The Crush, Part 2 -- I'm In Like With You
Written by: Ashley Supinski and Elizabeth Coiro
DISCLAIMER: We don't own any of the original Once and Again characters, the actors that portrayed them or anything that was made up during the show's airing time. This is a work of fiction. It's not real and it was never a show (although some of us wish it were). Meredith Bishop is owned by Ashley. Thank you.
He inhaled a breath when she came closer to her and his eyes closed when her lips pressed against his. For a moment, he was paralyzed but he got over it, kissing her back gently until she pulled away. His eyes opened and he watched as her gaze dropped to her lap.
He smiled. It was all he could really do.
One kiss.
One small kiss and she had confirmed everything he wanted to know. It was his sign. It had sent a chain reaction through his body. His blood began to pulse in his veins. His heart began to pound a little faster. His knees became weak. His head started to spin. He felt like he was floating.
She bit down on her bottom lip, still unsure if she should've done it. But there was no time like the present and it just felt right. She couldn't even control her own actions before she realized what was happening. Slowly, she brought her gaze to look up at him and he was smiling. It made her smile softly and she looked down again.
Eli placed one hand on both of hers in her lap and the other on the side of her face, touching it gently. "That was amazing. I mean, I wasn't expecting it, but I'm glad you did. I'm glad we did. I'm glad it was tonight. I'm glad it was you." He was becoming a rambling mess, but he didn't care. He never felt happier. He never felt like he was floating on air before.
Her fingers wrapped around his when he took her hands into one of his and her eyes raised to look at him as he touched her face. She smiled softly, her eyes closing and her forehead leaned forward, touching his.
Then, Eli's confession came. "I've liked you since the first day I saw you at BookLovers. I liked you then and I like you now.and I have every moment in between." His gaze fell to their hands and he inhaled a deep breath, willing himself to go on. It needed to be said, and it needed to be said now. "The more I started to realize how much I liked you, the more I didn't know how to act around you. It's why I've been such a geek lately. I kept debating whether or not to just tell you but I was so afraid that you were just push me away. That you'd reject me and then things would be weird. And I didn't want that. I don't want that. I thought that maybe we were just too different and you would never like me."
Her eyes looked up to him as he began to talk, to spill his heart out to her there in the fluorescent light of her kitchen. She watched him, almost intently, as he told her. Swallowing, she looked down and let her confession out. "I've always liked you. Ever since I met you in eighth grade and you asked me to help you with your biology homework. You were the bad boy who got the hot girls and I was just the shy new girl who kept to herself." She shrugged her shoulders, looking up to him for a long moment. "You're right, Eli. We are different. And it scares me. I'm scared that you're going to realize that I'm not the kind of girl you want to be with and it's going to be too late and it'll break my heart."
Her eyes closed and she looked down. He looked at her, lifting her chin to meet her gaze and smiled softly. "For all of those reasons you just mentioned. It's why I want to be with you. You're not the type of girl I usually date and that's why I want to be with you. They're all my ex's, Mer. Don't ever measure yourself up to them. They're the past and I want you to be the present and the future. I want to get to know you more, to find out everything there is to know about you. I want to be with you here and there with you tomorrow."
He smiled and kissed her softly. "I like you too much to let you slip away. I want this to work. I'm going to make it work, hopefully you'll help me. I hope you want to try this too, to make it work."
She smiled softly and nodded her head as she looked up at him. "I want to be with you, Eli."
He smiled and kissed her forehead softly. "Good, because I don't plan on going anywhere."
She raised her gaze to look up at him, a smile on her lips, just slightly. She stood, pulling his arms so that he would stand too and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her eyes closed and head dipped into his shoulder as she felt his arms encircle her waist and hold her close to him. "Thank you," she whispered quietly.
Eli managed to nod his head before resting it against hers gently. He was sublimely happy, for the first time in a very long time he felt incredible. He wished he that he could freeze time and let this moment last forever.
