Hello, I'm back! It's been a while since I finished One Wish and I'm just getting back into writing! I got married on March 9th, so now that the wedding is over, I can finally think again and write some new work! I just went through my whole gallery and deleted some of my earlier works from way back when, so starting fresh! I hope you enjoy this new one!
Ladies and gentleman, I present to you... Uncertainty!
-Gwen
"I'm sorry..."
The rain pounded against the pavement, he could barely hear her words over the storm they stood in. The two of them were standing in a ditch, drenched with rain and mud. What were they doing there again? He couldn't recall, everything had happened so fast.
Her long blond hair was soaked, every inch of her drenched as they failed to find shelter, she felt the need to stop and apologize? Derek stopped himself from reaching for her, she was too distraught.
"Angie... why are you apologizing?"
"If I'd known..." She stopped and looked at her ring, it glinted when the streetlights managed to reach it through the dark shadows. "I would have never..."
"Never? Are you saying you don't...?"
"Not at all!" Angie cried out. "Not at all, Derek! It's just... I hate feeling so dependant!"
Derek stood stock still, his heart snapped in half, "You can still be independant!"
"No I can't! I can't live without you now!" Angie's shoulders drooped, "I can't live without you so... never leave me!" She sobbed, "I realized tonight... after everything that happened..."
Derek's brows furrowed, he waited for her to continue but all he heard was sobbing, he couldn't tell if she was happy or miserable.
"I need you, Derek... you complete me."
~Three Hours Earlier~
"Isolated thunderstorms..."
Angie turned the TV off as she slipped on her favorite pea coat, the weather being the last thing on her mind. Tonight, she and Derek were going out on a date and nothing could put a damper on that. She smiled to herself as she passed a mirror and did a little primping, her hair up in a neat bun, a comb situated at the top of her head. Little sapphires sparkled in their settings as she turned off the lights and went outside. The rain hadn't even started falling yet, but she could see the clouds looming over ominously.
"Hmph!" Nothing was going to ruin this night for her, she wasn't expecting anything special, but it wasn't often that she and Derek found time through their busy schedules to go on a date. A date, she mused, was a once in a blue moon opportunity! Angie perked up when she saw Derek's car pull up in front of her apartment. He got out and opened the door for her, and she ran up to him, careful not to trip in her heels.
"Derek!" She tackled him in a hug. Outside of work, she was a little more relaxed and enjoyed being carefree, also being able to hug him when she wanted to. He returned her hug and placed a kiss against her lips.
"You act as though you've not seen me in months. I just saw you yesterday."
"I know... but this is different."
Derek thought about it and then nodded in agreement, "You're right, it is different." He helped her into his car, and shortly they were on the road to their destination.
Fifteen minutes passed and the rain had started to sprinkle lazily, even though the clouds seemed to be bringing in much fiercer reinforcements. By that time, however, Angie and Derek had reached the restaurant of their choice.
"This is so fancy, Derek..." Angie looked around as if she'd never seen it before. "Did you reserve this?"
"Maybe." He smiled, looking over the menu. When the waiter appeared, he ordered a fine wine and appetizers.
"Wine? Derek... this is so unlike you."
"It's a beautiful night."
Angie glanced towards the windows and giggled, "It's pouring rain."
"I know." He reached for her hand and pulled it close to him, kissing her knuckles. "That doesn't matter to me."
"You're... being so romantic."
"This is a date." Derek reminded her playfully. "We're both dressed fancy... and this is a fancy restaurant, with wine and fancy appetizers."
"Fancy..." She mocked him with a giggle, "My, my, Derek... what has gotten into you?"
"You'll see."
Angie blushed, she knew now that he had something up his sleeve, he was being very quiet about it, and very suspicious. "Are you hiding something?"
"Not at all."
"Are you going to break up with me?"
"What? Angie, what would make you think something like that?" Derek looked hurt.
"N-Nothing... it's just this restaurant is notorious for gentle break ups..."
Derek sighed heavily, "Don't ever think something like that. We're fine, there's nothing wrong."
"Oh... okay." She sighed nervously, making the moment more awkward than she'd intended to. He looked anxious, like he was thinking or deciding something.
