"Crooked Souls"
A/N: Been awhile since I've written in the Broadchurch universe. Then I unearthed the start of this story and I had to continue writing it. As the summary states, this takes place about twenty years before Danny was killed, and although this story itself is an AU setting, I'm going to try to stick to canon as much as possible.
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We are crooked souls trying to stay up straight,
Dry eyes in the pouring rain
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine
Two scared little runaways
Hold fast to the break of day light were
The shadow proves the sunshine
-"Shadows Prove the Sunshine", Switchfoot
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Ellie Miller was not having a good day.
At all.
To start with, her train to London had left before she reached the station so she'd had to wait two hours before she could even continue on her way. Then, on the way, two of her bags of clothes had gone missing from the luggage carriage.
And finally, to top it all off, it was raining. Pouring. And she'd forgotten, in her haste to leave in the morning, to grab her umbrella.
It was just one of those days, and Ellie was ready to tear her hair out by the roots. A scream of utter frustration was swiftly building in her throat—she just wanted to reach the hotel room without being swept away, damn it, was that too much to ask? Apparently so, because as she was carting her one bag across the street to her destination a car managed to hit a pothole and splash her from the knees down.
"Get used to the water, hon," the hotel clerk—an older woman who looked positively nonplussed by Ellie's bedraggled appearance—said knowingly. "It's springtime here."
"I'm not planning on staying here long, thank you," Ellie responded icily; her mother had taught her better manners than that but in her present mood she couldn't bring herself to care. She turned smartly on her heel and with as much dignity as she could made her way to her room, her shoes squeaking and her soaked pants leaving a trail of water behind her. She was grateful that the hotel still had its heat on; the rain still had an edge of winter's chill to it, and it seemed to freeze the bones. She changed out of her soaked clothes and soaked her frozen feet in the bathtub, and after thirty minutes of relaxing and quiet she felt much better.
Then she realized that she was hungry. Her quick meal of porridge at five in the morning had been a long time ago, and she hadn't had anything since, and her stomach was growling. She sighed; she really didn't feel like going back out in the rain but when she asked about where she could go the clerk told her there was a café four buildings down—and there were no extra umbrellas to be had. Ellie cursed under her breath, her lightened mood thoroughly spoiled again, but her stomach was not going to allow her to ignore it.
The rain had not at all lessened in the time she had been inside and despite her sprinting down the street as fast as she could she still became quickly soaked again. There was a group of people entering the café as she approached and they all seemed determined to go through the doorway as slowly as they could, talking and laughing amongst themselves and utterly oblivious to the young woman standing several feet away waiting irritably to enter in behind them. Finally they all went through the doorway and Ellie, feeling ready to scream again, made to go in as well.
One final pedestrian reached the doorway before her and Ellie felt her teeth grind until they felt ready to crack—but then she realized the door was being held open for her, and she almost forgot to thank the person holding the door for her. When she did remember to look up, she saw it was a young man barely older than she was and holding a bag clearly full of books and notepads. He was looking her up and down curiously, taking in her drenched clothing and wet hair.
Ellie blushed, realizing how rude she was being, and hurried through. "Thank you," she muttered, looking up to catch his eye. "Sorry."
He shook his head. "It's fine," he said just as quietly. His accent gave her pause. Scottish?
He noticed her double take and quickly turned away, heading his own way to a table. But Ellie, not one to like sitting by herself in a room, followed after him hesitantly. "I'm Ellie," she said finally, startling herself.
He set his bags down and turned to look at her. She hadn't registered his height while at the door. He seemed to tower over her from how lanky and tall he was. He seemed to fight with himself for a long moment, looking taken aback by her openness, until he finally decided to reply. "Alec." It was clear by his tone of his dislike of the name.
She smiled, feeling easier now that he had responded. "D'you mind if I sit with you? It's just that I've never been to London before and I don't know anyone here—" She was babbling, nervous, suddenly wondering if maybe she was overstepping or pushing, hastening to explain. "I could go, so that I'm not bothering you—"
Looking a bit wary at her amount of words, he motioned to the table. "It's alright." He turned to go to the counter and paused. "D'you want something?"
She grinned again. His nervousness seemed endearing somehow; clearly he felt uncomfortable around the opposite sex. "You can surprise me," she said, handing him a couple pounds.
He nodded, and Ellie's grin grew. He really didn't talk much, did he? She set her own purse on the chair opposite his and sat down, watching as he went to order their drinks. Tea, she noticed when he came back. It smelled beautiful. "You're not from around here, are you?"
He shook his head, sitting down. "Down for a school project." He took his time taking a drink, looking at her over the rim of his cup with dark amber eyes. "Where are you from, then?"