He heard her yawn and suddenly realized how late it was. He pulled away from her gently and looked down to her. He smiled, kissing her forehead gently. She looked like she was ready to fall asleep in his arms, something he wished he could do for her. "I should go, so you can get some sleep. And I have to work tomorrow."
Her arms dropped from around his neck and her hands rested on his. She tilted her head and looked up at him, giving him a sleepy smile and nodded slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."
She led him back to the front door, hand-in-hand. They lingered on the front porch for a long moment and he kissed her softly. "Sweet dreams," she whispered as he said goodnight and moved down to his car.
She watched him until she could no longer see his car before turning and walking back into the house. She barely was able to lock the front door before she made it to the couch and fell asleep.
The entire ride home all Eli could think about was her. His cheeks burned from the constant grin that plastered on his face. When he pulled into the driveway, he could see someone walking around in the kitchen.
He used the outside entrance to go up to his "apartment" over the garage.
He lay on his bed and fell asleep almost instantly.
- - - -
The next morning Eli woke to the sun slipping through his closed blinds and shining on his face. He groaned as he rolled over and checked the clock. 9:44. He smiled when the alarm clicked on and clicked it off almost instantly. Rolling onto his back, he raised his arms above his head and stretched.
Today is going to be a beautiful day.
Crawling out of bed, he showered and dressed, pulling on his usual attire of jeans, a tee shirt and a favorite plaid shirt over top. Grabbing his keys, he left his room and went down to the kitchen where most of the family had already gathered. He grinned at Lily and Grace, who exchanged looks as he grabbed a box of cereal, Cap'n Crunch: Oops! All berries, and sat down at the table. He sat next to Zoe and stole the comics that she'd already read.
He'd finished quickly and said good-bye to Rick and Jessie as he left, heading for work.
At the bookstore, he was greeted immediately by Judy, who stared at him as he walked towards the back with a smile on his face and singing softly to himself.
Judy gave him the day's assignment of cleaning out the old magazines and setting up the new ones. He smiled while he worked.a new thing for Eli. He was still thinking about the previous night's events, hoping the day would go by quickly. Hoping that he'd see her soon.
- - - -
Meredith awoke to her mother peering down at her with a smile on her face. She groaned and pulled a pillow over her head. "I don't want to get up!"
Her mother laughed softly. "Didn't say you had too, sleepy head. Long night?" Anna Bishop moved from in front of the couch to take the lazy boy chair that was located adjoining to the couch as her daughter stretched out fully, trying to wake up.
Meredith's eyes opened and she turned to lie on her stomach and smiled at her mom. Her mom just shook her head, smiling back. "C'mon I'll make pancakes and the coffee's already made. You can tell me all about Mr. Sammler."
Over pancakes and coffee, Meredith told her mother about the night. She left out some parts, like John and the Carla suggestions. Her eyes glistened every time she mentioned Eli's name or something he said or did. She felt her heart flutter at the mere thought of him. When she was finished, she sighed happily.
Anna smiled, patting her daughter's hand. "I'm happy for you, darling. Just be careful." Meredith looked to her mom, nodding slowly as she sipped her coffee.
When she set the coffee cup down, she inhaled a deep breath. "I like him. A lot, Mom."
Anna rose, patting her daughter on the back. "I know you do, honey." She kissed the top of Meredith's head. "I need to get to the store. We'll have dinner tonight? Say, five o'clock?" Meredith smiled and nodded. It had become a ritual for the Bishop girls. The night of, or after, Anna returned home, they would go to dinner and exchange stories about what each spent their time apart doing. Meredith came to love these times with her mother the best.
- - - -
It was nearly two by the time Meredith got to the bookstore. She walked through the glass doors and her eyes moved around the open space when she saw Eli with his back towards her at the magazine racks. A smile crossed her lips and when George, who was sitting behind the counter, opened his mouth, Meredith raised a finger to her lips to signal him to keep quiet. He looked at her confused, but nodded.
She walked quietly until she was standing behind Eli who was staring at the magazines, scratching his head over something that she wasn't quite sure. She grinned as she stood on tiptoes and covered his eyes with her hands. He inhaled a deep breath and she leaned close, whispering in his ear. "Guess who?"