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright, no harm done! I just don't want you to ever feel like that... I have no reason to break up with you."
Angie trusted him, so she nodded and smiled shakily. "I'm still sorry."
"I know, don't worry about it."
Their wine and appetizers arrived shortly after that. Derek reached out his wine glass to her and they clanked together.
"To us... and this beautiful night." Derek gave her a crooked smile.
"To us." Angie repeated.
The two of them drank quietly and ate their appetizers until their entrees came out. The awkward feeling died down rather quickly when they began to talk and enjoy their dinner, Angie was thankful that they came hungry, the meals were big and tasty.
After dinner, they avoided dessert and left after paying for their food. Derek covered everything, like a gentleman and led them out of the restaurant. It was pouring rain by then, no longer lazily falling, he ran them out to the car and let her in. Once they were both buckled, he hesitated to drive off.
"Derek? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." His hands shook just a little bit, "I need to talk to you, Angie..."
Angie's heart dropped into her stomach, brows raised in worry. "What is it?"
"I was going to do this in there... but then everything seemed so overdone, I just... I just couldn't bring myself to do it that way."
"What?"
"Hang on... Angela Thompson..." Derek looked at her, his eyes were serious and that scared her. "You are everything to me, I do believe with all my heart that we were made for each other."
"Were...?"
"Are... hold on." Derek cleared his throat, he looked like he was getting emotional. "We are made for each other and that's why I have to ask this." He pulled a small red box from the pocket of his suit jacket. Without waiting another second, he opened it and a ring sat prettily in the box's center.
"Will you marry me?"
Angie stared in shock, amazed that she hadn't seen this coming. The romance, the beautiful night... the fancy restaurant. No, she'd missed something... had they even discussed marriage?
"Derek... I... I don't know what to say."
He looked almost hurt for a second and then he cleared it by smiling, "Say yes?"
"Derek..." She began to cry, "Derek, I don't know..."
He closed the box, setting it aside before he took her hands and gripped them gently, "It's too soon?"
"No... it's not too soon, we've been dating for two years."
He nodded.
"I'm afraid..."
"Afraid of what? Angie, we can do this... it's about us, not you or me. If you feel like it's not time we can wait..."
Angie didn't respond for a long time, she was taking deep breaths and looked like she was about to cry. "Derek, I don't think this is a good time..."
"No time is a good time." Derek frowned, "Neither of us will ever be ready."
"Then why-"
"No one is ever ready."
Angie felt chills roll up her spine at his words, "What about work?"
"Work has nothing to do with our outside lives."
"But..."
Derek looked at her with sadness in his eyes, "If you say no... I'll just keep waiting for you."
He'd just wait for her? What was the point in waiting for her if she'd never be okay with it? Angie shook her head, "I can't do that to you."
"I don't care, I'll wait for you."
She nodded slowly, "I see."
"Is this a no?"
A long silence built a wall between them. It felt like they would never move or speak, but Angie knew she was the only one who could break this wall. She looked at him and hesitantly began to hold out her hand, only she took it back rather quickly.
"I need to think about it... can we just go?"
Derek didn't respond, he only nodded and started up the engine. Their awkward silence built up again. Angie kept glancing at the ring box sitting on the dashboard, begging her to reconsider her response to his proposal. Derek said nothing, focusing on the road and making sure he could see through the windshield.
Angie glanced at Derek and saw worry in his expression, and that worry turned to shock as a car in front of them began to hydroplane. Careful not to get hit by it, Derek turned to avoid it only to get clipped and pushed into a small ditch on the side of the road. They slid deeper into it backwards, the mud sucking them down and trapping the back wheels. Derek revved several times, but to no avail.
Angie had been numb until that point, feeling tears roll down her cheeks as she glanced at Derek, who had a very determined face on.
"I'll get us out."
"What?"
"Go sit in the drivers seat, I'll push and you drive."
"There's no way..."
Obviously still frustrated, Derek got out of the car, slipping in the mud as he headed to the back, "Drive!" He commanded.
Angie slipped her heels off and shifted to the drivers seat, pressing her foot to the gas while Derek pushed. She could hear his frustrated grunts over the engine.
"Stop, stop!" he shouted. His pants were covered in mud and rain, soaking to the bone.
