Disclaimer- All characters in Primeval are owned by Impossible Pictures and not by me. Holly is mine, though, but I'm not gonna make any money from four very small sentences. Unfortunately.
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"Hey Abby, it's Holly. Sorry I can't come this evening, but maybe we can go into town some time instead? Sorry again. See you." Abby's best friend's voice echoed out of the answer machine on her phone and Abby sighed. She had actually been looking forward to going to the evening's fireworks display with Holly. They had been mates since they were eleven and Abby rarely saw her any more. She had agreed to meeting up for the local firework party, happy that she would, for once, be able to talk about something other than dinosaurs and random rips in time. True, with Holly it would be about shoes or her new designer dress, but at least she wasn't stuck in watching some crap sci-fi movie with Connor. That was why she got on so well with Holly- they were like chalk and cheese, so very different.
"Abby!" Connor called from the kitchen, "There's no cheese!"
"Yes there is!" Abby rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen. She pulled the fridge open and pushed the butter aside, revealing the block of cheese.
"Oh." Connor said, taking the cheese out, "Thanks."
"What are you doing?" Abby asked raising an eyebrow at him.
"I want a cheese toasty." Connor replied, cutting the cheese into strips, "What time you going out again?"
"I'm not." Abby responded.
"Why not?" Connor asked, continuing to slice the cheese.
"Holly can't come." Abby shrugged, stealing a hunk of cheese and eating it.
"Hey!" Connor protested, before carrying on their previous conversation, "So?"
"So I'm not going by myself." Abby said.
"I'll come with you." Connor suggested, shoving his toasty in the oven.
Abby sighed, but then she mulled it over. As she thought about it, the idea became gradually more appealing- at least they weren't sat in on a Saturday evening watching crap reality TV or one of the Star Wars films, again. Besides, she had paid for those tickets.
"Okay." She grinned, "It might be a laugh."
"I'm game for a laugh." Connor pulled the perfectly-done toasty out of the oven and cut it in half. He bit into one half and turned to face Abby, "What time we leaving then?"
"6.30- in an hour." Abby replied, before snatching the other half of the toasty. She ignored Connor's protestations and took a bite out of it, "Thanks Connor."
"That was mine!" he moaned.
"I'll pay for your burger." Abby reasoned.
"And a hot dog?" Connor asked.
"If you're good."
"And a drink?"
"You're stretching this a bit now." Abby refused, finishing her half.
"Oh, come on! This is a good-quality toasty, Abby!" Connor said. Abby gently whacked him over the back of the head.
"I'm going to get ready. Make sure you are in an hour." She said on her way out of the kitchen.
Connor watched her go before calling: "Is that a yes?"
******
Abby came out of her bedroom forty minutes later wearing a knee-length black dress that hugged her figure.
"Oooh!" Connor mocked, "Never seen you make this much of an effort before. Is there someone there you like?"
Abby responded by thumping his shoulder.
"Ow!" Connor yelped, "That hurt!"
"Maybe you should think before you open your trap then!" Abby raised her eyebrows, "You ready?"
"As ready as I'm ever gonna be." Connor shrugged, "You do realise everyone's gonna think that we're a couple?"
"Yes." Abby replied curtly, rummaging through official-looking documents to find her keys.
"Do you care?" Connor asked.
"Nope." Abby said, eventually bringing her keys out of the pile.
"Cool!" Connor exclaimed, "So can I kiss you?"
"No."
"Put my arm round you?"
"No."
"Hold your hand?"
"No." Abby sighed, "Connor, I said I didn't care, I didn't say I wanted them to think anything and I especially didn't say I wanted you to do anything about it."
"Not even…"
"Connor?" Abby interrupted him- she didn't even want to know where this was going.
"Yes?"
"Are you looking for another thump?" she growled.
*****
The local field was lit up with various kinds of stalls all selling various kinds of junk and food. Connor's eyes lit up like a small child entering an amusement park and Abby rolled her eyes. Maybe bringing Connor was not such a good idea. Abby just hoped that she wouldn't see anyone she knew.
There were bouncy castles; coconut shies; shoot the targets; burger stalls; hot dog stalls; candy floss, popcorn and toffee apples- they were all there. Little merry-go-rounds played that music that is cute at the beginning of the evening, but by the end, it is honestly worse than hearing Rihanna's "Umbrella" played on repeat and a huge bonfire blazed in the centre of all the attractions, sparks rising into the dark night sky.