Eli put his hands on hers, feeling them. Smiling, he bit down on his lower lip. "Madonna, I thought we talked about this. You agreed to quit following me to work. We had a pact."
He took her hands in his and let them drop as he turned in her arms and looked surprised when he found her standing there instead. "I can't tell you how happy I am that it's you and not Madonna." He leaned down and kissed her cheek gently. "What are you doing here on one of your days off? Did you miss this place that much?"
She laughed softly, kissing his cheek when he kissed hers. "Well, I aim to please. And more like I missed you.plus I promised my mom I'd pick up a book she wanted."
He smiled and nodded, taking her hand as he started to lead her towards the back. He signaled George that he was taking a quick break and George gave him the thumbs up sign. "Did you get to bed alright last night?"
She nodded as she followed him, waving to George as they slipped into the back room. "More like the couch. I barely made it. I didn't realize how tired I was."
"That's good." He led her through the back room towards a door that led to the back parking log. He pushed it open, squinting at the bright sunlight. He moved to a shadowed area and stood with his back to the building. He let go of her hand and shoved his hands into his pockets. He squinted as he looked up to her, smiling slightly.
"Oh, I stopped by to tell you that I'm going to dinner with my mom at five. But I should be home at seven, at the latest, if you still wanna do something tonight."
He nodded, looking down as he dug his shoe into the gravel. "Do you have a pen?" As she nodded and opened her bag, he dug around in his pockets until he pulled out an old movie ticket stub. She handed him the pen and he thanked her as he wrote down both numbers. "I should be at my mom's, the first number. But if not, call Lily's. I'll be around, I mean, if you're up to it to do something. If not, it's completely cool."
She smiled softly as he held out the ticket stub. "I want to see you tonight." She went to take the ticket, but when she tugged on it, he held it tighter, tugging it backwards slightly.
"It's gonna cost you." He laughed softly and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, must be the sleep depravation."
She leaned forward and kissed him softly. "Maybe you should stay home and sleep then."
He shook his head as she stepped back, tucking the number safely into her pocket. She'd add them into her phone when she got into the car. "No. I want to see you too."
Eli looked over Meredith's shoulder to see Coop's car fly by and then suddenly, turn and pulled into the back parking lot. Meredith turned slightly and waved to Coop as he climbed out of the car. "Sammler! Meredith!" He waved as he walked over.
"Well, I should get back before Judy finds me MIA." Meredith smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah, I've gotta go anyway. I'll see you tonight." She smiled at Coop, "Bye, guys." She turned and walked back into the store.
Eli moved away from the wall and Coop just stared at him for a long moment. Eli just smiled as Coop looked at him. "She's lookin' good, man."
Eli just shook his head and walked back into the back room and then out to the main floor, back to his magazine assignment. "Waitasecond, what are you doing up before four? Is it the apocalypse?" Coop mimicked Eli's laugh as he followed him.
"Quit shitting around. You guys hang out a lot, don't you? Finally find Carla's replacement? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Coop, she's different. She's not like that."
"Yeah, that one's obvious. What's the headline?" Eli just smiled and Coop stared at him for a minute before nodding. "I like her, man. A helluva lot better than Carla."
"Did you come here to pick up the new Playboy, cause if you did it isn't." Eli looked at him, changing the subject with a smile.
Coop punched his arm playfully. "Nah, I nabbed your Dad's already." They both laughed and Eli bent down to pick through the box of magazines at his feet. "What time do you get off?"
"Five. Why, what's going on?"
"Ted said we're hanging with Shakes tonight, you up?"
Eli finished setting up a pile of magazines and scratched the back of his head. "I've got something going on already."
Coop threw up his arms and rolled his eyes. "Jeez, how long's this been going on?"
"About twelve hours, but it's really important to me, Coop. If I go, you've gotta help me get out of there by seven. But no later. I can't screw this up."
Coop nodded and they exchanged their handshake. A handshake Wink "invented" for the members of Anti-Inflammatory. "I'll pick you up at five." He waved as he left the store.
