone doesn't seem as huge, you didn't take me away from anything that was a big deal. Saving your life means a lot more to me than some 2 hour party."
"Thank you, Starr."
And Starr really had thought ahead this time, had already planned on avoiding his gaze so she couldn't get affected by the puppy dog eyes again, but damn it, that ruined it; James sounded so genuinely touched and surprised that his life meant more than something as meaningless as a graduation party, which of course set Starr off thinking about his dad and how damaged James' sense of self-worth was, and frankly, Starr felt she deserved some kind of self-control medal for just reaching out to hold his hand in hers instead of leaping across the damn table to hug the hell out of him.
And it was different, this time- it wasn't the chemistry filled sparks and jumps like all the other incidents. When she took his hand and smiled at him reassuringly, it was just this nice, peaceful sense of companionship, of not being alone, and instead of lust, she felt a wave of contentment settle comfortably over her, filling her with an easy warmth.
It was different, just as good, and harder to end, but she forced herself to all the same.
"Hey, so, eat up so we can get to the games- I need to school you in skee-ball, have one more thing to hold over your head."
James just laughed and Starr felt a sudden urge to make him do that as often as possible.
Yep- she was in trouble.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Several hours later, Starr and James were both laughing hysterically as they walked away from the Dance Dance Revolution machine, several feet of tickets draped around Starr's neck like a boa that she felt the need to keep twirling and swinging around for good measure.
"That game is impossible!"
"James, quit making excuses for not being as awesome as me- it's nothing to be ashamed of, nobody is in this arena."
"I'm not gonna say it," he informed her, still laughing.
"Say it!"
"Not happening!"
"Say it or you don't get these bad boys," she informed him, dramatically posing the tickets with a flourish, cracking him up all over again.
"Fine, fine. 'Starr Manning is the supreme ruler of DDR, and I, James Ford, am not fit to even be one of her subjects.' Happy?"
"Very," she said with a cheeky grin, handing over the tickets to be added to the pile they had collected from the other games.
"I still kicked your butt at skee-ball," he muttered petulantly.
"Because you cheated," she snorted teasingly, lightly bumping his shoulder with her own.
"How do you cheat at skee-ball?" he demanded with a laugh.
"Well, obviously I don't know or I would have won."
He simply shook his head as they both got the last of their laughter and pent up energy out, easing into a content, relaxed silence.
"You have fun tonight, Starr?" James asked, needing to be sure.
"I really did," she told him with a grin. "Thank you for suggesting it. Best time I've ever had with a wanted criminal."
"How much competition do I have?"
"Probably more than you think."
"You…have interesting stories to tell, don't you?"
"You have no idea."
Starr plopped down on a stool to take a breather after her marathon dance session, about to ask James what he wanted to do with all the tickets when something caught their attention; a little girl over at the prize station had just found out she didn't have enough tickets for the giant bear she wanted and was sobbing broken-heartedly, her mom trying desperately to comfort her. Starr cooed quietly to herself, mommy instincts triggered by the sight.
"Hey, Starr," James said slowly, nodding to the girl, then their tickets. "Do you mind if I…?"
"Not at all," Starr said softly, smiling as she waved him on.
James walked over, kneeling down to the little girl's level, and held out their huge stack of tickets, more than what she needed for the bear. He said something Starr couldn't hear, smiling warmly, and the mother started thanking him gratefully a second before the little girl flung herself at him, wrapping her tiny arms around his waist the best she could. James froze for a second, startled, then gently patted her back, smiling, and Starr desperately bit the insides of her cheeks as she took in the scene, trying not grin like the freaking Joker as she observed.
He got up, heading back, and Starr met him halfway. The two agreed to turn in for the night and headed outside, Starr unable to help her astonished smile the whole way.
"Okay, what is with the look?" he asked finally.
"It's just…I was just thinking how absolutely nothing about you screams chop shop criminal, number one gearhead in Dayton, on the run from enforcer who is collecting $50,000, y'know?" she laughed. James didn't.
"Good," he replied firmly. "That is the last thing I want anyone to see when they look at me, Starr," he continued, voice growing heated. Starr flinched, realizing she should have seen where that would be a touchy comment.
"And it is James, honestly. I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have even brought that up."
"No, Starr, it's not-"
They were interrupted by his cell phone going off for the first time that night, and both jumped. James instinctively grabbed Starr and pulled her behind him, looking anxiously down the street for a second before grabbing the phone.
"It's not Bull," he informed her a moment later, sounding confused. "I don't even know this number." Starr curiously glanced over his shoulder and groaned.
"Oh, God, it's Cole, he must have written in down after I called earlier."
"Oh," James replied flatly, sounding oddly deflated. "Do you want to…?"
"No," she stated firmly. "Let it go to voicemail."
James cocked an eyebrow at that, looking curious, but seemed to understand that she didn't really want to talk about it right now, thankfully.
In no big rush for this night to end, Starr wandered over to the railing along the sidewalk path and hopped up, taking a minute to star gaze. James followed her and leaned back against the rail, staring up at her; Starr was highly aware of his gaze thanks to the tingling in her skin, and finally looked back down at him.
