Hey guys, sorry its been sooo long I've had personal problems to deal with since my last upload.
So here's the next chapter.. I haven't changed it or really read through it just wanted it get it up.
Hope your all well and keep sending my comments.. :D
Thanks for the support guys:D
Maddy
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Monday morning dawned grey and damp. All night it had rained but Marie had slept through it all, the wind and the thunder, strange for a summer's night.
Her mood since Saturday night had been considerably chilled. She had slept peacefully and she had revised continuously throughout Sunday without a complaint.
And when her sisters returned home she hadn't even been bothered by their brags about their prom night and all the things they'd done over at Trisha's.
The truth was she was happy, really truly happy for the first time. She didn't care they went to prom, she'd been too. She didn't care they had stayed at Trisha's and eaten home made popcorn and watched films and had face packs. She didn't care that they had had a great time at the prom, and after too. Because so had she, and she didn't like Trisha so what did she care?
The birds had been singing, and the sun had shone and the wind gently whistled and blow through the trees. The bees buzzed and the fish in their pond swam happily. The garden of their house seemed so alive now when ever she went out there, the sun making everything gleam and sparkle. And the thing she soon realised was that she too began to sparkle, she too was beautiful and, most importantly, alive.
But that was yesterday and this was today. The sky above looked laden with dark clouds and she hoped dearly that it would not continue to rain. She showered and dressed and went down stairs to start cooking breakfast. Roy, her father had arrived back late on Sunday after his weekend away, and had been in an extremely good mood. He walked into the kitchen now as Marie placed out his breakfast of bacon and eggs, his glass of orange juice, his coffee and retrieved his yoghurt from the fridge. Roy had always believed in a fulfilling breakfast to start the day and had insisted upon this being his routine breakfast. Marie turned away from him to collect her sister's cereals and drinks before they could complain. However Roy was still in his good mood and stopped Marie.
'Well, I hear from the girls that you were just fine this weekend and caused no problems, I see that we can at last trust you to be on your own. And with this in mind the girls are off to a spa next weekend and I need to go away again on a business trip and so I've decided that we can trust you on your own again.'
It was a simple statement of fact and then he turned away to finish his breakfast. This statement, however, was the most affectionate thing he had said to Marie since her mother had died and probably a few months before hand. Marie smiled; her heart skipped a beat in glee. This meant two things.
One; she would now be allowed more time on her own and two; she had a whole free weekend away from her sisters!
Marie floated through the rest of that morning on cloud nine and told Ethan and Samantha about the wonderful new development and they hugged her and celebrated at lunch with Crunchie bars and chocolate milkshakes.
It was only when Marie was on her way to her textiles class that the one person she had most wished and feared to run into, ran in to her. On purpose. Jon knocked Marie's books right out of her arms and the contents of all her bag, folders, notebooks and pencils and all fell out everywhere.
'Oh god, I'm sorry. I'll help you clear this lot up, you guys go on ahead, and I'll catch up.' Said Jon calmly, not even looking at Marie.
'Oh don't worry she's used to clearing up things, she'll cope.' Suzy called out to him.
'No, really its ok I'll catch up with you in a minute.' He sent them a dazzling smile and bent down to where Marie sat collecting everything up.
He looked up a few seconds later and saw the crowd moving away deep in conversation and finally looked at Marie.
Marie looked up and met his eyes, a shiver rippled in her body and she could feel his lips once again.
Jon smiled widely and happily. 'Sorry for having to cause this chaos, I've been trying to have a reason to talk to you all day. I hate all this secrecy.'
Marie looked away; she couldn't look at him for she felt so guilty.
'It's ok, I'm nearly done anyway.' She grabbed the last of her pens and chucked them into her bag as she stood up. His hand was holding out some papers which she took and stuffed in her folder. She turned to move away, still not looking at him, but as she did he took a hold of her elbow and steered her toward the near by cloak room. Jon turned her to face him, but she still wouldn't look up. He gently cupped her chin and raised her head to look at him.
'What's the matter Cinderella? Your not regretting Saturday, are you?'
'No, no!' Marie rushed. 'I just I don't…I feel bad, I mean I don't like...I hate the secrecy too, but I can't I mean we can't…it's just that..' She trailed off tongue tied and exhausted from trying to complete a coherent sentence and failing, and aware, very aware, that he was still touching her.
Jon smiled at her mumbled and confused reply. 'Let me clear it up for you.' He answered coolly, and gently cupped her chin up to his own and kissed her deeply. Her body suddenly leapt alive, every pore of her skin buzzed with energy and vigour. She kissed him back sliding her free left hand up over his chest round his neck pulling him in tighter to the kiss. Moments passed but it felt like an eternity and they pulled apart smiling.