DISCLAIMER: We don't own any of the original Once and Again characters, the actors that portrayed them or anything that was made up during the show's airing time. This is a work of fiction. It's not real and it was never a show (although some of us wish it were). Meredith Bishop is owned by Ashley. Thank you.
He inhaled a breath when she came closer to her and his eyes closed when her lips pressed against his. For a moment, he was paralyzed but he got over it, kissing her back gently until she pulled away. His eyes opened and he watched as her gaze dropped to her lap.
He smiled. It was all he could really do.
One kiss.
One small kiss and she had confirmed everything he wanted to know. It was his sign. It had sent a chain reaction through his body. His blood began to pulse in his veins. His heart began to pound a little faster. His knees became weak. His head started to spin. He felt like he was floating.
She bit down on her bottom lip, still unsure if she should've done it. But there was no time like the present and it just felt right. She couldn't even control her own actions before she realized what was happening. Slowly, she brought her gaze to look up at him and he was smiling. It made her smile softly and she looked down again.
Eli placed one hand on both of hers in her lap and the other on the side of her face, touching it gently. "That was amazing. I mean, I wasn't expecting it, but I'm glad you did. I'm glad we did. I'm glad it was tonight. I'm glad it was you." He was becoming a rambling mess, but he didn't care. He never felt happier. He never felt like he was floating on air before.
Her fingers wrapped around his when he took her hands into one of his and her eyes raised to look at him as he touched her face. She smiled softly, her eyes closing and her forehead leaned forward, touching his.
Then, Eli's confession came. "I've liked you since the first day I saw you at BookLovers. I liked you then and I like you now.and I have every moment in between." His gaze fell to their hands and he inhaled a deep breath, willing himself to go on. It needed to be said, and it needed to be said now. "The more I started to realize how much I liked you, the more I didn't know how to act around you. It's why I've been such a geek lately. I kept debating whether or not to just tell you but I was so afraid that you were just push me away. That you'd reject me and then things would be weird. And I didn't want that. I don't want that. I thought that maybe we were just too different and you would never like me."
Her eyes looked up to him as he began to talk, to spill his heart out to her there in the fluorescent light of her kitchen. She watched him, almost intently, as he told her. Swallowing, she looked down and let her confession out. "I've always liked you. Ever since I met you in eighth grade and you asked me to help you with your biology homework. You were the bad boy who got the hot girls and I was just the shy new girl who kept to herself." She shrugged her shoulders, looking up to him for a long moment. "You're right, Eli. We are different. And it scares me. I'm scared that you're going to realize that I'm not the kind of girl you want to be with and it's going to be too late and it'll break my heart."
Her eyes closed and she looked down. He looked at her, lifting her chin to meet her gaze and smiled softly. "For all of those reasons you just mentioned. It's why I want to be with you. You're not the type of girl I usually date and that's why I want to be with you. They're all my ex's, Mer. Don't ever measure yourself up to them. They're the past and I want you to be the present and the future. I want to get to know you more, to find out everything there is to know about you. I want to be with you here and there with you tomorrow."
He smiled and kissed her softly. "I like you too much to let you slip away. I want this to work. I'm going to make it work, hopefully you'll help me. I hope you want to try this too, to make it work."
She smiled softly and nodded her head as she looked up at him. "I want to be with you, Eli."
He smiled and kissed her forehead softly. "Good, because I don't plan on going anywhere."
She raised her gaze to look up at him, a smile on her lips, just slightly. She stood, pulling his arms so that he would stand too and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her eyes closed and head dipped into his shoulder as she felt his arms encircle her waist and hold her close to him. "Thank you," she whispered quietly.
Eli managed to nod his head before resting it against hers gently. He was sublimely happy, for the first time in a very long time he felt incredible. He wished he that he could freeze time and let this moment last forever.
He heard her yawn and suddenly realized how late it was. He pulled away from her gently and looked down to her. He smiled, kissing her forehead gently. She looked like she was ready to fall asleep in his arms, something he wished he could do for her. "I should go, so you can get some sleep. And I have to work tomorrow."