Abby loved bonfire night- she loved the smell of the bonfires and the fireworks that exploded in the air, leaving trails of smoke behind them. She loved the sparklers that kids waved round, drawing circles in the air and she loved the fire. She had always loved the fire. Ever since she was tiny, fire had enchanted her- like so many things she came into contact with everyday, it was so beautiful, but so dangerous. So vicious, yet so mild. So comforting, but so scary. Everything it was, it was the opposite of itself as well. Just like the anomalies.
"You owe me a burger." Connor reminded her, giving into the heavenly fumes that the stall sent out to its potential customers.
"Come on then." Abby smiled at him and they walked over to the stall.
Minutes later, they were stood watching the bonfire glitter away in the night whilst munching on their burgers.
"What are you thinking?" Abby asked randomly, looking deep into the fire.
"That I'm cold." Connor said. Abby laughed.
"Why?" Connor questioned.
"Dunno. Just wondered." Abby smiled up at him. He smiled back and Abby felt a warmth come to her, happy to have him as her friend. If she was honest, maybe she wanted him to be something more…
"Go on then, what are you thinking?" Connor said, breaking her chain of thought.
"Not much." Abby sighed, not wanting to admit the fleeting thought that had just passed her mind- she didn't want Connor getting anymore big-headed.
"No, go on." Connor insisted.
"I'm cold too. And the fire is beautiful." Abby lied.
"Do you want to know what I'm thinking now?" Connor grinned mischievously.
"What?"
"I'm thinking…" Connor looked at her, "About that hot dog."
Abby laughed, "But you've only just finished your burger!"
"You promised!" Connor cried.
"You," Abby sighed, "Are unbelievable." She dug in her pocket and pulled out a fiver, pressing it into his hand.
"You want one?" he asked.
"No!" Abby cried, "Go!" She watched him run over to the hot dog stand, a smile on her face. Emotions burned away inside her, just like the bonfire in front of her and she knew, deep down, how she felt.
Ten minutes later, Connor re-joined her, hot dog in hand.
"Is it nice?" Abby raised her eyebrows.
"Mmm." Connor nodded, his mouth full. Abby laughed again, before looking at her watch.
"Fireworks start in five minutes." She told him, "Shall we go sit on that wall over there?" she pointed towards a tiny brick wall about 19 feet away.
"Sure." Connor nodded and popped the last bit of hot dog into his mouth.
"Come on, then." She said, taking his hand and pulling him away.
Abby sighed and looked up at the night sky as they sat on the cold wall. She felt Connor take a seat beside her and after a minute she felt his eyes burning on her.
"What?" she turned to face him.
"Nothing." Connor replied. Abby smiled at him and felt his hand rest on hers by accident. He pulled it away quickly, placing it on the cold wall instead, and looked up at the sky, embarrassed. Abby bit her lip, hoping she wasn't about to make a mistake, and put her hand on his instead. Connor looked round at her, surprised. She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder. Connor smiled and returned his gaze to the darkness above them. Suddenly a bang went off, telling them that the first firework had been sent up into the air. Connor felt Abby jump beside him, her hand automatically twitching and taking his own in a firm clasp. He chuckled and squeezed her hand in return, a reassuring squeeze.
Suddenly Abby leaned over him and planted her lips on his, taking him by surprise. She kissed him softly and he kissed her back, his arm snaking round her back and pulling her closer to him. The kiss became deeper and more passionate, as they both became sure that the other wouldn't pull away. The fireworks exploded overhead, but they were as oblivious to these as they were to the people around them, too involved in each other to either notice or care. Connor gently ran his tongue over her bottom lip, begging for an entrance that she gladly gave him, letting him run his hands down over her body, coming to rest on her hips. She cradled the nape of his neck in both hands, as if trying to pull him in closer.
Eventually, Abby pulled away to take a breath and Connor grinned like a cat that had got the cream. Abby smiled back at him, before moving in for another kiss.
This one was shorter and less passionate, but meant no less than the first one. Connor pulled away first.
"We're missing the fireworks." He whispered.
"I don't care." She whispered back.
"And everyone's definitely gonna think we're a couple now."
"I'm not surprised." Abby muttered as another firework crashed above them, "Do you want to see these?" she gestured to the sky, "'Cos I'm all up for an early night."
"So am I." Connor stood up, "Come on." He took her hands and pulled her to her feet. Abby smiled and followed him, not taking her hand away.
Connor couldn't believe his luck.
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Please review,
Steph