'Is that all cleared up for you now?' Jon asked grinning.
'Absolutely.' Marie giggled back at him.
They stood for a moment just looking at each other grinning stupidly, his hand stroking her cheek, her hand rubbing the back of his neck. Suddenly they seemed to both realise that they had classes to attend and pulled away.
'I'll call you tonight, I miss hearing your voice hearing your smile.' Jon smiled at the memory.
'No, they might pick up. It's too risky. I've got to go.' Marie panicked at the thought of her father or sisters picking up the phone to him, it shook her and she turned to move away before he could protest. She moved swiftly down the hallway and into her class, 5minutes late. Lord she was glad that neither her sisters nor any of their friends was in her textiles class or there would be all kinds of questions about what took so long. Instead she apologized to her teacher, who didn't question her lateness, and sank slowly down into her seat beside Ethan and Samantha.
They looked at her questioningly but only got her red hot face in reply, and a slight smile which told them all they needed to know.
Samantha moved over to the sewing machines once Mrs Halley had finished lecturing them on the delicacy of the material, and began to sow away.
Ethan, who was not an actual member of the class, turned to Marie and helping her to lay out her material ready for the manikin, asked: 'So?'
'So what?' Marie asked evasively.
'Don't give me the innocent routine, I invented it! We saw you with him picking up books, could you be more obvious? I want all the gory details, and then I'll share them with Sammie before I get kicked out again.'
'Ok, but only if u help me get this dress on the manikin, it needs to be Sam's size so I've got to pin it. They moved over to the manikin and change the measurements of the waist and bust of the doll to fit Sam, then placed the dress on it. Ethan stood and held the material where ever Marie told him to and she pinned and chalked the lines. Once they were finished they moved to the machines to make the changes and sat beside Sam to share the gossip.
'It was nothing serious. He just told me that he'd been trying to have a reason to talk to me all day. That he missed my voice and wanted to call me tonight. And I just kind of stuttered my way around and said he couldn't call me encase one of them picked up. Like I said no big deal.'
'What!? I got pricked and pinned for that!' Ethan laughed.
'Hey I didn't prick you once!! And yeah, that's all that happened.'
'Oh so you don't count him kissing you in the cloak room. Interesting, is he not a very good kisser?' Sam smiled slyly, not looking at Marie.
'What?! How did you know about that? Were you watching? Does anyone else know? Oh my god, it'll be all over the school! Oh no Suzy! KATIE!'
'Calm down love! Just Ethan and I know no one else saw I promise! Just calm!' Soothed Samantha, stroking her friends shoulder comfortingly.
In complete comparison to that morning Marie spent the rest of her day wishing it would rain just so she could catch a cold and have to stay home. But as she walked home that afternoon, after she had said goodbye to her friends, the sky was clear and bright not a drop of rain or sign of a heavy cloud. Marie worked on her final coursework due for the next day and then began to make the dinner. Once they had all eaten her sisters disappeared and her father had slunk off to his office, she washed the dishes and stared out into the garden watching the day end slowly. Behind her she heard the phone begin to ring. She left it; normally either Katie or Suzy would pick it up. After the 4th ring she turned and picked it up, it was unlike Suzy or Katie to ignore the phone. She held it up to her ear expecting to either hear one of her sister's giggly friends or one of her fathers gruff work acquaintances.
'Hello?' She asked exquisitely and yet polite.
Instead Marie heard a much clearer and sweeter sound then she had expected. It was Jon.
'Well hello.' She knew he was right, you could hear someone smiling over the phone, and right now she knew he was smiling.
'Hey, I thought I told you not to ring here, what if one of them had picked it up!?' Marie went straight to defence mode, then flinched for doing it.
'Yes, but I know something you don't.' Jon heard her defensiveness but ignored it, knowing that she didn't mean it to be rude or to hurt him.
'Oh yes, and what's that??' She asked relaxing finally into their conversation.
'Ah, well that would be telling.' He laughed. 'Your sisters have gone out for the evening with Trisha so I have you all to myself.'
'Oh yes? Well you seem to know more than I do about my family. Well now you have me to yourself what are you going to do with me?' She bit her bottom lip knowing she was flirting, even as a beginner she knew what she was doing.
'Ah well to start with open the front door.' He said very calmly.
'What?!' Marie couldn't believe it, it was like in the films the ones that made you jump for joy because they showed that true love did exist. She however didn't hesitate and made her way to the front door and swung it open just as he said 'Just open the door you'll like it.'