Her arms dropped from around his neck and her hands rested on his. She tilted her head and looked up at him, giving him a sleepy smile and nodded slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."
She led him back to the front door, hand-in-hand. They lingered on the front porch for a long moment and he kissed her softly. "Sweet dreams," she whispered as he said goodnight and moved down to his car.
She watched him until she could no longer see his car before turning and walking back into the house. She barely was able to lock the front door before she made it to the couch and fell asleep.
The entire ride home all Eli could think about was her. His cheeks burned from the constant grin that plastered on his face. When he pulled into the driveway, he could see someone walking around in the kitchen.
He used the outside entrance to go up to his "apartment" over the garage.
He lay on his bed and fell asleep almost instantly.
- - - -
The next morning Eli woke to the sun slipping through his closed blinds and shining on his face. He groaned as he rolled over and checked the clock. 9:44. He smiled when the alarm clicked on and clicked it off almost instantly. Rolling onto his back, he raised his arms above his head and stretched.
Today is going to be a beautiful day.
Crawling out of bed, he showered and dressed, pulling on his usual attire of jeans, a tee shirt and a favorite plaid shirt over top. Grabbing his keys, he left his room and went down to the kitchen where most of the family had already gathered. He grinned at Lily and Grace, who exchanged looks as he grabbed a box of cereal, Cap'n Crunch: Oops! All berries, and sat down at the table. He sat next to Zoe and stole the comics that she'd already read.
He'd finished quickly and said good-bye to Rick and Jessie as he left, heading for work.
At the bookstore, he was greeted immediately by Judy, who stared at him as he walked towards the back with a smile on his face and singing softly to himself.
Judy gave him the day's assignment of cleaning out the old magazines and setting up the new ones. He smiled while he worked.a new thing for Eli. He was still thinking about the previous night's events, hoping the day would go by quickly. Hoping that he'd see her soon.
- - - -
Meredith awoke to her mother peering down at her with a smile on her face. She groaned and pulled a pillow over her head. "I don't want to get up!"
Her mother laughed softly. "Didn't say you had too, sleepy head. Long night?" Anna Bishop moved from in front of the couch to take the lazy boy chair that was located adjoining to the couch as her daughter stretched out fully, trying to wake up.
Meredith's eyes opened and she turned to lie on her stomach and smiled at her mom. Her mom just shook her head, smiling back. "C'mon I'll make pancakes and the coffee's already made. You can tell me all about Mr. Sammler."
Over pancakes and coffee, Meredith told her mother about the night. She left out some parts, like John and the Carla suggestions. Her eyes glistened every time she mentioned Eli's name or something he said or did. She felt her heart flutter at the mere thought of him. When she was finished, she sighed happily.
Anna smiled, patting her daughter's hand. "I'm happy for you, darling. Just be careful." Meredith looked to her mom, nodding slowly as she sipped her coffee.
When she set the coffee cup down, she inhaled a deep breath. "I like him. A lot, Mom."
Anna rose, patting her daughter on the back. "I know you do, honey." She kissed the top of Meredith's head. "I need to get to the store. We'll have dinner tonight? Say, five o'clock?" Meredith smiled and nodded. It had become a ritual for the Bishop girls. The night of, or after, Anna returned home, they would go to dinner and exchange stories about what each spent their time apart doing. Meredith came to love these times with her mother the best.
- - - -
It was nearly two by the time Meredith got to the bookstore. She walked through the glass doors and her eyes moved around the open space when she saw Eli with his back towards her at the magazine racks. A smile crossed her lips and when George, who was sitting behind the counter, opened his mouth, Meredith raised a finger to her lips to signal him to keep quiet. He looked at her confused, but nodded.
She walked quietly until she was standing behind Eli who was staring at the magazines, scratching his head over something that she wasn't quite sure. She grinned as she stood on tiptoes and covered his eyes with her hands. He inhaled a deep breath and she leaned close, whispering in his ear. "Guess who?"