"If you want to say something, just do it."
"Okay, I am probably way out of bounds here, and hell, way off base, considering I don't even know the guy, but oh well, I have to ask something- tell me to screw off if necessary."
"Go for it," she laughed simply.
"Starr…how would you react if Hope was dating a guy who was in jail for 'hurting someone he thought deserved it?' Who didn't want to see her anymore because some crazy girl had turned him against her and he let her? Who apparently upset her enough when they last spoke that she currently doesn't even want to take his calls? Just curious," he added, shrugging. Starr glared, not appreciating that bit of smart-assness, but then furrowed her brow, actually thinking about it.
"That's over simplifying the story to a pretty epic degree, but to answer the question, not well," she admitted grudgingly, crossing her arms. James just nodded, not saying anything, which immediately drove her crazy. "Why'd you ask? What brought that question on? Just curious," she mimicked him. James bowed his head contemplatively, then finally looked up at her with a shrug.
"I don't know. I mean, I don't know the guy, but from the little I do know, I guess I just think it sounds like you deserve better." Starr's breath caught in her throat at that answer, and she slowly slid down from her perch, unconsciously edging in closer to James, who was too caught up in his thoughts to notice. "Then again, you probably can't say you want her taking off on her family and risking her life to help a criminal, so maybe I shouldn't be judging."
"Don't assume you know what I want."
That got his attention. James whipped his head around to look at her, a clear question in his eyes.
And in response, for the first time in what felt like forever, Starr didn't overthink and overanalyze, she just allowed herself to feel and react, and rose up on her toes, pressing her lips to his.
The kiss wasn't intense or hot, but sweet and chaste, and it sent the kind of tingles up and down her spine that she hadn't felt since Travis and Ricky- though this was a supercharged version of that, those former sparks times 1 million. It was similar in the sense that it was the beginning of something that could be simple and pure, quite a change for her; it wasn't tainted right from the start, he wasn't her teacher or her father's rape victim's son. While Starr was sure nobody would be thrilled about a match up between them, it's also not a Romeo and Juliet star crossed lovers situation. The concept- not having some epic forbidden love title to live up to, getting to just be with the guy she wants- made Starr really freaking happy the more she thought about it, inspiring her to kiss with a little more fervor and intensity.
James seemed just as into it as her, kissing her soundly as his hands tangled into her hair, but after a minute, she could feel him starting to hesitate, until finally, he pulled away completely, sending a rush of disappointment through her.
"Starr?" he breathed, still mildly stunned. "What are you doing?"
"I… have no idea," she giggled. "And you know what? For once, I think I'm okay with that," she informed him, winding her arms around his neck. To her shock, he reached up and grabbed them, gently pulling her arms away.
"I don't know if I am."
"…what?" she asked weakly.
"Starr, please don't look at me like that. It's not that I don't want to, it's that…you don't seem like you do something like this, ever."
"I don't, and that's why I think this is a good thing. The things I usually do have just gotten me trapped in a cycle; I think it's past time I start trying new things. It's time I act on impulse and actually care about what I want."
"Starr, you have a boyfriend."
"No, I don't. I called him that because at the time, I still wanted him to be that, but repeatedly choosing another girl over me and then telling me not to come see him in jail anymore means we are broken up," she said firmly. James raised an eyebrow.
"Does he know that?"
"Look, James, if you don't want to do this, you just-"
"What did I just tell you?" he demanded hotly. "Right now, what I want is to do is go back to the cabin and kiss you senseless-"
"That can be arranged," she told him, teasing him with the faintest brush of her lips against his. He took a deep breath, swallowing roughly and shaking himself back to his senses.
"But I really want to know you're not just acting out or something, and that you won't regret it or want to take it back if you and I try to start something."
"James, I won't, that's not what this is, I swear. All day, I have been freaking out about how I feel these sparks and chemistry every time you touch me, or how I can't stop smiling around you, or how I just want to be around you period, but it just finally hit me- that is normal. I've gotten so used to living out Romeo and Juliet that it's my standard now, but meeting a guy you like, and getting to have all the fun chemistry, and wanting to just be together and have fun is normal. I was worrying about it being this big complicated issue, but honestly, it doesn't need to be! Girl meets boy, likes boy, has chemistry with boy, wants to kiss boy- there, simple. And I think it's okay for even me, little miss star crossed lovers, to want that. And I do want that," she stressed. "And not just with anyone who's convenient- I want that with you. Cole isn't my boyfriend, and I know I'm not gonna regret this, so…ball's in your court."
That was all it seemed to take to break James; with a muffled groan, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back in, kissing her slow and tender as her answer. Starr sighed in contentment against his lips before eagerly responding.
"You know I feel all those things about you too, right?" he murmured against her lips. Starr lit up.
"Well, I was kind of hoping."
He chuckled, kissing her once more, and Starr felt a rush of pure happiness.
'Let's take a night to get away from it all' had officially been the best suggestion ever.