Angie stopped and rested her foot on the floor of the car, watching for Derek to come back around. She stopped watching when he didn't come back right away, immediately laying her eyes on the ring box again. What if they'd gotten into an accident worse than this? What if they'd died? What if he died and she lived only? Her heart sunk deeper into her stomach. Angie realized that she was holding onto the steering wheel, staring at the red box thoughtfully.
"Try again!" Derek shouted to her.
Angie nodded, even though he couldn't see that, and hit the gas again, waiting to see if it would give. When Derek shouted for her to stop again, she let go and watched for him, glancing between the door and the ring box still begging her... pleading that she rethink it. Things could have been worse. She could have said no and lost it all that night.
When Derek returned he shook his head, "We'll have to call a tow truck." He sighed, covered in mud and rain. His hair nearly covered his eyes which made her want to giggle, but she held it back and nodded in reply.
"I'm going to try and get a signal... so I'll climb up there."
He was about to go when she stopped him, grabbing the box before she grabbed his coat sleeve. "Wait!"
Derek looked back at her, seeing the look on her face.
"Please do it again!"
"What? Push the car?"
"No... propose to me again!" She cried, breaking free of her seat in the car, she tripped to him, her feet easily getting swallowed in the mud and grass.
"Angie..."
"Propose to me again!"
Derek took the ring box from her dainty hands and held it, getting mud on it's velvety exterior. He gave a nod and got on a knee, awkward as it looked in the mud.
"Angela Thompson... will you marry me?"
Angie felt her chin quivering as she nodded, "Yes."
He opened the box and took the ring out, placing it on her finger. It fit perfectly and he smiled to her, standing up to give her a muddy, wet hug. They kissed and he stopped, looking back up out of the ditch. "I need to call a tow truck."
She nodded slowly and watched him stagger up the hill, trying to get a signal. She could barely hear his voice over the rain as he finally got ahold of help, raking his muddy hands through his hair in exasperation.
She climbed up the hill and stood on firm pavement, the ground was somewhat hot against her bare feet. When Derek got off the phone, he looked at her standing there. Her bun had fallen out and her hair fell heavily.
"I'm sorry!" She cried.
"Angie... why are you apologizing?"
"If I'd known..." She stopped and looked at her ring, it glinted when the streetlights managed to reach it through the dark shadows. "I would have never..."
"Never? Are you saying you don't...?"
"Not at all!" Angie cried out. "Not at all, Derek! It's just... I hate feeling so dependant!"
Derek stood stock still, his heart snapped in half, "You can still be independant!"
"No I can't! I can't live without you now!" Angie's shoulders drooped, "I can't live without you so... never leave me!" She sobbed, "I realized tonight... after everything that happened..."
Derek waited for her to continue, but she just kept sobbing.
"I need you..." She cried, "You complete me."
Derek was shocked and happy that she would say something like that. "You said yes..."
"When I realized... I realized that if you'd died tonight, if either of us died... I couldn't stand that feeling. What if? All the what ifs just hit me! What if I'd said no and then I lost you forever?"
He approached her slowly and hugged her tight, feeling her cry into his shirt, "I'm here though."
"If you weren't! I'd never, ever forgive myself!" She cried, "I'd never forgive myself!"
Derek watched her cry in the pouring rain, feeling numb all over from the amount of emotion coming from her. He kissed the top of her head and caressed her cheek. "Let's talk at home, I'm calling a cab."
They waited, the cab taking it's time to come and Angie shivering in her strapless dress, barefoot and soaking wet. Derek looked at her and put his suit jacket over her shoulders, even though it was as wet as the both of them were in the rain.
"I know this probably doesn't help..."
"It helps enough." Angie looked up at him, standing broad shouldered and brave next to her. He still had sopping wet shoes on, her feet looking rather small in comparison. Busy staring, she hadn't even noticed it when the cab finally showed up to take them home.