Eli put his hands on hers, feeling them. Smiling, he bit down on his lower lip. "Madonna, I thought we talked about this. You agreed to quit following me to work. We had a pact."
He took her hands in his and let them drop as he turned in her arms and looked surprised when he found her standing there instead. "I can't tell you how happy I am that it's you and not Madonna." He leaned down and kissed her cheek gently. "What are you doing here on one of your days off? Did you miss this place that much?"
She laughed softly, kissing his cheek when he kissed hers. "Well, I aim to please. And more like I missed you.plus I promised my mom I'd pick up a book she wanted."
He smiled and nodded, taking her hand as he started to lead her towards the back. He signaled George that he was taking a quick break and George gave him the thumbs up sign. "Did you get to bed alright last night?"
She nodded as she followed him, waving to George as they slipped into the back room. "More like the couch. I barely made it. I didn't realize how tired I was."
"That's good." He led her through the back room towards a door that led to the back parking log. He pushed it open, squinting at the bright sunlight. He moved to a shadowed area and stood with his back to the building. He let go of her hand and shoved his hands into his pockets. He squinted as he looked up to her, smiling slightly.
"Oh, I stopped by to tell you that I'm going to dinner with my mom at five. But I should be home at seven, at the latest, if you still wanna do something tonight."
He nodded, looking down as he dug his shoe into the gravel. "Do you have a pen?" As she nodded and opened her bag, he dug around in his pockets until he pulled out an old movie ticket stub. She handed him the pen and he thanked her as he wrote down both numbers. "I should be at my mom's, the first number. But if not, call Lily's. I'll be around, I mean, if you're up to it to do something. If not, it's completely cool."
She smiled softly as he held out the ticket stub. "I want to see you tonight." She went to take the ticket, but when she tugged on it, he held it tighter, tugging it backwards slightly.
"It's gonna cost you." He laughed softly and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, must be the sleep depravation."
She leaned forward and kissed him softly. "Maybe you should stay home and sleep then."
He shook his head as she stepped back, tucking the number safely into her pocket. She'd add them into her phone when she got into the car. "No. I want to see you too."
Eli looked over Meredith's shoulder to see Coop's car fly by and then suddenly, turn and pulled into the back parking lot. Meredith turned slightly and waved to Coop as he climbed out of the car. "Sammler! Meredith!" He waved as he walked over.
"Well, I should get back before Judy finds me MIA." Meredith smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah, I've gotta go anyway. I'll see you tonight." She smiled at Coop, "Bye, guys." She turned and walked back into the store.
Eli moved away from the wall and Coop just stared at him for a long moment. Eli just smiled as Coop looked at him. "She's lookin' good, man."
Eli just shook his head and walked back into the back room and then out to the main floor, back to his magazine assignment. "Waitasecond, what are you doing up before four? Is it the apocalypse?" Coop mimicked Eli's laugh as he followed him.
"Quit shitting around. You guys hang out a lot, don't you? Finally find Carla's replacement? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Coop, she's different. She's not like that."
"Yeah, that one's obvious. What's the headline?" Eli just smiled and Coop stared at him for a minute before nodding. "I like her, man. A helluva lot better than Carla."
"Did you come here to pick up the new Playboy, cause if you did it isn't." Eli looked at him, changing the subject with a smile.
Coop punched his arm playfully. "Nah, I nabbed your Dad's already." They both laughed and Eli bent down to pick through the box of magazines at his feet. "What time do you get off?"
"Five. Why, what's going on?"
"Ted said we're hanging with Shakes tonight, you up?"
Eli finished setting up a pile of magazines and scratched the back of his head. "I've got something going on already."
Coop threw up his arms and rolled his eyes. "Jeez, how long's this been going on?"
"About twelve hours, but it's really important to me, Coop. If I go, you've gotta help me get out of there by seven. But no later. I can't screw this up."
Coop nodded and they exchanged their handshake. A handshake Wink "invented" for the members of Anti-Inflammatory. "I'll pick you up at five." He waved as he left the store.