On the front door step stood a single orange Gemini, her favourite flower, in a tall thin vase. She laughed out loud and picked it up carefully. As she looked up she saw the next door neighbour looking at her questioningly. 'Sorry Mrs Steadlier didn't mean to disturb you.' She said politely.
'No dear,' Said Mrs Steadlier 'don't be sorry. I'm just glad to see you smile; I haven't seen you smile since your poor mother died.' She stood smiling again and walked back into her house. Marie stood shocked for a moment, and then laughed and smiled again remembering who was on the other end of the phone and who the Gemini was from.
Marie dreamt that night about walking into school and finding her locker full of Gemini's, and then Jon came up behind her taking her around the waist and kissing her neck. He whispered in her ear, 'I'm so glad we can finally tell everyone, I was so sick of hiding. If we had kept if secret any longer I would have left you.' His voice echoed in her mind until the laughing faces on Katie and Suzy woke her up.
Her room was silent and still, as was the house and yet it felt eerie for the first time ever. Her sleep was broken and tormented, and finally she gave up and sat staring at her flower. At 5 am she got up showered and dressed, and removed the flower from her bedside table. She cut off the stem and put the flower head between the pages of one of her old favourite books. She couldn't have it lying around, what if one of her sisters saw.
At school that day she stayed away from anywhere that she might come across Jon or her sisters. She went to lessons early to avoid them, spent the lunch hour working in the back room of the library so if they came in they still couldn't find her, and the one lesson they had together she had not attended, asking the teacher if she could be given the work to take home because she felt sick. The teacher had said that they were only reading chapter 38 of the text book to recap before the exam the following Monday, and excused Marie.
After dinner Marie's sisters went out once again, her father disappeared and the phone kept on ringing. Marie read the chapter for math and had an early bath.
In bed she dreamt once again of Jon threatening to leave her if she wouldn't come out and tell everyone. Each time waking up in a cold sweat of what happened when she told everyone. But she knew she couldn't, her dad would disown her for breaking his daughters little heart and disobeying him. She would be shunned and have no home, no money to live on let alone be able to go to college or university. No, it was best to keep away from him and make him think she wasn't interested, then he wouldn't care and she'd go back to normal. Her life would go on, without him and yes it would hurt but she could do it she knew she could.
She spent the rest of the week keeping away from him, her sisters spent the rest of the evenings in, so she was spared the phone calls. Her dreams lessoned, her conscience reasoned that it was for the best, but her heart tore a little each day.
The weekend was the worst she knew that no one was around for the whole weekend, and when Jon had run into Ethan he had been told this same information. Ethan at this point did not know Marie's decision and therefore it was not his fault. But now she knew that Jon would come round, try and see her. He had called her the night before after everyone had left and left a message asking why she was avoiding him. She had deleted it and gone to cry herself to sleep.
She decided that she would have to escape the house before he arrived, so she woke up early, packed a bag for the weekend, locked up the house and activated the alarm. Then walked the back roads round to Samantha's house. She had rung her last night and asked if she could stay over. Samantha's mother was delighted that Marie was staying over for the weekend as Marie was rarely aloud to stay around except for very special occasions. Sam's mum, Joyce, was so glad to see her in fact that she made Samantha, Ethan and Marie her special chocolate milkshakes, with her home made brownies and said they could order in tonight as a special treat. Marie had a fantastic time for most of the day laughing and playing computer games. About 12 O'clock Sam's boyfriend Josh turned up and provided the much needed male company that Ethan needed. The boys played the game cube, and the girls painted their toe nails, and finger nails and then Sam was let loose on Marie's hair. Sam had a talent for hair, twisting and curling and clipping until it looked like a piece of artwork. Then Sam did Marie's make-up, and vice versa. Ethan who loved hanging with the girls as much as hanging with the guys then got in on the action and soon had luminous pink toe nails and had convinced Josh to have his done too, just as a joke.
The door of Samantha's attic room swung open and Joyce stood in the doorway, 'Ethan your girlfriends here and she's brought a friend, want me to send them up?' She asked politely.
'Sure,' Said Ethan. Then turned to the others, 'I wonder who she's brought I've never meet any of her friends.'
Ethan's girlfriend walked in looking fabulous as usual, but as she bent down to kiss Ethan she revealed the guest, Jon.
Marie gasped as quietly as she could and turned to Sam in a silent plea for help.
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Ps. Forgot to say…yeah guys really do like girls who wear their hair down more often, something about it being feminine.. I have this from all of my male friends, and seeing as I get on better with guys that girls generally that's quite a few blokes saying the same thing.
Hope that helps :D
Maddy
xxx