It didn't look like Derek cooked very often, Angie noticed as she looked around his house. He'd let her shower first and then took his turn when she was done, so she stood, wearing a pair of his baggy pajamas, her long hair cascading down her back. While he was showering, she walked over to the sink and began to clean up the kitchen, where he'd left take-out containers, and other dishes laid out. He clearly didn't cook for himself much, and she'd only visited a couple of times during the years of their dating. He had excuses such about not being home often, the place not being tidy, and she learned it to be true from this experience and having time to observe. His laundry seemed to be the most important thing, his white coat hung up on a hook that was attached to his bedroom door. She turned back to cleaning the kitchen, which preoccupied her so much that she didn't hear it when Derek came up behind her.
"You didn't have to do this..."
"I know." She said, trying to hide her surprise. "I just wanted to. You said you wanted to keep talking..." Angie recalled.
"It wasn't that so much as I didn't want you to get sick... are you feeling better? I've never seen you so..."
"Emotional? I'm not used to that, I feel like I just lost control tonight."
"It's okay to lose control sometimes... are you sure you want to say yes? That you really wanted to-"
"Derek, I've never been more sure in my life! I'm certain... I have no reason to say no."
Derek nodded slowly and then turned her around to face him, holding her and kissing her head again, "Then... let's get married."
"Alright." Angie pressed her face into his chest and breathed tiredly, "We're getting married."
There was nothing else to do when they got done cleaning up the kitchen, which was more Angie's idea than Derek's, so they watched a movie and fell asleep on the couch. Angie woke up with her head on Derek's chest, nearly forgetting what happened the night before.
She reached down to the floor and picked up her phone, gasping in horror at the time.
"Derek!" She screamed, "It's almost nine-thirty!"
Derek immediately shot up and scrambled, looking for his glasses. He was blind and everything in his vision was a blur. He finally slammed his hand down them and snatched them up, almost putting them on upside down.
"How do I look?!"
Derek looked at Angie and raised his brows, "Your hair is... kind of fuzzy, but it's pretty!"
"Fuzzy?"
"Yeah... I think I have a co-"
"A comb, perfect!" She darted off to the bathroom, still wearing his big, baggy pajamas. She let out a shriek at the image of herself in the mirror and tried to pull herself together. "We're going to be late!"
"I'm calling a cab!"
"Another cab?!"
"My car is in a ditch, Angela!"
"Oh for the love of..." She tripped over her pant leg on the way down the hall and nearly fell on her face, "Arrive in a cab looking like this?! To work?!"
"Unfortunately! We'll have to use the spare scrubs there!"
"You have your scrubs!"
"Oh... well we can get a cab to your house and pick up your scrubs and your car!"
Angie stomped a little, "But we're already late!"
"Then why don't I just call...?" Derek found his cell phone among his muddy clothes from the night before.
"But..."
"But?"
"It's awkward if you tell them we were in an accident."
"Why? Two colleagues going out for some coffee, and hydroplaning on the way home?"
"That's not what happened." Angie replied.
"I thought you wanted me to bend the truth... what's the harm in me being a gentleman and giving you a ride?"
Angie thought about it and sighed, "Fine, if that's how you want to bend the truth... I do enjoy a good cup of coffee."
"So do I, in fact, I could use one..." Derek tried to turn on his phone and frowned when it refused to respond. "I guess it got too wet..."
"So we can't call? What about your house phone?"
"I got rid of it when I got my cell phone."
Angie stared at him in awe, "Your phone worked last night..."
"That was last night." Derek sighed and then sat down, "Don't you have one?"
"Alright, I have mine in my dress pocket and lucky for us, it isn't so prone to drowning!" She stomped a little and then stormed to the bathroom where she'd hung her dress over the shower rod to dry out. Her phone sat on the bathroom sink and she picked it up, pressing the home button to make the screen light up.
Derek saw her walk back out and sighed a little in relief when she was flipping through her contacts until she came upon their work number. She shook her head slowly and put the phone to her ear.
"Hi, this is Angela Thompson-" She stopped and listened to the voice at the other end. Derek watched her expressions with amusement.
"So he's the only one on call? Well, unfortunately after we went out for coffee, he was driving me home and his car is in ditch. No, his phone isn't working..." She paused and listened, "I see. Then he'll just have to hope his pager doesn't go off."
Derek perked up a little, "What?"
Angie held up her index finger and turned her back to him so she could continue talking without him interrupting her train of thought. "Okay. We'll both be there on Monday. Thank you... bye." She hung up and turned off the screen on her phone. "You're on call, but there isn't anything scheduled for you today unless they get emergencies..."
