Holding His Heart
~insanity and co~
Chapter Four; "A Family Of Freaks."
"How do you even know she'll be here?" Anders asks, fidgeting, shifting, and generally keeping his brothers on edge. They all stand with their backs against the brick wall in an alleyway, the image of innocence as they peak out onto the dark street at the video store.
"She was closing last week, wasn't she? She should be closing again tonight," Axl answers, slapping Anders' hand down when he went to scratch his stubble for the hundredth time. "And would you stop moving? You look suspicious."
"We all look suspicious because we are suspicious!" Ty cut in, sighing and crossing his arms, just as restless as Anders but out of worry that they would get in trouble. He leans with his shoulder against the wall and being the one closest to the street, checks again to see if the store had closed yet.
Olaf – learning from his mistake the last time – was opting to spend time with his good friend Ingrid and raid Anders' apartment of all edible things rather than wandering across town for more "stalk the poor poor girl" time. Especially since there was very little (strike that, absolutely no) chance of pulling Anders off the scent of his One when he was so determined.
Mike – with the boys learning from their mistake the last time – was opting not to come as he had not been informed. Surely he would have hunted them down if he had known, which would be only too easy for him, and stop them.
Ty was recruited by sheer physical proximity...and Axl's car had just broken down (again), Anders' car was getting a new paint job, and that left him with the only set of working wheels. They had all left Anders' apartment, Ty being dragged very halfheartedly, and leaving Olaf and Ingrid to relax with every intention of raiding both his kitchen and the booze cabinet (even the one hidden in the bathroom).
"Black hair?" Ty asks, retreating from the street and pushing Anders off of him when the smaller brother pounced.
"Black hair? Did you say black hair? Axl? Did she have black hair? I could've sworn you said blonde," Anders jabbers, swiping at the hands that pushed him away and ignoring the both of them when they shushed him.
"I never said blonde hair!" Axl whispers harshly and Anders calms down with a huff. "She has black hair."
"Yep, she's there. Tiding up the front so it looks like they're closing soon."
"Perfect," Anders mutters, getting only one step towards the street before he's hauled back into the darkness of the alleyway.
"Maybe Ty should be the one she talks to first," Axl says slowly, earning himself a 'what-the-fuck' look from both of his brothers. "Well I sort of started talking about powers, so she might just slam the door on my face."
"And what about me? Why would she slam the door on my face?" Anders asks quickly, eyebrows raised and challenging.
"Erm, well-"
"Who wouldn't slam the door on your face?" Ty asks with a quick grin to his frowning brother.
"Ouch, cold." Ty shoots Anders a glare but the god of poetry (or 'half the god', as the others' have lovingly called him), fixes his hair up, straightens his tie, and waltzes across the street before Ty or Axl can get a good grip on his arm to drag him back.
With a skip in his step and a mental pat on his back for his perfect timing, Anders jiggles the handle of the store and knocks very loudly. He can see a head of black hair bobbing around behind the counter and waits (in more anticipation than he would ever admit) for her to turn around just as Ty and Axl join him.
He waits.
And waits.
And waits.
And Anders Johnson is not a fan of waiting so he knocks louder.
"Pissing her off is probably not a good place to start," Ty says, his hand hovering over Anders' shoulder and preparing to haul him back down into the alley.
"She just didn't hear me," Anders says and squares his shoulders, knocking so loud the door rattles on its hinges.
Ty watches as the girls shoulders sag a bit, raise up as she takes a breath before she turns around. They can hear the loud stomp in her step as she comes around to the front of the store, her face anything but the epitome of pleasant customer service. She pulls the handle of the door, turns a lock, and in a flash the small girl – smaller even than Anders! - is standing on the sidewalk with her arms crossed and a very pissed off look on her face.
"Do I need to call the cops?"
"Cops? What? No, we were just wondering if you were still open. We'd like to rent a couple of movies," Anders says smoothly, flashing her a smile that does nothing to ease the irritated look about her and it slips off of his face a moment later.
"Does it look like we're open? The sign doesn't say open."
"Well there's no need to get pissy-"
"No, I think I have every right to be 'pissy'," Penny cuts Anders off and moves her hands to her hips. "You all start spouting off nonsense about powers and then you family of freaks follow me home and now you show up at my work after we've closed?" She pauses, waiting for any of them to say something in their defense but they don't. "Stop. Stalking. Me."
Before Anders or Ty or Axl can say or do anything, the door is slammed shut and locked with a loud click. Her dark hair flies around her shoulders as she spins on her heels and walks to the back of the store. A moment later the lights in the overhang above the sidewalk flicker off.
"Well someone's a little testy today," Anders says, surprisingly upbeat as he walks with a skip in his step across the street back through the alleyway.
"I have a feeling she's onto us," Ty says, sending a glare at the oblivious brother in front of him. "And I don't think she's very fond of you."
"She doesn't have to be fond of me." Anders smirks and motions to Ty's car until he unlocks it. "And I don't have to be fond of her," he continues, slipping into the passenger's seat. "I just need to get my powers back and we can go our separate ways."
Ty and Axl join him and Ty turns the car on, letting it warm up for a minute and watching Anders out of the corner of his eye. The shortest Johnson brother is leaning against the car door, running his fingers through his beard and staring out onto the street with a smile uncharacteristic for someone who had just been shut down.
"You...don't seem very upset," Axl says cautiously.
"Did you see how fiery she is?" Anders stops messing with his beard and turns with an excited smile to his brothers.
"Figures," Ty mutters, pulling out onto the street.
"What figures?" Axl whispers, leaning close to the back of Ty's seat.
"Rejection won't deter him," Ty whispers back, his words just barely caught by Anders.
"Deter who?" he asks distractedly, eyes fixed on something only he could see.
"From that poor poor girl."
Author's Note: You guys! The sudden response to this has been fantastic! I try my best to respond to each and every one of you because it really does make my day when someone not only takes the time to read a story of mine, but to write something about it as well! :) You're all awesome! And I agree with the many of you who say there are not enough Anders/OC stories out there, but you all know how to remedy that, right? Write!