"The middle of nowhere," Ellie said sarcastically, then clarified after a pause. "A tiny little seaside town that's four hours from here.
He wrinkled his nose. "Don't like the sea," he muttered distastefully.
She could have taken offense, but her smile only widened. "Well, you're awkward, aren't you?" she teased him good-naturedly.
"And you have no filter," he sniped back just as quickly.
"No, I don't." She said it proudly; her tendency to speak her mind may have driven her parents and sister to distraction but she had never felt ashamed of it. "You let me sit here, though, mind you."
A hint of a smile softened his face. "I did, didn't I? My mistake."
He was sassy, she could give him that. "Well, if you feel that way…" She made as if to stand, but he shook his head. The sudden seriousness to his expression made her stomach drop a little.
"You don't have to go. I'm sorry, sometimes I…" His hands played helplessly along the edges of his cup, looking down at the table to hide the sudden flush coloring his face.
Ellie took pity on him, trying to ignore her confusion why someone would take a clear joke so seriously. Just by his body language she'd been able to tell that he genuinely thought he'd upset her, even though just a second before he had made a joke of his own. "It's alright. I don't mind what you said, I know you were just being funny." Her stomach chose that moment to growl. Loudly. She shifted in her seat, embarrassed. "Damn it. Be right back, I've gotta grab something to eat." Her face felt hot as she grabbed her purse, and she caught the beginnings of a smile starting on his face as she stood. Well, at least he was amused. She could hear him laughing as she approached the counter. Trying to fight down the blush on her face she ordered a small meal and a chocolate muffin and when she made her way back to the table with the latter he had seemed to have laughed himself out. His eyes were bright with amusement, though, as she sat across from him again.
"I did that at church once, years ago," he said with a grin. "Right in the middle of the prayer."
She peeled the paper off the muffin and broke a piece off. "Oh, you religious?"
He snorted. "Please. My mum had to drag me there. I haven't been inside a church for years."
"Mmmm." Ellie swallowed her mouthful, thoughtful. "I've never understood church myself. I think religion is outdated." She offered him a piece of her muffin, which he declined. He eyed it critically.
"You seem to like chocolate."
"Oh, I'm obsessive about it. My sister used to tell me I would bathe in it if I could. The chocolate river in Willy Wonka was always my favorite part." When all she received was a blank stare, she raised her eyebrows. "You know, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? Don't tell me you've never seen it!"
He shook his head. "Don't watch much telly." He finished his tea and played with the empty cup.
"Too busy with school, then?"
He opened his mouth to reply but the waitress chose that moment to drop off Ellie's food and he waited until they were alone again before he answered. "The Academy keeps you on your feet."
Ellie stared at him. "You're training to be a copper?"
"Aye." He frowned, hearing the odd note to her voice. "Why?"
"It's nothing, it's just…" Quietly she played with her fork, wondering what she could say that wouldn't hurt the fresh wounds that had made her leave her hometown in the first place. She took a bite of her sandwich to buy herself time before finally she felt she had stretched the silence between them far enough. "I've been debating on joining the Academy myself."
He didn't say anything aloud, only nodding his understanding. Suddenly Ellie was very glad Alec didn't speak much. She finished her meal in silence, allowing her still-loud stomach to lead her; perfectly fine with the quiet, Alec pulled out one of the notepads in his bag and wrote some notes from a narrative stuck within its pages.
When Ellie was finished, she looked outside to find that the rain had stopped. She breathed a sigh of relief, very glad that she wouldn't be soaked for a third time in a day, and for a moment watched water drip off the roof. The sound of paper rustling drew her attention away and she looked back at her quiet companion to find him closing the notepad and placing it back into his bag. He stood, grabbing hold of his coat, and pushed his chair in.
"Thanks for the company, Ellie." He seemed truly genuine saying that, which made her feel warm inside.
"Would you—like to meet here tomorrow?" The question took her aback, surprising even herself. Dear God, her mum would be furious with her for being so blasé around a stranger—a stranger who was a young man, to boot, and someone she hadn't even met until an hour ago. But Ellie attached herself to what she already knew when in a strange environment, and within the space of an hour Alec had already become something 'familiar'. "Just for tea, yeah? Or coffee."
He stared at her for a long moment, trying to decide whether she was being serious or not, and then he smiled slightly. "I'd like that. Two sound good?"
She nodded. "Great."
His smile widened. "See you then." He slung his bag over his shoulder and to Ellie's surprise grabbed her empty plate, carrying it to the dirty-dishes tray by the door for her before slipping outside. Ellie watched him until he disappeared into the crowd.
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A/N: Thoughts?