"So we're panicking over nothing?"
"I'm not even scheduled for today." Angie replied.
They sat and stood in silence for a few minutes before Derek chuckled, "I want to go back to bed."
"Eventually you'll have to get your car back."
"That's true."
"I'd like to go home at some point and get some clothes that fit." She emphasized the size of his pajama shirt on her slender frame. "As comfortable as these are..."
"Do you want to call yourself a cab and go home? You could come back here and we can talk about... stuff."
Angie gave him a tired smile and then sat down, "I guess. That way I can change, have my car available so we can go get yours... we have all day."
"Just the two of us."
"We can look back on it and laugh." Angie added, "We can say that you proposed in the rain... but I didn't get a kiss."
"That's too bad." Derek agreed, "Sorry abou-"
Angie cut him off with a firm kiss to his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck. He was surprised and it took him a second to realize what was happening. Though once it hit him, he returned her kiss for a short time before he pulled back and smiled.
"Now I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, that was the best kiss you've ever given me."
"That's silly! I gave you a great first kiss, that one time..."
"That was when we were dating, now we're engaged. This kiss was a little different. We can categorize our bests."
"So you mean categorize by whether or not the kiss came before or after we got engaged, married... etcetera?"
"Exactly. So our best kiss when we were dating was our first one. Our best one after we got engaged was this one!" Derek took her hands, "You're incredible."
Angie blinked, unable to find the right words to respond to him. She faced him, nodding slowly with a small smile on her face. "Okay."
"Just okay?"
"Okay." Angie said again, nodding a little more fervently that time.
"Okay!" Derek chuckled, "Just okay then!"
"I get to pick a wedding dress, and a maid of honor... and have a wedding." Angie suddenly said after minutes of nodding. "A real wedding? We aren't going to elope are we?"
"I didn't think we would... my mother would kill me."
"Wait... did you actually talk to my dad?"
Derek stared at her suddenly, "We have to be that formal?"
"Derek!" Angie gasped, "Of course we do! He has every right to know!"
"Right, right... well, I'll talk to him eventually."
"Eventually on your terms is...?"
"Let's not start arguing now, dear... This was the perfect moment..." Derek said with a stiff smile.
"I'm not arguing, I'm just saying! Who knew?"
"Tyler... I talked to Tyler. Leslie doesn't know, but if Tyler has the mouth I think he has, he may have already spilled the beans."
"Oh mother of..." Angie flopped back, "You told Tyler?!"
"He's my best friend and I had pre-proposal nerves!"
"How long were you planning this?" She asked, sitting up straight once again.
Derek didn't answer.
"How long?"
"It took me at least two months to get the guts to do it, from there, then a couple weeks more to actually make reservations..."
"All to propose to me in the parking lot?"
"You said no!"
"I did not say no, I said I had to think about it! Oh my word, Derek!" Angie crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, looking frustrated. "Never mind... this will all work itself out! We can talk to my dad together and your mom will be happy obviously!"
"Obviously..." Derek repeated. "She's been waiting months for something like this to come up."
"Good, that's one less thing to be worrying about." Another huffy breath escaped Angie, her brows furrowed deeply. "Pfft, Tyler knows... who else knows?!"
"Maybe Victor; in passing..."
"How loud were you talking?"
"Not me! Tyler, he may have exclaimed something before I could shut him up... he's like that."
"I see. Well, at least Victor won't blab to anyone else. I'd like to keep our relationship a little under wraps at work."
"Let's just see how long that will last." Derek responded with a smirk. "I say it stays secret for a month."
"Three months tops."
"Is that a bet?"
"I'm not putting my money on anything." Angie sighed, "Men."
"Women." Derek huffed back.
He looked at her with a crooked smile and she looked back at him with a less amused expression. In the silence, Derek realized he probably shouldn't have responded that way because Angie was reaching for a throw pillow next to her.
"Ang-" He was immediately cut off by a smack to the face with said pillow.
"I'm calling a cab!" She stood up, stomped and without hesitation, picked up her phone and stormed off to a different room.
After he heard the door slam, Derek whistled a little and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's just one of the many reasons I love you..."